These shoes are made for walking...

And that's just what they'll do..... through the mall, around the block, at the grocery store, all around the house. I can hear them pitter-pattering right now as I stand at the dining room table and type this (always standing, ready to run to someone's aid, rescue, or just to play). Maggie's red, or ruby, rather, shoes just keep on going. When she gets out of the bath, she is stark naked but hands you her shoes and gives her signature sound which means "these, they go on my feet, put them on now! Please!" and off she goes again. Not just any shoes will do... she'll try on shoes, big or little, but when it comes to actually wearing, these are her pick.

In addition to pretty feet, she also has wheels now... her Little People scooter gets her around the house in princess style. We now have a lot of pink around here!

This is shopper girl in action. Yes, she is looking at the clothes and discerning which she would like to try on. Unfortunately, her attention lasts about half a second, and on she goes. She finds it quite funny to lose us in a store, as she zig-zags around the clothing racks. The other day I actually had a stranger yell "she's over here!!" as I am running frantically around the racks saying "she was JUST right here- how'd she get away so fast?!" to her amused brother. You can usually find her by following her giggle...

So we've finally figured out the mystery of why Maggie has not actually started referring to her brother by any name... the truth is that she has! We just weren't listening hard enough. He is "NaNa".... backwards, shortened, and doubled "Ian"! We were wondering why she would come into a room saying "MaMa??" while looking right at me. I'd say "Mama's right here, silly girl!" and she would keep on. Now we know it was Ian she was looking for; she's gotten better at making them sound different, and we've gotten better at listening to her.

These two were "Cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs" tonight (where did that little saying come from, anyway?)... bouncing off the walls until they finally crashed on their respective laps. So this tired Mama must now go to bed...

The plane that Gramma & Granpa flew on...

That was the title of a little drawing of an airplane on a piece of paper left behind after their visit. Gramma drew it (more the artist than Granpa... who is more the handyman and noisemaker) for Ian, on his Tow-Mater note pad. I found it last week while cleaning up, and it made me sad that they got back on that plane and went home to California. But, it also made me happy that we get these visits- who else gets a week of non-stop Gramma and Granpa action, and their undivided attention, unless one has to take a plane to visit?

I could outline the exciting adventures of the week, but there weren't really any. It was much more of a help-mommy-survive-the-one-and-three-year-old while Daddy was away at a conference type visit. We shopped a little, we saw Madagascar 2 in the theater (which I do believe G&G loved more than Ian! And thank you, Maggie, for sleeping through the whole thing, quite out of character!), we cooked, we ate, we did projects around the house (okay, Granpa did projects), we struggled to get everyone to sleep at night. It was good old fashioned quality time together. There was quite a bit of "conductor" playing, which is of course when Ian cuts up little scraps of paper and then hole punches them for Gramma, telling her to "have a nice trip!" on the train. Very cute. And there was probably more weaponry and kung-fu than Gramma would have liked, but hey, we are "Raising Cain"

Ian, wearing his "Argh, Matey" getup- which sounds more like "armitty" coming from the pirate himself.
Just a signature Happy Maggie face for the camera...
Pat-a-cake and lion roaring put Granpa in Maggie's good graces... except for during this little photo session!
Awww, a rare tender moment with the busy man.
A little bit sad on departure day, but glad for the fun week.

So, Thank You, Gramma & Granpa, for everything! Our thank you is belated, but I'm sure you understand why after experiencing our current busy-ness first hand. We appreciate all you did, from taking over Doggie duty to finishing some annoying little tasks to shopping with us and for us. We love you and can't wait for our next visit!

....And to all a Good Times!

Dad blogging tonight with many random Ian stories...


What does Chicago's infamous Cabrini-Green housing project have in common with Boulder? Okay, absolutely nothing, but it doesn't change the fact that I find myself singing the opening tune to the 1970s sitcom, "Good Times" every time I pick Ian up from preschool. Why?



Ah yes, that's why... Ian insists on a "bambino burger" (with cheese, no pickles) every day he goes to preschool. The routine goes something like this...

Dad: "Hey Ian, how was school?"
Ian: "Good. Can you get me a bambino burger with cheese and no pickles?"

It was only after the very strange looks I received from both of my kids when I was belting out the "Good Times" theme song after preschool that I decided this deserves its own blog entry. Okay, so it's barely deserving and I have no segue to lead into the next topic...

Of Vacuuming Mice and Jolly White Bearded Men

Ian is now starting to understand the whole Christmas scene. So much so in fact, he can't watch one of his favorite movies, "The Polar Express" because he gets so disappointed at the end of the movie when he realizes that Santa is still weeks away from his magical visit to "Ian's house".


He already has his favorites on the classic Muppet's Christmas album (Deck the Halls and Twelve Days of Christmas).

We have to avoid actually seeing any toys in stores now as well - otherwise, it's a battle to convince him that asking Santa to bring the "Star Wars shooting thing" is better than buying it on the spot. Difficult concept indeed.

He's been a bit more interested in his dreams - telling me when he wakes up what he was dreaming about, whether he thought he had any dreams at all, asking me what my dreams were about. An odd one surfaced this week - apparently, he's been dreaming about scary mice ("mouses") vacuuming ("noo-nooing") up "the sand". Figure that one out... His energy level has been up there as well. Bouncing off the walls, climbing all over the furniture, "balancing" on the ottomans, kung-fu'ing the throw pillows... This photo depicts the aftermath of the destruction.


Yes, that is our living room. To give you a sense of just how bad it was, here is a photo of our living before Ian's wrath of destruction.

Hopefully, we'll get a handle on all this energy, teach him to savor the anticipation of Santa's visit (while working on the true meaning of Christmas), assure him that he need not fear the vacuuming mice, and maybe, just maybe, get him to eat something other than a bambino burger after preschool so I can stop singing that catchy 1970s sitcom tune...

Belated, to say the least.....

Happy 3rd Birthday Ian Matthew!!I've been a horrible blogging mom.... Ian's been 3 for almost 6 weeks now and I'm just getting around to documenting his birthday celebrations! We started with cupcakes and firefighters at school (ok, the firemen were going to be there anyway, but they did wish him a happy birthday!), then had dinner at Ruby's and a little cake and present party with the family on his birthday, THEN we had his kid party at the WOW museum over the weekend. It was quite a week of celebration, and Ian totally understood that this was all about him.

We're so proud of the little man these days... he is thriving in preschool (where his teacher recently told us what a wonderful job we are doing, that he is turning out to be such a sweet, sensitive, independent little guy... music to our ears, but we can't take all the credit for who he is!). He continues to be the best big brother to Maggie- bringing her things that she might like ("She might like a yittle drink of water- she can have some of mine"), sharing his toys and his space without fuss (well, most of the time!), and worrying about her when she seems to be in danger. They light up when they see each other, and are getting a little too in to wrestling and zerbert matches.....

He is growing up so fast, as they all do I suppose, but it's hard to believe that he is ready to learn how to ski this winter. He is learning how to be a dragon slayer, a pirate, and a kung fu master- sometimes all at once. He has a life away from us in preschool- his own friends, troubles, triumphs- and he is learning to handle them himself. Every day he wakes up and says "is today Christmas?", and sometimes his emotions take over when we explain that no, it's not even Thanksgiving yet, and we'll have to wait a little longer for Santa... He is picking out his toys that he thinks some other girls and boys might like for Christmas (one part charitable offering, one part making room for new loot!). In short, he is no longer a baby, or even a toddler. Ian is 100% full-fledged kid, and we are so blessed to be his parents!

The Screaming Banshee wants some cake too!!

The pile of presents he had been waiting... um, patiently... for!

He's learning how to "smile!" for the camera! Some are naturals, some aren't!

The coolest train table ever.... the first and last place Ian plays every day... A birthday gift from Grammy and Pops.