End of the Year Circus and Last Day of Two Year Old Pre-School

Last week at Edward’s pre-school the classes put on a circus.  Edward’s class were the clowns and they were, in my opinion, the cutest clowns ever.  Edward was so proud of his hat and his bandana.  He is still wearing them around the house.  Today was his last day of 2 year old pre-school.  Below are some pictures of our little clown and his first and last day of the school year.

First Day of Pre-School, September 2010:

Last Day of Pre-School, May 2011:

Outside with Edward and Thomas

Edward and Thomas have so much fun playing in the backyard.  I honestly think that they bring in half of the dirt from the backyard everyday.  There is nothing that Edward loves more that digging in the dirt and Thomas just follows right along.  After Edward gets up from his nap and has his snack, he gets the key to to backdoor, puts it in the lock and says, “Help me mommy, let me outside”.

Watch Me Grow: 2 Years, 7 Months

Edward brought Nonos downstairs after his nap the other day and said, “It’s time to have my picture with Nonos, Mommy”.  It is hard to believe that he has that kind of memory and awareness to do something like that at his age.  He is already counting and can tell you what it says on the pages of his favorite books by looking at the pictures.  He is beginning to get really creative with blocks and legos by building castles, airplanes, tunnels and anything else that comes to his mind.  I am so excited to see his imagination at work when he is drawing on his construction paper or building with his blocks.  He still loves his books the most. Right now, some of his favorites are Ernest- The Moose Who Doesn’t Fit, The Pout Pout Fish, Cars Galore, The House in the Night and To the Beach.  He also enjoys reading Bible stories, but he points to every man with a beard and says, “That’s Jesus”.  Oddly enough, in non-Biblical books, any man with a beard is Papa.

Watch Me Grow: 14 Months

Thomas is growing so fast and changing so quickly that it is hard to keep up with him.  He is walking/toddling everywhere and I think that he is trying to say a few words (although Will is disputing me on this).   He will hand me my shoe and quite clearly say “shoe”.  He is still the same happy baby-laughing and smiling all the time.  I have never known anyone who is more overjoyed to see me in the morning.  He has settled into a routine of only one nap per day in the afternoon and going to bed at night after reading his stories.  Right now, he is really enjoying Time for Bed, The Going to Bed Book, Goodnight Moon and I’ll See You in the Morning.  After his stories, he will put his little head in my shoulder and cuddle with me for a few minutes before he gets into his crib, rolls over and reaches for his elephant.  Fourteen months is the sweetest age…

Weekend in Charleston

Will and I took the boys to Charleston over the weekend as part of our tour for the 150th anniversary of the Civil War. Will owes me big time for being so supportive of this endeavor. We toured Fort Sumter on Saturday morning and Fort Moultrie on Sunday morning. Edward is terrified of gun and cannon fire, which is surprising to us. Thomas thinks the whole thing is great and just smiles and claps for everything. We also squeezed in a trip to the aquarium, the children’s museum and the beach. We had a great weekend with plenty of sleep and excellent toddler behavior.

St. Patrick’s Day

Thomas and Edward had a great time at the St. Patrick’s Day parade.  Dede was still in town and helped get me and the boys downtown and Will biked down to where we were later on in the day.  The only unhappy moment the entire day came when a group of paraders did a gun salute about 5 feet from Edward.  He was not expecting it (neither was I) and did not appreciate it at all.  Other than that, we all had a wonderful day.

1st Birthday Presents

Thomas had a great time opening his first birthday presents.  Here are a few pictures of the Birthday Boy enjoying some boxes, wrapping paper and gifts.

Watch Me Grow-2 Years, 5 Months

It seems like Edward is growing up so fast.  Although he was late to start talking, he now provides a running commentary on all that goes on around him.  He still loves to read.  Current favorite books include Look! A Book, Little Mouse’s Big Secret,  and The Lion and the Mouse.  It is so much fun to read Look! A Book with him and hear him name all the objects-a cowboy cook, a tooth croc, a gooey splat…  He also really loves to draw.  The only way for me to get laundry done is that Edward’s art easel is in the room next to the laundry room.  Brunch is still his favorite meal-I am in awe of how much he can consume at one time if pancakes, eggs and cheese grits are on the menu.  Every morning when he comes into our bedroom, he first says, I want to eat and this is shortly followed by I want to go outside and kick a ball.  Sometimes, he has worn me out by 8:30 in the morning…

Watch Me Grow-12 Months

Thomas is One! It has been such a great year since Thomas’s arrival last March.  We had a wonderful birthday celebration for him with family and friends.  Thomas is really starting to look like a little boy.   His hair has grown and he now has curls in the back.  He is so close to walking by himself, but still wants to have Mom or Dad’s hand.  He is feeding himself and loves to try new things.  Thomas is a little explorer-he is never still for very long.  He has also started to say Mama, Dada, Bye-Bye and today, I think that he was trying to say Edward (although Will seriously doubts this).  Thomas is truly the most happy, content baby that I have ever known.

Thomas is One!-Part Three, The Beach

We kept right on celebrating throughout the weekend.  On Sunday, we headed to the beach.  After the beach, we had lunch at Dede and Papa’s house.  I wish we had a reason to do this every weekend.