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.

post-music crash

We just returned from our music class. It was great, although Marek's still really shy in formal settings. We know some people in the class, so that should help him warm up to it! He's exhausted now - he is fast asleep in his new bed. I'm still working on redecorating his new "toddler" room. He has started to say "train", "plane" and "car" a lot this week. He's definitely a boy!

greetings!

I am going to try posting pictures and stories about Marek on a regular basis. Hopefully it will allow others who love him to keep current on his happenings. We'll see how well I do at this...finding time is a whole other story! Marek and I are starting a music "class" tomorrow. I hope he enjoys it. He is snoozing away right now in his new toddler bed. He will fall asleep in it just fine, but still wakes up often and cries, cries, cries until I go in there. Sleep is something we're still working on...! Last night after I put him to bed I could hear him calling out "Hello! I'm fine!". We have a song we listen to that has a refrain of "hello, hello, hello and how are you, I'm fine, I'm fine and I hope that you're fine too." (It's by the Wiggleworms, if you have little kids it is a great album!) Anyway, it's his favorite thing to sing right now. And I just love to hear him say "I'm fine". My cutie!

I'm off to eat dinner (yes, at 10:00 pm) before he wakes up again and hopefully get some reading in. I have about 5 books I'm trying to read simultaneously, so I better get to it!