Head Shoulders Knees and Toes...

This video was shot in the car after some serious playtime at Matt Ross Community Center today. Don't worry, we were not driving while filming! Yay Flip camera!

Another smiley day

Here is your CJ smile of the day. Aside from a few teething moments (as you can see from the finger far back in his mouth) and one or two "Hello, I'm almost two" moments, Christopher is a very happy boy. Now that he is not napping in the morning, we are always looking for something to do before our Kindermusik class on Tuesdays. Last week it was Toddler Time at the library, but he is still a little too wiggly for that. So now that the weather is nice, we are starting to sample the many wonderful parks that Johnson County has to offer. We met Olivia and her mommy at Antioch Park, which was a new place for us. What a terrific place! There were two huge playgrounds and a little "village" that the kids can pretend in. Plus there were multiple swings as well as a large pond full of geese and ducks. The other children were out if full force today too as everyone has emerged from their winter hibernations. It is truly amazing to see Christopher in action... and I mean action! He runs so much and has no problem running from location to location, regardless of how far away it is. I even have to run to keep up with him! It is no wonder that he eats as much as he does because he burns it all off within minutes. We were at the park for over an hour (a record for the Buds) and I was shocked that he didn't pass out on the way from the park to Kindermusik. The bonus was that he was pretty mellow and cuddly when we got to music class. All in all, we are very very glad spring has officially arrived!

Video Test

We have a new Flip video camera and we're testing it out with our laptop. The video is not of the highest quality but we're giving it a try to see if it works...

GO!

Here is how to play the game "GO!" (developed by C.J. Woglom):

STEP 1: Gather all available parents and dogs.
STEP 2: Make sure you have ample room to run at blazing speeds.
STEP 3: Hold arm up in the air, pointing your finger in the direction you want to GO!
STEP 4: Shout "GO!" as loud as possible and run run run, being sure to get parents and dogs to follow you.
STEP 5: Repeat as many times as possible, even if parents drop to the floor from exhaustion.

Variation: If you wear out your parents, grab old yet still cute bears, place them in a wagon and repeat steps 2 through 5.


Note: CJ is currently in negotiations with Nintendo to develop the Wii version of GO! Stay tuned for details.

Block Fest

This morning, we early risers went to the 8:30 session of Block Fest, a Parents as Teachers supported event. No, it did not include rock stars and pyrotechnic effects. Block Fest is a series of 7 block stations that children rotate through with their parents to explore and learn about different mathematical skills that can be taught with blocks. I don't know about you, but when I was a kid, blocks were just plain old fun. Now everything has to have a "learning purpose." But it was fun nonetheless. Chris was a little overwhelmed by the amount of children there at first. Then, after two diaper changes, he was ready to participate. Out of the many centers we visited, CJ enjoyed the big foam blocks and the unit blocks the best. A consistent pattern emerged at all the stations. Christopher likes to build things up and knock them down. (Demolition must be a boy thing because just about every boy his age was doing the same thing). Even the small blocks were not exempt.
He probably had the most fun knocking over Daddy's foam block structures. Sometimes, he would get really close to the blocks and act like he was going to knock them over, then stop himself and laugh as if to say "Psych!" He can be a real tease sometimes!

Trains!!!

"Hello, my name is Christopher... and I am a trainaholic."

Our boy loves trains. It's as simple as that. Apparently, this is a common phenomenon among the male toddler set and it holds true in the Woglom household. I don't really know how it started, but one day we put on "Thomas the Train" and the rest is history. Now, every time Chris sees a train, hears a train, or thinks about a train, he smiles.
Last weekend (in the midst of a "first day of spring" snowfall) we went to Union Station to visit the KC Rail Experience, an exhibit about (what else) trains! Even though the exhibit is geared toward adults, there were many opportunities for children to get involved. Here is Chris operating the switches. On the right, he is sitting in an actual replica of a conductor's station inside a real locomotive engine.

More than anything, though, Christopher loves Thomas the Tank Engine. Thomas is a train character who lives on the island of Sodor and is very busy working with his other train friends like Percy, Gordon, and Henry. Anyway, it's a very cute show and has spawned an empire of related materials such as books, videos, and train sets. Being the suckers we are, Christopher now owns three books, a set of DVDs, and a figure eight train track complete with Thomas and two train cars. We got the tracks on Monday and he hasn't stopped playing with them since.

Somehow, the 6th Avenue Local ended up on the island of Sodor. Perhaps they were trying to revitalize their downtown.
Also this week, we have read a book called "Thomas and the Big, Big Bridge" at least 36 times if not more. Christopher requests it at nap time and bedtime as well as 4 other times during the day. When he wants me to read it, he says "big big." He also enjoys when I read it as he plays with the trains on his new tracks.
And (shhhh, don't tell CJ) in June there will be a "Day out with Thomas" in Baldwin City, Kansas, about 30 minutes from here. They have an actual train that looks like Thomas and the kids can ride on it, as well as participate in other train related activities. I can say with some certainty that we will be attending this event.

A Conversation

Mommy: Christopher, who do you have money on tonight? (Referring to March Madness starting).

Christopher: Me!