My kid is almost three feet tall!

How did that happen? He's so tall, in fact, that I'm putting his crib on eBay. See, the whole transition back into the crib thing didn't go over well (in the sense that he hasn't yet mastered climbing out, but he easily puts his leg up over the edge and straddles the bars precariously - until we catch him so he doesn't fall and crack his head on the wood floor). Every time I put him in the crib, he races to straddle the bars and get up and over. So the expensive round crib that was supposed to be a "happy nest" for our baby reminding him of the softness and coziness of the womb never did get that kid sleeping.

If he's going to sleep in our bed anyway, I may as well make some space to play in his room. So we are officially co-sleepers! Aside from moving around and talking a lot in his sleep, which doesn't seem to bother him but bothers us, the kid sleeps much better than he ever did alone. We could turn his crib into a child's single bed, but the extension for that costs something like 500 Euros, and since we plan on leaving Italy next year, that doesn't make much sense. We did find a basic toddler bed at IKEA (it's called Kritter and comes in all different colors but he likes the one above with a cat and dog on the headboard), and have been trying to get him used to the idea of sleeping in a "big boy bed." We took him to IKEA and let him jump all over it.

He's gotten so big in many other ways as well. The other night he and I were sitting at the dinner table having dinner, which is unusual because I usually feed him early and then eat when Cristiano gets home, but Cristiano was coming home especially late. In any case, at one point, I realized we were having an actual CONVERSATION. Dinner conversation. With Dylan. How crazy is that? Granted, he doesn't speak in full sentences but he can half carry on a conversation, referencing things that happened to him throughout the day. Like he told me, "Mommy, cat under the car!" and I knew he was talking about a cat we saw run under a parked car that day. So I said, "Yeah, did you see that cat run under the car?" and he said "Careful cat!" That's kind of a conversation, right?

The naughty mat really works! It's funny because now when he does something he knows he's not supposed to be doing, he will point out that it's time for him to go on the naughty mat. Last night I was trying to cook dinner and watch him at the same time. At one point I had my back turned to him but he called for me, and I turned around to see him standing on top of the back of the couch perfectly poised to fall and crack his head on our wood floor. That seems to be a common theme with him. He smiled broadly and said "Mommy, Not Mat!" He dutifully sat his two minutes and when it was time to get up and I asked him if he knew why he went on the naughty mat, he got a very serious face and told me "Mommy says 'no, no, no'." Yep, that's usually why he goes on the naughty mat - for doing something for which I said "no, no, no."

Pictures coming back to Il Dylan soon. Rumor has it that I'm getting a digital camera for my birthday. Dylan has been practicing saying "Happy Birthday, mommy" all week, and if he can pull it off, it will be my best birthday present ever. Aww. I'm a sap. I know. But it's a baby blog, so what do you expect?