Poll:

Who does Will get his dancing moves from?

Matt or Miller?



By the way, that singing was live!

The zoo

We've been wanting to take Will to the Lincoln Park zoo before it gets too cold, and we were finally able to yesterday! It WAS cold (and windy - it's right on the lake) but we had a lot of fun!

He's at a great age to go because he is really into all the animals and the sounds they make!

The monkeys were his favorite!

Watching the polar bear!

He was VERY worn out by the time we left and slept all the way home!

Kitchen disaster (and banoffee pie!)

I saw a blog post on banoffee pie this week and decided I had to make it! It's basically made with any kind of pie crust you want (I did graham cracker) layered with 3-4 bananas sliced on top, caramel, and whipped cream - it sounds delicious and easy, right? In order to make the caramel, you boil an unopened can of sweetened condensed milk for a few hours and it magically turns into caramel! I'd heard of this method before, and didn't think too much about it. I followed the recipe exactly, putting the can in a "small sauce pot," filling with water, and boiling. After it had been going for about an hour, Will and I went upstairs for a few minutes. While we were up there, I heard a loud crash in the kitchen. I ran back downstairs to find this...

Yes, that is bits of caramel, all over the ceiling. It exploded EVERYWHERE. Cabinets, walls, floor, window curtains...there was even bits of caramel on Will's toys in the playroom, a good 20 feet from the stove. Ughh. I am SO thankful that Will and I weren't in the kitchen when this happened!

My little helper

Matt was VERY gracious about the whole thing and even stayed up late scraping caramel off the ceiling. He gave me a chemistry lesson on PV=nRT to explain why this happened. If the water level gets below the top of the can, it can get too hot and explode (it would have been nice for the blog post to mention this possibility!). He assured me that if I used a stock pot and put plenty of water in there, there is no way it would explode (because then it would never get hotter than the boiling water - 212 degrees). So the next day I tried it again!

It worked! It made delicious caramel!

The finished pie

And the pie 10 seconds later, after it was left too close to the edge of the counter and Ellie (our dog) decided to sample it!

We still cut it from the half that wasn't touched, and it was awesome! Matt and I both loved it. The flavor combination works so well together. So, don't be afraid - learn from my mistakes and give it a try!

Fun little boy!

Will went for his 2 year doctor's appointment today (a little late!). He is doing great - at 26 months he weighs 30 lbs and is in the 85th percentile for height. He got a flu shot and a vaccine, but it was his last vaccine until he turns 4!

This was his first week of going to school by himself, and his teachers say he did really well! They take pictures of the kids playing and email them to the parents, which I love! They also send home "turtle-grams" listing out a few things he did that day. Today he covered a baby doll with a blanket, and filled a dump truck with sand. Yay! I'm a proud momma:)

I am loving this stage right now. Before I thought the 6-9 month stage was the best - when they can sit up and are easily entertained, but not old enough to throw tantrums and not mobile yet. But I am REALLY loving the 23-26 month stage so far. The more his vocabulary develops (and it grows HUGE during this stage), the less tantrums we have. He is a big talker...when we are in the car he talks nonstop, pointing out the park, the ice-cream shop, fire engines (anything with lights on top), and garbage trucks (any big truck)! I love that he is inquisitive and I love that as a mom I am transitioning from just nurturing/supervising to actual teaching. Right now I am teaching him about obeying, and I try to incorporate it into everything we do. Most of all, I just love how much FUN this stage is!

Here's a few favorites in Will's life right now:

• Favorite Movie - Toystory, without a doubt! He asks to watch "Woody" all day, everyday!
• Favorite Food - "Jelly" sandwiches (pb&j's), "truckers" (crackers), and noodles (any pasta)...I guess he's a carb-lover like his momma!
• Favorite Book - right now it is "Paddy Bear" (Paddington Bear - we have the series that used to be Matt's when he was little)
• Favorite Song - he constantly sings the ABC song, which goes "ABCDEFJ...P,QRSTUVWXY and Z, Now (mumble, mumble)" and then he starts again...it is so cute I am going to have to get this on video!
• Favorite Toy - his 3 Woody dolls and his Thomas the Train. He likes to pretend he has to change their diapers and put them down to sleep (which means laying them on their stomachs, because this is how he sleeps)

"Goodnight Woody! Goodnight Thomas!"

Here's a few pictures of him at the park this week. Earlier that day the check-out lady at the grocery store gave him about six stickers because he kept saying "More sicker!" He proudly wore them for the rest of the day.

Fun weekend!

Last weekend, two of Matt's oldest friends, Steven and Craig, came up for a guy's weekend in the city. They said that some of their favorite times over the last few years were at each other's bachelor parties, so this spring Craig proposed another bachelor party... even though they are all married now. (And by bachelor party, I mean just hanging out and going to a Cubs game...the craziest thing these guys do is stay out past 10 at night!)

So while Matt was in the city, Meme came to visit Will and me!

Will had a BALL with his Meme in town!

Will's new Woody shirt that he LOVES!

The weather was so nice we enjoyed several meals outside!

They are so goofy together!

On Sunday the guys came up to our house and we made brunch and then showed them around Evanston a little bit before they had to catch their flights home. Meme had to leave on Monday. It was SUCH a fun weekend!!

Going to school!

Will started school this week. It is a slow-start week, so they only meet for an hour, and the moms stay with the kids helping them get used to their room and teachers and new friends!

He got a new haircut and a new backpack this week for his first week of school! Something about a kid with a backpack on makes them seem SO grown up!

Will did great this week! He gets excited in the morning when I tell him we are going to school. He calls it "turtle school" because there is a turtle on the sign in front of the school and another big one in his classroom.

 

He likes his teacher (who lives on our street!) and has made some friends (one of which lives three houses down from us)!

I am excited for him and for the year ahead!!