Bob the Builder

All week Sammy's been asking to "Play Bob?" He loves this new exhibit at the Minnesota Children's Museum.


He is particularly fond of Rolly. Tonight before dinner he was saying, "Rock-n-Roll!" - that's Rolly's expression. If you push a button on most of Bob's vehicles they say their catchphrase or whatever.


Driving Muck. I think Muck says, "Muck's on the job!" But I could very easily be wrong.


Watching the money go down the drain (ha!) with Cal before heading home. The boys had so much fun and played hard for two whole hours, only visiting the Bob exhibit and Habitot. Whew! What is it they say? "Learning is hard work"? or is it "Playing to learn is hard work"? I can't remember. But the boys did that.

A couple nights ago - wrestling with Daddy.

I believe this particular move is called "The Stretcher" - Sammy loves it.

An interesting gift.

This afternoon:

Sammy says, "Here go, Mommy. A big booger." Hands said booger to me. I stand there stupified with a huge booger stuck to the end of my finger.

Ah, toddlerhood.

Already a sweet big brother.

Today I was standing next to Sammy's stoller and I guess my shirt was riding up and showing off a good bit of belly (seems to be typical these days). Sammy put his hand on my belly and said, "Baby Freddie moving in there. Hi Freddie." Then he informed me, "Baby Freddie's coming out soon."

He's tried to pull my shirt down before when it's rode up, but hasn't greeted Freddie until today. I guess he's put it together in his mind now and is thus far looking forward to the arrival of his little brother. Yay!

I am so happy our boys will have each other in their lives. :)

Mr. Cutes

Peek-a...


Boo!

A very brave boy.

I had surgery this morning to remove the bump on my back. We had to get up very early to go to the hospital but I got to play with a lot of trucks and Little People and change into cool "Lellow" hospital jammies while I was waiting so it I thought it was fun. Well, it was fun until I had to go to a different room, sit on the bed and wear the little mask - that's when I got a little scared. Even then I did great, sitting on Daddy's lap and watching the stars twinkle on the ceiling (they wouldn't let Mama hold me because of baby Freddie but she got to rub my head and hold my hand). Then I went night-night.

Thanks to everyone who was (and has been) praying for me - I did so well (better than my mom who cried a little bit after I fell asleep) and my "special doctoe" was able to get the entire mass out. He said the mass was about the size of a pea and contained. He is fairly certain it's a benign hemangioma but is going to send it to the lab where a Ba-type will check it out and report back to us within a week.

Spring cupcake

In honor of our foot+ of snow, Mom bought a spring cupcake for us to share. I helped pick it out - they had blue and yellow birds and I chose the yellow one. I'm all about yellow ("Lellow") right now. (Cal, if you are reading this, have your mom take you to Lund's and head for the bakery pronto. These cupcakes are awesome!)


In addition to the two birds made of frosting, there was a candy-coated chocolate egg behind them. I got to eat the whole egg and my half of the cupcake after dinner tonight.


Shoveling it in. I ate my whole bird in one bite. After I finished my half, I of course asked to eat my mom's. ("Sammy eat that bird, too? Please?") It never hurts to ask, right?

Lotsa snow!

Strange, I am not in this picture. But I wanted you blog readers to see what our deck looked like this morning. Doesn't look like as much as it is, but to give you an idea the show is past my knees when I'm walking outside. It's very cool. Maybe we'll manage to get a picture of the front of the house tomorrow.

Little People School Bus - still a #1 toy

I could play with my "yellow school bus" for hours! Notice the campfire riding shotgun. Very safe.

"Sammy eat tacos for dinna."

After almost each bite of Spanish rice I would say, "Like it!" (Notice the cool new Star Wars cup and bowl Daddy brought home for me today. Thanks, Mana, I like those, too!)


I'm saying "Smile!" and sort-of doing it. I am loving Taco Night. Finally, after harassing my mom for tacos for, like, weeks, I finally get them.


Can't...


stop...


eating tomatoes... !

Beloved Bovines

Sammy is in a cow phase. He loves them. I asked him the other day if we ever eat cows and he looked shocked and appalled and said, "Nooooo, Mommy! No eat cows!"

My good little quasi-vegetarian. :)

Funny Phrases

"Lookin' out the window."

"Makin' a funny noise."

"Sammy do it!"

"Yeah, Mommy?"

"Mmm. Like it."

"Beans on toast."

I'm sure we could add and add to this little list here - these are just the ones I've heard a bunch this week. That last one is thanks to Leah and her funny stories. It's been brought up mostly because we had toast with dinner Tuesday night and bean burritos last night and both times when he's seen the ingredients Sammy has said "Beans on toast."

Happy Valentine's Day!

I am a blessed and lucky boy. So many people love me! I received and opened many Valentine cards and trinkets early, but I did come down stairs this morning to find a Sweetheart Spud waiting for me.


"Oh! A 'tato head!"


Working on assembling "tato head" to perfection.


current state of perfection

I also ate a few red M&Ms, the remaining third of my pink sugar cookie and three huge chunks of pineapple after dinner tonight - and I got to play with the cow balloon Mommy and I sent Daddy at work - so all in all an excellent Valentine's!

Good habits. Thanks, Mom and Dad!

This is me drinking milk from my cereal bowl. One thing I can say about my folks - they've really taught me important life skills.


When I finish I ask for "More-ah milk, please."

Dada plays bass in the band.

I like watching my dad rehearse. Sometimes I get to touch the bass. Sometimes.


Someday I, too, will play in a band. I love music.

Cookies (again!)

This morning we walked at the mall, then played with trains. After all that the fetus is quite hungry so we go to the Nestle Tollhouse Cafe for cookies. Today instead of sharing one, I let Sammy pick out his own (I had my eye on something that I didn't want to share...) He picks out a pink (yes, pink) sugar cookie and has it all eaten before we even hit the exit for our house. As we are making the turns to arrive at home, Sammy asks, "Mommy's cookie?" Pause. "Sammy eat it?"

I laughed the rest of the way home. Amusing, but the cookie is still mine! :)

"Name?"

Sammy has recently become obsessed with the names of things. Or maybe I just noticed it because of a funny Cal story I heard about naming a clothes pin, but either way, these days he is constantly asking me what things are named.

For example, as he's holding up a toy he'll ask: "This train name?" or as we're driving down the road: "That doggie's name?" He even wanted to know, "Mommy's blue car's name?" I told him it was a "5" (it is, it's a Mazda 5) but he told me, "No, a 10!"

Science Museum

Today Mom and I went to the Science Museum with Andrew and Phoebe and Andrew's mom (Melissa). I had lots of fun exploring the dinos, space, weather and towboat sections of the museum. I really liked the towboat - we all got to climb up into the boat and see the (frozen) Mississippi River from our vantage point on the captain's deck. It was so cool I can't stop talking about it.


Climbing the dino mountain.


Inside the dino's tummy - this is the size of a vegetarian dinosaur's digestive system! (or a fun tunnel to climb through).


On the "Dino phone" - the dino was talking to me! (Really it was a scientist explaining historic stuff but Sammy was convinced you could pick up the phone and talk to the dinosaur). Stegosaurus bone replica to the left. Pretty cool stuff.


Checking out the Earth's rotation. "Where's the Moon?"


Playing a one-string cello to learn about sound waves. Fun fun fun!


Playing the piano and "learning" about frequency, sound waves, and how music and sound are mathematical.


Checking out the water wheel in the weather exhibit. I got my sleeves all wet but this was so fun!

Shaving

Just like daddy - I had to make sound effects because I couldn't turn it on. (I think my dad might have sabotaged my efforts on that front.)

Valentine Cookie Decorating Party

(or, as I like to call it, More Reasons to Love Cal's House)


A before picture - post decorating first cookie, pre-eating it. "Neemee eat it now?"


mmm... "icing nummy..."


"Cookie!"


Icing! Even pink tastes good. This table is a toddler's dream come true! :)


Clockwise from left: Sammy, Cal, Colin, Hannah - we had *so* much fun!!!


I decorated this cookie special for Daddy. I made it look like "dirt that Digger dug" (a design technique that required me to run my finger through the frosting and eat it - most of it).


Seriously, the chocolate icing was my favorite. I even decided to save some for later.


Leah's Toddler Diner Rules!


My friends and their moms are funny!

I *love* going to Cal's house.

Reasons I love going to Cal's house

(In no particular order...)


Cal's Buzz Lightyear Rocketship (very cool - it goes to the MOON!)


"Baby Ike"


Superbowl cupcakes!


Cal, of course!


Again, cupcakes


And, "Cal nunny" - i.e. Cal funny

"Trucks on the road. They work very hard."

If you didn't know better and were reading the book TRUCKS to me for the first time, you might think I can read. But I just know the words - I don't get the words exactly as they are on the page (except for the first and last page, noted in the title), but I can tell you what each truck does and where it might be going (i.e. over the bridge, in the tunnel, etc.).

I'm a smarty pants. (I'm also currently a cranky pants, but no need to ruin a good story with those details.)

A haircut, "cheese" boots and overall silliness.

Does my head look bigger with this new cut?


Said "cheese" boots - boots are what he calls slippers, and for some reason he thinks Sponge Bob is a big piece of cheese with a toothy grin (he hasn't seen the show so we think this is pretty creative!).

And acting like a nut...






Photos were taken Wednesday night. On Thursday night he came down with another illness, his second of the winter, this one involving a high fever and thus far a couple sleepless nights but so far no other symptoms.