Adam's "New" Things

Adam loves to have his shoes put on. He'll bring them to us and lift his foot or sit in my lap for me to put them on. Sometimes he'll bring one, wait until you put it on, then go and find the match and come back with it. Sometimes he'll already have a pair of shoes on and come back with another pair and want both pairs on his feet. But in the car, if you're going somewhere that will take longer than 2 minutes, he'll pull them off and play with them.

Adam has learned to kick the soccer ball, to throw the football for Caley (well, at Caley), and has taken to throwing his toys. Sometimes he'll get right up in my face while I'm sitting on the couch and hurl a heavy wooden puzzle piece (usually the goat) right at my head. We're working on that one. His climbing skills have only improved since he's grown about an inch and a half in the last 3 weeks. It is a never-ending battle to keep him from climbing on the couch, standing on it, and then trying to scale the back of it.

It takes one time for Adam to see you do something that he likes for him to pick it up and never, ever forget. We have tall cabinets in our kitchen and I use a step stool sometimes to reach some of them. I made the mistake of moving the step stool and stepping up on it while Adam was in the kitchen. His eyes got big and he smiled like he'd won the lottery, then proceeded to move the step stool all over the kitchen and stand on it to reach all of the forbidden counter top items he's always wanted . . . knives, forks, scissors, etc. Our habits had to change fast, and the step stool promptly left the kitchen (and when he finds it randomly in the house, he returns it to the place he learned to use it).

Adam will race you two places if the door is open: the Sunroom, and the master bedroom. He sees if the door is open, looks at you first with his Cheshire grin, and takes off. If you race, he giggles. If he loses, he shrugs and turns around (at least it was a game).

Adam does not like peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. He doesn't like leftovers, and he's not a huge fan of pizza. The only foods that he will consistently eat when you put them on his plate are: Toast, Banana, Waffle, Yogurt, Mandarin Oranges, Peaches, Green Beans, Peas, and Hamburger Helper (beef stroganoff) or Tuna Helper (any flavor). We have a 90% success rate with spaghetti, applesauce, cheese slices, and turkey or ham lunch meat. Goldfish now outrank Ritz Crackers in the snack department. We introduce many different foods to him, but if he's just not in the mood or doesn't like the main course, we usually just throw extra peas or green beans on his plate and he's perfectly happy with that.

His favorite toys are the shape ball, his books, and a toy gumball machine that he got for his birthday. He likes figuring out which buttons to push to make things happen. He also has no shame in pushing whatever button, opening whatever drawer or door, flushing whatever toilet -- the excitement far exceeds any hint of shame that he could have done something wrong.

Adam gives himself time outs frequently now. Today he climbed onto the couch next to me and stood up and grinned at me, so I picked him up and put him down. He yelled at me and gave me his best, "But I really, REALLY want to!" face. I ignored it. He cried for a little bit then went into the kitchen for a few minutes and stood against the wall, I guess to give himself cool down time. After a few minutes we peeked into the kitchen and asked him what he was doing... he smiled and ran back in to play, happy as could be.

Adam is full of life, full of energy, and is the ultimate free spirit. He is imaginative, quick to make friends, and quick to laugh. He will be 14 months old the day that I turn 31.