And I Rolled My Eyes

A1 and A2 asked me to make them waffles for breakfast this morning. Being the loving mother that I am, I immediately got to work to make them a wonderful breakfast that they could brag to their friends about, dirtying a whole lot of dishes and all the counters in the kitchen. When I went to call them to the table, I found this in the living room...
... and this in the bedroom...

... on top of this that I still had to fold.Later a friend stopped by to ask me what I did with myself to keep from being bored all day.

And I rolled my eyes.

What makes you roll your eyes?

Happy Halloween

Halloween was great this year. I love that A1 is old enough to get excited about and enjoy the holiday and that A2 gets excited about anything that A1 gets excited about. We made cookies and went to a couple of different parties and played games and, of course, went trick-or-treating. A1 continues to talk about how much she loves dressing up in a costume (she would only answer to "Tinkerbell" all day). A2 learned that he loves suckers. All together, a successful day.

Trick or treat!

Tinkerbell

Cookie Monster

The Animals Went Marching Two By Two

And the kids went marching four by four!

Our good friends, the Johnsons, invited us to go to the zoo with them. So off we went - in the rain! Actually the rain was good because it kept the temperatures down and the crowds small. We basically had the zoo to ourselves so our kids didn't disturb anyone and they could stand and look at their favorite animals as long as they wanted.

The giraffes were high up on the list of favorite animals...
... as were the gazelles.
However, I think the favorites were the gorillas.

We stayed forever at the gorilla exhibit, watching the whole family eat and interact. Then we got a show from our own little monkeys...Bentley, Gaige, and A1 (from left to right) loved the zoo more than just about anything. In fact, A1 and A2 will be getting an annual pass to the zoo for Christmas (shhh, don't tell them).

Where have you been lately that has made you buy (or want to buy) an annual pass?

Our First Field Trip

Last month A1's preschool had a field trip to a farm. The kids got to pet and feed animals, go on a hayride, pick their own pumpkins (just in time for Halloween)...

...and play on pretend old-time vehicles (trains and cars and stuff).
I tried to get some cute seasonal pictures of A1 and A2, but only A2 cooperated...

... A1 was having way too much fun playing. I'm glad that their first field trip was such a success!

3 Milestones in 1 Day

Apartment living has severely limited some of A2's learning opportunities, especially learning to climb stairs. To overcome the lack of stairs in our apartment, I took A1 and A2 to a nearby playground that has a toddler slide with stairs just perfect for beginners. I set him down at the bottom to figure out how to lure him up to the top; while I was thinking, he simply crawled up the stairs, no problem! We tried it a few more times, just to make sure that he knew what he was doing. On the fourth try A2 thought, "This is not a challenge; let's try something else." So he held onto the railing and walked up the stairs! I guess our lack of stairs hasn't limited him that much.

On a somewhat related note, A2's first tooth made its appearance last night. It is now officially time to ween him.

When You Give A Boy A Cookie

Question: What happens when you give a boy an oreo and turn your back for a few minutes?

Answer:

Has It Been A Year Already?

A2 had his first birthday a few days ago. I can't believe that he is a year old already! He's an adorable boy who loves following his sister (especially now that he is walking), loves playing with his daddy, and loves cuddling with his mommy. He has brought so much joy and fun to our family.

Naturally we had a party to celebrate and invited a few friends over to join us. I made a train cake (my first attempt at carving and truly decorating a cake).

Did I do an okay job? Tell me it's good.

We gave A2 his own little train car to eat while everyone else devoured the rest of the cake.

Signs of a good party

A2 loved eating the cake. You can't tell in these pictures, but he had cake all over his belly, in his eyelashes, and even in his hair.

Before

After

And we opened presents. A2's favorite present?

The boxes and bags that the presents came in, of course.

Overall, it was quite the party. Thanks to everyone that helped us celebrate. Happy Birthday to You, my darling boy!