"These Birds Are Going To Love Me All Day Long"

Said Milo at the zoo, when feeding the lorikeets.

Hmmm?

Yesterday, as we are walking out of the house, with Calder in my arms:

Milo: Mommy, I love Calder.
Me: That's so sweet. Why do you love Calder?
Milo: I love his "Blue" (Calder's stuffed dog/blankie).
Me: Why else do love Calder?
Milo: I wish I could be little like Calder.
Me: But you're a special big boy . . . .

Is the life of a 3 and a half year-old already making Milo weary? Gee. I wish all my worries were about what treat Mom was going to send in my lunchbox and what playground we'd be heading to after school.

Comedy Routine

Today I took the boys to Congaree National Park for a short 2.4 mile hike on the boardwalk loop through the swamp. I took the boys' two-seater red wagon along, assuming neither child would want to walk the whole 2.4 miles. While Milo alternated between walking and riding for most of our time on the boardwalk, I kept Calder seated in the wagon until we were .7 miles from the visitor center and the end of our walk. I was a little worried that he would try to climb (or fall, depending on the height of the particular stretch of boardwalk) off the boardwalk and into the swamp, but I needn't have worried. At the .7 miles left marker, I let him out of the wagon and he and Milo proceeded to push and pull the wagon, respectively. The faster that Milo pulled the wagon, the faster that Calder pushed the wagon. I've never seen Calder's little legs move so fast. This continued all the way to the visitor's center. Whenever Milo stopped to, in his words, "look at the trees, Mommy," Calder would screech and push the wagon forward, so as to say, "Milo keep moving, you total slacker!!!" Milo stopped about 4 or so times during those .7 miles, each time to "look at the trees," but I think his sly little smile gave him away. Those two certainly are learning how to push each other's buttons.

So Much Fun At the Zoo

We really love our zoo. Where else would a gorilla come sit beside you (literally, albeit on the other side of a glass wall) for 10 minutes, staring you in the face and swatting at the glass when you turn away for a moment? This past Tuesday's visit to the zoo was full of lovely and fascinating moments like this one with our friend the gorilla, from watching the grizzly bears wrestling, to petting a baby flamingo, and having a hawk fly about 2-3 feet over our heads during a bird flight demonstration.

Just Right

Driving in the car this morning, Milo let me know that Calder "threw up." I pulled over to the side of the road to check it out, clean up the mess, and once again we were on our way. Milo, in all seriousness then proclaimed, "Mommy, I don't like the way Calder's throw-up smells. My throw-up smells just right." Well then. I can only imagine the kinds of comparisons we will be forced to entertain once both Calder and Milo are verbally astute.

Where the Wild Things Are

I recently took Milo to his first ballet performance. The Columbia City Ballet staged choreographer Septime Webre's (from the Washington, DC Ballet) adaptation of Maurice Sendak's book "Where the Wild Things Are." It was an absolutely enchanting ballet. Between that and the other ballet pieces being performed, Milo sat still for two whole hours, including intermission. Afterwards we toured the backstage and met the dancers, including one of the "Wild Things." Milo seemed particularly enamored with the dancer who played "Max," but when I asked him which dancer or part of the ballet he liked best he replied, "All of them!"

Calder Is So-o Big

Okay, so I am having some technical difficulties with my photos, hence the lack of blog entries lately. I'll be making my posts and adding the photos shortly, once I get my Photoshop fixed.

So Calder is now 18 months old and I am amazed at how big he seems. Calder is no longer a baby. Since he started walking at the ripe old age of about 16 months, Calder went very quickly from walking to running, albeit still looking like a drunken sailor (he sort of weaves from side to side as he negotiates a space).

(He really likes these glasses -- we don't know why.)

Calder's actually used the potty a couple of times now too.

Calder's gone from being a good eater to a picky eater, just like his big brother Milo. Yay! He'll always eat chocolate ice cream though.



One of the sweetest things Calder is fond of doing is giving kisses. While Calder usually will give kisses to Daddy, Milo, and me, he especially likes to bestow kisses upon Beacon and Cleo (our dogs). It is positively darling to have Calder lean over, put his lips on yours, and give you a smooch. Yum.

And, finally, Calder seems to be getting some words in there along with the grunts and pointing he usually reserves for his main methods of communication. I am happy to say that "Mommy" and "Daddy" are two of his favorite words, although "Mommy" is usually wailed like "Mooom-Eeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!" How fun.