Old Space, New Space

To make space for O.K.'s party, we decided to move around some furniture.  The extra space was actually pretty great, so we made some minor adjustments, and--ta-da!--same crap, but in a whole new room.  Way back when we moved in, we arranged the furniture in a way that was perfect for two.  At first, O.K. didn't take up much space, but now he is a busy kiddo with plenty of two-year old Stuff--our perfect space for two was becoming much less "perfect".  The change has been refreshing, to say the least, and we can't help sharing it with those of you too far away to stop by.

 

Old space...couch/shelf in the middle of the room, TV off to the right (for the record, the vacuum cleaner didn't officially live there).  Remember?

New space...

Kid-friendly space!  Toys under the table on the left, book-nook on the right.

And from the other side...

(view from entryway)

"Grown-up" toy-free space...aahhh.

The Birthday Party -- Finally!

After having to postpone due to a collision of illnesses, we were happy to finally get to celebrate Oscar's birthday with some of his friends and their amazing parents.

There were party decorations...

And brunchy snacks and cake...

 Sweet Rose and her mama, Jemma

There were activities

 like coloring train cars,

 playing with toys and puzzles

and balls and trikes,

and reading stories.

There were party favors --

 wooden train whistles, engineer hats, and a CD of O.K.'s favorite train/go songs.

 O.K. wore his hat for the 30 seconds it took me to snap this picture.

 Julian, looking sharp as always, wore his with style.

 Jack and Cole, blowing their train whistles.

And there was cake, complete with candles and singing.

 One last time -- Happy Birthday, Oscar!

"Two!"

You know it's your birthday when you wake up to balloons,

and there's cinnamon rolls for breakfast,

 and cake with candles to blow out (more than once, if you're two) after dinner,

 and the best-presents-ever ("Thomas!") to open and play with,

and your parents sing birthday songs to you all day.  

Happy 2nd birthday, O.K.!

Snow Day #2

One sad sick kiddo.

Snow Day #1 (this week, anyway)

 Riding in the sled.

Playing in the snow with Sunny.

 

Taking a taste.

Sunny and Oscar in the sled.

Back at home, sharing a snack.

Art

Art.  A new word and action for Oscar, captured on video one evening a few days ago.  With only a little bit of the aforementioned "see-see", and a whole lot of mama saying stuff (do I really talk that much?).  John makes an appearance too, trying so to laugh silently, he's shaking.

Happy Morning

There are trips, historical sites, museums, friends, parties, and all that certainly worth remembering.  And then there are those perfect every day moments where nothing really happens but somehow they are even more memorable.  We had one of those on a surprise snow day a week or so ago.

We walked to the park through the snow.  O.K. still wasn't sure about the cold white stuff, but with the park in sight, he managed to crunch through it.

Enjoying a breezy swing in the cold.

After the park, we stopped at Milk & Honey, a sweet little market on Baltimore, for some coffee and an egg sandwich.  Oscar played happily in the kid's corner while John and I enjoyed our coffee and the unexpected company of each other.