Agility Training

Ok I bought this at home agility course for Finn like 5 years ago hoping to entertain/exhaust him in our big back yard in the City. Alas, he and Cali are both tunnel-phobic and really took no interest. I also don't think I ever took it out of the box nor set it up, really.

But someone else has been obsessed with crawling through tunnels lately so we tried it out.




It's large and great though definitely not a nice plastic kid toy. The rings are metal and not very comfy to crawl on. But that didn't stop us! I wonder if Tommy would like weave poles or the high jump?

"I want it long, straight, curly, fuzzy, snaggy, shaggy, ratty, matty..."

Tommy is over 2 years old and has never come close to a haircut. It wasn't even an issue until the last 6 weeks or so. Just look at this pic from April


Only recently did the curls really sprout. Not all over curls, of course, but spastic giant curls around the crown of his head only. A weird combo of straight and curly hair. We've tried to ride it out, to see if the whole thing goes curly or what. But he's starting to look a little silly. I finally tried out some different "styles" today. Unfortunately, when wet, his hair looks thin, stringy, and like he's got really bad plugs and a comb-over (no offense to anyone who may have rocked a comb-over for several decades...)

Here's what we tried... he was moderately patient and rewarded with an oreo (or the trader joe's knock off oreos) This is the wet look.

"The Caesar" or "Daddy's 'Do" which is probably what his hair has grown most naturally toward.
"The Comb-over" - probably not the best choice for this forehead/ear combination. Also asking to get his butt kicked, I think.
"The Marco" - although I think Marco rocked the faux-hawk at 2 months not 2 years! And his wasn't curly!
So what do we think? Suggestions? I really need Steve Camacho and a pair of scissors right now! G-ma has offered her Flow-Bee. I could just buy some clippers and give his guy a recession buzz cut - though also not flattering to the forehead/ears.

Hmmm....

Tommy and Teddy

At Nana's house yesterday, Tommy wanted to sit in his rocker with the teddy Aunt Barbara gave him.

He then asked me to take his picture. It was such a cute request and picture, I couldn't refuse.

Happy Birthday Greg and Jeff!

Today is the birthday of Greg & Jeff - two of this blog's most loyal stalkers. We were able to celebrate with Greg on Sunday with cake and Tony Awards.

I made Greg blow out candles with me because, as a twin, he should never ever get his own birthday cake - he should always have to share! Greg also got to meet G-ma's birthday dog, who never misses a party!
By the way, Trader Joe's has an ice cream cake now - pretty good!

After some post-cake clean up, Greg and Tommy settle down to watch the Tony's.

Sorry you're stuck in LA, Jeff!

Happy Birthday guys!

Happy Birthday Mommy

Tommy Loves Ballet - seriously!

We have one week left in our dance class at Tutu School and Tommy has had so much fun! Granted his mood is a little unpredictable each week and any roomful of 2 year olds is a delicate balancing act, but for the most part he has really enjoyed it and so have I!

He's the only boy in class (shocking, I know) and is already realizing the perks of that arrangement! The school obviously targets and serves more little girls than boys but Tommy has no clue and our teacher has been great about using "inclusive" language and "manly" movements. Tommy is such a boy in the class but everybody loves him and he knows his stuff.

At home he has a green shamrock bandanna that he picks up and runs around the room with (those are his wings!). If you count backwards (3, 2, 1) he will shout BLASTOFF! and saute (jump) into the air. Yesterday he started bending and straightening his knees and saying "plie and up, plie and up"

He probably succeeds the most at grand jetes (leaps) over the "mud puddle" that Miss Abbi puts in the middle of the room. I finally got it on video:



Here are some other pics. You can see the other dancers in class like to show up in uniform and dutifully wear their tutus and tights. As usual, nobody expects the boy in dance class to follow the dress code so we haven't sprung for shoes yet - and the dance belt is a long way off. (if you don't know what that is, consider yourself lucky). The studio near our house starts classes at age 3 so we'll see if Tommy still likes to boogie in a year or so! That will be a lot better than driving to North Beach! For now, we've enjoyed this introduction and this Mommy and Me activity!


As usual, Tommy loves the mirror..

Teacher's pet (doesn't the girl in the background look resentful?)
We practiced our rhythm by drumming - jackpot for Tommy!

And we always end by coloring a picture from the ballet we learned about in story time. We just finished Sleeping Beauty - Tommy did a good job playing the prince!I do totally recommend the school - great place, fun teachers and really laid back atmosphere. And... no recitals!

Fun with Uncle Mike

Uncle Mike is up for the weekend and Tommy was very excited to take him to the playground. I guess he wanted to work with Mike on his turf, so instead of playing on any of the playground equipment, the usually sand-avoiding Tommy jumped in feet first to the sand box. Uncle Mike helped Tommy immerse himself in the experience.

Off the Couch

Why yes, I have been enjoying a leisurely summer vacation so far, thank you for asking. And, NO, I haven't done anything interesting enough to be blogged about since mid-May - thank you for asking Greg and G-ma!

Daycare was closed last week so I actually had to parent and didn't have a lot of time/energy to write about it. Basically, we went to Children's playground in GG Park like 3 of the days. Here's a video that pretty much sums it up:



Having tackled a couple of small to do list items Tuesday and Wednesday, I decided to keep Tommy home again from daycare today and tomorrow to play. After our morning warm-up of at least 2 episodes of Go Diego Go and some Jack thrown in, we were off to the Bay Area Discovery Museum in (shudder) Marin for the first time.

All the other blog children you stalk have been there so you probably know the basics but it's another huge, hands on toddler dream land (with some bigger kid stuff too). Tommy had a blast and here are some pics.

First check out his rockin' shirt - we're not sure why this Star Wars shirt has what appears to be the Atari logo on it, but it's cute anyway!


I love his painting stance

And the pink paint in the hair...
And the finished product - he said it was a picture of Mommy