Big Boy Blues

Rooney is becoming such a big boy. He is talking now. Not with words so much, but with his hands. All of a sudden his signing has taken off and it is absolutely amazing to me that all needs can be fulfilled with 4 or 5 simple signs. When you think about it what else does anyone really need to know other than: 1. Help 2. Eat 3. More 4. Milk and 5. All done. When you go to the bathroom in your pants & fall asleep where & when ever you want, there really isn't much more to say. Just in case, he can also tell you Yes or No with a simple head nod.

Not only is he talking, but as you can see, he is exploring the world with his own little laptop (he's surfing the web with Mom. He's he one on the left.)

Being a big boy is alot of work. You start getting all these new responsibilities dumped on you. Besides all the yakking, you are expected to start feeding yourself, sit still occasionally, carry your own books, and the worst of all...walk all by yourself! Thank goodness for Rooney he tackled that whole walking issue and got a car.

Conveniently it has a parent push-bar on the back. That's for when he's too tired to Fred Flintstone it.

After all those responsibilities, sometimes you just need to kick back and take a little time for yourself.

Ahhhhhhhhh!

The Many Names of Rooney Wade

Dusting off the old quill and parchment to bring you another post. If you've spent a lot of time around either Susan or her sister, you've probably received a new nickname. And, not to toot my own horn, but I've bestowed quite a few sobriquets in my time.

So I'd like to take this opportunity to list and explain some of them. This way, 30 years from now, we'll understand WHY Rooney is known as "Sweet-Angel-Bear-Lamby-Kitten".
Yes, this is one of the "affectionate" (or as a more cynical member of the house may say "girly" (that Rocco is so cruel)) names Susan gave to Rooney. There are others as well; I think Baby Bear is one of the more commonly used ones. Of course, this must get confusing to the other small gentlemen in our house, who have also been referred to as Baby Bear. Similarly, we have Mr. Barky Pants (Courage when he's acting up) and Mr. Fussy Pants (Rooney when he's acting up). And when Susan and I talk about what Rooney was up to that day, we often refer to him as either "The Boy" or "His Highness".

Then there is the class of names that are derivations of Rooney. There's been Rooney Toons, Roonster, Roons, and Prunes. A name that's seen a lot of circulation lately is Roonald. I really like this one: it's the unofficial formal form for Rooney. I also throw in Rodney on occasion, just so that when school starts Rooney will know to answer his teachers on the first day.

Finally, there's a goup of names that have no explanation (aside from the ones that I give).

• Shinsy: When we put Rooney into his car seat or high chair, sometimes his pants ride up to his knees, exposing his shins.
• Flo-Jo: Sometimes, though, only one leg would ride up, leaving him looking something like the famed track star (sort of)
• Fat Joe: When Rooney is sitting too far forward in his car seat and I need to strap him in, I often tell him to "lean back, Fat Joe"
• Bama: I gave this one to Rooney one day at the dinner table after he stuffed an entire handful of goldfish in his mouth. I called him the "Cramma from Alabama", or the "Alabama Cramma". This was later shortened to just "Bama".

It's Rooney Wade not Wayne Rooney

This morning was Rooney's first soccer class. The class is for 18mo to 2 year old kids. Roonster was definitely one of the youngest kids, if not thee youngest, and it seemed to me some of the other kids had already been in this class before. That was OK and Rooney seemed really intrigued by them. Especially this one little boy with a mohawk. I have to admit his haircut gave me some ideas for Rooney's next one.

There were also kids in this class who's parents were real hardcore. You could tell they were already working with their kids on "no hands" and kicking. This one little boy was decked out in a whole soccer outfit, including little Adidas indoor soccer shoes! I was intimidated by this kid. Rooney seemed to really enjoy playing with the ball. I tried to work with him on "no hands". I'm not sure if he was really getting it or maybe he really just liked the goalie position. He did end up running and kicking the ball and he laughed alot, so I think we had a good time.

It's A Bird...It's A Plane...It's Super Dave

Today I am going to deviate from talking about Rooney. I really want to talk about him but yesterday was a special day and we should give yesterday its very own post. So here we go...on April 12th Rooney's cousin Dave was born!

Happy Birthday Super Dave!

David Alexander

Week in Review

"So let me get this right, he's not allowed to eat peanut butter?"






Courage ready to Superfly Snuka Rooney and Cuyler








"Man, these are the best crackers." "Have you tried these crackers?"







Easter Morning: Trail of Babies