reading with Grandpa

Thomas loves to read

books on trucks are favorites

Grandpa likes them too!

BBQ with family

Thomas checks out his cousin's new Pug puppy, Lucy...

.
and eats black olives off his finger!

All Aboard!

In his book Trains, Thomas' favorite page is toward the end when the conductor puts his hand up in the air and shouts All Aboard! When we get to this page, he always turns to watch me because he knows I will raise my hand up in the air and shout All Aboard! He loves it. This morning Thomas heard a real train conductor shout All Aboard! several times (to which he smiled) as we enjoyed his first train ride.

.

Typically we visit the Zoo for about an hour but this morning we spent nearly 2.5 hours at the Zoo, taking a ride on the Zooliner. Thomas really enjoyed the train ride. Each time the train's horn sounded Thomas would answer Choo Choo! I found it terribly cute. As we neared the end of the ride, we were also nearing his nap time. Thomas was very content to sit on my lap with both hands in his pockets, staring straight ahead. His mama loved every second of it.

.

blue eyes

Thomas and I haven't explored too many local kid-friendly coffeeshops, but with all the buzz surrounding the latest Portland offering and an invite to join friends, we went to one this morning. He had a great time playing in the children's area and also out in the main seating area. It wasn't quite the relaxing, sipping hot coffee and enjoying a yummy treat whilst chatting with friends that I always imagine it might be (it was actually none of those things), but it was a nice outing nonetheless. It was fun to check out this place and to see these friends again.

M and her big, beautiful blue eyes

say cheese!

Pictured above and seen through a green glass partition in the food court, Thomas waits for the mall to open.

Today was picture day at the mall with Thomas and his cousins. Thomas wasn't too sure about it initially, but he became a very happy little guy once they brought out the child-size firetruck. This kid loves cars and even that is an understatement. To her credit, the photographer was extremely patient and really tried to get a good shot, but it just wasn't meant to be today. With three toddlers ranging from 15 months to 27 months, I knew getting a good photo was not going to be an easy feat. Still, it's always nice to get the three cousins together (and I enjoy seeing my sister-in-laws, too!) and after the photo shoot we let them loose in the children's play area and topped it all off with a snack/drink at Starbucks.

We went to a mall I never go to because 1.) I rarely go to the mall and 2.) it's on the other side of town. But with such a great children's play area and the nice *family restroom* with Thomas-sized toilet and sink, I may have to make the trek over there again the next time I feel like going shopping. Definitely some nice perks to make the mall experience enjoyable for everyone!

waking up after a bike ride

new car

Some parents actively avoid places like Chuck E. Cheese's. I'm not one of those. Maybe when he's older and going to such a place presents challenges that we'd rather not deal with, but at this age it isn't a big deal. We were out that direction in the morning and around noon found our way over to the pizza/amusement restaurant. Just Thomas and his mama. We shared an all-you-can-eat salad bar, filling our tummies with garbanzo beans, baby corn, cherry tomatoes... all the good stuff. Afterwards we played in the toddler area and Thomas rode two coin-operated rides for the first time. He wasn't crazy about the first one, but seemed to enjoy the second on this Bob the Builder ride. We were *in the area* picking up a new car for Thomas...

15 months

Thomas is 15 months old today. Where is the time going? There are so many things I love about this little boy, but here are fifteen that come to mind...

1. You make me snort. I never snorted before but your antics make me snort.
2. Your pronunciation of *car*. Baby, we don't live in Boston. There's an *r* at the end of that word.

3. I love watching you squeal with delight and run from Bela and Greta as if they are chasing you around the house.

4. The flicking thing you do with your big toe. You got that from your dad.

5. The way you zone out in the car, stroller, jogger and bike trailer. The movement seems to put you in some sort of trance-like state.

6. Your obsession with water.

7. The way your hair stands on end/ straight up when you wake.

8. The running form you've adopted.

9. Your love for all animals, esp. dogs.

10. The way you put your hands behind your head and fall back into me, trusting the whole time that I'm going to be there to catch you and/or break your fall.

11. Your dance moves. I love that hearing the ice cream truck while we are out walking is enough for you to break out your signature knee-bending moves.

12. Listening to the *conversations* you have with your dad.

13. The way your eyes light up when you see me after some time apart.

14. The ease with which you approach new things.

15. I love that you will go up to a complete stranger in a shoe store, point at the shoe they are trying on and exclaim SHOE! It makes me snort.

Bridge Pedal

Portland, Oregon from the Marquam Bridge

This morning we participated in the annual Providence Bridge Pedal. It was the first time for us and it was great to share this unique event with each other, with Thomas and with M's brothers and their families. Though it was congested on some bridges, it was pretty open on two of the highest bridges we crossed and the views were beautiful. We completed the 6 bridge/14 mile route and promptly rewarded our efforts with a cold beer and snack at a favorite local brewery. A great time by all that will surely become an annual family tradition!

Thomas checking out his cousin before the ride

.

Thomas & his mom on the Fremont Bridge

Greta, the flycatcher

Greta thinks it is her job to catch and eat all flies. During the summer months when the windows and doors are open, there can be quite a few flying around inside. They all congregate in this general area of our front room -- right above the hardwood floor, between the two large area rugs. Greta is a riot to watch and she gets quite the workout jumping back and forth between the two area rugs.

tricycle adventures

Thomas likes to ride

all around the neighborhood

the boy loves his trike

Thomas has had a cold this week but we've been trying to get out and do some fun things around the neighborhood anyway. This afternoon we took a walk up to the local Dairy Queen. He on his tricycle and me pushing and steering the thing for him. I didn't think he could touch the pedals, but he proved me wrong by braking half the time. I was pretty impressed by how well he rode. He never once got off but looked perfectly happy to sit and ride along with both hands on the bars, checking out all the cars along the way. The local DQ has child size chairs and a little table so that's where we sat (yes, I squeezed into one of these chairs, too). Lucky for me, he was much more excited by the cup of water than the ice cream cone. More for mama!

Thomas' tricycle

Thomas received a Radio Flyer tricycle for Christmas -- yes, Grandma spoils him! His feet don't quite touch the pedals and I'm not entirely sure just how stable he is sitting on it, but we are now beginning to play with it outdoors. Yesterday afternoon we cruised up and down our street. He'd push it with both hands, then sometimes he'd push it with one hand and hold his duck in the other. A few times he'd push it while his duck sat on the seat. And then sometimes I simply pushed them both. He ignored me when I asked if I could sit on the seat and have him push me.

[Note: There are two 2 year old boys on our block who also have Radio Flyer tricyles. They ride them everywhere. I see them at the park, cruising up and down the street, hanging out at the local Farmer's Market... It's like a little trike gang on our street. Totally cute!]

funny face

County Fair

Mmmm... fair food, fair smells, fair animals, fair amusement games, fair people... Thomas experienced his first County Fair today (the Oklahoma State Fair when I was 5 weeks pregnant with him doesn't count). He got to pet a very fluffy rabbit and, together with his dad, a goose. M says the webbed feet are actually surprisingly soft and smooth -- who knew?! Thomas watched me feed the goats. They are always my favorite and if we had the property, we would have to have one (or two!). We checked out all the other typical fair animals, but he was most interested in the cows, alpacas and 5 day old chicks. There was also a special exhibit with all kinds of alligators, tortoises, snakes and even an alligator snapping turtle. That's one animal you don't want to mess with! No amusement rides for any of us this time, but we ate fair food, looked at all the usual fair exhibits and his dad won him two stuffed frogs. Lucky boy!

.

favorite place to sit

Thomas doesn't have any furniture his size to sit on at our house, but has found a bench perfectly sized for him. Of course, this just happens to be where Bela's food and water bowls typically reside, but no worries! Thomas enjoys moving her bowls to the floor, climbing up on the wood platform and parking his bottom. He climbs up, sits and climbs back down only to repeat this over and over and over. He's always so proud of himself when he sits on this thing.

.

Thomas & Bela

Central Oregon

We spent this last week in the high desert of Central Oregon. We rented a small house on an acre in La Pine and spent most of our time there, but also spent a little time in Sunriver and Bend. It was all about r.e.l.a.x.a.t.i.o.n... We had a fantastic time.

.

We have friends whose toddler sleeps in a closet in their loft. It sounds like it's larger than a typical closet because it is also where the washer and dryer are located, but I always thought it was so funny that it was their daughter's *bedroom*. At our rented house, there was only one bedroom so we made up a little bed for Thomas in the closet. It was a deep closet and he actually seemed quite comfortable in there. One night when I asked if he was ready for bed, he walked back to the bedroom and sat in the closet -- on his *bed* -- waiting for me to read to him before he went to sleep. He never fails to surprise us (and keep us laughing with these antics!).

.

.

.

summer reading

Thomas completed the library's summer reading program this week, earning some fun things along the way. The final prize for completing all the reading was this t-shirt. He'll get to wear it when he's about 4 or 5 years old.

New trick! ["I can't hear you."]

Where is Thomas??

Thomas begins to do really silly things when he's tired. This evening before starting our nightly bedtime routine, he was walking in circles with his sleep sack over his head and laughing...

sitting pretty?

Every day we find the girls' food bowls in places other than where they should be. Thomas loves to carry them from room to room and put his toys in them. I've often thought I should be photographing all the things he puts in the dog bowls. It might make for an interesting collection of photos. We've seen everything from his sippy cup to a shoe to a stuffed animal. The girls were understandably quite concerned the first few times they found their bowls on the sofa or on top of the dining room table, but now they seem to go with the flow and have faith that we will put their bowls back where they belong when it's time for them to eat.

Earlier this week I found Bela's food bowl in the laundry basket full of clean clothes. I asked Thomas if that's really where it should be and he pulled it out and placed it on the floor adjacent to the laundry basket. Later, he was standing in the area of the bowl, walked backwards and fell. His bottom landed perfectly in the dog bowl. And he was stuck. Being the mom that I am, I took several photographs of him before helping him out. He was not very happy.

Grandpa's car

Thomas loves cars so when Grandpa asked him today if he wanted to see his car, Thomas was all over it. He circled it. He touched it. He repeatedly exclaimed CAR!. He helped look at the engine, check the oil and fill the radiator with water. He got into the backseat. Then he got in the front seat. I'm sure he could have spent hours *playing* in and around the car. Soon enough little man, soon enough...