Dear Nana,

David absolutely positively loves his new blanket.

 It fits perfectly on his new bed.

Now he requests to be wrapped up in his new blanket.

He can feel the love you sent along with it.

Neighborly

David likes to poke his finger through the fence and say hi to the doggie next door.

On this particular day, he had the last of his Easter candy outside with  him.

You can see how he felt about the pup taking him up on his neighborly offering of his very last jelly bean.

I have a feeling that those two are going to be good playmates this summer.

Another good friend featured in this picture is that pair of rubber boots. Now that we have transitioned out of snow boots, these puddle splashers go everywhere with us. The good news is that they keep his feet dry. Now if I could just find my own pair of rubber boots to wear when I'm holding hands with my puddle jumper, perhaps my feet and pants would stay as dry as his.

Clue

It was David.

 At the bathroom door.

 With a paint can opener.

I admit it. We have an extremely capable two-year old. Not a lot of capacity to make wise choices--but he can do anything he sets his mind to. In this instance, he wanted to be on the other side of the bathroom door where Daddy was showering. Can you believe that he grabbed a tool and figured out how to unlock the door?!? This is only the beginning. Very few things are out of David's reach any more. He can get anywhere his little mind decides he wants to go. 

In hopes that he would stop his front yard escapades that he tried as soon as I stepped into the shower--we decided to put one of these on the front door:

 It lasted for 8.5 hours.

And the only reason it lasted that long was because David was asleep for the first 8 hours.

For my shower time, I have finally given in to belting David in to his high chair (the last remaining restraint that works on him) and putting on Mr. Rogers. The doc was so impressed at his 2-yr appointment when I checked the box that said David watches "0" hours of TV every week. He took his glasses off and told me how great that was. *Sigh* No longer. This took a lot out of me--to put my little guy in front of pbskids.org for 30 minutes every morning. But alas, if I didn't entertain him while he sat in his high chair then he would have that seat belt figured out by now. And every day we can avoid that is a victory in my book.

Easter 2011

 To kick off our Easter festivities, we had to buy a token box of Peeps. 

What a spring sensation those things are!

As Sam pointed out, "They taste . . . yellow."

 And we had a good time dying just a few eggs.

 David was pleased as punch when he figured out how to use the little tool.

 On Saturday morning, we hosted an Easter Egg Hunt and Potluck brunch with friends.

It's a tradition we had growing up with Grandparents and cousins; I simply realized that if I wanted to carry on the tradition, I would have to expand my definition of family. We met at a local park and 47 friends joined us. It seemed like a warm enough morning at 47 degrees, but when you stand in it for 2 hours it gets a lot colder than if you are simply running errands in that same temperature. So many of our guests froze--but most stayed to the bitter end, so I guess the cold was worth the fun. I really enjoyed the gathering of so many dear friends! I really wish I had a photo of the crowd.

 It took David a while to figure out the "hunt."

 He wanted to open, examine, and eat the contents of each egg.

 We finally convinced him to just open the eggs and dump the contents out.

 By this time, David had the hang of things and he couldn't be bothered with looking at the camera. He kept looking for more eggs. Notice those cheeks full of candy.

 Finally a (forced, cheesy) smile for the camera.

David's face was covered in cheetoh dust by the time we left, his hands and feet were wet and cold, he was on a sugar high and he still hadn't had enough of the playground. All of that made for a very fun picnic.

Of course we celebrated the true meaning of Easter as well. But the camera doesn't really have a place when you are telling your 2-year old about Jesus praying in the garden and being resurrected. I loved my sister in law's idea of making a garden tomb diorama out of salt playdough--I know just the tradition that is in order for next year at Easter.

How grateful we feel that the tomb was empty on that third day, and that Christ triumphed over all!

Sleep Equation

 Add all of this up:

A new bed PLUS a little sickness PLUS a spring on his bottom after figuring out that his new bed was very easy to get out of PLUS a lot more daylight PLUS darkening shades in his room MINUS too dark when he stirred in the night PLUS a nightlight EQUALS not enough sleep happening around our house for a whole month.

 Which is equal to a cranky toddler and greater than a very tired mother.

 Our non-sleeper-who-started-keeping-a-newborn-schedule-by-waking-me-up-on-the-hour-every-night started finding all kinds of new antics when he was supposed to be sleeping.

Like creative ways to attach puzzle pieces to his leg.

Or learning to undress himself.

The problem was that he couldn't get the puzzle piece off or the clothes back on--so he came out of his room long after naptime had begun to beg for help.

Closer to spring

Compared to last month's stroll, we're getting a little closer to beautiful outdoors.

We will welcome the greenery and new life when it finally settles in our town.

A few favorites

"Upsies"--instead of "oops" or "oopsies."

Do by sewf--usually said with all caps, but I will spare my computer screen the yelling effect. He likes to walk in and out of the house, climb into the car, get dressed, wipe up spills (yeah!), put his dishes in the sink (double yeah!), get in and out of the tub . . . you name it, Mr. Independent likes to do it by himsewf. I've only drawn the line on one thing--mama gets to be the one to take the diaper on and off.

David: I WANT WATER!!!!
Mom: Can you find a nicer way to say that?
David: (candy-sweet, sing-songy, high pitched voice) Please mama, wat-uh please.
We love the double please. Sometimes it's funny to hear how he rephrases things. For example, today during church.
David: I WANT DADDY!!!
Mom: Say that nicely, please. (Didn't get a chance to mention quietly while I was at it.)
David: (In his high-pitched voice that is far from a whisper) Please, Mama. No more mama's arms please.

"right now"--I can't quite do this one justice, but this is his term when he is drawing an absolute for us. Like if he's saying he doesn't want something "No kisses right now!" or if he is demanding something "I need cheese right now!"

Sometimes David is Mr. Manners. There was a time that he said "excuse me" every time he made a noise. Or when he heard an out of place noise.
David burps. "Excuse me."
The house creaks. "Excuse me."
A rock hits the windshield. "Excuse me."
Another rock hits the windshield a minute later. "Excuse me."

He has a few unpleasantries as well. "Stop it!" "NO!" "Ahhhhhhh!" and "MINE" to name a few. What can I say? He's a well-rounded kid.

Just for good measure, here's our silly boy.