catching up.

It has been busy lately....a too-busy-to-blog-or-check-my-personal-email kind of busy.  The good news: it's nearly the end of the semester and Chris and I will get a much needed break from school soon. The bad news: final projects and papers. It's always a cruel joke that the end of the semester is either Christmas or beautiful weather. Talk about a demotivator!

Nate and I have spent a lot of time playing outside with some of the neighborhood kids. My rule is that I don't post pictures of other people's kids on here unless they ask me to -- so sorting through my virtual mound of photos has not been number one on my to-do list. Usually we're outside late, eat a later dinner, and take an even later bath. By that time it's a horribly late bedtime and we're too tired to do anything else. But tonight, we're a bit earlier than normal and Nate is happily dunking his chicken nuggets into apple sauce, mandarin oranges and milk (eww!), so I have a moment to spare.

So what have we been up to?

First of all, we've been making lots of use out of our deck that we put on last summer.  Nate likes to take all of his tiny toys (the ones that hide in the grass and take forever to find) and line them up on the railing. I asked him what he was doing, as he grouped them together one afternoon, to which he responded "I'm making them friends".  Such a sweet boy!

Next, we celebrated Easter this year in a nice low-key way. It was raining outside, so no Easter egg hunts like we did last year. Instead, Nate got to blow bubbles on our sunporch, play with his toys, and devour his (now) traditional Easter Goldfish crackers. Two years in a row can count as a tradition, right?

My friends and I also took Nate to play mini-golf. Words of wisdom to all of the parents out there: if you have a two-and-a-half year old and aren't positively sure that they'll be interested in mini-golf, don't take them. I am astounded to report that Nathan made it to the seventh hole before he decided that mini-golf was boring and he would rather try to play inside all of the landscaping instead (read: tried to climb on the rocks, decorations, and into the fountains). My pictures are deceiving, though -- makes it look like he had the time of his life. I think these were all taken on the first and second holes. A fast lens and a big memory card, I'm tellin' ya! It's the only way to do it :)

And what else? Hmm...just more playing outside after school and work every day. We've expanded on our outside toys, adding pinwheels, a toolbox, a butterfly net, you name it. Somehow, even with running up and down the hill on our driveway, he still lasts longer than I do and I'm the one begging to go to sleep at the end of the night. The child has an amazing amount of energy!

bouncing & sliding.

I think we know where Nate's birthday party will be this year and I am excited that it likely won't be at our house!  I took Nate to a birthday party for one of his friends from school at House of Bounce and Nate had the best time.  We've been there before for another party and an open bounce time on Nate's second birthday, but Nate finally got really into it today! Every ladder was climbed, every slide was slid on, and everything that could be bounced on was.

Such a fun day!

it's a kind of animal.

There's something indescribably awesome about seeing your child realize that the things that he has learned about are indeed real. We took Nathan to the National Zoo over the weekend and had the best time. The weather was gorgeous, it was not too busy, and we got to spend time with Nate and some friends. The last time we went to the zoo Nate wasn't quite a year old, so it was a whole new experience this go 'round.

Our first stop was in the indoor panda observation area. Thankfully the zoo has started to limit the number of people allowed in at one time, which gave us the opportunity to see the panda up close and personal. I wish we had the video camera out for that part because Nathan started screeching "It's a bear! Mommy, it.is.a.BEAR!!" and then turned to the teenage girls standing beside us and happily said "it's a kind of animal!".  We tried to tell him that it was a panda bear, but Nate was insistent that it was simply a bear and thought that the bear eating bamboo was hilarious. He told me that the bear was trying to clean up :)

Shockingly enough, Nate did not like the monkey house, and had a mini-tantrum while we were in there. Chris got some great pictures of an orangutang that was putting a paper bag on it's head and drinking out of a cup. Another orangutang threw up all over the glass and then ate it [not pictured].

When it came to the elephants and the reptile house, Nate was in love.  He is a big fan of the movie Dumbo and is obsessed with the croc in Peter Pan/Jake and the Never Land Pirates. We also saw snakes, turtles, and a tiger for just a few seconds before they took it indoors for the night.  Nate's reactions to the animals was just priceless -- there's just something special about him learning from pictures and then getting to see the real deal.

We had a really nice day out! Educational, fun, and relatively cheap since entrance to the zoo is free! Here are a couple more shots from our day together!

mr. manners.

I'm strict on manners. I am the parent that will be obnoxious with the "well can you do....?" when they should have said 'may'.  Working on that with a two and a half year old, who hasn't gotten to more complex sentences, has been tedious at best. I am so proud of him for learning how to say what he wants and ask for it nicely!

learning colors.

I've been working with Nate on his colors lately and instead of quizzing him endlessly, I wanted to make learning fun. Nate has gotten orange, purple, and red down-pat. Sometimes he nails blue, green, white and black, but he is mystified by yellow.

I thought that if I combined something that Nate loves (like sugar) with learning colors, then presto we would have some progress. We baked and iced cupcakes tonight and what we ended up with was a gigantic mess. I think that the dye on my hands is going to be there for a while; one thumb is yellow and the other blue. Awesome.  In all seriousness, I think that it helped. I let him pick all of the colors (so naturally, some are the ones that he knows), but I snuck in some yellow and green ones.

Here are some photos in our adventures in color-learning and cupcake baking. I may never get him in bed tonight after all this sugar! :)

And totally unrelated, one photo from last night of Nate and Chris playing last night, complete with one curious confused pup.

snow day.

There are many perks to working from home 80% of the time, but a snow day is not one of them. We finally got some snow that accumulated to more than a dusting, the first of little Nate's lifetime. Chris was home from work, Nate home from school, and I was working away on the computer.  It was still nice to have a quiet day at home with everyone here. Nate came downstairs this morning, so excited about the snow "look at the snow!", but his tone changed so quickly and he was upset saying, "what a mess, so sad".

We took Nate outside during my lunch break and had a lot of fun. Granted, he hated all of the layers, but had a lot of fun slipping and sliding in the slushy mess outside.

We came inside, started to get warmed up, and then realized that the hot water heater is broken. Oh the joys of home ownership. Here's to hoping that we get it fixed tomorrow! :)

sick day.

The mystery fever has returned and Nate has been hanging out with me for the last two days instead of going to school. I know it's not strep or an ear infection, because we went to the doctor. What I don't know is what he has. The "probably a virus" diagnosis of a mystery illness is so frustrating -- especially since antibiotics are not an option.

We're making the best of it by spending a lot of time watching old cartoons like Looney Toons and Animaniacs, playing with toys, and taking it easy. Today we made a blanket fort and I think that will be a daily activity moving forward...he loved it!

manners.

I've been working with Nathan on manners a lot lately. Let me tell you, consistency is hard work. Nate gets aggravated with me when I make him repeat and correct what he has said, but the diligence is starting to show. He is pretty consistently saying please, thank you, and yes ma'am/sir.

Tonight Nathan was playing with his pirate ship, narrating for his little people, and did a little Manners101 with them:

Pirate1: Do you want to watch the movie?
Parrot: What?
Pirate 1: You say "yes ma'am"
Parrot: Yes ma'am
Pirate1: Do you want to watch the movie?
Parrot: Yes ma'am
Pirate2: Me too! Me too!

typical day.

I tell people that I live in a madhouse, but sometimes I don't think that the idea sinks in. Here is my day (and it's not over yet):

• 6:30 a.m. - Wake up, hit the snooze and try to sneak in ten more minutes 
• 6:38 a.m. - Nate wakes up, two minutes before the alarm goes off 
• 6:39 a.m. - Demands for cereal, Peter Pan, and juice begin. I pacify Nate with Disney Jr.
• 6:45 a.m. - Start getting myself ready, thank goodness it is a work from home day! 
• 6:50 a.m. - More demands for cereal and juice and then Nate gets sidetracked by flushing the toilet and banging the lid closed 
• 6:53 a.m. - I ask Nate if he wants to use his new Elmo potty. He tells me "no". I ask why and he said "I don't care". He may go to kindergarten in diapers at this rate! 
• 7:00 a.m. - A new show comes on and Nate has a mini dance party
• 7:05 a.m. - Start trying to get Nate ready. He wants to wear pajamas to school...mini meltdown ensues. 
• 7:15 a.m. - Successfully have dressed myself and Nate. 
• 7:16 a.m. - Nate jumps on the dogs and starts all manner of barking and screaming 
• 7:18 a.m. - We go downstairs and I try to move things towards the door
• 7:19 a.m. - Nate wants to tell all of the pirates in his pirate ship good morning
• 7:22 a.m. - I try to put Nate's coat on him. He screams bloody murder and demands cereal. I remind him that his teacher will have breakfast for him at school. More screaming.
• 7:25 a.m. - The coat is on, the child is screaming, and I am watching the clock. 
• 7:26 a.m. - I break out the animal crackers to lure Nate to the car 
• 7:30 a.m. - Chris helps me wrangle Nate into the car, more crying. 
• 7:31 a.m. - Nate is happy, eating cookies, and singing "Old McDonald Had a Farm" 
• 7:36 a.m. - We arrive at daycare. Nate runs inside and shows off his pictures of the dogs (it is pet week). Such a happy boy now. 
• 7:40 a.m. - Jump back in the car and head home. LOVE working from home.
• 7:45 a.m. - Make myself and instant breakfast and a coffee to start my day. 
• 7:46 a.m. - Realize that the milk carton has a hole and is leaking everywhere. Clean up and search everywhere for our glass pitcher.
• 7:55 a.m. - Admit that the glass pitcher is a lost cause, so resort to dumping the entire gallon of milk into 2 pots (with lids). Lovely.
• 8:00 a.m. - Start my work day, full of conference calls and spreadsheets
• 4:30 p.m. - Finish my work day
• 4:16 p.m. - Do the dishes, clean up the clutter, walk the dogs (who try to poop and chase cars simultaneously), put out the trash cans, check the bank, get a car snack ready for Nate
• 5:30 p.m. - Leave the house to go pick up little man 
• 5:35 p.m. - Arrive at daycare. His teacher said how much fun Nate had telling his friends about his dogs and how much loves them
• 5:40 p.m. - Get home. Ask Nate if he would like to play outside and he said "no"...every answer is a no lately. 
• 5:41 p.m. - Go inside, take off coats and put everything away. 
• 5:42 p.m. - Nate asks to go outside. Bundle up, again. 
• 5:45 p.m. - Nate asks to come back inside. He said it was "too dark". Picky boy! 
• 5:47 p.m. - Nate dumps out his bins of toys and rolls around in them. 
• 5:48 p.m. - Little man brings me a book to read, but quickly is agitated by the number of pages and takes it away.
• 5:50 p.m. - Demands for dinner begin. Nate asks for chicken and apple sauce, which is an easy fix. 
• 6:00 p.m. - Nate climbs into his high chair by himself. He's much too big for it, but loves it so much. Dinner starts. 
• 6:15 p.m. - Nate is done with his dinner and I wipe him off. He says that he doesn't want to get down. I ask him what he would like and he asks for peaches, changes his mind, and asks for a bowl of cereal. 
• 6:17 p.m. - The next course of dinner is served. Nate looks at me like I am crazy, ladling milk out of a pot.
• 6:32 p.m. - All of the cereal is done. Nate asks to clean up and then play. 
• 6:34 p.m. - Nate starts playing. Mind you, the bin of toys is still strewn around the living room. Nate begins inspecting the movie collection inside of the t.v. stand. 
• 7:00 p.m. - The nightly request for Peter Pan, which is Nate's favorite movie as of late. I multitask between paying bills, reading for my class, and cleaning.
• 8:30 p.m. - Are we there yet?! Nope, not quite bed time. Nate asks for yet another bowl of cereal. Request granted
• 8:40 p.m. - Request for another bowl of cereal. This is the last one, buddy!

 Okay, so maybe madhouse may not be quite exactly the right word, but things are never dull (or quiet) around here for long....and chances are, if it is quiet, then either we're not home or Nate is being mischievous. 

party, party.

Nate was invited to a friend's birthday party this weekend at a local toddler-only recreation place. Nate didn't exactly understand where we were going, so I kept chanting "party, party". I have heard him hoot that ever since, complete with toddler fist pumps. HA!

Question: Is it strange to dress your child to match the party theme? Nate has a Thomas the Tank Engine shirt, so I thought it was appropriate.  Right?

There were lots of familiar faces from daycare at the party, so it was nice to spend time with other kids (and adults) that we know. The party was an absolute blast, full of play time and games. Chris and I even got to participate a lot, which was a lot of fun!  Here are a few of my little goofball :)

 

I also took a few random shots of Nate the other day and put them all together like a mini-collage. I am loving this new lens for my camera :)