Some fun pictures

Playing with playdoh.















We collected and pressed some leaves the other day.










Reading a book--big surprise.

Happy 3rd Birthday Leo!

(I know we're a little late...)

Sunday was your third birthday. We celebrated by having Mason and his parents and Ms. Deanna over for a Halloween cutout cookie decorating party. Everyone had a good time and also really liked the chocolate birthday cake Papa baked for you. You got lots of nice presents, but this year the big hit were two big trucks.



We let you each eat one cookie, but you decorated several.











You wanted to wear the pink apron. It had been up under your armpits, but it slipped. Everyone had fun decorating.











Mason wants to see the first truck.

















You take a break to model your hand-me-down firehat for Ms. Deanna.













Blowing out the candles on your cake.
















Now that you are three, you are starting to test more boundaries. When we tell you to stop doing something, you say "no, you stop." However, for the most part your manners are still very good, and you rarely have to be prompted to use them. Most nights at dinner you thank us for making dinner, and more and more you are eating what we eat. Your favorite lately was a bean and vegetable soup.

You love music, and have a blast in your music class at school. You often sing and love to play drums and guitar. You also love to read books, and right when we get home from the library insist that we read all of your new books with you. You like longer books--easy readers with short chapters are a big hit with you right now. Your sense of humor is developing and you laugh at books in the right spots. You also laugh at the TV. Your favorite shows are Curious George and Super Why! You still watch Clifford and Handy Manny if they're on, but Bob the Builder and Thomas no longer seem to hold your attention.

You can read all of your letters and recite the alphabet and all of your numbers up to 20 (although the numbers aren't always consistent). You can spell and read your name. You really like puzzles still, and can do more and more complicated ones on your own. You know lots of animals and love to visit the menagerie in Papa's colleague's biology classroom.

We're still working on giving up the pacifier, and potty learning is going well at school, and fairly well at home. You still aren't interesting in using the potty anywhere that isn't home or school. You've been alternately claiming you have a baby sister (or brother) and asking for one. We think it's because so many of our friends have just had, or are having, their second kids, and all have been girls.

More and more you help around the house, picking things up, putting things away, and taking your dishes to the sink. You like to pretend to cook and vacuum. You had a great time making cutout cookies with your Papa this weekend. You are quite self-directed and can play or read by yourself for upwards of half an hour.

You are quite territorial on your own behalf and others'. If one of us tries to do something the other normally does you claim "it's mama's/papa's job." When Papa had oatmeal on Saturday you insisted that oatmeal is Mama's. You let me know if it's time to do fun zippies or regular zippies when we do up your coat, but Papa is only allowed to do regular zippies.

You are growing so fast and are truly a little boy and no longer a baby or even a toddler--but really a preschooler. You laugh a lot, and refer to yourself lately as a "silly willy" (which is something I call you occasionally). It's easy to get you to giggle, and you smile more often than not.

We love you so much,
Mama and Papa

getting ready

Kirstin's been gone at one of her two annual meetings the last couple days, so of course I spend the time fighting a mild cold. In bed at or before 9:30 both nights. Yesterday I even woke Leo up with a series of echoing sneezes.

Leo's birthday is tomorrow, and we have a few people coming over to help us decorate cutout cookies. This, of course, means that we have to get the cookies made. Leo helped me with some of them this morning, but I think I'm going to have to do a second batch while he's napping -- assuming, of course, that he does since he only napped at school once this week.

Rolling the dough.














Pressing down on the cookie cutter. He only sort of bent one, although I could get it back into shape. He also didn't always get the idea that you could only make one cookie from a particular region of dough.









Getting ready to roll the next batch.













Don't forget to sprinkle the rolling pin, too.














We have got to get this boy an apron!

Wow

I didn't realize it had been that long since we'd updated the Flickr stream. But, there are 321 new pictures up there, some (many?) of which you may have already seen before.

Play day

Leo and I had the day off today and the Gentrys graciously agreed to let us crash their routine. Here we are starting out in the car-yes they have the same carseat.










First we went and had coffee and muffins (well, the grownups had coffee).












Then we went to Centennial Park (near Jeff's school and the pool) and had a blast. Here are the boys on the spinner.











After mastering the pole Leo declared he was a fireman.












These are fun spinning chairs, but be careful, because they spin themselves and go faster and faster as they gain momentum. Leo almost fell off because he got dizzy.










Playing the drums (these also double as fun stepping stones up to the top).












Leo took at least ten years off of my life climbing all the way up this ladder multiple times. He was really good at it, but it's pretty precarious there at the end for a three year old!

Two posts in one day!

Only because the boys are playing outside and I can't spend any more time out there as I have already been plagued by so many bug bites. There's hardly any place accessible left for them to bite that hasn't already been bitten. So, I'm inside writing another post.

Jeff's Uncle Jack, Aunt Nancy, and cousin David came down from the Chicago area today and brought some things for Leo.

While waiting for the Bonns Leo did three of his four mini puzzles all on his own.


















Blowing bubbles on the front stoop. We'll carve the pumpkin closer to Halloween.










Already loving the playset the Bonns brought down.













Hanging out.

Random things

Last weekend we went to a birthday party for one of Leo's daycare friends. The theme was bees and the host was adorable in an improvised bee costume (yellow pants, black shorts, yellow shirt). All of the children got bee cookies and Leo took two days to eat it because it was so big. He saved the head for last and was a bit hesitant to eat it. I created a bit of trauma when I took a bite to get him started--you'd think I'd killed it.





The kids had a great time playing outside after lunch was served, and Leo surprised us all by being a whiz on the stand-up scooter--which we had no idea he knew how to ride.










Leo's new favorite word is "can't" and he doesn't quite have the meaning down. Sometimes he uses it to mean he doesn't need something ("I can't have a diaper change"), or doesn't want us to do something ("You can't eat the last cookie.")

Leo and I also have a new ritual in the morning. When I zip his coat or sweatshirt I make silly sounds for up and down and go back and forth until it's all zipped. Leo thinks it's hilarious and calls it "fun zippies." He also won't let Jeff do it and says it's because "it's mama's thing."

Also, Leo's been saying "you're so proud of me?" when he does something and saying "I'm so proud of you" to us.

Last night we had spontaneous dinner with the Gentrys at our house (lentil rice cakes with greens and tomato salsa and acorn squash from the farmer's market). Afterward we all went to Jarling's--yum.

Field Trip

Today starts National Fire Prevention Week, so Leo's class at school walked over to the fire station nearby and got to talk with the firefighters. Leo was the only one who got to talk through the radio to somebody inside the fire house, although he didn't tell me about it. (I head about it from the receptionist/secretary first, and he still wasn't really telling me even with Miss Carrie trying to prompt him through it.)





The usual suspects, the new three musketeers. (Sophia, Mr. Robot, and Pirate Boy.)











This morning, he got a haircut. He was very good & sat very still (well, very still for him) while it was happening, and even told people who asked him that he was "Leo the Pirate Boy." While we waited, I learned that the guy who owns the place is a Centennial HS alum (by spotting his old football practice helmet).








And here's what Leo looks like after.