Dax's Journal

Those of you who've been following along have noticed that Cat has been capturing a few of his favorite memories of Dax from 2006. For my "end of the year" entry I thought I'd try to capture some of Dax's favorite things in general because it might be fun to look back on it next year and see how much he's changed.

Now, these are obviously not Dax's Favorite Things of 2006 as the things a toddler loves are fleeting and change as frequently as Britney Spear's hair color .

A Few of His Favorite Things (which could change tomorrow)

Color: Red

Number: 4

Movie: Cars

TV Show: Since we got the Cars DVD Dax has been pretty disinterested in watching pretty much anything else (although I did get him to watch the Disney Robin Hood DVD that Aunt Carol and Uncle David sent and he enjoyed that very much - THANK GOODNESS). And while The Wiggles once ruled the roost in terms of television viewing, I believe that the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse may have surpassed it. He hasn't abandoned the Wiggles entirely, he just doesn't watch them as religiously as he used to. He's also fond of Charlie and Lola and, for reasons unfathomable to me, Thomas the Tank Engine.

Book: He has six favorites running right now. Two of them are Cars books: "Old, New, Red, Blue" and "Driving Buddies". The others are Nemo books that came together in a little pack and they are called "Numbers", "Colors", "Shapes", and "Opposites" (which, when he says it, sounds like "O puppets").

Song: Life is a Highway by Rascal Flats (because it is from the Cars movie).

Toy: Again, there are a few. His wooden train set (including his new waterfall tunnel and all his collected train cars) is definitely one of his favorites. Of course he has several Cars toys and he loves them all (he even takes his matchbox cars to bed with him). He got a Thomas the Tank Engine laptop for Christmas which he loves (and I also love because it keeps his grubby paws off of my laptop). The Tickle Me Elmo still makes him laugh and laugh despite frequent usage. He's also a huge fan of playdough.

Food: This is a tough one, too, because he has become an incredibly picky eater and on any given day he may decide that he hates all food. I think yogurt is the only thing he consistently will not refuse if offered so let's go with that.

Phrase: "Mommy/Daddy is happy!" This is also known in our house as the "Toddler Jedi Mind Trick". Dax employs this tactic when a parental unit is getting stern with him because he's misbehaving. Or if he intends to misbehave so he figures he'll convince you ahead of time that you're in a good mood so maybe you won't mind so much.

Animal: Hard to tell, really. He gets most excited about cows but I think that's because he so enjoys telling you what a cow says. His "moo" is inspired. He also seems fond of monkeys, sheep, and horses for much the same reason. He isn't into stuffed animals at all but Cat bought him some little plastic animals for Christmas that he seems to be enjoying (a cow, a horse, and a sheep). And recently when we gave his room a teensy makeover in order to make it a place in which he would happily want to go to bed we let him pick out some wall stickers and he picked out some big, bright fish. I think it is safe to say this category is wide open.

Candy: Finally, an easy one. Candy canes. This is the only candy, in fact, that he will eat. He likes them very much. So much, in fact, that he requested them for breakfast this morning. He got Cheerios instead.

Musical Instrument: Drums, of course, with violins being a close second. He loves to play the drums with daddy and he's not too bad at it for a two-year-old. As for the violin, he not only can recognize one by sight but he knows one when he hears it in a song.

Favorite Place to Unwind After a Long Hard Day at Daycare: When the weather cooperates, we often top off the day with a visit to one of the parks near Dax's daycare before we head home. As soon as we walk in the door, however, Dax wants three things: milk in a red cup, his blanket (which he calls buddy), and a cuddle on the couch.