Trying on Dad's Hat

Old Trike

Paul and I found this old trike at a thrift store right after Tanyon was born. At the time, we thought, "It will be forever before he is able to ride this thing, but hey, it's a good deal." Low and behold, Tanyon has started riding it. He hasn't figured out the pedals yet, but he likes to scoot along with his legs. We also sometimes push him along while he stands on the back.

Lunch Chat

Tanyon loves tractors, fire engines, and ambulances, so Paul found him a placemat that had all three on it. While it motivates Tanyon to sit in his chair, it does distract him from actually eating at times.

Helping in the Garden

Thanks to Aunt Mari, Tanyon has been outfitted with some great gardening gear. He couldn't wait to work with us outside as we got our garden ready for the season. Here he is playing during the first weekend of April:

1st Day of Preschool

As soon as Tanyon turned 2 years old, we enrolled him in the preschool right down the street from our house at the First United Methodist Church. We didn't even really consider any other preschools, since this one is so conveniant. We have also had a couple friends who sent their kids there and loved it.

Before Tanyon could officially start school, Paul and I had to join him for two trial periods of one hour. We found the teachers to be very sweet, but we quickly noticed that he was by far the youngest student in his class. Most of the other students are 2 and a half, or older, and although that half a year doesn't sound like much, it is when you are only 2. We saw that Tanyon will have a bit to learn about playing with others, and that it is not OK to hit, even if you immediately follow it up with a hug. The teachers kindly listened to our concern about the age difference and reassured us that he would be fine and they would keep an eye on him.

So, the next week, he began his regular class schedule: Mondays and Wednesdays from 8am-12:30pm. I was sad that I couldn't be the one to take him to his first day, so I woke up early and packed his lunch and picked out some of his clothes. Paul took the following pictures to show how his first day started.

Tanyon decided it was important to take a few shots with Emma:

Here his is posing with all of his school gear:

Here is Tanyon with one of his new friends:

In the last couple of weeks, Tanyon has been adjusting well to school. When I observed him, he was pretending to make cupcakes for all of his new classmates. Very sweet...

Spring Shades

With the new season has come new sunglasses. Tanyon actually has a few pairs, but he seems to love his frog ones the best. Paul says they are also potentially the dorkiest, but isn't that how it goes? Here is Tanyon running around in his new shades:

Birthday Gifts

After we got home from Tanyon's 2nd birthday party, he wanted to get started playing with some of his new toys.

Learning to scoot...timid at first.

Watching Tayon play with his truck was truly amazing. For the first time, he was engaging in imaginative play. He would line up the garbage cans and have the people push them. He also made sounds to imitate a truck driving. The next morning, when he got up, it was the first thing he wanted to do.

Playing with my new Recycling Truck from Papa and TeTe.

Tanyon's 2nd Birthday

Hello Everyone,

For Tanyon's 2nd birthday, I told him I would take over the blogging for him. He says he is too busy to keep up. Last week, he started preschool (2 half days a week), he is engaged in a ton of imaginative play, and he is helping us get the garden ready. So, I am going to take a shot at it. I may not be as good as Tanyon, but I am hoping you still enjoy.

Love, Paula

So, we celebrated Tanyon's 2nd birthday on March 19th. It was originally planned for Giorgi Park in Healdsburg, since that is where he visits every week with Nana, but due to the terrible rain, we moved the party indoors to Grandma and Grandpa Miller's house. Tanyon is still obsessed with all things garbage and recycling, so I thought it would be fun to make that our theme. I made decorations out of recycled materials, such as, flowers and flags (another thing Tanyon is quite focused on these days).

I had my best friend, Angela Sedgwick come over and help me make a garbage truck sign. Upon seeing it, Tanyon gasped and then yelled out, "Awesome!"

The desserts were also on theme. We had compost cupcakes:

And, a garbage truck cake:

Tanyon was over the moon when he heard everyone sign his favorite song to him, "Happy Birthday" (Cha, Cha, Cha style)

The party was lots of fun and we had several of our family and friends to enjoy the festivities.

By the time presents came around, Tanyon was VERY tired. He needed a little help opening them from his cousin Declan.

He even got a little upset and scared when he opened a cool dinosaur puppet. Although he loves dinosaurs right now, emotions were a little on the surface. After everyone left, he immediately slept for several hours.

Thanks to everyone who helped make this party happen!

Read-O-Rama

In early March, mom's school was having a Rip Roaring Read-o-Rama. I figured, hey, I like to read and I like mommy's school, so I attended some of the festivities. First of all, it was also Pajama Day, so mom and I woke up ate some breakfast and got in the car to go to school, while wearing our jammies!

When we got there, I got to line up with mommy's class. There were plenty of nice girls and boys to help show me how things were done. The students had been learning about Dr. Seuss, so they all had Cat in the Hat hats to wear. I didn't want to put one on, but I let mommy. I also wasn't so interested in taking pictures. There were just too many other things to do...

We started the day "buddy reading" in the cafeteria. Then, we went to mommy's classroom to sip hot chocolate and read magazines. I spent time wandering around the room checking in with the students. Next, mom let me draw on the whiteboard. When dad came to pick me up, he first read to the students as a "Celebrity Reader." His story was so interesting, in the middle of it, I stood up and screamed, "NO WAY!" All of the kids laughed. Then, they noticed that my shirt was in my mouth. Seeing my belly got a few more chuckles. Enjoying the attention, I started pulling up my shirt to see if anyone else would notice. Soon, I had the whole class laughing as I flashed my belly. To get the full effect, I even walked to the front of the room and pulled my shirt up. Poor dad,was trying to read his story, but at this point not many of the kids were paying attention to him. Quickly, mom grabbed me and bruoght me to the back of the room to sit with her. To my dismay, I left with dad shortly after that. I hope mom lets me go back soon!

Maya's Birthday Party

In February, my friend and neighbor, Maya had her 4th birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese. From the moment I walked in the door, I was amazed and a little overwhelmed at all of the flashing lights, screams, and amount of stuff inside. There were some rides and activities I liked...

And, there were ones that I wasn't so found of...

Here is the birthday girl:

Here I am enjoying some yummy cake and ice cream: