Birdie

It's really hard to catch the baby cuteness on video. As soon as the little superstar sees the camera, he goes all 50-Cent attacking the paparazzi.

So this is Mama's best attempt at hearing the little bird chatter.

We've installed three bird feeders, two in the garden & one directly outside the family room window. We used to have one hanging from the front tree, but the deer claimed it as their private feeder & the neighborhood cat, Jackie Chan, claimed the birds as his private buffet.

Mama & Z have identified hundreds of House Sparrows, one House Finch, one Coopers Hawk (most likely), a family of Grackles (except, they aren't Grackles... I just haven't figured out what they are yet...), and the occasional Robin, Nuthatch, Cardinal and Jay.

The Easter Bunny

The Easter Bunny made his appearance @ the Wheeling Centre Market Saturday morning, so we headed down to introduce our little spring peeper.

As you can see from the picture, Alexander wasn't too jazzed about the meeting... he found it about as enjoyable as meeting Santa @ the PPG Christmas party...


Of course, Z didn't seem to mind the chocolate bars or root beer that the bunny offered up after his escape...

Day all axt fuh you

"I wennon down to dee Audubon Zoo
And day all axt fuh you
Duh monkeys axt, duh tigurs ast
And duh elephant axt me too."

Yeah, that was the song the DJ played @ Mama & Papa's wedding reception to introduce the bridal party into the ballroom. That was fun. Everyone was wearing Papa-caught Mardi Gras beads; it's about time for another good party... Jenny?

Anyway, we're a little far from the Audubon Zoo, so we took the little monkey up the hill to the Oglebay Good Zoo to check things out.

For some reason, Mama thought it was warm out? So we went for a train ride... it was NOT warm... but that didn't bother the little guy. He loved it!

The little nature boy kept trying to run back to see the meerkats. I tried to spin him in circles to make him forget about them... it didn't work.

But then he fell in love with the chickens. Luckily, the pretty roosters were well-trained to run from all the little bird lovers.

We got a family membership, so now that the weather is getting better, we'll have some non-dogs to chase around the mountain.

I Love You Grandma

The little cutseo has been increasingly vocal this week. Sue Goodneighbor was playing catch with him early in the week & pointed out (cause one Mama didn't notice), that each time Zane threw the ball, he said the same thing. After a little Mama interpretation, we determined that he was saying, "Get it."

At the Good Zoo @ Oglebay yesterday the little zookeeper referred to every stout, four-legged creature as a "dog." Z's "dog" is a closed-lip version that is very grunt-like. Ironically, Alexander's second favorite plaything, after a dog is Julie Goodneighbor, and his word for Julie is another closed lip grunt that kind of sounds like "Jew."

Oh, and did you hear the little farmer's moo-cow? Hilarious! Alexander's moo is a closed-lip throat growl.

You know, just about everything is closed lipped, except his kisses... they are a little more french, with a pre-pucker.

Isn't he adorable?

Sleepy Shinanigans

The Terrible Twos have taken over our 14-month-old! Before breakfast the little tasmanian dumped a full bag of cat food into the bathroom sink, dumped the trash can and after I put his dusty shoes on to take a little drive, the babe ran into the bathroom, danced around the shower, made a bunch of mud, and then tracked it all over the kitchen. Hoy vey!

And after lunch I found him standing on the dining table, while I was in the kitchen. And when I was in the dining room, I found him climbing on the kitchen table eating corks.

Yeah, he's a handful. A handful that thinks cows sound a little more like growling doggies. :)

Garden Party

Tuesday night Mama has her Master Gardener class, so Alexander plays with Julie in the afternoon until Papa gets home. And then the babes & Papa usually fall asleep on the couch waiting for Mama to get home after class.

My boys are just to cute; I just love seeing them all cuddly & snoring when I get home!

I left class last night on such a composting/worm farm high last night, we headed straight to Lowes this morning to peruse the Garden Center. We bought the last tumbler, 3 broken 25 cent bags of top soil and 40 pounds of Lime.


But then we decided to lay some brick instead!

Little Baby A even helped me move the blueberry into a sunnier spot. That boy likes him some dirt!

Scarface

Today Papa said, "Fruit's all they serve in Heaven, so you better start liking it." Why couldn't it be avocado? Or wax beans? Why does it have to be oranges? Ugh.

But at least my baby's face will be perfect again in Heaven.

Granny Smith called this afternoon & asked how "scarface" was doing; and she hadn't even seen his scabby little snout yet!

And then Papa Goodneighbor offered to grease the boy up with some Mederma to prevent a scar.

I wasn't considering the possibility of a scar... The boy's too cute to have scars... The lady @ the park said he was so cute he could be a girl. Well, I guess I prefer the scars to girl...

Schedule Change

Yeah, I know. Sunday mornings equal avocados & swimming. But this week we decided to shake things up. Live on the edge.

Well, actually, Mama was feeling pretty crap-tastic & thought a quick trip to the park might cure what ailed her. OK, I was thinking of relaxing on the bench with my Time magazine & listening to Papa & Z run laps around the ducks.


Like usual, we arrived at an empty park, which was better than the alternative. No, I'm not hopped up on Nightquil. The first crazy little boy to arrive went charging at baby Alexander yelling, "I'm gonna get you." Yeah, and before his handler could stop him, he had tackled Z. I was at least 50 feet away and I could hear Alexander's head smack off the concrete. Poor little guy. This has not been a good weekend for his head.

As you can see in the picture below, he had a little incident on the concrete stairs yesterday afternoon. We're gonna have to start wearing a helmet on that boy; he's just like his Mama!

Unfortunately, the park didn't help me feel better. The Dayquil helped for awhile. But then... Ugh. So off to the doctor's I went. Verdict, Strep Throat. The doctor told me to stay away from the baby (???) Seriously? Papa is going to stay home tomorrow. And we're all going to pray the little weasel stays healthy!

Maple Sugaring Day

Like we mentioned before, Papa has been itching to get out and enjoy some sunshine, so bright & early Saturday morning we headed to the 2010 Oglebay Institute Maple Sugaring Day.

Our little West Virginian native was excited & ready to hike with his new camo jacket & authentic hiking stick. He was more than a little disappointed when Papa insisted in saddling him up in the new Baby Backpack.




The morning started a little chilly @ about 40*, so Russ & Amber had to bundle little baby Ella up tight in the cleanest white blanket I think those woods ever saw! Mama & Baby Z weren't sure if we'd caught a little cold or a case of spring-time sniffles, so we kept our distance from the cutie-pie (Ella, not Russ).

Alexander wasn't used to the idea of a "guided tour," so he convinced Papa to explore the edges of the field while the tour guide told Mama & the Green's all about how the Native Americans, Settlers & Generation X'ers collect & process Maple Sugar.

After tromping around the woods for about an hour, we all headed back to Camp Russell for a fresh, Oglebay-made Maple Sugar breakfast!

While we waited for the pancake shortage of 2010 to subside, Alexander entertained us all with his new-found hobby; fly-wrangling. Yep. Papa pointed out a winter-chilled fly on the windowsill, and then Z turned it into a game of (finger) follow the fly. There was eventually a casualty. But no worries, they were serving pancakes again...

There is something to be said for fresh maple syrup. It was ever-so-sweet, but not sugary. And, of course, everything tastes better at a picnic table in the woods!

Our little pancake was all tuckered out from all that naturing, so we headed to the car just in time for his 12:30 nap!

But Papa'd only burned up half of this beautiful day, so we headed home, dusted off the ol' fire pit & lit it up. And then the grilling began. Papa went fire-starter crazy! First it was chicken wings. Then it was miniature burgers. Then some sausage. And finally a couple veggie burgers for Mama & Z. Luckily, we'd invited over some reinforcements!

While we were waiting for everyone to come over, Alexander tried out his new Barbie-mobile (Thanks Babushka & Sephardic lovelies!). He understood that he had to push the square, red button, but he wasn't so interested in giving up the fish stick in his right hand...

He also had a little trouble keeping those feet up off the ground. But I figure, that just helps to slow him down!

Then Ella came over, and we had to take a break from all the monkeyin' around and talk about how precious she is.

When the Goodneighbor's arrived, the girls raced into the kitchen to wash their hands. I made Julie promise that she would never pick Ella over Alexander, even if Amber offered her a raise to come over & babysit

Unfortunately, I headed to bed early (?), just as some of the Goodneighbor's friends dropped in. I am not one to leave a party early, but I think this Mama might be getting sick. Let's all say a prayer I didn't give anything to sweet baby Ella!

CraftSuki*Dirt Ball

I must admit, my baby is dirty. He likes to eat dirt. He likes to play in dirt. And most of all, he likes to kick around in dirt. And not only that, he also likes throw all things dirty.

And what is dirtier than toddler milk? Uck, nothing.

So after 14 months of rear-facing car seats. Papa removed said car seat to give the boy a better view.


Oh, the view. The view of 14 months of crackers, pretzels, grilled cheeses & dried milk. I couldn't ignore it anymore, so I went to Target. For $20 we could have purchased an Eddie Bauer seat cover. But, Mama don't buy much for $20.

So we came home, put the baby down for a nap. Pulled out some 5-year-old corduroy that I bought on sale in Johnstown. Beautiful stuff. Brown cord with old cars & trucks. For the backing I used the only bath towel that wasn't in the sleeping baby's closet. Cut them up. Sewed on a pocket. Vacuumed the car. And there we go.

The pictures are horrible, but just know that I am in love.

CraftSuki*Did You?

My craft for this week SHOULD have been to deface this lovely piece of Wild & Wonderful West Virginian "art." But alas, I thought annoying the bright yellow Hummer tailgating behind me by slowing to take this picture was what Judge Marilyn Millian would call "a little rough justice."

Bigger Fish

This morning Mama took Z back to the library for Toddler Time. Alexander was so adorable! He's certainly not shy, but the ever-mobile muffin was rather content perched in my lap while all of the other kids were reasonably stationary. But as soon as the others bored of the books & started running up & down the wagon ramp, Zander was off.

The other mothers kept saying, "careful near the little one." And I kept telling them that Z has imaginary older brothers, because he can certainly hold his own! The plum was so cute! I wanted to take a video/picture, but since I'm not a seasoned TT mom yet, I didn't want to freak any of the other Mamas out... there is plenty of time for that...

If you listen closely as I am taking the noodle off of Alexander's overalls, the words that he is saying are, "thank you." Of course, it is in Zander-speak. But he says it every time you give him something. Well, at least the majority of the time he's polite.

Well, off to bed, we've got a big day tomorrow!

We're Reading 9 to 5

Mama wasn't really sure what she was getting into this afternoon, but thank your big boobs we got into it!

Free pizza with little tinker Belle Barkingdog. A little post-dinner dancing with the ladies. (Watch closely with your x-ray vision & you can see poor baby Z take a tumble while trying to pursue his new little friend. Luckily, another little lady broke his fall, helped him up & no crying followed.)

After a little dinner & dancing, we headed out to leave our mark on the Ohio County Library Wall. That boy's really getting into coloring!

And even a free book from Dolly Parton herself!

Ironically, as Julie, Zander & I were crossing Main Street to go home, Papa & Russ drove around the corner looking for us! So off to the Centre Market for some Fish. Of course, Julie lied about liking fish and ate some chicken instead.

And Alexander lied about liking Gator & ate Oyster Crackers instead.

And after dinner the little penny-pincher strolled around the market checking all the soda machines for quarters, just like Grandma taught him. Unfortunately, Julie found more quarters than the babe.