Bye Bye Cooper Ella

Cooper Ella changed ownership recently and sadly the new owners are choosing to open an art boutique instead of continuing the kid friendly cafe business. We are so very very sad about this decision. For many months we have been meeting the Griggs family there for breakfast every other Friday. We are sad that our "place" is going away but are looking forward to finding new things to do for our play dates! Since Jane Ellis and I have been friends our whole lives, it only seems natural that our children would know and love each other.

Peter and Charlie hanging out at breakfast.


Nate did not want to have his picture taken, so this is the best I could do!

The Sweetest Little Boy

I prepared dinner ahead of time tonight, so while Nate was in his cool-out watch Blues Clues time after school, I decided to touch up the bathroom. I had moved on to something else when Nate came out of the bathroom shouting "Mom, Mom, you cleaned the bathroom!!" I said, yes I did. "Mom, you are so sweet to clean the bathroom for us. It looks really good. Thank you Mom for cleaning the bathroom."

I'm either hallucinating from Fantastik fumes or I have the sweetest little boy that ever lived. :)

Recycling Center

For those of you that have had the pleasure of seeing our basement know that most of the floor space consisted of our recycling. It was out of control and only Scott knew the "system." We finally cleared a space and got new bins for our recycling, with lids to keep away fruit flies. Nate was so proud and thoroughly enjoyed sorting all of the recycling into the new bins. I couldn't even say the word recycling when I was 3, but Nate knows exactly where the paper, glass, and aluminum should go. Guess which bin fills up the fastest at the Boyle house????

Independence

I think the word of the weekend is independence. For the last few days, Nate has been playing in his room, by himself, for many minutes at a time. Halleujah! We have arrived. I'm sure as he perfects this skill, I'll be worried about what he is going to destroy in my absence, but for now, I'm relishing in the fact that I cleaned out the pantry and two kitchen cabinets all while Nate was occupied in his room. He has been pretending to be a magician, a doctor, a chef, and of course his all time favorite - the clerk at a grocery store. We have definitely arrived.

I took this picture on Friday after our trip to Target and Trader Joe's. We really didn't have a reason to go to Trader Joe's, but I knew they had small carts for kids to push. He was in heaven - he would push for a while and then mimic me by hemming and hawing about which item had the best price and then put the item in the cart and continue pushing. It was hilarious! Although we only made it out of the store with flowers, chocolate soy milk, and of course a balloon, the trip was a success. He can't wait to go back. Here he is tying the balloon to a kitchen pot - having a great time!

We had our last swimming lesson yesterday. I thought I would be ready, but I was kind of sad to see it end. During the tumultuous times of having a 3 year old, the 30 minutes of Nate needing me, obeying me, and loving me provided a relief from the rest of our week! The lessons were well timed as we look forward to our trip to Mexico in March and then into the summer. I'm hopeful that he will continue to be comfortable with the water.

Happy last week of February! March means the start of spring...right??

Valentine's Day

We had a great Valentine's Day this year! It started with a surprise package on Friday from my fabulous co-workers, Penny & Paulette. They have to be the nicest people on the planet. They sent candy for all of us and a stuffed dog for Nate - which he loves and has slept with every day since. Thank you Penny & Paulette - you all are the best!




After swimming lessons, Nate and I made heart cupcakes. He likes the icing more than the actual cake part...just like me :)

We tried to carry the heart theme the entire day...hence the heart shaped PB&J. He thought it was great.

For Valentine's Day, Scott & I gave Nate his very own cash register. When we met up with the Pooleys a few weeks ago, Quinn had one of these and Nate was in love. It has a scanner and a cash drawer, so he has located everything that has a barcode in his room to scan (not that a barcode is required, but it makes it that much more fun.) Needless to say, it was a hit and Scott and I lose it every time he tells us he is going to play with his "castrater."

For dinner, we headed to St. Charles to meet the Peach families. Robert & Maisie were in town from Florida and we enjoyed spending time with them. Here we are on about our 55th attempt to get a picture.

Maisie & Avery both have February birthdays, so we did cupcakes at the restaurant. More sugar on an already sugary day...

This restaurant has Sparky the clown make balloon animals and do face painting for the kids. Nate said NO WAY to face painting, but he did go get a giraffe.

Swimming Lessons

Nate and I have been taking swimming lessons at the YMCA for the past few Saturdays. This is the first time he has taken formal lessons and he is doing well. Each week he shows progress and gets a little more comfortable with the water. Since Mimi tagged along with us this week, I finally got to get some pictures.


I often wonder if he will do better when I don't have to get in the water with him. I taught many a swimming lesson in my day and it is true that kids listen better to the teacher than the parent...
Pull your arms! Kick your feet! Blow bubbles! I try not to be intense, but I admit, the other parents in the class probably think I am an overachiever.

A T-Rex Named Sue

The Science Center has the T-Rex named Sue on exhibit right now, so while Mimi & Paka were in town this weekend, we headed over to see it.

Even though I warned him beforehand, Nate was disappointed that "Sue" was a skeleton. He liked this mechanical T-Rex better.


Digging for dinosaur bones with Mimi.

Posing with Paka...

Hugging Mimi on the moon!

We had a great visit with Mimi & Paka. The next time we see them there will probably be a 3rd grandchild in the mix! We are very excited to welcome Amanda & David's second child - Gavin in March!