The two-year check-up

The fun of turning two continued with a visit to the doctor today. This was a very different experience from Gus's 18-month visit when he cried every time a health care professional looked at him. He welcomed the doctor into the exam room with a big, "Hello Dr. Crino," and did not put up any resistance to having his head measured or his blood drawn. He watched the whole procedure without a peep and thanked the nurse for the snoopy band aid. He was a little disappointed that he did not get to stand on the big boy scale. They had him sit on the baby scale. He weighs 27 pounds 7 ounces and is 35 inches tall, which means his adult height estimation is 5' 10". Not too shabby considering Jonathan and I are not tall.

The most exciting part of the visit for me was learning that Gus has graduated from Infant Tylenol to Children's Tylenol. We no longer need to keep a half dozen infant Tylenol's labeled with GTS and TBS all over the house. Gus did not understand my excitement about this. The best part of the day for him was watching the fish and playing with the dirty old toys in the waiting room.

Theo is five months!

Theo is five months today, and walking. Well, assisted by me and Gus. I hold Theo up under his arms, and Gus holds his hand, he takes little steps forward. He and Gus look adorable walking together. I imagine it will be so cute when they really do this, but I do not want that to happen too soon. Theo is still my little, little baby. And that's how I want it to stay.

No party . . . but cake number 4!

Gus is getting the hang of eating cake.

It made me really sad to do it, but we postponed Gus's birthday party. I am coughing up a storm and sound really sick (I feel pretty good). The boys have drippy noses and Jonathan's throat is sore, so someone is surely contagious, and friends don't like friends that make them sick.

Since we spent a good part of Saturday talking about the party, and the decorations are hanging in the kitchen, we thought Gus would be upset when the party did not materialize. We were going to go out for pizza (Gus often asks to "go to the pizza restaurant"), but with the cough, all the dripping and the 20 degrees temperature, I whimped out. Jonathan and Gus bought a cake at Wholefoods (cake #4) and we ordered pizza, which actually worked out well. This way the pizza guy could bring Gus his croquet balls with out three other kids around. Wooden balls, mallets and hungry children probably do not mix well.

Present from the pizza guy.

Croquet.

Gus was very happy with our little party of four. He did not even ask where the others were.

Self-timer photo experiment.

Gus is funny.

Gus was cracking us up again today.

At supper Gus had a "big boy glass" (juice glass) of milk and started blowing bubbles in it. We could not tell if this was by accident or on purpose. Jonathan said, "Gus, just drink the milk," at which point Gus chugged the entire glass of milk in a manner that would impress a frat boy, put down the glass and said, "Whoa! Good drinking."

After supper Gus and Jonathan were playing soccer with a little fabric soccer ball. Gus has been practicing his penalty kick lately, meaning he will not kick the ball if it is moving. He stops it and lines it up to kick it between Jonathan's feet (the goal posts). He was doing just that, when I overheard him say, "Get ready ball," right before kicking it.

And we had some new visitors to Old MacDonald's farm tonight. First a train. Then Misha, his friend Lara's Dad. When we asked Gus what Misha says, he told us "He feeds the sheep." Then the fish appeared. Then a cow and a chicken. I love this song and imaging how Gus must envision the farm. It is one crazy place.

And finally, as we put Gus into his crib he said, "I need to check my email."

I guess I was bored today.

It must have been a particularly boring day. Around three o'clock, I thought it would be fun to give Gus a hair cut. Unlike at the barber shop, he did not put up a fight, so I assume he also thought it was a good idea. I am the first to admit that I went too far with the bangs, but I do not think the entire cut is so bad. Jonathan wants me to hand over my scissors. Oh, please. It is just hair.

Gus gave Potato a new hairstyle, too.

This should have been enough excitement for one day, but then I decided it was time to introduce Theo to solid food. Theo grimaced at the first spoonful, but after that he was begging for more. He was actually a pretty neat eater for a novice.


Good thing tomorrow is Saturday. Who knows what kind of shenanigans we would be up to if left alone for one more day.

Birthday Day

Yippie! Gus is two. And I think he had a nice day. It started with presents. Jonathan and I gave him an engine house, a railway crossing gate, and a Thomas the Tank engine, which is actually Edward (but it is blue so he does not know the difference.) He was very happy.

Gus and I played trains while Theo napped and after he woke up we headed out on the trike to get some birthday gelato.


Gelato was the plan for my birthday but I could not go because of the tooth ache and root canal. We were half way to Capogiro, when Gus said, "Mummy, no gelato. I want to go to playground." Man. I was really looking forward to gelato, but it was Gus's birthday so we headed to the park. After a few more blocks on the trike Gus decided he wanted to walk. And then he started getting all these phone calls on our old decommissioned cell phone.


"Allo? Somebody. Happy Birthday, Gus. Thank you. "

"Allo? Somebody. Happy Birthday, Gus. Thank you. "

And again, "Allo? Somebody. Happy Birthday, Gus. Thank you. "

The playground was not as crowded as I would have expected for a seventy-degree day in February. I guess the threat of rain kept people away. But the preschool classes were there, and Gus had fun "chasing the big kids."


He took a break from running to ride the sew-saw-ish thing with Theo and me . . .


And to do a little steering of the big wheel . .

"CHEESE!!!"

Since Jonathan was working and would not be home early enough for birthday cake, I had decided that I would just wait for his party on Sunday to make one. But then I changed my mind and made cupcakes while Gus was napping, which was good because when he woke up he was asking for the snowman cake. After the last cake broke, I ate the Junior Mints that were suppose to be the snowmen's hats, but I think they looked cute anyway.

"We need hats."

Since it was just the two of us (Theo was sleeping) and I was not feeling well (horrible sore throat and cough), I tried to give Gus the cupcake without any hoopla, but he said, "Candle on it." He really gets the whole birthday thing. Once I put one candle on it he said, "I'm two. Two candles." Who taught him this?


I had to keep the cupcake back so I could snap a picture without worrying about him grabbing the flames. And no snowman. It would have caught on fire, and Gus has been so sensitive lately ("no monkeys," "no drive in the dark,") that I was sure that would have freaked him out. So I gave it to him after.

He was talking to it so I thought he would not eat it . . .

but he did.

A lot has changed in the past year. Gus now walks, climbs, throws, talks, sings. New home. New brother. And now Gus likes cupcakes.

2.6.07

2.6.08

Gus takes the plunge

Gus returned to Philly today, with pictures from his adventure at the pool. Here he is in the locker room . . .

with his backpack. He is wearing "a fancy bathing suit." Those are his shoes in the locker, which it turns out are a whole size too small.

And here he is entering a pool for the first time.

Grandma and PopPop said he was not scared and did not hesitate to enter, but he was very serious. (He is always serious when he is experiencing something for the first time--even if it is the coolest thing on earth.) He called the deep end where PopPop was swimming laps "the ocean." Jonathan thinks this is because of the Daddy book again. The daddy and the boy are at the beach and the daddy takes the boy into the deep water and teaches him to swim.

Here is Gus with PopPop, and a friend, kicking his feet. He showed me how he kicked his feet and did an impression of Grandma doing water aerobics. He told me that PopPop "went under the tunnel" which is the rope that separates the deep end.

Gus has been talking about swimming a lot lately. When I told him he was going to go swimming with Grandma and PopPop, he said "take my shirt off." He definitely had idea of what swimming entails. By all accounts he enjoyed it. Jonathan and I have really dropped the ball on swimming, and I am so glad that he got to go before turning the ripe old age of two. Thanks, Grandma and PopPop.

And here is Theo listening to Gus tell us about the pool and the pet store, and the carousel.


I think Theo really missed Gus.

Rolling, rolling, rolling . . .

Theo is officially rolling! On Tuesday night he rolled from his back to his front while in bed with me. It woke us both up. He demonstrated his new trick a few more time during the week, but Saturday he really started showing off. Now he is in that annoying stage of rolling whenever he is on his back. He cannot help himself. Occasionally he will roll back over (he has been doing the tummy to back roll for a couple of weeks) but most of the time he just squirms and screams until he is flipped. With Gus away, I was going to move him into his crib in the boys' room, but it seemed like a cruel time to teach him to fall asleep on his own since he cannot stop rolling. So he is still snuggling up with me.

A Super Weekend

The boys and I spent the weekend in Maryland with Grandma and PopPop. We had a great time and caught up with an amazing number of people (Grandma, PopPop, Uncle Michael, Terry&Steve, Robert, Danielle, Elizabeth, Anita, Uncle Irv, Aunt Diane, Beth, Howie and Benjamin) considering we were there for all of thirty hours. But nobody was happier than Gus, who had his second birthday celebration. It started on Saturday when Grandma and PopPop gave him the backpack he has been asking for since playing with Olivia's at playgroup about a month ago. He was psyched.



Gus rolled it around with him (don't try to put it on his back!) all Saturday evening and parked it right by his bed when he went to sleep. And Gus had so much fun playing with Uncle Michael that he did not even notice that the snowman cake that we had been talking about all week never materialized (I broke one of the layers taking it out of the pan). On Sunday, Michael and Grandma bought a replacement cake at the grocery store and as soon as they brought it in the house Gus started begging for the candles and continued to beg for them until we left for Beth and Howie's SuperBowl party. But once we were there he was having too much fun with cousin Benjamin and his toys to pay much attention to food or his beloved Tommy Brady. He watched a little bit of the game with Theo and their Giants-fan cousin . . .




and blew out birthday candles with Uncle Michael . . .


At half time, Gus went back to Grandma and PopPop's, and Theo, Jonathan and I headed back to Philly. Theo and I are going to clean and organize while Gus swims, visits the pet store and has fun with Grandma and PopPop. What a nice way to wrap up his final days as a one-year old.

Ee-i-ee-i-o

That Gus. He cracks me up.

This morning, like every morning, Gus woke us up with pleas for milk. But this morning he requested "half a pound of milk." Yesterday afternoon Gus rode his tricycle with PopPop to the grocery store to buy a half gallon of milk, so I guess that was on his mind. Pounds, gallons, so much to keep straight. I wonder if he was picturing himself drinking it right from the jug?

After drinking a cup of milk and eating breakfast we went to the "touch me museum." We had a lovely visit until it was time to leave. No matter how I phrase it or how much warning I give Gus, he still throws himself on the ground and kicks and screams and everyone looks at us. And then, with Theo strapped to the front of me in the Bjorn, I pick up Gus and carry him to the coat room. He calms down there because there is a liquid soap dispenser that he likes to use, but once he washes of the "touch me germs" he starts crying again while I wrestle him (with Theo strapped to the front of me) to get his coat on. Today, a very nice great-grandmother offered to put Gus's coat on for me and Gus screamed, "Lady no touch my coat!" She was a little taken aback and I was a bit embarrassed. Gus then said to me, quite upset, "That lady no go to my pizza party." Why he would assume we would invite her baffles me. Maybe everyone we see is a possible guest. He must think about this pizza party an awful lot.

When Gus got up from not taking a nap, I changed his diaper. While he was on the changing pad he said "I go see Theo dor." I could not understand what he thought Theo was doing. He said it a few more times. "I go see Theo dor." Then I heard it. Theodore. A few weeks ago I told him that Theo's full name is Theodore. I said, "Theodore?" And he said "His big name. My big name Gus Thomas Schoenfeld." So I told him that Theo's big name is Theodore Bernard Schoenfeld, which he repeated and then said "My big name Gussy Thomas Schoenfeld." I call him Gussy sometimes. I wonder if he is going to wish he had a formal name. Maybe we should have named him August (my preference) or Gustav (Jonathan's preference). But really we both just like Gus. Maybe we should have named Theodore, Theo. Or Mack. Oh well.

The final funny happening of the day took place in the bath tub. While Gus was taking his bath and Theo was excersaucering in the doorway, I sang songs to entertain them. After a few rounds of 'Five Little Ducks,' Gus requested 'Old MacDonald.' In the past couple of weeks Gus has started singing it with us and will tell us what animals are on the farm. Fish is always the first animal. Sure, why not? There could be a pond of fish on the farm. (For the record fish make a kissy sound.) So we did the fish, and started again. And on the farm he had a ??? "Penis," Gus said. "A what?" I asked, sure that I did not hear that right. "A penis," he confirmed looking at his. (For the record a penis says pee.) I definitely do not want to work that into the lineup, so no more Ee-i-ee-i-o in the bath tub.