"Hi Fuzzy Man"

Today we went to Animal Adventure to visit our local wildlife neighbors.  They have a great setup and a beautiful new giraffe.  What was most fun for me today (along with the fabulous company of friends!) was watching my fearless little MMan greet and feed and pet the animals.  The greetings of "Hello fuzzy man!", "Hi buddy", and " Hi big man" were heard over and over again as he greeted pigs, goats, lambs, zebras, yaks, llamas and more.

New Skills: Bike Riding

The children were recently outfitted with bikes of proper size and good repair.  MMan loves riding and usually can be heard singing while he zooms around.  GGirl is working hard to overcome a bit of a fear of falling, and gets her cycling groove on best when she's rested.  We took advantage of an empty parking lot this morning so they could work on their new skills.  

Just Chillin' ...

...With Olaf and my movie.

Mom's Sidekick

MMan is coming into his own.  He's finding his vocabulary and voice and letting his thoughts be known.  His "ayup" answer still makes me giggle every time he uses it, which isn't good if I'm in the middle of a discussion about a poor behavior choice!  He's a hit-and-miss eater, but is steadily growing.  I'm hanging on to the snugly toddler days as long as I can and I love his grin.

Usually I keep my work to the hours that HandyMan is home or the kids are asleep.  Some days, that doesn't always play out.  MMan had woken up from a nap and I was trying to finish up a few things.  He made it clear that he wanted a movie on my phone and wanted to "listen".  So, I outfitted my little sidekick.  Then HandyMan came home and caught us and took the photo.

I Happy!

Today was one of those days that the sun shone brightly and the temperature seemed tolerable as long as you didn't look at the thermometer.  The sunshine comes with a cost in the winter!  Days like today where the sun shines off the snow and temperatures seem tolerable, I remember there are a few things I like about winter.  But it seemed nice enough out so MMan and I ran some errands.
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I guess I've told him that we take naps and sleep so we can be happy and have fun adventures.  So now, on a few occasions, when fighting a nap, he proudly announces "I happy!" And goes about his merry way.  He's also excused himself left whatever is going on to go to his room, snuggle with his binkie and blanket and return 5-30 minutes later making the same announcement.

A Boy and His Trains

Thomas the Tank Engine, Chuggington, any engine he can find is a new friend.   And if the engine pulls musical cargo, its only better!

Christmas Gifts

It's always interesting to see what reactions my children will have to the gifts at Christmas. This year MMan was all about opening presents.  He ripped paper enthusiastically and showed varied interest in the contents. When there was nothing left to open, tears ensued.  GGirl loved her gifts that were themed with the princesses of the day (Anna and Elsa).  Less thrilled with clothes, but a gracious recipient, none the less.
This was the first year she was an independent giver.  She bought gifts at Santa's Village at school and enjoyed giving gifts that she had chosen.  She also added colored pictures and drawings to our stockings.  It was a pleasure  to see her find the joy in giving.
Two of my greatest gifts are wearing the bows below.

Mornings wirh MMan

Play dough, blocks and sometimes even fishing are par for the course if you're spending the morning with MMan.  And snacks.  Lots of snacks!

He is full of energy and gets his point across, even if the passersby wouldn't understand his "words".

 But he's getting there.

Kamikaze and the Kindergartener

Oye!  Summer flew by and now fall is half way over.  Oh, how time flies when you're working hard and having fun!  We are healthy and well, even with MMan sporting a nice little splint on a broken arm.  It turns out trying to escape one's crib can be a dangerous venture.  GGirl is rockin' the kindergarten world: learning to read, loves "kindergarten math" because its fun.  Of course her favorite part of school is taking her own lunch, gym class and playing outside for recess!
This week also brought making and canning 16 quarts of applesauce for me and a semi-failed gluten free baking project.  The GF Zucchini bread tasted great, but ran over everywhere.  More flour next time I think.  So there's a snippet of our world.  I hope you are all well!

Mmmmmm....Peanut Butter!

Last month MMan was sick.  Really sick.  During the illness and recovery, he lost weight that he didn't have to lose to begin with.  So, as his appetite has slowly returned, I happily let him eat just about anything he picks.  Especially since there's not a lot of junk in the house right now. 

The last few days his choice of what's in the fridge has been peanut butter.  Sometimes fruit makesva good vehicle to get the PB in the mouth, and sometimes,  the spoon works better.   Whatever it takes to keep him above the 5% curve for weight!

Full Communication, Few Words

MMan is taking his time figuring out how to talk.  While he has very few words that someone outside our family would understand, he had no problem communicating to GramB that he wanted her to come play in the floor with him!

Monday with MMan

Happy New Year!  It was back to work for me last Wednesday and I'm finally catching a breather today.  GGirl happily returned to school this morning and MMan is quite the chatterbox now that he has me to himself!  So many noises, so few words.  I'm sure it will come.

With the New Year comes new routines, new boundaries, new experiences, and new opportunities.   I'm excited about about what this year will bring.  And I'm enjoying today!

Daddy's Helper

An "Anything Goes" Afternoon

or Self Feeding 101.

Binkie Addicts

Both of my children required multiple binkies to sooth themselves.  Usually one in the mouth and one in the hand. MMan is taking it to a new level.  Truth be told, I think its more to work in his molars than to suck.

Fun Times

MMan is changing so fast and is becoming quite the little personality.  He wants to do everything the rest of us do: no more eating with his fingers, food goes on forks and spoons.  He has a great Spiderman move he uses when he wants out of the tub:  think both feet and fingertips on the edge of the tub.  Because of his lightning quick movements, there are no photos.  He has recently taken a liking to music and will motion for us to turn music on, climb on the ottoman and start bopping.  If it's live music, dancing on the floor will work too.

He is now regularly signing to communicate. Eat, drink, change, more, please and all-done come fluently and he is quite proud of his progress.

His  smiles light up the day! 

GGirl is also maturing in leaps and bounds.   She loves school and riding the bus.  The first couple weeks of school she did not like to ride the Headstart bus in the morning.  "I hate it!" she would exclaim and after investigation, it was because there were shoulder harnesses she did not like.  But, when they decorated the bus for fall and put her name on a pumpkin on the wall, that changed everything!  The grin that lights up her face when she gets off the bus is priceless.

In the evenings we snuggle a little longer, linger over bedtime stories and enjoy earlier bedtimes.

Will Sign for Whipped Cream

We have been trying to do basic signs with MMan for communication since he isn't really talking yet.  Signs for more, please, sleep, milk and drink have all been introduced and used with some frequency.  But over time it seems that little MMan has discovered that he doesn't really have to communicate to get most of what he wants.  Yes, he has trained us well.  And it worked until lunch today.

I was eating a piece of pie with whipped cream.  MMan did his usual squawk and point.  I demonstrated the 'more' sign.  He mimicked,  I gave him a bite.  Within three bites, he was signing more AND please with broad, look-what-I-can-do grins.

Now if only he would communicate what he got into, leaving his face looking like this:

September

Summer came to an end and September took off, full speed ahead.  GGirl started Pre-K and she loves it.  She is making new friends and some of her favorite things are the tricycle s and dress-up clothes. Shelikes riding the big bus home and on HandyMan's day off, weather and schedule permitting, he picks her up on the bike.  They are a sight to be seen around town.  MMan is off and running, quite literally.  He also woke up this weekend needing his 18-month clothes.  Sometimes kids really do grow overnight.

Jammin' With Dad

Look Mommy!

On this rainy afternoon GGirl is watching movies and MMan was playing happily in the play room.  I was enjoying the quiet and reading when MMan toddles around the side of the couch, very proud of himself.  His look very clearly conveyed "look Mama, I know what it's for and I put it on myself!"