Ernie's Endorsement: Standing!

While we were trying to stay in one place during circle time at Toddler Playtime, Mom let go of our hands for a while, just to see what would happen. Standing . . . standing . . . standing . . . standing . . . and down to crawl position (not fall position!).
Mom and Dad quiety widened their eyes at each other seeing the first unassisted stand ever. We didn't really notice it.

Why wait for a good reason to blackmail?

Ernie usually crawls nekkid straight to the bathroom for his bath, but Jeremy was working in our bedroom last night so he made a beeline for that room instead and gave the neighbors a show.

Toddler Playtime

So even if he's not really "toddling" yet, Ernie started Toddler Playtime at the Children's Museum. It's an hour of open inquiry and play with different stations and other toddlers and parents. He's definately the smallest one there, if not the youngest (one little boy will be one next month), and the only one not walking yet. But its great to have him interact with other kids and in a setting full of different toys (and someone else to clean up). He came home with a painted blue face and arm, so he must have had fun!

Morgan is Here!

Natalie and Jeff Erb welcomed Morgan just after midnight on March 12, and we added another girlfriend to Ernie's harem. Folks, you have to take me seriously when I say she has the most amazing hair, not just for a newborn, but ever in the world. I wanted to take a picture and bring it to my stylist and explain "This is what I'm going for." It's so thick, chestnut brown with (I'm not kidding!) spun gold highlights. Natalie and Morgan are both doing great. We're so happy for them all!

Sorry we couldn't get a better picture of her. But check out http://www.learningsafety.blogspot.com/ for more.

Pre-Birthday Fun

Rob and Becky were generous enough to get a gift for Ernie since they would be out of town on his birthday. Rob came by to deliver the fun and get some more Ernie love.

Ernie re-learns tearing into a package with Rob.
Rob reads Ern "If you give a T-Rex a Bone." An educational and hilarious story.
Ernie playing with the submarine toy from Rob and Becky. It's got removeable compartments and parts that all play and divert water differently when seperated or together. Mom and Dad have really had fun with this one! And this is Ernie's first big boy bath. The toy is too big when put together for his little tub, so we had to learn how to get our bearings on our slippery butt to play with it all assembled!

Ernie's Birthday Bash

Ernie had a great time, thanks to everyone who was able to come and celebrate! Our house had 8 kids under five years old, and I think he enjoyed playing with them all the most. After the cupcake celebration the grandparents stuck around for a birthday dinner in recognition of both Grandmas, and the whole day Ernie felt really special. We were so busy welcoming guests and making sure Ernie didn't fall down the steps that there wasn't much time to take pictures. Here's some highlights:
Ernie loves his balloon. He points to it as says "Ba" or "boon" and its his favorite thing to punch.

Wow, he's sooooo impressed by the cupcake tower Mom made for him.
Ok, well at least he really likes the cupcake.
Grandpa Darrell made Ernie a tractor! All the kids at the party played with it, so we know he'll fit into it a long time! It's back at the shop waiting for rockers, which we can later remove when he's big enough to scoot around on it. It's an Oliver Tractor, just like Ernie always wanted.
Uncle Tim came back! As soon as we saw him we wanted him to turn his hat around so we could play peek-a-boo. And we had a great time playing with him on the stairs. The pirate ship toy he got us has been very popular. We crawl all over the house holding Captian NoBeard.