Three Cheers for Red Canoe!

I can't believe we have been a 10 minutes drive away all this time! We finally made it to a Wednesday morning jam session at the Red Canoe bookstore! Anna, Patrick, and I rocked out with several dozen moms (wearing mules and lugging a sporty backpack as a purse) and a diverse crowd of agile characters under two feet tall. We sang Wheels on the Bus along with the guitar and danced to the tune of Hokey Pokey. I have never seen Patrick so still! He sat on my lap - mesmorized! I need to learn how to play the guitar! We ran into neighbors and met several others that we plan on seeing next week! It was like a piano bar for toddlers! And just as much fun for the adult-conversation-deprived parents! Five stars!!!!!

No gender bias here!

All is up for grabs! Anna is obsessed with Thomas the Tank Engine and Patrick would play with this dollhouse for at least 10 minutes. Next year's Christmas list???:

Anna: dump truck, cleats and shoulder pads, fishing rod

Patrick: My Little Pony (the blue one), sunglasses and a beach cover-up, stickers

They shall not be stifled by the gender specific sections of a Toys R Us catalogue!

Hats, Hats, Hats

The Baltimore Museum of Industry has a wonderful program called "Wee Workers". Anna had a great time sporting this cap during this week's "Hats" theme. A group of about a dozen 2-4 year olds bounced in and out of their chairs during the read aloud of Caps for Sale! Then, they made monkey hats (a character from the book) and caps, and pasted shapes on a top hat. We are looking forward to the next session, "Radios"!

This was staged.

Patrick gets around the house extremely fast these days and I feel awful picking him up after he has army crawled his way into the kitchen - so much effort! He refuses to remain in a seated position for more than about 5 seconds and tries to pull himself up in his crib, but that needs a little more time. He has two bottom and two top teeth now - and in a much better mood now that they have popped through!

Regressing???

A little jealous maybe? Anna has been wanting to do everything Patrick does lately! How far do we let this go?

Who Needs Coffee!

Give these a try instead of your regular morning brew:

1. Build Me Up Buttercup
2. September Earth, Wind, and Fire
3. Fishin' in the Dark Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
4. How Sweet It Is Marvyn Gaye
5. Dixieland Delight Alabama
6. ANYTHING on ESPN Jock Jams, 1996

Yet another night of multiple night wakings (they just can't get enough of us), I decided to try a new remedy and ditch those sing-songy nursery rhymn CD's for a few songs that got us all dancing and bouncing. It took a good half hour, but by 6:30, were we all wide awake and ready to meet the day!

Cause and Effect

Enough said.

First Attempt at Hide and Seek

Good try Patrick, but we can still see you! Patrick was actually able to do this all by himself! Who needs toys? He thought this was really funny and kept himself occupied with the laundry basket for a good 10 minutes while I folded (and Anna unfolded). Pretty soon he might be banging his head against the wall with the basket on his head like the scene from the movie Parenthood.

Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood!

Anna and Patrick and I enjoyed a nice walk in the double-wide yesterday! The sun was out and we thoroughly enjoyed being outside after the monsoon on Friday! Come on spring!!!

Beating the Wintertime Blues!

It's cold outside, but Anna wanted to put on "lotion" (she is so responsible and apparently well aware of what damage the sun can do to your skin) with her bathing suit! We ate hotdogs for dinner and pretended to be at the beach. Patrick is looking oh-so-cute sporting his trunks! A fun-filled Saturday night at the Morrow house!

See me in action!

Put up the baby gates!

Patrick is on the move! While getting Anna out of the tub, I came back into Patrick's room after about 3-4 minutes to find him in this position! He is showing off his arm strength and doing a sort of "army crawl". He can scoot his way around rather quickly and seems thrilled with his new talent!

"I'm just giving the pig a bath!"

Anna almost flooded the bathroom today... She and Patrick were both down for a nap, and I settled in to do some work. Anna gets up, says her sweet hello to try and get me to let her stay up, and makes a stop in the bathroom on her way back to her room. I am just finishing up and hoping that the water I hear running is nothing to be concerned about. I'm almost finished... As I walk in, Anna is innocently giving her pig a bath in the sink, with only about an inch of room to spare in the sink before water would have come spilling over. Just in time! Pigs do get dirty, so luckily he was wrapped in a hand towel and back in bed with Anna.

Could not resist...

"Patrick, you're not going to be able to get by on good looks alone forever." I mean, come on! What a smile! Patrick is smiling much more these days, after his first two bottom teeth are almost completely through the gum. He was pretty uncomfortable at times, but back to his happy, mellow self.

Cinderella, Cinderella

Anna in action - she loves to clean! Pictured here scrubbing the kitchen floor (on two separtate occations). The first time, she cried when I broke it to her that we would have to stop. As you can see, she is very thorough and using a toothbrush to clean the grout lines. She also cleans the tile in the shower with a washcloth at bathtime. She has recently discovered the joy of washing dishes. Ben is thrilled to have her take over his usual nightly duty. With her around, we can just kick up our feet and relax!