On Top of Spaghetti

Jonathan's birthday is in a mere two (!) days. He and I will be enjoying our Third Annual Mother and Son day together on Wednesday. As he will not be in school on his actual birthday, I decided to bake cupcakes and take them into his class tomorrow. Bryan recently purchased me this great book and this was the perfect occasion to try it. It has some incredible ideas, many of which look totally doable. This time, though, since I am catering, so to speak, to toddlers, I decided to try the spaghetti design:




It was so much fun and I just know the kids are going to love it!

Children's Museum

We just got back a few hours ago from a weekend trip to the Indianapolis Children's Museum. We went with our friends Joe and Cindy and their daughters, Caroline and Lily, who are 6 and 4 respectively.

In one word, it was AWESOME! The biggest reason why we made the trip now was because the feature exhibit was Curious George. I think it's a traveling exhibit as it is only there for a few months. It was great and Jonathan loved that he recognized everything, from the Man with the Yellow Hat to the rocket ship to their apartment. Jonathan also got to meet Curious George in person. He normally is afraid of people dressed like characters but his love for Curious George helped him overcome that fear. Fair warning--picture overload a-comin'.






These next ones are "action" shots. No narration necessary as I think they are pretty self explanatory.










These last couple are of the ceiling in the blown glass exhibit. They had a circular couch in the middle where you could lean back and watch the ceiling as the couch slowly turned. It was super relaxing:




We had a package deal where we stayed in a train car room at the Crowne Plaza Hotel and the package also included tickets to the Indianapolis Zoo, which we visited this morning (it was fabulous, by the way). No pictures were taken of either of those, though, mostly because after the museum, I was beat! It was a fun time but a weekend trip with a two year old is A LOT more tiring than the weekend getaways Bryan and I have taken on our own. I will need to go to work tomorrow to get some rest!

Makin' Meatloaf

I am trying to initiate Friday evening family dinners since Jonathan eats too early during the week for the three of us to dine at once. This past Friday, it was cheeseburger meatloaf time. Bryan was not home yet so Jonathan joined me in the kitchen. It was totally fun and the finished product was delicious!

First, he wanted to use a spoon because he didn't want to get his hands all yucky.



That didn't work so well, so I suggested he do what I usually do and just mash it all up with my hands. He wasn't so sure at first...



...but he soon realized Mommy is not completely crazy and had a good time. Ah, I am totally looking forward to the day when he can cook me a meal!

Just One

Not only does this post only have one picture, it's also about the Ringling Brothers circus. Bryan and Jonathan went on Saturday and there was only one ring. What's up with messing with three ring tradition? I loved going with my family as a kid, trying to decide which act to watch at any given time. Bryan was quite disappointed but Jonathan thought it was the "cat's meow," to quote my husband, so it was still a successful father-son bonding time overall.

Faces of Fantoni

Jonathan is quite expressive at the ripe old age of almost three. He's often happy:



Sometimes he's coy:



Here is all puffed out after eating too much soy sauce with sushi at lunch. Oh, wait. That's me.



He can be silly...



...and surprised.



Lately, he can also be a raging bundle of mixed emotions, tears and screaming but I don't have any pictures of that. I'll need to forget those times if I even want to CONSIDER ever having another baby!

Sunday Morning Picnic

Sunday morning, we had our first ever Fantoni Waterfront Park picnic. We really should have been at church, but we have not found one that quite suited us since we left our old one. Although I guess actually visiting churches would help us find the right one...

Anyhoo, the scenery from our table was fabulous:



It was less of a picnic for Jonathan as he was too enamored of the playground to eat much, particularly since it's been eight months or so since the last time he saw it. It was so fun to see him play on equipment that last year overwhelmed him:




Here is Jonathan with his new "smile" when I tell him to look at Mommy for a picture. Has he been hanging out with Sophie?

Splish Splash

Finally a weekend where we did not have plans and it was not raining! The weather was lovely Saturday so we headed to the zoo, our first trip of the season. Jonathan's favorites, as they were last year, were the the train and the water park. It was an awesome idea to put a water play area in the zoo, but a little shade would have been nice for us parents--I felt like I was baking!

Jonathan looking quite pleased with himself. I would too if I had a flat stomach like that (insert sigh of longing here)...



The man in action:



Does it make us bad parents that we cracked up every time the water came up and hit him in the face. I sure hope not.