Pretend

A heat wave has kept us inside recently, where we are building forts and playing with animals. As Grant's vocabulary grows, his pretend play has become more imaginative. His animal friends ride the train to his Lego zoo, fly to his fort and then go home to take naps. And he frequently tells them the rules: "You need to be a good listener, Elephant. You need to tell Mommy when you need to go potty, Giraffe. You can't push Miles, Zebra." His play continues at dinnertime, when he pretends that his pasta is a mammoth, his carrots are race cars. And they are often chasing each other, around and around his bowl.

It's sweet to see him get lost in his world of things that he loves.

Weekend Scenes: A Rainy Camping Trip

Ever since G read a Curious George book about camping, we've been promising him we would take him for a night in the woods. So on Saturday morning, we packed up the car, dropped off Miles with Grandma and headed about an hour away to camp near Lake Red Rock. It was a hot, humid day, but there were no clouds in the sky when we left Des Moines.

This is how much stuff we had in the car for one night of camping.

We went for a short hike before finding our campsite, but Grant, having skipped his afternoon nap, got tired quickly and wanted to be carried.

A big draw of camping for him was sleeping under the stars with animals, so he was excited to see some deer tracks in the sand.

We didn't see any deer, but he did spot a bunny.

When we got to our campsite, we set up the tent while G took a rest and picked flowers. Note the dark clouds over his shoulder...

Sure enough, just as Kent finished setting up the tent, it started to rain lightly.

But soon it was pouring. So we got into the tent to stay dry. G was tired and laid down in his sleeping bag.

Then we saw lightning. Time to get out of there. We got in the car and drove to the nearest town to kill some time and check the weather.

The forecast wasn't so good: heavy rain with a chance of hail until 8 that evening. So we decided to throw in the towel. Back to the very wet campsite to pack up again.

In the meantime, G fell asleep.

We headed back home, where we enjoyed oven s'mores and our own cozy beds instead.

{By the way, it has been a record dry spring in Iowa. We've had so little rain that our grass is brown and crunchy. We are just that lucky to pick this weekend for camping.}

Happy Father's Day

Here's the thing about dads: who would throw you in the air, make silly noises at the dinner table, teach you the "potty dance," bring you pastries for breakfast from La Mie, let you ride around on his back even though he's still wearing dress clothes, take you to "Old McDonald's" when Mom isn't home, roughhouse with you when you're full of random energy, read you "just one more" book, let you splash in the bathtub, rub your leg when you're crying in the car even though his arm falls asleep every time, or create the "Super Special Super Grover" push on the swing?

Happy Father's Day to the dads in our life: Kent, Grandpa Jerousek and Grandpa Smith.

10 Month Baby M

This picture is basically 10 months in a nutshell. Miles is much too busy to sit still these days. He stands up at every opportunity: in his crib, in the bathtub, on the changing table. He's starting to find his balance and will occasionally stand with no hands. He recently spied Grant pushing his wagon in the front yard, and so Miles crawled over to a walker-toy and pushed it, grinning, across the yard. Just like Grant.

He weighs between 17 and 18 pounds. He has two more teeth, bringing his total to six. He's down to only two feedings a day, and eats mostly table foods. He waves and blows kisses.

Weekend Scenes

It feels like summer, with temps in the upper 80s all weekend. This weekend we enjoyed the pool, a walk in the woods {we were "looking for hippos," according to G}, s'mores in the backyard, and quality time with Kent, who is back home again {whew!}.

His hair is getting crazy again, but we just can't cut it.

 

Our water baby, Miles loved splashing in the pool, crawling toward deeper water and making friends with another baby.

This guy almost never falls asleep in my arms anymore, but he was so tired from the pool that he fell instantly asleep at bedtime. And I got to savor his snuggles.

Standing

When Grant was a baby, we lived in a loft apartment for most of his first year. It was easiest to have his crib in the corner of our bedroom so each morning {or night} when he woke up I could scoop him up and feed him. At about 9 months, he started to stand up in his crib when he woke up, and so I'd wake in the morning to find him standing, smiling and staring at me from across the room. I loved and loathed those wake-up calls. .

I always think of those days when I come into Miles' room lately and see him standing there waiting for me.

Weekend Scenes

We were flying solo this weekend, with Kent in Miami for work. We managed as best we could, but it was hard work, and not nearly as much fun without him.

At the zoo, bat puppet in hand

Enjoying the zoo

Mowing the lawn with Grandpa

Riding to the park with Grandma and Aunt Lindsay 

On the slide

Swinging babies

First Bike

"Just like Dad," he told us.