Alex and I are always happy to be the “Plus 1” on Amber’s Zoo Pass. Today the boys wanted to run around much more than they wanted to be in their strollers (and I can’t blame them).
Although they enjoy looking at the animals (and feeding the goats), I think they really love the outside playground and the milking play area.
Month: August 2010
Best friends sharing a snack.
Enjoying the last days of summer vacation.
I already knew this, but am finally admitting I am addicted to 1154 Lill purses. Amy hosted a party a few weeks ago and I couldn’t come home without a new bag. My newest bag, the Susan, arrived last week. It’s a wonderful bag in general, but a fantastic diaper bag. The inside lining is nylon so it’s easy to wipe down. There are four large pockets inside and six pockets on the outside. The strap is adjustable for hanging on the stroller, carried on the shoulder, or messenger-style. Because diaper bags get put down everywhere, I decided to have a heavy canvas (or maybe it’s nylon) on the bottom. I’ve carried it a few times and love it. I only wish I had bought it sooner.
Wade has played fantasy football for the last few years with friends in Atlanta. This year he decided to play with some local guys. He organized the group and planned a party tonight at our house for the draft. I requested that wives and kids tag along so I wouldn’t be too lonely. Alex and Wade helped me get the house ready:
Making friends with the vacuum cleaner.
We started the day with a trip to Chicago. First stop was Grant Park to see the Buckingham Fountain:
Then we walked to Millennium Park to see Cloud Gate (otherwise known as The Bean). This was actually the reason for the trip.
We also stumbled on a children’s play exhibit and tried out all the areas.
Then we headed for our recommended lunch at Bob Chin’s Crabhouse. You have to love a seafood restaurant with eggrolls on the appetizer menu. The food was absolutely amazing. Wade had yummy lobster fried rice and I had grouper. I’m not a big fish person (in fact I probably only eat it only once or twice a year), but I’m already trying to plan a second trip so that I can get more.
That sounds like enough for a day, right? Not during Adventure Month! We came home for naps (Alex took his afternoon nap at 3 pm) and to move Hazel (our neighbor’s dog) in for the night. She and Madison are getting along great.
Then we headed to the Butlers for a cookout. Alex only lasted an hour, but considering we have been running all day that’s not too bad.
Bath time was full of giggles tonight. Hazel was obviously fascinated and I think would have happily jumped in with Alex.
Alex loves our latest houseguest – Hazel.
Alex started today a little early, but was content to play while I tried to wake up:
Then we both took a morning nap and Alex woke up super happy:
We did our usual morning run to the gym and grocery before lunch and afternoon nap. Then we took a trip to the park. Alex demanded to wear his hat and off we went:
Amber and Abram joined us before too long and we played till the dads got home.
Morning milk.
Yogurt with easy clean-up.
I love to read – fiction. I’m not a big fan of non-fiction, self-help, or even parenting books. I read the pregnancy, baby, parenting books I was given (I read anything if it ends up in my pile). I’m a really laid-back parent who deals with things as they come. I’m of the opinion that Alex has to learn by trying and will eventually fall and then get back up (not that I would let him jump off the roof). Imagine my surprise when Wade came home with a book for us to read – Free-Range Kids. Even crazier is that I loved the book. The author is the woman from the news that let her 9 year old boy ride the NY subway by himself. There was a huge outcry so she wrote a book. Her point being, if you feel your child is ready for some independence then you should decide when to give it to them. Society sometimes makes that hard.
The writer/mother takes common issues and provides statistics and then proceeds to poke fun at how society has reacted and/or changed over the years. For instance, the original Sesame Street episodes from the 70’s were released on DVD and had to contain the warning “For Adults Only”. What was acceptable then is not now. Gasp. Cookie Monster ate something other than a cookie – choking hazard! She talks about child abduction (by strangers) statistics and how they have actually decreased in the last few decades. It’s the news that focuses so much on the bad.
My favorite was the Halloween Candy discussion. Halloween in our town is held on the Sunday afternoon before Halloween. I remember what fun Halloween was because it didn’t matter that it was a school night. We still got to run around (in the dark) and ring doorbells for candy. The author discusses in detail the news stories and the actual crime statistics. There has never been a confirmed Halloween candy poisoning. The few reported were actually specific targeting of individual children (one was a child that got into his uncle’s drugs and the parents sprinkled his candy to protect the uncle). I figured it couldn’t hurt to verify the author’s findings so I did a google search and found this at Snopes. Wikipedia provides the same information.
This book is definitely not for everyone. I would hesitate to recommend it to anybody, but I loved it.
First taste all ingredients (He tried to go back for seconds with the butter).
I’m trying to ensure Alex shares my love of cookie dough. So far, so good.
For more cookie making pictures see here.
Alex had a rough night last night – teething is no fun. He and I both took a 2.5 morning nap. We woke up to an invite to play with Abram and quickly headed across the street. Alex insisted on bringing his soccer ball, but quickly abandoned it for the guitar.
The playing moved outside and the boys immediately wanted the pool filled with water. Alex knows how to take off his velcro diapers so he was naked in about two minutes. (There are some naked pictures. In the interest of my future relationship with my son I will keep those hidden on my hard drive.)
The boys keep trying to give each other rides and it cracks me up. Especially since Alex hasn’t even figured out driving himself, let alone adding a passenger’s weight:
Abram and Alex washing their hands. What could be more fun than playing in the water?
Alex’s current favorite word is “Choo choo” (this makes his word total around five). He uses this to describe any loud engine (plane, train, motorcycle, bus, big truck, etc) or siren. It all started when we would play in the yard and I would point out a plane in the sky. Then he started pointing in the sky for any loud engine sound. When we heard a train, I tried to teach him that they weren’t all in the sky and worked on the word “choo choo”. Now he says “choo choo” and points in the sky for all loud engines. He’ll get it eventually…..
I rarely turn the tv on for Alex, but today Sesame Street worked wonders. Teething is no fun, but the total is up to 15 teeth.
My Mom joined us for church and lunch and then had to say good-bye. (Alex wasn’t very interested in posing for a picture.)
Today’s adventure – the Granville Dog Park. As we were driving to the park, I realized poor Madison hasn’t been in over a year. She loved being able to run and swim. Alex liked the free ride.
As I was giving Alex his bath tonight, I learned that he can blow bubbles on command. I had no idea.
No need for a silly towel.
Alex’s new best friend – until Abram gets back in town.
Chester is Abram’s guinea pig and we are watching him for the weekend.
Testing out our reusable bags. (He did this to himself.)
Playing at the park.
Abram and Alex had a fun-filled day. We started with a trip to the park. (Note the nice older boy who held Alex for me on the merry-go-round)
Alex is still fascinated with books. He picks one up and then backs up into my lap and wants me to read. Today he even showed interest in the books we have around the living room. He wanted me to read and I did, but he grew bored after a paragraph and I couldn’t blame him. His books are much more colorful and have nice rhyming lines.
Trying to figure out what Daddy is doing.
Taking a break from stealing Madison’s bone for a quick pet.
I am rather proud of the fact that 80% (or something like that) of our household trash is recycled. Our city only collects recycling every other week, but we could use it weekly and the trash pickup only once a month. Years ago, Wade gave me a sampler pack of reusable bags. Included were two Acme workhouse bags, two Acme Earth Friendly totes, and two Acme hemp bags.
I love the workhorse bags. They fold up into a small pouch and both easily fit in my purse. I use these at any store – grocery, Target, Home Depot, clothing, etc. My second favorite bags are the Earth totes. These are incredibly sturdy and easy to pack like a grocery paper bag. I leave them in my car and always take them into the grocery. The hemp bags are the last bag I choose. They don’t easily fold up, they are hard to pack, and I think the dual handles are pure trouble. Then you have to make sure you are not grabbing one long and one short.
This past year my sister brought me an Envirosax from Holland. Little did we know you can buy them everywhere here too. This is my favorite bag for Target or clothes shopping. It fits into my purse when folded (although the folding requires a little more work) and is a larger bag than my others. Did I mention it is also really cute?
A few months ago I discovered reusable produce bags. I always hated to use the grocery-provided bags, but knew it made the checkers life much easier. Then I discovered 3B Bags. They come in two sizes, are machine washable, and the mesh is small enough to read the produce numbers through. Now I keep a handful of these in my car with my reusable grocery bags.
I also noticed a big change in the stores when we moved from South Carolina to Wisconsin. Here it is common practice to ask if you have a reusable bag – in all stores, not just the grocery. The baggers automatically put your milk back in the cart instead of double bagging. If you are checking out with a single item you will often be asked if you need a bag instead of automatically getting one.
Happy Birthday Jerry!
Evening walk.
Today was awesome! It wasn’t too hot and had a nice cool breeze. When Wade got home from work, we decided on an evening stroll with a stop for milkshakes. Alex got his dinner “to go” and we headed out for a walk around Tosa.
Alex’s favorite stop was at the bridge where he got out of his stroller to explore:
We took Alex to beach today and were pleasantly surprised at how much he loved the sand. He sat right beside our towels and played for hours. I’m not sure he has ever stayed in one place so long before.
It was our turn to work in the church nursery this morning.
Wade was great at entertaining the majority of the kids while I took the ones who needed a little TLC. In the end it was chaos, but good chaos.
We spent this afternoon at the beach! I was curious to see Alex’s reaction to the sand and water. The water was pretty cold and he wasn’t too happy about being in it:
The sand was an entirely different story. Alex loved it. He played and played. He didn’t even care to wonder around (and Alex never sits still). I think we’ll definitely be going back to the beach.
Our big adventure today was to Honey Dip Donuts for breakfast. Alex loved the donut holes and wanted to take a bite from each one:
This evening we embraced the “social” aspect of Adventure Month and had the Strouds over for kabobs. The boys had a blast. Wade had his grilling tongs and showed the boys how to “flip” blocks. They both needed their own tongs to try out:
We played outside until the bugs chased us in:
After dinner, there were cupcakes for dessert:
Wade had his grilling tongs and showed the boys how to “flip” blocks. They both needed their own tongs to try it out.
Alex gave up his pacifier about seven months ago. He switched from bottles to sippy cups about the same time. It took us a while to realize that he was simply using the soft spout of his sippy cup as a pacifier. We tried taking away the cup if he isn’t actively drinking. Then we tried only have the cup when in the high chair. He would still just sit and suck and suck without drinking. This week we made the big switch from the soft spouts to the hard spouts:
He’s cute and he knows it.
At 18 months – 25 lbs and 2 oz. (40 percentile) and 33 1/4 inches (80 percentile)
(Alex has learned how to take off the diapers with velcro. I bet he took it off at least 10 times while I was trying to talk to the doctor.)
One cool dude.
Alex really loves his yogurt.
The tomato plants in my garden have really taken off. Only now does it occur to me that I don’t eat a lot of tomoatos and Wade doesn’t eat any. Judy, (my mother-in-law) suggested salsa. She even provided me with the seasoning packet by Mrs. Wages that she uses.
I started with my tomatos:
After peeling and chopping my tomatos, I added the mix, and cooked all of it. Then it needed to sit for 24 hours:
Now I am enjoying my salsa (very yummy) and about to watch a movie while Alex naps:
Helping mom make cookies. He had just had a chocolate chip and was showing me he wanted another one.
Ready to go. Now if I could only convince him to put my stuff in his backpack too.
Alex is still struggling with his morning nap. He doesn’t always take one (especially on days we have to be somewhere), but he definitely still needs one. He didn’t manage a nap before church so he was into everything:
After church Alex only took an hour and a half nap, which means he was very cranky. We decided a trip to the wading pool at Jacobus Park would be fun. Alex had a blast in the water.
Today was the first Saturday of Adventure Month. We spent the morning at the lakefront walking around and playing frisbee. After a long nap for Alex and me, we headed to the State Fair. Wade and I love fair food. First up was a funnel cake, which Alex also enjoyed:
A short time later we stumbled on the creme puffs and had to try one (my first):
Then it was on to the animals. Alex loved the goats and bunnies. He’s been attempting the word “duck” lately so we tried to reinforce it with the baby ducks. I’m not sure he saw the resemblance to the yellow rubber ducky in the tub.
Our last stop was at the cardboard cutouts for a picture. Compare this one to last year. Alex has changed a lot in a year!
Now for a typical Holly/Wade story. We made the long walk to our car and Wade couldn’t find the car keys. He was worried they had fallen out at the fair. I happened to look into the car and see them in the ignition (with the doors locked). Wade called our awesome neighbor and Dawn ran to our house to get a spare set (thank goodness we leave our house unlocked) and then brought them to us. While Wade was walking to the intersection to meet Dawn, I was entertaining Alex. At some point, I realized not only were the keys in the ignition, but the car was running. That’s right, we are that good.
Constantly on the go. (He managed to find Wade’s hat and put it on by himself.)