A's Game

We are (ashamed of late to admit) that we are A's fans. As such, we must take Little P to many games and encourage his love of sports and unwavering loyalty to this Baseball Club. Last night was Paul's 4th A's games since his birth, but the first one in which he really was able to be part of the action. He was too small last year to do anything but smile when cooed at by fans around us, but this year he screamed and clapped with the crowd, drank lemonade, sang in the 7th inning stretch, cuddled up in the free blankets (fan appreciation day), and fell asleep in the somewhat disappointing 8th inning.

Little P spent a great deal of time trying to get past mommy and daddy and play on the stairs, and this included trying to crawl under our legs and over the seats. While I am not a total germ-o-phobe, there was some serious hand sanitizing going on last night. Eventually he settled down and watched some of the game and watched airplanes taking off behind the coliseum. I was certain it was going to be a horrible night of chasing baby and listening to him cry for not being able to run around. He was very well behaved, however, and it was quite a pleasant evening.

How about it? Take your kids to the ball game? Or find some less crowded and less germy activity and forgo the peanuts and crackerjack?

Sydney and Tia

Meet Paul's Tia and Sydney. Tia is a fluffy, sassy, Siamese cat and Sydney is a sweet, playful horse... uh, I mean dog.

Little P loves Tia because she mews at everyone and begs for attention and lets P hug and pet her. This is rare with the cats in Paul's life, as the cats at grandma's house mew and run away from him, always sticking around, but staying just out of reach of little fingers. Tia does not do this; she loves Paul, and even slept with him before she took up permanant residence in the laundry room. She does not scratch or bite him either. Such a sweet kitty; even now she is sitting on the back of my chair clawing at my back for attention.

Now Sydney is the real fun. We rescued her from the pound and she has been one of the best pets I have ever owned. She is a giant dog, but she does NOT bark or bite; she asks only for love from everyone. She loves Paul and tolerates him trying to ride her like a horse. He used to just pet her, then he got brave and began hugging her when she was laying down, then he found that she was fun to try to sit on. He has not really ever succeeded in fully sitting on her; by the time he gets one leg over her back she gets up and walks away, only to lay down five feet away and wait for Paul to try it again. She is a very tolerant dog and I am glad I have her to teach Little P compassion and love for animals.

I reccommend pets for little ones... what is your stand on dogs and cats as part of the family?

Apple Pie

This is always everyone's favorite...

Here is a quick and super easy recipe for apple pie! Oh, so YUMMY!!!

2 pre-made pie crusts (or if you are really awesome, you can make them yourself... I am not that awesome)

Filling:

6 cups thinly sliced apples (about 6 medium)

3/4 c. sugar

2 tbs. all purpose flour

3/4 tsp. ground cinnamom

1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg

Heat oven to 425 degrees

Place one pie crust in ungreased 9-inch glass pie plate and press firmly to sides and bottom.

In a large bowl mix all dry ingredients well. Gently fold in apples until they are covered and moist.

Top with second crust and pinch edges together to seal.

Cut slits or cute shapes in the top crust (for ventilation)

Bake 50-55 minutes or until apples are tender and crust is golden brown.

Cool on rack at least 2 hours before serving

The results are fantastic! Happy baking!

Climbing and other trouble

Tiny P has learned how to climb, and has been practicing all evening. In fact, it is 8:50pm (WAY past bedtime), but he is still causing trouble. Trouble number 2: he has also learned how to open doors, and has also been practicing that.

Both of these are great, as they build important motor skills, but they also have the potential to cause mommy worry and Paul peril.

Climbing is a great fete, and I am glad he is mastering it, but it comes with the part about falling off of the object he is climbing and smashing his head on something, like the floor. He gets enough bumps and bruises falling down during regular trouble; now I have to worry about him falling from high places. Oh, the anxiety of being a mommy of a toddler!

However, climbing is not the worst of it. As I mentioned already, he can now open doors. It is not perfected yet, but he has managed to open a door leading to outside, and that gives mommy real reason to worry, as we live close to a busy road. It is time to do some extra baby proofing! What is better? A chain on the door or a locking screen, or both? We have a screen that locks now, but I am afraid he will just manage to push it open. How about those door knob covers? How well do those work? I figured it would be at least another few months before he could escape the confines and safety of the house.

Never underestimate a toddler, they learn quickly when it comes to doing or getting something they want. Little P loves to be outside, so I should not be surprised he can get out there! As for the climbing, I shall have to watch him around the trees...

Breakfast with Paul

Morning on mommy's off-work days goes something like this:

"Waa-waa" or vigorously shake the side of the crib if P is in a good mood.

Today P was in a good mood, so...

Shake, shake, shake at 7:00am.

"Mommy is coming, Pa P."

Mommy walks into the room and P is pointing to his Little People toys on the floor.

"Peepo, Peepo."

"Yes, People."

Mommy takes P from his crib and lets him gather up his Little People, just to drop them all again a few minutes later in favor of some other toy.

"Let's go eat breakfast," mommy says.

"EAT, EAT!!!"

"What would you like to eat, P?"

"Mac-a, Mac-a!"

"We are not having macaroni and cheese for breakfast."

"Mac-a, Mac-a," all the way to the kitchen; spots sesame street cup on the counter and changes mantra to "Aahh Aahh Aahh..."

Mommy puts P in high chair and fills Aahh Aahh cup with milk.

Makes P some bananas, peaches and cottage cheese for breakfast, which he enjoys just as much as Mac-a, Mac-a because the kid eats anything.

Mommy checks email, ebay and meetup websites while P is eating... stops to refill cottage cheese, and decides that P deserves a post on mommy's blog because he is such a neat eater...

Mommy has to go now, because Paul has just said "Peeta," which means he wants to play Peek-a-Boo over the counter. And what P wants, P gets... except for Mac-a, Mac-a for breakfast.

Blogging

I have to say that this blog is definitely mommy's new obsession and I am having so much fun with it. However, I am new at this and I realize it may not be the greatest blog ever, although I am trying to make it great. Please feel free to comment if there is anything you would like to know or anything I can do to better gain interest and readers. This blog is not only for my family, but for yours!

The Best Toys...

Are the ones you do not have to pay for!

Little P has 10 trillion toys in his room, and he prefers to play with a ricotta cheese container and the car keys! P has an entire drawer in the kitchen dedicated to toys that are not toys, ranging from ladles to containers to... whatever. He would play in this drawer over his room any day! He especially likes to play in it when mom is in the kitchen cooking something or cleaning, but that does not have to be the case. These pics were snapped when mommy was posting items on eBay and Little P did not want to sit with me at the computer.

The computer is based in the kitchen, on the other side of the counters, nearthe back door. I was happily describing an item when I heard this rattling behind me. I looked around to see my son facing away from me, bouncing something up and down. I went around to the other side of him to see what he had gotten into, and he had managed to entertain himself by putting the car keys in the container and trying to bounce them out. Very cute...

"Please don't lose the car keys," I said after he refused to smile for pictures and I had to take some candids (which are usually the best anyway).

Shoes

Little P, like mommy B, is totally addicted to shoes...

Little People

I have brought up the issue of TV before, and have noted that in some cases I do not really mind it, as long as Little P has enough outside time, play with learning toys time, play with regular toys time, play with dog time, etc. If he has exhausted all methods of entertainment and is running through the house like a tornado on steroids, then mommy will resort to The Little People video.

The Little People are FANTASTIC!!! They are kids that live in Discovery City and they have all these "problems" to work through every episode. By problems I mean: looking for a new pet, searching for an old pet, building a farm for the animals loose in the town, building a bike... all sorts of issues that I would be happy to have in my day. They are basically sweet and love everyone, which is cool. Paul loves these guys, and mommy knows that the Little People video is wholesome, even if it is just a huge advertisement for the Little People toys. The best part about them is that Paul is utterly enthralled with them, and will sit still for the entire 20 minutes the video lasts, and another 20 minutes if mommy presses play again... and again...

Have you heard of these little guys? What do you think?

Gardening

It is always nice to be outside in the fresh air enjoying nature. One of mommy's favorite things to do is work inthe garden, and I am happy to say that it is also one of Little P's favorite things to do! I am so glad that I am starting out with a baby who would rather be outside than inside watching TV. He is too young for video games, etc, but I am going to do my best to discourage them later. I will just have to continuously reinforce the beauty and wonder of the outdoors.

Today Little P and mommy played outside almost all day. I wish I could have snapped a picture of P when he was FINISHED gardening... he was slightly more dirty than when we started. There is something awesome about eating some dirt and rubbing the rest in one's face and hair. I think there was more mud on this kid than we actually have in our front yard.

He is currently snuggled up with daddy, trying not to go to sleep, despite being exhausted from his day in the yard.

What do you think about outside play? The more the better, or not neccessarily?