Crimes and Misdemeanors

Oh good. Mama's in the bathroom and I have a brand-new #2 pencil.

Oops!

Natural Consequences (though I will inquire, to you 'gentle discipline' mamas and papas out there, is he supposed to enjoy the consequences as much as he enjoyed his little crime? I think he might be a little vandal again just for the fun of sponges and buckets).


*ps* Yes, his shirt does read 'Make Believe, Not War.' Hippies represent!

October Visitor

Grandma Kathy came to visit, and we decided it would be fun to go to the Columbus Conservatory--a giant Victorian all-glass botanical museum with huge exhibits featuring different flora and fauna from different regions intermixed with contemporary art from artists like glass designer Chilhuly, nature-bender Andy Goldworthy, and even some musicians. Gus slept through almost the entire conservatory (who knew babies didn't like 400-year-old bonsai trees and tropical bromeliad displays)? Until, that is, when he woke up at the end of our tour in the South Pacific rooms--you'll see why.


Yawn. Just another beautiful waterfall.



Huge colored glass art above, amazing cati below, birds, and fern fronds eight feet long. Maybe later.

Wait. What's this? Balls? Fish?

Yes! Fish! and Balls! Finally something truly awesome.


What are these Vadnais' looking at?

Curious tip-toes.

So, so many new posts, scroll down, go to the next page, get a cup of tea (the pictures have been piling up)!

It's true, go all the way to the bottom, hit 'older posts,' repeat. I had a chance to unload my camera and sit for a few minutes.

What's a little dude to do after flirting with a star? Go to the park, of course!

Celebrity Guest Star

On a playdate, Gus and Mama went with a couple of ladies and their babies to a Barack Obama 2008 event with Cynthia Nixon who was in town to talk to about women's right issues and the vote. Though you can't tell from this weird photo the photographer took (where it looks like I moved my arm too fast and Gus isn't really looking at the camera, but in the bright sun), Ms. Nixon was super nice and engaging, and lovely with Gus--who was taken with her. She also had some really inspiring things to say about why this election is so important to women, and why Obama fulfills the hopes of the women's rights movement. Did I mention that one of the playdate mamas was a big player in the Ohio ground game? Hence the playdate with a major celebrity (though we did go to the park after).

Try it: transfer handfuls of dry spaghetti from one container to another-seriously captivating stuff.

Aluminum, Linoleum, Aluminum

Makes a crazy noise when you roll it out and crawl all over it. Who knew?

Other than making stacks and dancing, this is what he does

Another trip to the zoo

We have a membership, so we only visit one exhibit at a time. Most recently, we went to the North America one, which has some big toddler favorites--a wolf, a goat (that he got to brush), a pony, a train, and "brown bear."

City life

City life means more time en route. Which means more time to read. Here, he bones up on truck identification with his favorite field guide.

Breaking the rules

Gus makes stacks of things ALL over the house. He stacks toys, blocks, food, bits of recycling, pillows, books--and usually in mixed-media configurations. We occasionally photograph these, in the event that he is a famous artist some day, but I'm sharing this one because it's a particularly funny thing that says a lot about who Gus is. These are Duplos, and you'll notice they are stacked, but not locked together. He knows how they work, but WILL NOT use them that way. Instead, he makes these incredibly delicately balanced and Suessian stacks of Duplos (unlocking them if Daddy has been playing with them and didn't take them apart)--often mixing them with other objects. Here, he's made two, side by side. Also, he gets very annoyed when one cleans up these little installations all over the house, we often walk around them and through them.

Library

The Columbus Metro Library keeps winning best in the nation, against some very heavy contenders. Gus and Mama go once a week, for toddler story hour (which is something they actually run every day) and to check out books. Gus received helped from a children's librarian for the first time, looking for books about horses. The children's library is its own wing, with aquariums, a huge play area, a 12-17 juvenile fiction library, and bazillions of books. Gus will not let Mama pick out his books--he has extremely clear ideas about what he likes to take home.

He called this one "tall and small"

He really did, too. There's a Dr. Suess book with a tall and small rhyme and picture and he's very taken with it. I can't get him to say it again, though--however, he will still point to which one of something is the tall one and which one is the short one.

Port-a-potty (into the kitchen)

(No, not potty learning yet, just playing with the potty-related swag)

Watching the baby in the stove, watching Mama do homework, posing like Daddy

Gus sez: Scroll down for lots of toddler shenanigans.

Guess what Gus wants to be for Halloween?

Stacking--Gus enjoys mixed-media temporary sculpture.