Grandpa McCall's Birthday

My dad's birthday was last weekend and my sisters and I all flew out to spend it with him. It was great to actually be able to be with him on his birthday. We each brought a bunch of little gifts so he'd have one to open for each year. Our "special" gift was to pull together a great scrapbook of our family's history. We all had a blast flipping through old pictures of the family.

Dad with his presents


Dad beating Les at crib


The girls (and Dougie)


Dougie enjoying playing during the rain




Hanging with dad


Playing with the dog


Playing ball


... with Auntie Lou


... with Grandma

Dougie Reads "Red Hat Blue Hat"

Dougie loves to read to himself. We caught a little on video:

We Have A Climber

Baby Loves Disco

We went to Baby Loves Disco today. Basically, it's a dance party for kids. It's held at a local dance club but the music is much lower than it would be at night and the lights are all on. They have bubbles, scarves, hoola hoops and other various things to play with. Dougie had a great time though the concept of dancing seemed to elude him.

A few pictures from our day...











I tried to be subtle taking this picture but Dougie was totally trying to pick this girl up.

18-Month Check-up

We had Dougie's 18 month check-up today. He's still growing and remains on his curve. He's lost a little bit of weight since his appointment a few weeks ago but all in all, he's doing really well.

Stats:

• Weight - 22lbs 8oz (12%)


• Height - 32" (39%)


• Head - 19" (63%)

The doctor went through an Autism identification checklist and Dougie was put in the low risk category. He checked other basic health markers and Dougie was completely healthy. We have been having a small problem with vomiting but the doctor has already referred us to a Pediatric GI for that issue.

We went through Dougie's development. He is actually on track or ahead on all the markers. We were a bit surprised because we thought he would be measuring behind on language but I guess his 11 words were enough.

We got a DTaP shot and were on our way. Dougie did exceptionally well with this visit. We won't go back now until he turns 2.

Word List

Dougie has his 18 month check-up tomorrow. We know the doctor is going to ask us what words Dougie knows, so we made up a list and thought we might as well share it. As of now, he knows:

• Mama


• DeeDa (Daddy)


• Up


• Bubble


• All Done


• Knee


• Hi


• Bye


• Oh oh


• “Rarrrr” (roar)


• “Woof”

That's not too bad. He isn't the most articulate child we know, but he's getting there. Perhaps it's all the reading he does.



Or he may be taking an online course.

Father's Day

Another Father's Day has come and gone. It's amazing the difference a year makes in how involved Dougie can be in the day. He still isn't picking out his own gifts but he did help with Daddy's card and he decorated the bag that held his present.

Today, we decided to go to the zoo. We haven't been in a while and it was a beautiful day. The zoo was perfectly set up for the weather. They had misters to keep things cool near the popular animal exhibits. It was very comfortable all day.

A few pictures from the day.

Looking at the gorilla


Feeding the birds








We all had a great time! Scott loved the towels that Dougie had made for him. They'll be perfect to use next week at swimming.

We're in Trouble Now

For a while, we've know that Dougie loves to climb. He would pile up things and get on top, he'd climb on boxes, he even tried to climb into his own stroller. He never tried to climb on the furniture though, that is, until now.

I was sitting at my desk when I heard a strange sound. I leaned slightly and there was Dougie, on the coffee table.





I pulled him off right away. Well, right after I took a few pictures. He has done it several times since then but been quickly removed. It appeared that he may have been using the couch to get up there so I moved the table away a bit and that slowed his progress.

Tonight, Dougie found something else to climb. All the cupboards in the kitchen have child locks on them except one. We keep various things that we think Dougie may enjoy in that one cupboard. At the back, we keep a few things that we don't use often but aren't breakable (straws, disposable cups, etc). Tonight, Dougie decided he wanted to play with those, so he went in after them.







He ended up sitting up inside the cupboard to play. It took a bit to get him back out but we managed. The cups he was most interested in have since been moved to another cupboard. Hopefully, that will put an end to his climbing in there. If not, we'll have to look at getting a child lock for that cupboard too.

Let's just hope he doesn't learn to climb the baby gates any time soon.

Dougie's New Ride

I had seen these cute little foot pedaled cars a while ago and I thought Dougie may like one. We finally picked one up for him and let it try it out. He loved it!

Getting into the car


Shut the door


And drive drive drive

Weekend of Geocaching

Scott and I have been trying to get out on the weekends for walks and general outdoor activity. We found a new hobby that has helped immensely, geocaching.

Geocaching is an outdoor treasure-hunting game in which the participants use a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver or other navigational techniques to hide and seek containers (called "geocaches" or "caches") anywhere in the world. A typical cache is a small waterproof container containing a logbook and "treasure," usually toys or trinkets of little value.

We try to get out every day. In this area, there are caches hidden everywhere. Many require a bit of a hike but some you can drive your car right up to. We've been doing a nice mix of both.

Dougie comes with us and spends most of the time in the stroller. We do try to let him get out and walk if we're not in the middle of the woods or near a creek. He's been having a great time with it and loves being able to get so much fresh air.

Dougie helping find the next cache

Berry Picking

My MOMS Club went berry picking today at a local farm. We had so much fun! The berries were excellent and there were tons of them. Dougie wasn't into the picking but he did hold the basket and put berries in it. Of course, I took several pictures.

Surveying our options


On a hunt for more berries


Putting them in the box




WHOA! This is getting heavy


It's okay, I've got it

Daddy's Shoes

I love to wear my Daddy's shoes
though my feet are small,
when they are in my Daddy's shoes,
I feel 10 feet tall.
Some day I'll grow to fill them,
I only hope to be,
as fine a man and great a Dad
as my Dad is to me

Visiting Grandma and Grandpa in Toronto

On Monday, we got back from a visit to Toronto to see Grandma and Grandpa McCall. Dougie and I headed out there on Tuesday and Scott joined us on Thursday. The weather was okay while we were there but not quite as warm or dry as we hoped. Regardless, we managed to keep busy and have a nice time.

Dougie Makes Himself at Home


Dougie and Benzie Played (they were great together)






Miss Annie from next door brought some toys. Dougie and this horse were impossible to separate




We went swimming at the club


Went for a walk by the lake




And took advantage of any nice weather to get outside

A Cute Moment in Dougie History

On Friday mornings, Daddy gets up with Dougie. Normally, Scott wakes up before Dougie so he just comes back for him when Dougie gets up. I usually need to call Scott for him to know Dougie is awake though. This morning, I was reluctant to get up so I was playing with Dougie a tad when he decided he had enough. He stood up in bed and said at the top of his lungs "AAADDDY". Scott is in Chicago so, obviously, he didn't hear him but I almost fell out of bed laughing.