Wiggly Writings

We had so much fun last year and got such great pictures, that we had to go again. Here is our fall 2010 apple picking adventure. Next year’s apple trip, Thomas will have to share the spotlight with a little brother or sister!

I found an apple!

Fresh apples are the best!

Crunch!

Apple juice dripping from my chin!

Gotta lick all that yummy juice off my chin 😛

Taking a walk in the orchard.

Thomas and Daddy enjoying the Macouns!

Thomas and Mommy enjoying the sunny fall day!

Thomas started toddler school. Mommy decided to go back to work for a while to see how it goes. Thomas loves his teachers and friends at school. He goes to school three days a week and spends every Wednesday with Mommy and every Friday with Daddy. He likes those special Mommy and Daddy days, too. Here is a picture on his first day of school with his new backpack (just like Daddy’s only smaller) and some pictures of his lunches because Mommy was having fun and getting carried away with packing lunches.

First Day of School with my new backpack!

Sunbutter sandwich, tomatoes, cucumbers, grapes!

Meatballs, wagon wheel pasta, grapes, cucumbers, tomatoes, green beans!

Pasta salad with tomatoes, corn and cheese cubes!

Sunbutter sandwich, grapes, blueberries, beans, rutabaga!

Mommy made these beautiful green beans and tomatoes and I got some leftovers in one of my lunches!

Our big boy is 2 years old! It is hard to believe. I think he had a nice birthday. It was quiet because mommy had a cold the whole 4-day weekend, but we still managed to have a fun day. After breakfast we went upstairs to take a bath and when we came back downstairs there was a pile of presents waiting for Thomas. We had a nice morning opening some very fun presents and enjoying each one! We had some lunch and a very special birthday cupcake. Thomas wasn’t sure how to eat a big cupcake, so he was relieved when we cut it into pieces, but still only wanted a few bites. He was ready for a nap. After nap, we went to one of his favorite places. The Splash Pad! That’s right, the first time since the cast and boot came off for good. It was a little on the chilly side, but just warm enough that we decided to go for it. He had lots of fun and it was probably our last visit until next summer so it was totally worth it. We managed to get a yellow chair picture in before the day was over. Happy Birthday Thomas!

What a special car/truck/train/bus quilt!

Everyone gave me trucks and I loved every one of them!

I'm a very lucky boy to get such nice gifts on my birthday!

Birthday cupcake!

Cupcake!

How am I going to eat it?

Smaller bites... thanks Mommy!

Yummy!

No more cast means I can run in the water again!

Daddy, hurry, turn the water back on!

This is a fun birthday!

Year 2 Yellow Chair

So, we went on an outing this summer to the Canterbury Shaker Village. It was fun to look around at all the old buildings and imagine such a different lifestyle. Thomas had graduated from the cast to the boot at this point and he very much insisted on doing all the walking by himself. One of the buildings was set up especially with kids activities and Thomas had a great time working on puzzles with Daddy.

Taking a walk in the boot.

Collecting Rocks!

Puzzles with Daddy.

Father and Son.

Bathtubs can be slippery. Thomas learned this the hard way. He had a fall in the tub. He couldn’t walk. We didn’t know what was wrong because he’s just not that good at explaining things, yet. Two trips to the emergency room and a series of overly traumatic x-rays later, and we discovered the problem. A broken leg. So, now we are halfway through a month of living with a bright green cast. Surprisingly, he’s not that bothered by the cast itself, but more frustrated with life in general. No more splash pad for a while. He’s a master at crawling and today he took his first steps with his “green sock”. Here’s Thomas with cast.

This is not what I had in mind.

But it won't stop me!

Thomas discovered the Splash Pad, a local park that has all kinds of water jets and puddles to jump in. It is just about his favorite thing ever. We had plans to go here all summer long, until… (you will find out in the next post)… Anyway, enjoy the pics.

Testing the water.

This is going to be fun!

What are these?

Weeeee!

I can walk silly...

... and stomp my feet!

Ah... now I need a nap!

Thomas is 22 months old today, but I am finally getting around to posting his 21 month old picture.  This is the last yellow chair picture before his big 2-year birthday yellow chair picture.  Wow!  It will be here before we know it.  Toddlerhood is a pretty amazing time.  He is learning new words every day.  I can’t even count them anymore.  What fun!

Month 21 Yellow Chair

Woohoo!  Thomas got a child seat for the back of Daddy’s bicycle and also a brand new helmet, “bike hat” to protect his very special head.  It was such a beautiful day that all three of us went out for a little test ride.  We think Thomas approves.

Helmet on... buckled in... ready to go!

Taking a break... Still holding on...

That was fun, Daddy!

I never did let go of Daddy's seat... but at least I've got a smile on my face!

I’m organizing the Take a Hike for Humanity event this year, and I’m also hiking up Mt. Monadnock to raise funds for Greater Nashua Habitat for Humanity.  We’ve got building projects in various stages of development in Nashua, Milford, and Wilton, New Hampshire.

Visit my personal pledge goal page:

http://takeahikeforhumanity.dojiggy.com/peterdobratz

Kristel still won’t let me take Thomas up the mountain using a Moby wrap, toddler carrier, or other contraption.  Maybe next year.

Easter this year was full of celebrating, especially because it was surrounded by Momma and Daddy’s birthdays and also because my friend Gigi came over for dinner and an egg hunt. It was so much fun!

Thomas finds an Easter basket! Look at that yummy cake we get to have later!

Easter Picture with Spring Daffodils wearing German Lederhosen

Thomas and Georgia go egg hunting!

I found an egg!

Here's another one!

We can do this together...

All the eggs in one basket.

Yes, Gramma. Momma let me eat the chocolate bunny!

He turned 1.5 years old towards the end of our Oregon visit.  We made sure to get a yellow chair picture when we got back home.  According to the doctor, he has grown 4 inches in the last 3 months and he’s now 3 feet tall.  He hasn’t gained much weight, since he is putting all that energy into going up!

Month 18 Yellow Chair

While we were in Oregon, there was a free day at the Portland Japanese Gardens.  Thomas had a great time roaming around, finding puddles to jump in, leaves to touch, and even some tasty gravel to munch on.  Yes, there’s me picking bits of rock and dirt out of his mouth.  I’m sure it tasted wonderful!

This year, Thomas and I escaped an entire New Hampshire February and when Peter joined us for a week, we went to the Oregon Coast with Thomas’ cousins.  It was fantastic weather.

We were lucky to be able to go to Oregon and enjoy a beautiful Spring in February and then go home to enjoy Spring all over again!  In this set, we’ve got Thomas playing in “Gamma” and “Gappa”s garden.  Enjoying a chocolate dipped cookie and upside down Valentine.  Chasing some chickens.  And a delicious kids meal with “Auntie” Jaime at the best kid-friendly, bicycle-friendly, organic brewpub ever.  Check out Hopworks Urban Brewery.  We love this place!

Here are a few pictures of Thomas learning to feed himself with a spoon and also some story time with Daddy.

Here are some playing in the snow pictures. Thomas had fun with Daddy on the sled down the hill by our house, but he was not too sure about the slightly bigger hill at the park. He did enjoy walking back and forth on the sidewalk in front of our house and watching all the snow plow trucks!

We had a quiet Christmas this year with just the 3 of us.  It was nice for a change.  We didn’t take a whole lot of pictures, but here are a couple.

holiday buscuit-men

living room full of wrapping paper and new toys

Stocking full of fridge food!

The Christmas Tree Picture

Playing with the Wise Men

Christmas is a fun time...