WW--feel safer knowing he's on call?

(And, no, I don't know why this fireman needs to have a kitchen timer with him at all times...)

You can't hide poop (for long)

A little lesson Bug learned this morning...

If you're playing hide & seek with your mom, it's best to STOP the game and go to the bathroom than poop your pants and be found immediately. Even if your hiding spot is a good one the odor will give you away.

4 across: another word for mom

I do crossword puzzles every so often but there was a time when I did them more frequently. Now doing a puzzle feels like a bit of a treat. Typically, I'll settle in on the couch with a pen and a puzzle while Bug is busy watching Diego or or playing with his cars. Lately, he's noticed what I'm doing and wants to be  part of it. So he will join me on the couch to "practice" his letters. I hand over my pen and show him where to put which letters when if I know the answer to a clue.

Of course, there are times when I'm not in the mood for his help but last night after his bath and right before bed, it was nice to snuggle up with my little guy on the couch. A word that takes me a couple of seconds to write down can be a couple of minutes (or more) for Bug to complete. I love seeing his big letters in the little squares. If a word has two of the same letter, he'll often use an upper case and a lower case so he doesn't "get bored." Rs are a big challenge for him and they look less like the letter itself and more like something you would see under a microscope in biology class. For now, if I see a clue: 4 across, eight letters, "another word for Mom," I'll immediately put PATIENCE.