long day at the museum

on the way home from the museum!
Originally uploaded by coffywoman.

Oh, these kidlets were knocked out cold!

I took the day off so what better way to spend it than to take the kiddies out to another cute little museum?

Cindy, Jason and Tyler met us at the Palo Alto Junior Museum for some lunch and post-kindergarten (for Jason!) fun. It was super hot out, but we managed to find a shady spot under a tree for a lunch of Lee's sandwiches and Tofoo Com Chay agar jello before we headed in for the non-air-conditioned confines of the museum.

The kids clearly had a blast. It is such a little place, but it's the perfect size for little folks like Dylan, Taliana and Tyler (I think Jason had fun, too, but he's sure to outgrow it soon!).

Dylan especially liked the little wooden birds and bugs that were part of a perpetual motion/gravity exhibit.

Outside, in the zoo area, he was riveted by a turtle he saw through the fence.

The first time we took Dylan here, he was only 38 days old! Jason was all enthralled with holding Dylan...this year, Jason just wanted to hold Taliana's hand!

why I can no longer multi-task

farmer's market time. hurrah!
Originally uploaded by coffywoman.

This guy just keeps me busy.

We served him potatoes for dinner last night and when we signed it to him, he signed it back to us, just like that. When he cooks, he also pretends to taste things...and offers you samples, too! And, sometimes, I'll look over at his high chair and see him signing and babbling and cracking himself up (he'll do this in his carseat as well)!.

Today, he was a model participant in my team meeting at work; he chatted amiably with the rest of the team, took notes (on his hand, the tabletop, and some post-it notes), and patiently waited for the yammer to end.

pump it up!

Little Luke celebrated his first bday today at a big facility filled with inflatable slides and bounce houses! Dylan's Isabooties were the perfect "shoes" for the place -- he didn't have to wear socks, which would have likely slid off his chubby little ankles, and we didn't have to worry about taking his shoes off and possibly losing them!

Anyway, that aside, he really had a good time. Most of the stuff was for older kids, but he and I did go into one of the bounce houses to hang out with Luke for a bit, and he just loved going down the slide with me and Tom! He signed "more" several times before he finally signed "all done"!

It was a very cute party, and it was so cool to have Dylan be able to tell us exactly what he wanted -- when he wanted to slide again and when he'd had enough!

Also, on the way home, he got fussy, but when I asked him what he needed -- was he tired? was he thirsty, did he want to eat? He responded with "eat"(!) and we were able to ride peacefully home once he had a rice cake in hand!

How cool is that???

whose musuem?

future geek
Originally uploaded by coffywoman.

Our second visit to MY Museum in Monterey was just as fun as the first!

We spent the day with Heather and Taliana, playing in the pizza parlor, on the stage, etc., etc.

Dylan still doesn't love long car rides, but he definitely does much better with company, so it was very nice that we could all go together....And, Dylan clearly loves Taliana -- whenever we see them, he is ready to give her a big hug!

from hell to well...

<FW>
Originally uploaded by coffywoman.

Dylan's lost a few ounces off his cheeks owing to a nasty, nasty (nasty!) tummy bug he contracted last week. He was literally dripping poo and spurting vomit. He nailed his carseat, our bed, our bed, our bed, and, oh, me. It was a weekend of much laundry and spontaneous bathing. Poor thing is finally recovering...and he's really been such a trooper through it all.

We expect his cheeks to be back to full inflation by the time we get to LA.

Incidentally, this picture here has nothing to do with illness...I just thought it was cute! Auntie Christina sent it to me from her cameraphone right before Dylan got sick.

another big day for little Tom-let

Tomlet takin' a dip
Originally uploaded by coffywoman.

Tomlet getting a diaper change
Originally uploaded by coffywoman.

Tomlet with Auntie
Originally uploaded by coffywoman.

coupe time for Tomlet!
Originally uploaded by coffywoman.

just like Tyler with the hands!
Originally uploaded by coffywoman.

More pictures here.

the very busy dylan

O!
Originally uploaded by coffywoman.

Today, was a very busy day for the Little One. We went to the first day of the Intermediate Finger Babble class (learned lots of new signs and had fun seeing old buddies) and then, while I went to work, Auntie Cindy took him to the park to feed ducks then to the Boardwalk to watch the circus!

He apparently doled out hugs and kisses by the ton! He only napped for about 40 minutes, but he stayed cheery nonetheless.

...Dylan didn't pick up any new signs today, but Cindy reports that he's now quacking when he sees ducks!

Tyler's bday

DSC02551
Originally uploaded by coffywoman.

This weekend was Tyler's bday celebration, so we headed on over to Cindy's for some swimming, cooking, and some play time with cousins.

Dylan napped for about 20 minutes on the way over, but he did remarkably well...he's definitely not one to miss a party!

Tyler loved his present from Dylan -- this adorable little chef's outfit -- like Dylan, he loves to cook. Once he put it on, he posed and posed and posed...!

It just so happens that National S'mores Day was Friday, August 10th so, in honor of it, Tom and I made some totally delicious s'mores cupcakes for Tyler's celebration....Seemed like they were a hit. We got some good compliments on the presentation as well....

our funny little chef

Apologies for the poor video quality. I took this one with my cell phone!

But, you'll note, as Auntie Christina has, that "he totally knows what he's doing!"

Back Log:At this time last year, Dylan rolled from tummy to back for the first time ever (read post)!

monkeyin' around

monkeyin' around
Originally uploaded by coffywoman.

Tooth #7 is finally coming in (on the bottom, right side); he loves his monkey chair -- he will read in it, eat snacks, place his drink in the cupholder, assemble and disassemble stuff (e.g., Tom's coffee making gear), stand on it, etc.; he's signing "bath," "hot" (loves to point to the fire in "Goodnight Moon" and sign "hot" very excitedly!) and "mommy" and he says "cook" (and "daddy") very clearly (he says "doggy", and "all done" and, of course, "coffee," a bit less so, but they are still recognizable!).

He has been trying to acquire a taste for his bathwater with the cups in his bath.

He is such a joy to watch.

dylan conquers a fear

Dylan loves to see dogs, but at some point, he became wary...perhaps intimidated by the jumping and barking of our front neighbor's puppy! Still, he asks to see them every day. He literally wakes up in the morning signing "doggy" (and "cooking"!)!

This was the first time he actually made contact with our neighbor's dogs (this wasn't his first dog-petting experience, though...A week or so ago, after much coaxing, he did pet a dog we met on the Mall), and boy was he proud of himself!

Dylan narrowly escapes getting trapped in outer space

Dylan is more adept at climbing on to things than he is at getting off of them, be they chairs, stairs...or retro rockets! Luckily, we were close at hand to help him off before it hurtled off to Jupiter....

proof that this guy is a bad influence on the boy...!

Ahhh...got coffee. Life is good.
Originally uploaded by coffywoman.

Here's Tom at the Farmer's Market last Saturday....We had to make it Priority One to stop by the coffee tent to get daddy-o a cup o' joe (note the balled up canvas bag in Tom's hand that is still empty!)!

And, most mornings, he makes coffee at home, right? So, of course, little Dylan knows all about coffee -- he makes it with daddy pretty often (sometimes twice a day!)...he knows we have to scoop the beans out of the airtight jar first. Then, we grind the beans. While all this is happening, we've got water coming to a boil in the kettle....He will point to each step to let you know what you have to do!

So, I guess we shouldn' t have been surprised when he tried to say coffee during this evening's coffee prep. It came out as "cah-ee", but he repeated it later on when we asked him to say it!