Officially Two and a Half!

We've made it half way through the "terrible twos" and for us, they haven't been so terrible at all. Blake rarely throws a tantrum, he is more of a negotiator. The other day I said "Blake it's almost time for bed" and he replied "No, it's time for Starbucks". He always keeps us laughing with the things he comes up with. He loves his BCC preschool class and asks to go almost everyday. Blake wants to do many things by himself these days too. The other day he put on his socks by himself, they were dirty, and one was on inside out, but we just went with it because he was so proud. He is also a very good climber/jumper - no fear in this kid! He loves to sing, mostly Christmas carols. Blake is also becoming quite the chef. He loves to help me in the kitchen and he can crack an egg like nobodies business. He does it with one hand and rarely gets any shell in the bowl. His favorite thing to make is french toast.

Some of Blake's friends language skills are very impressive (mostly girls) but Blake still does a lot of "toddler speak" which I absolutely LOVE. Some of the stuff he comes up with is pretty clever and funny:

Me: "Hey Blake, those blueberries are good for your body" Blake: "No Mama, they are good for my mouf"

Me: "Blake, what would you like for breakfast?" Blake: "Waffles, no yogurt pease" - he discovered most people put syrup on their waffles and "pamcakes" but I still try to use yogurt instead :)

The other night it was almost time for bed, I said "Blake, it's time to get your diaper on" He said "no, I want to play wif my Daddy" - I think he melted Chad's heart right on the spot.

Blake continues to be the happiest person I've ever known. Chad and I feel so lucky to be his parents!
Blake asked me to take his picture this morning after his bath, here you can see the bruise he got crashing into our granite counters -ouch!

Getting ready to play his favorite sport...naked of course. Very strategic with the ball :)

Our house came with a basketball hoop, it's about 8 feet up on the wall in our bonus room. Recently, the Little Tikes basketball hoop lost it's luster and he's been aiming for the big hoop - very ambitions!

Blake and Georgia

It' so fun to have Alison on maternity leave, we got to see she and Georgia a few times this week. Here are a few pics of the cousins.

My Little Skier

Last week we took Blake up to Snoqualmie Pass and got him up on skis! I wasn't sure if Blake was physically ready for skiing or if he would like it. Boy was I WRONG! We thought this would be a 30 minute adventure, but and hour and a half later Chad and I decided we were tired. We kept asking Blake if he was tired, hungry, or wanted to take his skis off, but each time Blake said "no, I want to go on treadmill again". Once you ski down the "hill" the "magic carpet" brings you back up, which was the highlight of skiing for Blake :)

Daddy getting him started.

Happy to be on the hill.

Every once in awhile Blake would flop over for a "snow butterfly" break.


Blake and Mom

Blake and Dad

Skiing all by himself! I was so proud :)

Going up the "treadmill".

Warming up in the lodge with some pizza. They also had juice in a can, which for some reason was a real hit with Blake.

Of course he wasn't tired after and hour and a half of skiing, so Chad took him around the empty part of the parking lot in his sled.

Planting Primroses

Blake and I spruced up our balcony today with some primroses.

He was quite the helper.

I don't think primroses have a scent, but Blake thought they smelled like grape juice.

Pouring a little water on top.....

....and tossing our plastic cup over the balcony. I am sure this was the highlight for Blake :)

Heat Wave

Blake and I have enjoyed the warm weather and sunshine the last two days. I have to admit, at 60 degrees the winter coat was a little overkill.

Blake and Mr. Bear trying out the new double jogger....we're getting ready! This should be interesting when I try to replace Mr. Bear with a baby.

Taking Mr. Bear for a wagon ride...

...and they're off!

Quiet Time

Blake quit napping a while back. A year ago, a good friend told me her son stopped napping when he turned two. I thought to myself "what a nightmare". I was right! Our pediatrician suggested doing "quiet time" each day instead. Well, needless to say, Blake has found some very creative ways to entertain himself. Yesterday alone I had to clean toothpaste out of his carpeting (having his bathroom right next to his bedroom was supposed to be handy...not destructive). Then, after we got that situation taken care of I heard him yelling "mommy, mommy, mommy" in a more panicked voice that usual. I went to his room and this is what I found. This is actually his reenactment, I asked him to show me how he got up so high in his closet!

I took this not so great picture of Blake's closet so you could get a sense of how high up he had climbed...

Diversity

The other day Blake and I were at the park when Blake and another little boy started playing together and attempting to throw the football back and forth. The other little boy was Indian, his parents were speaking Hindi to him, but he was speaking English to Blake. After the boy left, Blake loudly asked "where did the black boy go"? I have to say I was a little mortified...thinking "what really wise and eloquent response am I supposed to give here". Instead I looked around to see how many parents heard what Blake said and then I told him the boy had to go home. The next day we were back at the same park (sunshine two days in a row!) and the same little boy was there. They played, he had to leave, and Blake asked "where did they gray boy go"? OOHHH, he was referring to the color of the little boy's shirt! I had to laugh. So I asked the teacher of my Parent Education class what would be a good response in this sort of situation and she suggested getting a children's book about how people are all different, etc. So we headed to the library today to see what they had available. Blake started playing with a little boy in a Colorado Buffs t-shirt (black shirt with yellow logo) and of course when he left, he loudly asked in the quite library "where did the black boy go"? Seriously?!?! We picked up a few books about people with different skin color, hair color, special needs, etc. I am pretty sure the whole skin color message went right over his head, but as of this evening, he thinks wheelchairs look like fun.

New do!

Blake was over due for a haircut so today we finally got it done. He loves getting his hair cut so at the end when his "stylist" wanted to spike up his hair he said okay.

Mommy's Helper

Blake loves helping me. Laundry, dishes, whatever, he is game for helping out with chores. Of course this means most of the time I end up encouraging/praising him for the help that I have to go back and re-do later, but I love that he's learning and he wants to do it. Here he is helping unload the dishwasher which actually went really well. (My boy is pantless due to some potty training! :)

Best Buddies

Blake got two pair of Thomas jammies for Christmas from his friend Blaine. When I ask him which jammies he wants to wear he picks both ...and wears both pair to bed. (They are light weight, so I figured why not?) Well the other night Blake decided someone else was also worthy of the Thomas jammies. Mr. Bear also had a matching Elmo diaper on underneath! Later that evening Blake decided he would like to wear Mr. Bear's jammies too - sorry Mr. Bear :)