Big brother in training

I have been a little remiss on the blog lately, and I have a lot of updating to do. Theo has kept us very busy lately, and the fatigue that comes with pregnancy has played a part, as well. We told Theo two weekends ago that he is going to be a big brother. We weren't sure what to expect, but we managed to elicit a very positive response by suggesting that he could practice being a big brother with a baby doll. He got extremely excited at this prospect and off we went to Target to pick out a baby doll. Theo chose this girl doll, and proudly brought her home. He held her and sat with her and "snuggled" with her. He showed her the flickers in the yard and the numbers and letters in the newspaper, and he always made sure that we kept her hat on her head to keep her warm. We were thrilled with the natural nurturing and teaching spirit he showed, and much to my surprise he was not confused or surprised at all to be told I was growing this new baby in my tummy!

A great day

Today, being Saturday, is the one day we all get to spend together as a family with no one having to go to work, and today we had one of the best family days we've had in a long time. Theo has been difficult over the last few days, and the day started out with the excessive no's, crying over everything, etc. that we've been dealing with of late. So, we decided we needed to get out of the house. We took ourselves to OMSI, went out for brunch, then this afternoon, after Theo's nap, he decided he wanted to put on his helmet and go for a ride on his new bike. Theo had refused to put on his helmet since the first time he wore it a few weeks ago, so we just haven't talked about it since. Then, this afternoon he said he wanted to wear his helmet and go out on his bike. Matt had taken him out the first time and I wasn't home, so this was my first time. We got him fixed up and I even got him to put on gloves, which is good since we've been having an unusually cold few days in Portland. Walking down the street with my boy on his bike, I was SO PROUD and he looked so CUTE I could hardly stand it. He hasn't learned to pedal yet, but since this bike has a parent-handle that steers, we can just cruise and he can learn over time. We walked down the street and saw a cool construction truck parked down the way. Theo had SO MUCH FUN and so did I. Between that and the super fun time we had as a family at OMSI this morning, and the wonderfully relaxing brunch out (last meal out had been a disaster), Matt and I are in our happy parenting place again...yeah! We'll see how long it lasts. :)

Play-doh and the alphabet

Matt and I gave Theo some play-doh on his actual birthday. What a hit. First he was mostly interested in organizing it, but over the next few days, Theo has become really, really into it. He mostly wants Matt and I to make things with it for him, but he is slowly learning to shape it himself. His favorite parent play-doh game is making letters.

In the past several weeks, Theo's language skills have exploded, and he now makes sentences like "I want cracker" and "Mama make letters play-doh." This spike, corresponding with his receipt of the Dr. Seuss A-B-C book from Grammy Betsy has made for quite the little alphabet learner. The child has learned his letters faster than his bird species! He almost knows all of them now, and knows what many of them stand for, such as "C for Cat Meow" and "P for Pop". Between this and his memorizing sea life and mammal species on his flash-cards Great Aunt Carolyn gave him, he is showing that he has an incredible memory. And we're not pushing this stuff, these are the activities he chooses!

2nd Birthday

Theo's second birthday was a joyous romp of toddlers and sharing our new home with friends. We had a dinosaur theme, with little grab bags of dinosaur tattoos, skeletons, and other little items for the kiddos. Our cake came out looking more like a dragon and had cavemen on it, but hey, it was delicious and still very cute. We ordered chocolate, hoping to cash in on Theo's newfound love of chocolate cookies to get him to try the cake. Alas, while he helped himself to some frosting before we even got it cut, he would have no part of tasting the cake itself. Fortunately, Matt picked up some chocolate cookies at the bakery as a back-up, and Theo was able to happily munch on one while the rest of us had our cake.

Theo playing "fast car" in the new house

One of the reasons we knew this would be a great house to raise kids in: circular floorplan on the main floor. Theo LOVES running around playing fast car, or sometimes even fast kid!

Christmas part three: the Nelsons and a big truck

The Christmas fun continued when Grandpa "Pop" Gene and Grandma Janet miraculously made it out of New York before a big blizzard to see their grandson December 26. Theo received a giant scoot-around black pick up truck, which was of course, a huge hit. A Christmas present for both Theo and Grandpa Gene was watching a few minutes of football together on TV. Theo almost thinks that football is all there is on TV, and especially enjoyed learning that there is a lot of "crash" and "boom" in football, two of his current favorite things.

Christmas part 2: Elmo and reading

After Theo got to open all of his presents with Mom and Dad, Theo got to have Grandma Betsy, Great Aunt Carolyn, Grandpa Steve AND Grandma Linda ALL over for more presents! Highlights included a baby tickle-me-elmo from Grammy Betsy, which Theo calls "Elmo sing" and dances along with, and a four-pack of plush birds from Grandpa Steve, the duck of which went to bed with Theo that night. He has also tremendously enjoyed the animal flash cards Aunt Carolyn picked out and has already memorized most of the mammals and several of the sea life series. Theo enjoyed some quality time reading Go Dog Go with Grandma Betsy and primate books with Great Aunt Carolyn during their visit.

Christmas in the new house

OK, let's face it, the chaos of moving into a new house during the holidays with a toddler has taken its toll. One thing that didn't get done: blogging. Things have been a little crazy around here, but we did have a lovely first Christmas in our new home. Theo really got the act of getting presents this year and thought it was pretty awesome. Here are the highlights from Christmas morning.

At play in the new yard

Theo just loves to bundle up and go out to play in the new yard, which backs up to protected wetlands. Theo loves to listen for ducks and frogs, watch the stream, and crunch in the leaves. While we're inside we love to watch birds fly from tree to tree and enjoy the view of the mossy woods.

Hello? Grammy? Pop?

Hello everyone and sorry for the long delay in posts! Matt and I have been busy moving the family to our new home. Time to catch you all up a bit. One of the cutest developments of late is pretending to call Grammy, Papa, Grandma or Pop on the phone. Ring ring, hello!

Language skills

Theo told me the other day, "Mama read Gro-gro (Grover)". He recently said to Grandpa Steve, "Papa chair book bird". He says triangle and pumpkin. I can't hardly stand how cute it is when he says those two words: "pumptin" and "triandle". Aw. Matt commented the other day that as much as the onslaught of the "terrible twos" is in full effect, its really not so bad. Part of him wants Theo to stay this age forever because he's just so damn sweet. Theo has also recently learned to say "Love Dada".

Play Roar Roar!

OMG, Theo got some little plastic dinosaurs as a party favor at Skyeler's birthday party, and he is CRAZY for them. He wants to sit at the bench at the dining room table and "play roar roar" as much as possible. Talk about growing up and becoming a little boy.

Inflatable birthday party

Today I took Theo to Skyeler's 3rd birthday party, at one of those Pump-it-up inflatable bounce and slide places. Theo was shy and clingy for the first five or ten minutes while he got his bearings. After that, he was a confident big kid, having so much fun climbing, bouncing and sliding! I was really proud of him. He even climbed up and went down the big slide several times all by himself, without me even having to show him how. Afterwards all the kids sat at a little table and had snacks, and my little guy was just as content as can be. Ready for preschool soon!?!