Marbles Museum

Thomas and I went to a kids museum in Downtown Raleigh called Marbles Museum.  We've been once before, for a birthday party, when he was much younger.  He was able to really enjoy the museum this time!  Here are some of the things Thomas enjoyed:

Thomas drove the big city bus...


...and the car (which he insisted was a firetruck)...


...played in the water and accidentally splashed some of the mommies...


...played hockey...


...painted a picture...


...built a mega-Lego tower...


...used a saw to cut wood in half (with Mama's help, of course)...


...and worked at a lemonade stand.


And that was all before lunch!!!

Happy 2nd Birthday Thomas!

Thomas celebrated his 2nd birthday on Thursday, May 6 with a clean bill of health, a couple of shots and a supper out at Red Robin.

The doctor's appointment on his birthday is just cruel and I cannot seem to remember to NOT schedule it on his actual birthday.  He did get a sticker and a lollipop, so I'm sure he wasn't too scarred by the whole thing.  He was 37 inches tall (97th %) and 30.5 pounds (75th %).  He's still a big growing boy and Dr. Herriott said he's in great health and growing and acting just as a 2 year old should be.  I'm sure she tells all the parents the same thing, but she seemed to be impressed with our little guy.  He was very talkative and showed off his knowledge of colors and shapes without even being asked!  By the end of the appointment, he was ready to either sit on her lap or go see the next patient with her.  He made a friend.  This was the first well-check where he was weighed on a regular big-boy scale and measured height standing against the wall.  I was so proud of my big boy.  He got a couple of shots and was WELL aware of what was going on and did not like it one bit.  After a minute or two of crying, he got over it and moved on to the stickers and lollipops.  He did, however, talk about his boo-boo's for the rest of the day.

We took Thomas to Red Robin for supper on his birthday.  He was visited by Red Robin and the staff who sang Happy Birthday to him and he got his own ice cream sundae, which he kindly shared with Mama.

That Saturday, we celebrated with many of our friends and family at a cookout at Kids Together Park.  Thomas had a blast playing at the park with the other kids and we were glad to get to catch up with all the folks who mean so much to us.  We missed Papa sorely, but we made sure to get lots of pictures!  The party was themed after Thomas's favorite emergency vehicle, a fire truck.

Happy Birthday my sweet boy!!

Beach Trip with Papa and Oopsy

We packed up and headed back down to the beach for a long weekend with Papa and Oopsy (my dad & step mom) and Aunt Whitney.  We stayed at The Avista in Cherry Grove, SC in a great 3 bedroom condo that was just perfect for our family!  Thomas is really getting used to the ocean and has a great time digging in the sand.

Thomas was also quick to make friends with one of the few people on the beach on four wheels.  The fascination with anything on wheels continues...

Thomas loves his Papa and they had fun playing in the waves together.

My Aunt Debbie & Uncle Jimmy live very close by in Little River so we got to visit with them quite a bit on this trip.  We don't get to see them as much as we would like, so it was a blessing to be able to hang out at their house and play on the beach.  My cousin Courtney and her daughter Camdyn were also with us for supper.  We missed Courtney on the beach but Debbie had fun playing with the kids!!

What a great trip.  Thanks Papa & Oopsy!!

For Sale

Well, it seems we're close to outgrowing our current house.  We are just fine and would continue to be just fine with our 1200 sq ft and 3 bedrooms, however, it sure would be nice to have a little more space and some room to play outside!  So, we've put our house on the market.  We'll see how it goes.  So far, it's been interesting with a two year old but it's going well.

We took a weekend, without Thomas (thanks Meme!), and got most of our house packed up.  All the extra toys are gone, all the extra clothes are gone, we are officially decluttered.  Mom has some extra storage space so we packed up a 14 foot UHaul truck and loaded it into mom's storage.  It is amazing to me how much STUFF we can acquire in such a relatively short amount of time.  The kicker is that most of the stuff belonged to one little boy, who shall remain nameless.

So, this...

...turned into this.

And, this.....

...turned into this.

And so on and so on throughout the rest of the house.  And now we're ready to do it all over again when we sell 2429 Appalachian and find our next home. :)

Trip to the Zoo

So, the day after my last post, we went to the NC Zoo in Asheboro, NC with Papa, Oopsy and Aunt Whitney.  We met bright and early in the morning off the highway and then made the rest of the trek to the zoo.  What a great day it was!  The weather was great and the animals were so cool to watch.  Thomas enjoyed running (or strolling) from exhibit to exhibit and often barely looked at the animals.  He did like the polar bears and the seals.

This is Thomas riding on the back of a monkey. (not real, of course!)

 

Thomas and Oopsy enjoyed watching the chimpanzees.  The cracks in the glass made Mama a little nervous, but all was well and there were no crazy monkey outbursts.

The walkers and the strollers.

We packed a picnic lunch and avoided the chaos in the dining area in the middle of the zoo.  Instead of people surrounding us, we had geese!

The bear keepers sent us a message loud and clear!

Here we are after a long day at the zoo.  After this picture we walked back through the park instead of taking the tram.  I was happy for the exercise and Thomas was happy for the nap.  Guess we wore him out!

Big Boy Footsteps

...That is what I hear coming down the hall these days.  It's no longer a pitter-patter.  It's a full-out run on those size 8.5's!  Things that bring Thomas running these days - the sound of the iced tea maker coming out of the cabinet (he helps fill it with ice and put the tea bags in, making sure to leave the tags out); filling up our Brita water pitcher (he helps "carry" it back to the fridge); any of his favorite shows on TV (Handy Manny, Sesame Street, Mickey Mouse, Chuggington, etc.); running his bath.

We also seem to have a pretty polite child, which is nice.  He almost always says "please" and "thank you" and uses them correctly.  We even walked by a stranger on the sidewalk tonight and he said "excuse me" in the sweetest little tone.  The conversation we have most often around this household goes a little something like this:

Thomas: "Hi Daddy!"
Daddy: "Hi Thomas! How are you?"
Thomas: (through a wide grin) "Duhd" or for those of you that don't speak Toddler-ese, "Good"

We have this conversation over and over and over with anyone within earshot.  Daddy first, then Mommy, then grandparents if they're around, one by one.  He gets such a kick out of this simple little conversation.

Speaking of conversation, he really is starting to take off with the talking.  He regularly says two-word (or more) "sentences" and knows how to address the person he's talking to.  For instance, the other day, out of the blue, he said "Happy dayday Mama!"  That's how he says Happy Birthday, and no, it wasn't my birthday.  He'll also say things like, "please Daddy" and "Mama's car go home"...you get the picture.  So cute!

I'm starting to realize that discipline is really starting to become an issue so that is a hot topic in my life right now.  He is starting to enjoy a little more freedom, so listening to Mama and Daddy is becoming even more important.  I'm sitting here looking at a list of 8 books that have been recommended to me over the past couple of weeks.  I'm going to narrow them down and start reading!  I keep telling myself that it won't be an answer that works perfectly from the get go and never fails.  But, I sure do need more info and knowledge on the subject, from a few different points of view!  We'll see what I find out.

Here is Thomas with his friend Lilly at the park.

The weather has started to get warm and we've been spending a lot of time at the park lately.  We just tried a new park this week that was great and we even got to take a nice long walk around the lake with our friend Amanda and her dog, Cooper.  (By the way, we may just put a saddle on Cooper and bring him to Thomas' birthday party. That dog is huge and was a hit with the kids at the park.  He's such a sweet dog!)

The boys of OIB, enjoying some piano time.

We spent Easter weekend at Cherry Grove with the Williams'.  We enjoyed spending time with family and we even got to see Shawn's cousin Jo, her husband and their baby girl, Holly.  We were able to check out Ryan's new ice cream shop in Myrtle Beach and Thomas got a free scoop!  That's the benefit of having an uncle that owns an ice cream shop, I guess!!  We cooked out the last night and broke in Shawn's new cornhold boards.  Thanks mom!!

Thomas rode his first carousel while at Barefoot Landing in Myrtle Beach.

I think he was holding on pretty tight.

We're headed to the NC Zoo for the first time with Thomas tomorrow so I'm sure I'll have some pictures to share soon!  Hope everyone is having a lovely Spring so far!!

Valentines Day & Dinosaurs

This is one of my favorite funny pictures from Thomas' 21-month pictures at Portrait Innovations.  Ms. Kathleen always does a great job and she loves to see how big Thomas is getting.  He was stuck to Mommy for the first five minutes (which is odd, considering that has been like a second home to us...), but after that he was hamming it up for the camera.  He was, however, more interested in playing with the soccer ball and the bubbles.  I think he thinks it is a play place, where they just happen to have cameras to capture the action.  Here is another good one.

We had a very nice and relaxing Valentine's Day.  I got up and made heart-shaped pancakes and bacon for the guys.

Thomas spent a night away with his Grandma and Grandaddy.  They took him to Myrtle Beach to see Uncle Ryan and Aunt Cassie.  He had a blast riding his 4-wheeler and eating ice cream at Uncle Ryan's ice cream shop.  When we called to check-in, they happened to be at the shop and when we talked to Thomas on the phone, the first thing he said was "ice cream!"  I think he enjoyed it!

Last weekend we went to the Museum of Natural Sciences in Downtown Raleigh.  That place has so much to see, some of which was interesting for Thomas and some...not so much.  He did enjoy seeing the dinosaurs and the fish.  By the time we got up to the butterflies and various other animals, I think he had seen all he wanted to see.  He was very interested in standing in a window sill on the top floor and looking out over the buildings.

We often drive by the tower at the WRAL studios near our house and the NC State Bell Tower.  He points enthusiastically and says "TOWER!!!"  Now, when we drive by any building over 3 stories, he shouts "TOWER!!"  It's cute.  He's saying more and more cute stuff and I really need to get better at writing them down as I go.  Today I noticed him lining up his cars, as usual.  He moved one to the front of the line and said "excuse me".

We typically would have a pancake or a waffle for breakfast, but recently I let him try some of Mommy's oatmeal.  He loved it and ate the entire bowl.  So, now he is enjoying his oatmeal most mornings.  He's pretty good at feeding himself.  I will say, the bibs with the pocket at the bottom are worth every penny!

So, Thomas is now 22 months old and we are hurtling toward his birthday.  Can't believe my little man will be 2 soon.  He's such a sweet boy and has such a kind spirit.  Recently he's been holding out his arms to ask for a hug.  Instead of saying "hug" he just tilts his head to the side and says "awwwww" with a grin on his face.  That's the same thing we hear after we take his picture.  He says "cheese" and then does the head tilt, awwww thing.  So funny and so sweet!  I love my little man.