Following the leader (by Daddy)

Corbin and I got to spend a lot of time together this weekend while Angelique was at class. Nothing too exciting to report (trips to Babies R Us and Gymboree) or bad breakdowns.

A game we've started playing over the last couple of weeks is follow the leader, or maybe it would be better to call it monkey see, monkey do. It started a couple weekends ago when Corbin asked for help moving his stool into the middle of the floor. Then he wanted me to stand on it and jump off, and he followed right behind. There are only so many ways you can jump off a stool, so we started making animal sounds before jumping. Corbin does a pretty good monkey, and a great tiger! He never wants to go first, but he sure lets me know if I don't think of the next animal quick enough.

When I saw how well he is starting to imitate, I figured we should expand it to physical gestures to help burn off more energy. So now his favorite game is running circles around the table chasing/being chased by Mommy or preferably Daddy. We'll be airplanes, frogs, kitty cats, doggies, trains . . . We tried red light/green light once, but he seemed to have too much fun running into us after a stop.

He's also singing more and more. This morning on the way to church, we noticed he was mouthing the words to the songs without any prompting. A few he knows better, like Jesus Loves Me, he would join in a little more loudly. When we're at home he wants lots of active songs.

That's enough for a pretty tame weekend. It is fun to watch these new parts of his brain turn on. I just hope we can give him enough stimulation to develop them.

Seminary classes resume

This morning, I had to get Corbin up at 7:30 so that we could walk out the door at 8:15. He was sound asleep, and I can't remember the last time he wasn't allowed to sleep as long as he wanted. When I opened the door and started talking to him, he rolled over onto his back and flung his arm over his head. Then he said, "No, Mommy." LOL! I asked him if he wanted more sleep, to which he said yes. That was certainly a first. I offered to go get him some milk, which he accepted as a reasonable compromise. It was really funny to see him acting just like a teenager! But he didn't seem cranky, and we'd put him to bed by 7:30 the night before. Hopefully we can keep on this new schedule, so Mommy will have more time to get things accomplished at night with an earlier bedtime.

He fussed in the car when we turned right to go to daycare, but after a few whimpers he asked if he could play outside. As long as the playground would be part of his day, Corbin thinks that school is tolerable. :-)

He did something else cute yesterday, but I can't remember what it was. Maybe I'll come back and edit this later.

shopping better than swimming?

This afternoon when Corbin woke up from his nap, we went to the pool. Unfortunately, they no longer have the outdoor pool open. There's no notice of this on their website or their street signs, but in small print on the front door is a sign saying that they don't have enough staff except for Thursdays and Fridays after 4:00. I was pretty unhappy with them, and Corbin was pretty confused. There was no one else at all in the indoor pool, so I felt strange having the only lifeguard's sole attention. Corbin never really got into it, frequently getting out of the pool to look out the windows. We "swam" for about 45 minutes before another little girl came in and requested that the water fountains be turned on. Corbin had put up with that for about five minutes after we arrived before we had them turn it off. For whatever reason, all the water pouring and noise was too scary for him. He enjoyed watching it, but from a safe distance outside the pool.

So we went home and quickly changed shoes. Then we headed to Old Navy for "shopping." Corbin sounded unusally excited about going shopping, but I wasn't going to remind him how much he normally hates it. They have their Halloween costumes on their website now, but not in the store, we found. I was going to check out their monkey costume, but we'll have to go back in a few weeks. Corbin was extremely well-behaved, eating dried apple pieces out of a cup (without spilling any!) and even letting me try shoes on him.

Then we went to Barnes and Noble to play with the train set and read books. Corbin has a tendency to pull books off the shelf that he already has, so it's a challenge to get him to look at something new. We found a firetruck book with a steering wheel on the front that he played with for a long time. I bought him a magnets book to play with during church. I hope it's time-consuming. We also got a "quiet busy book" off e-bay earlier this week, since they were all $30 new. I hope he's content with the zipper, shape matching, etc, since there are more difficult pages like shoe-tying and buttoning that will be sure to frustrate him. Corbin tends to yell when he's frustrated, which won't go over well in church.

All on his own today, Corbin decided to sort his letter magnets by colors in a line (the right line is blue). It was pretty astonishing, although it shouldn't have surprised me. He's certainly thinking that letters are old hat by now!

Today we opened a puzzle I've been saving in his closet, that has real pieces to put together with each other, though it's still wood. I was surprised at how well he did. Not that he was very good at it, but neither was he completely confused by it. The corner pieces were pretty clear to him, even if the rest were jumbled a little. :-)

simple weekend

Friday we went on a playdate with Catherine and Dawson. The boys didn't interact with each other much either at the mall or lunch, but once we went back to their house, Corbin and Dawson became great friends. I imagine it was discovering a common love of running around in a circle over and over and over and over. :-) They went down for naps much later than usual, but that was okay. Catherine's baby is due within a month, and poor Dawson's going to have a tough transition.

Saturday, Daddy took Corbin to Gymboree again. It was our last twice-a-week chance, since my classes start this Thursday. They had a good time, and Corbin played extremely well for the rest of the day. Mommy and Daddy sat in the living room mostly doing their own things while he played with his train set. He's also playing with his stacking cups again, and I'm suprised to see that those are still interesting. But he's getting more creative with all of his toys, which we're thrilled to see. The different sets are getting intermingled.

Today he was extremely good during church and the entire rest of the day. Almost no whining, and lots of smiles. Daddy helped a lot with that, playing fun games like follow the leader or catch. All in all, a really great relaxing weekend!

doing better

The big news is that on Tuesday and Wednesday, Corbin didn't fuss so much when I dropped him off at daycare. He cried when we walked in the door, but calmed down pretty quickly. AND he just waved to me when I left, even smiling and blowing kisses. Wow!! What a change! I hope it sticks!

He's been talking a lot more lately, both in frequency and in longer sentences. His pronunciation still hasn't improved much, so it sounds a lot like the dog on Blue's Clues or the teacher in Charlie Brown. The intonation is right, but the sounds are meaningless. :-) It's cute, but I really would like to understand more.

Yesterday Corbin sang "Jesus Loves Me" with Daddy. And today he kept asking me to sing more, instead of telling me to stop like he had been for the past week. Gymboree days always help that.

Are we back to normal yet?

Ever since Grandma left, Mommy and Daddy have been working overtime to convince Corbin that he has to stop whining. That he can't have everything he wants. That he can't have it immediately. That he can't have it just by making "unh, unh" noises. It's scary how hard it is to undo something he learned so quickly.

Other than that, he's doing great. Today while watching Blue's Clues, he was answering Joe's questions and speaking up in the appropriate places during the songs. I hope he's learning something, because he sits completely still and fixated for the entire 25 minutes. At least he's burning calories during The Wiggles, even if they're not very educational.

Tonight right before dinner it started raining (hooray!), but Corbin was scared of the thunder. I was surprised, because he's never reacted to it before, but then again it's not something he's experienced more than a handful of times this year. He also kept making the sign for "train" when he talked about the "rain," which I thought was quite funny. He certainly knows the difference, so I have no clue why he's put them together like that.

He's been reading his two big lift-the-flap books a lot lately. The Elmo one is his favorite, but the Little People book is also good for a 15 minute period. Mommy and Daddy can't wait until he's ready for books with a plot.

For the first time ever, Corbin told me yesterday that he didn't want a banana for breakfast. It wasn't a huge shock, since he didn't eat the one we peeled yesterday. But still, I was surprised. So he had a breakfast bar and yogurt instead (on Friday), and some eggs today.

Yesterday Mommy had a dinner event at church, so Daddy had Corbin all to himself. Apparently they listened to a lot of classical music. I'm surprised that Corbin is so interested in that, especially compared to all the other kid-targeted stuff he hears every day. He's lucky that we don't have the money for violin classes just yet; I'm sure Daddy would be all over that.

We also spent some time today making words with the letter magnets on the refrigerator. Thank goodness he's not ready to read just yet, but he does seem to find the whole thing completely fascinating. We also worked on pronouncing "Corbin," which saw a tiny bit of improvement.

It was Gymboree day (again), and Corbin is definitely Miss Brandi's teacher's pet. It sure is nice to see him being the model child at something. We just might have to do our two-year-old birthday party there.

Grandma Gets to Stay and Play

Grandma wanted to stay and play a few more days, so Grandpa said he would come back anytime, and Mommy and Daddy said that they would carpool so that she and Corbin could go places. Yea!!

Monday morning we went to our favorite place, the park. Corbin played outside the sandbox until a couple of four year olds came over. They climbed inside and took their shoes off. Corbin asked Grandma to do the same for him. Progress! He had them off approximately 3 minutes and was then "all done." A good start. The swings were full so we had to wait our turn. Corbin wanted to drive the boat or was it a train? Oh good, whatever it was, it was in the shade and Grandma could sit down. He was content to climb around on it for about 15 minutes, so I just sat back and enjoyed watching him. Corbin would always stop his play, long enough to watch, when a plane flew over. Living on an Air Force Base, his daddy would always do the same when he was a toddler. Airplane was one of Greg's first words. Next the swings and then a snack. Corbin climbed a few more minutes and decided it was time to leave. He walked through the exit and I thought he was just wandering around. When I asked him if he wanted to go "bye-bye", he headed for the car. Wow! I guess he was worn out. We made a brief stop at Kroger for fresh fruit, milk, juice, rice pilaf and a roasted chicken, then home for lunch.

After a two hour nap, it was time to go back outside. Just as we walked out the door it started raining, so back inside for 45 minutes of Wiggles. When the rain stopped we went outside to do some weeding and work some good soil into the clay soil. Corbin had his shovel and pail, all ready to help Grandma. I guess the shovel reminded him of a spoon because he put a bite into his mouth. He stuck out his tongue to show me, then with his little muddy hands, proceeded to wipe his tongue off. I wiped it off with his shirt then headed to the water faucet for a good rinsing. He wasn't the least bit upset by the episode and seemed excited to "discover" the faucet. That night, after Corbin's bath, there was a dirty ring around the tub.



At bedtime, Daddy read to Corbin from his favorite book. Corbin's baby book, complete with all the people who love him most.



The next morning, Tuesday, we went to Barnes and Noble to play with the choo-choo train and read. What fun! He climbed on my lap and we read some of the same books that belonged to Daddy when he was a little boy. Corbin was familiar with them from Grandma's house. We stayed there for about an hour, then on to do some "Grandma shopping." One shop owner of a store that we visit often, commented on how much Corbin had grown. We were last there in June. She has spools of chain for him to unwind and rewind while Grandma browses. Nearing lunch/nap time, we started home. While Grandma unloaded the car, Corbin headed to the newly discovered water faucet. I don't know why his daddy hadn't shown it to him before. ;-)

Wednesday morning we got up and fixed scrambled eggs again and also had banana and milk. This child loves scrambled eggs. Then we went outside to trim a shrub. Time and the heat didn't allow for us to do more. Ruth, the widow across the street, came over for a visit. She told me how much she has enjoyed watching Corbin and his Daddy walk up and down the sidewalk. She said, "I can tell how proud he is of him." She told me a little about her 4 children and her grandchildren as we watched Corbin play in the dirt. He seemed to have brightened her day. It was now time to go inside for juice and a snack. Corbin then ran the Roomba and chased the kitty cat around for awhile. Poor Chocolate.

When Corbin awoke from his nap, Grandpa was there, ready to play. We changed clothes and left for The Dallas World Aquarium. Arriving at 3:00, we went through at Corbin's pace. Sometimes really fast, over looking many things, and sometimes really slow. Everyone had a favorite exhibit. Grandpa liked the sharks, Grandma liked the penquins and Corbin liked the big kitty cat (black Jaguar). He stood and watched it for the longest. People around us enjoyed watching the cute little baby in the scrubs. Actually, he was my favorite too. Twenty-one months old today.



A little after 5:00, we walked to a nearby restaurant and met Daddy and Mommy for dinner. As the visit came to an end, Grandma, Grandpa and Corbin walked to where their car was parked and Daddy met them to retrieve the car seat and of course, Corbin. In the near empty parking lot, Corbin befriended many birds (pigeons). Daddy helped him to share his stars, and the birds walked in closer and closer. Oh, how exciting! They were so close, he could almost touch them. It didn't take long for a dozen pigeons to eat all the food Corbin had to offer.


Saying our final good-byes, Corbin was strapped in, hugs and kisses shared, and we went our separate ways. Until next time, may God Bless our family in Coppell.

The Wiggles Concert

The concert started at 5:30, so we left the house at 4:30 and got to the Nokia Theatre in time to stand in line for souvineers. Corbin now has a new khaki hat that says "The Wiggles" on the front. There were lots of other things to buy, like t-shirts, toys, and CDs. It was very hard to get Corbin to be patient, because he wanted to run around and explore the whole lobby.

On every chair when we arrived inside was a sticker sheet and big picture of the stage. Corbin did really well putting all the Wiggles characters onto it. I didn't even know he could use stickers like that. He's still playing with it a day later, so the stickers must be intentionally removable. Henry is now missing most of his legs, though.

Since we were a little early, I was relieved to see that they were showing Wiggles episodes on the big screens to either side of the stage. Corbin enjoyed watching those until they interrupted for some logistics announcements. Stuff like, tie your balloons down low, and stay with your child at all times. Don't videotape the show. They did say not to use cameras, but absolutely everyone was taking pictures.

Most people seemed to be there with their entire families. I didn't notice any other single parents, although I also didn't notice any other children without at least one sibling in tow. The people beside us and in front of us both had babies who had to suffer through the loud concert. We had a great seat on the aisle, about halfway back and slightly to the right side.

Corbin was a little freaked out by the whole environment. He was fairly happy until the announcements were made loudly and the lights started flashing. Then he told me that he was "all done" and wanted to "go" now. When the Wiggles finally came out on stage, he was watching the screens instead of them. When Jeff came out into the aisles to wave at kids, he came right by our seat! Corbin did get excited about that and started to pay more attention. Their first song was "Big Red Car," but Corbin was still unsure whether he liked the loud music.

Mommy offered him a sandwich, which was treated like a security blanket. He was fairly content while he was eating it, even though he couldn't do any dance moves while holding it. On a couple of his favorite songs, he'd put it down so he could groove along, but he nibbled on it throughout most of the concert. Many times he wouldn't start dancing until the song was almost over, then he protested for "more."

During the second half of the show, he got very wiggly and cranky. I'm sure some of it was just about being confined to one spot, but he wanted to climb up and down Mommy's lap, into and out of his chair, on and off the floor. I was very glad I'd purchased two seats, even though he spent 80% of the time in my lap. Thankfully the show moved at a very fast pace, and there was constantly something new to distract him. The guys didn't do much dialogue between songs, and it was always kept short.

The show didn't actually start until 5:50, twenty minutes after we expected. So it was about 7:15 when it was over. I was suprised that so many families got up and walked out as soon as they announced the last song. Their kids must have been pretty upset with that decision. We were busy waving for a long time and gathering our stuff together. In the lobby we were going to get a balloon, but there was a very long line and the balloons were $3, which I thought was too high.

We knew all the songs, which I was concerned about. The whole thing was very similar to the Hot Potato concert video, with just a few older songs mixed in. Overall, it wasn't an awful experience, but it certainly wasn't worth $90. Of course, there was really no way to know ahead of time how he'd react. But in another year or so, we'll be looking forward to their next tour.

A Very Busy Day for Corbin

Today, Saturday, was Corbin's Gymboree day. Grandma knew where it was located and asked if she could take him. Mommy and Daddy stayed home while Grandma, Grandpa and Corbin had all the fun. The "big people" were supposed to keep their "favorite little person" within a hugs reach. Yeah, right. I can't move as fast has he can. It was High/Low day so we were climbing, jumping, and reaching high, and lying, crawling and reaching low. We had so much fun! Afterwards, we met Mommy and Daddy at Jason's Deli, nearby. After lunch, Mommy and Corbin went home for a nap, while Daddy, Grandma and Grandpa went into Dallas to shop for stained glass.

With some play time around the house and a little time watching the Wiggles video, Corbin was ready to go to his first Wiggles concert.
Daddy and Grandma took Corbin and Mommy to the Nokia Theatre in Grand Prairie, TX, dropped them off and watched them disappear in a mass of parents and little people. A couple of hours later Grandma stood out front and waited for her favorite little wiggle, to direct them to Daddy's car. I saw many little ones screaming and crying, wanting to go back inside to watch more. I finally spotted Corbin's yellow t-shirt and he appeared quite content to be leaving.

Off to See Mommy and Daddy

Friday, we started getting ready to go home to see Mommy and Daddy. So many things to do, so little time. First things, first. Corbin and Grandma went outside to water the plants. A little water on the tomatoes, a little on Corbin, a little water on the fern, a little on Corbin, a little on the geranium, a little on Corbin...

In the mean time, Grandpa was getting the car ready. When he tried to start it to go get gas, it wouldn't start. He had just taken it Thursday afternoon to the Buick dealer to get a "special" $125.00 battery that the car "had" to have. So, back to the shop with the LeSabre. Everything now had to be crammed into the Prius. Grandpa told Grandma she had to scale back on things. When everything was stacked just right, there was plenty of room. Even for Corbin.

The trip wasn't too bad, but not one of our best. Corbin asked to get out of his car seat several times and had only a 30 minute nap. We finally made it to Coppell where Corbin had plenty of hugs and kisses for his parents. He played and wiggled a lot to make up for the 5 plus hours on the road.

Corbin Loves the Great Outdoors

Corbin woke this morning happy and full of energy. I told him we would go outside as soon as he finished his breakfast. He was so eager, we just decided to finish the milk in his swing. After about an hour, we went inside where Corbin walked on the treadmill with Grandpa. We stayed in the house as long as we could, then went outside to watch Grandpa mow the lawn. Sitting on the ramp of the storage building was a shady place to watch Grandpa and have his mid-morning snack of juice and string cheese.


For lunch we went to Chick-Fil-A and had 3 nuggets, milk and 1/2 cup of strawberries. Grandma smuggled in the berries because they never seem to give enough. Of course we spent some time in Play Land. Sharing doesn't seem to come easily for Corbin, but with a little encouragement, he always comes around.

As soon as we got home, Corbin was ready for a nap. Grandma finished 1 hour of "must do" chores then went to Corbin's room and napped on the daybed. After sleeping for 1 1/4 hours, he woke up and looked around. I told him to lay his head down and go to sleep, and he did. For the next hour, he slept, talked, played quitely and watched me, but never cried or asked to get out. He was so sweet to watch and listen to.

After a little floor time and dinner, it was time for the sprinkler. He noticed Grandpa with the rake and wheelbarrow and insisted on helping. What a sweet boy! He then helped Grandma fill a pot with dirt. He picked up 3 "Flowering Crab Apple" seeds and planted them. If they sprout, next year he can help me plant one in the ground. Then back to the sprinkler to rinse the dirt off. A neighbor, Angel, came over and asked if he wanted a sandbox that her boys had outgrown. It has a cover so that animals can't get into it, so we said yes. Next visit, he'll have one more outdoor thing to play with. He was so proud of it he showed his appreciation by "letting" her play in the sprinkler. When she started to leave he told her "thank you" and "bye-bye". Other neighbors, Gina and Bailey Williams, brought their little dog over for him to pet. Sammie Girl was very hyper, so Corbin visited with her while in my arms. He did manage to give her a couple of pats and then told them bye-bye.

After his bath we were reading a book and drinking milk. At 7:50 I asked him if he was ready for bed. He said "no." I asked, "What do you want to do?" He folded his tiny little hands and said "pay". I took him to his bedroom and said a prayer for his Mommy and Daddy, his Nana and Papa, and his Grandma and Grandpa. He grabbed me around the neck and said "Amen!". What a blessing this child is.

More Joys of Grandparenting

Corbin woke up this morning in such a pleasant mood. He helped Grandma make scrambled eggs with cheese. He and Grandpa shared a banana, although I think he could have finished a whole one by himself. As soon as we were all dressed, we headed for the library. Corbin worked a puzzle, "read" some books and then explored the children's area. It was okay for a short while but when Grandma asked him if he was ready to go to the park, he started looking for the door.

At Creekmore he swung for a while, then played on the Fort. A 24 month old girl named Anna wanted to be friends with Corbin, but she was a little too aggressive for him. Everywhere Corbin went, she followed. Everything he played with, she wanted to play with. It was obvious that she was annoying him. When it was time to leave, Corbin handed her his sunglasses and gave her a hug, so I guess she won him over. Her mother thanked him and put his glasses back on him. I love happy endings.

On our way to "Eunice's" we sang "Happy Birthday to Mommy" several times. That put a big smile on Corbin's face. We had lunch with Great-Grandma and Great-Grandpa Waggoner. It's hard to eat with so many people fussing over you. He was a sweetie though. If he didn't have a hug for you, he gave a high-five.

Next stop Wal-Mart. We exchanged the case of size 4 Pampers for size 5's and Corbin selected a nice bunch of bananas. He is such a helper. I don't know what I'll do without him. Shortly after we returned home, he took an hour and a half nap. We played inside until time for Bible class.

Corbin picked up where he left off Sunday evening, playing with the toys that he had mastered. He answered all the questions Mrs. Nancy asked, right on cue and even answered for others if they didn't respond. She properly thanked him for being such a good student and helper and invited him to come back soon. Of course bedtime was a little late, but he was sound asleep by 8:45.

Yes, Mommy and Daddy, he has asked about you both, but I just tell him that you are at home, change the subject, and start having more fun. He's only asked a couple of times, but don't worry, I wouldn't let him cry for you.

day two

Corbin got up with a smile shortly after 8:00 and had a breakfast of a banana and milk. That is all he wanted. He was a little crankier than Sunday. I think his tummy was not quite right.

We got him dressed and played and watched some Sesame Street. Then we went outside for about 20 to 30 minutes and played in the shade blowing bubbles and looking for kitty cats. I think it was too hot for the cats. We soon came back in because it was too hot for us, too.

Corbin had a lunch of turkey and strawberry applesauce. He went right down for his nap.

We played pretty big with the Fisher Price Zoo, big ball, piano, and reading books. We also played some on the computer and looked as Corbin's photos on the web site while he drew on paper with a pencil today.

Shortly after his one and a half hour nap, we watched a Wiggles VHS that was taped from the morning. He enjoyed that.

Sad to say, we were having a great time listening and singing to a Fisher Price audio tape, singing along to a happy song to which he was moving along to, when he came happily running over to me and bit my leg hard! I am convinced he did not do it maliciously. I think he was just as surprised as I was. I remembered that you said he was bitten at his day care last week. I popped him on his bottom and sternly said, "NO!" He looked very remorseful and immediately began to sob. I let him cry for about 30 seconds and then couldn't take it any longer. I picked him up and cuddled him. We talked about it and he said it hurt and looked at my leg. Poor kid. My leg was still hurting over an hour later. We read a book to calm down and then played happily. We prayed about it when I put him to bed for the night.

Papa Cole came home and we went to Market Place for supper. Corbin ate chicken tenders, strawberries, some french fries and milk. Afterwards we went to the mall to play in their playground for about 20 minutes. There were a lot of big children there also trying to stay out of the heat. Corbin would prefer to have the place all to himself.

Afterwards we came home and had a good time in the bathtub and read some good books before bedtime at 8:00.


Maybe it's just me, but the whole biting thing isn't a big deal. I'm surprised he hasn't done it before, actually. Most toddlers go through this phase, and Corbin's not normally agressive. So long as he doesn't get results, I don't think he'll make it a habit. But I'm very proud of Nana for spanking him! :-) Maybe he'll only come home 95% spoiled.

Too much fun?

I didn't think Corbin would ever get to our house, but finally, around 1:30 he arrived. Of course he had to run around the house and get reaquainted with everything, then it was nap time. At 2:00 he went to sleep and didn't wake until 3:30. We played in the house for a while then Grandpa had the bright idea of going outside. Corbin didn't have to be asked twice to go get his shoes.


He pulled his wagon out into the yard but as soon as he spotted his swing he was ready to be swung. More, more, higher, higher...

When I asked if he wanted to join Grandpa in the hammock, he thought he would give it a try. Hey, this is pretty cool! Swinging while lying down.

Grandma needed help picking the red tomatoes and fortunately Corbin knows his colors. He picked 9 red tomatoes and 1 green tomato for an even 10. After taking the tomatoes inside to be washed, Grandma and Corbin played follow the leader. We took turns being the leader. During this time, Grandpa watched a cheesy Sci-Fi and never said anything while we walked passed the TV. After a dinner of roasted chicken, peas, squash and strawberries, we all went back outside for more fun.


Corbin spotted the water sprinkler and wanted to play in it. He ran through about 100 times and pulled Grandma into it many times. Each time he ran through, he would sign "more" and then run back through. We were both soaked and just considered that our pre-bath.

The clock on the wall said it was time to go in, bathe, drink some milk, read books and brush teeth, so we did. Corbin sat on Grandma's lap while Grandpa brushed his teeth. He opened his mouth really big for Grandpa. After hugging and kissing us both, he said "bye-bye" and took off walking down the hall. I followed after him, got another big hug and laid him down. He never made a sound. What a great day!