Trick or Treat

We had lots of fun celebrating Halloween this year. We went to the UM Natural History Museum last weekend, did the "party" thing at our toddler class, checked out our downtown's annual trick or treating and headed out in our neighborhood tonight. All in all it was a pretty great week.

Turo as a football player at our toddler class.

Buturo's name means "hard worker, like a bee" - so we couldn't resist dressing him up like one.

Check out Jose's awesome Africa pumpkin.

Colorado

My dad and Alison celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary in September. Here are a few snapshots from the dinner my dad planned for my stepmom (in the same place where they had their wedding).

And here is a cute photo of Uncle Nick and Turo

Travel with Turo

For the second time in the last month, Turo and I traveled by air to visit family and friends. He flies free as a "lap child" until he's two, so off we went. First, we flew to Colorado for my Alison and Dad's 25th anniversary and then we were in Dallas this weekend for Race for the Cure.

Since I was five, I have flown three to four times a year. I've got the flying thing down, but toss in a kid and it's a whole new deal. Gone are the days of a magazine, the I-Pod and a good book. Turo is a great traveler but it is still a challenge. It raises a whole host of questions. What toys are small enough but will keep him busy? (Light switch, little rubber skeleton and bendy robot were hits. The small poms-poms were fun, but I didn't take into account his new love of throwing.) How many diapers should I bring? (Seven - just in case we are stranded for hours. ) What kinds of snacks will make him happy? (Peanut butter sandwich crackers, apples, cheese sticks and pretzels) Which is the best seat - aisle or window? (Window - he can open and close the shade & people won't bump us if he falls asleep). It keeps a gal on her toes. On the flight last night, I even had to ask for my Coke in a coffee cup to fool him into not wanting any.

Photos of the actual trips will come at some point, but here are our travel photos from yesterday.

On the bus from the car rental place. The bus was a big hit with Turo.Checking out the planes

ATMPretending to be a doggy. I don't want to even think of all the germs he picked up.

We were using hand wipes like crazy.

Peek-a-Boo

Push

Always fun
(until he puts his other hand in and water starts pouring down his arm)
On the plane - cozy.



We've landed

And a special thanks to Jose, who brought my requested falafel sandwich to the airport last night.

Busy Boy

Turo has been described by more than one person as “busy.” The Kindermusik teacher asked if he ever slows down. Turo loves to explore. In a new place, he has to check it all out. He just has to know what opens and closes, what goes up and down, where doors lead, where noises come from and if things will push or pull. If other people are around, he will greet them and he may grab a hand or two. The kid has to thoroughly investigate every nook and cranny. Even at home he is continually making new discoveries. Countless times a day he grabs my hand and insists that I “na,” (we think this is Amharic for come).

He has been this way from our first encounter. Within thirty minutes of meeting us, Buturo was ready to inspect his new digs. For a week in Ethiopia, he wanted to see what was outside, down the stairs, in the kitchen, in the drawers, in the office. Sometimes we would take him in our room just because it was so tiring chasing him around the guesthouse.

His curiosity hasn’t lessened since our arrival in the U.S. Our hour at Border’s storytime today clearly illustrates this. I think he may have sat down for 30 seconds. He had to check out the story area, the outlets, the sliding cabinet, the adjustable bookshelves, the toy train, the little toys they keep at child level, a table (under which he crawled), the chairs and a couple of babies. He tried to play peek-a-boo with another mother, found one song so amusing he ran around shrieking and then initiated “run away from mama” which ended with both of us giggling hysterically.

My kid may be the one other mothers shake their heads at, but I’m trying to let go of my concern that he isn’t “following the rules” when we’re out in public. I think Turo is making up for 15 months in rather stark environments and at some point he’ll figure out some of the social norm stuff. (Anyway, this is what I’m telling myself when I’m exhausted from a day with my pint sized adventurer.)

While there are a few moments when I long for him to quietly play with blocks while I make dinner or put away the dishes or sweep or [insert household task made harder by curious toddler], I am usually amused by this little guy. I hope his delight in learning new things will only continue to develop. And I hope that I can keep up with him.

What does this do?

Cheerio? Yum.

On the move Baby

Ohh, something to open and close

"Na"

Tsehai Loves Learning

My sister, who is worldly and awesome, posted a request for links to Amharic children's programs on Couchsurfing (a website that matches travelers with couches). She received several responses and one person recommended Tsehai Loves Learning. Tsehai is an Amharic speaking giraffe who teaches kids about numbers, honesty and love. You can watch a YouTube clip of the show from the Tesehai website.

I ordered two DVDs and was excited to receive them quickly in the mail. I popped the first one and waited to see how Turo would react. He liked the music, but I couldn't tell if he recognized the Amharic. He watched for a couple of minutes, but he quickly moved to the next activity. I continued to watch since the episodes have English subtitles. The first DVD is about 40 minutes long and the second one is over an hour. They're really cute! As Turo's attention span increases, I think this will be a great way to keep him exposed to Amharic.

Turo sporting the outfit Aunt Katie brought back for him from the Middle East.

Country Mill

Today we visited the Country Mill with Turo. This family farm, run by one of my classmates, is right outside the town in which I grew up. I have many fond memories of this place. When I was young, my dad used to take me there when he'd come visit in October. Then I worked there for two falls during high school dipping caramel apples and bagging donuts. So, it was pretty special to return there with my family.

Pumpkins

Turo sized pumpkin

With Grandma Sharon

Family photo

G.G. lives down the road from the Mill, so we stopped to say "hi."

bedtime

Reading in the Big Blue Chair

(okay, so this is actually at naptime, but we do it at night too)

Mmmm, bath water

Turito

Hair care

P.J.s

Finding the package - aka bottle

(whoever is not doing bath hides the bottle in the chair. Turo will check during the day when we are in his room and can't quite figure out how the bottle gets there)

Rock, rock

(We still give Turo a bottle before naps and bed. It is one of the attachment things we actually have followed. I love this time because Turo holds still long enough for a cuddle.)