Gage dressing himself...

Gage is eager to dress himself these days, and I often hear him repeating to himself, "The tag goes in the back..." He's actually pretty good at it most of the time (at least with the bottoms), but this failed attempt was pretty picture-worthy.

He's saying the cutest things these days, not the least of which is, "I love you the whole time." He also called one of his older buddies/neighbors "best guy" the other day, and I thought that was so sweet. I need to consult the quote book for other adorable things he's been saying.

A visit from a dear friend...

I often call her "Sister Mary Clarence" (no use explaining the history), but it's true that she's like a sister to me. Marie-Christine has been a dear friend since the days and nights and weeks and months right after finishing college at C.U. We lived together for a year, and we have remained close ever since. She is a kindred spirit to me. She just had her first son, Daniel, and she and her husband, Craig, asked me to be his godmother. I am honored and humbled by the invitation. It was an unexpected and wonderful surprise to meet my godson (!) and have both Marie-Christine and Daniel in our home for a few days over Marie-Christine's spring break.

Just as I always knew she would be, Marie-Christine is a wonderful mother. It has all come so naturally to her, it seems.

And Daniel doesn't make it hard! I call him the saint baby. He's so laid back and so sweet. We took him out to dinner with us one night, and he sat in the infant carrier (he's about 6 months now) for nearly the whole dinner...and both of us are pretty slow eaters! Thank you for staying with us, dear friend, and for inviting me to be a permanent part of Daniel's life. You all are a blessing to me.

Our "Plan B" on a "Zoo Day"...

I've dressed the boys in matching shirts a couple of times lately, and it can be helpful when trying to keep track of them amidst the masses of children at parks. This particular day we had intended to meet up with some friends at the zoo, but so had a million other people, so we went to this nearby park instead: Plan B.

I love that about my kids: They're pretty flexible when it comes to changing plans. They really weren't devastated that we couldn't go to the zoo, and they had a great time with one another (and their friends) at this park.

And, as you can see, they had fun making a total mess of themselves. I think that that was cookie on Gavin's face, but it's been awhile, so I'm not totally sure anymore.

We joked that this was the closest thing to a zoo animal (a concrete sculpture of one) that we saw that day. They didn't mind, though, and we all had a fun time playing, picnicking, and taking pictures. And, of course, Andrea and I tried to catch up while chasing our kids around, being thrilled whenever any of them chose to be in the same place at the same time.

Gage learns to ride a bike, too!

For the longest time Gage could care less about his Strider bike, and then one day he totally fell in love with biking, much to his father's delight. (I had tried to prepare Brent that it was possible that only one of our sons would possess his superb biking skills--and share the same interest--but now it seems that we could have a little bike team of our own!)

Gage's transition from disinterest to total interest was awesome to observe. And he so quickly got the concept of lifting his little legs and coasting/balancing as he strove to keep up with Gavin and Daddy.

Have I mentioned how Gavin loves to climb?!

I forget how entertaining the sidewalk chalk can be. Gavin really does have a very artistic side to him, which is so neat.

Subaru washing time...

Isn't it wonderful how much children love something as simple as water? Water in a puddle, water to clean the car, water in a water table, water in a pool, water in fountains...and the list goes on.

This is Gavin's "new" bike, Uncle Mike's old bike, that he rides like a little pro. We're so proud of him!

A family zoo trip...

I realize that I don't get enough pictures of me and the boys together when I see this. It helped, of course, that Brent was with us at the zoo on this particular day, but we should really help each other out and offer to take pictures of one another with our children, Fellow Mamas. We're usually the ones behind the cameras, but I want to remember later that I was there, too.

Outside of Tropical Discovery with Daddy...

I love this picture of Brent and Gage!

This was probably taken right before one of our children (I think it was Gavin this time) was badly injured at the zoo. Gavin was climbing between the bulls at the stagecoach (are there two?) and fell to the ground on his head. So scary! I ran to the nearest place with ice, and the injury became a good excuse to hit the road. Sweet Boy had a knot on his forehead for awhile.

The "multi-colored" park...

There's a park near our house that used to be a different color, and the color is the main way that we talk about parks around here. We've got the Purple Park, the Red Park, the Yellow Park and the Pirate Ship Park with no color affiliation at all. After Gavin heard our neighbors referring to the redone park as the "multi-colored" park, that's what it's been called at our house lately, too.

Gage loves it, of course, but I've shied away from the "multi-colored" park simply because it's so much work for Mommy! Gage wants to do all the same daredevil stuff that he sees Big Bro doing, and spotting him and being at the top and bottom of every ladder and tall slide is pretty exhausting.

It's so fun for Gavin and his friends to climb every square inch of the park. Can you see that ladder thing suspended above the ground behind Gavin in the above picture? Well, Little Gage successfully went up and down that the other day as if he'd been a pupil in Gavin's crazy climbing school. It's funny to be both freaked out and proud of your kids at the same time.

Wow, that's my baby?! When I referred to him like that in front of Gage the other day, Gage said, "Where's the baby?" Looking at these pictures, I can see his confusion.

This is one of Gavin's best school and neighborhood buddies, Nathan Scudder. The two of them play and fight like brothers, and the fun part for me is how unlikely their friendship seemed at first. They were in Mrs. Tonelli's class together this year, and they'll be in the same class again next year. I think that knowing that a couple of his best buds will still be with him is really easing Gavin's transition.

Fire dog...

Gage was given a gift certificate to Build-a-Bear for his second birthday, so I (Tara) got to take him to the mall to build his own stuffed animal. He chose a dog that quickly became "Fire Dog" when he selected the clothes (see last picture).

He didn't want to help stuff it. He was quite content, in fact, watching the man work the foot pedal to stuff Fire Dog to the appropriate softness. He did have an opinion about the number of hearts that should be put inside his new pet: two. I thought that was funny! Why, after all, would a two-year-old have any idea that we only have one heart?

I liked watching Gage try on the tiny fire hat, not so much on the dog's tiny head but on his big toddler head.

Here, Gage is squirting Fire Dog's fire hose. The whole experience was rather comical. Gage was sort of all over the place--less focused than I thought he might be since we got to go just the two of us--and was as interested in the cardboard "dog house" that his new pet came home in as the dog itself. In fact, when the first one broke at home (hmmm, I think that Big Brother had a little something to do with that) he insisted that we get him a new house. Now Fire Dog is the resident guard dog in the corner of Gage's bed, but his fire clothes are currently being worn by Gavin's monkey (go figure) with the very original name "Fire Monkey," which works out just fine since fire suits are far too scratchy for soft, cozy beds anyway.