My very first hand made Mothers’ Day gift. Isn’t it pretty? Of course it wasn’t really a surprise. Thomas is not very good at keeping a secret. I went to pick him up from daycare on Friday and he said “We need to get the necklace”. So I said “What necklace?” and he said “Your necklace”. So when I opened the box later that night (of course we couldn’t wait until Mothers’ day) it wasn’t really a surprise. But I love it – and my son made it for me. 🙂

And then Thomas wanted to wear it for the rest of the night. 🙂

Clearly we have not been taking enough advantage of the instinctive desire of a toddler to help. Here he is peeling the strings of snap peas – and loving every minute of it. Now if only he were a couple of feet taller so he could start washing the windows.

Such a cutie. I took this photo of my friend’s daughter at our sorta-monthly pot-luck. We have known this group of people for nearly three years. In fact we met most of them at our prenatal class when I was pregnant with Thomas. I can’t get over how grown up all of the kids are getting and am so thankful that we are now going through our second round of pregnancies together. One of the boys has just become a big brother. Next it’s our turn and then we have two more siblings on the way in the next few months. 

The best thing about this group of people is that we all come from different backgrounds, different religions, I’m sure different political leanings (although we have never discussed it) but we have one thing that brings us all together and that is our shared experience as parents. And that’s enough to start a friendship that can develop into more than a shared experience. Gotta love that.

I think I have about a hundred versions of this photo – taken just after Thomas’ bath when he is all cuddly and cute. Unfortunately lately it has been accompanied by a lot of baby talk. Thomas wants to be treated like a baby and I’m sure it has something to do with the pending arrival. I feel bad saying this, but the babytalk is annoying. VERY annoying. And as much as I tell Thomas that he is a big boy he insists that he is a baby. I am hoping it’s a phase that he will overcome soon after the real baby arrives. I am also hoping that the whining goes with it. Don’t worry – I’m not delusional – just hopeful.

This is the first P365 post with a photo that I didn’t take myself. But it was just too special not to post. Thomas has become VERY interested in the baby lately. And not just because he is benefiting from a lot of the baby shower gifts that happen to also be fun for Toddlers. I think he realizes that his little brother will be here soon and he is excited about it. Today he turned to me and said “I’m not going to push the baby”. Yes, I was grateful to hear it too.

Oh and I LOVE high key photo actions that make stretchmarks disappear. Just like magic. 🙂

A little birthday present from my brother Ben and his girlfriend Emma. Well done Bro – it arrived right on my birthday – all the way from Australia. Full of fun activities to do with the kids (still weird to use the plural).

And in case you were wondering… I ALWAYS carry a basket and wear an apron while tending to my sunflowers.

Grooving before bedtime. It’s been a little while since Thomas has picked up the guitar. Tonight’s playlist? “Rock-a-bye Your Bear” and “Play Your Guitar with Murray”. Both by The Wiggles of course.

Thomas loves playing with the magnets on the fridge. We have some magnets of different foods that came with a Sesame street playset and he spends a lot of time arranging them and rearranging them. We also have some alphabet magnets (remember the same alphabet magnets they had when you were a kid?). We started off with – well – 26 magnets. One for each letter of the alphabet. Now we have just one – the letter “W”. Not sure where the rest of them went. I’m sure most of them are under the fridge but that will have to remain one of the mysteries in life – until we renovate the kitchen anyway.