Miss A and the 3rd M have been having Play Dates for a while now. They have a standing weekly date at the Children’s Museum. Here are some fun pictures of their explorations.
Gotta drive the Fire Truck!
Play on the jungle gym…
Make Art…
And now off to the Vet. Better make sure you’ve handle those animals with care.
Then it’s Pirate Time! Ohh Arggh!
See you next week, Miss A!
The 3rd M barely slept on his final night in the hotel. A little grumpy, he entered the park. And then saw these two critters playing around….
Faster than you could say “M-O-U-S-E”, the third M ran over to say ‘hi’. After a few hugs and kisses from Chip (or Dale?), I caught this shot, which shows his mad grin from ear to ear.
I slipped in a selfie with Mr. Duck and Gra’Ma and then back to see what the 3rd M was doing.
That’s when both Chip and Dale decided the 3rd M was their man and walked him all around the main square on Main Street. They giggled and jumped and hugged and kissed him for about 20 min. Unfortunately, I thought I caught it all on video. But I didn’t. Boo! I did get this priceless picture, though.
I want to point out that they pretty much ignored all the other people who wanted to see them. But boy, was the third M super happy after that! All grumpiness forgotten!
We spent the next few hours exploring the park and then having lunch. With no nap, the 3rd M ran from New Orleans Square to Tomorrowland, up and down a bunch of ramps (because Tomorrowland has a slew of them) and then, after riding the monorail, he ran from Downtown Disneyland back to the hotel! That was probably a good two miles.
Then we head off to the airport, which may have been the second best part of the day because we watched airplanes of all sizes taking off and landing. The 3rd M labeled each plane a plane for him, Gra’Ma, Gra’Pa, Mommie or Daddy.
Still hoping for a nap (and shocked there wasn’t one), the 2nd M, gave him a binkie and spoke to him softly. Somehow, on the hour and a half plane ride home, he was still awake. The 1st M and Gra’Pa picked us up and he still stayed awoke, chatting furiously. But when he got back home, and put his head on the pillow. He was out dreaming of 7 foot tall Chipmunks in no time.
The night of the first day, “Gra’Ma” showed up just before bed. The 3nd M was over the moon! He kept saying “Hi, Gra’Ma…Hi Gra’Ma….Hi Gra’Ma” and hugged and kissed her repeatedly. Gra’Ma and I translated this to mean, “Oh Grandmom, I’m so happy to see you. While I’ve had a wonderful time riding on trains, planes and automobiles, I still have some anxiety about being away from home and my dad. Disneyland is amazingly wonderful, but also bewildering, so it’s really nice to see a friendly face. I really love you and I’m just glad you’re here. It makes me feel more at home.”
The 2nd M (that’s me) was happy to see Gra’Ma as well, because she got the 3rd M ready and they both walked to the park Sat. morning, while the 2nd M got to do big kid stuff (Space Mountain, the Matterhorn and Star Tours.)
Then it was all smiles on the Mad Hatter Tea Cups…
..the Carousel…
….and Toon Town…
Of course, with the 3rd M being a Princess Connoisseur, we had to explore Sleeping Beauty’s castle repeatedly. No stone was left unturned. (Sleeping Beauty is his favorite, followed by Snow White and then, finally, Cinderella.)
We attempted three times to see the Princesses in the Royal Hall, but each time, the 3rd M couldn’t get past his abnormally shy demeanor to grab a photo op. Cinderella said they could be “Friends at a Distance” and Snow White said he was just like one of her dwarves –bashful.
But, we found out that the woman he pined for, Sleeping Beauty, was going to be at the Wishing Well! So we quickly scampered over and got in line. Her handler, deft at handling two year olds, ‘traded’ his clicker for the camera, currently held by the 3rd M, who, moments before, took the shot below of said Handler.
After a few tries, we caught this shot. And the 3rd M finally forgot his bashfulness and told Sleeping Beauty all about his adventures in Disneyland.
The 3rd M was good at finding the little design features throughout the park, including this egg partially hidden in the landscaping.
On the way back to the hotel, we stopped at the Hotel California for lunch and ran into the Chipmunks! Their hug and kiss occurred faster than I could pull a camera out. Sorry, folks!
After our nap, we returned for the afternoon parade. We got great seats overlooking everything!
Then to Downtown Disney for dinner and some Lego car racing!
Of course, there was a little bit of this at the end of the night…
All and all it was a very very good day. With one more day left, we all went back to the hotel to get a good night’s sleep….
Getting up super early , getting dressed and walking to Disneyland was a breeze! Standing in line with a two-year old, not so much.
Luckily, that was the only bit of the above we saw that morning.
Then it was off to the a quick succession of rides! Twelve within the first few hours, folks. The 3rd M was a TROOPER! Of course, we really didn’t stand in any lines.
The first ride, Pinocchio’s Daring Adventure, was surprisingly scary, but the 3rd M afterward said, “No, I’m not scared. I’m happy!” So off to Dumbo….as you can see, he wasn’t so sure about that one.
But he started to warm up and gave half a smile for the next shot.
Since the Disneyland Railroad was closed for the making of the new Starwars Land, we road Casey the Circus Train a few times. This was by far, the 2nd M’s favorite ride. In fact, two days later, when asked what his favorite ride was, he’ll still say “The Choo Choo Train.”
On the second ride, I put him in the cage marked “Wild Animals.”
Some how I extracted him from the Choo Choo Train. (To this day, I can’t figure out how I pulled it off. I think he was still in shock from being zoomed in and off so many rides.) I figured it was a good time to ride “It’s a Small World.” And I was right. It was a happy, non-scary, bright and cheery ride, which he really liked. I would say it was his second favorite as he was singing the song later that day.
In retrospect, there are a lot of dark, kind of scary, noisy, fast paced rides in Fantasy land and I must say my little dude handled them all with Aplomb. Even the roller coaster in Toon Town!
2nd M asking 1st M after the mini Toon Town roller coaster, “Are you scared?”
3rd M, “No.”
2nd M, “Do you want to do it again?”
3rd M, “No.”
So we hung out in Toon town for a bit more.
By finding Nemo (we’re in the submarine below), we were all smiles, trepidation gone and having a blast! (The little oranges I fed him helped.)
While we had lunch in Tomorrowland, we watched the Jedi Training Camp. Pretty soon, our own little Jedi will be ready for training….
Then it was time to ride the Monorail and head back to the hotel for yet another marathon nap….
After a few days in LA visiting A&K and 2nd M’s friends, we headed south for Disneyland. We arrived in the late afternoon and enjoyed watching plans land at the nearby Santa Ana Airport. We leisurely headed to our Disneyland hotel.
Once checked in, it was time for the Reconnaissance mission. We walked to the main entrance, timing our walk (20 min.) and exploring what the best approach and the most efficient path was to the park
. Then onto the equipment check. Had to make sure the camera was fully operational.
Mission complete, we decided to have dinner and reward ourselves with some ice cream.
Of course, we dined right near the Monorail and the Parking Lot Tram, so we decided to take a round trip ride on the Parking Tram. This was so exciting, I was wondering why I spent money on the tickets to the Land of the Mouse, but then realized, the 2nd M was free. (This trip was really just as much for me.)
The 3rd M has Spring Break this week, so the 2nd M thought “Why stay home?” And so ensued a plan to escape to the Land of the Mouse. First stop: Hollywood to visit the Sisters…A & K.
To get there the 2Ms needed to take a variety of conveyance…a taxi, a bus, a train, a plane and a car.
The 3rd M was smart and pulled an RTD map from the stand to verify that we were getting on the right bus.
We got in the right bus and we watched a slew of trains and Beep Beeps (construction trucks). Contrary to the humble expression in the photo, this was great fun and a running commentary ensued for most of the trip. “oh wow! A Train…oh wow! a Beep Beep!…”
Gotta call home to tell dad we got to the airport safe.
Who needs a stroller? (hold on kid!)
The 3rd M quickly trained the 2nd M that if she doesn’t carry him, he’ll play dead on the airport floor. Guess who won that battle?
A nice leisurely lunch at Root Down at the airport.
And now we’re on the plane, binkie at the ready! We had some quick, but serious turbulence, which resulted in quite a few screams and babies crying. The 3rd M asked to go back home a few times, but later said he wasn’t scared.
After the initial take off, he shut the window and decided he wanted to chat with his fellow passengers, including the cute blonde six year old a few seats over and the little (and by little, I mean 10 months) brunette across the aisle. After some socializing, he took a nap. (And the 2nd M really thanked herself once again that she still nurses. No ear issues here!)
We soldiered on, getting the car and driving to the restaurant where we would meet A & K.
After FIVE (count ’em…five) pizza slices (seriously folks, I want to point out that was nearly a whole pizza and it’s not like we didn’t have a big lunch and snacks), we decided to burn off some energy in a nearby fountain.
Excellent restaurant location choice, A!
Then it was time to say goodbye and head to the hotel. As the 2nd M told him that we were headed to our hotel, a little high pitched voice from the back of the car said, “No, Back Home.”
Sorry, buddy, we’re not going home for a while….
Grandmom, aka “GraGra”, always has some great location suggestions up her sleeve. Last weekend was no different. The 2nd and 3rd M accompanied the Grands to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo near Colorado Springs. The 3rdM really enjoyed it.
Here are some highlights!
Mmm, the alligator heuvos taste good.
I’m not afraid of an alligator!
I got this mom.
Great view atop the chairlift.
Look at that tongue!
The 2nd M got a face full of giraffe slobber. Yuck!
It’s got to be a foot long!
C’mom lady, give me the lettuce!
The 3rd M got the hang of it.
Yesterday was Valentine’s Day and the 3rd M wanted to spend it with his Russian Girlfriend, Miss A. He invited her over for a Valentine’s Day Date and was particularly excited to show her his new strider bicycle. He even greeted her at the front door on it and was hoping to whisk her off for a day of fun an adventure. (Think knight on a horse.)
Miss A is older, an inch taller, and an independent woman, so she had other things in mind and chose another bike. So off they went, the two of them, to the park.
The 3rd M felt he needed to do something to stand out from the rest of his classmates to win Miss A’s favor, so he decided to jump from the 6′ tall top of a playground jungle gym. Somehow only minor tears ensued.
Back home, the 3rd M and Miss A decided to play Hide and Seek before lunch.
Then it was time for lunch, so the 3rd M showed off his culinary skills and made pancakes for everyone. Miss A, a crack chef herself, helped out. They made savory pancakes (chicken, scallions, peppers and mushrooms) with a yogurt dipping sauce and sweet ones with cut bananas and berries. Miss A brought over a very lovely marmalade with berries only available in Siberia. It was the perfect complement to the fruit pancakes. (Seriously, it was perfect!) Additionally, 1st M, 2nd M and A’s mom had chocolate/coconut pancakes.
Overall, it was a wonderful Valentine’s day!
Once a year the 2nd M hits the mall (okay, maybe twice now.) One of our malls has a lovely little play area that the 3rd M enjoys. He’s getting much better (amazingly better) at climbing. Watch this video as he gets to the top of the Volcano in Dinosaur land (you’ll hear him say “Got It” as the Broll is playing when he gets to the top after a few tries.)
CLICK HERE TO PLAY THE VIDEO!!!
We had a very desirable, low key, restful Christmas and New Year. Here are some highlights…
Making the chocolate cake for Christmas Dinner
All ready for Xmas Eve at the 5Ws house in his “Christmas” kilt. If we get him a sash in his other tartan, he’ll look like a Christmas cookie! (Because the other tartan is red.)
One of our many holiday parties. (The Third M fully understands that when we’re going to a “party” there are lots of people to flirt with and lots of food that he can reach.)
Winterfest in Washington Park with his “Russian girlfriend” whom we’ll dub “Miss A”.
Follow me, Miss A, I know the way to Santa…
Miss A and the third M have a rollicking good time together where ever they go. When he’s near her, he even starts to say “Da”. Very cute!
He also discovered icicles! Yum! (And stores them in his car seat for later…)
The 2nd & 3rd M were home the week of New Years and they visited the Zoo twice. The 3rd M, who is part Polar Bear, was not deterred by the sub-freezing weather. He loved the “Gatos” (Cats) growing and the Holler Monkeys roaring as well as all sorts of other animals.
But his favorite excursion was “Noon Years Eve” at the Children’s Museum, not for the ball dropping, but for the train ride….”More, mommie, More….” Sorry, kid….
Happy New Year, everyone!
If you’ve been reading our posts for a while, you’ll remember that the 3rd M loved to mow (by sitting on the lawn mower.)
Now, equipped with his own lawnmower, he helps out. Thanks, 3rd M!
Note the exact positioning of dad. Coincidence? I’m not sure….
He makes the lawn mower noise, too.
Since the 3rd M’s school follows DPS’s school schedule, it seems like he has a ton of days off. This past week was one of those days, so he spent the day with mom, aka, the 2nd M.
We first went to Snooze A.M. Eatery for breakfast.
We love those Bennies!
Then after a trip to the office, we went home for our playdate (really a work meeting with another mom who had a three and a half year old), then back home to start the pumpkin soup.
(Really, is that not the CUTEST picture, you’ve ever seen? Everyone needs to hug a pumpkin that is your size.)
The 3M is usually helpful, but he didn’t want to scoop out the insides of the pumpkin with his bare hands. Yuck!
After a nap, all three Ms, picked pears out of our tree in the backyard.
Note how the 3rd M, really wanted to share with you that Vasco is on his shirt. (That’s Vasco De Gama from the Lisbon aquarium. He’s a fan.)
(A close up of Vasco.) He also wanted me to tell you that Vasco swims in the water and wears glasses.
Look how many pears we picked!
Now on to making the soup….The 3rd M decided he wanted hummus (and nabbed a celery stick before it made it into the soup to do it!) What a face!
On our vacation, we flew on six planes. Since then, the 3rd M has been fascinated with “Apkees”. What’s an Apkee, you ask? Well, first the 2nd M thought it was helicopters…and it was, but now she has come to realize that it is airplanes as well.
The great news for a near-two-year old is that we live under the flight path of a major international airport and one regional airport, so dinner times in the summer mean at least three jets flying overhead and a few smaller ones. On special days, we’ll see helicopters, too!
The 3rd M is sharing his likes and dislikes with us more and more.
Likes: “Crackers” (really, oatmeal raisin powerbars), Apkees (Airplanes/helicopters), aqua (to drink, to dump, to splash in) and school (he loves his friends and his teachers and learning in general).
Dislikes: Getting his diaper changed, mommie leaving, being told “no”.
He loves books and will frequently ask you to read him a book. Typically, it’s a Dora The Explorer book. He’s a big fan. He can say “Map” and points to his back whenever Dora opens up her Backpack. He also speaks Spanish, so he fits right in with his Latina “brethren”. He even knows where to find all of Dora’s books when the 2nd M hides them in the bookshelf because she’s sick of reading them. Smart kid.
Repetition aside, the 2nd M would much rather the 3rd M like Dora, who is independent minded, adventurous, generous and has plenty of friends; over characters like Cinderella whose self-worth is dictated by a man (the Prince) whom she meets, falls in love and gets married to faster than you can spell her name.
That said, the 3rd M did point to Cinderella’s picture in the book and say “mommie.”
Since we haven’t had a long walk since our trip, the 2nd M and the 3rd M walked to Broncos Stadium. It’s a healthy walk (30-40 min) and we had an adventure along the way.
Along the way, the 3rd M was fascinated rocks and the trolly tracks, but most of all, with the roller coasters from Elitch Gardens across the river! .
What’s that awesome noise?
It’s a roller coaster.
Cool, I’ve never seen one of those before.
Oh wait! Where did it go?
Oh whew! It’s back again.
It’s going away again.
I think it’s time to hit the road again.
Let’s pick up the pace, mom. `
We made it!
The 1st and 2nd M (that’s me) got to spend 24 hours a day for over two weeks with the 3rd M. We were impressed by the tremendous improvement of his skills since he started school three months ago. Even during the trip, it was amazing how many more words he picked up, too.
* He seems to be picking up the concept of counting and can count in Spanish to two.
* He understands colors, can match them and can say a few. At dinner, we would often pull out color swatches and make him match them. He even got various shades of green or orange correctly. We know he’s not color blind!
* At at pharmacy, once woman gave him some colorful cards for him to match. I thought they were two advanced for him, but he got them right 95% of the time! (Proud mom, here.) That was a frequent plane game on the trip. He even matched the harder versions where the bugs are the same, but the background is different.
* I also think that he might get the concept of a Map. At a minimum, he gets that you point at a map and say something. Then you point away. I’ll create a little map of the backyard this weekend and see if he can correlate it to the real backyard. At a minimum he gets abstract concepts.
* Speaking of abstract concepts, he gets pictures of things even if they don’t look remotely the same. We have a black and white paper tiger mask that we put on and growl behind. (We call it the Scottish Wildcat..a joke from a previous trip to Scotland.) The 3rd M, saw a orange and black stuffed animal on a car on top of someone’s hood and made the same Scottish Wildcat noise and sign! They don’t look remotely the same. I know the teachers have been going over animals with him at school, but I was impressed he gets the abstract matching concepts.
* Words. Words and more words. His vocabulary mushroomed on the trip. Perhaps because it was a trip, we frequently said “Oh, look a car!” Or “Oh look the beach!” The 3rd M said to us, “Oh look a horse!” (and made up his own horse sign language symbol.) and “Oh look a train!” and showed us a sign, which turns out was the correct sign symbol. (He picked that one up a school.)
CLICK HERE FOR A VIDEO of him signing Happy Birthday and saying his new words!
And here is what really happened….
Note how he takes the pit and eats that, but drops the flesh. Grandpop taught him to toss the stems. Um, “Grandpop, let’s not teach him bad habits…”
CLICK BELOW FOR A VIDEO:
The Third M loves his school. He’s learning a ton and is very stimulated during the day. (Today, he didn’t even cry at drop off!) However, given that we’re still in the first few weeks of a new school (aka Petrie Dish), the Third M has been under the weather, so the Second M took off from work for a half day and we walked around town. We saw the trains, took an elevator, went grocery shopping and visited our developer’s new office. (It’s in the background of the pictures.)
Note the bag of dried Strawberries. He ate them all up!
The Second M found these wonderful dried fruit and vegetables from the store. Normally the Third M loves eating peas, but in the last few days he was crazy about the Raspberries and Strawberries. Not the evidence on this picture! You would say that he was caught ‘red-handed’, too. (But I couldn’t get a picture of that. )
The 3rd M is listening intently to everything we’re saying and speaking up! Most of the time, it’s this amazing little semi-monologue where he gabbers away and tells us about…well, we don’t know what, but he’s really animated!
More and more he’s repeating what we’re saying. I’m amazed I got this one on video. We were creating a Happy Birthday video for Aunt Lynn and during the second take, he started saying “Happy Birthday”, but I didn’t catch it at first. (It was pretty clear, too.)
Go, 3rd M, go!
