Awesome

The little guy noticed that there was some grass on the floor (from daddy's boots) yesterday morning. Not only did he get right on it, he did a pretty good job!

Trains!

Ever since watching a video starring a really long train, the little dude has been building really long trains.

Woah! That's a long train!

He Never Stops!

The little guy is talking up a storm, and now he's almost never quiet. He just talks... it's a stream of consciousness style narrative of his life. He's remembering stuff from a while ago now, too, so there are random memories thrown in there on occasion.

About this time last year, all food was "cracker" to him. He'd say cracker, we'd give him a cracker, and he'd burst into tears. It was awful. I try to remember how far we've come when he starts in with the "I want more milk. More milk please. In my cup. The milk is over there. In the refrigerator. I open it. The one with the green lid. It's right there mommy! See it?"

Yikes!

The little booger is not only dressing himself now, he's picking out his own clothes. Yesterday he wore his dinosaur pajama top underneath a clashing short-sleeved shirt to daycare because "it's a little chilly outside... not a big chilly, just a little chilly." Tonight he changed into this to toss a football around the yard:

Usually his choices are pretty wacky, but this was spot-on. Look at him!

Spring!

It's going to be cold tonight, but spring is in the air! To celebrate, the little guy has been playing baseball! He seems to have inherited an unfortunate combination-- his father's love of the sport and his mother's athletic ability. *sigh*

Hearts and Spoons

The little dude leapt out the front door Friday morning and then tripped and smashed his nose on the top step while simultaneously bruising his forehead on the railing. Later that day he fell up or off (it's unclear) the slide at school and busted up his chin. There were no other major injuries this weekend, so that's a relief.

Anyway, tonight at dinner the little guy said "Daddy has a heart and Mommy has a heart." Neither one of us knew what brought that on, but we agreed that we do indeed have hearts. Then he smiled and said "I have a spoon!" That's when we realized that he'd said we had forks, not hearts. Right.

Squee!

We've mentioned a time or two that the little booger loves to watch the big kids across the street play basketball. They were outside playing when we got home today, so we sat on the steps to watch as usual. Something was different tonight, though, because after a few minutes one of the big kids ran over and asked if he wanted to come over and play!

The little dude was so awestruck that he just looked down and shook his head no. I swear he blushed. About a minute later, though, he changed his mind and headed across the street. One of our neighbors had a small, foam basketball and a toddler-height basket that he set out just for my little guy. The little stinkpot was so happy he glowed! (I was pretty thrilled, too. What great kids!)

Anyway, I didn't take any pictures of him playing with the big kids so here's one of him trying to sled down our hill after dinner.

That was a bit less successful that his amazing basketball adventure.

Daylight Savings

I love daylight savings time. It's sooooo nice to have it be light out after dinner and into the evening. The little dude and Sadie took advantage tonight and watched the big kids across the street play basketball.

Note to self: Wash the windows!

Animals!

Animals seem to be a theme from our trip... The little guy got to meet my parents' fish,

my brother and sister-in-law's cat,

and our friends' dog!

Two Zoos!

We went to two zoos on our trip: the Riverbanks Zoo in Columbia, South Carolina, and the Junior Museum (or whatever it's fancy new name is) in Tallahassee. The little dude loved both-- especially the playgrounds. So, here are a bunch of photos from both zoos!

Laughing at goats! Goats are the best animal ever.

Super-Tourist!

There's an elephant in this picture... down at the bottom left.

This slide made his life! He still talks about it over a week later.

Here we are leaving at closing time. We shut the place down.

The Junior Museum is a bit more laid-back than the fancy zoo in South Carolina. It's all native species to Florida-- which is kind of fun. I think the little stinkpot enjoyed being able to run around on the walkways as well as the really amazing playground. He wasn't really interested in the animals. Boo.

The little guy is small, but really fast!

Gramps has infinite patience. 

And here's a giant scary train to climb in! How much better  could it be?

Two zoos in three days makes for a happy toddler!

Florida!

We just got back from Florida yesterday, and we brought the warm weather back with us. Hello Spring! It's so nice to have you back!

Anyway, we stayed at a hotel on the way down that had a train track about 50 yards from our window. For some travelers, that might be a liability. For us, it was a huge bonus.

I'll post more from our trip this week!

Safe?

We experienced a huge thunderstorm last night. Right when the little booger started nodding off, a loud crack of lightening/thunder scared everybody! It took a while to calm him down-- totally understandable. He settled down and said "It's loud. It's okay. I probably safe."

He has such faith in us.

Trains!

I found this ridiculous video of trains in the Alps, and the little dude loves it! It's kind of fun because he snuggles up on the couch with me to watch it, but it's kind of boring because it's over nine minutes of trains in the Alps. I guess trainspotting isn't my thing, but snuggling kind of is.

Brown Blanket

The little booger has begun to ask us for his blanket-- the brown one with the bear on it. It's the only blanket he ever asks for, so there isn't really any need to be so specific.

He loves that blanket!

Bedtime is for Suckers

The little guy was practically falling asleep on the changing table the other night, so we thought he was down for the count once he was in bed. Forty-five minutes after he fell asleep, though, we heard little footsteps running up and down the hall. I went upstairs and found this:

He went to bed in a diaper and footie pajamas. He's wearing big-boy underpants, fun shoes, school clothes, and daddy's hat. What a terrible child!

Yum!

The little dude helped me make my first cheesecake last weekend. Here we are operating the food processor together.

He pretty much made the graham-cracker crust by himself-- he stirred in the melted butter and smushed it into the bottom of the pan.

Bubbles!

Bubbles are the most exciting thing ever in the whole wide world.

Just thought you'd like to know.

New Olympic Sport?

Because it was a gorgeous day and there is no snow on the ground outside, the little booger scooted around the house in his sled for a while this evening. He told me that the sled is for snow or for inside the house. Tonight's twist on indoor sledding was to do it pantsless! I couldn't get any pictures of bottomless sledding that were, um, appropriate-- so here's a photo of him climbing up to his new seat at the table.

Anyway, I definitely think the Winter Olympics need some no-pants snow sports. It would be a boon for the ratings!

Watch Out!

The little guy loves to play with the dogs... but they aren't always sure they want to play with him. Tonight, the little stinker wanted Beau to "Get him!" If Eric holds the little guy upside-down, Beau will usually come over and lick either his face or his belly. The little booger LOVES this game. See?

"I want to be like this!"

"Get me, Beau!"

VICTORY!!!

Rules

Daycare has a lot of rules that we are having to follow at home. Honestly, it's kind of a pain sometimes. For example, the little stinkpot keeps telling me not to pick at my food (Just eat it, mommy, don't pull it apart). This morning while he was getting dressed, I told him he needed to hurry because we were running out of time. He looked at me and said "Don't run! Walk!"

Here we are reading Caps for Sale this evening. It's one of my all-time favorites.

The Table Is Pink

We almost finished our dining room table this weekend... It needs a couple more coats of paint, but it is done enough to use. I told the little booger we had a new table when he woke up from his nap on Saturday. He came downstairs and said "It's pink!"

It sure is. (I love it!)

Sunny Day

It was really sunny today, so we took a break and went to the playground with the stinker and the dogs. Everyone had a nice time.

 Beau and Sadie enjoyed sniffing things and barking at neighborhood dogs.

The little booger slid down both slides (this one and the curvy one on the other side).

He got to play on the swings, too. We're so excited for spring!

Mornings

I realized the other day that I never take pictures in the morning, so I got some of the little dude getting ready this morning. Here he is putting on his own shoes...

... and brushing his own teeth! He's so grown up.