Hot Stuff on Valentine's Day

Oh Dear. I'm sorry to report our first toddler injury in the form of a second degree burn on Olie's hand. It happened when he fell against a heater at Bella's house today. I got a frantic call from Anita that took about 10 years off my life. His hand is pretty blistered, but there will not be any permanant damage (except perhaps to Anita's and my nerves). Of course he screamed until the motrin the Dr gave him kicked in, and the whole thing was pretty tramatic. He's now sleeping with one of Chad's athletic socks over his whole arm to keep him from undressing the wound. Poor thing! Not the best Valentine's.

On a lighter note..

Last week, Olie and family enjoyed a nice trip to AZ to visit Uncle Cory and Aunt Michele. While the East Coast was freezing, we enjoyed hiking in the desert and hanging by the pool in 80 degree weather. Olie also got his first glimpse of loose, alive jack rabbits on the hotel grounds.

Uncle Cory, I want to go there!

While Chad was at a conference, Olie and I headed to the zoo for his first look at real, live elephants. (Heretofore he'd only seen the stuffed ones at the AMNH.) Besides the elephants we saw a mom orangutan and her new baby, who though only a month old, was quite adept at swinging thru the branches. We also saw zebras, baboons, rhinos and tall giraffes. Olie nearly became part of the giraffe exhibit when he managed to climb close to the top of their lattice work fence. Whose bright idea was it to essentially give kids a ladder! The best part for me was afterwards. As Olie and I were enjoying a snack, I asked him if he liked the animals at the zoo. He kept nodding his head "yes" and signing elephant and orangutan (same as gorilla) with great enthusiasm. I think it was our first extended conversation.

Each night in AZ a bagpiper serenaded the hotel guests and Olie in particular as the sun set. In fact, as he roamed the grounds, Olie became quite popular with the whole staff, many of whom quickly knew him by name. His favorite haunt was right by the front door where the hotel had two large stone bear sculptures. Olie ran from one to the next making bear sounds and greeting all the new arrivals.

By the pool

Back home Olie continues to make strides. Turns out he's already grown an inch since his first birthday, and he has four mollars coming in! 2 top, 2 bottom. He is continuing to sign, adding train, whale, and baby to his rep. We now have to be very careful about what we do cause he repeats it. Last night after watching me replace the batteries in a toy, he took the screwdriver, turned the toy over and proceeded to insert it into the screw and turn! He also continues to read avidly. It's now the first thing he does in the morning and when Chad and I come home at night we're each greeted with a book. Do not pass go, read!