February

February was a very busy month, and I just haven't had time to organize the photos or to figure out something clever to write about, but here are a few cute pictures that highlight the second half of the month.

Call of the Wild

I thought about deleting that last post, but then I decided I'd rather keep it there. A reminder of the afternoon I spent in the middle school media room watching Michaela play on the internet while we talked about boys and mean girls and Call of the Wild and Jack London and family and school and how really, really hard it sometimes is to be a teenage girl. We both openly admit that our afternoons together aren't always easy, but they're always rewarding, and I know we're both better people for having known each other. I will leave Michaela's post to remind myself forever of the determined, persistent, humorous girl that I met this year, and in the future she and I can look back on it and say "Remember that day..."

facts

this is my blog ok so get the facts and make your own

A Super Weekend

When TT comes to visit, Sam wants to do everything she does. Sam won't eat barbecued ribs when I offer them to him, but when TT eats them, he must try them too. He is not interested in eating his oatmeal with a spoon when I hand it to him, but when TT uses a spoon he must too. He does not want to try the dumplings in the potato soup when I hold them up to his mouth, but when TT eats one and says "MMMMMmmmm" Sam points and says "Soup, more soup," and TT over and over again feeds him dumplings and carrots and soft chunks of potato. Every morning when TT has her coffee she makes Sam a little cup with a tiny bit of coffee and a lot of milk, and he stands at the kitchen counter and drinks it through a straw. "TT coffee," he says proudly.


Saturday Sam and TT made homemade bread and unbelievable homemade potato soup, and the three of us spent the weekend gorging on both.



The most humorous moment of the weekend came on Friday night when Sam started screaming from his crib at around 8pm. He had been in his room talking and singing and kicking the wall for half an hour when he started screaming for Mama and TT. I opened the door to his dark room and he was standing in his crib waiting for me. When I got to him he said "Here mama" and handed me his diaper. Only then did I realize he was completely naked.

This morning when I went into Sam's room to get him up for the day he asked for TT. I told him she wasn't here any more. "TT is at her house." We turned on the light and picked out a book and sat down to read and he asked for TT again.

"She's not here. Remember? She went to her house."

"TT coffee?" he asked and he ran to the kitchen.

Here are some more photos of Sam's weekend with TT and a super toddler Superbowl party.

Awaiting TT

After his diaper change every morning, Sam gets a sticker. I have found it's the only way to get him to lay down without a battle, and the last thing I need when I'm running 10 minutes late is a battle with a toddler wearing a messy diaper. This morning after we pulled his red and blue-striped collared shirt that TT bought him for Christmas down over his head, he pointed to one of the tiny alphabet stickers in between the stickers of Elmo and Cookie Monster and Big Bird.

"You want one of the baby stickers?" I said.

"Letters," he said.

I peeled off the S and stuck it to his chest.

"S," I said. "S is for Sam. Sssssssssssam. Aren't you excited to show that to TT when she gets here?"

He pushed the sticker on his chest and then pointed to the sticker sheet again.

"TT," he said.

I pulled off the T and handed it to him and he placed it next to the S on his shirt.

"TT," he said over and over again as we walked to the kitchen.

When I dropped him off at Jamie's he took off his coat and pointed to his two stickers and said, "TT."

We can't wait to see her this weekend.

Favorite Moments

A blogger friend of mine just asked for her readers to talk about the favorite moments of their days, and I liked reading everyone's responses so much that I'm hoping some of you will do the same here. Don't lurk forever. Tell me one of your favorite moments in your day. (Sorry to steal your idea, Christina.)

One of the favorite moments of my day is when I pull up to Sam's daycare. He is outside on the front sidewalk, bundled up in his blue Michelin-man snowsuit and size 5 target-clearance-rack boots, his black and white robot hat starting to sink down over his eyebrows and a river of snot running from his nose straight down into his mouth. He sees my car as I make a u-turn and he runs from his place near the giant snow pile where all the other kids are playing to stand on the sidewalk where he knows I will park. "Mama, mama, mama!" he yells when I get out of the car. It's as if he cannot contain the excitement he has about something he wants to show me. Yesterday it was the way the moon was going in and out of the clouds. "Bye bye, Moon" he would say in the car when it ducked behind the clouds, and "Peekaboo, Moon" he said every time it reappeared. How could reuniting with him at the end of a long day on a computer NOT be my favorite moment of the day?

What are some of yours?

Guitar or Bass?

While we were at TT's a Yo Gabba Gabba episode about bands came on, and Sam's favorite part was when they practiced and sang the practice song. Practice, practice, practice, practice. i think this video speaks for itself.





More photos from our weekend with TT here.

Toddler Chefs

The Pizza Chefs

A few weeks ago, Sam had a few friends over to make sugar cookies, and this weekend Lucy came over for sledding and some more cooking: pizzas! They loved it and we all loved the tasty pizza. Anyone have any ideas on what other simple things we could make with 2-year-olds?

You can also see more pictures from the outdoor fun on Lucy's page here.

Sam and Lucy top off the pizza

Gedion is very serious about rolling out the cookie dough.

Sam and Lucy cut out cookies.

Sam and Lucy are very serious about their sprinkles.


The pastry chefs and their masterpieces.