I finally got back from Seminar late Sunday night, and it was incredible! I have a ton of pictures and videos and stories to share, so keep your eyes peeled for updates. Here is a quick picture of the main arena (click to enlarge it).




Charlie helped Caspian learn a few new phrases, too — phrases he'd used enough that they became part of his vocabulary while I was gone: "clean up," "chocoate bread," and "Star Trek." Does that tell you what kind of week they had?


Some of you have asked for gift ideas for Caspian's birthday. He loves letters and numbers and colors (anything related to learning or reading). We never mind gently-used secondhand clothes and toys, either! (And the fewer electronic sound effects and noises, the better.) Since it's only his 2nd birthday, he doesn't really know about birthday presents yet ("cake" is his current focus), but for anyone who would like to get something for our little man, here are some things that have been on our needs/wants list.

• books, puzzles, and clothes are a given...or even a gift card to Once Upon A Child


• diaper covers ~ up to four Med-Lg Mothease Air-Flow Snap Covers (here or here). We recently had to get rid of 3 of his 4 covers due to leakage. They lasted two years in a small rotation, so we definitely got use out of them! "Med-Lg" is actually the size between medium and large...go figure.


• standing art easel (like this) ~ Caspian loves art, but we don't really have a good place for him to do art activities at his own height. We've been looking for one of these — they have chalkboard, dry erase, and a roll of paper in the middle to flip over for painting or coloring!


• LeapFrog Fridge Phonics (here) ~ He loved playing with a friend's single-letter set of these, but he knows the entire alphabet already. This goes a step further, to three-letter words. (And yes, this is an exception to the electronic-sounds thing.)


• standing play kitchen ~ His other love is pretending to cook. Whenever he's at church or a friend's house, he heads straight for the play kitchen (usually to make eggs or tea).


• tricycle or Little Tykes Cozy Coupe ~ Now that his limbs are getting more coordinated, we thought he would enjoy something he could ride in the driveway and on the sidewalk. Some tricycles come with detachable handles for the parent to start out pushing.


• diaper wet bags ~ up to three medium SMJAE (here) (patterns 011, 50, 54). We also had to get rid of 2 of his 3 wet bags due to leakage (again, they lasted two years in a very small rotation).


• cloth wipes ~ SMJAE has good ones (here or here) (gender neutral, floral sensation). We switched to cloth wipes for most diaper changes a few months ago, but we always run out of wipes before it's time to wash a load of diapers.