Birthday at Maplewood Farm

So Milo's birthday party was a rousing success -- thanks to everyone who came or sent birthday wishes!

It was a little iffy to start with... the massive downpour at 9:30 a.m. led to most of the party guests showing up in gumboots and raincoats, even though by 10:30 a.m., when the party started, it had cleared up and turned into a lovely day.

As a bonus, the entire farm was deserted for most of the morning, so we had the place to ourselves! Thanks, rainstorm!


If you ask Milo about his birthday party, he'll either start singing "Happy Birthday to You" or talk about the big tire. Yep, the big tractor tire in the goat run was a hit. He played on it by himself for a while before the goats came to check him out.


At one point, there were four kids and four curious goats all cohabiting comfortably, even though the goats were clearly looking for some tasty treat to gnaw on. For some reason, they really liked the dangly bits on my jacket.


Since Milo loved the pony ride SO much last time, we booked a pony for an hour to make sure that all the kids got all the rides they wanted. As you probably expect from a gang of two-year-olds, that translated into one ride each for the kids that weren't too freaked out to try it.

We tried to get Milo on for a second go-round, but he was content with one. Thanks Farmer Jim, for being so patient. And thanks Gorby for being a great pony.


Two candles, and an ice cream cake made from Mango gelato. That's the cake I want for my birthday. La Casa Gelato is the greatest ice cream shop in the city. Word.


And Milo blew out the candles, one at a time. Hooray!

Attention fellow attendees: send photos please! The kids saw horses, cows, pigs, chickens, bunnies, peacocks, sheep, donkeys, ducks, and many more animals, but I was too busy playing to document it all. I guess there's always next time...

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday to Milo!

As of about seven hours ago, Milo is now two years old!

It's hard to believe that exactly two years ago I was holding a tiny eight-pound bald baby who'd only ever pooped once in his life, right on my chest.

Today Milo can say how old he is and he's really close to holding up two fingers when he does it.

He's already had a pre-party with his Gramma and Poppa, and yesterday he had a birthday party at Maplewood Farm with a bunch of his peers: Harris, Caitlyn, Alex, Ronin, and his beloved Mika. Then we went to visit Nana and have another little party.

And today, his actual birthday, we have a few more presents to give him. He was just too tired last night to open them all.

So Happy Birthday dear Milo, Happy Birthday to you.

Love,
Daddy xoxo

(Photos will be posted after I get home from work...)

Milo came to watch Daddy play softball

Originally uploaded by beebs

Thanks for the great pic, Beebs.

Milo had a wonderful time at the game and he got to see Daddy play ball. And we won — it was a rout, too.

Fun was had by all, and we would have played longer but the umpire invoked the mercy rule so he could get home faster. Too bad, because Daddy was on a hot streak.

First dip in the outdoor pool of the year!

Milo still cracks up when he thinks of his buddy Harris drinking the bathwater and making "yuck" faces. When we went to Harris' place and played in the sprinkler, I thought Milo would pass out from laughing that much.

But man, was that water cold. The boys didn't care -- they just went down the slide, into the pool, and ran through the sprinkler until their lips turned blue. And Milo had a great sleep that night.

Oh, all the watermelon gave him the pure natural sourced sugar his body could handle.


And I just like this pic of Milo's knees tucked up under his turtleneck because it looks like he has boobs. At least that's what I first thought when I glanced at the photo as it played on a slideshow. What are you saying about me and my mind?

Happy at the playground

You know, it's not until Milo grabs onto those bars and shakes his head so hard that his hat flies off that I realize how long his hair is getting. And he was bald for so long.

Poppa pointed out that his bangs are starting to get in his eyes, but I really don't want to get his hair cut yet. Hey, it won't be blond for much longer.


We had such a good time at the park. Milo found about half a dozen kids he knew, including Sam (below) and Chloe, and just had so much fun for so long on this crowded jungle gym that I kept taking pictures.

Some of Milo's Firsts

First powdered jelly donut (blueberry):


First pony ride:


First train ride (and first visit to Crash Crawley's):

Milo's footstool makes him bigger

Thanks to Milo's Poppa, he now has a footstool and can brush his teeth by himself. He can also grab all the stuff that used to be out of reach -- like my contact lenses, electric shaver, toothbrushes, shaving cream, soap, and hair products. It's messy around here.


It's the greatest footstool ever. Of course, at the current rate of growth he'll be able to reach everything himself by August.

Hey, we just measured him and he's exactly three feet tall! And it's less than a month to go before his birthday.


What a great pose. There's just something about getting butt naked and ready for a bath that makes him want to run to his room and put on his Spider-Man rain boots.


When the sun comes back, we're prepared. Milo actually LIKES getting suntan lotion put on... mostly because of the tickling. And he'll even try the shades on for a few seconds. Now if we can just get him to keep them on.

Attack of the Frog Prince

Milo has a big stuffed frog. It's mouth opens and closes with a zipper, making it a great storage space for pajamas, toys, and surprises. It also fits nicely on all of our heads. Milo loves it when we play the "Frog Prince is eating my head!" game and, after laughing crazedly when it eats Daddy's head, it then becomes Milo's turn.


This time, he didn't bother to take it off. He just wore it around for about half an hour. Here's Milo roaring at the dog.


Oh my, i think it's cut off the circulation to his head... he's getting sleepy... notice how the Frog Prince's eyes are staring down at the soon-to-be-digested boy... I think that our Frog Prince is part python.

He looks like a big boy, doesn't he?

It might just be the shirt, but he's looking bigger every day.


I know it's blurry, but that's what makes it artistic.

The other day, Milo was eating a cracker. He took two bites, looked at the cracker, and said "Truck! Vrooom!" The cracker kind of looked like a delivery van.

He's starting to imagine and draw parallels. Last night in the bath, he was playing with his cups and sipping on them, then smiled at me and said "coffee!" We sipped coffee together and he laughed.


Milo is blessed with four doting grandparents. Here are two of them, spending some time reading to him.


Milo is also blessed with a keen fashion sense and an eye for quality (huge) footwear. Here he is trying on Mommy's brand new Fluevog Sugar boots. They look better on Mom.