School Pictures

It must be the school teacher in me, but I love those stiff posed school portraits.  I was so excited Freddie would have his picture taken and even more excited that it'd be after lunch.  I have no idea why three year olds were being photographed after a long day and lunch, but paint and peanut butter stained clothes would just add to the charm of the school photo.

Pictures were taken out in the "yard" and there's only one teeny tiny grape jelly spot on his shirt.  Pretty cute, eh?

Freddie also received a class picture and I love him naming all the kids and telling me who is a good runner, who brings dumplings for lunch, who builds cool bridges with the blocks.  I cannot believe he has his own little life separate from us, but I love hearing about it and I even can't help but smile when he says "I don't want to talk about my day, Moooooooom.  Can we talk about something else?"

Zoo!

We visited the Oklahoma Zoo to see all the animals that the little Central Park Zoo doesn't have room for.  We saw elephants and zebra and gorillas and rhinos.  We even got to feed the giraffes and see his blue tongue up close. 

All very cool, but Freddie's favorite thing:  the misters. 

So long, friend

Summer 2010, Denver

I've posted these pictures before, but they are some of my favorites of our Muppey Dog.  They capture his sweetness and what a loving companion he was for us all.  He had 15 good years, but we are wishing for just a few more nudges from his nose to get our hand scratching his ears.

Bathing Beauties

Everyone enjoyed some pool time at Aunt Mary's this weekend!

Freddie even took off his float to swim!

Hoping it won't be long now before he puts his face in the water to straighten out his dog paddle form. Proud of him for so much improvement over such a short time.

Birthday Boy

Lots of "Mmmmm Mmmmm" going on as he checks out the cakes!

Happy Birthday, Hansie Monster.  Thank you for this year, for your grunty giggles and snuggles, and showing us how to love more than we thought possible.  We love you, love you, love you.

What a Difference a Year Makes

From Tummy Brother...

To Hansie Monster...

52 Weeks

Appearance:

• About 30 inches
• About 23 pounds
• Blondy
• Thickening hair with a few waves in the back
• Beauty Mark
• Brown eyed
• 8 teeth (a few others seem to be right below the gum but have stalled.  I can feel two on the bottom ready and waiting.) 

Vocabulary:

• Ball (Ba)
• Milk (MiMi)
• Water (WaWa)
• You'll do a few animal sounds, Woof, Moo, Baa, Who, especially when we see the animals in your books.
• You carry on entire conversations with your babbling.  I love when you point to something and then give a very long winded explanation about it with all of your noises.  You may give Freddie a run for his money with the nonstop chatter.
• You also understand quite a bit...you'll put your cup or ball in my hand when I request it as well as come over to me when asked. 

Looking for Dada

Working On:

• Walking!  You're getting closer and closer each day.  You've been letting go and standing on your own for a few seconds.  You'll do this a few times each day and have a good laugh once you've grabbed back on to a support.
• Drinking out of a cup.  Mama is getting used to floaties in her water.  You do lots of practicing in the tub (gross).
• Using utensils.  You're getting better, but sometimes I wish you'd just give in and let me put a bite in your mouth.

Saying "Mmmmmm" over and over looking at Dada's birthday cupcakes

Likes:

• Music
• Bathtime
• Climbing..onto the little chairs and then onto the little tabletop.
• Cuddles
• Freddie! and anything Freddie has

Dislikes:

• Diaper changes are awful with you.  Things would go a whole lot faster if you'd just hold still for 20 seconds.
• Getting dressed 

Diet:

• You eat just about everything.  I've been trying to get you to like eggs, but so far you're not having it.
• About 16 oz cow's milk a day
• One nursing at night which will be phased out this week

Personality:

• You're smiling more at strangers, but also a little hesitant to let others hold you.  You were not so sure of Freddie's new teacher but let her hold you, only to give a good scream when I walked away a few minutes later.
• You're becoming more independent.  You'll crawl and away from me on the playground to do your own thing.  You still check to make sure I'm where you left me.

Making sense of the world:

• You're banging things together and making music.  You'll pound out a tune and do a little dance.
• Your play is becoming more complex.  You find a car or a train and give some motor noises and push it around the house.  You'll rock the baby dolls or try to feed them.  My favorite is when you are playing in the kitchen with Freddie and you'll put the pretend food to your mouth and say "MmmmmmMmmmm."
• You're mimicking continues.  You'll get in Freddie's tooldbox and grab a screwdriver.  And then you find a screw to tighten (or loosen).  Even if it is teeny tiny you'll work very hard to get the tip of the screwdriver right onto the screw.

Happy Birthday!

Hans cannot take his eyes off the cupcakes.

Here's to another great year!  We love you.

Story Time

Hans LOVES books, and I love reading to him, for obvious reasons.  Here we're reading Blue Hat, Green Hat, but Doggies is another favorite. 

Lovin'

• Snuggling brothers
• Stories from preschool
• Long mornings
• Longer afternoon naps
• The sound of the walker clanging through the living room
• Cooler tempertaures
• Requests for music at dinnertime
• Chlorine kisses after a successful swim
• Digits reading below 130 on the scale
• Restful sleep

Summertime

Summertime means.....Meeting Dada for a picnic lunch near his work on a Friday afternoon after running through the fountain at the playground.

Best Dad Ever

Driving home from the beach:

Me:  Thanks for being such a great dad, Charlie.


Charlie:  It's my pleasure.

I could list a hundred or more reasons why you're the best dad ever, but that little exchange pretty much sums it all up...You love being a dad to our boys, and it shows.  I love you.

Harvest

Freddie has a pea, or two, in his window garden.  Since we've planted the garden he has been very aware of the seeds in his fruit and watching the plants around town produce flowers and then seed pods. I am very happy that he got to check the blossoms each day and watch them turn to peas.  He's been asking lots of questions about where his food comes from and what fruit and vegetable plants look like.  He'll be keeping his eyes open for cornfields once we get to Minnesota. 

Best part of growing veggies:  He want to taste them!  I wasn't exactly sure what to do with these peas.  The pod is tough, and we only have a couple, so he just got to bite right into them.  A little ranch dressing for dipping and he was quite tickled to be munching on veggies from his garden.

51 Weeks

You're attempting to climb on just about everything.  Love the determination, but it means I need to keep a close eye on you.

You've decided to really start using your walker.  I am ready for you to walk and get up off your belly.  It frustrates you to not be able to keep up with Freddie.

It also frustrates both of us when you're not able to communicate your needs and wants.  The pointing and grunting eventually gets the job done, but it's hard work.  I think I can hear "wa-wa" developing for water.

You are rough and tumble and after Freddie all the time.  You smack him or pull his hair to get his attention.  Sometimes this doesn't go over very well, but you definitely get his attention.

Nine more days until your birthday.  You're almost ONE!

Maybe he doesn't know Pig Latin

Charlie:  What are y'all going to do today?

Me:  Depends on the weather, but I'm thinking about the Z-O-O.

Freddie:  Let's go to the zoo!

Me:  The zoo?  How do you spell zoo?

Freddie:  O-O-Z
 

Summertime

I love the laziness the summer heat brings.  Although the boys aren't yet able to appreciate "summer" in the sense school aged kids do, they do feel the magic of warm days and sunshine.  I'm trying to take notice of all that is beautiful about summertime with little boys, including sweaty heads and dirty feet. 

I've started a list to help mix up our days, to help mark summer, without compromising naps and early betimes (read between the lines:  Mama needs quiet time).  

• Popsicles in the afternoons
• Dining al fresco, perhaps on our rooftop
• Making popsicles
• Ice cream in Central Park
• Visiting new playgrounds, especially those with sprinklers
• Beach trips
• Chalk and refining our hopscotch skills
• Water balloons
• Shirley temples with lunch
• Four leaf clover hunting
• Petting zoo visits
• Ferry rides
• Family bike rides
• Watermelon slices
• Try bowling (why do I consider this a summer activity???)
• Kite flying
• Fingerpaint, outside and shirtless...the boys, not me!
• Picnics 
• Watch a movie in a cold theater
• Catch one of the movies shown outdoors on the island
• Early morning strolls as a family, with cold ice coffees for Mama and Dada

 What am I missing???

Key Lime Pie

I got this one from my friend, Ellen.  Key lime pie is Charlie's favorite, and he gave this one an A+.  He liked that it was tart and crisp, as a lime pie should be.  I'll be making this a few more times this summer but need a zester, and a key lime press may help although I really don't have room for either in this postage stamp sized kitchen.

Ingredients:

Lime Mixture:

• 3 egg yolks
• 1 can of sweetened condensed milk
• ½ C. of fresh squeezed lime juice
• 1 t. lime zest
• 9 inch graham cracker crust

Sour Cream layer:

• 2 C. (16 oz.) sour cream
• 1/3 C. sugar
• 1 t. vanilla
• 1 t. lime zest 

And since my online grocer doesn't carry graham cracker crusts, I made my own.


Crust:

• 1 1/2 C. graham cracker crumbs
• 5 T. butter
• 3 T. sugar
  

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Mix ingredients for crust and press into pan.
3. Place crust in freezer for an hour before using.
4. Beat the egg yolks with the condensed milk, lime juice and lime zest
5. Pour mixture into the graham cracker crust
6. Bake for 30 minutes
7. While the lime mixture is baking, make the sour cream layer
8. Whisk the sour cream, sugar and vanilla together
9. Remove the lime mixture from the oven
10. Preheat oven to 500 degrees
11. Spread the sour cream layer over the lime mixture and sprinkle the lime zest on top
12. Return to the oven for about 5 minutes, just until it firms up
13. Remove from oven and allow pie to cool
14. Refrigerate the pie overnight and then serve 

By the way, I have tried a quicky version of key lime pie, and it is pretty yummy as well.

50 Weeks

How is it that we're at 50 weeks?  A year is just around the corner!

Some of your new tricks:

• You can show me your belly, head, mouth, tongue, and toes when asked.
• I think you are saying "ball" and "head."  You are definitely communicating.
• At the table you ask for Mama's water glass over and over and over and want me to help you take sips.

• You scoot over to some of the toys that play music and get them going so you can do a little shake.  And you do it over and over and over.  
• You are pretending to use the remote and when you get a wipe or rag you use it to wipe your hands and mouth.  

• You are also using the kitchen pots and pans more, stirring and then using the utensils to pretend to eat.  This makes Freddie happy because up until now you've just looked at him when he serves you a gourmet meal from the kitchen.

• You are getting good at stabbing bits of fruit with a fork and sometimes you can even get it to your mouth on the fork.  You usually resort to just grabbing the food off the end of the fork and jamming it into your mouth because eating is serious business and cannot be delayed.  
• Your stubbornness has reached new levels.  You protest often, especially when I try to put you in the stroller.  

Protesting!  Get me out of here!!!

• You've discovered the toilet.  Blah.  Sometimes you toss things in but the real attraction is lifting the lid to splash in the water.  Then if you finally give up on trying to get into the commode you'll settle for unrolling all of the toilet paper.  Fun Times.

Other things going on:

• You're moving to one nap this week and your sleep is suffering.  It may be a bit premature, but i am hoping you finally get it over the next couple of days.  It will make summer fun easier...I hope.
• You still have a few teeth right under the gums, but none are cutting through just yet.

I want to be measured too!

Lovin'

• Thanks for taking me to the beach, Mom.  (Heart melts.)
• Blooming zinnias
• Baking together
• Silence during naptime
• Bedtime cuddles
• Belly laughs
• Brothers
• Watermelon for breakfast, lunch, and dinner
• Two mimics in the house
•  Made beds

Creature from the Black Lagoon

The gear has been great for learning to swim.  The swim vest provides just enough buoyancy to work on his form.  Even with the vest he still must use his arms and legs to stay afloat.  The flippers were a must have after he saw the big boys at the pool using them, and supposedly these encourage horizontal positioning in the water.  The goggles have helped his confidence with getting his face wet, but they really serve as fashion statement.