It's Thomas!

Big news! We have moved from a crib to a "big boy" toddler bed. Really? I mean, we at least thought that Alden would give us more than one month of Spencer's life before we had another dramatic change. Alas, after refusing to take a nap, I suddenly hear, "Mommy?" just a little too close. Sure enough, there is Alden out of the crib and standing at the top of the stairs behind the baby gate. After he learned the escape route, there was no keeping him in! So, he left us no choice...

Alden was really excited when he realized he would not be imprisoned in bed anymore. He and Doggie helped Daddy to make the big conversion change from crib to toddler bed.

Well, I am not sure how much help that turned out to be in the end.

Mattresses on the floor are great "jumpolines!"

He crawled right in ready for bed and slept great the whole night only waking up once and going back to bed by himself. I was so surprised that he wanted to use a pillow and blanket. I just grabbed him a pillow off our guest room bed, but it had a strange affect on him.

Come visit our house and you can wake up with your hair looking like this!

However, the big boy bed doesn't mean we don't think we belong in the baby swing.

Helen came over to have a playdate with Alden. They are so funny because they know each other now. When she got here, she asked if she could give Alden a hug. She didn't know what she started! Now, every time we talk about Helen, Alden says, "Hug!"

We all had so much fun. When Alden and Helen have a playdate, so do their Mommies. Alden must be Joey's child because he seems to be teaching Helen about financial planning with the musical piggy bank.

I promised that I was not going to let poor Spencer suffer from second child syndrome. Sadly, we have already had an outbreak. Whereas I made sure that Alden had his playmat and daily tummy time, I realized after a few weeks of life living in the baby swing and nap nanny and car seat that this child had never actually just been able to play on the floor and stretch out. He was so happy kicking and moving his arms that he starting his "cooing" conversations immediately. Of course, some of this is because it is highly unsafe for him to be in the path of the toddler tornado. We now have Mommy, Daddy, and Spencer playmat/tummy time after big brother is in bed and the coast is clear. Glad we caught this neglect early on.

Perhaps he doesn't care if the photos are equal. He is a little camera shy. You can already see that he will have a much different personality than his dramatic older brother.

Spencer hanging out on his nap nanny. Will we ever have a baby in our house that can actually just sleep on a plain on mattress in a plain ole flat crib?

Joey keeps teasing that Spencer's hair is starting to turn blond. No such luck DuMontiers! The dark is hanging in there!

Big, big happenings last weekend. Thomas the train came to town! This was better than the President to Alden. He had spent the week sick with strep throat but nothing was going to come between him and Thomas.

There is nothing funnier than about a hundred little toddler boys running around with Thomas the Train engineer hats. Alden got his Thomas the train for Christmas, of course Spencer brought the engine, James, to his big brother. He is now a 100% complete Thomas junky. Seeing Thomas "live" has added a whole new dimension to his adoration. We play and play Thomas...and he really does think that when we hear the zoo train whistle from our house that it is Thomas coming!

No, I am not pregnant again! Spencer spent the day curled up in his Baby Ka'tan sling fast asleep. Our first real outing with the boys. We have years and years of this event to come I predict.

Spencer ready for his sunny day train ride.

The train ride was about 25 minutes. It went backwards down the track, stopped, and then went forward. Here was the problems...because I am learning with two there are always logistical issues. A) The ride was at 12:00 and Alden naps at 12:00 B) Although he had doctor permission, (yes, we asked if he was well enough to go before you judge) he still had a lingering fever and allergies C) Mr. Unpredictable, Spencer. Just when you think he is on a three hour feeding schedule....he has a feeding frenzy.

Look at these tired eyes! When it rains it pours and when one meltdown strikes, you can bet the other is soon to follow. However, week 6 of parenting two gave us enough experience to have one asleep and one with a bottle in his mouth by the time we pulled back into the station with minimal screaming and mild trauma to the other passengers.

Alden was brave enough to get a tattoo. He chose James. He was traumatized to learn that it was a sticker and would not come off! After about 15 minutes of whining and picking at his arm, he asked for "James off!" The multiple uses of baby wipes, tattoo removal!

Petting a cow at the petting zoo.

Apparently, the cow must have been the only one of the animals that seemed friendly. We looked but did not touch everyone else.

Wouldn't you know it? The highlight of the day was playing with the same trains and track he breaks apart and throws across the room at home. Just like the old school field trips teaching, it doesn't matter what you do as long as you end the day at the gift shop.