Tonight's Post Brought To You By The Letters "N" and "O"

How can such a small word drive me so crazy? Artem has mastered the word "no" and we hear it ALL.DAY.LONG! I guess now that Artem's been home for four months, he figures he's pretty well settled in and gets to really test us. I've tried to get him to say "no ma'am" or "no thank you" and occasionally he will say those but mostly it's just "no" along with a foot stomp and arms crossed over his chest. "Artem it's time to go inside...NO", "Artem it's time to clean up...NO", Artem please be gentle with the dog...NO". ARGHHH!! And just to really push me over the edge, he's learned to put his finger to his lips and say, "shhhh" and he did that to me the other day when I asked him to do something. The naughty spot has seen a lot of action this week and looks like it might be occupied for some time to come if that word doesn't let up.

On the flip side I got my first real hug this week. The tight squeeze, head on my shoulder, kind of hug and once they started, I've been getting them everyday since. Artem is also really into giving kisses to me and Randy and he's getting a lot better with closing his lips when he kisses, which is very appreciated by mommy and daddy. His affectionate side is really coming out now.

On the attachment front, Artem has not held his hands up to anyone in two weeks and several people have tried to pick him up and he has turned away from them and grabbed onto Randy's leg or to me. We met some friends for dinner this past week and Artem fell and started crying. Randy picked him up to console him and Artem turned towards me and held out his hands. I took him and Artem held onto me and put his head on my shoulder and cried. Up until this week Artem would not let me console him after he got hurt. I've always tried to console him and fuss over him when he gets hurt but he has always pushed me away and shook his head "no" and fought to get away from me. But now, when he's hurt, he's seeking me for comfort. Yes!! Another baby step.

We have a new nickname for Artem..."Pete and Repeat". We have learned the hard way this week that our little Myna bird is getting very good with his repeating skills. The three of us were outside and I had the lucky job of picking up the dog poo and Artem started saying his favorite word, "kaka". Randy said, "yep, mama is picking up Bella's turd" and wouldn't you know, clear as day, Artem says, "turd". Nice. He did redeem himself later on when he learned the word "ant" from reading his "I Spy" book with daddy. But I think his new favorite word this week is "naked". When he gets out of the tub he runs to Randy yelling, "ninny" (naked) and then takes off down the hall yelling "ninny" over and over again. I was shopping this week at the mall and we went into the Gap. They had all of their male mannequins stripped bare and lined up in a row and as soon as Artem saw them he yelled, "Ninny!!"

Artem said his name for the first time today. It's so cute and I want to get it on video. I point to myself and say, "what's my name?" and Artem will say, "mama". I point to Randy and say, "who is that?" and he'll say, "dada" and then I say, "what is your name?" and he says, "Ar-em" with a big smile. He almost has the "t" in the middle.

We have a special guest coming to our house for a visit on Monday. Melissa is coming to town and will be taking our family pictures while she is stayingn with us. We are so excited to have professional pictures done rather than my amateur pictures. Until we can post her pictures of us, you will have to settle for a few snap shots.

Kisses for daddy:


Dinner at the lake, watching the boats:


New water shoes for upcoming lake trip and an afternoon downpour equals fun splashing around with daddy:








Artem's favorite thing to do is read. He never brings us toys to play with, he brings books and loves to sit in our laps and be read to. I was reading in the front room and captured Artem and Randy reading "Goodnight Moon" together.