So much to say...

He has a lot to say and I have a lot to say about him, because 2 is just a really fun age.

He literally woke up one day last week with an increased ability to talk. He is speaking a lot now. The cutest things of the day are "So Exciting!" which he used several times, about bubbles, and jumping off the couch at church into a cushion, and "I love you too, mommy (daddy, annabelle..)" HE also had a conversation with my dad on a banana phone before converting it to a banana hat. He cracks me up with his banter.

Super fun birthday party last week; I think you've seen pics on facebook. I'll admit it; even though it was a 'simple' party, I was up till 4am getting it all ready. Cake took forever. Color icing. Fill bag. Pipe outline, add stars. Squeeze out icing, wash tip and bag and ring and cuppler. Mix new icing. Repeat. If you are with me this summer when I am shopping at Michaels please remind me to buy 3 star tips, 3 piping tips, and 3 more bag sets so I don't have to stop so often. Even though I thought the cake was simple, it still took over 3 hours. (Gemma's took 5 though...all those princesses...) So once THAT was done, I had to assemble the treasure hunt. CLues were photos of different things around the house; the fridge, the bathtub, the dresser, etc, and then sea creatures holding them. While they were searching in other rooms Annabelle brought out the huge rubbermaid tub of TREASURE: balloons and balloon swords and treasure bags and plenty of balls since Guinness loves balls. We watched Curious GEorge sails with the pirates, and then had our snacks (apple wedge with peanut butter/tortilla sails, goldfish crackers, and pancakes with piped on pirate faces with Nutella). Guinness loved his gifts, they were so thoughtful. He got all the things he loves; books, balls, and puzzles. Anyway; why 4am you may ask, well I didn't finish the cake till after midnight and then had treasure bags to make, pancakes to make, clues to prepare, and of course then clean the house.

It was a fun day, his excitement and smiles made the 4am so worth it. And thats why I do it :)

Pirate Birthday

Ahoy! A pirate party is coming your way. Waiting for a special package from Baba.

Ideas for the boy's presents:
-sandbox for the deck
-Remo drum
-puzzles (Melissa and Doug ones from ToysRUs)
-battery operated pet, like Gemma's Rufus the Rabbit. Guinness loves Rufus!

A pain in the butt shopping list because none of these presents can be bought at the same store, but we have some time because as I mentioned the party date is not set as we are waiting for Baba's package. The real birthday is next Sunday (27th). Mine is May 26, Guin's is March 27, Gemma is November 28. Cool, right?

Ogre!

Guinness likes to pretend, too.

Mommy!!! Snake!!!
I ask, "Where?" And he says, "there!"

So then we kepow the snake or say go away, or ask if he is hungry, or run away.

Sometimes its snakes. Sometimes its a bad guy! Sometimes its an ogre! Sometimes Guinness is an ogre.

He said this morning, "Grrr. Ogre!"

I said, "Are you a nice ogre?" He said, "Guinness baby ogre!" Then he patted me; "You mommy ogre!"

:) The ogre family!

The Latest Drama

In Taiwan they are always doing construction of some sort. To protect people they put up these really tall green corrugated metal fences around whatever they are working on; digging pits, pouring foundations, ripping down old buildings, whatever. Well, Guinness was with his babysitter at the park last week, and being the fast little sneaker he is, he darted away and was almost UNDER one of these fences. The babysitter grabbed him by the ankle at the last second and pulled him back. Who knows what 'fun' he would have found on the other side (and how long it would have taken the babysitter to run around the the whole thing looking for a door or way in... Yikes!)

Daddy!

When we went to church today, Guinness really expected to see Chris. He hasn't asked about Daddy much, but when the elevator opened and he heard the music playing he was just so sure that Daddy would be there. Poor guy! He cried and fussed and grumped around the rest of the night.

1 more day!

Diaper Rash

Poor guy's a bit red.

Too many strawberries this week :)

He says, "Ouchie poop!" and walks like an old cowboy, poor thing.

Diaper rash cream is one of those things I never travel without. A diaper rash can appear so quickly, and hurt so much! One time we were away for a weekend with baby Gemma and she all of a sudden got a rash and I had nothing, and the poor girl cried and cried. Actually, we use bag balm now and it works great. The jumbo jar I got for when Gemma was born is half full still.

Chasing

I love watching my kids chase animals.

Squirrels are funny because they are super fast, my kids don't stand a chance. We can't even keep them in eyesight that long.

Pigeons are hilarious because they are just the right speed and size for Guin. They waddle along and he can get pretty close to them, and pigeons are dumb enough that they don't fly away immediately. You can walk right behind them for a long time before they finally get fed up and fly away. Guinness was chasing a pigeon at the park on Sunday and it was awesome. The pigeon would go under a bench, and G would hunker down and look under the bench, taking a minute to realize he had to stand up and walk around the bench. And at one point he made the connection that if he walked slower the pigeon walked slower. So he dropped to his knees and was crawling around the ground after the bird.... Hee hee. And when the bird flew away, Guinness just walked right through the flowerbed that was in front of him, eyes up and intent on the prize in the sky!

Today is was butterflies. Nothing more precious than a child completely engrossed in a butterfly, chasing it and watching it, intent on the goal.