best friends

Melissa is back for a surprise visit after just three months. Tim warmed to her immediately, acting as though she'd never been gone.


reading a book together not long after getting home from the airport

christmas

Tim had a great Christmas this year. He loves all of his toys, and he loves all of Luke's toys as well. Toy Story items were a big hit as were Richard Scarry books.


let's do the boat daddy. (the new xbox kinect)


complete with a pull string on his back with the same messages as he has in the movie


push a button and the wings open; push it again and they retract; move around and it makes noises. fortunately he doesn't think he can fly.


what is it?


that's right; merry christmas


deep, fluffy snow


tim loves the snow this year and eats it every time he is near it


first time on skis


he likes it!

space

listening to 'chitty, chitty bang, bang' on iTunes.



Why's Addie crying Mama?

She's a little upset right now and needs some space.

No, rockets have space. No Addie have space.

brag alert

I spoke with Timothy's nursery school teacher yesterday about his upcoming third birthday and whether he would be ready to be promoted to the three-year-old room. I'm still blushing with pride. She and her assistant said things like:

Polite
Knows all his colors and shapes
Sits still when most of his peers do not/can not
Pays attention
Follows directions
We don't want him to go
Ready to go now
We'll miss him
Top of his class
Counts to twenty well
Knows his ABC's
Wonderful
Sweet
Gets along well with others


I just thought you'd like to know what they think of him at nursery school.

kick a ball, play chase

What are Mama and Luke doing?

Mama’s putting Luke to sleep.

I sleep too. I wake up. The sun come up. We go in the back yard. We kick a ball. We play chase.

I’d like to go for a walk too.

Yes. Go for a walk. We go in the back yard. We kick a ball. We play chase.

Tim still loves to play out in the back yard. The following photos are a bit out of date, but they need to be posted. Aunt Melissa brought a cricket set over from South Africa for Tim. He understands about as much about the game as do I. That will change soon enough I'm sure.

Tim has started singing along to his movies. He also sings songs that he's learned from us and at school like "Wheels on the Bus" and "The Itsy, Bitsy Spider." While watching the Jungle Book the other day, he said this:

Who that Mama.

That’s the little girl from the village who comes to fetch the water.

Yes and her name is The Man Village.

You have to know the story well to understand the implications of this, but the feminist movement could have a field day with that. If I ever decide to get my PhD, I have the topic for my dissertation in the bag.

catching falling snow in his mouth

We had our first snow of the season this week, about four inches, and Tim was asking to go out and play in it as soon as he woke up. It was a beautiful, wet snow that you can actually hear falling on the video. He played outside, mostly eating it, by himself for nearly an hour.

tim's stories

My goal for Tim's blog has been for him to eventually take over the posts; now that his language has reached a point where he is dealing with concepts like time and memory, I'm going to start using his words as much as possible. I'll write my words in italics and his in regular print. Eventually, the italics will disappear.


Circle cookies (Vanilla Wafers) are good candy.

The other day, Paul said to him: "Tim, that’s Mama’s Kindle. Put it down please."

No is my suitcase. I go to the airport. Get on a plane. Go and see Gran, Grand-da and Lissa. Bye-bye.

Yesterday was our first real autumn day with dark, overcast skies and rain with a little mix of snow. When Tim got home from school, he said that he was cold, so I put on a sweater that Gran knitted for him. It's a little too small now, but has a helicopter on it, and he loves it.

Gran, Grand-da and the cat made this. Cat says 'Meow, Meow'. I go there.

halloween part three

At last the big day arrived. Paul and I carved pumpkins the night before Halloween and showed Tim how to light them from the inside. Mom gave us some nifty lights that look like flickering candles, and Tim loves playing with them. He arranged and rearranged the pumpkins and other decorations many, many times.

tim had no interest in getting his hands in the pumpkin guts, but he was happy to play with the carving tools

We dressed the boys and headed out into the neighborhood at about 17:30 while it was still light and warm enough that Tim didn't have to wear a coat. Luke rode in his costume in his stroller. It took Tim three houses before he would say 'trick-or-treat' but after that he was a pro.

leaving the house of our neighbor with his treat

We soon saw other trick-or-treaters, many of them about five years older than Tim and dressed in scary costumes. One boy that we kept seeing was dressed in a monster mask and wild hair. He must have been getting hot or tired of it because he took it off between houses. Tim said, "Look, there's a real boy in there."

one of our neighbors decorated the front lawn like a cemetary

chocolate grin

He likes chocolate, but his favorite treat is a sucker, especailly the kind with a tootsie roll in the center. After we finished with our neighborhood, we came home to take our turn handing out candy. Tim enjoyed this as much as getting candy and was very good about putting one in each bag.

The day after Halloween, Tim told anyone who would listen to him this story: "I go trick or treat my whole neighborhood. I give some kids candy out the bowl the sun came down."

halloween part two

happy to smile when he doesn't know the camera is around


too cool to smile

Last Thursday night, Timothy's nursery school had their Halloween party. Students and their families were encouraged to dress in costume and enjoy food, games and candy from 18:00-19:30.

Daddy got home in time to help get the boys dressed in their costumes. Again, Luke wore the kangaroo and Tim happily put on his 'bones.' The day before the party, he came home from school (he went an extra day this week because I was struck by the plague Monday night and was ill for several days) and told me that he wanted to be a dragon for the party. I told him we didn't have a dragon costume, but he didn't seem to care. He said he'd be a 'bones dragon.' At the party, there were two children in elaborate dragon costumes, but he didn't notice them at all and when shown them, ignored them. I'm not sure what a dragon looks like in his mind.

The nursery school used the four classrooms to set up four different stations. One was the food room, one had games like sticking your hand in a box full of something (grapes, marshmallow, gummie worms) and trying to identify it without looking. Tim ate one of the gummie worms.


gummi worms


fishing for treats

His classroom had a cookie decorating table and a set of ten pins and a plastic bowling ball. Apparently, they'd set it up one morning before school when Tim was there, and all he'd been talking about was bowling. We spent most of our time by the bowlers, either with Tim attempting to roll the ball into the pins, rolling around in the way of the other bowlers, or screaming with delight when another bowler knocked over the pins.


cookie decorating table



Tonight, Halloween Part Three...

halloween part one

bones

I've got to get this posted now because Halloween Part Two happens this evening. My wonderful neighbors Chad and Emily treated Tim and Luke to Halloween at The Farm last Friday night. We started the festivities in the afternoon with a pumpkin painting activity. Tim flat refused to put on his garbage bag smock and paint. He wouldn't even paint without the smock. But Addie happily painted while we watched. Tim did stick some stickers on one of the pumpkins that his Aunt Debbie grew and gave to him. We had to do the painting on the garage floor because the gorgeous late summer weather turned to fall overnight and it was too cool and misty to paint outside and too messy to paint inside. That's okay though; that's perfect Halloween weather. I forgot to take photos of this event.

After a short break in which Addie took a nap, Tim had some down time with a cup of milk, Luke played with his toys, and Paul came home from work, we all walked two doors down to their house and had hot dogs for dinner. Chad was working high in the mountains, riding horses in the snow of all things; he's a forest ranger, but he managed to get back in time to go to the Farm.


addie dressed as jessie from toy story 2. i meant to take her photo but had the camera on video.

Tim told me a few days before the party that he wanted to be C3P0 for Halloween, but I wasn't able to find him a costume in town. They are available on-line, but I'm not convinced he'd wear it, so I didn't bother. Next year, he'll let me know well ahead of time, I'm sure, and I'll be sure to get him or make him what he wants if at all humanly possible. He was happy to wear his skeleton pajamas (he calls them his bones). It was cold enough that he had to wear a heavy coat, so the costume didn't really matter. The hat was in a box of clothes that he inherited from Karsten, who must have been a skeleton for his second Halloween as well. Luke wore the Kangaroo suit that Colten gave to Tim at 9 months old. It's very warm and Luke was happy the whole evening and even fell asleep in Paul's arms.

For Halloween, local businesses like nursery schools, dental offices, and charities make false fronted doors for children to do their 'trick-or treating'. These are set up along the paths of the inner area of The Farm, around the pond and chicken coup. There is also a hay ride, and local schools make displays that are set up in the barn. The best was Monster Math, a mock classroom with a ghoul for a teacher and zombies for students.

waiting for our turn on the hayride

Addie, being a year older than Tim and having been to The Farm last Halloween, knew what was what and led him from door to door singing out 'Trick-or-Treat' or 'Happy Halloween' and holding out her bag for candy gleefully. Tim got the part about holding out his bag for candy (he figured that out last year as well), but he remained mute most of the night and wanted to stop and inspect what was deposited in his bag at each door before moving on. He took on the role of doing some knocking on the door about half way through.


checking out the treat

Every day since then, he's told me the story of going to The Farm, knocking on the door, saying 'Halloween,' and getting candy. He also asks to go back. Today he came home from school with a new story. Tomorrow night, his whole school is having a Halloween Party. Hence, Halloween Part Two...

my boys

helicopter

While we were in Breckenridge in August, the city was having a some kind of festival celebrating vehicles, especially those used for rescue operations. While Paul hiked up Mt. Quandry, Tim, Luke and I checked out the equipment on display, which was in a parking lot very close to our condo. Before we left, the rescue helicopter flew in and landed. It flew past our window, just above the buildings. Tim was beside himself with excitement. Then, he got to sit in the cockpit.





big smile on a beautiful summer day

enjoying some ice cream and dad and mom's undivided attention while baby brother sleeps

he's added jumping and climbing to his standard of running everywhere he goes

the blue river

people watching

lunch at bubba gump's restaurant

steamboat springs

Tim is fun to drive with now because he notices and comments on so many things that he sees outside of the car. Between his sightseeing, watching his DVD, and taking a nap, he can ride in the car for almost three hours without much complaining.

the yampa river

higher!

faster!

on a saddle in the tack room at the ranch

when he gets excited, he waves both arms

throwing rocks on the elk river

throwing big rocks on the elk river

the farm

Our city Parks and Recreation department maintains a small farm in one of the city parks. It was an actual farm in 1920, and the buildings have been restored. There are a couple of cows, some sheep, a few ponies, chickens, and most impressively, in Tim's mind, a water pump. While my in-laws were here, I booked a slot for Tim in the Lil' Dumplin' group, which met on three Monday's in a row from 11:15-12:15. Spaced over those three days, they got to feed the hens, milk the cow, go for a hay ride pulled by a tractor, and ride a pony. Jenny and Neville took him and they had a sack lunch on the grounds at the end of each session.

tractor in the sun

he was very excited about the pony ride and kept asking for his helmet which was a little late getting to him

helmeted at last


in the chicken yard


the water pump

Gramps and Gee Gee bought Tim (and Luke in another few months) a trampoline. I worked for a few hours last night putting it together, but never managed to get it right. It took longer to get it out of the box and packaging than to assemble it. Paul looked at it this morning and figured out the issue within minutes. I love being married to a problem solver. Our neighbor Emily and her three-year-old daughter Addie were around for the grand opening. I predict many hours of jumping for the two of them.

baby birds and sexist remarks

baby birds

Some finches built a nest in one of our hanging baskets on the front porch. Last week, the eggs hatched two bald and blind baby birds. They are now furry and seem to be thriving even though the few times I've peeked at them they've been sleeping. Tim had his first look at them yesterday. His reaction was rather bland, but he's been talking about it ever since. He asks to look at them constantly, and I finally told him that they were sleeping and needed to be left alone. Showing them to him involves getting up on a chair and lifting him up, not something I can do very many times without distressing the mother bird.



sexist remarks
Timothy has developed some interesting ideas about the roles that Paul and I play. Last Friday, I backed our car into my mother's car, which was parked in the driveway behind me (silly mistake). I wanted Tim to understand why I was sad, so I showed him the scratches on the bumper. I explained what I'd done and that the car had an owie now. His immediate response was: 'Daddy fix it.'

Then, when we were camping over the weekend, he pulled out another sexist comment. We were packing up camp and loading it into the car. Tim wanted Paul to play with him. Paul explained that he was busy packing up and Tim replied: 'Momma pack up.'

BIRD UPDATE: 1 AUGUST 2010
There is only one bird in the nest. I think now that the second egg never hatched. It was hard to tell because the birds and the nest are the same color and baby birds tend to sleep on top of each other. Now that it's grown into something that actually looks like a bird, it's clear that there is only one. Tim hasn't seen the parents feeding the bird yet. He doesn't know what to look for and he doesn't have the patience to sit on the couch and watch. I think it will be ready to fly by the end of the week based on its growth so far.

wan and wanda

Timothy struggles with making the soft 'g' sound like in Gran and Grand-da, so he calls Jenny and Neville Wan and Wanda. He loves having them here and is basking in all the love and attention.

world cup fever

While everyone else is complaining about the noise, we're celebrating the arrival of our very own vuvuzela. Paul's parents are here from Cape Town for a month and brought this for Timothy. It's difficult to make a noise with it. Paul's managed to master it, something the whole neighborhood must know by now. Jenny, my mother-in-law, told us that the tourists were boarding airplanes with five or six of these to give as gifts back home, all over the world. And remember, after South Africans, Americans have purchased the most World Cup tickets. Methinks the vuvuzela is here to stay.

marshmellows

At the cabin, we roast marshmallows when we have a fire. When Timothy watched Paul build the fire for the braai, he asked if he could have some marshmallows, so we roasted a few. I like the light in these pictures.