Wheat grass

Marek was busy this past month with planting his first pot of wheat grass. He was excited to watch it grow everyday until it became a huge pot of tall grass to be proud of.

He is getting so big and curious. He wants to know how everything works.

I just applied for our new apartment. We'll see if we get it and how he transitions to our own place. He loves it here with Grandma in his big house and yard, so hopefully a small apartment won't be too much of a shocker!









Here is a photo of the end result - tall wheat grass to sit and admire! He still likes to watch it everyday. He feels very proud!


Hope all of our friends and family are doing well.
We miss you all!

We Heart Bikes

Marek loves hanging out in the garage and working on my bike. (He calls it fixing my bike.) This basically means he spins the pedals and watches the gears turn.










He's also a big fan of turning on my lights on my bike. This is serious stuff. He's starting to learn how to pedal on his own bike, but of course mommy's bike is more fascinating.










"Come on guys! Let's go hang out in the garage!" Stop by our house and you'll hear this often.

Can't wait until that day when we start pedaling together!!

Hiking in MacDonald Forest

Friday morning I took Marek hiking in MacDonald Forest. Here he's running toward me at the Oak Creek entrance. He loved crawling under the gate and reading the signs. It was great weather here that day. We didn't hike too far - his little legs still only want to walk (or run) so far before he demands being carried. But it was a nice hike anyway!







He found a dried leaf along the way and fell in love with it. He carried it the rest of the way during our hike. We had to bring it home with us.












Stopping to read a trail closure sign next to the creek. He really wanted to go see the water up close and get off the trails at times. But poison oak would not be a fun side effect of that for him!

Whenever we see a sign, he always demands that we stop and read it. He is learning the scientific names of flowers and plants this way. Not sure he remembers it or has any idea what I'm saying when I read these names, but when he becomes a scientist, I'll take credit for adding to his vocabulary.





Here's our friend, snail. It was pretty big and moving as fast it could. Marek was fascinated and wanted to watch it go across the gravel in front of us. He kept cheering it on, "Have a nice trip snail! See you later!"









Marek posing with the snail and his leaf - the two treasures of the morning.

Sandbox Fun

Marek's showing off his new sandbox that Grandma and I built for him with his friends Isaac, Madeline and Caitlyn.

He loves the sandbox. I wish we'd built it much earlier in the summer!








Marek enjoying the sand and sun in our backyard!

Finished painting the seats...just need to hammer them down.

As promised, here are a few photos from Marek's recent trip to see his cousins, Aunt Michelle and Uncle Rob.
Here is a picture of Ashby, Marek, Robby and Makenzie.

Here is a picture of Robby and Marek. Marek just loved hanging out with Robby and playing trains.

Although this turned out dark, I think it's a great photo of Marek and Makenzie sharing their thoughts about being toddlers over breakfast.

Marek and Grandma (and Monkey) as they wait for the train to head south...

Makenzie, Ashby and Marek hiding behind the furniture.

summer training

Marek and Grandma are back from vacation in California. I'll be posting some photos from their
trip shortly. He had such a good time with his cousins. He road the train down with Grandma, played with his extended family in Tehachapi, and then headed back home via train to Mommy. He definitely got homesick, but also had so much fun playing with everyone there. We can't wait to return at Christmastime. I wish he had a big family here to grow up with. He is becoming more social these days. Yesterday he asked if he could go visit his cousins again. Of course, next time he has to bring me with him!















These photos are from summertime in Tacoma...
Marek is working on his stance on the skimboard.














Toes to the nose - Jake has been teaching Marek the basics...
No sharks in the backyard at least!













One of the highlights of Marek's summer was going fishing with his "honorary Uncle" Jim from Tacoma. Marek came back talking about fishing, the boat, and Jim's big truck. All very important things!

He also saw his Grammy from South Dakota last weekend and had a great time visiting with her.

Marek and I met up with our friends this morning for a playdate. We hadn't seen everyone in awhile, so that was really nice. Marek is definitely playing well with the other little ones. He remembers picking strawberries with them and Isaac's play "house" that he loves. Summer is flying by way too fast this year...

summertime adventures...we're back!

it's been a long time! the coast was calling last weekend, so we headed there on saturday. marek was thoroughly fascinated with the hundred steps he got to climb down to the beach...and to discover the process of erosion. he climbed as many rocks as his little legs (and safety/his mommy) allowed.

we could have spent all day there. i look forward to many days/years ahead of us exploring the sand and waters together.
here he goes on the upward climb...only rarely stopping for a little help. he's off right now to visit his cousins in california. so far, the report is that he has bonded with my nephew Robby - especially due to their shared love of trains. to take my mind off of missing my little guy, i went on a morning hike up bald hill. it was beautiful and humid outside. hope everyone is doing well. i'll be posting again more regularly. take care!

wednesday

Hope everyone had a happy St. Patrick's Day! We've had a great week so far! Marek had a luncheon with his Grandma and her friends today. He had a terrific time playing, eating lunch and ice cream at a little red table, and socializing with his honorary grandma clan! Meanwhile, I have been pulling overtime at work. Interviewing candidates and working on some big projects. All is very good, though! Marek is still very much interested in helping out and "cleaning" and anything outdoors. The weather was terrific today - I hope it stays that way for my day off tomorrow with him! Hope everyone who received his new photos in the mail recently enjoyed them.

sweet as pie

Marek is still tool-obsessed. After painters came to our house last week, he has been trying to use his tools to paint and screw and fix just about everything. He climbs on a stool in his room and pretends to screw the light switch on and off. He is also bursting with energy to play - especially when it involves the outdoors, balls or running.

Happy is also his mommy who now regularly hears "love you mommy!" It doesn't get sweeter than that.

march days

I can't believe it is already part-way through March. Marek is growing so much each day. Today we went to his indoor play park. He has such a good time there with the other babies and toddlers. Sharing is still something he is getting used to! We have a playdate later this week before I leave for a conference for parent educators. I think he'll enjoy the play time with his friends. He has been helping a lot in the kitchen. Last week he helped cook playdough and cookies. He is still really excited about his tool book and his new set of tools from Grandma. Perhaps he'll build me a house one day...

bouncing back

Marek was sick last week with a fever and was pretty lethargic. Poor guy. Lots of TLC, holding him, wet washcloths, and Tylenol helped him fight the virus within a few days. I'm so glad he's back to his happy self! The weather has been so nice here the past few days too. He's been playing outside quite a bit - getting dirty, having fun! He also had a chance to go on a hike with Lily, which he loved. It was muddy that day and he just loves stomping in mud. I took him to our indoor play park on Monday. He had a blast sliding, playing with tool benches, the kitchen, balls and playing barn with Dylan...until the two two-year-olds decided that sharing was too difficult! He's been helping around the house quite a bit, too. Still very much interested in doing things himself when he can. His favorite book right now is: I Love Tools by Philemon Sturges.

He also had a fabulous time at Kindermusik last week. He is really warming up to the teacher and other toddlers now. He's participating and smiling a lot, sharing more and having fun! Sometimes it just takes awhile to blossom in a different situation....!

rain & school

This weekend I put in an application for Marek to attend a preschool next year (or when he is potty trained - which could be later, that's up to him!). I can't believe how fast he is growing up! He still has 3 1/2 years before he enters elementary school, so he definitely still has plenty of little guy time left. Hurray for that! I have toured the school twice, talked with the guides and administration, and observed on one occassion. I also know some families who send their preschoolers there, so hopefully it will be a good match for him when he's ready to attend. The classrooms are the most warm, inviting atmospheres for little ones and I love the philosphy.

It has been raining a lot this week and weekend so far. Dreary and cold, but cozy too. We're having the walls painted in the house tomorrow. As much as I love the rain, I am ready for a little warmth and sunshine to get me outdoors soon. Work is keeping me busy, although I had to leave early today because I wasn't feeling well. I am pretty excited about some projects I'm working on at work, so I hate to miss time there. Overall, things are going really well for everyone here!

love, strawberries & trains

So, the biggest news I have is that Marek said "I love you!" today! OK, so he just repeated it after me, but it still was great to hear! He loves building things - and especially building "houses" out of blocks or anything similar. We've been reading a picture book on building houses and he loves it. He is still demanding to do everything himself - whether it involves him or not. Recently he was very upset that someone else answered the phone. He called out "I do it!". He has also been taking very good care of his "baby" - getting him ready for bed, changing the baby's diaper and so forth. We got our photos back from the photographer last week and they are awesome. We'll be sending them out to everyone this week. The photographer has asked to display our photos in his studio. Marek is a super cutie! He has been eating better too - blueberries, strawberries, sweet potatoes and broccoli have been recent successes. I can more than understand the strawberry love....along with train obsession.

Valentine's

Happy Valentine's Day to our family. It's still a few days away, but Marek and I have been celebrating! We both had a great weekend. Tonight he helped me bake a chocolate cake to celebrate the holiday. He did a great job mixing the frosting -- and of course, eating it too! It was a super busy week - both for work and play. Next week he starts a new round of music classes, which I'm excited for. He is still in his stage of insisting that "Marek do it!" and it is fun to have him help out more and try new things. We miss our California and Indiana family & friends and hope everyone is doing well! (By the way, I'm wondering who takes a look at our blog, so please leave a comment or let me know if you visit!)

cold season

My little Marek has a bad cold. I stayed up until 3 am last night holding him because he couldn't breathe very well with all of his congestion. Eventually either he felt better or stopped fighting it out of exhaustion and fell asleep. Tonight is rough for him again, but hopefully he'll fight this thing off soon! It's hard to see him feel bad. He did have a fabulous week, though! Very busy with photos, play dates with friends, music class (he actually played the instruments for the class this time!), playtime with his indoor co-op friends, a tour of a local private school, and a visit to his favorite park because it was so sunny.

Thursday and Friday were perfect days for him - he was so happy and we had such a good time! I was really impressed with how well he did at the photographer's studio this week. He is also very happy wearing his new "fireman jacket". He picked it out and loves buckling it together. There he is in the photo saying "where'd it go?" - one of his catch-phrases. He has also begun referring to himself as "Marek", which is very cute.

I will be working extra hours at work until June and probably teaching two courses at the local community college in late spring, so my schedule is becoming packed. I would much prefer to have the extra time with Marek, but am hoping to use my extra earnings to take us on a trip to Hawaii this year. I can't wait to start traveling with Marek!

Best wishes to everyone from the best toddler in the world and his mommy!

Marek's newest cousin arrives

Welcome to baby Bethany! My sister had her fifth child on December 22nd, 2006. Baby Bethany Shugart shares her birthday with her father and Grandpa Ed. Everyone is very healthy and doing really well. We are so happy for Aunt Michelle and her family! These are times when I wish everyone lived so much closer to each other. Marek would love to see his baby cousin!

Auntie Gwen & Uncle Brian

As you can see, I've been going through pictures from the past few months today. Marek got a very special treat this summer when his aunt and uncle from South Dakota came to visit! Gwen was also the lucky first person to see Marek "sit" all by himself when he was just a baby. She had dropped in to visit him at daycare and was the first witness to his big accomplishment!

Three Summers!

Cold winter days have left me dreaming about summer lately! Here are three pictures of Marek's summers. They aren't here in chronological order, though. The group shot is the tail end of a really fun boating trip with our family when I was pregnant with Marek (hard to see, but I do have a bump at the time!) The others are from his first and second summers in Grandma's backyard.

Marek's been doing well this week. He had to have a lot of patience because I was hit with an infected wisdom tooth, which left me in a lot of pain and probably not as much fun to play with! Not a fun way to end our vacation together! We did get the chance to go to our indoor play park and visiting our favorite spots around town. We stopped by church, where Marek met a few new people and was presented with an apple. He also tried sitting on his potty and pretending to dump it out afterwards. Beginning steps!

snow day

We've been blessed with another snow day here today! Marek loves waking up to white flakes falling down from the sky. We snuggle up by the fireplace and read books, until he begins chiming in for mommy to "come on and play!" Having the week off with him has been wonderful. He is already growing up so fast and I cherish every minute of his toddlerhood that I have! We went to storytime today and I, for one, enjoyed being on the other end of the storytime. (As I'm usually the one presenting it!) We hung out with friends afterwards before coming home to make peanut butter chocolate-chip muffins. Yum!

Marek's starting to classify and organize things more these days. He'll point to a tiger and say "lion". When I tell him that yes, it looks like a lion but is in fact a tiger, he gets excited and replies "that's not a lion!" He does this with lots of objects. I've been busy reading up on potty training and also some very interesting books on parenting and raising boys.

I've been taking a lot of video of Marek lately and will have to work towards copying it to a DVD so I can share some of his memories with grandparents, etc.! The smallest everyday moments make being his mommy the best thing on earth. Sometimes it feels like if I blink I'll miss it! I'll try to take more pictures and post more this week.

Happy New Year!

Hope everyone had a great holiday season! Marek had such a good Christmas this year. He was excited opening presents - "oh wow!" were his words each time. He loved Santa and snowmen, lights and candy canes...just about everything to do with Christmas! It was so wonderful to see him get so excited this year. We have been going to our indoor play park for toddlers again. He loves going down the slide, playing with trains and seeing his toddler friends. He is definitely a happy boy (unless he's teething, of course!!). He headed to storytime with Grandma last week. They enjoyed it until he got pushed down and slapped in the face by another toddler for no reason! It's rough being little sometimes. Other news: his newest cousin was born on Dec. 22nd (Grandpa and Uncle Rob's birthday!) and I can't wait for him to meet her. Wishing our family lived closer again...Here is a picture of Marek doing what he is obssessed with - playing trains!

"I Do It!"

Marek now wants to do everything himself. Here he is playing with rolls of tape to create a "snowman" as he told me. I've been sick all week and it looks like the little boy might be catching it now too, poor guy! But he's still in great spirits and continues to be obsessed with playing - cars, trains, building "snowmen" and coloring. He has finally stopped requesting to watch "Frosty" at every hour. Hooray! We were all tiring of that quickly. :) He still gazes at the Christmas tree in awe and helps redecorate it often. I just love this time of year and it seems that he does too!

Look who's 2!

Marek just had his second birthday. I still cannot believe time has flown by this fast! It seems like yesterday that he was born! He's growing up to be such a great little boy. Two days before his "real" birthday, we celebrated with his playdate friends at our house. That was a lot of fun. Everyone opened gifts, played and ate cupcakes (or in Marek's case, just licked the chocolate frosting off!). He had another celebration at home on his real birthday where he had more cake and more presents! I'm still working on getting him to say he's "two", but his language skills are still exploding! He is putting two or more words together more often and talking a lot. Still making his mommy proud!

snow day

It snowed yesterday and today here! Marek bundled up and enjoyed it before it melted later today. More cold days are in store for us, so hopefully we'll see a return of snow soon! He had a great day, despite an icky cold he is fighting. He also had fun starting to decorate for the holiday season this week. He loves snowmen. I'm looking forward to this Christmas because he is starting to learn about it this year! Not too much longer before his second birthday too. Time flies by way too fast...

Leaves!

Before the rains of this past week, Marek was outside playing in the maple leaves in our backyard...occasionally directing the raking process, too. Since it has been raining so much lately, our activities have transferred indoors. He still loves his music class. He is pretty shy in class, but does all of the "actions" and moves to the music from class at home. Tonight he was bopping his head and marching around to music. He recently went to a train show which he loved and has found fellow train lovers at the co-op indoor play park we belong to.

Feeding Elmo

After a long day of play, Elmo was hungry. So, being the good daddy that he is, Marek fed him Goldfish crackers. We had music class and toddler class this morning. As usual, playing in the big gym was the highlight of the day. Playdough also made an appearance. He has been experimenting at home with painting with "dot" markers. He loves them!

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween! Hope everyone had a good Halloween, too. Marek dressed up as a monkey, as you can see. He went downtown to the annual Children's Halloween Party at the library. He had fun looking at other kids dressed up in their costumes and got an orange balloon and a blinking light as a prize. He also got to visit mommy at work! That evening I took him to a few of our neighbor's houses for trick-or-treating. The best part is that he actually wore his costume and didn't complain about it! Pretty cute monkey, if you ask me. The pictures don't show it, but the top of his head had a monkey face on the costume. He's the best little boy in the world!!!!

happy boy

Last week Marek had a longer trip to see Daddy while I headed south to an Internet Librarian conference in Monterey, CA. I missed my little guy terribly, but he had fun with Daddy and Grandma. He even got to take a train ride home from Washington with his favorite partner-in-crime, Grandma Judy. As trains are his favorite things right now, this was great! I had a fun time in California and got to visit one of my best friends from college in San Jose. But it is always hard being away from such a perfect little boy! Tomorrow we'll see how he likes dressing up as a monkey for Halloween. He went to his first Halloween Party at our indoor play park this evening and had fun. Chocolate cupcakes always help...as does any place with lots of doors to open and shut (over and over and over...)!

Pumpkin Patch

Marek had his first adventure at the pumpkin patch this morning. We went with a group of other babies and toddlers - it was quite cute to see all of the little ones searching for pumpkins! He played on hay bales and picked out a small pumpkin to bring home. He took his first tractor hayride and liked that it was bumpy. It was a perfect foggy autumn morning and we topped it off with fresh homemade donuts at the farm. He is still an odd mixture of very shy and very outgoing around new people and situations. I never know if he'll be one way or the other! To get into the fall spirit, he has learned how to say "pumpkin, bat, ghost, spider and boo!". Unfortunately, the camera I took to take pictures of his pumpkin day had dead batteries in it...so I don't have any photos to share from our event. :(

Little Engine That Could

This Sunday we drove up to Hood River to take a ride on The Little Engine That Could at Mt. Hood Railroad. Marek loves trains, so this was a hit. The train ride was really beautiful and afterwards he played in a maze of hay, checked out a petting zoo, played some more, and had a fun day in Hood River. We shopped for some hip new baby shoes, a new train toy, had lunch and topped it off with ice cream. He can say "helicopter" now among other new words. It was definitely a fun day for him!

Marek's Fall

Marek's Fall is off to a good start! In addition to our music class, we joined a mom/toddler class that he just LOVES. He gets to play in a big gym with other pint-sized people, sing songs, eat snacks, play with toys and make friends. We also still spend as much time outside as possible. He met a snake in our garden last week. We're hosting a playdate next week...it will be his first time having to share his house/toys with other little people. I take him along with me to another mom's group I joined and he likes watching the older boys play and interact. If there is a play kitchen in the room, he is happy.