first bicycle

Grandma picked up this cute little bicycle for Thomas. He loves it and was so excited to see it. He isn't riding it yet, but with a little practice I think he wil be soon. Now if only the weather would cooperate and stop raining so he could get out there again...

.

[**UPDATE: According to Thomas, Grandma made this bicycle for him and he says "it's a pretty cool bike". Grandma has "made" him a lot of things.]

pure joy

Thomas' aunt snapped these great photos of him last weekend at their house. Thomas adores his cousin Franny. His sweet face lights up and the smiles never stop when he's with her. I love watching the two together. Such simple and pure joy!

the poncho

Soon after we learned I was pregnant with baby #2, I saw this adorable little girl downtown wearing the most gorgeous poncho. We didn't know we were expecting Meredith yet, but I had a feeling we were having a girl and I'd already started my list of MUST HAVE items for our baby girl. And at the top of that list? A poncho by Peri.

Meredith's new poncho arrived in the mail today! It's a yummy chocolate brown fleece with bits of pink everywhere. I love the pink pompoms and the cute pink tassle off the top of the hood. Peri's motto is give it a twirl! - I don't see Meredith doing that anytime soon, but because it's a poncho and will probably still fit her next fall, maybe we'll catch her twirling in this brownberry then. Or maybe in the tangerine twirl. Or the pink pixie...

I only wish they made one in my size. http://www.periponchos.com/

[Note: The website doesn't list an XS size being available, but she does have them if you are interested. Contact her directly for those, esp. if you want an XS with pompoms.]

Oh, the things they say!

Thomas is a talker. All day long it's yak-yak-yak about something. And he's very observant. Yesterday at Target we had the following conversation after a young man in his 20s with some facial hair passed us in the aisle...

Thomas (rather loudly, certainly at a level the man could hear): "I don't like that man."

me (slightly embarrassed because if the man didn't hear him, the woman next to us certainly did): "Why do you say that? You don't even know him."

Thomas: "I don't like beards."

me: "Your dad has a beard."

Thomas: "I like beards. I don't like that man."

I guess this is the beginning of random, sometimes inappropriate and often embarrassing to the parent, things that may come out of his two year old mouth.

five months

FIVE Fun Facts
1. You have a special crooked little smile with a crinkled up nose just for your daddy.
2. People - both strangers and friends - have asked if you've already had your first haircut because it's growing in so perfectly straight and even across your forehead.
3. Long car rides actually seem to be more enjoyable for you than short ones.
4. There is a dark spot on the inside of your belly button. I think it's a birthmark; Thomas says it's dirt.
5. You currently have about 2x more clothes than the rest of us - combined!

this week we welcomed Autumn...

Two leaf wreaths (one for us, one for Grandma) and placemat (photo below) made with leaves collected around the neighborhood. We haven't figured out what to do with the pinecones we collected yet.

We did rubbings of leaves, rocks, sticky balls, grass, trees... Pretty much whatever Thomas saw he wanted to try rubbing both with crayon and chalk.

A turkey collage of lentils, popcorn, macaroni, white beans, split peas, etc. Thomas really enjoyed trying all the foods we used.

A fallen leaf is nothing more than a summer's wave goodbye. ~unknown

Chinese class

A few weeks ago I signed Thomas up for an introductory Mandarin Chinese class for toddlers (I love community center classes! Inexpensive, short period of time and just enough exposure to see if you are really interested in the material. They're so great!). I then made the mistake of telling him. Every single day for the last two weeks he has asked me if we are going to Chinese class.

Today was the day! Though we are not Chinese, I think it's great exposure and it's fun for him to learn some different things. Today he learned a few greeting phrases and numbers 1 thru 5. He brought home a paper lantern he made and a coloring page of numbers so we can practice counting this week. Thomas enjoyed the class and wasn't shy at all about participating in the activities and trying to speak the new words when the teacher asked him. It's been really fun for me to see these new changes in him over the last few weeks.

I also learned some new things today, but Meredith slept most of the class so I'm not sure what she got out of it...

sweet silence

Thomas has skipped his regular 2 to 3 hour daily nap the last two days. Monday he laid on his bed and kicked the walls, alternating periods of talking to himself with periods of quiet (except for the kicking). Tuesday he did the same but also talked very loudly the entire time. Both days he stayed in his room for two hours - a "quiet time", if you will. When I went upstairs to get him yesterday, I had to snap a photo of what I saw. He had removed his shirt and socks, stripped down his bed and stuffed his favorite sleeping items under the bed. None of this is typical of Thomas. He was smiling and laughing when I walked in.

I'm enjoying the silence this afternoon as he actually naps today. One hour and counting...

Spaß an Oktoberfest!

Weinershintzel, Apfel strudel, lederhosen, der Huhntanz... Wir haben eine große Zeit am Oktoberfest in Mt gehabt. Engel heute Morgen! M und ich haben zärtliche Erinnerungen den Oktoberfest in München vor vier Jahren und wir haben zu diesem einem je seitdem gehen wollen. Nicht genau die gleiche Feier, aber sehr Spaß und eine gute Erfahrung mit den Kindern. Wir wünschen nur, dass Minderjährige im Biergarten erlaubt wurden!

Thomas und Meredith mit Oma Olga, Opa Franz und Onkel Otto im Hintergrund

happy ~ sad

Meredith always greets me in the morning with smiles like this one. She smiles, she laughs and she wiggles her entire body. It's her way of saying "Good morning to you" and it's the perfect way to start my day. Of course, I also love her cry face...

apples

How I Eat an Apple by Thomas

1. Have an adult cut the apple in half, remove the core and slice into thin wedges.

2. Hold one wedge in hand (using both hands is fun!) like you would a slice of watermelon.

3. Eat the yummy apple insides only.

4. Set the apple peel off to the side (arrange neatly if possible).

5. When finished eating all the apple insides, eat a few of the apple peels if still hungry.

Meredith's new shoes

big fun for a little boy

Thomas and his gal pal Hannah had a fantastic time this morning at the local amusement park. They continuously rode the rides for the entire two hours we were there. It was fun to watch him have such a great time. I was also very thankful to have Hannah's mama there to help me out with getting Thomas on and off the rides. For the most part it's manageable, but there are some rides that I couldn't go on with Meredith in the Bjorn so he went on those rides with them. Of course, there were other (bigger) rides that he wanted to ride but we'll save those for a family outing soon.

top: high in the air

bottom: with his friends Hannah, Kaia and Claire


left: riding a frog, the rooster was next

right: with Chipper the Chipmunk


top: flying with Kaia

bottom: storytime


Meredith spent the first hour napping in the Bjorn

and the second hour like this.

perfect children (today anyway!)

WARNING: A happy mama had a really nice morning with her two young children. You may want to skip this post if reading such tales causes your eyes to roll or makes you mutter under your breath "Just wait until next time..." as these tales do me when they aren't my own.
.
The local library's storytime has resumed so this morning I took the kids. I have to admit I was a little nervous after last week's music class. It was the first class of the term and Meredith's first "class" environment. Both kids enjoyed the first half, but the second half we spent in the empty classroom next door. I think it was just too loud and unfamiliar for her and though our friends Shannon and Kaitlin are taking the class with us, Thomas didn't want to sit in the room without me. Fast forward to today...
.
It was beautiful! Thomas participated! He sat in the first row, directly in front of the librarian when she read books. In a room of about a dozen others, he was the only one to sit still and quietly for each of the three books. There was no running back and forth or rolling around on the floor. And during the dancing part, he danced! He also waited patiently after storytime to receive his stamps from the librarian. There was no pushing or cutting in front of others. And before we left? He said "Thank you, Marcie" and gave her a hug.
.
And Meredith? She sat on my lap and smiled at everyone! The woman next to me commented on how much Meredith was paying attention during the stories. She really was! Her only cry was very brief and only because I had laid her down. She wanted to sit on my lap the whole time. I think this little girl is going to give her big brother a run for his money very soon. Not only was she the perfect baby all morning, but she also rolled from her back to her tummy! Thomas' latest library book - a Curious George book - was just too interesting to her, I guess. Simply amazing!
.
I'm pretty sure next week will be a completely different experience, but today's made this mama very pleased. And relieved.

mmmm... rice cereal

Meredith's first taste of rice cereal.

"I need my camera."

Last week M gave Thomas an old camera to play with since he had been asking to use our digital camera to take some pictures. The boy who doesn't like his photo taken suddenly wants to photograph everything. Grandma brought over a great little rocking chair she found at a garage sale (that I will be painting!) and this has been Thomas' latest object that must be photographed at least 20 times a day. He'll put a stuffed animal on the chair, exclaim "Let me take a picture! Where is my camera?", and then he'll run off to find his camera. There is no film in this thing and no batteries, but he'll hold it up, look through the viewfinder and making a clicking noise to let us know he's taken the photo. It's fun to watch the different arrangements on the chair that he photographs. Tonight I put Meredith on the chair so we could both take photos of her.

outnumbered

"Hi daddy. I love you, daddy."

With M away on business, I've been outnumbered this week. One energetic, car-obsessed, very chatty two year old who starts every day with "daddy is at work at his new office in DC" and continuously exclaims "mommy, look!!" all day long... a sweet four month old who demands most of my attention... a nervous Vizsla who is physically sick whenever M is away... and a crazy German Shorthaired Pointer who generally doesn't seem too phased by it all, but takes her cues from the Vizsla so she's also upset. 4 kids to 1 mama = outnumbered.

goofy Greta

Her expression seems to be saying "Hey, I'm on to you".

IKEA

Tip: Skip the foods (blech).

.

After listening to the rain pour all night long, I decided first thing this morning that a trip to an indoor place was in order. Since schools start today and most people are at work, what better place to go than the new IKEA store? I asked Thomas if he'd like to go to IKEA (he's never been) and he immediately started bouncing around the house exclaiming "I want to go to IKEA!" One would think I had asked him if he'd like to go to Disneyland. Silly, silly boy. He had a good time though and after just an hour browsing the store, we were all exhausted and ready to go home. Can you say sensory overload?

.

Meredith likes the feel of the new art bibs we picked up.

who is having more fun?

I pulled out the exersaucer that Thomas loved at Meredith's age so she could give it a whirl. She is enjoying the new things to look at, esp. the fun looks on Thomas' face as he spins this thing around and around. He loves that it pivots so he can push it and that the toys are all interchangeable. She just likes to be vertical and looking at her brother. It's a toss up as to which one is having the better time!

let's bake!

A new baby sister arrived this week for one of Thomas' playgroup friends so yesterday we prepared dinner for their family. We've done a little cooking and baking together in the past, but I haven't really involved Thomas as much as I could (and should!). I decided yesterday to change that and have Thomas help me out. We had a blast! Everything is so much more fun with a two year old.