Toddler Made Tasty Treats : Football Shaped Rice Krispy Treats

In honor of the Ravens heading to the Superbowl, the boys' school decided to skip their planned lesson on mittens in favor of pennants on Monday and chocolate flavored rice krispy treats shaped liked footballs complete with hash marks.

As always, trying to keep the treats from the boys so that daddy could see them.  They actually looked really good.

And, Jackson was very excited and yet again, the excitement resulted in actual eating. 

 
Pulling the marshmallow apart.

Connor did a lot of touching and examining before he started to eat.  In the end, he offered it to us.  Although, he is always very willing to pose for a picture, which is much better than the action pictures of Jackson shoveling the treat in super fast.

 

Jackson's smile says it all with regard to how happy that he was to be eating his treat.  I LOVE to be able to capture these moments of our boys and are so happy that he is actually eating the treats and trying new things. Hopefully, this will transfer to the trying of non-treats.  Maybe, if I let him help more in the kitchen, he will be more willing to experiment.

Aquarium Time

We finally decided that it was time to work on the boys' big boy bed room being that they are 3 and everything (and, have had a gender neutral room since we brought them home as we never found out what we were having).

I had ordered the choo choo train sheets after the boys confirmed that it was what they wanted before the end of the year and waited until just recently to put them on. We picked the color to match the sheets and are currently working on accessories.  The painter was able to fit us in during the holiday season but we decided it would be too much.

Mr. Bill and I chatted after first of the year and picked a Wednesday after confirming that Michael was available.  Since it was going to be a no-nap day -- we opted to try the aquarium for the first time.  We picked daddy up from work and went to lunch at Panera. The boys knew that we were going to see the fish so lunch was trying.

We arrived and they were off!!  The security staff had to secure Jackson while Michael handled the tickets. 

Connor LOVED all of the windows and being able to see the Inner Harbor.

Admiring the fish tanks.

Connor patiently waiting for the dolphin show.

They were starting to get antsy really fast and there was a lot of laying on the ground and walking up and down the steps which was not the best since the steps are steep and there is water from the dolphins.

Finally, the dolphins arrived.

Dophins showing off their tricks...

Off to the toddler wing and the boys found books and puppets.

And, Connor, at about this time, decided he had had enough and decided to let us know. He absolutely adores penguins and turtles and wouldn't even get up off the floor to look at them....  Jackson had bolted from Michael and they didn't even see them either. 

We returned the book that Connor wouldn't relinquish earlier, had a couple more melt downs and exited the aquarium. The boys fell asleep in the car and confirmed that they are definitely not ready to give up a nap and that walking around for an extended period of time is tough work for 3 year old.

When we got home after driving around to extend the nap, Jackson devoured his blueberry muffin so no Toddler Tasty Treats pictures, we checked out Mr. Bill's work.  As Connor said - "Mr. Bill did a great job." We are super happy that the room was painted and realize that the aquarium is a morning activity for our three year olds. 

Toddler Quotables : "o.k. Michele - here's the deal"

The boys have expanded their vocabulary so much this past year and it seems as if they are picking up so many new things. Instead of calling us mama and dada, it is now mom and dad.  It's as if they really are growing up more and more each and every day!!!  Along with the growing is a lot of bad listening. I had heard from several friends that 3 was harder than 2. 

On this particular day, Connor was in a timeout almost immediately after waking up from his nap after throwing about 100 re-usable stickers onto the carpet while I was helping Jackson with something. 

While we were downstairs playing together, I apparently made a ridiculous suggestion and Connor (yes Connor) retorted "O.K. Michele, Here's the deal." We've encouraged the boys to know our first names but this went way too far. 

Shortly after the comment, which I just ignored, Jackson asked me to help him with a toy, which rarely happens and Connor whispered to me "i'm hungry mama."  I told him that he had to wait until I was done with Jackson and he proceeded to walk upstairs.  Several times, I repeated that he needed to come back downstairs and that I would help him. He kept going and I heard some noises that I couldn't decipher, which is never good.  Eventually, Connor surfaced and showed off his proud accomplishment of getting daddy crackers, a.k.a. Cheez-Its, into a bowl.  I went upstairs to find out the damage and as expected, almost an entire bag of daddy crackers were covering the floor.  So, within an hour of waking up from a nap, Connor was on his 2nd timeout. 

Please tell me this gets better........... That face says it all. 

3 Year Well Visit

We made it in to Towson Medical for the boys' 3 Year Well Visit. After a considerable wait, the boys were weighed and measured and their vitals were taken.

Jackson was up first and measured in at 38 inches and weighed 35lbs.  During Jackson's measuring, Connor was making himself at home in the exam room.

Connor was up next and measured in at 36 inches and weighed 33 lbs, which you can't tell when you look at them.  It is always still a solid 33 lbs that you have to pick up and carry. Jackson has always felt lighter and now that he has finally surpassed Connor in weight, it is amazing how well he carries his weight.

Up next was a check of vitals and Connor wasn't really feeling the under arm temperature check.  I love Jackson looking on to make sure that everything was o.k.

After the vitals were taken, Connor kept pointing to the door as if it was time to leave and actually said "Oh No, the doctor is coming, let's hide" at one point.

They were restless.....

Dr. Ken finally arrived and Connor was up first.  His AAAAA was classic.  Their doctor commented again on Connor's need for braces based upon how large his teeth are and that they came in crooked initially :(

Jackson was all smiles when he was able to grab the cords but didn't like the idea of getting examined.

LOVE these pictures of Connor working the Ipad while waiting for the flu shots.  We lucked out that these were the only shots and Connor whimpered for a second expecting more pain and Jackson barely flinched.

Toddler Made Tasty Treats : Bear Claws

The boys made bear claws during their continued work on bears.  They have made hibernating bears in a cave and coffee ground scented bears. 

It was the 1st treat that Jackson actually ate in its entirety and we didn't get a chance to share with him.





He was so focused that he barely talked and when asked to share -- kept on eating, which is totally unlike him.

 


Connor wasn't as excited about the taste but they are two very different little people.  He still kept on eating... (that's our Connor)!





Despite not liking the taste -- Connor has perfected the say cheese for the camera.