We've been having a fairly relaxing, travel free summer so far - but somehow it still seems busy! We have been spending a decent amount of time at our pool this year. Austin can walk around in the baby pool on his own with minimal face-plants into the water - but we still have to keep a pretty close eye on him (aka sit right next to him) because he isn't quite as steady on his feet as the other older toddlers at the pool. Next year should be even more fun since he should even be able to stand in the shallow end of the big pool by then!
I think one of Austin's favorite things about summer so far (other than the pool) is watermelon. Seriously, I don't think I've ever bought this much watermelon in a year. So far I think we've bought at least 2 or 3 whole melons and at least 5 or 6 1/4 melons. We realized a week or so ago that Austin didn't need us to cut it up into small pieces for him anymore, nope, he'll just take a whole slice for himself!
Although, if it is sliced up, he really enjoys using a fork. He's really into a feeding himself phase, and a spoon was really difficult to pick up food so we started giving him a fork recently and he's really good at it!
The watermelon must also feel really good on his gums since its cold and mushy. He's been chewing on his fingers for a few weeks now and we've been waiting for more teeth to emerge. Then, Thursday, he had a huge crying fit at daycare where they couldn't seem to console him. I went to pick him up to take him to the doctor for what they thought might be an ear infection and instead it turned out to be a molar. Yikes, it must be painful because the poor kid was more upset and sad and exhausted than I've ever seen him be. Thankfully, Tylenol to the rescue and he's been fine ever since.
Again, lots of time spent outside. With the exception of days like today that make us feel like we're in Phoenix again. Austin's been more adventurous exploring the yard and is really good about running down the driveway and making a left turn to run down the sidewalk. Its amazing how well he listens (sometimes) and understands what we're asking him to do!
Headed down the sidewalk - he knows that there are a few dogs down the street and often runs to where he's seen them before and points. He finally has a different word for dog and cat, so we're glad that he can tell the difference!
Check out the super cool sandals. He's finally let us put them on without putting on socks first, which is good since the point is to keep his feet cool!
We still haven't bought a baby pool, but play with the hose plenty. Austin's favorite game is filling up a cup or bucket, dumping it on himself, and then filling it up again. Whatever makes him happy!
We also hit up the local splash fountains at a nearby town center...Austin was interested, but kind of scared of the force of the water. He did much better at the splash playground a few weeks ago where there were more friendly water spouts to run through.
While we've enjoyed relaxing locally these past few weekends, we also were itching for a mini vacation so last weekend we booked a hotel in Delaware and spent the weekend at Rehoboth Beach. Its a short drive, which makes us wonder why we haven't gone more often. We played in the water, played in the sand, and enjoyed strolling up and down the boardwalk.
Although Austin was a bit too small for the games at the arcade, we were drawn in by the 10 cent skee-ball advertised on the outside:
He was definitely very fascinated and interested, although the ball didn't go very far!
The sun and non-stop play totally exhausted Austin both days, and he happily snoozed in the stroller while we walked around, ate some ice cream, and enjoyed the people watching and ocean breeze.
Unfortunately he wasn't big enough to ride the big kid rides:
Now that we're back from the beach, we're already trying to figure out when our next free weekend is so that we can try and head out there again before the summer is over! For now, its back to the regular routine of things here though. Recently we went on a Costco trip to stock up on a few items, and Austin got very excited about a toy wheelbarrow. We took it down from the shelf and he pushed that thing around for at least 10 minutes up and down the aisles. How can you not buy it for him after that? So, we now proudly own a tiny wheelbarrow, which he happily pushes down the sidewalk and fills with water to splash in!
Now Austin and daddy can both use their wheelbarrows together!
Oh, and of course...we're still working on our basement. Its an epic project when you do it yourself, but its finally nearly finished. Austin and Mike were clowning around the other day with the red plastic coverings that came with the smoke detectors. Austin actually wore it like a hat for quite a while, it was quite amusing.
The other excitement is that the carpet is finally in, which means its a bit safer to run around and play downstairs (we have now added doors, which helps too of course). Here's Austin exploring the basement for the first time, he had no idea he'd have such a huge new playspace!
Also...I almost left out that we were excited to spend July 4th with Uncle Tony, Aunt Robin, and cousin Aleigh. Tony and Aleigh had just gotten back from their trip to TX to check out UT Austin and told us all about it over a summer bbq. As always, Austin was quite taken by Uncle Tony. Lots of fun was had! Robin and Tony's baby is due in about a month, and we can't wait to meet her!
Lastly, I have been trying to mention new words when they become pretty common. Ball and car are mostly used in the right context. Hi and bye-bye are definitely used constantly now. I think the people that drive by our house are used to seeing him out on the sidewalk now because they're starting to wave when he waves at them as they drive by. Its pretty cute. Oh, and he might not be able to say 'belly' yet, but he mostly knows where it is:
No comments:
Post a Comment