19 months

Sorry about the delay on the post, but we've been having way to much fun this summer! We just got back from our first family trip, which took us first to Madison, Wisconsin to visit Aunt Michelle, Uncle Randall, Matt and Mali, and then to the Wisconsin Dells. Easton enjoyed his cousins so much, it was hard to leave. The Dells were so much fun, we are thinking of returning in August! Easton loved the waterslides! "More Waterslide" was the word of the day while we were there!
July has probably been the toughest month we have encountered thus far with Easton. We had a week there where he woke every morning at 4:58 in the worst mood possible, and stayed crabby all day long. All throughout the day it was "hod ju mommy", and our little guy would claw his way up onto me. We thought the terrible two's had come early, but eventually figured out his 2 year molars were coming in.
Along with that, Easton is happily testing his boundaries. There isn't a thing in or outside of our home that he hasn't tried to climb up on and jump off of. He doesn't like the word no and will test as much as he can. He will even get a little bit of an attitude when he is overly tired and start demanding("a wan baba milk").
Aside from that, we continue to be amazed at how much of a conversation we can have with Easton. He is beginning to understand what is his, dadda's and mama's, and will name it as such("dada's dirty shirt" or "mama's choffee"). He likes to blame his messes on others ("Aspen did it")and is learning colors, but continues to call everything yellow the first time around, because it is his favorite. When counting, he will call out certain numbers, and knows visually how many is two.
We are constantly laughing as Easton can be quite the ham. He knows when his being goofy is amusing others and will play it up as much as he can if possible. We feel blessed everyday as we enjoy our little gift!

1 1/2 years old!!

SCHOOLS OUT!! Both Easton and mommy are excited to be home together! Mommy is especially excited for all the things that we have planned as a family.
We have already made it to the community water park, and I have to say, that was a bit interesting. At first I thought the money was wasted, but was pleasantly surprised when Easton went from the ankle deep part of the pool to about where it hit his chin. He was trying to get to the waterslide where all the kids were. Unfortunately, they don't allow babies to ride down with mommies! Guess he will have to learn to swim fast! While there, he learned how to climb out of the side of the pool, and jump into the water. We enjoyed playing with the kids and making some new friends. We hope to make even more friends when we go to mommy and baby swim classes, and busy baby time at the park district.
We had a great time going on our first family zoo trip. Easton was so excited to see the real animals and liked saying their names, and mimicking their sounds. The weather was perfect and all the animals were out playing and swimming.
Easton is doing a great job talking and continues to add to his vocabulary everyday. His doctor said his words are very clear and understandable for his age. He likes to sing bits and pieces of the alphabet, the wheels on the bus, and roll over. If we get to a song he doesn't know, he will lip sync! It is hilarious to look in the rear view mirror and see his lips moving to the lyrics. He is putting two and sometimes three words together. He was in his bouncer the other day and said thank you dada. Easton has learned that mommy has difficulties saying no when he uses the word please. He has the cutest little way of looking at me and saying, "please mama, more", and I can't resist. He is very polite and almost always uses please and thank you. He is also working at counting. So far he can count to three. He doesn’t always get it. He might get to two and add a nine or a six.
He is doing well with letting us know what he wants, or making choices. We can almost carry on broken conversations. If we ask what he wants for lunch, he might say hotdog, or if I ask if he wants a sandwich, he might say no. He will come to me and tell me he wants milk, juice, or water to drink or more pineapple or pasta at dinner. He is a great helper, and loves to help mommy and daddy put away groceries. The mouthwash will end up in the fridge and the peanut butter usually ends up with the pots and pans, but his thoughtfulness is much appreciated!
We might be looking into getting a potty soon! Easton is already letting me know when he has to poop. He will walk up and say, "Poop...poop....poop". Shortly after doing this, he finds his way to a corner, or chair( for leverage of course), and proceeds to go. If you look at him, he will say, poop. I have tried taking him to the big boy potty when he comes to tell me he has to go, but he doesn't want much of that right now.
18 month doctor visit: 26 lbs (58%), 33.75in (85%), he is also in the 85% with his head size.

I Know my Animals

Playtime!!

17 Months Big!

April showers brought May flowers and a whole lot of activity at the Toso home! I am amazed at how the days fly, and am worried the summer will be gone in a flash!
Our little “love bug” is as cuddly as ever, if not more so! He is constantly stopping play to give mommy and daddy little hugs. They are very much appreciated, especially when the day has been a rough one. He is very gentle and just naturally caring. He has daddy’s looks, but mommy personality. He definitely loves being around Shawn and me together. He is a very happy and calm toddler in general, but his whole being changes when we are together as a family. His face and eyes are full of light, and he is energized. However, if any hugging occurs between mommy and daddy, our little referee is quick to break it up. Easton is very possessive of his mommy and sets boundaries accordingly. If we are all playing together, Easton will be on my lap playing and making no room for daddy to squeeze in. He loves being outdoors, and even after a full day of fun in the sun, he will show his dislike about coming in for dinner. He enjoys playing in the sand, mowing the lawn with the bubble mower and picking mommy the most beautiful flowers (dandelions).
Although Easton isn’t what you would consider chatty, when he talks, he does it well. He is learning more words each day and has quite a vocabulary. He has a fixation with anything to do with tractors or lawnmowers. He can name a good majority of tractors (backhoe, excavator, and loader) and even knows certain parts of the excavator (boom and bucket). We frequent building sites and stores that sell heavy equipment (right up mommy’s alley). He can say (not at all clear) smoke detector and show us where it is. Hola(not sure if I spelled that right!), If we ask, “where does the bus drive?” He will answer road. If I ask "Who is coming home today?" He will say daddy. Easton will let us know if he needs something like juice, milk, or food, and hands us his plate, fork and spoon and say all done, when he is finished with a meal.
Speaking of meals, our little eater is slowing down his consumption of food (thank goodness). The doctors say that he no longer lives to eat, and will now just eat to live! He is a very healthy eater, and will eat almost anything you give him. Unbelievably, our son loves pickled beets! He no longer has a high chair!! Our big boy is now sitting at the table!
As you will see in the videos and pictures, Easton is on his way to being a pro football player. He is big for his age, matching up to the two year olds that we see when we go to kid programs. If you click on the You Tube link on the videos, you will find many more. It is so hard choosing which to post!

Easton Update (16 months!)

Time is flying, but we are doing our best to enjoy and nurture every moment! Here are a few new things happening around the Toso house:
Lately, everything that Easton comes into contact with or wants an explanation for gets an "oohh! Wastha?" This is especially true when we are at the grocery store and around food. It's neat to think of how he has progressed. We used to show him things, now he shows us what he is interested in.
His new thing (thank you daddy for teaching it) is to shake hands. He sticks his hand out, smiles and says, "Hi!".
Easton has definitely passed his shy phase, if there ever was one. We can't go anywhere without him running up to strangers and saying "Hi".
I think one of my favorite things about Easton is his sensitive side. Even at this young age, we can tell he is going to have a big heart. At first it was just with this animals; hugging, kissing and cuddling. Lately, he will come up behind me when I am cooking or doing things and wrap his arms around my legs and hug me. After that He makes his way to the front of my legs, says hi, and gives me another hug, and pats my leg for a little bit. If Easton gets in trouble, he takes it hard. He doesn't scream and cry, but he does cry. He sits down in the middle of the kitchen floor and does the most heartbreaking cry you will ever hear, with a face that brings me to tears(daddy too). He genuinely feels bad for what he did wrong. He has made it hard to stand my ground.
Easton continues to do his best to talk, and just recently we have noticed that he repeats words directly after we say them. Prior to this, he would learn a word after much repetition. His favorites are sun, rain, mailbox, garbage, weiner(unfortunatly a major favorite) and tractor.There are a few more homes going up in our subdivision, so daddy and his little construction worker take walks to check out the daily progress and enjoy the cool machines.
A funny story: Grandma and Grandpa Bozue stopped by to hang out one afternoon, and so we went to the driveway to wait for them to pull up (Grandma likes seeing the excitement on E's face when they pull in). Grandpa got out of the car first and took Easton from me and pointed to grandma and said, "Old lady". Easton put his finger to his lip and said, "hussss". For anyone who has read "Goodnight Moon", you will understand that it is the old lady who is whispering hush in the book! We were so excited about his connection, and so was grandpa when we explained it to him.

Even though Easter has passed, it couldn't go without a mention! Our family celebrated Easter with a weekend of fun. Most of the Bozue klan came into town, and so Easton was able to enjoy playing with his many cousins over the long weekend. On Friday we had our annual fish fry at grandma and grandpa Bozue’s house where grandpa used his deep fryer to yet again cook some amazing cod. On Saturday we celebrated cousin Matt’s birthday by having an old-fashioned birthday party at grandma and grandpas. On Sunday, before heading again to grandma and grandpa’s, Easton woke to find lots of new toys in his playroom! The Easter Bunny spoiled him with a Little People bus, Little People talking farmhouse, Little People talking zoo and a bag of balls for a ball pit. We spend lots of time playing and talking to the animals. He is doing a great job of identifying a handful of his favorites.
At grandma and grandpa’s house, Easton stopped halfway to the front door, pointed and said yea-yo. I smiled, because he had notice one of the yellow eggs his Aunt Missy made for the Easter egg hunt. Once all the kids had arrived, we gathered in the front yard and let the kids run wild! Most had to be pointed out to him, but Easton did get a few eggs! I think back to last year, and our son was 4 months old and sleeping most of the day. Now he is running around with other kids participating in the games.
On Monday we went to see Grandma Eva and Grandpa George in Waukegan. Easton enjoyed the many mechanical animals that grandma and grandpa have in their living room and all the good food grandma cooked!

15 Months!

15 month doctor visit: Easton was updated on his shots, and doesn't mind them to much. He cries until daddy picks him up and holds him. Doctor said Easton is advanced for his age intellectually!! His head size is above average (75%),he weighs 24 lbs. (48%), and he is in the 70% for height. It has been pretty difficult getting things done around our house lately. Easton is going through the “only mommy will do” phase, as well as showing a little stranger anxiety. It has made it very hard to leave for work in the morning, because try as we might to come up with creative ways of sneaking mommy out of the house, Easton seems to know what’s up and latches on. It is hard watching him cry as I pull out of the driveway. Luckily Shawn will call before I can make it a block to let me hear Easton laughing in the background. As soon as I walk in the door after a days work, he will latch himself to my legs and hold on! No down time for mommy! What about when Shawn leaves for work? Easton runs to mommy, smiles and says, “Bye, bye, da”. It has been the same for family, friends, and strangers too. It can take him quite awhile to warm up (depending on the mood). He clings to mommy and gives his admirers the cold shoulder until he feels good and ready to show his stuff. If they push a little too much to get his attention, he lets them know. Easton has learned to speak his mind, and he does it quite well. We have been working quite a bit with him, trying to teach him what he can and cannot have. At first it was going pretty well, and we thought we were on easy street. I guess you could say we spoke a little too soon! He has learned to yell out and throw himself on the ground if the mood strikes, and for a while it did strike often. Luckily those bad days, although they seem long, are few and far between. As I have said before, we are lucky! Easton is as loving as ever. He still enjoys cuddling his animals, and now hugs and kisses them when asked. He even has them hug and kiss each other. He shares this affection with mommy, daddy and close family (actually the neighbor got hugged a few days ago). We have a little acrobat in the house that is learning to do somersaults! He goes down for the pose, and we help him over. It is especially funny when he wants to do his acrobats too soon after a meal! Easton is testing out his speaking skills daily, and it is hard not to giggle when he does. Most of the time the language is a high pitched gibberish that only a few can comprehend, but we are excited to say that he does get a few actual words out. His favorites lately include hey-yap-ter (helicopter), pap-a-cle (popsicle), ovo (oval), ocpa (octopus) and sco bu (school bus). Occasionally he will say thank you when you share something, and continues to bless people when they sneeze. This is the best when we are out and complete strangers sneeze. They don’t expect a one year old to yell out “Gad ba”, and are smitten when he does. I don’t want to jinks it, but bedtime has been a snap lately. Around the 7:30 mark, Easton will say, “na na”, and point upstairs. We take him up and before we can finish prayers, he has thrown tiger in the crib and is tearing himself away from us to lie down. On occasion he will cry for a few minutes, but generally will fall asleep fast. Phew! Easton loves going to the babysitters! He can*t wait to get out of my arms when we arrive, and it’s a struggle getting him to leave with me! She has a son who is a few months older than Easton, and a playroom that could rival a Pottery Barn Kid’s store! He enjoys playing in the kitchen area of the playroom, and sitting at the table and serving tea or coffee (quite funny to see). Art time is another of his favorites, and mommy and daddy love to display the work! He has learned a lot interacting with other kids his age. We feel very blessed to have found someone who does so much with our child.