I Can't Think of a Cute Title

Nothing too exciting to report this week, but I know you want some new pictures, so without commentary from me:

Okay, maybe just one brief comment.  Josh and I spent about an hour this evening watching the video (yes, singular -- we haven't been very good at the videoing) of Walt's life.  A good portion of the video was devoted to his first birthday party, at which he received the ride-on toy he is riding (naked) on in the above picture.  In the video, as we open the gift, I push the button to make it start playing its song and a discussion ensues amongst the party-goers about how it's always the grandparents (Nana and Putty in this case) who give the loud, annoying toys.  I am then overheard saying, "It's really not that grating to listen to."  At hearing those words escape from my mouth on the TV screen, Josh and I turn and stare at each other because, as it turns out, I was wrong.  Oh, so wrong. 

Mixed Bathing

Walt has been very busy entertaining the ladies this week.  First there was a trip to the sprayground with Clara on a scorching hot Wednesday afternoon . . .

(I'm sure he's probably pointing out an arriving train.  The kid has a one track mind.  Har har.)

And then the next day after a failed attempt at going to the pool (stupid swim meet again!), he introduced his good buddy Meredith to the sprayground.  I forgot my camera, so you'll have to visit Meredith's website for pictures.  (In case you don't recognize him because of the shades, he's the fat one with the silver ball in the last picture.)

Then last night, Meredith and her parents came over for dinner, and after partaking in some of our appetizers, Walt and Mer did some mixed bathing (a term affectionately recalled by the current Church of Christers and former Baptists), before retiring for the evening.

We can't wait to pull out pictures like this when they're both sixteen. 

Good Boy

I'm probably going to pay for this post tomorrow (he often likes to disprove the nice things I write about him), but Walt has been an exceedingly cooperative little boy today.  As I was rushing around this morning trying to get my clothes ironed, lunches packed, bed made, blah, blah, blah . . . this is what Walt was doing:

He probably sat there for a solid ten minutes (which is a very long time for a toddler to sit still!), just flipping through his Richard Scarry's Best Word Book Ever.  Then, this afternoon, a few minutes after he dumped the toy basket in the living room all over the floor, I look up to see that he has put all of the toys neatly back in the basket.

He definitely has a bit of neat streak in him, proving that he is a true Spickler (trust me, that trait did not come from the Crouch side).  Once we showed him how to put his sippy cup in the cup holder on his highchair tray, it simply could not go anywhere else.  If we give him the sippy cup that's too big for the hole, he has a fit trying to jam it in anyway. 

All this is not to say that he isn't capable of making a gigantic mess -- one of his favorite things to do everyday is to dump out the entire bag of mega blocks in his floor -- but he seems to take almost as much pleasure in cleaning up his messes as making them.  Definitely his father's son.

Seventeen Months

Remember how in last month's Sixteen Months post we said that Walt was fun?  Well, we didn't even know fun then.  Now he is really fun.  And sweet.  My goodness he is sweet.  And did I mention smart?  'Cause if I didn't, I really should have.

If you can't tell, we are having a good 'ol time around here these days.  Except for the occasional mild tantrum, this month has been a lovely period of peace, love and harmony.  Although it may be that I am just writing through the rose-colored lenses of well-restedness.  (Is that a word?  I don't even care -- it's what I am.)  We recently invested in a set of blackout shades for Walt's room and we are now getting to sleep about an hour later in the morning.  Life is good.

So, anyway.  What's up in Walt's World this month?  Let's see . . . there's still not a lot more talking, but the "words" he does say are said frequently.  Very frequently.  He points out every car and truck he sees, which is a lot.  When he says car, it comes out "cah" and he sounds like he ought to be eating some chowder at Fenway.  Trucks used to be just "KKKKK!", but now are more like, "KKRKK!"  I know that looks like the same thing, but if you look closely, you'll see that there's a "R" there in the middle.  Getting closer.  He also continues to be the friendliest person on the planet, giving out enthusiastic "Hi!"s to EVERY SINGLE PERSON HE SEES. 

He understands so much that it's scary.  He can follow practically any command.  I've started asking him to do things just to see if he can follow what I'm saying and he almost always can.  And he copies everything we do.  If you didn't happen to read the comments on our last post, you missed the story about Josh and Walt's trip to Home Depot during which Walt watched Daddy throw away the receipt and then promptly followed him to the trashcan and pitched in the purchase they had just made.      

The issue of eating (or not, as the case may be) continues to be one of our few sore subjects.  Walt is apparently allergic to vitamins because he will not eat anything with any nutritional component to it.  Any food that is not cheese, crackers, peanut butter or gummy fruit chew thingamabobs are not on the list of approved sustenance providers as far as Walt is concerned.  Although we may have found a loophole.  Walt recently became somewhat fascinated with our forks and so we broke out the toddler-sized fork with Miffy on it (thanks, Harriet and Richard!) and showed him how he could spear lima beans and salmon with it at dinner the other night.  And he actually ate them.  I almost fell off of my seat.

Oh, and also, he likes to talk on the fork like it's a phone.

Hey, no one's perfect.

We are still spending a lot of time at the pool and this week we've widened our scope of water activities to include the "sprayground" at our local park.  We went for the first time yesterday and Walt wasn't too sure what to make of it. 

But today his buddies Aislin and Akon were there and showed him how to navigate the various sprinklers and fountains and he got more into it.  So to speak.

Between splash day at school (every Friday!), the Rhodes pool, the sprayground, helping Mommy water the plants, and baths, Walt pretty much has a constant case of prune fingers, but he doesn't seem to mind.

There is so much more I could tell you about how cute, smart and sweet he is, but then I'd sound like one of those parents.  And I'm totally not -- it's just that in the case of my child, it all happens to be true. 

Weekend Update

Sorry for the delay in posting, but as usual, it was a jam-packed weekend and by the time our friends the Wilhites left after dinner last night, we were too worn out from all the fun to post.  The good times got rolling for Walt on Friday at school during "Splash Day".  (No, Mommy did not get to stick around for the festivities, but her camera did.)

Yes, I did send a bathing suit, but apparently Friday was skinny-dipping day.  Friday night we went downtown to watch the trollies . . .

. . . uh, I mean cheer Daddy on in the Gibson Guitar 5K .

They also had pizza at the post-race party, of which Walt was quite a fan.

It was a late night for young Walt after all the partying on the rooftop of the Gibson Guitar factory, but there's no rest for the weary because on Saturday morning we were all up bright and early (I'm talking we left the house at 7 a.m.) to head out to the 'burbs to watch the England/Paraguay World Cup match with a bunch of Brits on Chris Lareau's soccer game.  I imagine that could have been pretty entertaining, but it was kind of a snoozer of a game, so they were all quite tame.  But there were sausage biscuits, so it wasn't a total loss.

Walt was obviously very into the game.

This is Walt's new buddy, Ollie.  He's an actual British baby -- not just some poseur wearing the bib. 

Then we were back in the car for the long ride back to Midtown.  Walt wasn't in the mood to be recognized, so he wore his shades.

That afternoon it was a trip to the Rhodes pool and then a romp around campus in his skivvies.

On our way home, we had to make a quick stop at the grocery and Josh was under strict instructions to keep Walt awake while I went in the store.  You can see how well that worked out.

I'll give him credit, though, he did try to keep him awake:
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Mayor of Midtown

Lately, Walt has taken upon himself the enormous task of greeting EVERYONE IN MIDTOWN MEMPHIS.  As we walk into school in the morning, everyone we pass gets a very pointed "Hi!" and an enthusiastic wave.  It takes us considerably longer to get to class now because Walt neglects none of his constituents.  Here, Walt conducts a town hall meeting with Rosie, Ava, and Miss Krista.

The walk from the parking lot to the pool at Rhodes also takes a while because Walt must greet everyone from the security guards to the soccer moms to the construction workers to the coeds.  And it's not enough to just offer one simple "hi" and a cursory wave.  Oh no, we must stop and watch them walk away as they pass us, waving all the while.  One must seem sincere.

And every good Memphis politician knows that you've gotta get out there and press the flesh, and there's no better place to do that than at Huey's while Mommy and Daddy gorge themselves on burgers and cheese fries  No kidding, not a soul managed to make it past our table without getting the "hi"/wave treatment from Walt.  Even the stuffed fish hanging over our table was not left out.  Honestly, it is quite hilarious to see gruff-looking dudes break into a big smile and start waving themselves in response to Walt's greeting. 

I hope Josh tipped our waitress well because she answered every one of Walt's dozen "hi"s with a response that was equally as effusive.  She even played an extended game of peek-a-boo with him by hiding behind the "Please Seat Yourself" sign.  Sometimes I just feel like we're his entourage. 

Oh, and just for the record, there were some of you who were at one time concerned about the things we were feeding Walt . . . hummus, pitas, olives, etc.  Well, here's a shot of him dipping his cheese fry into some ranch dressing at dinner tonight.

I hope you're happy.

Walt's First Speedo

Now that I've got your attention, I think you should see these pictures.

Ginger always wants me to post because she says I'm funny, but for these pictures, there's just not much I can say.  But I'll try. 

"Does this suit make me look fat?"

He's fast in and out of the water.






Of course, by "fast" I mean slow and fat.






Although the sunglasses help, he looks less like Mark Spitz and more like a sinking watermelon.

I'll give you a minute to recover. . . OK.

This weekend was all about water.  Obviously, the pool was part of it.  Then, earlier today, during a late-afternoon rain shower, Walt absolutely demanded to be taken outside.  I had been doing yard work, so I took off his shirt,  and we went outside.  What a bizarre little boy.  Who likes standing in the rain when there is a perfectly good porch just a few feet away?  Then he gave me 'high fives'.

Before we went to the pool on Saturday, we went back to the Memphis Farmers Market.  Of course, Walt gravitated to the musicians.  These guys were quite a hit.  Here's a shot from Walt's perspective:

For some reason we always save movies until last.  In case you were thinking that Walt goes to the pool just to sit on the side and look good . . .

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Deprogramming

We're not saying that the extended weekend with ALL of his grandparents spoiled Walt or anything, but, well . . . I think the picture says it all.  Honestly, I'm not sure who had more fun on our vacation -- us, Walt, or our parents.  Whatever the case, I think it worked out nicely for all of us.  Walt required minimal deprogramming, although I think he was a bit jarred by my unwillingness to cater to his every whim today.  The nerve.  Gram commented that he never cries.  Uh-huh.  What's to cry about when you have four fully-grown adults attending to all your various needs?  Nothing, that's what.

Anyway, if anyone is interested in some photos of our vacation, you can check out the "Sonoma Trip" album at left.  But as for this column, we'll leave you with this gem:

He loves him some macaroni and cheese.  (Josh thinks this picture bears a frightening resemblance to Nick Nolte's mug shot: http://tinyurl.com/8oy8)