Bye Bye Florida

Its our last day here so we're soaking up the sun while we can. Its been a dreamy 2 months that have given us memories to last a long long time. I may not be able to post for a few days as we make our way to Ohio and get set up for a couple of weeks at Shawn's family's farm. We always have a great time there visiting with family and friends, so the fun continues!

Merry Go Round

Another first for Andrew - riding on a carousel.

Dylan and Andrew

Dylan was Andrew's first friend. They were born 1 month apart and we have the good fortune of visiting with he and his mom every few months since infancy. As it happens, they were in FL this weekend, lucky us!

Barista-in-Training

They're not kidding when they say it takes 10 times as long to do anything when you're with a toddler! A quick task, such as grinding coffee beans takes 4 minutes and 34 seconds according to my little movie. But Andrew takes such joy in helping Shawn that we never say no, and always encourage him when he's interested in learning something new. Andrew helps to prepare all our meals. I'm so glad he inherited Shawn's love for cooking - since I'm disaster in the kitchen. Enjoy the movie of our Barista-in-Training. It's a great illustration of his vocabulary, motor skills and general enthusiasm at this age.

HERE'S THE MOVIE LINK!
https://picasaweb.google.com/107672593978976801439/Barista?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCP_Dpv7Jz9TYlAE&feat=directlink

A's Great Grandparents

For a few days this week, I was in the Fort Lauderdale area visiting my grandparents. Shawn stayed behind with Andrew and Bosley. I had such fun! As I told them, I miss being mothered, and a visit to their apartment, which is a landmark in my head and heart, would be just the thing I need. So Grandma made me tasty food, we talked about family history and current events, went shopping...it was wonderful! They are so in love with Andrew, its really wonderful that they have shared their hopes and dreams for him with me. Over the years I look forward to bringing him down to FL to get to know them better.

ABCs

Andrew's first music video. Sadly he inherited his parents inability to hold a tune. It's still cute, nonetheless.

Out and About

Today we were daring and took Andrew out and about for the first time in his underoos. The kid's awesome. He stayed dry the entire time, and once I offered him pottytime (we keep one in the trunk) and he made a command performance in the public restroom. This is only PT Day 6 and he's only 26 months old. Not bad! For who are interested, we spent our day at the Tampa Train Station (40th Anniversary Celebration Exhibit) and walking around Ybor City, the latin historic district of Tampa.

New Favorite

We took Andrew to a toy store, let him choose whatever he wanted (we've had the same small collection of toys here in the FL house for almost 2 months now). What did he choose? A pink hula hoop. He rolls it round and round the yard. I'll enjoy his inexpensive taste while it lasts.

Mama

Andrew has lapsed back into a "want just mama" stage. Mama does the potty, Mama to the playground, Mama reads the books. I wonder how many more times I can expect this to happen, or sniff sniff, shall this affection soon be a thing of the past?

Potty Training, Continued

So far so good! No accidents yet today (though afternoons never go as well as the mornings) AND Andrew told me when he had to pee, then performed the deed on the potty. That's what I call progress! He's a quick learner, this is only day 3. Half the time he's running around naked, and we've also introduced underoos. Sorry about the poor quality of the photo...and no his waist isn't really that small, he's just sucking his belly in for the camera. Doesn't he look proud of himself? Every time he pees in the potty, he drags Shawn into the bathroom to see it.

Potty Training

Since we're here in the warm weather, I thought we might try to potty train Andrew, letting him run around naked. 26 months is pretty young, but so far so good. We have more success than accidents and its only day 2. He seems to really enjoy his sticker reward (no sweet treats involved, surprisingly) and loves making a big deal about it when he peepees in the potty. We read books mostly, but occasionally I'll let him play with the iPad. The next step (ideally) will be for him to tell us when he has to go, rather than be prompted by me. Keep you posted! I'd love to be done with diapers but understand that sometimes the initial attempts at training don't work. After all he has to be the one that is ready.

Lucky Andrew

Happy Valentine's Day!

Grandpa Richie

Grandpa Richie is here, and Andrew is very happy about it. The last time these two saw each other was almost a year ago! There is a huge difference between a 13 month old infant and 26 month old toddler! Andrew is pretty much an entirely different person now so its been fun watching them get to know each other again. Yesterday we went to the zoo, and played at home. Today we're meeting Great-Aunt/Uncle Nina and Michael for brunch! Finally Andrew seems able to join us at restaurants and not disturb anyone, thanks to the iPad and its fun apps.

Glazer Childrens Museum

Aside from it being a zoo (note to self: call ahead to find out if there are any school field trips scheduled), we had a lovely morning at the Glazer Childrens Museum in downtown Tampa. But really, when is this kid not enjoying himself?

Arts and Crafts

We've gotten to the point where Andrew enjoys experiences rather than toys. Which is fine by me. I can only take so much of pushing little vehicles around. We are already pretty active, physically. We go on long walks, or to the playground, or beach. So Shawn suggested we buy him a bunch of arts and crafts and see what he likes. The answer was, EVERYTHING. He likes fingerpainting, brushpainting, stickers, markers, you name it. I'm really excited because the options are limitless, and fairly inexpensive too. If there are any toddler arts & crafts activities you can suggest to me, please do!

26 Months Old

At 26 Months You Could...
Use large words like appetite and container
Start your own imaginary play
Figure out jigsaw puzzles and memory games
Use iPad apps
Sing the alphabet song in its entirety
Tell me what it is you do, and do not, want
Help walk Bosley
Help Dada make his morning coffee

At 26 Months You Would...
Mispronounce a few words in the cutest way. My current favorites are "La Room" (living room) "Lellow" (yellow)
Make a furrow browed when you don't understand something.
Sleep in a big boy bed
Start each morning with a "Pick You Up! In the La Room!" (meaning, pick me up, bring me to the living room)
Have lots of fun dancing, clapping, jumping and playing instruments at music class
Go to the playground every day
Give a play by play of the street lights we pass as we drive "Green Go! Red Stop!"
Always get stopped by strangers, telling you how cute you are.

At 26 Months You Loved...
Netflix TV. Your favorites are Curious George, Pocoyo, Blues Clues, Super Why, Thomas
Yogurt, Blueberries, Ice Cream, Sprinkle Cookies
Your yellow blanket
Matchbox cars
Trains
Collecting seeds in the yard
Climbing up/sliding down
Screaming "Oh Yeah Oh Great All Right!" when you're happy
Being chased by other kids, and chasing them

At 26 Months You Hated...
Veggies and Meat
The snot sucker (nosefrida, check it out, great for parents with sniffly kids)
Shopping carts that do not have a forward-facing toddler seat
The "time for nap" announcement

You are such a little boy now, I can hardly see the infant you once were. I admit that I'm having more fun with you now than ever before. You have such an exuberance for everything in life. You talk nonstop which is mostly a joy, except for those longed for moments of silence now and again! You are very good at expressing what you love and very good at expressing what you don't. I have so much fun with you each and every day and enjoy showing and teaching you new things. Now that we are a few months into the terrible two's I can say they aren't so terrible. Some days you get cranky and might have a tantrum but those days never outweigh the days that you are wonderful. You're such a smart one, it keeps me on my toes! We've been here in Florida for 5 weeks now and I can tell you've really enjoying having both parents with you all day, every day. We've been taking walks, going to the beach and reading together. Though you won't remember any of this, it will be fixed in my memory as some of the happiest days of my life.

Animal Kingdom Lodge

We had loads of fun visiting with our friends Kate and Cliff at Animal Kingdom Lodge yesterday. From their big beautiful suite we could view all sorts of African animals on their savannah. We also visited the pool, playground and restaurant. Mainly we just hung out and caught up with them. Andrew adored Christopher, their 8 month old son - we look forward to seeing then all again soon!

Lowry Park Zoo

The last time we took A to a zoo was in March 2011 while in DC, he was 15 months old and not really into it. What a difference time makes! Now he knows all the animals by name, and was really interested in watching them do their thing. His favorite were the meerkats going in and out of their holes. We walked around for a couple of hours, he didn't even seem to tire out. For sure we'll visit again, maybe with Grandpa Richie when he visits us this month!

Bouncy House

There was a bouncyhouse at the zoo today (zoo pix coming tomorrow) and watching A jump/fall was a riot!