New Skills

Mark is now using the word "up" and it is mainly used when he wants Mommy or Daddy to pick him up. Another new development is that Mark can blow his nose. This new skill is very helpful considering his allergies. Mark was laughing and smiling a lot today. I guess he is a big fan of fall weather too. Our little boy is getting faster on his feet. Watch out kitties! Mark's two great interests right now are cats and airplanes. When Mark sees one of the cats, he says with joy and excitment "kitty" and then starts going as fast as he can towards the cat. When he hears or sees a plane, he points to the sky and says "oh" with lots of excitement.

We had a fun weekend! The weather was beautiful. Since it was Fall Break, Mark didn't have school on Friday. Mark and I met Lisa and Jacob at the park. It was a nice day to get outside and play. On Saturday, Mark received a visit from Granny Jan and Grandpa Shelby. They took us out to dinner. Mark really liked the rolls at the restaurant. He kept pointing at the rolls and signing "more" and "please." Mark said something close to "grandpa" when he saw Grandpa Shelby. On Sunday Mark stayed at home with me, since he has a cold it was best to keep him out of the nursery. Mike decided that Mark might like a wagon, and he was right. Mark had lots of fun playing with his new wagon.

Mark, "Mr. Chomp"

Today I picked Mark up from preschool and found out that he bit three children today. I am hoping that this is because he is teething. His teacher was very sweet about the whole situation and informed me that there are other biters in the class. This is the first time Mark has bitten other children.

On the brighter side, Mark is less tearful when going to the nursery and preschool. Sometimes there are no tears at all. He is talking more and using more sounds. He says "buba" now, but I don't know what he is talking about when he says that. Mark is faster on his feet. Watch out kitties! He likes to push buttons and pull things out of cabinets and boxes. He also lets us know what he wants. It is fun to see his preferences and personality develop.

Today, we went to visit Jan, Shelby, and Granny. We spent some time visiting at their house, and Mark got to walk around a little bit in the back yard and on the screened porch. We think Mark may be trying to say "Grampa"; it sure sounded like it.

After the visit, we went to a new park that's nearby. It had a lot of equipment to play on and climb. Mark enjoyed the slides and the springy rides, among other things.

Mark and I went to the aquarium this morning. Mark enjoyed looking at the fish and sharks. I let him out of the stroller and he pushed the stroller around. There was a bench next to one of the fish tanks that was perfect for Mark to stand on and watch the fish in the tank. He also enjoyed walking back and forth on the bench. By the time we got to the stingrays, Mark showed signs of being tired. He took a nap on the way home.