Currently, Peanut is... {3 years old}

And just like that, my baby boy isn't a baby anymore.  He's changed so much in just a year, and it was fun comparing him to his sister at this age as I wrote this post. 

Catching 'em all as Ash on Halloween

Growing tall and handsome every day!  His big sister, who is almost four years older than him, is only a head taller than him- and she's pretty tall herself.  He's been wearing size 4T since about Easter, which is apparently on par with his sister, but it's a little bizarre seeing him in some of her hand-me-down T-shirts that it seems she just outgrew recently.  For example, we bought Miss Chief a souvenir T-shirt from Animal Kingdom on our family Disney trip, which coincided with her 4th birthday; she was able to wear it for about a year and a half.  He wears it now, and it's one of his favorites- and it fits perfectly.

Eating a fairly varied diet, all things considering.  Neither kid could necessarily be described as "picky" at the moment, but they definitely both have a go-to dish depending on what type of cuisine we're having.  Of course, if you left it up to him, he'd eat a PB&J for every meal- but at least he would switch up the jelly each time, between grape, strawberry, and blackberry.  As far as the dairy allergy is concerned, I'm not confident enough to say we've beaten it, because we still try to avoid it as much as we can.  At the beginning of this past school year, we moved him to an in-home daycare, and one of the MANY benefits is that the care provider is very careful about meal preparation, so he's never eaten something he shouldn't have.  He does enjoy the occasional homemade ice cream, but he doesn't really ask for cheese on his food anymore, even if his sister is eating some, so we haven't quite thoroughly tested whether milk protein is still a problem for him.

Not very excited about Baby Jesus on Christmas

Talking like a big kid!  Truth be told, quarantine has been great for him.  Not only has he been immensely happy to have our whole family together almost all the time, but his language abilities have benefited greatly from spending most of his time with his older sister, rather than peers or younger children.  He does still have a little bit of a lisp, but overall, his pronunciation, not to mention his vocabulary, have improved by leaps and bounds since March.

Making facial expressions that crack me up every time.  This kid has mastered the art of physical comedy- a well-timed eyebrow raise or smirk  or nose-crinkle turns "oops, I didn't mean to do that" into slapstick worthy of Mr Bean. 

At-home Easter

Listening to all sorts of music, and singing along.  He asks me to turn on the radio the moment we get in the car, and then immediately asks, "What's this song called?"  (Even if it's a commercial jingle!)  He won't go to sleep without a song- not necessarily a lullaby, though.  Most of the time, he requests a theme song to one of his favorite shows (like Paw Patrol, Blaze and the Monster Machines, or Pokemon) and then sings along with me.  And he really loves to dance- he has a natural rhythm and can remember short combinations of basic steps.  He loves watching his sister in ballet class; hopefully we can enroll him, too, when things are safer.

Sleeping better than his sister ever did at this age, to be honest.  Nap time comes immediately after lunch, and there's never any argument about it- sometimes he'll even race you up the stairs.  Sometimes he's not quite ready to have a nap and will extend lunch as long as possible by asking for a refill on his water, or for another helping of fruit, and then taking long, slow, exaggerated bites, but once you get him away from the table, he accepts his fate.  Bedtime on the other hand...bedtime is where we struggle.  There is a never-ending list of things we must do before he is ready to lay down- and if we miss something (or if we didn't do it properly), he'll say, "We didn't do all the things."  These things include going to the bathroom one last time, drinking an entire cup of water and then refilling it to set on his nightstand, just in case, singing the aforementioned lullaby (or three), deciding on a color for his LED nightlight (and changing his mind about it several times), and of course, one more hug and one more kiss and one more hug and one more kiss and one more...

Opening presents at a joint birthday party for Aunt Helen, Mommy, and Peanut

Loving Ahsoka Tano (or Soka, as he calls her); puzzles; cars; the color green; playing with his sister; doing things all by himself with no help (even if it means you have to leave the room so you're not tempted to offer suggestions for how he should be putting on his shirt); the Berenstain Bears; helping Mommy cook; singing and dancing; turning everything into a race.

Hating losing the aforementioned races; bedtime; offers of help when he's getting dressed; being separated from Mommy for even a moment; when his sister picks the TV show (even if it's one he likes); sharing his toys with his sister (even if he wasn't playing with them).

Here's to age three!

Much love,

The Geeks

Currently, Peanut is... {2 years}

As per usual #secondchildproblems, poor Peanut's birthday post is late- by almost a week.  Oops.  We've just been so busy celebrating this goofy little booger that I haven't had time to blog!  Let's take a look at how much he's grown.

Growing tall!  He certainly looks like a two-year-old now, losing some of the chunk from his thighs, but that belly- oh that belly.  When he feels the need to really walk with purpose, he juts that belly out and leads with it.

Eating whenever it suits him, to be honest.  He is, unfortunately, becoming a picky eater- not in that he'll only eat certain favorite foods, just in that he has to be in a specific mood to eat pretty much anything.  His current favorite meal is "burger-fries," which is exactly what it sounds like (and they must go together, no burger-fruit or burger-chips for him) but it doesn't mean he'll eat it every time it's placed in front of him.  Sometimes he'll even order it himself and then when it arrives he'll suddenly change his mind!  And he's like that with everything- he doesn't universally reject green vegetables (not anymore, anyway), or meats, or starches, he just randomly decides when he's going to eat the thing he said he wanted in the first place.  And about that food allergy... Daycare, as ever, selectively enforces his dietary requirements, and we've found that the reaction is starting to become less severe.  Buttered toast will result in a red face covered in itchy spots, but cheese is much less severe.  And either way, thoroughly cleaning his face will clear up the reaction.  I still only allow him to drink non-dairy milk (we've all adopted almond milk in this house now rather than buying multiple kinds) and eat non-dairy yogurt, but he tried some of my homemade ice cream and did just fine, and he demands cheese on his food if his sister is having some.

bundled up for the snow at 18 months

Talking much more now, just in the last 5 months or so.  He's got some pronunciation problems that his sister never had- there's a bit of a lisp we're going to have to work on- but he's making much more of an effort to put his thoughts into words.  He has improved his pronunciation on some things- he still can't quite say his sister's name properly, but his approximation is much closer to the real thing now.  He's still firmly in the point-at-things-and-name-them stage, but his vocabulary to describe those things has grown tremendously.  He's starting to form sentences, but mostly just commands- and mostly just directed at his sister!  (He loves wagging his finger at her and saying "Not nice!" if she's getting fussed at, with a big ol' smart alec grin on his face to boot.)  One area he's doing tremendously well in are his (spoken) manners.  He always says "please" when he asks for something and "thank you" when he receives it, and will even through in a "ah welcome" if you thank him for something.  And if anybody sneezes or coughs he says "bess you", and he'll say it over and over again until you respond with "thank you."  It's so cute that the daycare teachers have taken to faking a cough around him just to hear him say it!  But the best is if he sneezes or coughs and nobody immediately says anything- he'll say "bess you, Pepu" as if to remind you what you're supposed to say!  So all in all, he's just as bossy as his big sister, really.

Making facial expressions that sometimes make me want to call up a modeling agency...and sometimes make me exasperated.  Just as he was doing six months ago, he will precede naughty behavior with a sly little grin, only sometimes now he'll say "hey!" to get your attention before he touches something he's not supposed to or throws something on the ground.  And he has started telling jokes- mostly visual jokes, but sometimes he'll call something by the wrong name on purpose and then smile at you broadly until you laugh and acknowledge that he did it on purpose.  There is a teacher in the toddler room at daycare that Mr. Geek and I don't necessarily care for, and I don't think Peanut does, either, but he politely tolerates her and will give half-hearted hugs to her at afternoon pickup.  She sings a little song to him when she sees him and I don't think he particularly likes it, but he knows she'll stop if he smiles, so he does- but it's a smile he only gives in response to this song, with his nose wrinkled up, as if to say, "Yes, okay, you're enjoying this, but I'm not, please stop so I don't have to yell about this."  I've never seen a toddler be sarcastic like that before but he does it masterfully- and I'm not sure the teacher has caught on that that's what he's doing (or at least she's not offended by it).  She'll clap her hands and laugh and show everyone- "Look at that cute little smile!" and ultimately stop singing the song, which appears to be his goal.  He's a clever little stinker.

daycare glamor shots at 19 months

Listening to all types of music, especially Disney movie soundtracks.  He loves dancing to music, clapping his hands, stomping his feet, swaying side to side.  And he has started attempting to sing some of his favorite nursery rhymes- "The Wheels on the Bus" is his current favorite.  I think we've got another dancer on our hands!

Sleeping really well, thankfully, even napping!  Sometimes he fights bedtime- he'd rather sit in his big sister's bed and play with her stuffed animals than get in his own- but after just a few minutes of complaining, he'll sleep all night.  Sometimes naptime seems inconvenient for him, but most of the time he'll go down without a fight- and we're all the better for it. 

celebrating his birthday with a bubble wand at Sesame Place

Loving dinosaurs; puppies; Elmo and Cookie Monster and Abby Cadaby; books; creating abstract artworks with crayons or (especially) markers; grocery shopping; picking out his own shirt to wear; Pokemon; Cheerios; burgers; Mickey Mouse.

Hating when his hands are dirty; puppies that want to actually touch him; meeting Elmo in real life; the word "no"; if his sister touches any of his stuff; getting out of bed in the morning.

I can't believe he's already two.  It feels like we only just brought him home!

Much love,
The Geeks

Our Favorite Character Meet and Greets at Walt Disney World

The Geek Family Disney Trip 2017 looked a little different than the Geek Disneymoon.  One of those differences was the fact that we spent a lot more time meeting characters than riding rides.  We did meet characters on our honeymoon, but that wasn't necessarily the focus.  Here's a look at some of our favorite character meet and greets, in no particular order, from this time around!

BB-8 Star Wars Launch Bay, Disney's Hollywood Studios

This little guy beeped and booped and wobbled his little head around- it was pretty cool.  He wasn't quite sure what to do about all the hugs a certain four-year-old wanted to give him, but she had a great time.

Tinker Bell Town Square Theater, Magic Kingdom

This was the first character we met on the whole trip.  Miss Chief was dressed like her, and we got a little Peter Pan onesie for Peanut, which Tink thought was just adorable.  It was quite early in the morning but this pixie was positively bouncing off the walls!

Belle Enchanted Tales with Belle, Magic Kingdom

This attraction wasn't technically a meet and greet, but it was still the coolest character interaction in the parks.  You travel to the library in the Beast's castle, where Belle is going to tell you her story, but she needs help, so children (and adults!) are assigned roles in the story.  Our Miss Chief got to play Chip the teacup, hopping up and down to greet Belle.  She did a great job, and afterwards, Belle gave her a bookmark!

Mickey Mouse Town Square Theater, Magic Kingdom

This was hands down the best Mickey meet and greet- because he talked to us!  Sadly, I hear Mickey won't be talking to guests anymore, so we're lucky to have met him when he did.  It was his birthday, and he told us we made his birthday extra special by coming to see him.  He also told us all about his roadster racer- and a certain four-year-old knew all about that!  It really was amazing to hear him talk- when he walked into the room and said "Hiya!" all of the adults audibly gasped!

Tiana Princess Fairytale Hall, Magic Kingdom

Tiana was so sweet and attentive, and, as you can see, gave the best hugs.  Our little princess was a little shy every time she met royalty, but Tiana really brought her out of her shell.

Baymax Hiro's Workshop Character Experience, Epcot

Baymax was...huge.  Huggable, but huge.  I loved the setup of this meet and greet, with all of the little San Fransokyo details.

Minnie Mouse Epcot Character Spot, Epcot

I really loved the Epcot Character Spot- we met Mickey, Minnie, and Goofy here, and we didn't feel rushed from one to the next.  The interactions were wonderful and the pictures turned out great!

Anna Royal Sommerhus, Epcot

Our Frozen-obsessed four-year-old was positively awestruck to finally meet her heroes, so she needed a little guiding to interact with them.  I suggested that she twirl around in her pretty dress for Anna, who was very enthusiastic about the whole thing.  Elsa was a bit quieter- she is a bit less goofy than her sister, after all- but she did let us know that it's an Arendelle tradition to eat chocolate cake on your birthday.

Pocahontas Character Landing, Animal Kingdom

So I've gotta admit, we got in line for Pocahontas purely because I wanted to meet her- Chief had no interest in this meet and greet at all.  But as soon as Pocahontas invited us over, she changed her mind.  We told Pocahontas that we're from Virginia, and she said maybe she'd come visit our village sometimes since we're so close to hers.

Daisy Duck Tusker House Restaurant, Animal Kingdom

Tusker House is probably my single favorite buffet in Walt Disney World, and the characters in their safari gear are an extra treat.  There was a nice selection of North African and Mediterranean foods, and Chief tried a wide variety of things (not just her standard macaroni and cheese, although that was available, too).

Ariel Akershus Royal Banquet Hall, Epcot

I'm not sure any of us were super impressed with the menu at Akershus, but as a one-credit meal on the meal plan, it's a better value than Cinderella's Royal Table if you're mostly interested in the princess aspect.  (I guess Scandinavian food is just...not exciting?)  Ariel was really sweet and of course commented on Chief's beautiful red hair, and at the end of the meal, there was a little parade throughout the restaurant where the kids got to follow the princesses around the room.

Tigger 1900 Park Fare, Grand Floridian Resort

The breakfast buffet was really good at 1900 Park Fare- certainly better than Chef Mickey's- and it featured an interesting variety of characters.  We met Mary Poppins, Alice and Mad Hatter, Winnie the Pooh, and, after we ate, we met Tigger.  Peanut loved how big and cuddly he was, and he pulled some pranks on Chief.  Overall it was a great morning!

Who are your favorite characters to meet?

Much love,
The Geeks

Highlights from the Geek Family Disney Trip 2017

As you may remember, we went to Disney in November to celebrate our fifth wedding anniversary.  I realize it's now halfway through March, but I figured I should share with you how that trip went!

Rather than write a minute-to-minute journal of events, I decided to just fill up a post of all of my favorite pictures from the trip- most of which came from Disney's PhotoPass photographers (yes, we purchased Memory Maker.  Yes, it was worth it!)  So here are some highlights from the best family vacation we've ever taken:

Phew, that's a lot of pictures!  Check back later and I'll tell you about our favorite character meets, how our trip with kids was different from our trip without, and I'll let you know where you can find some of the sweet shirts (and ears!) we sported on this trip.

When's the last time you went to Disney?  When's your next trip planned?

Much love,
The Geeks