Do you see Thomas? RoRo did!!

And another train!

All smiles

Everyone loves a parade!

I'm with the band!

Seabiscuit Hat!

Today was a cool forty-degrees, and I thought I had better start getting out our cold weather gear. I pulled out a box full of gloves and toboggan hats, and RoRo immediately pulled out a grey newsboy hat that his grandpa had sent him last year.
"A Seabiscuit hat!" he yelled, trying to put it on. He recognized this as the sort of hat worn by the jockeys in one of his favorite movies.

What a Day for a Playgroup!

Today was the first day of RoRo's Parents-as-Teachers playgroup. He remembered the little play house they have there, but didn't realize how much he'd grown over the summer-- he tried to walk in and bumped his head on the doorway! He really enjoyed playing "Suppertime" with the toy food and he and another little girl pulled out some drums and gave us all a little concert.

Come Back, Squirrel!

Here's RoRo chasing squirrels at the Truman campus. They let him get pretty close, but he didn't know why they wouldn't let him pet them!

Eating Bana-ma!

Sunny Day September

There aren't many warm, sunny days left in September. We really enjoyed this one!

RoRo the Big Red Boy

RoRo has a fascination with Clifford, and one day saw a piece of red fleece that I had in a scrap box. He asked me to make a Clifford for him-- and was very surprised when I turned him into a Big Red Dog!

Froggie Friend

RoRo asked me to take a picture of the frog (toad) that lives under our porch. Here s/he is.

Bubble Trouble

One of the best memories I will have of this summer is of RoRo playing with his bubble-gun in the backyard. Today, every time he shot off a round of bubbles, he yelled "Up, up, and away bubbles!"

Ahoy Matey!

RoRo has discovered pirates! And is it any wonder? Since the new Pirates of the Carribean movie came out, no landlubber can avoid images of the Jolly Roger, gold dubloons, and miscellaneous swashbucklers. We often hear RoRo say, "Arg, I'm a pirate!" and asking "Savvy?"

Little Cut-Up

Rohan has discovered scissors! Don't worry-- they're safety scissors and he only gets to use them when a grown-up is around. But he really loves to sit and cut (or tear) scrap paper into tiny pieces of confetti.

Fun Facts

Here are some fun facts about the birthday boy!

• He is 36" tall. This measurement translates to "tall enough to turn the lights on and off all over the house!"
• His favorite phrase (this week) is "Look at that!"
• He can identify all of these dinosaurs: Allosaurus, baryonyx, brachiosaurus, brontosaurus, corythosaurus, dilophosaurus, diplodocus, deinonycus, edmontonia, euoplocephalus, gallimimus, herrerasaurus, iguanadon, maiasaura, nodosaurus, ouranosaurus, pachycephalosaurus, parasaurolophus, pterodactyl, spinosaurus, styracosaurus, triceratops, troodon, and probably lots more that I can't even remember!
• His favorite flavor is strawberry.
• His favorite color is usually orange, although green and purple get a lot of play, too

More Zoo!

Here are some more pictures from the Virginia Zoo! These were taken by Ajoba.

Happy Birthday, RoRo!

Saturday was RoRo's birthday-- he's two years old now! We took him to Pershing State Park on a short camping trip to celebrate. He got out of the car, looked around, and said "Probably I'll like this. Probably I'll see two deer!"
Unfortunately we didn't see any deer, but he really did like the trip! We took a walk through a real Missouri prairie, played on some footbridges, and played with our doggies.

Virginia Zoo!

Last month, we visited RoRo's Aji and Ajoba in Virginia. One of the great things we got to see was the Virginia Zoo in Norfolk. RoRo got a big kick out of seeing an elephant spraying mud on its back to cool off-- he still says "Elephants messy!" His favorites seemed to be the elephants, the giraffes, zebras, snakes, and of course who can resist squirrel monkeys?!?

When RoRo ate a plum for the first time, he thought it was the best food on earth. He may be right!

Wow! What a trip!

RoRo, Daddy, and Mama visited Aji and Ajoba in Virginia. We had a really great visit! RoRo got to swim, see dinosaurs, go to a zoo, take walks, and most importantly see his family!
Here are some snaps I took while we were getting ready.


RoRo helped me pack the suitcase!















He also wanted to ride in it himself!















He got a little upset when we had to take the doggies to the kennel. He really loves Card and Molly!

Born to Ride

On Friday, Daddy took RoRo to a horse show!
We saw all kinds of horses and riders-- RoRo's favorite was a black and white paint that he's still talking about. He got to hear horses calling to each other, too, and Ro kept making a blustery sound himself, as if trying to talk to all those horses.
The best part, though, came when we went to say hello to the people we had come to see and Ro got to make a few equine friends. Not only did Kay let RoRo pet a horse named Jim, she showed him his teeth, which he thought was a little scary at first. Then he actually got to ride a horse named Gypsy! He sat tall and steady in the saddle like he'd been doing it all his life and Kay led Gypsy around. He cried so hard when we had to leave, and is asking all the time if we can go back and "wide Jippee!"

Attack of the Lobsters

Today, RoRo was able to tell us about one of his bad dreams for the first time. He woke up from a nap crying inconsolably. We soothed him back to sleep, and when his nap was finished we asked him what happened.
"Did you have a bad dream?"
"Yeah!"
"What did you dream about."
"Oh, a yobta!" [translation: a lobster]
"A lobster?!? What was that lobster doing?"
"Get you RoRo!" [translation: it was chasing him, saying 'I'm going to get you, RoRo.']
Daddy told RoRo that the next time he dreamed about that lobster, he would come stomp on it, and our two dogs would also eat it up, so it couldn't hurt him anymore.
RoRo was so tickled by this that all evening he's been yelling, "Dada tomp-tomp yobta! Card EAT yobta! Molly eat, too!"

(RoRo always likes to see the lobsters in the tank at the grocery store. Usually he watches them swim and crawl around for a while, we talk about their claws and tails and things, and then he says "Bye-bye yobta! Have fun!" But the other day we saw a really huge lobster that was chasing the smaller lobsters around the tank. Not only was this lobster about the size of a small cat, it had one claw that was really overgrown and was itself about as big as another lobster. Ro was scared of it, and it must have been this Monster Yobta that inspired the nightmare.)

And Another, Too

RoRo is developing his concept of "another" and "also." His favorite thing to do lately is to make lists and find several of the same things in books or around the house.
"Pooh, Tigger, and Piglet.... and Roo.... and.... Rabbit!"
"That's a green dinosaur, and.... that's another green dinosaur, too!"