The balloon man

We had to get Toby some new shoes at the weekend. The shoe shop had a man making animals out of balloons for all the children. And not just any old shapes, I think it might just be the best balloon animal I have ever seen.
A couple of weeks ago we went to a 3rd birthday party. There was a cowboy making balloon animals  for all the children. Toby asked for a monkey and I could see whilst he was pretty impressed that it was fashioned into some kind of shape, he knew it looked nothing like a monkey, and he wasn't quite happy about it.  He took it back to the cowboy about half an hour later and with a serious little face on, he complained that it didn't really look like a monkey. (Oh the innocent honesty of children).

Well yesterday, he asked the balloon man in the pink suit inside the shoe shop for a monkey. And a monkey he made. In a palm tree. And all of us were amazed.

Tattoo love

The parcel arrived as we were leaving to go to the supermarket. I said we would open it when we got back, and that there was something for Toby inside. He was beside himself the whole time we were out, wondering what could possibly be inside the parcel for him that was "all flat".
We got home and he ripped it open, and at first he seemed a bit disappointed with what was inside, he didn't really understand what they were.
Tattoos. From Grandma Danger. (I had forgotten that I gave you that name last time you were here!)

But once we starting putting them on, he absolutely loved them. He was even kissing them, he loved them so. And for most of the rest of the afternoon we had to play a game where he pretended to walk down the street, and I had to walk down the opposite way with an imaginary son (played by Gaw-Gaw), who had to stop and stare in awe at Toby and his tattoos.
Thankyou, Grandma Danger.

Clowning around

Toby had his 3 and a half year old check up today with the child health nurse. Just the usual stuff, checking weight, height etc. But my clown of a son had me in absolute stitches. Tears were running down my face. I was literally howling with laughter, made even worse by the fact that I was trying not to laugh for fear that the nurse would think I was an absolute lunatic.
He had to have an eye test. They put glasses on him with one eye covered up. As soon as they were put on his face, he changed, becoming all Charlie Chaplin on me. Making comedy faces, wiggling his eyebrows at me, pursing his lips, and doing his unique silent giggling (looks like giggling, but done silently) It was utterly hilarious. Even the nurse said afterwards that he was such a funny little boy, she was sure he is to become an actor. She was amazed that he could be so funny whilst being so absolutely silent.
He went to kinder afterwards. And when I went to pick him up later this afternoon, his teacher Paula told me that they had a little race with all the children around the garden. And then she said, It was quite strange, but Toby didn't want to run, he kept jumping onto the ground and rolling over and over. And the more the others laughed, the more he did it. I burst out laughing. It's not really strange at all for me, that Toby should be all theatrical and start stunt rolling about the place. It's normal around here. I asked him later why he didn't join in with the running, and he said, I didn't want to win. I just wanted to be silly.

My clown of a son.

Even having his photo taken at the swimming pool, his clown antics were in place. He didn't want to be photographed without goggles or with his own goggles, oh no. He insisted on wearing the photographers adult sized diving goggles. He looked so ridiculous he had me creased up laughing. But he just looked so him.

Little things

Sometimes its just the little things that I want to remember.

Arriving home from a weekend away, and Toby saying, 'Thank you for coming home mummy. It's so lovely to have you home.'

Kissing him goodnight, just before I go to bed. Watching him as he sleeps, all sweaty, his body thrown across the bed in his own crazy fashion. It's the only time these days when he still looks so little.

His made up word, FUNCH. He substitutes it for other words in unexpected ways that make us laugh. And that makes him laugh. I love that he loves to be such a joker.

Learning to say 'yellow' instead of lellow. He practised, hard. And the look of pure shock and joy on his face the first time he said it naturally, with out having to think. I would like to remember that face forever.

The way he whispers about things that he knows I don't like. And likes to mention these things as often as possible too. He tells me he would like to tell me something. I bend down for him to whisper in my ear, 'I would like a tattoo one day'. Sometimes its a gun, or a cigarette. I am horrified by his fascination with these things, but I'm trying to pretend otherwise. It's the shock value that he likes.

And tonight. We arrived home from work eagerly. Without saying a word to one another we both started putting our pyjamas on immediately. We went upstairs and I put on "Pumped up Kicks" LOUD. We just looked at each other, sparkles in our eyes and without a word to one another ran over to the sofa, laughing, and started dancing like crazy things.  And Toby's moves are just so cool. He was doing hand stands against the cushions, and back spins on the floor, big star jumps in the air. We got so frantic we had to tun the air conditioning on, even on an autumnal evening.

It's these little things that are the best bits of all.

Easter

A chocolate egg hunt around the house this morning.
And a family lunch.

Plenty of meat. Toby scored Daddy's beef 10 out of 10.
Followed by homemade chocolate eclairs and a homemade lemon tart.

 Toby ate a lot of chocolate, and was slightly crazy before bed, must hide the rest of his chocolate stash before I go to bed tonight, or we will be in trouble tomorrow....

We've had a good long weekend so far, and still one more day to go.
Yesterday we went for breakfast at The European. Even as we were leaving the house, at the mention of where we planned to go, Toby had decided want he wanted to order. He was quite specific. 'Mummy, I want the breakfast you have, with the sauce and the orange stuff on top. I want my own one.'  Goodness me. My fussy little man who won't even eat a thing kinder, so suspicious is he of food, want Eggs Benedict with smoked salmon for breakfast! Good job we are regulars, as they made him a special half serve, just for him.

After breakfast, we went into the city and watched the Five Foot Fingers perform, as part of the comedy festival. It was super fun, and silly, and Toby has played at pretending to be a Five Foot Finger ever since. Clinging on to lamp posts as I tried to get him in to the car and pretending to slide down them acrobatic style. Amusing and infuriating all at once.

 And here he is in a multi storey car park pretending to be Michael Jackson, and singing Bad. He just can't help himself, whenever he is in such a building something seems to over take him and he is compelled to dance and sing.
All in all a lovely weekend so far.

Action Packed

We had a bit of a busy day on Sunday.

An early (for us) breakfast out with friends, followed by a 4th birthday party for one of Toby's friends at a traffic school. He had a great time there, speeding around the roads, stopping at the red lights and the train crossings. At one point he was playing with some slightly older boys and they were all pretending to be formula 1 drivers having a race. Toby wanted to be Schumacher.

After the party finished we went to Flemington market for the last hour before it closed. For some reason Toby decided he wanted to have his face painted. He's never wanted to have it done before, but yesterday he was quite determined and set about looking for somewhere where he could get it done. We eventually stumbled upon a place with a fairy painting faces, and Toby decided he wanted to be a tiger. He was her last customer of the day so she took her time with him, and he totally surrendered himself to it. Keeping unbelievably still and enjoying every moment.

Afterwards we went to our favourite local cafe for hot chocolate. I think Toby wanted to show off his face to people that he knows...he lost all of his usual shyness and actually said goodbye to the owners for the first time when we left! I think his tiger face made him brave. (This is the same cafe where he walks in backwards every morning when I go to get my takeaway coffee, so he doesn't have to say hello... Ned, one of the owners, has told him that he will have to start banning backwards walking people from the cafe, as he's worried Toby will start growing eyes on the back of his head. But it hasn't stopped him yet. Even the promise of marshmellows if he can walk in front-facing hasn't enticed him enough to change his ways.)

Later in the afternoon a fire engine stopped outside our front door. (Our neighbours fire alarm had being going off for about half an hour). Toby went to say hello, and showed them his pretend fireman helmet. He got to sit inside the fire engine and hang out with them for a while.

All in all, an action packed day.

Toby's First Grand Prix

Just him and Daddy.
They were very excited....

A month in photos

I won't be able to do a post on February 29th for a while...so I thought I should celebrate the day with some photos that didn't make the blog this month...

That rare thing, afternoon sleeping Toby...

First thing in the morning Toby

Den making Toby

Ridiculous Toby....

 Punk haired Toby in the bath

Tattooed Toby... 

 

His inspiration (and barber)

A rainy day

It rained pretty much all day yesterday. A months rainfall in a day. And it was hot. And steamy and sticky and generally uncomfortable. The kind of weather that puts everyone in a bad mood. So I decided the only way to get through it was for Toby and I to fill our day doing lots of stuff.
We had swimming in the morning. Toby is really confident these days in the water. He loves going under. And is great at "popcorns" (pushing backward off the side) and 'torpedos' (diving in).
After swimming, we went for a ride on his scooter to the supermarket and for a coffee. Once home, we made lunch together, and then played with Lego. Each building our own cars and racing them down a slope Toby constructed.

Later, Toby and I made cheese scones. Toby mostly made them, he pushes me out of the way and won't even let me near the bowl once he gets to the mixing together part!

And then of course we ate them still hot from the oven, with lashings of butter

It was a lovely, wet day.

Lego

He's been playing with tiny Lego (as we call it) since his 2nd birthday.
I think he may have played with it every single day since.
These days, on our days together, he plays with it for hour after hour. He likes to build his own things now, not just play with the things I put together for him.
He makes some pretty cool stuff. Cars, houses, toilets. He loves to make Lego toilets.
This morning before breakfast he asked me to help him make a break dancing shop. And his wish is my command. We had a bit of fun making this together, and then playing with it afterwards.
( I'm not sure if you can make out the trousers hanging on the rack at the back, but that was my favourite bit of this shop!)

I think I'm enjoying the Lego almost as much as he is.