We've been having a lot of fun here lately. A couple days ago, I took Ronan to the lake by our house. For the first time, he got really interested in the water, so we went to a sandy spot and waded in. He had a blast. He splashed around, went up to about his knees, followed a fish that swam right by our feet, and then without warning, sat right down. This is the same child who fights tooth and nail over sitting down in his bath. Needless to say, we were both soaked by the time we got home, but it was a lot of fun.

Then today, I decided to buy a little potty for him. I don't have any plans to start doing dedicated potty training at this point - I just wanted to start getting him used to having it around. He loves it. When I got it out, he initially just had fun pushing it around. But then I had him sit on it (still clothed and everything), and a whole new world opened up for him. He had a lot of fun standing up, walking backward into it, sitting down, and reading books while on there. It's so fun to watch. I'm not really sure how we'll proceed; my only plan is to just play it by ear. He's learned how to take his diapers off and he now wants a wipe every time we change so that he can wipe himself too.




He's getting pretty close to talking. He now says something close to "gentle" whenever he gets near the dogs. While he knows the word, we're still working on the concept. He loves to pull on their fur or grab their tails and make them pull him. Obviously, the dogs do not feel the same way about that. They put up with a lot. Ronan is getting better - when you say "gentle" he'll usually let go and pat them (albeit, very hard).

Well, that's about all from Springfield. Take care!