Regular Occurences Sept-Oct 2010

We never have a dull moment with Mark on the loose. He's a bundle of energy and his laugh is infectious. Here's a few things from the past months that I want to remember about him.



Mark found one of his church ties and a pair of sunglasses in his drawer. He HAD to wear them. I love the model face.

For some unknown reason every once in a while Mark decides he doesn't need a nap. This of course, is not true and he's cranky for the rest of the day. Sometimes though, for a brief moment, he'll stop and cuddle and watch a bit of TV. I think he knows that's the way to help calm us amidst his whining.

Thankfully he does sleep most days. We're growing his hair out for his Halloween costume (stay tuned), so he's been getting some pretty awesome bedhead lately.

When Mark knows something is wrong he says "No, No, No", and then does it anyway. A couple of days ago I heard a faint knocking from his bathroom. He had shut himself in there in the dark. When I opened the door and turned on the light I found him with the entire roll of toilet paper unwound. His response? "No, no, no". Yes, that's right. NO!!

We try to go for a walk almost everyday, especially now that it's much cooler. There's a sidewalk near the trees as you go down the hill from our apartment and Mark always stops to pick up one, two, three, more if we'd let him, acorns, aka "Ball!!". He knows to look in every crack and generally finds one that hasn't been opened yet by the squirrels.

So proud of himself. You might notice the ball in his left hand that you can barely see? He discovered it in his Easter basket (he found it when we moved) and it's become his constant companion for about three weeks running. When I say constant I mean constant: it goes to the store, on walks, around the house, in the bath, and yes, he even sleeps with it. We trick him to get it before we go to church (can you imagine the fights in Nursery?). Last week he cried all the way there. Anyone know if that's a sign of a psychological problem? Now he's toting the Sam's Club card too. It's not quite as severe (doesn't bathe with it), but he is sleeping with it right now.

Half Off at the Zoo

To continue with our deal excursions, every Tuesday of August was half off at the Zoo. Since Mark is still free, that meant just paying $7 for me, and we got a free 'frozen treat' (aka popsicle.) And, since friends always make the trip more fun, Amy and Caleb, and Lori and Reese came too.


The cheetah was putting on a nice little show for us. He'd do loops right up next to the glass. I did a paper (?can you call it that in 5th grade?) on cheetahs once back in the day and have always loved them. Probably because I like cats too, except for the hair issue.


We had to stop by to see the elephants for Caleb. Mark thought they were okay too, but wasn't quite as into them and didn't feel the need to get out of his stroller.

This monkey was great. She was right up at the window and made faces at the kids. From left to right, Caleb, Mark, Reese (held by Lori). Mark is more and more interested in animals every day. We're going back to the Zoo this Friday and it'll be fun to see what else he's picked up.

Port Discovery

On the third Friday of every month the Balitmore Port Discovery Children's Museum has $2 admission after 4pm. Bryce was at a Teacher's Quorum campout (this was back in August) so we decided to go with our friends the Spires and Blooms. A lot of the exhibits are a little advanced for Mark, but he still found things to play with.


He loved this ballpit that was in the little kids area. He probably would have stayed there all night had it not been for me being concerned that he would be hurt by some kids that were too old for the area who were jumping into the pit.


Not surprisingly the water room as also a hit. As you can see, me being the responsible parent, I neglected to put an apron on him and he got thoroughly soaked. He didn't care one bit.


Mark and Caleb liked hanging out in the camper of the Bob the Builder exhibit. They would look at each other and smile and then take turns climbing out and back in. There was another ball activity in that area. Of course, Mark found one to carry around as long as he possibly could. More on the ball fetish to come.