When The Moon Hits Your Eye Like Your First BBQ...

...that's amore!

We brought our new toddler-friendly table and chairs out to the deck for the occasion. On the menu: BBQ chicken, caesar salad and garlic bread, followed by apple crisp and ice cream for dessert. Discerning toddler critic rating: 5 star dining establishment. 

– Oh hi everyone. Is me, Seth. We sitting outside to eat for first time at new chairs and table. 

– Is first BBQ also which not detail to leave out! "Barbeque" is fun word to say until actual BBQ show up. Then I stop talking because I is busy stuffing face with yummy chicken. Seth get busy doing fake-out with garlic bread, but I thinks you can tell I definitely savoring the flavors here. Maybe I grow up to be food critic someday. 

– I realizing for first time that we is unfettered at table while we is also outside. There is world of possibility out there if it weren't for that meddling Mommy who insist we sit at table while I reluctantly pluck at BBQ. 

– Meanwhile, I is thinking 'dis flavors like Mama used to make back in old Napoli*. Mwah! 

– Still, 'dis maybe good time to say, "have you seen my hair lately everyone?" while I show off the back. Is filling in nicely I think. Gamma Rita not know it yet, but Mommy say this going to be the summer of hippy hair love. Is going to get all kinds of out of control over here. 

– Er... what he said. Also lemon water is nice touch everyone.**

- L.

*Despite a very mixed heritage, "old Napoli" is not on our personal map and so I hope my comment is not offensive. Still, I think the only thing missing from our first outdoor dining experience was the music. 

**Lemon water was for the adults, but a good incentive for getting the boys to drink out of something other than a sippy cup. Nate especially loved it. Note to self: buy more lemons ASAP.

PS. Seth isn't joking around. The summer of the-letting-it-all-hang-out-hairstyle? It's on, everyone!

PPS. Filed under "funny things toddler say": a chorus of "more limits!" after a passing comment I made to the other adults present about my boys testing limits lately.

• • • • • • •

Dear Nate and Seth: Careful what you ask for my sons – much like a fine dessert, more limits can certainly be arranged if that's your preference. Don't tempt me.

Semi-seriously yours,

– Mommy

XOXOXOXO

Dining Out

Since we used up most of our free crayons from our previous venture out into the big world of family-friendly restaurants (which also happened to be our very first venture out into the big world of family-friendly restaurants), it was high time for a Part II adventure.

Unfortunately there isn't much available in our neighborhood that's family friendly that also isn't fast-food, so we revisited the same restaurant due to it's only-game-in-town proximity.

The restaurant? Swiss Chalet.

• • • • • • •

A small caveat: I worked at a Swiss Chalet while going to college. My shifts were for the most part not long enough to get a proper break with a meal, but the couple times they were I found their food landed like lead in my stomach. I've never been a big fan – including the times I've been dragged there by a rabid Swiss Chalet lover as a proper customer.

That said, there are far too many die-hard Swiss Chalet fans to make my dining experience anything other than a personal anecdote. Food preferences aside, I can also say that having worked in a few chain restaurants during my teens and early twenties, no one had it more together regarding food safety than the Chalet. Their standards are impeccable and their food for the most part is simply made and relatively healthy.

There is no accounting for their signature sauce however. I have no idea why people go bananas for it. A customer once commented that it tasted like mothballs and although it was still a few months before I tried it for the first time myself I'd have to agree that his description was fairly spot-on.

It was one of the few items at Swiss Chalet that wasn't made from actual ingredients in the restaurant, but rather came in powdered form in a mysterious bag, which should tell you something.

Seriously, stay away from that stuff.

And thus ends my caveat (which turned out to be not-so-small after all), and on with the dining out experiences...

• • • • • • • 

The first time I took my boys out was early February when Gamma Rita was still in town. We were fully prepared to exit if the experience was met with tears – and although there was a moment of doubt when it came time to get everyone seated in unfamiliar high-chairs, it turned out to be a better-than-expected venture.

Although I think the crayons were a selling point:

And the space where the tables met that was somehow perfectly positioned to shove said crayons down also had its appeal:

Of course there were other distractions which, at the time, we all assumed had to do with other patrons enjoying their lunch and a curious toddler:

It's hard to believe that was only 8 weeks ago when it was still technically winter here (we didn't really have winter this year, but it was February at the time) and also pre-haircuts. It seems like ages ago and I can't believe how much my boys have grown in such a short span of time.

But I digress.

Last night M. and I revisited Swiss Chalet after a play in the park for supper.

The boys weren't as taken with the crayons this time since we have plenty of crayons at home.

Oh. Crayons.

Still, we kept everyone distracted with a trip to the potty while we waited for our meals to arrive. Of course, once said meals arrived, Seth found a distraction of his own:

And unlike our previous visit where I assumed he was being a looky-loo in general, this time the source of his distraction turned out to be rather obvious:

Some might say a little too obvious. 

Hey cutie! Get back here – I not done with you yet!

*sigh*

• • • • • • •

Nate also had a similar reaction to the crayons:

Oh. Crayons.

At least until he discovered the ketchup that was well within his reach:

He admired that bottle as much as it is possible to admire a bottle of ketchup until the food arrived. 

And then he tucked in proper:

I'm fairly certain that his meal was at least 50% ketchup, but since it's technically a vegetable by some standards, we all did our best to look the other way.

- L.

PS. It's been tough on a first-time and last-time Mommy acknowledging that my babies are no longer babies.

Still, when I catch a moment like this it's impossible not to wax nostalgic: 

I'm not entirely sure that there won't always be moments like these that take me back in an instant to when they were barely born. A casual sweep of the eye and I'm right there all over again.

*sniffle*

First Haircut

My boys' first haircut – on their second birthday no less – went off splendidly. In the end I was so glad we did this, birthday or not. 

We showed up here midway through Daddy's haircut, which was strategy on our part:

Official barber pole was also strategy. It's in the OP colors after all.

Nate and Seth got to hang out and check things out. They saw Daddy having a good time and I think being the only customers waiting helped a lot. 

Last look at Nate's wild mane... 

... before it was go time:

Barber Mike had his work cut out for him, but Nate sat so still on his Daddy's lap. 

And I just love this picture:

Seth meanwhile was hanging out with Gamma Rita in the next chair over and had a great time going up and down in the big chair and checking himself out in the mirror. Last look at Seth's natural mullet* by the way:

Because it was suddenly go time for Seth too... 

... who somehow made it look like sitting in a barber's chair was an everyday thing. In true Seth style, he was a cool customer the entire time:

Barbers. I eats them for breakfast everyone!

• • • • • • •

And now, the moment you've all been waiting for...  the BIG REVEAL!

I took these pics after our birthday supper, so please excuse the messy faces. Feel free to swoon a little though.

- L.

*Barber Mike appeared a little confounded at Seth's natural mullet and asked if I'd cut some off the top myself. Apparently it looked like a Mommy home haircut attempt gone awry!

Of Course, The Best Things In Life Are Often Free*

I need to start this post by saying that the important thing to remember is we eventually had fun.

Crankypants was the watchword one particular morning several weeks ago, following a night's sleep that ended several hours before our typical wake-up time. The usual toys and activities weren't cutting it, so I went in search of an unexpected (and hopefully pleasing) distraction.

I found two. They both looked like this:

Boxes are always a big hit around here, so I was feeling good about my offering.

It was all going so well for about 5 minutes and then disaster struck.

Disaster that came in the form of Nate tearing his box to pieces and wanting Mommy to "Fix It!". And of course, I could not. No one could have. There wasn't enough tape or glue in the world to fix that box.

The meltdown was epic. Seth after all still had a perfectly intact box he was happily playing with and Nate was left with a handful of shredded cardboard. Well, technically the shredded cardboard was in my hands at that point. Nate had already turned into a puddle on the floor. 

It was time to pull out the big guns, but I was at a loss. The butter boxes were my big guns after all. 

At least until I remembered the boxes that had arrived from Amazon only a few days earlier, still filled with books for Christmas.

I could barely empty them and get them into the nursery fast enough.

Big guns indeed! Those boxes kept everyone entertained and happy on and off not only that day, but for the next week and then some. 

And once again, if the pics aren't enough to do this scene justice, there's a video of all the hijinks here (meltdown not included). 

• • • • • • •

*The boxes came with purchase, so technically they were "free", but the contents were not. Free is sometimes relative, but had the boxes not made for such great entertainment they were otherwise headed for recycling. That still counts, right?

- L. 

PS. This was the first time my boys chose their own outfits for the day – which is what I naively thought this post was originally going to be about before everything went sideways – so it deserves a brief mention. I thought it was interesting that they wanted to wear the same thing – and were quite vocal about it too. At this point, I'm 100% sure that orange is their mutually favorite color. It's been more than a few weeks since these pics were taken, but since that time I've had to put the "unge" shirts on an as-yet-undetermined sabbatical in a secure location because I've grown tired of looking at them. Fortunately "out of sight, out of mind" is a real thing. For a couple of weeks there, this was the only outfit either of them wanted to wear. 

PPS. In case you are wondering about everyone's crazy hair, we had French Toast for breakfast that morning and there was some self-styling with the syrup going on. Syrup is a pretty impenetrable product as it turns out, so everyone looked like this until evening bath time. 

PPPS. The aforementioned Bath Toys™ are very much front and center in this post too. Really, if you don't already own a set, do yourself a favor and get some. They are the next best thing to "free" boxes.

Happy New Year Everyone!

It's a new year and new things are already afoot at the OP. Check it out!

– 'Dis my awesome new chair, everyone!
– I not sure how I end up here, but there is toys so is OK I guess.

– Is not only functional, but stylish too. Potty is thing of beauty and it even come in my color!
– I check out unsecured floor grate and contemplate how to distract Mommy long enough to chuck toys down to mysterious "below" place.

– Cannot say enough good things about 'dis potty, everyone. Is sort of thing that puts a fellow in a mood to write poem, if you know what I mean.
– Since Mommy still looking, I take a moment to admire your strategic use of bath letters instead.

– OK. Here is poem everyone. Remember to be kind. I is sensitive guy after all.

"Potty red, Potty bright, 
I visit you both day and night. 

You has a shield to catch the sprinkles, 

While I sit and make my tinkles." 

– Er... I think my look say it all so you not have to, everyone.

• • • • • • •

Mommy note: The boys are loving their new potties and "potty time". We're keeping it pretty low-key and offering potty time a few times per day which, so far, is being met with much enthusiasm.

Nate was a little (read: VERY) reluctant until Seth sat down. After that, he couldn't get on the potty fast enough. The pics are from our very first trial run 3 days ago and I'm still laughing looking at them. Seth already looks like a seasoned pro and Nate is looking so uncertain about things, but tolerating the whole ordeal because he would never, ever want to miss out on anything his brother is doing.

PS. I know I mentioned Nate's belly-button in an earlier post, but the Pahk pics really didn't do it justice. These photos do. I mean it when I say I've never seen a more spectacular outtie. Seriously, it's like an extra appendage and for someone with a Touching Finger who loves buttons of all kinds, a "bebo" like that couldn't have happened to a better guy. He's pretty proud of it too!

And Now For Something Completely Different...

Christmas Day. Supper-time. The table is set and dinner is served.

24 hours later. Boxing Day. Supper-time. The table is set and dinner is served.

Did you spot the big difference? 

Hint: it's not the babies or the table linens.

We've kissed our high-chair trays goodbye and are sitting in our converted big boy chairs for the first time! 

– Well, 'dis is new.
– I wonder what we think of it. 

– Food still taste same.
– Yup. Food still yummy. 

– And we still look adorable.
– Yup. Can still make silly faces too. 

– Being able to reach the serving dishes not something Mommy bargain on I bet.
– No, Mommy not see that one coming. Still, nice feature for the 10 seconds it last.
– We don't even like turkey.
– No, we does not. Is never about the having though. Is always about the getting.

• • • • • • •

Mommy note: As much as I love watching my boys growing up, there will always be a small part of me that feels a little sad when it's time to leave the last phase behind – and a little bewildered at how it all keeps going by so fast. 

*sniffle*

A little trip down memory lane can be found here and also here. I have to admit, it's hard to *sniffle* properly when looking at this picture, even for a sentimental Mommy like myself.

- L.

In Case You Were Wondering...

Santa is officially stinkeroo. 

This was our one shot before any hope of recovery was lost. The photographer said, "you can't really tell he's crying here".

Oh, ha ha ha. 

Poor Seth. Nate doesn't look too thrilled either.

I'm sure the fat stack of Mommy points I've been working on for the longest time has a pretty big dent in it after this fiasco.

Stinkeroo all around.

- L.

A Portrait of the Artists As Young Men

– Oh hi everyone! It's us. We is doing art. 

– Oh yes, hi everyone. I doing art holding onto marker backwards. 'Dis advanced technique and not for beginners...

– ... although I occasionally employ traditional methods too. 

– And in case you is wondering, blue marker IS quite tasty. 

– Blue marker is not bad, but I prefer orange marker flavors even if overall look is less impressive. 

– 'Dis what 10 minutes of art look like in the aftermaths everyone. I bet Mommy have fun cleaning 'dis up*. 

• • • • • • •

Mommy note: We've tried "doing art" a few times over the past couple of months. Nate liked it from the get-go, although I'm pretty sure the messy aspect held greater appeal than the prospect of making marks on paper. Seth mostly just sampled the pens the first couple of times and I thought maybe art just wasn't his thing, but during our last "doing art" time he finally got down to the business of putting his first marks on paper. I've had their latest endeavors hanging on the fridge all week.

Without further ado, I proudly present... the ART!

Nate's very first work of art: 

Nate's second foray into the arts (I refer to it as his blue period): 

Nate's latest work: 

And at long last, Seth's first work of art: 

When Seth decided to go for it he really went for it – when he wasn't busy sampling the orange marker that is.

• • • • • • •

*Those hands! Those HANDS!!! I was worried Nate would be walking around like that for a week, but it actually washed off quite easily. Not so easy? Washing a toddlers hands at the sink when there are so many touchable surfaces nearby. 

10 minutes of art + 30 minutes of clean up x2 messy boys = art being mainly a rainy day activity for now. And I'm talking heavy rain everyone, not intermittent showers.

- L.