Landon's 3rd Birthday Party

Saturday afternoon we headed down to Landon's birthday party.  The kids had so much fun (of course!).  Nate is at the age where he can run and play with everyone, so he loves all the "new" toys to play with and running around outside.  Landon and Nate are finally playing together (awesome!) and not beating each other up, or should I say Landon beating up Nate, so they have a great time.  Maddie loves all the different toys to play with and exploring the environment, still unaware that she's not running with the big kids, and so still having fun.

The party was great. Jeremy cooked hot dogs and hamburgers on the grill and Jaime made this delicious apple dip-yummy!  The cake was a hit, I'm so glad he liked it.  He liked it so much he stuck his face in it! I figured he might do something like that so I made the hill/tunnel just for him!  He's such a character.  He got so many new puzzles.  I really think he's a puzzle prodigy-is that such a thing?  The kid is amazing!  I've never seen someone so young tackle these big kid puzzles before.  And I love doing them with him-we are bonding now through puzzles! :)

Who Took the Cookie From the Cookie Jar?

Or should I ask, who took a bite out of each cookie in the cookie jar?  This is what I saw when I went to have a little snack.  I laughed, thinking that Michael, in an attempt to keep those cookies for himself, took a bit out of each one. 

I had to laugh harder when he came home from work and told me that he did not do that and we realized it was Nate! Of course, my first thought went to his allergy and skin, but so far no break outs.  Poor kid, just wanted a taste of chocolate. I don't think any of us can blame him. :)

Mommy is Yucky

I don't know where Nate picked it up (and he had to have picked up somewhere because of course this is something that must be learned, otherwise boys love their mamas always and forever), but everytime I give him a kiss he says "yuck" and wipes it off! I'm not really offended, it's really quite cute and funny, but still!  At 2 1/2 he already yucks my kisses!

Not feeling extremely loved, I turn to Maddie, who still has yet to say my name.  Say mama, come on, say mama. What do I get? Raspberries blown at me.  I tell ya, no love! :) 

Maddie has always been a percher.  She likes to sit on whatever she can that's not the floor.  She loves her little chair and I find her sitting on random toys.  Lately she has been all about sitting in things.  She loves to sit in this toy bucket.  Cracks me up everytime!

Aquarium & Museum

We have spent the last couple of weekends doing "stuff".  The Saturday before last we went back to the Newport Aquarium.  Last year we had purchased a membership, figuring if we go just one more time  it would pay for itself.  And we have gone a few times this year.  It has been nice when we're looking for something to do we can pick that as an option.  However, Newport is a good little drive and when we compare the amount of time we spend there versus how long it takes us, it's something that we just won't be renewing for next year.  Good while it lasted and I absolutely love seeing the difference in the kids each time we go.  I always say it's amazing what a difference a few month will make.  Nate thoroughly enjoyed himself this trip.  He loves fishes  and sharks now and so had a good time looking in all the tanks.  Someone was also nice enough to give him some extra nectar in the aviary and so he was able to feed a parrot.  That made his day! Maddie, well she like running around and looking. I think going through the tunnels fascinated her. 

                                                 

 

And then this past Saturday we went up the Children's Museum.  I'd like to take this moment to say how happy I am that we live so close to such wonderful things.  We can take the kids places and it does not mean packing up for a big vacation, just a morning out.  I love the museum.  The kids have so much fun and Maddie is getting to the age where she really likes exploring.  I don't know why we've never been up to the carousel room before (maybe because I thought that's all that was in there) but there's playhouses and mirror rooms and tons of fun things to see and do and so that was exciting seeing something new.  The carousel was closed for maintenance, a little bit of a bummer, but now that we know what's there, we'll definitely be back in that room next time we go. We usually just hit a few rooms each time we go, and so this time we hit playscape, the Matchbox exhibit, and then the carousel room.  Nate loves playing with all the Matchbox cars and I know I like playing with them too!  I think Maddie's favorite this time was the little ice cream shop.  I didn't get any pictures but that's what happens when you're too busy playing and forget about it!

Remembering These Moments

Remembering...

Nate still loves Curious George, but has a couple new favorite shows-Word World and Word Girl.  Both PBS and so of course educational without him realizing it. Love it! He still loves playing with his trains but isn't as into watching Thomas as he used to be. 

When he sees a shark (puzzle, book, etc.) he says shark and then sings the Nemo song (ah ooh wah e ah o-o). Cracks me up. 

He will continue to say thank you until someone else says thank you or you're welcome. 

He is getting much more helpful all the time, but this does mean he's becoming a bit bossy as he likes to "help" me parent.  He will tell Maddie when she can't do things. 

The paci is a problem. He just loves it.  I don't blame him and understand that he wasn't ready to give it up when he did.  He's a very oral person (still sticks toys in his mouth) so it is a hard habit to kick.  So that's been a little bit of a struggle.

He's talking so much more.  It's still single words and really hasn't stung them together to form sentences (except for a few key phrases ie. I don't want to).  But the communication has really helped to understand what he wants and lessened quite a few meltdowns I think.

A few nights ago when I put him to bed I set up his stuffed animals with toys for them to play with (he rarely goes to sleep right away and plays for a bit before climbing into bed).  We talked about sharing his toys with his friends.  It seemed like it worked well and thought it was a great way for him to practice sharing.  But when I looked back in his room as I was closing the door I saw him punching his animals and taking back the toys. I had to laugh it was so funny. Oh well, sharing is one we'll be working on for awhile.

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Maddie has finally popped those first molars on the bottom so that has given her a bit of relief for awhile.  She was working on those bad boys forever.

She developed a rash Friday night that bothered her so badly it kept her (and me) up almost the entire night.  However, by morning she was fine (no fever ever developed).  Over the weekend and into the beginning of the week the rash got worse, spreading from her torso to her entire body.  I took her into the doctor and still not knowing the cause, it is some type of contact dermatitis. The doctor said it looked like she got into some poison ivy or something, but she has not been anywhere that she could have gotten it.  She said that a lot of times the parents never know what caused it. So she's on some steroid cream for the next week.

She's still so happy.  Everywhere she goes she lights up the room.  Don't get me wrong, she definitely has her moments, especially when she's not getting her way.  Example: Last night I got out the box of nilla wafers.  She got so mad at me because I would not give her more than one at a time.  She wanted to put one in her mouth and then one in each hand.  If I haven't mentioned that the kids likes to eat, now would be a good time. :)

She likes to learn about things.  She points at things and wants us to tell her what it is.  We will sit and look at/talk about puzzles, books, etc.

She is still sleeping fine at night but has always woken up at least once, crying out for a couple seconds.  I think she loses her paci and then has to find it.  Still waiting until the time when I don't hear from at all through the night.  I will probably wake up panicked.