Almost Four, Definitions (Things Kids Say)

Despite being "question boy" as Theo calls himself, (with now infamous questions like, "What is that?"  Ginger Ale.  "Why?") he is now full of answers too.  Lately, whenever he uses an interesting word, I ask him what it means.  I love the definitions he gives me.  Here are some I've jotted down over the last couple months.  I'd hoped to get more, but I think these are enough to remind me of this precious age/phase.

1. Promise:  My dad read in my Thomas book that Percy told Thomas that, "A promise is a promise."  (This one, a personal favorite, is one I overheard at chapel talk at pre-school.)
2. Journey:  When you go outside.
3. Horrible:  Very, very bad.
4. Example:  You don’t know what somebody else made, and you know what they made.
5. Hopeless:  You can’t do something on your own and you need help from somebody else.
6. Tricky:  Something hard.
7. Evaporated:  To go up in the air.
8. Capture:  You want somebody trapped.

I might add a few more definitions in the next couple months as he says them...  here's some:

1. Ingredients:  They are something that go in a big pot.  (2-27-2014)

Theo's Plans

Having a pre-pre-schooler is enchanting.  This was the start of a discussion today.

Me:  What do you want to do today?

T:  I want to go to the moon.

Me:  I don't think that's a one day trip.

T:  First, we need jackets to go to the moon.  You need jackets to...

Another ABC Book Part 2

As I mentioned a while ago, I'm working on making Theo another ABC book, this time with verb based phrases for each letter.  With the more alliteration the better.  I snapped a few candid photos recently that I am sure will be included...

eXamining X-rays

Inspecting Insects

Hanging in a Hammock

First Calf of the Season

As winter storm Virgil moved in with lots of winds Sunday, cow 134 gave birth to our first calf of the season.  This sweet little girl was still shaky on her four legs when we got over to see her.  Theo predicted an orange calf, but was still excited to see this "just black" one.

 

D.o.b. March 24, 2013

 Theo helped grandpa and Uncle Matthew pin up mama and baby.  When they brought over an empty water trough to fill for the mama, Theo said "A bath for the baby calf!"  It was pretty cute.  You can tell he's not been raised in a barn like the rest of us were.

Helping with the hose, in his new Seed Consultant cap and barn boots.

Sweet Dreams

Theodore seems to wake up on the right side of the bed every morning.  "The sun is up!" is his good morning greeting to us most days.  He is just always so happy in the morning.

Today, he told me that he had a dream.  I have asked him before, and he has never had one.  This time, he said on his own that he had a dream.  About a birthday cake.  A pink one.  That no one ate.  Not sure if he's having sweet dreams or just dreaming of sweets...

Another ABC Book

We have really enjoyed reading the alphabet book that I made for Theo.  At the time I made it, he was starting to really blossom with speaking, saying lots of words.  He can read every word in the book, which is what makes it so fun to read.  Since he wasn't really saying a lot of phrases at the time, I chose to make most of the letter's stand for one word nouns (17 of them), and only added phrases for a few special letters that included his cousins (kissing Kyen, hugging Annalyn, reading with Maci, napping with Aydan and Picnicking with Chloe). 

I'm in the mood to make another book already, this time using "ing" phrases, with as much alliteration as possible.  I started looking for recent pictures that could work, and am already running into a problem... mainly that everything starts with "P".  I can't decide which is my favorite.

Patting Pepper

 Piecing a Puzzle with (Grand)Pa

 Posing with a Pumpkin

 Pulling with a Puppy

This one probably won't be ready for a while (X may be a problem this time), but it's going to be fun to create.

ABC Book: Words

This book was a lot of fun to put together.  I basically just tried to use photos we already had, and gave each page one picture with one noun standing for each letter.  I did use a couple of verbs, so I could be sure to include all of Theo's cousins in a picture (and a few aunts and uncles).  Theo is able to "read" the entire book on his own.

Click here to view this photo book larger

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"What do fish eat?"

We finally signed up Theo for a nature class at a local state park.  His age group is called Nature Nuggets.  It was a very small class this time, but that didn't bother us.  They had circle time on the floor with stuffed animals learning about fish, then created an art, and then went down to the creek and caught some little fish with nets (and saw fish eggs).  It was a really good time, and Theo loved it. 

My favorite part was when she asked what fish eat, and Theo took one of the fish animals and had it start attacking the other fish.  Apparently, that was the right answer.  Some fish eat other fish.

(My) Child's Play: Board to Ramp to Bridge

                I have loved watching the moments when I really see Theo play.  He is an expert at playing by himself.  He’ll chatter along, ad keep himself occupied for long periods of time.  Lately, I have been watching how his play with a wooden board has developed. 

                Recently, Theo was playing on the patio with some cars and fire trucks.  Brian brought out a board and encouraged Theodore use it as a ramp.  This simple act provided hours of play for Theo.  Over the next few sessions of play, I watched him advance in his understanding of the activity.  At first, he started putting everything down it-balls, large fire trucks, anything that would slide really.  Gradually, he realized that the small cars and trains actually would roll down the ramp the best.  He then started experimenting with the steepness of the ramp.  He put it against the door frame, and then the stairs, and then a patio chair.  After a few more sessions of sending cars down the ramp, he was playing inside and started using the board as a bridge for the cars between the two footrests in our living room.  Eventually, it became a bridge for himself, as he practices his balance (and surf skills on the rocking foot rest).  

                I think a lot of people worry that they need to teach their child everything, but I think if we just let them play, they’ll figure it out.

Birthdays and Birth Days!

When I had a four day weekend recently, Theo and I traveled to Indiana to celebrate his and Maci's birthdays (amongst other things).  While there, we were lucky to have Annalyn arrive (a couple weeks early)!

Maci's first birthday!

 Theodore super excited about blowing out the candles on his second birthday cake!

 Both of our nieces now share a birthday in February a few days before Theo's.

 Theodore got two cakes for his second birthday!  (We had to include dada on the second one.)

And here's my case that Theodore looks quite a bit like me at this age, and not so much his dada:

Pea Patch Island (Fort Delaware State Park)

One thing I've been meaning to blog about for a view long time now was a local excursion we went on a few month ago.  Brian's brothers came out to visit, and one mentioned visiting Fort Delaware.  Though it is within about ten minutes of my school, I've never heard of Fort Delaware. 
Apparently, Fort Delaware is one of a few forts in the area, and is located on Pea Patch Island.  So on probably the hottest day of the year, I boarded a boat with four Eddie boys to visit this historical venue. 
 
It was a pretty neat "living history" attraction with re-enactors and tour guides.

Here are some photos:

Nickel

My son is so growing up.

I have had it on my to-do list to update him on this blog for a while now.  I planned to talk about all the words he's finally saying, the books he's currently reading, and the toys he engages with now. 

And then he stole my nickel.

He saw me put a stray nickel that I found in my pocket.  He decided he wanted the nickel, and got it out of my jeans pocket for himself.  Then, he went into the hard-to-get to bookshelf in the back of his room, and found one of our spare change jars (the one grandpa Banter gave us, that keeps track of the money as you put it in the lid).  We rarely ever use it (we never have change long), so I was extremely surprised that he even knew it was there.  Once he put the nickel in, he immediately brought it to me so I could open the lid for him.  And now he's been spending the last ten minutes putting all the coins back in. 

I'm pretty much in shock and awe at this, frankly because he knows all these little things that amaze me.  That he has a concept of money, and where it belongs, is pretty shocking to me.  I loved having the day off work so that I could really focus on him today, and I really feel like I miss so much working all the time.  I asked him today if he's just a really big baby, or a really little kid.  I think he just answered my question with the later answer.

Cape May/Wildwoods

We wanted to head for the beach a few days ago while my little sister was here, and instead of going the usual route to Rehoboth, we wanted a change of scenery.  So we headed across the bridge to New Jersey for a nice day in the sun.

We picked Wildwoods, because they are one of the free beaches in Jersey.  Apparently you have to buy "beach badges" to go to a lot of the other ones.  We had a quick lunch at Marvis Diner before heading on to find the board walk.  The sand was hotttt, causing us to immediately run in and find the waves.  Theodore loved it, and we spent a lot of time keeping him from eating the fine grained particles.

After enough time for Brian to get thoroughly pink (he spent so much time putting sun screen on T he apparently forgot to do himself), we headed on over to see the quaint little town of Cape May.  The town is fairly equivalent to Lewes in Delaware (a ferry connects the two), and is full of bed & breakfasts, beautiful homes, and lots of beautiful blooming hydrangeas in a variety of colors.  We stopped by the lighthouse here.

Next, we stopped at the Cape May Winery and did a quick tasting while Erin and Theo napped in the car.  I enjoyed their Isaac Smith apple wine.  The vineyards and facilities were quite beautiful, and a nice end cap to the day.

On the drive back, we stopped at an ice cream stop that had truly unique flavors and mixes of ice cream.  Erin enjoyed her black raspberry, while my monster cookie was slightly outdone by Brian's scoops of funfetti cake-both were delicious.  It was definitely worth the stop, but I can't remember the name of the place.  I guess we will just have to go back... :)

8th Grade Semi-Formal

So, 8th grade dances are apparently a pretty big deal here. The sponsors at my school spent weeks getting ready for this event, and it was a huge deal. We helped set-up, chaperone, and tear-down. Theo had a pretty good time, and slept really well that night!

2nd Mama's DAY!!

My favorite day of the year.

This year daddy made another fabulous supper, and mama spent a lot of time just enjoying her little baby (who refuses to stay small, and is really not a baby any longer).

6 months!

Theodore is officially 6th months!

Feed Me

We waited almost the whole recommended 6 months until giving Theodore his first bit of cereal. And I'm glad we did. I think it is making him sleep worse! He used to sleep 6 hours and now he's waking up more often. He really likes it though. We can't get it in fast enough.

*The lobster bib was in recognition of our recent trip to Maine*

First Haircut

Theodore had a bit of a mullet going on, so we decided to give him a little trim and clean it up a bit. He wasn't so happy about it.

It's a little off, but hopefully it grows in well. It also shows his birthmark. Apparently, Brian's brother and mother both have some sort of red marks on the back of their neck, and Theodore does as well.