Growing up

Oh, this little boy is getting so big. He doesn't want to sit in his booster seat anymore. He puts his shoes on all by himself. And he has made the switch from crib to toddler bed. He's still getting used to having all that freedom. It's been a little challenging getting him to stay in bed, but he seems to be figuring it out pretty quickly.

Also, for the first time today, Walter rejected the sling at the Farmer's Market. "I not getting in sling today, Mama." I was a little disappointed that I couldn't snuggle him on my hip, but it was actually a really nice change. He walked with us in the crowd for a while, then Nate walked with him on the Capitol lawn while I did our shopping – with both hands completely free! I got myself some flowers to celebrate. Or maybe it was to make me feel better. My baby is growing up so fast!

Playing at the park

We spent another evening at the little park near our house. We pass by on our dog-walking route, so we often stop to play. It makes both Walter and Molly, happy and tired. Two birds, one stone...

We should have named him Harold

This is one of our favorite books:

And this is Walter's artwork:

Coincidence?

Summer storm

We spent a good part of the evening in the basement, waiting for the tornado and storm warnings to be over. This was the spooky sky between downpours. At least I didn't have to water the garden...

Chatterbox

Walter's speech is getting better, and more entertaining.
He spent last evening at the dog park naming all the animals that were in the woods. "There's a lion in there. There's a tiger in there. There's a roast beef in there." Huh?
He takes his bath "upstairbs." Nope, that's not a typo. He pronounces the b. Downstairs is just "downstairs."
He recently informed me that "Molly poops in the grass." Well, he's not wrong.
When he's crying, he tells me. "I'm crying Mama!" Oh, sweetie, I know.
And, my favorite, is when he comments on the weather. "Nice day out there."
I'm hoping he talks like this for a long time. It's too much fun to pass by quickly.

Weekending

What a week! A big event at work kept me busy – working late, visiting with co-workers from overseas, and meeting lots of new people. It was fun and exhausting. I missed putting my baby to bed at night, but I got to spend a few mornings with him instead. This week we'll be back to our normal routine. 
After all that time spent out and about, I really enjoyed just hanging out at home today. 
We colored (the purple crayon is his favorite): 

We cleaned:

We picked tomatoes:

We took a walk to the park:

We cooked up the first zucchini from the garden (recipe from smitten kitchen):

It feels so good to have a fun (and productive!) day at home.

Pancakes and airplanes

We went out to Morey Airport this morning for the annual fly-in breakfast. We ate pancakes first, with Walter asking between every bite, "Go see airplanes now, Mama?" So we ate fast, and went out to see all the neat planes, right up close. We watched lots of them take off and land, and Walter even got to sit in one (with brave cousin Kyla leading the way.) It was so much fun, there were even a few tears when it was time to leave...

Family photoshoot

We had another fantastic photoshoot with John from Kuehl on Location. We chose the Capitol Square for our backdrop this year, and, once again, John got great shots of all of us. He's so good with Walter – playing and shooting at the same time – and he gets big smiles as a result. My favorite thing is that we get really great photos of Nate, Walter and me together. 

Click on any of these photos to see a few more of us and check out some of John's other work as well. It's good stuff!

A nice, long weekend

I love long weekends. I started on Friday, with a day off, all to myself. I went bargain hunting at some local thrift shops and got a ton of great stuff. The best find of the day: plastic tableware for Walter's kitchen. I found cups, bowls, plates, forks and spoons, all for $3.30. And that got me inspired to finally finish up some of the felt food I had started making for him long, long ago. He's been serving me breakfast all weekend long. He keeps the coffee coming, sometimes two or three cups at a time. 

We've had lots of goodies coming out of the garden this weekend. Walter and I pick and eat a few peas every time we pass them. The cherry tomatoes are starting to get nice and red. And, I just picked our first green beans of the season. (No trouble with bunnies this year!)


Please, excuse the weeds. We've been too busy playing to worry about them.


We hope you enjoyed your holiday weekend too!

Happy 4th of July!

Walter and I made a 4th of July cake. 

EW!
Thanks to the magic of photoshop, this is a little closer to what we were going for. 

Yeah, it's still kind of gross, but a bit more patriotic looking. Either way, it tasted good!