puppy, doggy, hat, cat, shoe, wow, ball, elbow (for elmo), duck, chick, hop hop hop, ho ho ho (for santa), pumpin or pumpa (for pumkin), pee pee, catch, socks, eye, juice, moo, down, out and help.
Oliver and I have been doing a lot finger painting lately. He likes it almost as much as I do. This is an early work from our "Assisted Finger Painting" series (ca. last week). I was planning to have him paint in acrylic on canvas, but I'm completely taken with the translucency of finger paint, so we upgraded the paper and kept the paint. I would show you a picture of our latest work (ca. this morning) but that would spoil your Christmas surprise.
A giant spider has lain waste to the sheep and Mary and Joseph have put baby Jesus is in the loft for safe-keeping. The Magi are about to make a break for The East: "Dude, the prophecy didn't say anything about this. You distract them while I grab the frankincense and myrrh." Meanwhile, the shepherd is sending out a distress signal on his bagpipes. Wait...bagpipes???
I grew up with this manger scene and my mom brought it to Oliver so he could grow up with it too. He particularly loves the sheep and one of the wise men. Unfortunately his love doesn't translate into tender caresses, and the little figurines have been tossed, banged, walloped, hurled and otherwise maltreated in the brief duration of their tenure here. But as my mom pointed out, if they survived my brother they can certainly withstand any abuse meted out by this little guy.
I am thankful that Oliver said "boobie" today. We've been working on it for months. Oh, and in case you were wondering, our outfits are deliberately matched and yes, Romeo is wearing a holiday sweater. I know, I know, it's kinda lame but you'll appreciate our efforts when you receive our super cute Christmas card.