Andrew's Art

Andrew comes home from daycare with a lot of "art."  Most of it is recycled.  Can you blame me?

But I am a sentimental mom and a one-time professional archivist.  So I photograph it first.

(Acutally, I kept this one)

Some of it is given lofty titles, like this:

Starry Night?  Really daycare teachers?

Some of it seems to defy Andrew's attention span.  I'd wager he glued about 30% of these tissue papers:

This one was made in mental preparation for a soup they cooked in class.  There was a lot of run-up to this soup.  The collage.  Each kid brought in an ingredient.  I was hopeful it would lead to a new dinner option.

It did not.

Scenes from Spring

On the way back to the car from the playground yesterday, Andrew decided to stop and smell the flowers.

We were at this for awhile.  I think he wanted to smell each flower individually.

In other warm weather happenings, we have been dining al fresco occasionally.  There are more distractions to slow the pace of the meal (which let me tell you is not fast to begin with), but at least I get sit in the sun while repeating that "food is for eating" and "feet stay off the table."

A Walk in the Woods

We had some beautiful spring weather this weekend and enjoyed a sunny Sunday afternoon stroll through the woods. 

Or maybe it was a little slower than a stroll.  The video below pretty much captures our pace.

Happy Birthday to Me (several days late)

Can you tell who helped select my birthday cake this year?

I let him eat it too.

Quiet Sunday afternoon

You know, the usual.  Just jackhammering a cup while wearing a fireman helmet.  Why, what did you do this weekend?

Saturday...in the park

You'd think it was the Fourth of July.

Well, it was actually a Thursday in February, but on vacation in Florida with a two-year-old who was having a blast running around in the fountains.  He didn't want to leave despite the fact that as the sun was waning he was shivering so much he couldn't talk!  Ah to be young.

Fine dining

Last year when I was down in Florida, Neil and Larry and I went out for a few ( = about 42) pancakes one morning.  Andrew was too young to join us last year, but this year he joined the men-folk for our newly formed annual tradition.

Here we see him joining right in, helping put away an obscene amount of calories.  He was a big fan of the multiple flavors of syrup provided by the IHOP.  I was so proud.

Scenes from Fort Myers 2012

In mid-February we took our 3rd annual trip to Fort Myers to visit my parents.  We were joined by Neil, who flew in from CA.  It was a great week of trips to Lakes Park, visits to Sun Harvest for soft serve, tasty dinners, shuffle board, and uber-competitive rounds of 1980s Trivial Pursuit.  Andrew enjoyed keeping tabs on the roofers working in the complex and sneaking "rides" on their forklift after hours.  Here are some pictures:

Series of family photos at Sun Harvest citrus stand.  Andrew and Greg favored chocolate-limes twists.  I recommend orange-vanilla.  Parent tip: don't bring the toddler to the ice cream stand in a white T-shirt (stains not pictured).   You can see I deliberately switched to navy for our second trip (last picture).

Display of birthday cards at Sun Harvest.  Catering to a specific demographic, perhaps?

 

Andrew worked off his ice cream in the condo complex's gym...

...And he fished in the little fish pond with "Pampa" and Neil.  Not pictured: Neil catching a turtle and calling in Greg to help free the poor reptile.

During several visits to nearby Lakes Park, we rented a surrey, saw an alligator in the lake (and therefore opted out of the paddleboat rentals), played at the playground, and rode this little train.  The train ride was a charming, if somewhat bizarre, tour through miniature plywood villages representing various south Florida towns.  Andrew loved it.

 

 Below is one of the few toys that the condo owners left in a closet.   One afternoon I pointed out a ride-on lawnmower being used by one of the complex's gardeners, and the next thing we knew Andrew was following suit.

More Florida fun at the zoo, Lakes Park spray ground, and IHOP to follow.