Teddy is 20 Months Old!

Teddy is 20 month old. OK... confession.... as I type this, Teddy is actually 21 months old. We went to Canada the day after he turned 20 months old and I forgot to update the blog! So, here is the "update" from a month ago. The biggest change for Teddy this past month was his new toddler bed. We are thrilled at how easily he has transitioned to his little bed. I am also thrilled at how easy it is to change the sheets and make a toddler bed! This month Teddy continued to grow and add new words to his vocabulary. He knows most of his friends by names and even recognizes some of their houses when we get there. He is tons of fun to play with but he is also still very cuddly and loves to snuggle. We love this little guy SO much!

August Happenings

It is still REALLY hot here but we are enjoying the rest of our summer. And what's better in the blazing heat than some hot wings:

and a walk by the river:

We had our final family trip to the botanical gardens on the day that our membership expired:

Teddy enjoyed the water part:

and snacks:

Another summer treat: fresh corn on the cob from the farmer's market. Yum Yum!

My aunts drove through town again on their way home and my family went out to dinner with them (I was unfortunately not able to join them). Apparently the world's cheesiest baby was able to go:

And his father gave him chocolate mousse:

LOTS and lots of chocolate mousse:

"I'm glad my mommy isn't here. She'd never let me have so much fun!"

Someone else is having fun... with their summer crops. Check out the popcorn grown here in our very own front yard:

And here is the happy farmer with his net harvest (we are saving it for a special occasion):

Other crops we are currently harvesting at the Hoschek Family Farm include green beans:

and green beans... EXTRA LARGE:

August also means birthday parties around here. We started the month celebrating with two of our favorite 8-year-olds. Here Teddy enjoys the "big swing" at Cameron's birthday party:

But the best part of a party, of course, is the cupcakes:

"Maybe Mommy does let me make messes after all."

I had to snap a photo of Teddy and Shae in their coordinating outfits:

We got to celebrate our other favorite 8-year-old's birthday at her pool party. Here is cousin Maggie with her soccer cake:

Shae got to debut his new bathing suit (did you guess that Teddy picked it out?):

We love a good pool party!

And of course we love chocolate cake!

Teddy got a turn at the pinata:

Here he is "shhhhh'ing" us when we are getting excited:

When it is simply too hot to play outside, Teddy has been hanging out inside with his buddies:

But the highlight of this month was definitely when cousin "Ol-i-ger" came to visit:

(Oh yeah, he brought Aunt Sammie, too). Go Cubs!

This August Teddy's Grandma Judy and Grandpa Bud celebrated their 44th wedding anniversary! Here is Teddy with the cake we made them (would you believe me if I blamed Teddy for the way the cake looks?):

The cute couple:

All of this summer fun is tiring, but we save time to relax too:

Here are a few videos showing Teddy's latest obsession. These days, the first thing he says when he wakes up is "Letters! Letters!" (It used to be Elmo and then it was books).

Lastly, here is Shae trying to solicit a performance from Teddy. Of course, right before taking this video, Teddy was happily singing along. Oh well!

Did you notice the common theme in these two videos? Teddy obviously enjoys watching himself in the videos on our camera!! Gotta love those videos of "Baby Teddy!"

Surprise!

After I heard about the Leapfrog video "The Letter Factory" from some other moms, I bought it at a garage sale for five dollars. On the days when I had not showered before Teddy woke up, I had been putting him in the pack-n-play and letting him watch an Elmo video while I showered. (That means he was watching the Elmo video at least 3 times a week). I figured the Letter Factory video would be a little better than Elmo. Well, lately he has been asking to watch "the froggie" and so he has watched it almost daily for a few weeks. I didn't think much about it. But the other day, when I went into the room, I realized he was saying some of the lines of the movie- before they said them. It occurred to me for the first time that maybe he has learned (or memorized) some of the sounds of the letters. So I asked him what an "A" says.. and I was a little surprised he knew it. Then I asked about the "B"... you see where this is going? Guess what???? He knows the sound to every single letter!!! Now I don't think this means he is a genius (it is too early to know that, right?) but the reason I was most shocked was because he knows the sounds of the entire alphabet, and I had no idea!!!! It makes me start to wonder... what else does he already know? Anyway, I quickly grabbed the camera when I realized he knew them all. Here is our little smarty pants:

(ps.. he does know the "L" too, he he he... )