Camp-In

 Lil G has been working very hard to fill his sticker chart, in order to earn a "camp-in" with Daddy in the living room.  He struggles a lot with trying new foods and with going to bed at bedtimes.  So, we made a sticker chart to reward his positive behaviors.  Lil G filled his chart and so he was able to sleep in the living room, in his tent.

First up for the evening- making popcorn with daddy.  Always important to be properly attired.

 Next up- Jammies and watching a movie ("Wreck-It Ralph") before bed. All capped off with....s'mores!  He was ecstatic.  So much so that he had a little trouble falling (and staying) asleep.  He kept waking up daddy to tell him about interesting dreams during the night.

 He and daddy were quite sleepy the next day but overall, I think they both had a blast.  He is already talking about earning another "camp-in" when he fills his next chart.

Hide-And-Go-Seek

Lil G, hamming it up while playing with daddy.  He was hiding underneath a blanket.

Marble Maze Fun

Not sure how I feel about this....

Maintenance Men

 Lil G was helping dada fix the dishwasher, after we discovered that the gel tabs we had been using had coated EVERYTHING in blue goo.  Apparently, a well-documented and common problem.  Anyway, we had to take the whole thing apart and clean it. 

Lil G informed dada that he needed more light and proceeded to find his puppy dog flashlight.  He is such a great helper.

Robot stickers

 Many of you know that Lil G is obsessed with "Bobots". That's "Robots" to the rest of us.  He was so excited to find robots in the dollar section of Target the other day.  Specifically, they had robot window stickers, for Valentine's Day.  

I came in from the kitchen the other morning to find that he had pulled over his chair and was meticulously rearranging the stickers.  They needed to be just so.

 "Look, mama!  A robot!"

When dada came home from work, he informed Lil G that the stickers would also stick on the aquarium.  Lil G was so stoked that the fishes could "watch my robots for me."

Apparently, the whole process was really funny.

First real snow of the year

On Thursday, we had the first significant snowfall of the year.  This was quite a blow to mama, since on Wednesday, it was 50 degrees and we were playing at a park!

Lil G talked about the snow ALL. DAY. LONG.  

He kept asking if he could go out and make a snowman.  Mama wanted to wait until the blowing snow died down a bit.  So, after dada came home (early) we headed out to play in the frosty air.

Lil G was a bit disappointed that the snow is not snowman-worthy.  He had been talking all day about making a snowperson, complete with carrot nose and stick arms.  Dada explained that the snow was too dry to make into a snowman. Lil G cheered up pretty quickly, after dada let him help shovel the walk!

Dada and Lil G worked hard to clear the walk.  Mama hid inside the garage and took pictures :-)

Wordless Wednesday

Sunday Funday

 Sunday is a day for family and going to church.  Apparently, Sunday was also the day that Lil G decided to pick out his own clothes and dada decided to just go with it! 

You can see that he picked a shirt that once belonged to dada that was two sizes too small!  Only a two-year-old can pull this off. 

Christmas morning

 On Christmas morning, Lil G let us sleep in until almost 7:15!  After he got up, we all headed downstairs to see what Christmas brought.  Lil G was pretty excited to see the presents under the tree and the stockings, filled and hung over the fireplace.

The first thing he did was come downstairs, sit down and just look at the tree for a bit.  He seemed a little overwhelmed, so mama suggested that we open stockings first.

Lil G continued to be our photographer.  He worked hard to get pics of dada opening his stocking.

After we opened our stockings, it was time for presents!  Lil G was excited for all his gifts: a toy airplane, a new Mr. Potato Head, books, houseshoes and a new blanket.

Showing off his moose houseshoes (they double as puppets).

One of Lil G's favorite gifts- a battery powered toothbrush!

The Christmas Elf

 On Christmas Eve, we have a tradition in our family.  The "Christmas Elf" brings new jammies and then Lil G listens to "The Night Before Christmas" , as read by dada.  

Lil G was so excited to try and catch the Christmas Elf.  He even heard the elf giggling as it left the jammies!  He scurried down the stairs and quickly went looking for his new pajamas. 

Lil G was not the best at finding his new PJs.  He looked all around the room, by the tree and even behind his chair--where the jammies were sitting!  Finally, he found them and we put his new duds on him.

 Then, after much cajooling, Lil G settled down to hear the story.  He kept interrupting to ask mama and dada,  "But where the elf go?"  Mama explained about a dozen times that the elf scurries away when he hears people coming.  Finally, Lil G decided that Wembley must have frightened the elf.  It's great how a two year old will just add his own spin to any story.

One of the sweetest sights ever- Dada and Lil G reading their book together, with the fire blazing in the background.

Little Fort Builders

On Sunday, mama came home from a cookie exchange to find a bee-u-tee-ful fort constructed in the living room. Unfortunately, most of the pictures didn't turn out!  But, you can see that dada is laying down on the couch whilst Lil G climbs in and out and in again.  They had a blast!

Happy birthday, Dada!

 On Tuesday, it was Greg's birthday. This year is the first year that Lil G was really old enough to understand what that meant:  that dada gets presents and cake, because we love him! 

Mama took Lil G to the store and let him pick out a gift for his dad.  He spent a looooooooooooong time looking, before finally settling on the perfect gift:  a Spiderman puzzle!

Lil G was so excited when Greg came home from work.  But, he didn't quite understand the concept of keeping Greg's gift a secret.  Instead, he said, "Dada, want to open your gift? It's a PUZZLE!"  It was fine though.  Greg still acted very surprised. 

After he opened his gift, Greg even shared his puzzle with Lil G.  Isn't dada nice?

 The boys posed with their completed puzzle.

After dinner, Lil G sang a wonderful happy birthday song to dada.  Both of the boys in our family are very special and are loved very much!

Candyland

On Friday, mama and Lil G were playing a game that he had clearly outgrown.  He was doing the version for six year olds!  So, mama dug out a new game to teach the manbaby:  Candyland!  

Lil G was so excited to learn a new game and even more excited to "teach" dada when he came home.  He did a great job learning the rules, waiting his turn, counting, using his colors and was even a good "loser".  He is growing up quickly and is definitely becoming the little person that we had always hoped he would become.