Boys and their trains...

It sure starts early, doesn't it? The train table we bought for Ava on her second birthday has gotten more use in the last two months with Charlie than the last two years with her. We have mostly gender-neutral toys for 0-2 year-olds, with some "girl" toys and some "boy" toys, and obviously more of the "girl" than "boy" because of Ava. It has been amazing to me how Charlie has been so completely drawn to the "boy" stuff. His very favorite things are the remote control car, the Handy Manny tool set, and the train. (And, really, anything with wheels on it).

Here he is with Lambeau, watching the train go around:

Busy, busy, busy!

We have been on the go the last couple of weeks. I don't know what's gotten into us; I always like to do a little something every day, whether it's a play date or just a trip to the library (I don't do well staying home all day), but we hit some extra-fun places recently, along with our usuals.

Last week Wednesday we went to Teddy Bear Park in Stillwater with a couple of Ava's best friends from school. It was a beautiful day - we had a picnic and played for a while. Charlie loved it - a lot of the playground is geared toward the toddler set - he could have spent hours there.

Having lunch

Posing by the giant teddy bear on our way out

The next day we met my friend and her boys at Como Zoo and had a fabulous time; again, the weather was perfect. I love this zoo (much more, in fact, than the bigger, fancier Minnesota Zoo; it is just the perfect size to take kids - you can get through most of it in an hour or two, and you get such a better look at the animals...I realize this means that their habitats are smaller, so sorry about that, animals, but I like to see you up close!).


And the next day, Ava, Charlie and I went to the Children's Museum. I didn't think Charlie would enjoy it as much as he did, but he could have wandered around there all day, too! I didn't take pictures while we were there, but Ava was very proud of the face painting she did on herself, so I snapped a picture when we got home (by the way, in case it isn't obvious, she is a "rainbow kitty." :)

After vowing to spend the weekend at home, just relaxing, where did I find myself on Saturday morning but Nickelodeon Adventures at MOA. I relented, because even though I felt like we were outing'd out, Joe hadn't been able to join us yet, so he was in the mood to get out, too. Here is Ava getting ready to ride the swings by herself for the first time.

Not an outing geared toward Charlie, so he pretty much sat in the stroller and ate the whole time...

And that brings us to this week. It was my dad's birthday on the 27th, and since we didn't have anything planned that day, we decided to spend it in Eau Claire. The kids and I stopped first at the Children's Museum in Eau Claire. Again, bigger isn't always better. We always have the best time at this museum, even more so than the Minnesota Children's Museum. Everything just seems to be so perfectly accessible for toddlers and preschoolers. It's nice and new, too.

Ava spent some time with Charlie in the toddler play area

The new water exhibit was really fun

And the restaurant is always a hit. Charlie got to empty cupboards to his heart's content, and I didn't have to watch MY kitchen being destroyed for the umpteenth time!!!

We went to Oma and Opa's for lunch and a nap and then went to my mom's school to visit at the end of the day. Here's Ava busy working at her desk.

Before heading back home, we "took my dad out for a birthday dinner." (I'm pretty sure the birthday person is not supposed to pay, but wouldn't you know, that's how it worked out). Anyway, I snapped this picture on our way out... :)

Whew, just reliving all of that makes me tired - I'm going to bed!

First Haircut

For those of you alarmed by the title of this post: don't worry, don't worry...Charlie still retains his trademark "sticky-uppy" look. I just had to get the back shortened up...it was verging on a mullet. :)
He did great sitting in the chair - I distracted him with food, which always works well.

Before...(doesn't the cape bring out the blue in his eyes?) :)


During...

And after....

Easter

We had a nice time celebrating Easter in Eau Claire this year. We spent Saturday with the Reiters and Sunday with the Walkers. We have quite a stash of chocolate to show for it, too. I'm still trying to decide how to best manage it - a little each day (the sensible option) or should I just sit down and finish it up so it's out of the house once and for all? I had the same dilemma with the Girl Scout cookies this year, and ended up going for the latter option....hmmm...maybe I'll practice a little self-control this time around. Every time I grab something out of the jar, though, I like to tell myself that it's one less unhealthy item for Ava to eat, so I'm really just fulfilling my motherly duty. Wow, did I just spend a paragraph writing about candy? Can you tell what's on my mind?

Anyway, Ava and Charlie basked in the glow of the grandparents' attention. I'd like to say Charlie wowed everyone with his walking skills (which, he did), but it was really his fabulous hair that got most of the comments. :) And Ava was attached at the hip (no, really, I'm not even kidding) to her beloved Katie (future aunt to anyone who doesn't know), so now the "When are we going to see Katie again?" nagging can be subdued for at least two or three days... :)

Joe and I even got to go out with Ben and Katie to watch one of the Final Four games Saturday night, while Oma and Opa babysat.

It was a good visit (even though a simple one-night trip still involves filling up the entire back of the van (I'm talking with the rear seats stowed away) with all of the baby stuff we need, and the subsequent unpacking and, for some reason, eight loads of laundry I had to do today...)

Happy Easter Monday!

Charlie lives up to his name!

Charlie is now a "Walker" in more ways than one - he's been taking steps for a few weeks now, but now he's really taking off, and more and more, choosing to move from one place to another on foot. If I guessed, I'd say he falls on his bottom at least 200 times a day in the process, but it never seems to deter him.

One of my favorite sounds!

Apparently, Charlie has the same sense of humor as Ava; he cracks up when we say "Boo!" to him, and now he says it to us, too, but it sounds more like "Bah!" (Ava did the same thing when she was his age - I'll have to post the two video clips together so you can see). For now, here is one of Ava entertaining Charlie... (By the way, this is just 10 seconds of three full minutes of more of the same!)

Random Wednesday Moments

Check out the role reversal: Ava reads to me now!


Joe and Ava were shoveling the eight feet of snow piled on the deck, while Charlie and I watched from inside...


Charlie's newest trick: standing by himself (5-10 seconds so far). I think I'm going to strap weights on him to keep him crawling longer - I refuse to have a toddler already.