Adsy Badsy

Brian and I can never remember words to songs, nor do we really care to. We have a blast just making up songs in our house. Bri and LT have a whole slew of songs they sing together, one special one is a "friends" song that they sing at night before bed. LT and I make up songs throughout the day too. One of the semesters that we took LT to music, there was a song called Alley Balley. I am not exactly sure of the lyrics because Brian and I are constantly making up our own words to the song depending on what is going on in our crazy house with our boys. I think it goes something like:
Alley Balley
Alley Balley Bee
Sitting on your mama's knee
Waiting for some money
To buy some coulters candy
I think Adlers name (nickname Adsy), makes a nice start to this song and so he is often called Adsey Badsy.
One of LTs and my favorite versions of the song is:
Adsy Badsy, Adsy badsy bee, sitting on LTs knee, waiting for one passy, to make him happy.
Here's a cute picture of him:

And just a picture of Adler with his buddy Holden, someday soon they will know each other are there (at least their eyes are open) !

Ewan and LT

This is just a funny picture of Ewan and LT when we had dinner with them a few weeks ago.

Gymnastics

LT has been going to gymnastics for about a year on and off. I have never really taken pictures during the class and now that Adler is here, I don't even think to bring a camera. Luckily, Shawn loves taking pictures!

LT walking on the balance beam. He talks about the beam A LOT, and to his credit, its one of the things he can do pretty well alone (I let him practice on the low beams barely holding his hand, but above he is on one of the high beams). This shot is funny with both Holden and Adler in the baby Bjorns. Notice Adlers Nikes on his feet. LT puts them on Adler every time we have gymnastics. He says, "Addyar need his soos so he can do the balance beam wif me". Unfotunately Adler has always slept through the class and hasn't been able to test out his shoes on the beam, maybe next time.
LT in the big foam pit. He rarely goes in the pit. I'm not sure if it is the texture of the blocks or the uncertainty that mom will be able to rescue him out of it with Adler, but he never seems interested. It was one of Brian's and my favorite activities when we were in gymnastics at Dardanos years ago, so I am sure he will like it in time as well.

The Santa experience

Bri and I aren't big into long waits at the mall to see Santa, nor are we big into driving long distances to see him in various places. We actually had sort of decided not to see Santa at all this year, but then I noticed a sign that he would be making an appearance at the Bookery Nook 2 blocks from our house. We thought we would try and if the line was long, just skip it and head to the local coffee shop. We arrived and were only the seconds kids there. LT was a little unsure of the situation, but I could tell a bit excited deep down. He was cautious not to go too close, but he talked with Santa and even handed him a letter we wrote that morning. We hung out at the bookstore for nearly an hour and LT did eventually get close to him, never sat on his lap, but we didn't care.
Handing Santa his letter.
This is where LT found the tow truck puzzle that he wanted for Christmas (after choosing puzzles for kids that don't have toys). Above he was looking to see if it was there (Santa had already bought it for him so he can't find it).
A little unsure about this whole Santa experience.
Of course Adler slept through the whole experience, maybe next year he will be a participate as well, but for this year, a passy and mom is all he really wanted.

Daddy Daycare with #2

Kari and LT went to dinner with some friends the other night which left me at home alone with Adler. I haven't had a daddy daycare post in a while and Shawn politely reminded me that I'm overdue.

We played, as much as a 3 month old can play, for a bit and then he crashed in the sling (aka peanut pocket). I took this self portrait to document our success.

But success would not characterize our whole night as this second self portrait reveals. Screaming babies are never fun but it's remarkable how much easier it is on a hapless father the second time around (an old daddy daycare post with links to even older ones provide some perspective).

Roto calmed down and turned into a little angel just moments before his mom and brother came home. I guess he had fun on his guys night with dad and didn't want his mom to worry too much so maybe she'd let us to it again (we haven't even broken out the laser yet).

Smile!

Don't forget the baby!

Adler doesn't always get the same airtime on the blog because he doesn't say cute things yet and he's often bundled up in the sling on my chest while I'm taking pictures so doesn't make it into any of the shots. More than a few family members have reminded me on more than a few occasions not to forget about the little guy. I actually do take a lot of pictures of him but just haven't gotten many of them up here lately. So anyway, here are a few of my favorites from the last few weeks.

Crazy Boyz

The other afternoon, the boys and I were just playing some toys in our basement (probably doing the alphabet puzzle LT loves doing over and over again, Q, R, S, T, U, V, A, B, C and then you gonna sing with me is how he sings the song!) I needed to change LT quickly and so in order to keep Adler safe from the dogs, I put him in a wicker toy basket for a minute. LT thought it would be fun to join him and so I snapped a quick shot of them together in the basket!

Thats the holiday spirit!

Note: I am going to brag A LOT in this post, but I think all of LTs friend's parents could and should brag just as much about their kids. They are all wonderful children with a multitude of talents.
All too often people lose sight of the holiday spirit, giving. Shawn and my mom are two extremely generous people who are always looking out for others: cooking food for people, donating clothes and toys, bringing food to families without anything for the holidays, giving to charities etc, but when you ask them what they want, they say, "I don't need or want anything", and the best part is that they mean it. LT might be following in their footsteps.
This is the first year that LT really understands presents and has some understanding of who Santa is. With the exception of one present, he has helped me wrap everyone else's presents without fuss (this particular present for some reason has been a big deal for him not to wrap, so mom, you may get a gift unwrapped!) He made our family some presents, but accidentally told Brian right away what he was getting, ooops, guess 2 year olds are honest!
My mom and I took the boys shopping about a week ago and my mom wanted to take LT into the Lego store to buy some toys for kids who didn't have any toys. I thought for sure there would be a full tantrum because HE wanted a toy for HIMSELF. But... he and my mom were successful, he just walked around looking for things that he could get "next time". He chose some legos that he thought other kids might like. (when I asked him originally what he thought kids might like who didn't have any toys, his first answer was a brown B, unfortunately the lego store didn't carry any of those).
On Tuesday, Brian's mom came to help with the boys. I asked LT if he wanted to stay and play with Baba or run errands with mommy (I thought for sure he would want to stay and play and I would have plenty of time to quickly get errands run). He said, "I want to go run errands." So, I bundled him up in his warm clothes (note, this was a few hours before the horse drawn carriage rides, so bitter cold temps). We went to the post office to mail some baby presents and then to pick up his jacket from the dry cleaners. We had about 20 extra minutes and so I thought I would risk taking him to the local bookstore. The toy library at our local library was recently told that their toys are all out of date and need to be replaced in order to meet current code. Therefore, they need to replace nearly 400 toys. They were asking for donations, and since our family uses it often, I thought what better way to give? Rather than trying to explain this all to LT, I told him we were going to pick out a few more toys for kids who don't have any toys. He chose three puzzles, took them to the counter and told the owner that these were for kids who don't have any toys. I was so proud of him, that I told him to go look at the shelf and find something he might want to ask santa for. This was a risk, a HUGE risk because kids tend to live in the moment, see what they want then and there. But... LT came back to me and said he found one that he would tell santa he wanted, "next time". No fussing, no crying, nothing. The toy library is taking donations at the local wine bar, that happens to be just a few stores down and across the street from the bookstore. Again, I thought this is taking a huge risk because is he really going to want to give these puzzles up? But, no reason to drag them home and have them sit around waiting for me to find the time to take them back, so we walked to the wine bar. He handed them to the bartender and told him, "these are for kids who have no toys". I added in the "toy library" part quietly. The bar tender offered me a free glass of wine (mama juice as LT calls it) and LT some juice. He and I sat at the bar on this ridiculously cold afternoon and enjoyed some one on one time, sipping our juice and chatting. I never anticipated having a 2 1/2 year old who was so giving, but I am so proud of him. Whether or not he fully understands, I think I can say safely that he's been a good boy this year.
Santa is working hard building the two things LT wants, a silver bell and the car tow truck puzzle that he saw at the bookstore.

a little glimpse into LTs mind

Shawn asked me a few months ago if LT did imaginative play. I thought about that question and thought about it, for days, weeks, months. Everyone defines things differently and so I wasn't exactly sure what she meant. However, if making up your own words to songs and books is creative, then yes, he does imaginary play. If creating a waterfall out of our fireplace is imaginative play, then yes, he does imaginary play. In the bath he creates orangutans out of blocks, imaginative? I think so. Last night, Bri made LT dinner, pizza, peas, and cranberries. He sat down all by himself and ate as much as his belly could hold. Then he proceeded to play with the peas for about 30 minutes and Bri and I had a full conversation (some parents might get upset about their child playing with food, and had he not eaten a great dinner before playing, we may have also.) He created roads, made them into cars, pretended they were his friends and many other things. After about 25 minutes I suggested we take a video of him. This was towards the end of the creative play, but still a glimpse into what his little brain can create. I loved sitting back and observing what kids come up with on their own when I taught preschool, but it is even more special to sit back and watch your own child invent games and entertain themselves with no intervention or ideas being thrown at them. Kids have the best minds!
The video is hard to hear and understand, but he has made the peas into boats and is paddling to get his friends who are stuck. He then finds the "cool neighbors" and gets them onto the boat.

What was I thinking?

One of our neighborhood coffee shops sponsored a "sleigh ride" event last night, free, with hot chocolate and fun for the kids. It looked and sounded like a ton of fun and with the frigid air temperatures outside, I honestly didn't think many people would go. The intention had been to meet up with a couple of LTs buds, but they were all smart and stayed inside. We went back and forth on whether or not it was worth braving the below zero temps (with wind chill), but ultimately had already mentioned it to LT and he wasn't letting us skip out. So... we bundled the kids up. Adler in TWO snowsuits, LT in his boots, snow pants, hat, gloves (I realized I need to buy him some legitimate mittens) and warm coat. Brian and I made sure the kids were plenty warm (or as warm as they could be) and didn't think about ourselves as much. I don't think Brian even had gloves. We arrived at the coffee shop and saw the long line outside for the ride and got into it. Bri took Adler inside with Baba and LT and I braved the cold waiting. The carriage ride was 10 minutes each, taking only 5 or 6 kids at a time. After about 30 minutes of LT waiting, I realized how long this was going to take and I sent him in to stay warm and I stayed in the line. Baba came out awhile later and stood in line so I could warm up a bit. Finally, after close to 2 hours of waiting, we got on the carriage. By this point, LT was starving and exhausted. He got in the carriage and burst into tears for the remainder of the ride. The ride home wasn't much better and then he proceeded to have a full exhaustion/hunger induced tantrum, one I have only seen one time before. Was it worth it? Well, to LT, yes. He has told me today how much fun he had, apparently he forgot all the bad parts of it. I haven't, but if he had fun in his mind, it was worth it. I think I am just starting to get feeling back into my fingers and toes, more than 24 hours later.

LT bundled up inside Cafe Cafe.
Adler bundled and passed out in the bjorn. I don't think he cared one bit where we were or how cold it was outside, he was snuggled inside with his dada.
Self portrait minutes before boarding the carriage.
I love this picture. Just a glimpse into how cold the air was.


LT and I as we took off on the ride, around the block.

Fun on a Blankie

Leave it to Shawn to be creative with a blanket! The kids enjoyed being pulled all over the kitchen. For the past two days, LT has been saying, "and Saaaan (shawn) pull me and my fends and sofi and z all awound on the floow and we have so much fun and we go so fast and we have so much fun with saaaan and the blankie".

Playing, Smiling sleeping and Laughing

I must have blinked too long because I just realized Adler is no longer an infant, he's a baby. He's holding his head up, rolling, laughing, smiling and playing (as much as a 3 month old can) with his brother. He loves being read to, sung to and most of all smiled at. He has just started engaging with the toys on his playmat and on his bouncy chair. He will giggle and smile, kick and squirm and is just an all around happy baby. I couldn't ask for more, except a little sleep.
LT loves playing with Adler. Here he is showing Adler the different animals,
LT loves turning on the star that lights up and plays music.

When I say I need sleep, its a selfish thing. I have always required a lot of sleep. I was the kid in college who went to bed at 10, lame, yes, but I just can't stay up late! The first few weeks of a newborn are always a little hard and just when I was starting to get totally sleep deprived, Adler slept through the night, and then again. I know not to count on it from this day forward, but it sure feels great to sleep! I guess I can't really complain after all.
This morning Adler woke up a little earlier than he normally does. I was at spin and so Brian was the one up with him. When I got home, LT was still sleeping and so Adler and I had a little time to hang out. I asked him if he got up early and suggested that maybe he sleep more for dada. He looked at me with his adorable 12 week old eyes and said, "yea" and started giggling. Luck? Probably, but it sure seemed to me like he knew what he was talking about.
Soon after, he fell asleep while I was cutting his nails, funny kid.

TV isn't such a bad thing

We had dinner at Ewan's house the other night with Z and his family. The three boys were troopers, playing cars and trains for an hour plus with few arguments. It was inevitable that the stealing, wrestling etc would begin with three overtired kids wanting the same toys. So... in order for the adults to enjoy a few extra minutes of chatting, we plopped them in front of the TV. As you can see, they all react the same way, completely mezmorized by Wonder Pets! Works like magic.
This is my favorite picture of Z! I caught an expression that LT has often while watching TV, as if trying to get himself INTO the TV show!

Reading with Gramma

We have had some really cold weather in Denver the past week. Finding ways of entertaining LT indoors can be challenging, but luckily he loves being read to (and reading to us!) He will sit for story after story if we let him (guess its not a bad thing).