Memorial Day

Well, we were supposed to end the Man's week long vacation with Niagara Falls on Saturday. Unfortunately, all three of us came down with a cold and we just did not want to do it. Lucikly, two out of the three of us felt over the hump by Memorial Day. So we went to the Pulley's and had some food and fun.


























The Boy loved the pool!

Thanks, Pulley's!

Busy, Busy, Busy

The Man took some vacation this week. We decided to stick around here and take some day trips. Unfortunately, the weather has been extremely uncooperative until today. So we have been lazing around quite a bit. And even though we have been many times before, Wednesday we took the Boy to the Play Museum and did two new things we have not done there yet:



Ride the Carousel...






...and see the Butterfly Exhibit, which was pretty neat.

Of course we had to stop for the fish. Or "shish" as the Boy calls them.


Today was still cool but not rainy at least, so we drove to Letchworth State Park. I was not aware that it had waterfalls. We took a short hike past the Upper and Middle Falls. Thanks to the Shelton's for letting us borrow their new backpack. Doesn't it look totally uncomfortable? The Boy really liked it, though. And that's what counts.




Then we finished with a picnic, where you can start to see the exhaustion on the Boy's face.




He fell asleep on the way home. It was lovely.

Bikes

What are you going to do with your economic stimulus check? Here's what The Man did with part of ours. First off, he got a bike as an EXTREMELY early birthday gift. So he bought me one for Mother's Day...

and then he got the the Boy a seat to strap on. He took it out for a spin today.

We think he liked it. But we just don't know since he refuses to smile when being transported around.

Wall Art

My sister bought me some wall art from UpperCaseLiving and I love it! It's great for our house because we have plaster walls, and driving nails into them is problematic. Anyone who has been here knows that my walls are pretty much barren. Anyway, I ordered something for the Boy's room and it looks so great. I wish I could display the actual picture of it, but since it has his name it in, I can't. But this is a picture of the design. For the blog, I used the word "BABY" in place of the Boy's name. Yay! Something on the walls!

No Gel Needed

The Boy got a little hot and sweaty outside one day, so of course, I decided to do this...

There's Something about Elmo

I've decided there exists one universal truth. Kids love Elmo. I am fairly certain the Boy has rarely, if ever, actually seen Elmo on T.V. His contact with Elmo consists of playing in the Elmo's World section of the Play Museum. But even then, he spends his whole time in front of the mirrors.

A few weeks ago we went to the toy store to get him some more age appropriate toys. He kept grabbing at the Seasame Street puppets. So I bought him Elmo and he loves it! It took him all of 30 seconds to learn the word "Elmo". He smiles when we bring it out and he snuggles it. There is just something to that red fur and big orange nose.

This is a Little Gross

Maybe I should have edited this picture, but I think most of you can take it. A few weeks ago I was at a baby shower. I had to bring the Boy with me because the Man was working nights. He was in his PJs and strutting his new skill of walking in front of all the ladies there. I decided to let him eat a few tomatoes and olives while we sat and chatted. Then he started doing one of his favorite things - standing on his head. Usually when he does this and gets attention for it, he gets all giggly and a little worked up.

My friend Seleta decided to take a picture of this from the bum side angle and just as she snapped, well, see for yourself.


What timing. Nothing like having your child yammy on someone else's carpet.

A Lil' Bit of Spring

We have a Dogwood tree just outside our living room window. It is finally starting to sprout and it looks so pretty! Thought I would share.

Ear Muffs

Why does he do this?

Oh What a Beautiful Day

We had some beautiful weather this week. Saturday we spent all afternoon out of the house. We took the Boy to the museum, ate outside at Dinosaur BBQ, and went to the park. After we got home, we all walked up to the convenient store and got Slurpee's.

Speaking of walking, the Boy has finally decided it is time that he get in the game. He now initiates walking without any help and prefers it to crawling. Just in time for summer! He enjoys the Wegmans store in the Museum a lot more now.

Here are some pictures from the park. I love that his ball cap finally fits him - I've made him wear it just about every day this week.


Just before we left and as the Boy was playing with some leaves, the Man commented on how nice it is that little guy doesn't put everything he finds in his mouth (just some things). About five seconds later, this happened....

I still say he's a genius.

Risky Business

This picture reminds me of Tom Cruise in the very famous underwear scene from Risky Business. I cannot get enough of his cute, lil tush. The Boy's that is. Not Tom Cruise's.

From Point A to Point B

The Boy is no-nonsense when it comes to his transportation. A few days ago, the Man decided to put him in the wheelbarrow and cart him around the front yard. Cute pictures, but I could not coax the faintest of smiles out of him, even though he was definitely enjoying himself.




It reminded me of his walker/riding toy we got him for Christmas. Dad would pull him all around the house on this, and the Boy would never once crack a smile. However, if dad stopped, the screaming would commence. He loved riding it - he just knows that driving is a very serious matter.

One of my Favorite Things

I love having my carpet cleaned. Having Roxy as a pet pretty much dictates that we do it every six months. I enjoy watching the Stanley Steemer guys work and see that dirt come right out. (A sidenote that people who know me well will appreciate: I love having everything off the floor, too. I'm looking into the dining room at this moment. The chairs have been moved out for now and that room feels so nice and uncluttered without them in there). And finally, I like watching the little (and not so little) dark spots vanish.

Allow me to share with you. Here are a couple of spots that were in the dining room. Exhibit A was a present from Roxy. I won't tell you what it was, but I'll give you a hint - it was yellow. Not only was there a spot, but the carpet is grey in general there (see left of spot) because it's a high traffic area. Exhibit B was dirt/mud from a potted plant that was overturned this week - culprit shall remain unnamed. So here are the before pictures:










Looking at the first makes me very unhappy with the mutt. But here are the after.









Ahhhhh, isn't it just wonderful?

Boy's Grab Bag

I just had to mention a few things the Boy did today that I enjoyed. He is somewhat of a sensitive child, so when The Man started pretend wrestling with me in order to provoke the dog, little guy got very upset and cried. I don't mean to say that I enjoy making my child cry, but it was so cute that he was concerned.

Secondly, he has become a pretty good stacker. He now mixes his matrushka doll with the stacking cups. I like to believe that this means he is an out of the box thinker. Who says that the cups have to stick with the cups? I am not interested in what it really means, as my delusion leads to the conclusion that my child is a genius.


Finally, I played with Roxy a little while the Boy was sitting next to me. Roxy gets worn out pretty easily these days and the panting commences quickly after a few tosses of the ball. It was not enough that little guy growls like her, now he pants. Luckily, his breath is currently fresher than hers.

Okay, I said "finally" above but I didn't mean it. No one will care about this but me, but I have to write it down so that I have it written down. I know that makes sense to many of you - don't deny it. I think we have declared the Boy's first word to be...are you ready for this.....it's gonna be a shocker......dog. Yeah. Big surprise there. He's been saying it for a while now. But currently he also says (a lot I might add) "shoes". Sometimes this comes out as "shoes" or "shiss" and sometimes as "ooshs". He loves shoes. He loves playing with them and trying to put them on. But not quite as much as he loves taking them off. He is mumbling "shiss" at this very moment and tugging on them. But I digress. He understands many more words such as: ball, light, more, eat, milk, snuggle, book, his name, Roxy, mama, and daddy. And probably more that we don't know he knows.

If you made it to the bottom, thanks for hanging in!

Here Comes the Sun...for a Minute

Yesterday was absolutely beautiful! We took full advantage of it, sitting outside on the front steps and walking up to the gas station on the corner. The Boy enjoyed being barefoot and having his lil' pants hiked up (I put him in shorts later). He laughed at Roxy snarfing around the front yard and pointed at the cars.

I was giddy to be wearing a short sleeve shirt and flip flops outside - as you can see in this Pioneer Woman-esque picture. Good thing you can't see my toes all that well. They are not summer ready yet. I think I'll do that when I finish here.


And now it's raining outside. *Sigh* I can hardly wait for June.

Kickin' It

The Boy loves to put his feet up. In restaurant high chairs he will not keep his legs in the proper holes if he can get away with it. He puts them on top of the cross bar. Same thing with shopping carts. Whenever he gets a chance to kick back, he takes it - even if it's just a little bit. I caught him relaxing yesterday while he was watching his ABC video. He didn't have a table to prop up his feet, so he improvised. He definitely does not get his laid back manner from me. And I hope that lasts.

Man Over Board!

Last night I decided I wanted to take a bath. I brought the Boy upstairs with me. He usually plays in the bathroom or his bedroom floor until I'm finished. Sometimes he stands at the side of the tub and giggles and reaches for the water. The difference between last night and other times is that he is taller now. He can reach the water. And once he got a taste, he couldn't stop.

Just as I was contemplating getting out, he reached pretty far over and SPLASH! he was in. Head first, feet in the air. I scooped him up right fast and waited for his look of shock to turn into a dramatic cry. Which it did. He was not persuaded that it was fun to be in the bath with mom even though he was fully clothed. I considered going downstairs and grabbing the camera at some point, but decided I would rather not let him drip all over the house. Besides, he was quite sad about the whole thing...no need to prolong the agony. So I got him out of his wet clothes without photo documentation of the event. (My brother-in-law will be so happy to read that.) I did manage to find a couple of bath pictures of him and his friend, Adam, that were taken on SuperBowl Sunday this year, though. You can enjoy that instead. Poor boys...their girlfriends will probably find these one day.


Wow, my kid looks orange!

Happy Birthday!

To my oldest sister and my wonderful mother-in-law. I hope you both have a great day!

Best Toy Ever

Have you seen these before? This is our Matrushka doll. It was given to us by my sister-in-law who served her church mission in Russia. We've had it for years.

The Boy has a number of stacking toys, including this...


...and this.


But he would much rather play with the matrushka. He will spend a good deal of very quiet time with this toy, which I love of course. I can hear him playing with it right now in the living room. It is definitely his second favorite thing, right behind his maraca.

The White Board

I thought I would take a short break from exploiting my son for this blog and switch to exploiting the Man. Like many people, we have a white board on our refrigerator. Among the things I keep on it is a running list of things that I need to do and one that the Man needs to do. Often I come down in the morning to find that he has left me a message before leaving for work. Usually it is something barfy and sentimental like "I love you". Actually, I really like those. But yesterday I came down and saw this (he tried very hard to imitate my hand writing I think)...

I got the bedroom done that day.