BABY!!

Here is a totally cute video of Logan saying his new favorite word...baby! He now recognizes himself in pictures and it is pretty cute. He is definitely in the middle of something developmental-wise, because he has learned a bunch of new words and signs fairly quickly. And even today while I was putting him down for nap he put together the following signs: "itsy bitsy spider" + "more" + "please" (with both hands rubbing his chest, he really meant it!) to ask me to read the book again.

Here are some of his new forays into language:

• pointing outside and saying "curl" (squirrel) + "dadie" (Sadie) because he loves it when Sadie gets excited by her friend the squirrel.
• pointing to the floor and saying "bug" + "dadie" because he just thought it was so cool one time when Sadie ate a bug off the floor (he even remembers exactly where that happened and tries to make it happen again or asks for "more" of it).
• talking about the various animals he sees out at the farms and if they went "nigh nigh," so "kitty nigh nigh" or the sign for cow "nigh nigh"
• during lunch today, he was pretending with his piece of bread, "gotta go" (making it travel across the table) then "nigh nigh" and laying it down on the table.
• pointing outside and saying "poop" + "dadie" + "dada" + "boom" (and before you get any ideas, about where Jim poops, what L is refering to is the now almost daily ritual he is obsessed with which is going outside with Jim to pick up Sadie's poop and then putting it in the dumpster (referred to as "boom" for the sound most things make when being deposited into it).
  

International Night at School

Today was International Night at L's Montessori! And we have been bustling and busy to get ready for it. I made empanadas de pollo (yum!). I also helped out at the school in decorating the room. I worked mostly on the rainforest that you can see. L enjoyed the musical instruments, listening to lots of different kinds of music, running in any open space, and of course, saying hi to all the animals in each classroom. He also very much enjoyed his bowl of black bean soup with sour cream and chips. And we all pretty much had a great time eating all different kinds of food we don't usually get to taste here in MI - by the time we got to the cafeteria, all the empanadas were gone, so it was lucky that we tucked in during the day when I made them!

Here's a picture of us in "Australia" - L was coloring in a boomerang.















Here's L as a one of the Yeomen Warders of Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress the Tower of London, popularly known as the Beefeaters, are ceremonial guardians of the Tower of London.
















Here's L walking across the Andes in South America!
















Here's L the panda in Asia.

















Here's a good picture of the rainforest that I helped work on.
















One of L's favorite play stations...bugs in a gooey mixture of cornstarch and water -- what isn't fun about that?




















One of the things that L enjoyed most was seeing all of the different animals in all the rooms. In the toddler's South American room, the teachers had gotten a parent to bring in their beautiful bird, Romeo, who was 14 years old.
















The other favorite part of visiting each room was investigating all the different kinds of musical instruments and dancing - here he is jamming with some maracas.















Here is L and J saying hi to the BIG monkey in South America...

Potter Park Zoo

First let me say, that I really resist local zoos a lot. Having grown up so close to a large conservatory like the Bronx Zoo it is very difficult for me to see animals with limited to no habitat. However, with a toddler, I thought, okay, let's try the local zoo, maybe it isn't as bad as I imagine it. And some parts weren't as bad as I thought, but others were! It was nice for L to be able to see all the animals, excepting for a few that were still indoors because it still gets quite cool here, especially at night. And it was a nice activity to do with his friend C and with my parents. Here are a few pics and an alarming video...

Here is a great picture of the two boys...I can't believe how big they are! The two were talking up a storm. L kept saying all the animals were eating crackers (then trying to share his crackers with them) or they were sleeping. C said as they were leaving the park "Bye Bye Logan's Grammy and Pop Pop" - so cute and sweet!
















Here L is feeding the pygmy goats in the petting zoo part of the park...

















L: "Kitty"
me: "not quite sweety"
L: "Roar"
me: "The lion is roaring"
C: "Angry lion"
















If you have similar feelings towards zoos, you may not want to watch this. Apparently this lioness was brought to the PPZ when she was 6 months old with her brother. She is now 19 years old. The enclosure that you see here in is only the indoor portion, there is a "larger" "habitat" outside as well as a basement facility. However, as there are three lions in total who don't apparently get along, they must be separated. She is an angry lion! And who could blame her. None of the adults there had ever seen an animal held in captivity act like this. The lioness is in a sound proof enclosure (thankfully for the kids b/c otherwise I think it would have been downright terrifying).

Grammy and Pop Pop visit

Grammy and Pop Pop arrived on Friday last week and left this morning and we had a great time. Pop Pop took care of our mouse problem, built and fixed a number of things for L, including his train table, a fun outdoor musical instrument, and a "petting zoo" for his stuffed animals (no pics of this yet). SuperGrammy as she will now be called just seemed to make everything easier from getting L out of the house and to school, to helping with his quilt, keeping L occupied so I could take a shower, and so on. Here are some pics from their trip...

Logan & Grammy making cornbread...

















In the most recent Family Fun, they had a fun outdoor musical instrument project. Pop Pop was a bit confused as to what L would do with it and how it could be any fun, but he played along and humored me. He got all the stuff at the local Ace hardware store, put it together, and L was entranced by the sound it made.
















Here's a pic of me and L...

















Pop Pop made sure the train table was safe for L and for our dryer! L kept taking the train set apart and depositing all the pieces in our dryer. So Pop Pop screwed every piece he possibly could into the table. No match for the little man now! All I have to worry about are the train pieces themselves, not the track, the train, the trees, the trucks, the people and so on!

















Here's a picture of grammy and pop pop with L!

our new family member!!!

Welcome Blub Blub!

L has been talking so much about the fishes at school that it was really only inevitable that we got one of our own, which he named, what else, but "Blub Blub"! He has had a great time watching Blub Blub. He feeds Blub Blub regularly, even if sometimes it is a bit too much. He gives BB tank kisses and hugs. He makes sure he says nigh night to BB for every nap and bedtime. It is very sweet!

Little big boy moments...

• Today after bath, I wrapped L in a towel and he held on tight to the towel and started walking for the door. No help needed. So cute and so big!

• We've been cleaning up to get ready for Grammy and Pop Pop coming to visit, and while we were in the kitchen I asked L to not play with my cookbooks, followed by those are "mama books." Afterwards, he stood there going down the shelf, pointing to a book, "mama," to another book, "mama," and another, "mama". Ridiculously sweet and wonderful.

• L and I regularly go to the chiropractor for adjustments, and in the past week or so, when I lay on the table, he "helps" out by checking if my feet are balanced, pushing on my back, giving me kisses, pushing on my hip, giving me more kisses, moving my head from side to side. I will count myself one lucky mama if he grows up to become one!

• Every time he sees a hair (any hair, dog hair, dad hair, logan hair, heck even fuzz), he points to it and says "mama" - Jim thinks it is hilarious!

• One way that we have been talking to L about appropriate behavior is to say that "Dada has his feet under the table" (not on top of), as well as talking to him about others may share a particular behavior (Do you know who likes bananas, too?). Well, L has our number on this one. Today, I looked at him when he put his foot on the table and he looked back at me, smiled and said "Dada"; to which I of course responded, "No, Dada keeps his feet under the table." "Mama" again, "No, Mama keeps her feet under the table." "Dadie" ... you get the picture!

• Big helper! L has been enjoying helping out around the house, though we have found that if we really want his help setting the table, I have to tell him that everything is for Dada. Plates, forks, and what have you, never make it to the table, except if I say, "This is Dada's plate, can you bring it to the table?" I also heard that L had great fun helping the babysitter out with washing the floor, too! What fun!

Visiting the cows...

Jim has been having a wonderful time taking L on little field trips to visit all the various animal farms associated with MSU's campus. So far, L's favorite is the horse farm! I believe they've been to see the cows, horses, sheep, and chickens.

The boys having fun...















Checking out the cows up close!















The cows up close!

The wonder of the everday...

L has been fascinated with hats! Here he is...

















L is very interested in bringing everything out to the garbage (to hear it go "boom"), even trying to throw away things that we may not want throw away just yet. Here he is helping dada replace the garbage bag, a real favorite of his!

Welcome Spring!

Here are a few pictures of a spring craft project! We made our very own bird feeder; we painted it all together and then hung it up outside. We regularly get a mated cardinal pair and some finches, and thankfully what we don't get is the squirrel trying to steal the birdseed out of this feeder!


















Here he is, proudly adding / spilling birdseed!


















And here L is just enjoying the time outside!