Clark's Elioak Farm 2011 (Part 2 - Farm Animals)

The boys were so much fun to watch as they ran back and forth among the animals. It was a great setting for them to be able to explore and observe. They couldn't handle themselves. At one point, Connor was in between a sheep and a cow and he was looking back and forth in a confused state repeatedly saying "Baa, Moo". It may have been my most favorite part of the day.

running to the sheep and observing the baa's.





moving on to the donkeys.







hello Ostrich.







why hello, Mr. Cow and your cow friends.





on to the pigs and tribute to Charlotte's web.






with a neigh neigh here.



caught between a cow and a sheep and what is a toddler to do?!?

Clark's Elioak Farm 2011 (Part 1 - Petting Farm)

We ventured out to Clark's Elioak Farm for some fun. It was a beautiful day and despite the boys' decision to not take a nap, we had an amazing time.




(such serious faces for the fun that we were going to have)

We started off with a wagon ride to the start of our fun, which was the petting farm.





getting up close and personal with the goats.



and, there were some chickens too.

There is more to look for at the mall besides the circles in the elevator

The boys and I have been going to the mall weekly and generally it is for exercise for me, lunch and some leisure window (and sometimes inside if the windows are appealing) shopping.

Among the things that the boys have started to notice are the shapes in the elevators. Towson Town Center is very disjointed and there are multiple elevators that are required if you want to maneuver around the mall.

We just discovered the Tiny Town after many a walks searching and I was SUPER happy to see that the area had a door. Columbia and White Marsh have theirs out in the middle of the mall, which creates a problem when trying to keep track of 2 little people that appropriately do not know how not to wander off just yet.

Heading down the slide after pointing out the bus and choo choo train (insert proud momma after spending hours on their transportation puzzle)..





Standing up in the car...

A random Saturday at Storyville with 2 toddlers

The boys really really like going to Storyville and it is a privilege to be able to watch them as they wander from area to area. Connor spends most of his time in the market and the kitchen and tending to the babies. Jackson is very enamored with the garden area and upper loft along with the cars. On occasion, they will find one another in the kitchen area. On this visit, they collaborated in the kitchen over some cookies and feeding a baby said cookies in the highchair.

We could spend hours there and Connor wouldn't have left the market area without encouragement to find daddy and Jackson. It is so much fun to watch them as they interact without one another and with other children.

Animal Noises

About a week ago, I started to ask the boys what noises certain animals make and they were able to do around 10 animals. I was totally shocked that they knew that many. We watch the Baby Einstein DVD "Baby MacDonald" a lot because the boys love it and one of the things that we watch is the Old MacDonald Had a Farm segment so I'm guessing that is where they picked it up along with going to Mother Goose on the Loose. Ms. Jessica always sings the song "when an gets up in the morning, he always says and repeats it and the noise is done twice on the second verse.

Here is some video of them letting us know which ones. I was trying to use a list so it sounded good. These were the best after a couple of attempts. Oh, and to be clear on how amazing that this is, Jackson was basically saying mama and dada until mid-September when he added star. So, it truly was a complete shock when he discovered that he knew ALL of these animal noises. He's been holding out on us!!

Petting Zoo

On our last couple of trips to the zoo, I have been letting the boys out of their stroller so they can walk around the children's section and spend some quality time with the chickens, cow, donkey, sheep and pig. I had promised them that the next time that we came to the zoo, we would check out the petting area with their dad. We invited Mary Elizabeth and her parents and it was a date.

We finally captured pictures with the lions and Michael persuaded me to get into the picture with them. They are my zoo dates and the lady checking membership cards told me it wasn't necessary to show my card or identification as she knew who we were. I guess that is a good thing as they are excited to go to the zoo and see the animals. We will definitely be renewing our membership.





After the petting zoo, we went to the boys' favorite spot, the Farmyard. It was so nice for Michael to be able to see how excited that they get to see the animals. Any time they heard a moo or a baa or a cluck, they would RUN to the corresponding animal making the noise. There were numerous stumbles but they got up and continued their fun. One of my favorite pics was of the guys pushing the strollers...

Connor's 1st Haircut

We have discussed and discussed and discussed how hard it was going to be on us to cut Connor's hair. He has the most adorable curls and without knowing if they were going to grow back, the answer was always no. When reviewing body parts, he even knows to point to his curls (sigh for cuteness). This is despite the numerous opinions of family members and friends on how much he needed a haircut. Connor had watched Jackson numerous times so we were hopeful that he would be a good sport but this was definitely not the case.




I didn't take pictures while the cut happened but this will give you an idea:



Jackson was a pro and even helped out with holding the comb. Watching Baby Noah with all of the animals helped but he has had so many haircuts that he appears to be getting used to it.

Compromised Shoes

For those that know Michael, it is very well known that he is super organized with his clothes and shoes. It is borderline obsessive to me and most others but I have grown to respect his want to achieve order.

This order, however, is lost on the boys. Jackson and Connor have a thing for shoes and love to find theirs and play with ours. This usually doesn't affect Michael and his need for order UNTIL the boys get into his closet. Prior to vacation and during the week of no power, Jackson stumbled upon his shoes and when Michael came home, he questioned me on "Why his shoes had been compromised??" I told him that I had warned Jackson that daddy wasn't going to be happy.

So, these photos were not staged. It was just another random day in the house when both boys compromised his shoes. What fun?!?

Meteorologists in training

During our walks over the summer, the boys and I spotted a flower that spins in the wind. We always check for this flower when out on our walk. While walking on the boardwalk in Rehoboth, we spotted the flowers and it was only fitting that we got one for each of them.

Here is a picture of our flower:



If I ask to the boys to check to see if it is windy, they run to the front door and can now check their very own flower. On this day, Jackson was really interested and Connor couldn't part from his puzzles but for a quick check. It is so amazing to see how much that they comprehend and remember.

Thank you Dr. Seuss

Dr. Seuss:

I know that I will never meet you but I can only say thank you for making the Cat (you know the one in the Hat) and encouraging other people to draw and write like you for people like me that love rhyming books.

I'm sure that I'm not the only one that does this but I spend a good bit of my day playing with my Bright and Early board books. Toys are o.k. but the first thing that I look for in my play room are my books and I could spend hours (yes hours and not in the toddler version of an hour being a couple minutes) thumbing through the books to make sure that all of the pages are there and positioning them on the couch.

It may sound silly but I love to do this. Part of my time is spent separating the books in even distances across the couch. I just want to make sure that they look good. Oh, and if you couldn't guess, I know each and every one of my books by either name or a brief description from my mommy. Sometimes, I don't want to read them and I will hand them to people for them to hold them and quickly take them back if they don't seem to appreciate them as much as I do.

I just love my board books.

Thanks again AND here are a couple of pictures with me and my books. Notice the separation between the books.



XOXO

Connor Patrick Stanley

p.s. Oh, I have a brother. His name is Jackson. He isn't really fond of Hop on Pop and that might be my fault because I wanted it to be read to me over and over and over again and still can listen to it. That funny Jim biting him's tail.. But, back to Jackson. He really likes "Go Dog Go" and I think that my new favorite is "Hand Hand Fingers Thumbs." My favorite line is Dum Ditty Dum Ditty Dum Dum Dum. Those monkeys are sooo cool.



p.p.s. Oh and I wanted to let you know that some people (like my mom) may complain that the Cat in the Hat is 64 pages. But, I will sit and listen to every one and the best part is that the Cat is everywhere in the book and I get to see him each time the page gets turned (good times).