Pumpkin Patch 2009

We made our family trip to the pumpkin patch today and had a really nice time. Luke is very excited about Halloween this year, and so was especially enthusiastic to go to pick pumpkins today. In fact, he wanted me to take a picture of him before we even left the house!

I think that I mentioned in last year's pumpkin patch post how I was on a quest to find a small pumpkin patch without all the hype that often seems to come along with Halloween these days ... and how we had such a great time at Alden Lane Nursery in Livermore. It is very small, has that family feeling, and features apple tastings, a local 4H group who brings in a few of their animals for the kids to pet, a small hay maze, and, of course, pumpkins!

Checking out all the pumpkins and picking the BEST ones!

The hay maze was definitely the highlight for Luke - he had so much fun running around in it

This city boy was pretty unsure about the farm animals that were there for petting - check out his expression when I suggested he pet the chicken. He was having no part of it!

The tee pees were also fun!

So proud of his big pumpkin!

Big boy ...

...UNDERWEAR!


Day #1 had some hits and some misses.

The day started off well, although paranoid Mommy must have asked him about 4 million times if he needed to use the potty (I'm not looking forward to scrubbing carpets), to which he replied each and every time, "No."

Then, as I am switching laundry, I hear him fumbling in the bathroom - he already had his seat on the potty. He promptly tells me that he needs to go pee pee, and we have our first success (and of course, I'm thinking that this potty thing is going to be NO problem!).

Then, during lunch, we forget to tell Mommy that we need to go and have an accident in our chair (better than on the carpet as far as I'm concerned). Several pee pees in the potty later and we're back in the high chair for a snack and the same thing happens (although, this time the chair has no pad to clean because it's already in the washer - nice).

After dinner and some encouragement he decides to try for a #2 in the potty and is successful!

So, what I've learned so far is that:
1) this probably won't be as easy as I would like
2) I will eventually have to scrub the carpet
3) we need a jumbo pack of training pants, not just three
4) girls HAVE to be easier to train because at least they can't direct their pee just any which-way like it's a fire hose, and
5) the whole potty training thing is definitely more work for the parent than it is for the child.

We'll keep you posted!

Bubble fun!

Rainy days

We've had our first two real rainy days of the season yesterday and today. I actually detest the rain, but don't mind the first few days of it. Luke, on the other hand, seems to LOVE the rain ... although, I presume that this too will come to an end once he figures that it means not going outside, for a walk, to the park, etc.

Yesterday Luke went to school in the morning (thank goodness!), but was a ball of energy by evening time with no time outside. What to do? Well ... we put all of the pillows from the couches on the floor of the family room and let him bounce around like a lunatic. THEN, he suited up in his rainboots and raincoat and went out and ran around in the rain. I failed to take pictures of either of these adventures, but hopefully they will happen again since they were photo-worthy.

Today, I decided that I needed a better plan. With no school, I knew I would pay the price of not having anything good planned. So, Luke and I ventured out to one of his favorite places EVER - the SJ Children's Discovery Museum. Seriously, this place is such a gem in our community. We are so lucky to have it nearby. There is just so much for a 2 year old to do. We could have stayed all day!

ABCs

Luke can sing the alphabet pretty well now. I hear him doing it nonchalantly all the time as he plays. However, if I ASK him to sing it (or any other song, for that matter), it turns into quite the show. I would love to capture how well he can talk and sing these days, but as soon as he sees the camera, he turns into a complete maniac. Oh well ... I'll keep trying!

Luke's house

Luke now refers to his swing set/fort as his house. He was telling me the other day what a nice house he has, and I assumed that he was talking about our house, so I went into all the things that we love about our house. He interrupted me about halfway through to correct me, "No, Mommy, that's your house right there (pointing to the house). Luke's house is here (pointing to the fort)."

OH, of COURSE!

More backyard excitement

My new playset is up and running! Paw and Daddy spent all weekend putting it together and leveling the ground to make it perfect ... and I couldn't be happier.

I played on it from the minute it was finished yesterday until it was time for bed and dark outside.

And, it was the first thing I ran to when I woke up this morning.

Thank you Day and Paw for my playset, and thank you Daddy for helping to put it together. Mommy is very thankful too ... she says it's going to keep me out of her hair!!!

First slumber party

Jack stayed overnight this week and hung out with us one day while his mommy went to work. We had so much fun! If only our mommies would have let us sleep in the same room ... then we could have stayed up ALL NIGHT LONG!

As you can see, we were being a bit silly after our bath:

We wore ourselves out and slept in late. Then, enjoyed breakfast together before I headed off to school:

After school, we went to the park and had a picnic:

I love hanging with my buddy, Jack!

A big boy room...

...is coming!

The first signs of it showed up this week when the twin-sized firetruck sheets arrived in the mail.

As you can see, Luke is ready to put them on his new bed ... only a few more weeks now until the new furniture arrives!

So much to love at 26 months

Oops ... I somehow missed last month, but not to worry because it isn't hard for me to make this month's just a little longer to compensate.

When I filled out Luke's forms to start preschool a few weeks back, one of the questions on the personal history/inventory was something to the effect of, "What has been the most enjoyable stage thus far with your child?" I thought and thought about it, and then realized that my initial reaction was truly the answer: "Right now!"

1) I love to hear you talk. We still don't catch all that you say, but we get most of it. And, if we don't get it, you seem to know this (even if I say, "Oh, really?") and you will repeat it over and over (sometimes 10 times!) in the hopes that I will get a clue as to what you mean.

2) I love to hear all of the new words that you learn every day. Yesterday after school you told me that you went on the playground ... and you were so obviously proud that you knew that new word and had said it correctly "playground."

3) I love that you are now a full-time parent to Monkey. He goes EVERYWHERE with you. You even put him in the bathtub the other night after I had mentioned that he was dirty. I later showed you where Monkey takes his baths (in the washing machine). He also eats every meal with you, goes to school, the store, the park, etc.

4) I love how you tell Brooklyn what she should be doing - this is the one case where you are definitely bossy.

5) I love that you love to give all kinds of kisses now: butterfly, eskimo, blowing kisses, and kisses on the cheeks and lips. Too sweet!

6) I love how you come and snuggle in bed with us when you wake up in the morning.

7) I love that you still actually like your naptime and lately you suggest that it is "night night time." Now, whether you actually want to sleep once we get up there is another story!

8) I love that you are starting to really comprehend that you are going to have a little sister. You will say hi to her, apologize to her when you kick my belly, and give her kisses. I just know that you are going to be a great big brother.

9) I love that even though you absolutely detest what we are giving you for dinner (you either refuse to touch it, or gag on it), you then say, "Mmm, Daddy, I like!" as though it was the best thing you've ever tasted. I guess you think that this is what you're supposed to say :)!

10) I love how you remember so much. You still tell me all about your ride on the train, and the trip we took to the firehouse.

11) I love that you want to help all the time. You want to help change the laundry, water the flowers, mop the floors, and cook dinner. You also know how to help put your toys away, and you are so good at it, making sure that each thing is in its place.

12) I love that you remind me every morning that you need a vitamin (sometimes I DO need reminding!).

13) I love to watch you play and figure things out. In the past month you have become really good at playing independently. It is amazing to see your mind and imagination at work. Puzzles, books, blocks, and your train sets are some of your favorites right now.

14) I love that you need us to love you when you wake up from your nap. You always say, "Hi, Mommy (or Daddy). Hi." and then you want to sit in one of our laps and snuggle for a few minutes while you wake up and tell us, "I sleep good."

15) I love how well you are doing at school. You are turning into such a little boy and you couldn't be more fun right now.

"Monk-mey"

Luke is beyond in love with "Monk-mey." "Auntie" Sarah sent this monkey to Luke after he was first born, and it is now Luke's regular companion. Monkey goes everywhere with Luke (although, he finally agreed to let Monkey stay home from school this week!).

Here are a few shots of Luke and "Monk-mey" enjoying the park together:

And, a few more after Monk-mey took a seat on the bench to rest:

Rain dance!

The first rain this season came in mid-September, and only lasted one night, but Luke took full advantage. He loved squealing, running, and dancing in the rain ... and he's still talking about it now and wants to know when we can do it again - hopefully the rain will come again soon!!!

The next American Idol?

Luke loves to sing. In the car, when he is playing, in the bathtub ... anywhere really.

His repertoire includes:
"The Wheels on the Bus"
"The Itsy Bitsy Spider"
"Row, Row, Row Your Boat"
"Twinkle Twinkle Little Star"
"ABCs"
"If You're Happy and You Know It"
and just about anything else that he can pick up some words to and sing along with!

Here's a sampling...

Pure joy

First day of preschool

Luke started Early Preschool today at Mandala Children's House. The mandala is a universal symbol representing wholeness and harmony, and it was chosen as the name for this school because it symbolizes the commitment to the development of the whole child.

He will be going Tuesday and Thursday mornings this year. We are so excited for him and this opportunity, and were so happy to find such a wonderful, nurturing place right in our own neighborhood. He is in a class of about 15 two-year olds, and 4 teachers.

Luke's daily schedule will look like this:
9:00 - Story time
9:10 - Work time (children do individual, self-selected "jobs" with assistance from teachers)
10:05 - Clean up, wash hands, potty
10:15 - Snack time
10:30 - Small group time (children are in groups of 3-4 by age, working with a teacher on a common task)
10:50 - Music and movement
11:05 - Playground time
11:30 - Dismissal

Today Luke took this picture to school as his first "homework assignment," which was to bring in a picture of your family (we decided capturing Linus and Brooklyn would be a BIT too difficult, so the three of us is what they got!).


Today went pretty well. Luke cried when Mommy left, as we sort of anticipated. However, the staff was back and forth every few minutes to check on the children and give the parents updates, and Luke was just fine after about 5 minutes. He seemed to enjoy the rest of the day and even drew this fabulous picture, which he later described to me as being "For Mommy," "Orange circles," and "A blue dog saying 'woof, woof'" (as if it wasn't entirely clear already!).