panzer on ice

today, panzer learned to ice skate.  it was slow going at first.

but daddy stuck with it, and wah-lah !

scream for your supper

today, panzer literally screamed for his supper.

he can be really loud... and it increases exponentially when his buddies are around.  something to keep in mind for his first sleepover.

mashing

today, panzer helped auntie kimmy mash potatoes.

(keep watching to see kimmy's sanitary response to the stray potato plops...)

dumpin'

today, panzer took mohs for a ride.

(then mohs, appropriately, got dumped :(

amtrakkin'

today, panzer rode the amtrak from philadelphia, pa to ashland, va.  he enjoyed it much more than the polar express, quickly making friends with everyone in a ten-seat radius, happy he only had to sit down when the train stopped (so he didn't run off).  and inhaling all of mohs' cheerios.

i hope there will be more chill train rides, and less stressful plane rides, in p's future.

happy christmas!

today, panzer got a visit from santa.  he couldn't be torn away from his new trucks to open anything else.

and pooped out from all the excitement.

please touch

today, panzer visited the "please touch" museum -- a must-stop for kids in philadelphia.  he spent the majority of the time pretending to drive various trains, planes and automobiles.  and mommy and daddy only got distracted launching foam rockets and lost him one time!

even weeks later, he still asks to go to the museum because it's his turn to drive the little blue truck.

daddy is a black man named gordon

today, panzer found daddy's doppleganger at the little people sesame street playhouse.

hee hee hee.

finer things

today, panzer got to play with a real antique -- the 30+year-old sesame street little people funhouse.  complete with big bird, ernie and cookie monster on a merry go round, going down the slide, and woooshing down the secret passageway.

if p didn't appreciate it, we sure did!

new 'do

today, panzer got his first shampoo duck tail.

polar express

today, panzer met santa again on the polar express.  although it was a struggle to keep him in his seat during the train ride, it was all worth it to hear him shriek excitedly when we arrived at the north pole and scream "i see santa! i see santa!" while dancing around and losing his freaking mind.  he stalked santa throughout the train car, and happily rang his bell, singing his favorite christmas carol, "jingle bells," all the way home.

jingle bells

today, panzer started singing jingle bells unprovoked in the backseat of the car on the way to the babysitter.

hey!

astronaut

today, panzer told me he was going to drive a spaceship to the moon.

i will always try not to force my own interests on my kids, but the treasurer-of-the-astronomy-club in me is very proud and maybe that 12-pack of UFO-themed socks i bought is sinking in.  dream big, kid.

:-P

today, panzer was the subject of his first call to poison control.  thankfully, it was just some herbal supplements (packed away and forgotten from when we moved 2 years ago) and they're not considered dangerous.  just lookin' forward to some diarrhea as they work themselves out of their system.

also positive ... P self-reported.  he is just like mom and can't keep a secret.  although when i asked him how many he ate, he said "one."  when i asked if he ate two, he said "i eat two." and so on ...

good-bye afro

today, panzer had his first haircut.

he did great.  (tho thankfully with curly hair, a little wiggling isn't noticeable).  and now i'm letting aaron say "i told you so."  i've been bothering him about panzer's mad scientist 'do for months ... but i'm the one who's sad that it's gone :(

treasure hunt

today, panzer found the trucks i bought him for christmas for the sixth time.  i feel he deserves them if i can't get it together to put them in a safe place.  six times.

slice

today, panzer sliced three pounds of mushrooms to help mommy win second place at the office soup-off!

i was happy to find a task he could meaningfully contribute with.  (we made a hungarian mushroom soup which was really quite good and authentic eastern european -- if P and i can do it, so can you!)

number 2

today, panzer pooped in the potty!

touchdown panzer!

today, panzer threw his first football.

not pretty, but enthusiastic!

freakin' A

today, panzer used the term "freakin' A" in context.

more specifically, P projectile vomited all over the car, his clothes, blanket and cup on I-17 just north of phoenix.  we stopped to give him a bath in the sink at the truck stop ladies' room and try to salvage his car seat.  the whole experience gave him a second wind, despite the fact that it was now past his bedtime and he demanded milk and his blanket.  he accepted that these items were dirty and he could have a new one as soon as we got home.  but then chanted "freakin' A" about 80 times before he gave in and fell asleep.

for the record, that was daddy.

naked! naked!

today, panzer unzipped his own pajamas, ripped them off of himself and started yelling "naked! naked!"

unfortunately, i lost my camera in the tizzy. not sure whether to hope for a repeat i might catch on film or for a one-time performance...

on the nice list

today, panzer got a glimmer of understanding about santa claus.  i heard him muttering "panzer nice mohs santa toys" a few times, before he went over and patted mohs on the head.

then he drove a monster truck over mohs' head.

here comes santa claus

today, panzer met santa for the first time this year.  he was very neutral about the whole thing.  until santa passed over the candy cane.  now he's in.

fashion police

today, panzer refused pants but insisted on frog boots.  

whatev, dude.

workin' dude

today, panzer ran up to me and said "give me kiss, i go to work."  he kissed my leg, jumped on the alphabet train, and took off.

grrrr tools!

today, panzer made his pliers go RAWR!

this is a pretty cute trick -- and apparently anything with a mouth will growl at you -- but generally, P cannot be trusted with the pliers and it will be short-lived.

celebrity

today, panzer rode in the Cottonwood Christmas Parade on the back of daddy's bike with the verde valley cyclist coalition!

i missed it, but heard that P was unusually ornery perched back there, and refused to acknowledge the screams of his many, many fans coming from the crowd.  it's tough being popular.  apparently.

cookin' again

today, panzer helped mommy bake cupcakes to celebrate auntie connie's upcoming wedding!  he put the papers in the tray, poured the ingredients in the bowl (with an unknown quantity of water splashing all over the floor ... so much for precision), licked the beater, and kept a close eye on the oven.

and of course, taste-tested!

taller and taller

today, panzer figured out he can move the stool around the kitchen and gain unauthorized access to the sink, the stove, and everything else i've been trying to keep out of his reach for the last 2+ years.

no surprise, he's smart about it too, because when i ask what he's doing, he says "doing dishes."  this makes me think twice because my initial reaction is "ok, carry on."

fix it again

today, panzer let mohs help him fix his bike.

this is distinguishable from all the times that mommy forces him to share his two favorite things -- his bike and his tools.  good job, p.

(either way, i could take and post a photo of them doing this every day of my life and be happy.)

zzzzzzzzzzzzz

today, panzer fell asleep on the way home from mountain biking.

rub-a-dub

today, panzer insisted on getting in the bathtub with mohs.  i don't know how long the two of them think they'll fit in that tiny tiny plastic bin....

tackle

today, panzer followed dinner with a game of tackle-grandpa.

no one is safe.

happy turkey day

today, panzer celebrated turkey day by looking and acting like a turkey.

gardening

today, panzer helped mommy water her rose bush (that he gave her for mother's day).

this keeps him busy for quite a while.  luckily ... can't water the cement too much.

yucks

today, panzer saw a chocolate covered raisin on the floor at safeway and started pointing and screaming "yucky!  yucky!  eeeeww!"

this is definitely an improvement over last week, when i had to give him a stern talking-to about not eating poop.  ever.

hello?

today, panzer stole daddy's phone and pretended to call everyone he knows.

this is a daily occurrence.  as far as i know, he has yet to call china.  and hard to be mad at that guy...

shucks

today, panzer helped mommy make corn chowder.  he helped me shuck the corn, pulling the leaves off one by one and seriously avoiding the tassles.

99 bottles of beer

today, panzer had an epic telephone conversation with auntie kimmy.

p:  what are you doing?
k:  drinking beer (at the smokehouse, it's friday, duh.)
p:  kim drink beer.  mommy drink beer.  daddy drink beer.  siti drink beer.  grandpa drink beer. granny todd drink beer.  miss rita drink beer.  mohs drink beer.  panzer drink beer.  etc. etc. etc.

choo choo part tres

today, panzer insisted that mohs sit on the train with him.  then he scooted the two of them around the house.

soooo sweet!  until mohs fell off ... whoops.

neighborhood watch

today, panzer watched the neighbors leave their garage.  like he does every day.  he is obsessed with bob & diane and what they may be doing at any given moment.

napping dirty

today, panzer insisted that he was going to take a nap on the dirty clothes in the laundry room.  ??

he faked it for a good 10 minutes with his eyes squeezed shut before he decided no nap was to be had at all.

assistant chef

today, panzer helped mommy make mashed potatoes.  he was supposed to wash the potatoes.  at least the floor got a little cleaner ...

elephant ride

today, panzer rode an elephant.

talk to the hand

today, panzer held a really long conversation with granny todd.  he covered a lot of topics, such as chicken, monkeys, and what mohs is doing.  when i tried to talk to him at the same time, he covered his other ear with his hand and said "i talk!"  yeesh.

let the boys be boys ... slam!

today, panzer learned he can shut his head in the door while he's wearing daddy's motorcycle helmet and it won't hurt.  hee hee hee.

savor the flavor

today, panzer began a disgusting stage of holding food in his mouth -- today, it was all the way home from miss pam's house, and i still have no idea what it was.

i don't know why he does this -- it's not like we don't have an endless supply of food for him.  inevitably, the juicy mess ends up squirting someplace incomplete.  like the bedsheets.  yay.

fix it

today, panzer took his new dancing handy manny toolbox (that has no volume control, thanks GT) and fixed his bike with it.

more GT

today, panzer pointed at the starbucks lady and declared her "granny todd!"

unscrewed

today, panzer snuck off and tried to put some more toothpaste on his toothbrush.

yeesh ... caught him in the nick of time, but adding "screw tops" to the list of panzer-accessible items.

mohs drink it

today, panzer insisted on sharing his water with mohs (who was only too grateful to get his slobbery little face all over P's cup).  

P:  mohs hungry.  mohs drink it.

can't wait for them to be best buds <3

happy halloween!

today, panzer dressed as a gorilla for halloween!

we took him trick-or-treating around our block -- he did good at ringing door bells, and got the hand of shoveling candy into his bucket, but mostly he wanted to eat each piece as he collected it.

and then ... look for the bicycle-riding gorilla next time you're at the circus.

GT napkin

today, panzer continued opening presents.  i told him this one was from granny todd and asked him what it was as he slowly peeled off the paper, a sliver a time.

P:  this granny todd's napkin!

i don't know why he loves napkins ... but thanks for the cat in the hat t-shirt gt!

pumpkin eater

today, panzer helped carve pumpkins.

he was super into it until he saw what is inside a pumpkin.  but, once he got his own spoon, he had no problem taking the pumpkin guts and scooping them into the pumpkins while we were trying to clean them out.

thanks for the help P -- they came out great!

TWO!

today, panzer turned TWO!

we love you birthday boy!

celebrate!

today, panzer celebrated his birthday at the park with all his best friends.  and cake.

yippy!

movin' on up

today, panzer scared the crap out of me by climbing up this precarious metal ladder thing to the top of the slide by himself.