Keepin up with the big boys

I know I've already posted about Ty's new scooter he got for his birthday, but the snow finally melted and it was warm enough to take it outside (as opposed to practicing in the kitchen) so I just had to document :) He still needs help steering but he can scoot it right along with his little foot and it's SO CUTE! He looks like one of the boys riding around the neighborhood.

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And if scooting doesn't burn enough energy...sometimes he just runs up and down the sidewalk in between scooter rides :) I'm telling you, the kid is like the Energizer Bunny...

We enjoy our days of sunshine, that's for sure!

Preppy

On Wednesdays Tyson usually goes to Grandmommy and Pappy's house to spend the day. It gives me a break from having a toddler, a chance to spend time alone with my baby girl, and be able to get caught up on things around the house. Grandmommy usually takes Ty to story time at the library by their house, to a petting zoo, grocery shopping, the children's museum, and many other fun activities. He also spends hours on end playing around in their back yard while Grandmommy does yard work or gardens. He's quite the little helper trying to rake leaves, pick up sticks, or haul a wagon around the yard with all of his treasures.

After work Robin goes over to their house and I often meet them there and we all have dinner together! Anyway, Tyson has his own little back pack (which he calls his "pack pack") that he takes over there with snow clothes or whatever else, and this week he just looked too cute not to take a picture... We decided he looked like he was going off to prep school on Wednesday :)

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Robin takes Ty on his way to work since his office is about 10 minutes from his parent's house.

My big boy is growing up way too fast! Since when is he old enough to carry a back pack?! LOL. But he's so stinkin cute that I guess it's worth it...

Man's Work

Tyson learned an important life lesson this week: how to shovel snow like the men of the Schween house do! Robin is always so great about shoveling our driveway and walks at night and in the morning when it snows (foreign concept to me, growing up in Seattle). Tyson got his very own snow shovel for his birthday from Grandmommy and Pappy, so this week with the massive amounts of snow we've been getting, Robin decided to show him how to help "shovel the walks." It was pretty cute. Of course, this was early in the morning when it was still pretty cold outside, so by the time Tyson realized how cold his hands were (he can't wear his mittens and hold the shovel simultaneously) he spent a few minutes crying inside before we warmed them up. Oh well, gotta be tough, kid. Aren't we just the nicest parents making our toddler shovel snow with no gloves on? ;-) What can I say, the kid loves to help!

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This is how I found them outside.

Ty would go start at the top of the driveway and shovel all the way down. Good job dude!

Then he would go back up to do it again...down the exact same strip he just shoveled, lol. Okay so maybe doing the same spot over and over isn't the most effective method, but he sure was cute working so hard!

BIG TROUBLE.

Today has not been the easiest day. Actually, this has not been the easiest week! Tyson is finally cutting all 4 of his two-year-molars. Oh joy. Poor guy is a puddle of drool and a crying mess - especially during nap time, of course. Jersey decided to have a growth spurt at the same time which means I feel like I'm ALWAYS feeding her because she's been waking up hungry so often for the last two days. Between the two kids...it's been an adventure, to say the least this week. Today was no exception...

Tyson has, what we call, "play alone time" every morning in his room for an hour. He can't quite be trusted to be alone in his room yet, so we put him in a play yard with some toys, a cheerio snack, and some music playing. He does great in there every day and usually plays quite contentedly for a good hour before I go up and get him. Well, this week I've been suspecting that he is "bored" of the toys that are in his room since he's had the same ones in there for months now and he has really outgrown most of them if we're being honest. But being busy with a newborn I just kind of ignored that "hunch" and kept up with the normal routine. That is the last time I will ignore a hunch about a toddler. He was obviously quite bored today, as you can see from the pictures below...

When I went in to get him from his play time, he had pushed his play yard up against his dresser, climbed up the yard and proceeded to take everything out of the top dresser drawer. That means he pulled out all of the baby wipes from the container, ruined all of the little plastic bags that we use for his diapers, and the grand finale of this escapade was that he got a hold of the tube of diaper rash cream - we're talking ZINC here, people. He wiped it all over his face, it was on his eye lids and in his lashes. All over his clothes. All over the carpet and his toys and stuffed animal. And in many of the holes and crevices of the play yard. He even reached some of the clothes in his hamper and got it all over them. I could not speak when I saw the mess. All I could do was grab the camera to take a couple of pictures to document the mess I had to clean up today. And now looking back, I wish I had taken more because these pictures do not do justice to the mess on the carpet and all over his toys!

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How I found him...

Do you have any idea how hard it is to get this greasy stuff out of clothes and carpet? Well, I didn't either, until today. It's hard. I can't even get it completely off of his hands and face, much less his clothes so far. Welcome to the mind of a two-year-old. Curiosity and boredom at their finest, I believe. Praise the Lord it's Friday...