Outside

It's a hard sell in wintertime to get Thomas to play outside for very long, but an even harder sell getting him to come back inside once the weather gets a little bit warmer in the other three seasons.  This year, nicer weather has taken a little longer to reach our neck of the woods, but now that it's here, Thomas is loving every minute of it.

This week, we took a few field trips to fun local places.  Thomas and I joined a few West Point friends at the Bear Mountain Zoo in Fort Montgomery on a gorgeous Monday.

"Oh!"

There is a pop-up book, Dinner Time, that has recently been added into our bedtime book rotation.  In it, various animals end up eating each other for dinner.  Don't worry, it's not as morbid as it sounds.  The vulture eats the frog on page two.  I didn't even think about that when we walked up to the bear's den, which strangely enough also houses the vultures.  It's a small zoo and it's free, so we don't question pairings like that.  I told Thomas to look for the bears and the vultures and he immediately said, "Bultures? I going eat my dinner!" which bears a strong resemblance to the recurring line from the book, "I'm going to eat you for my dinner."  Too cute.

"I eat my dinner..."

Snacking with the crew

After a nice time with some friends and animals ("em-u-uhls") and a nice nap, Thomas was ready to hit our backyard.  No rest for the weary!   We were off to take care of the yard.

Drag the blower out,

Add some gas,

And pull to start

Once the yard work is done, Thomas does allow us to take a little time to play and have a snack together.

Heading up to play hockey in the yard

This weekend, Dad joined us for some good playing and a picnic near the river at West Point.  The warmer weather was a little elusive, but what fun!

Breaking away from lunch for some time by the river

A fort?!?

Checking out the waterline with Mom

Upper-body strength training with Dad

On occasion, we do head inside, but (butt) we'll spare you most of those images.  Welcome Spring!

A Hoppin' Good Easter

Thomas was in his glory this Easter.  We spent it again with Aunt Caca, the third Easter in as many years.  

Easter #1 (at 7.5 mos) in Hilton Head

Easter #2 (at 19 mos) at our house

Easter #3 at our house

This time, Caca brought along a special friend, her dog, and we convinced Great Aunt Laura to hop on a train and join us at our house.   Despite some pretty cold temperatures, Thomas managed to really enjoy three things he loves: Charlie Dog, people to play with, and candy.

We have Frankie Dog, and Thomas dotes on him and drags him around.

Watching YouTube and eating with Frankie Dog

But Frankie's got nothing on the living, breathing, non-battery operated Charlie Dog.  Caca noted this trip that Thomas was a little gentler and Charlie was a little more patient.  Two very good things.

Charlie sniffs out the jelly beans in the eggs

Taking Charlie for a walk

Speaking of Charlie, over Easter weekend, Thomas became acutely aware of who needs to know important information.  For example, when Caca was getting her hair done and Mama was in charge of watching Thomas and Charlie and he happened to trot away into the neighbor's yard, Thomas knew it was his duty to tell Erica, "Charlie runned away, Caca."  Thanks, Thomas.

I was not the only victim of Thomas' information sharing.  While Mike and I went to pick up his car, Thomas stayed at our house with Aunt Laura, who was tasked with giving Thomas a bath.  When we got home, the first things Thomas shared was, "Hi, Mama!  Laur couldn't find a bath."   The knob that releases the water from the shower and into the tub was stuck and poor Laura had to resort to filling the tub with shower water.  Thanks, Thomas.

The harmless sharing of information is a tiny bit uncomfortable for the "guilty" party, but there are so many other things he says and does that we just laugh it off.  Like how charming it was when he came inside to find eggs that the Easter Bunny had hidden.  And, "Oh, my goodness! Hey Laur!  There is a jelly bean in there!"

"Oh boy!  Another jelly bean!"

 To work off all the candy, cake, cookies, rolls, asparagus, potatoes and ham, Thomas and Dad headed outside to rake off the calories.

Thomas and the bunnies feasting

Overall, an extended weekend of lots of good food, lots of good fun, and lots of nice family time.  Lucky all of us.