In His Element

We went to the "dirt store" for a load of mulch tonight. Thomas was totally in his glory helping Alan unload the mulch into the flower beds.

For the Love of Reading

Thomas really likes to cuddle up and read books. As a baby he hated tummy time so we would set up books for him to "read." He enjoyed looking at the pictures and tolerated this time much better once we wised up. Oh, for those of you who think *gasp* "why didn't you get on the floor with him?!" We tried, it made him very angry, this worked.

Today, I went upstairs with Thomas for his nap and the following dialogue ensued:

Me: Okay Thomas, pick out three books.

Thomas: Mama, trade fot (spot) me.

Me: You want to trade spots?

Thomas: MMM-hmmm.

Me: Okay

Thomas: Time nap, lay down mama.

Me: (I lay down)

Thomas: Stay in your fot mama.

Me: Okay Thomas, what book should we read first?

Thomas: I read you mama. (he picks "I Spy")

Thomas: Find balloon mama. (I point)

Thomas: Find more balloons mama. (I find another)

Thomas: Stay in your fot mama.

(more of this similar dialogue continues...)

Me: Okay, time for nap.

Thomas: Trade fot me again mama.

Me: Why?

Thomas: That my sleep fot.

So, the moral to this (long) story is...there are sleep fots and reading fots, but the two can't be the same. I love that he is getting so big and developing all these wonderful qualities, even if it does mean I get yelled at for not being in the correct fot at any given time.

Happy Easter

We had a very Happy Easter (or "Hap Yeaser" if you ask Thomas). We spent the day at Alan's sisters house in Dimondale. Thomas had a great time playing with his cousins, as usual, and entertained us all with his antics.

So, Thomas doesn't like to be told "no." He really doesn't like to be told "no more candy." You would have thought that I told him there really isn't an Easter Bunny...

Thomas helped me make green bean casserole before we left. He LOVES to cook, probably because he LOVES to eat. I think it was rather clever of him to stack the empty cans after he emptied the contents into the bowl.

Thomas and his cousin Laura. She is seriously the happiest kid I have ever known. Always smiling and SO helpful with Thomas. He adores her.

"Z"

Grandma and Izzy (lovingly called "Z" by Thomas) came for a visit this week. Thomas loves Z and insists that she participate in everything with him. Here, he's reading "big book" to Z. She would rather not be participating, but he's squeezing her tight so she can't get away.

Butterflies a bloomin

We went to the butterfly exhibit at Meijer Gardens with the Ayotte's yesterday. We saw a lot of different butterflies, but none landed on us :( Here are some pictures for you to enjoy.

Beth, Jack, Thomas and Mom

He looks like such a big boy now. What happened to my baby?

Thomas and Alan. Jack and Troy. I love that both boys are watching the butterflies swarm above their heads in this photo.

Eggs

Thomas and Daddy colored Easter eggs this afternoon.

Helping Daddy with the dipping.

Decorating.

They make a funny noise when you squeeze them.

Fun, fun

Some cute pictures of the boys from this weekend. Thomas did a better job of sharing, but still has huge strides to make in this area.

Let's all dress up like Potato Heads

If anyone can offer insight as to why my camera and/or computer is doing this I would appreciate it. Below, the boys were surprised by Great Kathy with an egg hunt. Fun!