Toddler tricks

I was finally able to catch Julian in the act of doing his handstand. He picked up this trick after participating in a toddler's gymnastics course at Family Fun day at the Peoria Civic Center. As you can see by his quick get-away in his box car, he'd rather not have his gymnastics tricks filmed until he's perfected them! :-)

Right now the little man is scanning the bar codes on some library books with his toy register. Do you think we visit the library too often?? Hope we don't have a late fee to pay - Julian's piggy bank is already swelling!

Another "trick" Julian has picked up from his parental units is hanging coats up over the back of a kitchen chair. Of course, Julian insists on taking off his zippered sweaters, jackets and PJs (which he is supposed to be currently wearing indoors) and hanging those up over his little chairs too!

Daddy has been helping Julian develop a skill - writing his name. Julian really does like drawing, especially with Daddy's new MECHANICAL pencils:

Fun, fun, fun!

Researching on the web for activities for toddlers seems to be my most recent hobby. This marble launcher idea was borrowed from www.toddleratplay.com. I'd say it has Julian's 100% endorsement.Any guesses on who was eating this piece of pizza?
Oh, yeah...eating your slice of pizza upside-down is part of the Julian technique too!Just having a little fun on the "farm" at Galesburg's Discovery Depot!

Tea for two!

Julian was busy rearranging chairs in the kitchen. First, he pulled over a couple of chairs in order to create a blockade around his favorite "seat" - a.k.a. the spiral shaped plant stand. He played peek-a-boo with the camera a couple of times! Then, he lined them all up in a row which seemed to resemble a train. He even placed a few "passengers" in their own seats -- a stuffed lion and a Dalmation puppy dog.

Later on he set-up a tea party scenario. We had read a story featuring a tea party the night before; I suppose he remembered. I supplied him with some snacks and water which he quickly divided between himself and his furry "guest". He seemed quite pleased with himself and his domestic skills!In other news, on a visit to the Illinois State Museum over the weekend for their Olympic-themed Super Saturday program, Julian was caught trying to pick the nose of a moose. Yuck!! For his fine digging skills, he won the gold medal:

Won't you be my Valentine?

At the play gym this morning, Julian received his first Valentine from a little girl, "Miss Olivia". He came over to show me right away with a very blissful smile on his face. Then, he was "Mr. Serious" trying to store his card in his pocket for safe keeping. What a guy!

Rocketman

This cardboard box was a big hit. Julian was pretending to climb aboard the spaceship with varioius animal friends. Daddy would countdown, then pick up the entire "rocket" and its passengers in order to "blast off" to the moon. Both boys were laughing and having a good time, and luckily the bottom of the cardboard box stayed intact the entire time.
What a perch! Julian was careful not to let his little friend fall off his lap (he kept his ankles flexed) while flying his toy planes. The coordinated jacket with planes and a red, motion activated light was a big hit too.We found some good uses for the firefighter's hose that Uncle Jack passed along to us. Besides using it as a pull toy for the dog, it makes a great road for toy cars!

Happy Groundhog's Day!

We took advantage of the free day at the Peoria Zoo, and had an awesome time! The animals were quite active. The llamas, goats, ponies and zebu all followed us around begging for treats. The monkeys were eating their lunch out of paper bags - sometimes they would climb inside the bags to retrieve the morsels from the bottom. Julian ate his lunch while watching the monkeys eat theirs...ur, monkey see, monkey do! (Luckily he didn't try to climb into the diaper bag!)

The lioness seemed ready to have Julian for her lunch:

Mom, can we go look for the giraffes NOW?!!!!

After all the walking around, Julian enjoyed a little snow for dessert as we were leaving!

And, this was a very exhausted Julian on the car ride home - yes, that is a cracker hanging out his mouth:

In other Julian news, he is as busy as ever working with his tools. Here he is in action:

(The battery on the camera ran out just before cute, silly Julian put on his safety glasses upside down!)

And, finally, here's Julian examining the craft project of the day:

(Mommy got a little mixed up with her furry friends' names...hedgehog??...what???
Oh, how much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?)