Two Toddler Tuesday

There are two of them...

Lunch with Ryder and Tasha

Found the Tupperware cabinet

Watching Yo Gabba Gabba together... Natasha is
not sure why she got stuck with the blue chair.

Wagon ride to the park

Natasha found a new tunnel to play with

All kids love toothbrushes

And every good babysitter gives the kids a popsicle
on one of the coldest days of the year!

I now know what it would be like to have twins for a day. I had the pleasure of watching my friend's son, Ryder yesterday. For the record, Ryder is an easy kid, just like Natasha. But, I was definitely pooped after having both of them for six hours. I managed to have them fed and down for a nap relatively close together. Natasha was easy and I put her down first. Ryder on the other hand didn't want to nap and told me numerous times that "he did not like to nap." I know for a fact that he still takes naps, so I was not going to let him win this game. I read him three books while he was standing in the pack 'n play. After the last book, I asked if he wanted to lay down and he said yes. So, Ryder went right down and I gave him his blanket and his bunny and he was out. Two and a half hours later they were both up and ready to play. Thank goodness we have that wagon because I couldn't imagine walking both toddlers across the street to the park by myself. They loved the wagon ride! Who wouldn't... snacks, water, company and someone pulling them around. Since both are not very fast yet, it was pretty easy looking after both of them at the park. We didn't stay long since it was pretty chilly out, so we came home to play. Then the chanting started... popsicles, popsicles, popsicles... I'm pretty sure Natasha started the chant and Ryder just jumped on the bandwagon. Okay, maybe there was no chanting and just a suggestion from our little hostess. However, I didn't want to upset them, since there were two of them! With popsicles in hand and a little Yo Gabba Gabba, these two little friends were quite content until Ryder's dad picked him up. Natasha was an excellent hostess sharing her home with Ryder for the day!

Bath Time Learning

This is what happens when daddy takes over bath time

Future Bruin

Teaching her the "8 clap"

23 Months

Only one more month to go!

Natasha is going to be a rock star when she grows up...
she loves to drum!

The only way I could get her to go out front with
me to take pictures was to let her bring her drum
sticks with her.

Our happy little 23 month old

Oh my, less than one month until our little baby turns two! Natasha still keeps us busy and amazes us everyday with what she knows. Lately, she has been interested in animal sounds. Natasha knows what a cat, dog, monkey, bird, frog, duck, pig, cow, and goat says. And she loves pointing out the animals she knows on her iPad apps or in books. Right now her favorite book is Brown Bear, Brown Bear. I think she has it memorized... she can almost recite the book from beginning to end without looking at it. Natasha has also been able to remember lyrics to the songs we sing during toddler time and her music class on Thursdays with Grandma. We are looking forward to celebrating her birthday next month and I think Natasha can't wait either since she has me singing the Happy Birthday song to everyone everyday. As you can see from the pictures above, Natasha is very musically inclined. She loves to drum and I think she will be a drummer one day. Her grandma Lou could then live vicariously through Natasha, since she always wanted to be a drummer herself. But, this does not mean that Natasha is ready for a drum set yet... so, don't get any ideas! Thanks for checking in on our little drummer girl.

xoxo

Happy Valentine's Day!

Natasha and her Valentine's Day balloon

She had so much fun running with her balloon
Visiting dad at work... looking at "more pictures of Tasha"

Zac put Natasha to work before we went to lunch.

Natasha's Valentine's Day card to her dada

At school during playtime

So Tasha

Pretty girlie construction worker

Feeding her baby

Valentines for Tasha's friends

Tasha and Gage at the Stroller Strides party

Natasha's first lollipop

Taking a ride with Gage

Happy Valentine's Day everyone... a week ago! Natasha had a great Valentine's Day as did her mama and dada. The festivities began last Monday with our Stroller Strides party. After class we handed out Valentines (thank you Pinterest for the idea) to all the kids and Natasha scored some yummy treats. We also celebrated a birthday with a pinata. Now I think Natasha would have been fine if the pinata was Mickey Mouse or some other fictional character, but it was a dog. Natasha is an animal lover and when the dog's body fell off and the only thing left hanging on the rope was the head, let's just say there were lots of tears from my little girl. She was not the only one traumatized by this experience. So we might not be having any pinatas at her birthday parties in the near future. Other than that it was a fun day for the kids.

We had our toddler time class on Valentine's Day, so Natasha was all decked out in pink and red. She had a great time feeding the dolls, checking out the tools and playing with her friends. After school we headed to Zac's work to give him his Valentine's Day card (once again, thank you Pinterest for the idea) and go out to lunch. We had a great lunch at Hanna's Restaurant and Natasha enjoyed her french fries. On our way home we stopped at the market to get a few things for our Valentine's Day dinner and Natasha spotted all the pink, red and white balloons. She grabbed one at the checkout and that one made it's way home with us. After her nap, she had so much fun with that balloon. I had to tie it to a bracelet so that it wouldn't fly away. It provided lots of entertainment for Tasha so that I could fix dinner.

We also had another Valentine's Day party with our 2010 Babies group, but I didn't get any photos of the party. The kids had a good time playing at the park and handing out their Valentines to their friends. It was a great week filled with love!

Trains, Ponies and Charlie Brown

Riding the choo choo train at Irvine Regional Park

Natasha's first pony ride

I think she is a natural

Jack Yabroff also riding a pony

And birthday girl, Kyra loved her first pony ride too!

Natasha loves all animals and seems to have no fear

My sweet baby girl

Taking Charlie Brown for a walk

Go Tasha Go!

Here is a fun video of Tasha walking Charlie Brown... she might be ready for a dog!

On Saturday, we celebrated Kyra's 2nd birthday at Irvine Regional Park. This was the first time Natasha has been to this park and I am sure we will go back soon. All week leading up to the party Natasha asked about Kiki's birthday... "choo choo train with mama and dada," "riding neigh neighs with Kiki," and we can't forget about "happy birthday cake." The train ride was fun (we rode it twice) and Natasha loved the dark tunnel at the end... "more tunnel." I think it might be time to take her to Disneyland. Natasha also had a great time on her first (real) pony ride. No more merry-go-rounds for this little girl. I think she (and Kiki) are going to expect real pony rides from now on. And if that was not enough fun for the girls, our friends, Jeff and Carly brought their dog, Charlie Brown to the park. Both Kiki and Tasha took turns walking Charlie Brown. I'm sure he was just as exhausted as the girls were when we left, but boy did they have fun. I can't believe Kyra is now two and Natasha is next (less than 6 weeks away)! I guess I better start planning her party!

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!