Will and the Safety Dog

Not many pictures this week but a couple of cute stories. On Tuesday our neighborhood association held a party at the pool with a "Safety Dog." The company was promoting neighborhood and individual safety, etc. They had food, a dj and activities for the kids. Will got a free stuffed doggy and a coloring book (with helpful safety tips for Will like "Do not talk on your cell phone while skateboarding"). Will also got to see the Safety Dog himself. I was initially worried that Will would be scared of the giant dog but he wasn't at all. In between trying to jump in the pool, all Will wanted to do was stand in front of the dog and stare at him. He tried to play with the dog's belt and was at one point petting his fur. It was pretty funny. Every time the dog moved on to another group of kids, Will followed. He was fascinated by the giant doggy!

The parents got a "Child Safety Kit" which at first sounded great. I checked it out when we got home and there was a place to record information about your child (no problem with that), a place to ink your child's fingerprints (sounds messy but maybe I'll do that one of these days) and a cotton swab and little plastic bag to keep your child's DNA sample in the freezer (WHAT?!!). Basically that last part creeped me out enough that the Child Safety Kit has been relegated to the bottom of the stack of papers to be dealt with in the office. A DNA sample?! Is that really necessary?!

On Wednesday Will and I got our flu shots. Compared to last year, it was a breeze. We left the house early, got to the hospital around 8:30, and I walked right up for the shot with no wait. We had to go to the immunizations clinic for Will because he needed the special infant dose that they didn't have in the hospital atrium where I got my shot. There was little wait there but not too bad. Will didn't even cry when he got the shot but he did not like the alcohol rub before the shot. He got three Cars stickers so he was happy. The whole process took about 20 minutes. Last year, our flu shots, both seasonal and H1N1, were several hour affairs that spanned several days. If I recall, Will had to take both of last years shots in two doses, which translated to 4 trips to the clinic just for Will. This year- in and out in one 20-minute trip!

Will has had a couple of new words this week. He is now saying "yeah." I always love hearing him say new words but this one came with a slight amount of guilt; one of his first words is awful grammar! David and I both say "yeah" often instead of "yes" so I guess I'm not too surprised. On a more positive note, today he started saying "daddy" instead of "da da." He has also said a word that sounds like he's trying to say "mail" but it comes out "may." We were on our way to get the mail so I think that is what he was trying to say. Will still does not talk too much but he constantly amazes me with how much he understands. I don't think there is much that gets by him. For example, he used to only say "dog" when he'd see a dog (or an animal he thought was a dog). The other day, we were in the driveway and I said to Will, "let's go inside and see Zoe." He immediately started saying "dog, dog, dog." I looked around for a dog and then it dawned on me that he was saying "dog" because I had mentioned Zoe! Today on our walk he heard some dogs barking and he barked back, saying, "hoo hoo, dog dog dog, hoo hoo." Such a cutie!

In other adorable news, Will likes to help me clean. He loves the vacuum and he likes to push the mop and broom around the floor. He gets very frustrated, though, when he can't push them on the carpet. If you hand Will a rag or a paper towel he will pretend to wipe either the floor or the table. Pretty soon I'm going to put him to work! Finally, Will absolutely loves brushing his teeth. He often runs to the bathroom after we put his pajamas on. As soon as he sees me grab his toothbrush, he opens up and says "aaaahhhhhhh."