Down on the Farm

Last weekend we took David to Deanna Rose Farmstead, a children's farm in Overland Park. It was our first time, but definitely not our last. I wish it was closer! David had a great time walking around and exploring. He liked the animals and all but his favorite parts were the playground with the ride-on animals on giant springs (just like from when I was a kid!) and "milking" the buckets in the dairy barn! 

We got there bright and early so it wasn't crowded at all, which was really nice. Afterwards we went out to lunch and took long naps at home! I could get used to this nice weather! 

 

 

There goes the summer...

We're starting to wind down the summer over here. Fall weather might not be here yet, but football has started, so that means the weekends tend to revolve around the Huskers and Chiefs.

We've had a pretty good time these past few months. Another trip to the lake, several trips to the zoo, get-togethers with friends, lots and lots of outside time on the cool days and mess after mess inside on the hot days.

I could write and write and write about all the fun things David is doing these days. Talking (sentences!), running, climbing, mischief making, eating, not eating, g-r-o-w-i-n-g.... the works!  Mostly I'm just a little short on words tonight so I'll leave you with a picture post! Enjoy!

 Playing with cars at the lake. He LOVES playing with cars!

 He's finally started holding hands. FINALLY.

 He is only in it for the hose time. He wants out of the pool as soon as it's full.

 Vacuuming. Always with the vacuuming. It's still his favorite activity.

 

After my camera...

 ....and got it.

 Thank you, Crayola for your non-toxic Color Wonder markers. No really, thank you.

 He always has VERY SERIOUS conversations when he gets ahold of the phone.

Missy. Because, I mean....

 Daddy + Hose = David in heaven.

 Shop Cart! Mommy's Shoes! Be-Be! Three more favorite things.

Walks around the neighborhood. Our newest and most favorite nightly tradition.

Stay tuned for lots of festive fall updates soon! :)

The past month and a half

So, it’s been a little while since I updated everyone on what’s been going on with David!

Here's what's been up with this 21 month old!

David transitioned to a new daycare at the end of June. He went from a center to an in-home. While we really liked the center and his main teacher a ton we just felt like he might do a little better in a smaller environment. Turns out we were correct. He is absolutely loving it. Of course, it took about a week for him to adjust but now he just goes right in and seems as happy as can be. He even has a BFF! There’s one little girl there who is his same age (just one day older actually!) and apparently they are inseparable. He’s frequently talking about his pal, even pointing at girl shoes at Target and saying her name. It’s love! It could be his age but we are also noticing he is talking a whole lot more and sleeping a whole lot better. It is nice!

Speaking of talking! Whoo boy, he’s a talking fool.  I couldn’t even begin to count the number of words he knows and he learns them so fast! We pretty much only have to say a word a couple times before he has it down. He’s also saying things a lot more clearly and properly. Sadly, Zach and I are now “Mommy and Daddy” . “Mama and Dada” are officially things of the past and I won’t lie and tell you it doesn’t hurt a little bit.  Missy is no longer “me me” but is “Missy! Moo!” just like I call her. Outside is no longer “side” but “Outside”, “Deck”, “Yard”, “Park” or wherever else he feels like telling me he wants to go.  Oh opinions, boy does he have them!  He also tries to sing which might be the cutest thing yet. His favorite songs are “Happy Birthday”, “Row Row Row Your Boat” and “The Hotdog Dance”.  He does, however, no longer want me to sing to him and says “NO!” every time I start.  So…..

He is my most favorite little errand runner. I am soaking up his love of shopping while I can, because I know it won’t last forever. He has a shopping cart that he loads up with all his toys and pushes around the house saying “shop!”.  Sometimes when he gets bored he will look at me and say “Car, bye bye, shop?” Who am I to turn that down?!

We’ve been to the zoo a couple times and while I don’t think he’s super into the animals quite yet, he does like to walk around and explore. Going on stroller-free walks is one of his favorite things but he also really likes to sit in his stroller and go on walks around the neighborhood with Missy too. I’ve been toying around with the idea of investing in a Bob stroller with some gift card money I’ll be getting from work, but I just don’t know…. I’m afraid he’s almost to the end of his stroller-loving time and then if we have another we’ll need a double. So, I’m still thinking.  Decisions, decisions.

The lake has also been a destination this year. I went over the 4^th of July weekend without Zach or David. I hung out with my brothers and sister in law and we just went on boat rides, floated in the lake, ate a crap ton of junk food and took it easy! While I sure missed the boys it was nice to just have a little bit of downtime. We went back a couple weeks ago and took David with us. Boy, does he like it! He plays with Vince and Sheena’s dog Max and swims and goes on boat rides. Last weekend when we were driving to the store he goes “Lake? Boat? Papa?” Little lake baby.

It’s crazy to think that summer is almost over. Zach’s already been busy getting ready for his job with the Chiefs and Nebraska games are just around the corner. It’s going to be just me and D for a while pretty soon, but I think we’ll manage. I’ve got lots of fall plans, but hopefully we can still get in a lot more fun summer stuff. I’ve yet to take him to the real pool, so I definitely want to get that in and maybe, just maybe another lake trip!

I’ll end with some of his currents:

Favorite Food: Toast (French or Jelly), mac n cheese, pb&j, cake (he calls it “happy” which might be my most favorite thing in the world

), cold green beans, corn, applesauce, cheese, crackers, and of course, cookies (which are still “coo-coo’s” ), cereal, blueberries and popsicles (“cop-i-co’s”)

Most Loved Toys: Shopping cart, vacuum, broom, ride-on turtle, cars, puzzles, sidewalk chalk, kitchen utensils (he loves to “cook”), Zach’s video game controllers and any random item he finds laying around. He really doesn’t play with his “toys” all that often actually….

Preferred Activities: Shopping, PLAYING OUTSIDE, going to the park, baths, playing with the hose, chasing the dogs, reading books, throwing things, collecting rocks, throwing tantrums

Sleep Stats: Goes to bed at 7:45 and now sleeps with a pillow along with his beloved be-be. Has been “sleeping in” until 6:30-7 most days which is ridiculously luxurious and I’m not even kidding.  Naps are usually from 12:30 to 2.  When he wakes up he will tell us he is “wake” or “up” and when I try to tell him it’s time to go to bed he says “no! wake!” however once we lay him down he falls right asleep without protest.

I'd really like to try and updated this thing a little more often. I'm toying around with a few ideas, but we'll see. I need just a few more hours in the day....

Summer Vacation

Last weekend we took our first family "vacation" to Minneapolis/St. Paul. Zach's sister was getting married that Saturday but we drove up on Thursday so we'd have a whole day to do stuff, just the three of us before all the family festivities started. 

We left really early in the morning and David was an absolute DREAM in the car. He mostly slept. We only had to stop two times during the 8 hour drive. We let him play at a McDonalds Playplace the first time (Ew. Yuck. But, he had fun...) and then we had some lunch I had packed at a rest stop in Iowa (I must say, Iowa rest stops are pretty darn nice actually). Otherwise he was perfectly content in the car! It was great!!  

We got in around 3:00 and checked into our hotel which was located in downtown St. Paul, right across from the Excel center. We got settled into the room and then wandered around a bit outside before stopping for some snacks at a coffee house. We also entertained ourselves by throwing baby washcloths at David. He seemed to enjoy it.

 

For dinner that night we met up with Zach's Dad, Step-Mom, Uncle, Cousin and the Bride & Groom for dinner at a local place called Bonfire. I had a really good pasta dish with blackened chicken and extra yummy sangria.

The next morning David woke up in his pack & play around 6am so I reached over and grabbed him and put him in bed with us, thinking that we'd be up for good any minute. Turns out that little muffin just settled himself right in and slept until EIGHT THIRTY! An all-time David record. It was fantastic, I can't even tell you. So after a great night of rest we headed out first thing to get some breakfast and hit up the Minnesota Children's Museum.

 

 

Zach's uncle suggested we try Mickey's Diner, which he said was a "Minnesota institution". It was right down the block from our hotel and even closer to the Museum so we gave it a go. Oh my. It was old. Olddddddd.  We luckily got a "booth" and placed our orders. I tried to ignore the fact that everything looked kind of, um, dirty? I got the pancakes to split with David and Zach got a ham and cheese omelet. The omelet was good but the pancakes were AMAZING. Oh my goodness, they were so good. Possibly the best I've had. Worth the health risk ;)

 

The Children's Museum was also amazing. It came highly recommended and lived up to the hype. It was huge! Four floors and countless galleries for kids of all ages to just go crazy in. I wondered how David would do and he jumped right in. His favorites were the grocery store where he got his own cart to load up, the water room, the city bus and the restaurant where he was absolutely thrilled to find both a broom AND a mop. After several hours of hard core playing we headed back to the hotel for lunch and nap. We ALL crashed out for nearly three hours!!! Vacation is the best!

 

 That evening, Zach's family got into town and we all met up at the hotel restaurant for some drinks and appetizers. Grandma and Grandpa wanted a little David time so they sent Zach and I off in their new convertible to explore the Cities for a bit!  We headed over to Minneapolis and drove through the college to an area called St. Anthony Main (another Uncle Jay suggestion! 2 for 2!) where we did some people watching and had some really good burgers, fries and spiked lemonade. My kind of place! We didn't stay out late as we were trying not to keep David up TOO far past his bed time since the only time he really got cranky during the whole trip was right before bed.  

We got to sleep in AGAIN Saturday morning and met his mom downstairs for some breakfast before trying to decide what to do for the day. The weather was a little threatening and VERY humid so we thought about hitting up "the mall" but realized it didn't open until just an hour before lunch/nap time so we passed and just walked along the river for a bit. We took another LONG nap (have I mentioned how awesome vacation was?!) before getting ready for the wedding!

The wedding was about a half hour away in a town called Forest Lake. It was supposed to be in the back yard of the groom's parents house but it was pouring rain. Just a total monsoon! After a lot of back and forth they finally made the call to have the ceremony at the reception site, a golf course clubhouse down the road. By the time everyone got there the sky was blue and the birds were chirping. Isn't that how it always goes?! The wedding was nice, very simple and we all had a lot of fun. David and his cousin Jude (just 4 months younger than D) ran around outside like crazy goons and at one point I had to literally sprint across the fairway to catch a runaway David. We couldn't stay long because the little guy had officially reached the end of his very patient rope and was demanding a reasonable bedtime. So, we headed back and hit the hay.

We packed up and left first thing Sunday morning so we could get home to the dogs in time for dinner.  David, once again, did great in the car! This time we stopped 3 times and I had to sit in back for a little bit to keep him occupied before lunch but all in all he was a total dream. We had a GREAT time and it was just what we needed. 

Congrats Alicia and Michael!!

(also, I found a new free photo editing site. I kind of went a little crazy.Newbie alert! #sorrynotsorry ;))