Frogs and snails and puppy dog tails

I wasn't holding on to any idealized image of my child as a "baby" anymore. I've known for a while that the nights of rocking and cuddling are gone. No more days lazing on a blanket in the den, swatting at toys. But all of a sudden I'm getting this feeling that he's not even a toddler anymore. He's a full blown little kid! I know he's still a toddler (I realize that with every stinky diaper I change) but we've entered the "little boy" stage. Last Friday we made our first sofa cushion fort in the den. It wasn't very elaborate, and he preferred to walk on top of the sheet more than under it, but it was a fort all the same. I tried to prop it up with a center pole broomstick, but that turned into a weapon too quickly.

Then Friday afternoon we met our friends Lori & Aiden at a new park with slides geared toward toddlers. Wow! The boys could climb and slide entirely on their own. There were still a few tricky opening for older kids up high, but we stood beneath them there. It's a good thing we didn't have to scramble after them. Aiden is a quick one, and Lori is 8 months pregnant with #2.

The boys started running out on the walking trail so we worked our way around. They found all the mud puddles and sticks along the way and almost veered off into the swamp to catch frogs, but we reined them back in.

Back at the ranch, Miles has been completely enamored with Apollo & Chelsea, or as he calls them, Papo and Chelchi. Our favorite is when he calls Chelsea in the high pitched scream "Cheeeeeeeaal-chiii" as we do when trying to get her back inside. They have been fantastic with him, really amazing. I guess they figure wearing hats, having blankets thrown on you and being patted very enthusiastically are worth the Goldfish, hot dogs, chicken and yougurt cups they get to lick clean.

Speaking of boys, congrats to my dear friend Stacey and her hubby John. They welcomed Landon Allen at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 6th. He weighs 7lbs 1 oz. and stretches to 21 and a half inches long. Now I need to convince her to start a blog!!