A Bird In The Hand

Owen has recently discovered birds.  He calls them "Bah!"  He's also still doing this thing where he squeezes his own cheeks with one hand and says "Bah Bah" but I'm still not sure if that means "quack quack" like ducks or all birds?

Well, since it's officially spring and I have left all gardening up to my new best friend, Felipe, I decided that maybe we could go get a bird feeder and that could be this year's landscaping investment (read: little to no investment as per usual.) 

Bird feeders are hard to find!  I wanted to find one that came with a hook that would go into the ground vs hang from our roof.  I know very little about birds, but one thing I do know is...where there are birds...there is poop.  So no bird feeder hanging above our deck, or patio, or anywhere where I will have to clean bird droppings all summer.  Also, since this was for Owen, I wanted one to be at his height so he could actually see them.  So a shephard's hook into the grass in front of the living room side windows where Owen could watch to his heart's content (and bird poo will be safely away from public areas.) 

It took us two stores and one exchange to find what we were looking for (you can see O is pleased.)  Yesterday, as Owen and I were shopping for our supplies, I was having a hard time picking which one I wanted.  So, I asked Owen what he thought.  I held a few in front of him and asked, "Do you like this one?  Or this one?"  And Owen replied very thoughtfully, "I-eee?"  I said, "You're right - I think this one is nicer.  But do we need one that keeps away squirrels or do we not care?"  And Owen replied, "hee hee hee."  So we had about a 10 minute discussion about which feeder to buy at the store.  I was glad he was with me, he had some great advice! We did get a few sideways looks from some shoppers - but I'm sure they were just jealous that their 20 month old kids didn't provide them with such valuable advice.

Today, we went back to the store and made the exchange (I needed a taller hook) and came home and I set it up (well, kind of set it up.  Steve will be finishing the job when he gets home tonight.)  Our neighbors have a similar feeder about 30 feet away, so it may take awhile to lure the little birdies from their usual buffet.  But I'm hoping once they get a taste of what we're offering, they will set up camp at least long enough for Owen to see one before he scares them away.  But how could this view scare anyone away?  Ok, yes...they both look like they want to eat whatever lands there.

After Owen went down for his nap, our first diner arrived.  It's been a slow but steady patronage ever since. 

Here Birdie, Birdie, Birdie!

Oops, and as I write this a bird just flew from the feeder straight into the window.  Hopefully this isn't a sign that the feeder is too close to the house.  Or that the food I put in there makes birds into drunk birds?  Stay tuned...I know you're fascinated.

Every Girl's Crazy 'Bout A Sharp Dressed Man

Look who got a new haircut!

Owen always looks about 5 years older whenever he gets a haircut. I think it's because he was born with so much hair, I am used to that shaggy bang look. When I see more than an inch of forehead, he looks so different to me! He thinks he looks pretty handsome though...I have to agree!

My Little Helper?

Owen is starting to want to help more with chores.  He is the cutest with the vacuum.  He will mimic me exactly with the back and forth motion going all over the floors in the house with either his toy vacuum or the portable vacuum we keep for minor cleanups downstairs. 

The other day, I decided to clean the windows.  My little helper here, started to mimic my "wash on, wash off" method...on every window...right after I finished...with his bare hands.  It didn't exactly help the cleaning process, but he had fun.

It's Always Fun At The Zoo

What do you do on a 70 degree day in Springtime Seattle?  We had our choice of The Puyallup Spring Fair (pros: friends were going, lots of big farm animals, mom could get a scone.  cons: you have to be 2 years old to go on any rides, all Owen really wants to do is run and he wouldn't care about much else there) -- The Zoo (pros: tons of running room, free thanks to Nana.  cons: we always go there, possibly very crowded on a day like today.) -- Kelsey Creek Farm (pros: animals and running room.  cons: never been there and it might be a better weekday activity.) 

We ended up at the Zoo.  It's always low stress and Owen loves it.  This time, he was a running fool.  We spent the majority of the time running around the grass play areas.  There were some steep hills that Owen climbed up and down over and over with no problem (my heart was in my throat.)  The only time he fell was when he was running full speed on concrete - his balance on hills seems to be pretty good!

A new, notable moment was trying to show Owen some of the animals.  He usually has no interest in the animals unless they are right in his face.  This time, we saw some frogs and a sting ray in the kids play area in little aquariums and he pointed at a few that I hadn't even shown him yet, so I knew he was seeing them.  We saw some elephants and he pointed and counted them, but wasn't too interested.  Then we saw two monkeys who were hanging out right near where we could stand.  One was literally hanging from the netting and the other was sitting on the ground reaching through the fence to grab the tall grass just outside.  Owen looked at them and said, "ooh, ooh, ooh."  (monkey sound.)  YES!  Finally we saw and recognized an animal besides a dog and a bird!

But then we went back to running in the grass...

We did meet a sweet little girl who was playing with a hula hoop and Owen wanted it.  Instead of the normal "mine!" "mine!" that I'm used to hearing from kids that age, she said, "we can play together!" and she showed Owen how to play Ring-Around-The-Rosie with the hula hoop.  So sweet.  Steve made a point of thanking her for being so nice to Owen.

Moons Over My Hammy

A laugh for the day...Testing this whole Vimeo thing.  Not sure if it will work?

Full Moon from Laura Santoki on Vimeo.

Against The Tide

Ok, so here's something that is probably not blog worthy, but it's still something I think about...I used the last drop of the faux Dreft baby laundry detergent I have in the house (smells exactly the same as Dreft.)  The label says to use the baby detergent for kids 0-18 months, but I keep buying it because I'm not ready to let go of that smell. 

Before Owen was born, I washed all his clothes in Dreft to get them all soft and baby smelling before he arrived.  Then, I washed my own clothes with it so when I was holding him all day and night, he would still only touch baby detergent laundered clothes (but secretly, it was to keep that smell closer to me.)  Sometimes I still wash my own clothes with it - using the excuse that I'm throwing in a few of my shirts with his load.  So, I have been smelling this smell and associating it with Owen for nearly two years now.

But, it's silly to keep buying baby laundry detergent when he's not a baby anymore.  And, his smell doesn't smell anything like Dreft.  He usually smells like Burt's Bees Baby Shampoo and baby sweat.  I almost associate how his Upstairs Bunny smells with him more than Dreft.  And Upstairs Bunny kind of stinks!  It smells like his morning milk breath times 1000. 

But, it's time to retire the baby detergent.  Maybe I can keep one small bottle on hand to wash his blankets and sheets so his room will still smell like Dreft?  Maybe not. 

Bite Size Pieces

We failed at food safety today...

19 Month Mathlete

I posted a video of Owen saying his letters a few days ago. I thought I’d post another one showing a few more skills he is amazing us with lately. In this one, he is showing us how good he is at his number puzzle, pointing to all the numbers as I ask him each one and saying the four numbers he knows how to pronounce.  Blogger only lets me upload 100MB, so this is a shortened clip of the real deal.  If you are interested, here is the entire video.

And in this one, he is showing us how to play his favorite CD (yes, it’s Sesame Street Christmas music.) Next week, he will be programming our DVR.

The End Of An Era

Today marked the end of an era. The pool table we have been "babysitting" for our friend, Indi, is now gone. We decided it is time to give back the adult toy to make room for many, many, MANY kid toys. I was sad to see it go, not because of losing the opportunity to play pool (because we never really used it much) but because one of Owen’s favorite games was running around the pool table while we chased him. It was a guaranteed giggle every time. Luckily, after the table was gone, Owen let us chase him around the empty room. And he still giggled.

Now, what do we fill this room with?!?!

Happy Easter!

This Easter was a year of firsts. It was the first real egg "hunt" for Owen (last year he was too little to hunt or to care about a hunt.) It was the first year having Easter at the Santoki household. And it was the first year I was the Easter cook! The day was a total success. Nana came over early to help get the day started and to watch Owen while I finished up the brunch. Steve arrived home from work around 1pm and we all had brunch together (Owen LOVED the strata! Note to self: to get Owen to eat asparagus, cover it in goat cheese and bread. Like Mother, like Son.) The Easter Bunny arrived while Owen was taking a nap. He woke up very hard - we don't know why he wakes up so upset from about half of his naps? But when he saw what the Easter Bunny had left him, he perked right up. The best part of the day was when Owen found his first egg! I wasn't sure how the hunt would go or how interested he would be in it, but as soon as he saw the first egg (or "ball" as he called them) he was off and running!

We took so many pictures throughout the day that I decided to post themed collages to give you a visual idea of our day. Enjoy!

Breakfast and Lunch: Potato Cinnamon Rolls, Melon and Mint Salad, Asparagus, Goat Cheese and Ham Strata:

Sippy Cups Aren’t For Chardonnay, But They Are For Bloody Marys:

Owen Looking Dapper In His Easter Shirt (But Refusing To Stand Still For A Photo):

Sneaky Easter Bunny Hides 12 Eggs, Plus 3 Special Elmo Eggs:

The Hunt:

Everybody Loves Owen:

And finally, a video clip of Owen's first real egg hunt (well, first real hunt - they weren't real eggs.) The video starts with Owen enjoying his Easter Basket goodies and you'll see when he discovers the first hidden egg all on his own! It takes a while for him to move from egg to egg, so feel free to fast forward. Or, if you really have time to kill, click here for the full 8 minute video.  :)

Sabbatum Sanctum - Annus Duos

Did you know the Saturday before Easter is called "Holy Saturday?" Did you also know that Sabbatum Sanctum is "Holy Saturday" in Latin? The Pope ain't got nuthin on me, I tell ya. Just don't ask me what happened on Holy Saturday because I haven't read that far in my Wikepedia article yet.

Oh, and "Annus Duos" means "Year Two" not "Two Butts" like it looks.  Go ahead and laugh like a 3rd grader.  I did.

To celebrate Sabbatum Sanctum (go with it), Owen and I went to the same Easter Egg Hunt as last year. A few noteworthy moments:

• Owen LOVES the Easter Bunny! Seriously, is it normal to think your kid is just the cutest? I was planning on not standing in line to see this Easter Bunny because we already saw him at the mall a week ago, this one is a tad bit ghetto (snobby of me, but you’ll see my point in a bit) and I didn’t think Owen would have enough patience to wait in line. Well, when Owen saw the Easter Bunny he made it clear to me again that he wanted to say hello. So, we took our place in line and he waited his turn to sit on his lap and give a couple high-fives. After we walked away, Owen kept running back to Mr. Bunny and would wave to him and blow him kisses from the side. So, we stood in line AGAIN. Owen showered Mr. Bunny with blown kisses and sunk about as far into his lap as he could get. It is too cute to watch little kids scared to death of the Bunny – sitting on his lap and screaming their heads off – while Owen is waving and blowing kisses at him. I’m seriously considering buying a bunny suit!
• Some of the parents at this event are horrible. Last year, Owen was 7 months old and barely old enough to hold onto an egg, so we parked ourselves away from the masses and let him play with two eggs (dropping them and picking them back up.) One of his eggs was laying BETWEEN HIS FEET and a mom of a 2 year old directed her son to pick it up saying, “Right there, Bobby! Right between that baby’s feet!” I thought, maybe the kid didn’t get any eggs so the mom was desperate, but nope…his basket was overflowing. Needless to say, I didn’t let the kid have it! Not to be outdone, this year…Owen was picking up eggs and putting them in his basket and I decided that Owen had a 4 egg limit. He’s not going to eat the candy inside anyway, so 4 eggs is more than enough to play with. When he would get more than 4 eggs in the basket, I would toss the extra ones out towards other kids. A dad was directing his toddler son toward some eggs and I threw an egg near where he was looking and said, “Ooh, there’s another one right there!” The dad looked at me and instead of saying thanks, he asked, “Is there anything IN that one?” Yes, sir…Don’t worry your pretty head – your 2 year old will be getting an obscene amount of candy thanks to you. Never mind that he does seem to be enjoying finding the eggs and appears to have no idea what is inside.

After 2 photo sessions with the Easter Bunny and 4 eggs in his brand new airplane Easter basket, we headed home. But, another festive occasion means another opportunity to compare Owen's YOY growth in pictures. (That's Year Over Year for all you non-corporate acronym people out there.) Why am I always so shocked at how much bigger he is after only a year?

2009                                                                                                                                   2010

2009                                                                                                                                   2010

                                                                              

2009                                                                                                                                   2010

And here's my non-holy comment for the day...A full body shot of this Bunny who Owen was in love with.  Note the sneakers poking out of the feet.  I suppose good Bunny costumes are expensive, so I shouldn't judge.  But you have to agree, it's a little funny, right?  I feel guilty being snobby because critical people are a pet peeve of mine, but next year we might find an egg hunt where parents don't scrounge for toddler candy and the Bunny isn't wearing Converse.  I realize that isn't very Sanctum of me and I should follow my son's example of only seeing a loveable creature with big ears and a soft belly.  *Sigh*  Owen always makes me want to be a better person!