Let the Terriffic Twos Begin!

Happy Birthday to Wesley!!! My sweet little boy turned two today. While the rest of the nation was holding it's breath as Hurricane Katrina bore down on the Gulf Coast, I was bearing down in a completely different way!

Wesley kicked off his birthday with his dinosaurs. It was the best bit of imaginative play I've witnessed to date. "Come on dinosaurs," he said. "I have some food for you." Wesley then went in the kitchen, got a loaf of bread out of his play food drawer, put it in a play skillet and took it to the dining room table where all his dinosaurs were waiting. He climbed up in a chair and proceeded to feed each dinosaur.

After Wesley and the dinosaurs finished their breakfast, we went to see Dr. Matt for the boy's two year check up. Wesley stands a whopping 34 1/4 inches and weighs in at 28.5 pounds. He's in the 50th percentile for weight right now - which is the highest he's ever been on the chart. He got a clean bill of health overall and didn't get any shots. Whoo hoo!

We accompanied Grandma H. to the mall where she needed to get some clothes for her upcoming trip to the west coast. Wesley picked out two polo shirts for himself - one orange striped and the other a very bright yellow. Trust me, I'll be able to pick this kid out a crowd. Of course, Grandma and I began the true spoiling of Wesley while we were shopping. First of all, we went to Von Maur (swanky). Wesley had a fantastic time in their dressing room while Grandma was trying on clothes.






WOW! Check out all those good looking guys!










I know Mom put a snack in here somewhere....










FOUND IT!








Grandma, aren't you done yet?





After we finished at Von Maur, Grandma and I stopped at the Godiva chocolate store for a little treat. Now, it would be especially rude to eat chocolate in front of a toddler on his birthday, so we got him a piece too. Wesley's first piece of high-end chocolate was a white chocolate starfish with raspberry filling and let me tell you, he quite enjoyed it! I hope this doesn't mean he starts to turn his nose up at Hershey's!

Wesley's birthday dinner came in the form of his first ever trip to Chuck E. Cheese. He was quite enamoured of the toddler play area - especially the slide - and even said hi to the big mouse himself! Not bad.

Down the slide of the millionth time

Wesley's first video game. It lasted all of 20 seconds.

Taking a ride on the fire truck was cool!

YUM! Pizza and juice for dinner!!!

We went back to Grandma and Grandpa H.'s for pupcakes and ice cream with them, Great Aunt Carol and cousin Al.

Happy second birthday Wesley! We love you so much! You are the greatest!

Shades of Jurassic Park

Wesley has spent part of the evening coming up with new and interesting ways to combine his birthday toys. First the dinosaurs ate all the plastic food, then they took over the Matchbox construction site. He's been calling it the "dinosaur playground." Jurassic Park, anyone?

Lesson Learned

There is definitely such a thing as "too much party" for a nearly two year old. We celebrated Wesley's birthday yesterday - a few days early. Somewhere I got the bright idea that we should just have one big party for all our family and friends, which amounted to way too much. Wesley was overwhelmed and completely cranky by the end of it. But there were some bright spots.Trying to blow out the candle.

Open wide!

That's some good cake, Daddy!

No! I never like parties!

He's a Smooth Operator

Little girls of the world better look out! Wesley is becoming quite the smooth toddler. I told you about him trying a pick up line at the zoo yesterday, right? Well, last night he tried a new line on Mommy. I changed into a new brightly colored nightgown (white with hot pink, lime green and black in a very funky floral) while Wesley was taking a bath. When he saw the nightgown, he literally looked me up and down, waited a moment, then said "New dress is pretty, Mommy."

The compliments kept coming this morning, as Wesley complimented my shirt for work. He loves this one because it has some sparkles on it. "Like shirt Mommy. Like coins." He calls the sparkles "coins." Looks like I'll have my own fashion advisor in a few years.

Zooperific Day

Wesley, Grandma H. and I ran around all day long - but what a great day!

The first stop of the day was the zoo. Wesley was really excited about heading to the zoo today. In fact he was so excited that he willingly got dressed (including shoes) and hurried out to the car. The zoo wasn't very crowded - go figure with 95+ degree temperatures. Grandma and I decided we would just visit the North American and Asia exhibits. That way we wouldn't be walking all over the place and Wesley would get to see all the animals he wanted to. Oh! I forgot to mention that in the car he told us he wanted to see "giants, bears, cats, otters, elephants and tigers" at the zoo. We saw everything except the giants and even sang his "tiger song" to the tigers. It's a very complex song that Wesley composed earlier in the week. Let me teach it to you. It goes "La la la tiger song." The tigers were very impressed.

Wesley had four favorite things at the zoo today.

Favorite thing one was the train. Yep! Wesley had his first train ride today. He wouldn't sit down the whole time. He stood and held onto the rail with a huge grin on his face. The train ride was such a hit that Grandma and I had to physically carry him off the train. I think he would have stayed on the train all day if we let him. The picture is of him waiting for the ride to begin.

Favorite thing two was the water misters the zoo puts out when the weather is really hot so the visitors can cool off. They are heaven to a toddler! Wesley was a little shy about the first one we encountered, but I walked through it and called it a shower, which made all the difference. Wesley would first walk through it slowly and lift his face to the mist. Then he'd take off running as fast as he could, back and forth through it. He insisted that "Mommy run. Get wet." and "Gramma run. Get wet." I think we managed to go through every mister on that side of the zoo.

Favorite thing number three was also my favorite thing at the zoo. We spent a very long visiting the river otters. When we first arrived at their habitat, both the otters were sleeping and we had to be content to watch them snore away in their den. But after a few minutes, one of the otters woke up and decided it was time for a swim. It was love at first splash for the boy. He giggled and talked to the otter and even banged his head on the glass a few times while trying to keep the otter in his sight.

Equally cute in the otter habitat was watching Wesley try and pick up a little girl about his age. And I don't mean he physically tried to pick her up, I mean he pulled the whole Joey Tribiani
"How you doing?" pick up. Seriously, he went up to this little girl and tried to hug her and said "How you doing?" Boy, he's starting young.


Favorite thing three was the water monitor in the Asia exhibit. Of course, Wesley has no idea what a water monitor is, so he called it a crocodile. Close enough. Wesley was both fascinated and scared by the water monitor. He couldn't take his eyes off it, but had to be practically sitting on me the entire time. If I moved even an inch, so did Velcro Wesley. My favorite part was when the water monitor started flicking his tongue and Wesley did the same thing. I wish I could have peeled him off me long enough to take a video of that! BTW, the picture at the right was NOT taken by me.


After the zoo we stopped at a new cupcake bakery. Wesley slept through that stop, but he'll sure love the "pupcake" after dinner. Then we went to a used kids clothing store to look for a puppy costume for Halloween. I can't believe I was lucky enough to find one for only $6 in his size!! He's going to make such a cute puppy!



We grabbed lunch and Wesley chowed down on chips, grilled cheese and an Oreo. This is only the second Oreo he's ever had and he probably doesn't remember the first one. He REALLY enjoyed it. Especially when the top cookie fell off and he discovered the creme center. Then he busied himself licking the creme out of the middle! Definitely his Mommy's kid.

We ended our errands by going to the toy store. Wesley was an angel there! He entertained himself the entire time by singing Laurie Berkner songs from the CD we had listened to all day. Wow! I love that boy!

Tushie Monster

Wesley is enthralled by the polka dot pajama bottoms I'm wearing. He keeps chasing me around the house, poking my rear end and chanting "Tushie, tushie, tushie. We want tushie!" Eeeek!! He's turned into a Tushie Monster!

No Takers

Thank goodness there were no takers on my "Toddler for Sale" posts. My lovey sweet little boy is back (for the most part). Duane went in to check on Wesley at about 10:30 last night and discovered that he was STILL awake and reading in bed! Maybe a night up was the way to go, because Wesley was actually pleasant this morning. Poor Sanders bore the brunt of the improved mood. Wesley kept putting his hard hat on the cat and telling me that "Sanders is big and strong." Hummm....perhaps there is a direct correlation between my cat's happiness and that of my toddler's?

Toddler for Sale - Price Reduced

Wesley's mood has not improved since my last post. This was the scenario at our house this morning.

Me: Let’s get your shoes on to go to Grandma and Pops
CrankBiscuit Beaster: No! I never go Gramma Pops!
Me: Do you want to take your water with you?
CBB: No! I never take water!
Me: OK, let’s go outside and get in the car.
CBB: No! I never get in car!

Wesley acted better when he got to Grandma and Grandpa H.'s, but he had no use for me. There was no hug for mommy. No kiss for mommy. When I called mid-morning to check on him, Grandma tried to put him on the phone.

Grandma: Want to say hi to Mommy?
CBB: No! No! No! No! No! No! No!

And just to make certain I felt good and rotten, when I walked in the house to pick Wesley up he started screaming "No Mommy! No Mommy! No Mommy!"

Dinner tonight was a painful repeat of last night. Could someone please find the sweet little boy that use to live here and switch him with the CBB? Please!?!?

Toddler for Sale

OK, not really, but Wesley is fully embracing his almost two-ness this evening. He threw such a fit at dinnertime! I would have been impressed if I wasn't so appalled! We put him in his highchair for dinner and he threw such a fit I'm sure Grandma and Grandpa P. and Grandma W. could hear him a county away. Wesley informed us that he was "never" going to eat ("never" now follows no as in "No. I never change diaper"). We told him that was fine, but dinner was family time and he had to sit in his highchair while we ate. Enter the screaming and the tears for a good 10 minutes. He finally asked to get "down please" so we let him down. Once the tears finally stopped, Wesley consented to eat a couple tablespoons of freeze-dried veggies and fruit, which is better than nothing, but he can forget about that pupcake tonight!

It's a Bird! It's a Plane! It's Daddy!

Did you know I am married to a superhero? It's true! We were riding in the car today when Wesley very calmly informed us, "My dad is Superman." Guess Duane's secret identity is a secret no more.

Happy Birthday Caitlyn

Today we went to Caitlyn's 2nd birthday party! Duane works with Caitlyn's daddy and she and Wesley were born 11 days apart. Too bad Wesley was fairly anti-social during the party. While the other kids played outside, Wesley preferred to have daddy read to him or to play with the pretend food you can "cut" in half. Wesley sure perked up during the singing of "Happy Birthday" though! He looked at everyone and grinned his biggest grin. I think he thought it was his birthday! He was pretty impressed with the cake too.

Thanks to the birthday party we also witnessed a fairly major miracle - Wesley willingly wearing sunglasses (they were a party favor!)

Gifties

We have been talking a lot about Wesley's upcoming birthday. I'm not sure he gets it yet, but that doesn't stop me from planning. We've been reading Spot's Birthday Party nearly everyday. At the end of the book I sing "Happy Birthday" to Spot and then I tell Wesley his birthday is coming soon. Apparently at least part of the message is getting through to Wesley. This morning he handed me his plastic cups of pretend milk and juice from his kitchen set. As he handed them to me he said, "Milk. Juice. Happy Birthday to you!" I guess calcium and vitamin C are pretty good gifts, at least from a toddler.

Toddler Talk

Wesley's conversational skills continue to surprise me. I was craving some chocolate BIG TIME today, so we made a quick stop at Target on the way to Grandma and Grandpa H.'s. Wesley was in full "big boy" mode and was not interested in holding my hand or riding in a cart. He was being good and staying close to my side, but I must have taken too long in the candy aisle because he darted away from me. I retrieved him from the next aisle over and told him that I would just be minute longer in picking out my chocolate. At the word chocolate his little ears perked up he began to study the shelves intently. I decided that it was as good a time as any to spoil my son and kill his appetite, so I told him he could pick out some chocolate too. "What kind of chocolate do you want?" I asked. Wesley looked over the shelves again, then noticed a poster of some M&Ms. He pointed to it and said "Want chocolate boons (balloons)!" Chocolate balloons it was! He munched happily on a couple in the car and a few more after lunch. BTW, in case you didn't know, at 23 months Wesley is already a a full blown chocoholic.

The bribe of chocolate balloons must of paid off for me because I got a surprise visit from Wesley and Grandma H. at work today. Rumor has it he kept asking to go see Mommy. Sigh, melt, melt. Wesley must think I spend an awful lot of time at work though, because as they pulled into the parking lot, he told Grandma they were at "Mommy's house." Oh well, there are days I feel I live there.

Pupcakes

There is one dessert Wesley likes almost as much as Popsicles and that would be cupcakes. Or as Wesley says "Pupcakes."

Pupcakes require a serious clean up!

Anyone Have Bug Spray?

Wesley and I went to a local park with Grandma & Grandpa H., Sho and Kei today. Daddy wasn't feeling well so he stayed home and Aunt Cathy had a meeting to attend. The park we went to has a special exhibit going on of giant wooden bugs. I wasn't sure if Wesley would like them or be scared of them. Turns out he really liked them.


Wesley's favorite bug by far was the giant spider - which is very appropriate considering our last name. We spent a great deal of time standing in front of the giant web singing "Itsy Bitsy Spider." When the rest of the group was ready to move on, Wesley continued to stand in front of the web and talk to spider. Of course, we are speaking of Wesley, it would be more accurate to say he talked and talked and talked and talked to the spider. Grandma H. finally had to pick him up and carry him off. Too funny!


The boys favorite part of the afternoon though was when we wandered into the kids area and found a water table. Sho and Kei were pretty content to splash around and try to put rocks in the table. Wesley on the other hand, thought it looked like a fantastic place to get a drink. Now, you all know that Wesley is obsessed with dogs, right? Take a look at how he decided to get a drink:

Wesley, Sho and Kei really liked playing in the "ant hill" too. Wesley was a little afraid of the tunnel at first, which is kins of strange considering that he calls everything a tunnel! Once I went through it a few times he fine.

After the park we met up with Daddy and Aunt Cathy for dinner. Wesley ate a lot, but was so badly behaved in the restaurant it was embarrassing! He finally turned to me and said "Go home and see our kitties." I can take that kind of hint. We packed it up then and there and said our goodbyes. Wesley fell asleep in the car. He woke up about 20 minutes ago. I think we're going to do a quick tooth brushing, bath and bed - for all of us!

Congratulations Brett and Alyssa

Our friends Brett and Alyssa got married today in a beautiful outdoor wedding. So instead of cute Wesley stories, you get wedding pictures!

The groom checking out his bride.

Here comes the bride.

Exchanging vows.

Rusty and Katie - arriving late ;-)

The gals - Sasha, Krystal, me, Katie

My favorite part of the day - wedding cake!

Cutting the cake. You'll be happy to know no frosting was smeared on faces.

Daddy and Mommy all dressed up

The guys - Rick, Ray, Duane and Rusty

Kissing in the garden

The happy couple. Best wishes for a happy life together

Rabbit Food

Wesley is going through a phase where he refuses to eat breakfast. I knew he'd burn out on pancakes and scrambled eggs sooner or later, but I didn't think it would mean refusing all breakfast food. Yesterday he refused his breakfast (par for the course this week) and a couple hours later was playing in the kitchen with his stuffed rabbit.

"Mom. Rabbit hongy," he told me.

"What is rabbit hungry for?"

"Rabbit hongy.......cake!"

I managed to talk Rabbit into eating some peas instead. Strangely enough, Wesley ate a whole bunch of peas too. Then he smiled and told me "Rabbit so happy!" I bet.

Traveling Light

At 7:30 this morning I made the mistake of telling Wesley he was going to Aunt Melissa's today. After telling me that he was going to see Aunt Melissa, Cousin Mark, Cousin Kierstin and Cyrus Good Dog, Wesley picked up his milk, his rabbit and his bear. Then he turned to me and said "OK. I ready go to Issa's. Let's go." I tried to explain that it was too early to go to Aunt Melissa's and that they probably weren't even awake yet. "Let's go see," said Wesley. Hope Aunt Melissa is ready for a boy who is SUPER excited to go to her house!

The Sweetest Thing - Take 2

Wesley turned to me today and said, "Mommy, I so poud (proud) you." Awwwwww.

The Sweetest Thing

There is nothing sweeter in the whole entire world then a toddler giving you a hug and saying "I love you Mommy." It makes me melt every time. I can't believe how blessed I am with my sweet little boy. He amazes me every day. Every day he makes me laugh and smile. I can't kiss him enough, or hug him enough. Even when he's being a stinkerpot, he's still my sweetie pie.

The Emperor's New Clothes

Pirate Ducks

What does a pirate duck say? According to Wesley it says "Arrrrrr. Quack matey!"

Manic Monday

Maybe it wasn't really so manic, but I have so many things I want to tell you all that it feels manic to me.

I guess I'll start with trying to get Wesley out the door today. He was in his playroom with his train set and he did not want to leave. "Come on, Wesley," I said. "We're going to go see Grandma and Grandpa P." His response? "I don't think so." Can you believe he actually said that!? I couldn't decide if I should be appalled or amused. I settled on amused because Wesley did go down the stairs with little to no fuss and was great on the ride to his grandparents. And they had a big surprise for him. They went to the fair today!

Yes, I know, it's something like 94 degrees to day with humidity so bad you could practically use a spoon in air, but the three of them went to the fair. I didn't get a lot of details from Grandpa, but I do know that Wesley petted a pig, saw ducks and chickens and had a hot dog and ice cream. When I asked Wesley if he had fun at the fair, he grinned at me and said "Yes!" He wouldn't even let me take his lost child tag off his shirt.



Wesley and Grandpa check out some animals.












Wesley met his favorite Buckeye!

"I don't have to touch the cow, do I?"

A busy little fair-goer




While we were getting dinner ready, Wesley ran around with the tongs and pretended to flip steaks on the grill. I said something to him (I can't remember what) and he responded "Yes, I know." How funny!

Duane brought some bubble wrap home for Wesley and I to play with. My son hogged most of it. He ran around the house with it flying behind him like a cape saying "I so fast! I so fast!" Yes indeed. I only wish I had that energy.