Starting School

September is here and finally - consistently nice weather! After the chilly summer I've been complaining so much about, we're trying to get outside as much as we can - this includes a trip to the zoo, where we practiced "nice touches" on the tolerant sheep and goats at the children's zoo, with mixed success. Mostly, Brennan likes to get on the little tractors...
and be pushed around the barnyard.
Daddy's back is fine, really. We also saw this impressive avian specimen:

Also, Brennan gave the Little Puffer (see previous entry, re: Train of Terror) another try. He's a little older, had his daddy along for support, and was expressing interest every time he heard the whistle ("Choo-choo? Choo-choo?"), so I thought this time might be more fun.

I was wrong.

But after some snacks and a chance to "ride" the grizzly bear statue, he made a quick recovery. More reliable outdoor fun is playing with the new puppy in our little yard. They are pretty good buddies at this point - Bren asks to give her a hug or a kiss on the mornings I take her to work with me.

Don't be too amazed at this great shot of those two looking so calm and cuddly - for every one that looks like that, I have 3 or 4 that look more like this:

There's plenty of good times at the neighborhood playground, too. It's not fancy - the merry-go-round is torture to push - but Bren loves the swings and the slides, and there's a big soccer field that is usually open to anyone in the afternoons, so he & Daddy kick the ball around on the weekends.

Before anyone worries this poor child is deprived of a riding toy - he does have this tricycle thing we've dubbed the Frog. He prefers taking it over the stroller out neighborhood walks, unfortunately he's fairly crap at riding it. Not only does he not get peddling yet, he is generally more interested in watching the wheels spin than steering. Just turning him loose with it in the yard is a lot less frustrating for the adults.

Most exciting, though, is school. (or as I call it, "school" - picture the finger quotes and mildly aggrieved sigh) He's been going to a little preschool on Wed. and Fri. mornings for about 4 weeks now. It's 3 hours long, which gives me about enough time to get to the gym and run an errand before I have to go back for him, but he seems to be enjoying it. There were a few teary drop-offs initially, but he's settled in and barely looks back once he's in the door. He usually comes home with some sort of art project involving paper and glue or paint. It's cute and I'm sure he enjoys it, but what I really find entertaining is how earnest the teachers are about making sure he shows me and takes it home, as if I'm expecting them to account for how a 2 year old spends his time.

Even if "school" is a little silly, it seems to be doing what I'd hoped - Brennan has a LOT more to say since he started. He's putting words together - things like "big truck" and "I want down" - and using words I haven't deliberately taught him, like water and jump. Of course, you still have speak Brennanese to understand a lot of it. For instance, "aw-noon" is a balloon, and "I want food" doesn't mean he's hungry, it means he wants to feed the dog.
We don't get to make as many outings together, now that he spends two mornings at school, and he still likes to take a long afternoon nap at home. But we're still making regular trips to swim at the Y, visit the fish at the Academy of Sciences, and play with the Tonka trucks at the Discovery Museum. And he's always my lunch date -