Drippy Goodness

Bryce enjoyed a fruit popsicle in the back yard today. I think the ants enjoyed it almost as much...given the amount of juice that dripped off!

Refueling

Refueling with a PB&J sandwich after a very busy morning of Music, Soccer and the Library!

Flip Book

Bryce, Audrey and I met up with Julien and Jackie at the Children's Museum today. Bryce and Julien had a blast, as usual. We could hear them shrieking and chasing each other even when we couldn't see them!

For the next series of photos taken in the backyard this evening - imagine them as a flip book...

Bryce had a several really good quotes to remember today. Unfortunately, I don't remember them all. One of them was, "Mommy, I just telling you a question." I asked what the question was and Bryce responded, "Please." I'm pretty sure we were having parallel conversations. Another funny moment was when Mimi called (she is visiting in VA right now) and Bryce walked around the house "showing" her things as his way of talking to her on the phone.

Play Dough!

We made a trip out to New Jersey today to visit with Nikki, Danny and Macky. Bryce was thrilled to go on a trip and was even more thrilled when he found the play dough! He made sure Nikki and Macky were thoroughly stuffed on biscuits before he left!

We tried to get a picture with all 3 grandkids and Macky, but Bryce wasn't willing to stop playing, so we had to be a little creative with where the picture was taken!

Gotcha

Bryce was not interested in my obsessive documentation of his life today, but I still managed to snap one photo of him as he turned away laughing!

I also put Bryce in big boy underpants today. He successfully peed in his potty twice...and 4 times on the floor... My hope is that he will not enjoy the sensation of wet underpants and will be more willing to get up from whatever he is playing with and go to the potty when he needs to. Until then, at least a few places on the floor will get mopped each day!

Bryce & Julien

Julien came over today and was my first test subject for opening my own daycare. It was fantastic! Bryce and Julien had such fun playing together and learning to negotiate each other's wants and language. I was most worried about nap time, but that went very smoothly, too. Bryce was so excited to know that Julien was still there when he woke up from his nap and really enjoyed peeking in the door to see Julien still sleeping.

Bathtime? Twice?

We picked up several truckloads of topsoil today for our backyard. Bryce went with Jeremy to get them and was so excited to see the "digger" put the dirt in the truck. He was equally excited to play in the dirt when we got it in the yard. He started out by exploring the big chunks of dirt.

Then decided that climbing the mountain of dirt was a lot of fun...and sliding down it was a pretty good time as well.

And then... Bryce wanted to be buried in the dirt. He was pretending to be a flower or a plant and was waiting to grow. We really thought he was going to fall asleep in the pile, but he rallied and had a blast playing. He stayed buried for over an hour!

When it was time to come out, he had lost his shoe in the pile. I had to dig and dig, but eventually recovered the missing shoe...full of dirt!

Jeremy argues that kids don't need as many baths as people give them, but today, he didn't argue with me when I said Bryce needed a bath before nap time and then again before bedtime. The dirt was EVERYWHERE!

Yard Work

Bryce pulled on his work gloves (a.k.a. my fleece gloves) and went out to help Macky clear the backyard of sticks and debris. Bryce worked really hard and was thoroughly covered with dirt when he was done!

Busy Day

Macky came into to town today and Bryce put him right to work! They played with his new sand and water table and then took Macky's truck to the hardware store and the grocery store for supplies. (Of course, I don't have pictures of any of this.) All of the activity certainly wore Bryce out and he took a nice long nap. He still seemed pretty tired at bedtime, but given that I can still hear him singing under his door...maybe not!

Sisterly Love and Bubbles

Bryce enjoyed socializing with Audrey this morning. As he told me, "Audrey pushed out her paco (pacifier) and smiled at me!" And she did - Audrey loves to watch her brother! Then Bryce got a little too close to Audrey's feet!

A safer distance...

Bubble-making is fun...and very messy!

Good Pick

"Hmmm, what book should I *pick*?

I asked Jeremy to snap a picture of Bryce to capture his chubby belly and cheeks (he seems to have gained a bunch of weight today), and he got even more than I bargained for!

Strumming

Grandpa Monkey taught Bryce well... Bryce can play the guitar on anything! I had some Latin music playing this morning and Bryce grabbed a piece of cardboard and started strumming. He gave a piece to me, as well, but told me that I wasn't strumming correctly!

Later, I caught Bryce completely absorbed in a book. Oh, the adventures that await him!

I Wanna See It!

There is just something about this video camera that Bryce can't resist!

Keep on Running!

Bryce's unlimited supply of energy inspires him to run from one end of the apartment to the other. He's pretty fast, too!

Occasionally, he stops off to ask Jeremy and me, "Whatcha doing, guys?"

Just My Imagination

You might see just 4 bags of sand, but Bryce saw a train, a truck, big bumps, and a boat!

Supervision

After a full day of playing and exploring at the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens, Bryce helped to keep Jeremy working hard on the patio. I just love Bryce's outfit!A big level for a big guy and a little level for a little guy!

Master Chef

Bryce loves to cook! I wish I could let him do it by himself and I could get some relaxation time in for me! Actually, I have a good time cooking with him(depending on what I am making). He is quite skilled at making biscuits with me and we have also had good success with Snickerdoodles. I think the biggest thrill for him is getting to sit on the counter and be in the thick of things!

Out of the Mouth of Babes...

Bryce had a few funny quotes today...

The first was at dinner. He had the hiccups and then got rid of them by drinking some milk, but decided it would be fun to continue to pretend to have hiccups. He would make a hiccup sound and then I would make one. He said, "Mommy, don't do that." I asked, "Why not?" and his reply... "I hicken up!"

The second funny quote was when we were playing with puzzles and he accidentally knocked over a few. As I was helping him pick them up, I noticed that 'someone' had gotten to them with markers. I explained to Bryce that he is only allowed to use markers on paper, etc. He apologized and then said, "Mommy, you happy?" I said, "No, I'm feeling sad because you used markers where you weren't supposed to." And his reply... "Ohhh, Mommy sad. You don't have any friends."

Potty Progress

Bryce has now successfully peed and pooped in the potty! I think the grown ups in the house are more excited than he is. He didn't even seem to notice that he had used the potty because he was so focused on reading his magazines!