We were so happy that one of the watermelons from our garden finally became ready to pick! Great Grandma Lee these pictures are for you! It was delicious! The watermelon was so big (wow, that sounds like the beginning of a joke) we had to share half of it with people at church!
Okay, it’s only taken me 2 weeks to get a few pictures up from our July 4th weekend, but it was a really busy day. I guess I’m still recovering. Not really, but here is a rundown of our day. We met up with Grammy, Papa, The Edwards, The Stones, and The Diaz Girls, as well as The Rowan Republicans, at the East Rowan YMCA so we could catch a ride on the Trolley to ride in the Faith Parade. Caleb loved it. He thought it was a Choo-Choo. He liked throwing candy and necklaces out the window to the crowds, but his favorite part was sneaking a few pieces of candy. Ben walked beside the Trolley and blew up animal balloons.
After the parade, everyone came over for a 4th of July cookout. Caleb loved playing with his cousins. Joshua enjoyed it too. After eating, we tried finding ways to pass the time until the Fireworks started- 10:30pm. Ya, a little on the late side. But some napped, some played wiffle ball, some walked, and then we all watched a movie. We rode back to Faith for the Fireworks, and I think both boys enjoyed them. The little town puts on a pretty good show.
Enjoy a few pictures and a short video of the Fireworks.
We took Caleb to see “Elmo Makes Music” last Friday. It was Caleb’s birthday present from Daddy. He really enjoyed it. He sat mesmerized the whole show. He didn’t even move around during the 15 minute intermission. He just waited patiently for Elmo to return to the stage. I thought Joshua would fall asleep, but he also enjoyed the show. He liked all the flashing lights.
The next morning Papa took the cousins strawberry picking. Caleb loves strawberries! He enjoyed filling up his container.
Turning 2 is a very busy thing, so forgive me that it has taken me this long to thank everyone. I’ve really been enjoying all my new toys. Thanks to everyone who sent me gift cards or money. I like picking toys out, but Mom has this crazy idea that I need clothes instead. When will she learn?! I asked Mom to take a picture of me enjoying all of my gifts so I could post them here. I think she got most of them. She hasn’t let me play with the sprinkler ball yet. She keeps saying, “let it warm up a little more.” So Cailyn, when Mom thinks it’s warm enough, you’ll have to come over and play with me.
Thank you Grammy and Papa for my video game and Tub Whistle. I really enjoy playing with them.
I really love playing with my choo-choos! Thank you Great Grandma and Grandpa Lee and Grandpa and Jane!
Mom really likes this outfit. Thank you Uncle Steve, Aunt Rachel, and all the Diaz Cousins!
I have lots of fun on this lion. I named it Aslan. I like to use it to climb on to other things. I even let Joshua get on it sometimes. Thanks Uncle Chucky, Aunt Amy, and all the Stone Cousins.
I have lots of fun running around the house trying to tag all the animals in this game. Thanks Aunt Emily, Uncle Steven, and Emma.
I like my puzzle and train that Uncle Matt, Aunt Hill, and David and Muzie got for me. I like putting the puzzle together and then dumping the pieces out again to let Mom pick up.
Mom thought that the enjoyment I got from this present was best shown in a short video rather than a picture. Here it is. Thanks to the Stogner’s for this book. I love it!
Yup, that’s Joshua. In his new glasses. I’m still trying to get used to them myself, but he seems to be doing well with them. We don’t have any crazy “breaking the glasses within an hour of having them” stories. He can’t pull them off of his head because there are cables that wrap around his ears, but he can pull them down to his mouth and suck on the nose pads.
Keep checking in. I’m sure these little crazies will give us plenty of Adventures With Glasses stories for you to enjoy.
I can’t believe we just celebrated Caleb’s second birthday. After worrying for weeks about the weather, Sunday ended up being a beautiful day. Caleb had fun eating cheetos, opening presents, and playing in the park. He is enjoying all his presents, especially his “choo-choo.” We have tons of food leftover, so Great Grandpa Lee were saving it for you in June! Just kidding. We have a few videos and pictures from the party.
Things are going pretty well here. We had a good Easter weekend. We took Caleb on his first Chuck E. Cheese outing. He played a little skeeball, hit some moles, and enjoyed putting tokens into the machine to watch a train ride around a track. That’s some 25 cent fun right there! In the end, he had enough tickets to purchase a worm, but he enjoyed the cotton candy that Daddy purchased better. We went to Burlington and had Easter lunch with the Johnson Clan. Caleb enjoyed the Easter Egg Hunt and playground time with his cousins. They taught him lots of new ways to enjoy the slide…climbing up the slide, which he finally mastered without falling and sliding down on his belly, and going head first on his belly. Luckily, he decided not to try going down backwards.
Joshua had his 4 month appointment. He’s growing and chunking up. I think there is a saying, “the more the chunk, the more they thunk.” I’m not quite sure what it means though. He was treated to his first food other than breast milk yesterday, but did not seem too impressed. He continues to survive all that Caleb throws at him…or stands on him, whatever the case may be. Caleb enjoys waiting for Joshua to “seep,” as he does the sign language for it , and then pouncing on him while he makes his lion, or tiger, or some other ferocious animal’s roar just to see Joshua startle. He then laughs. I try to explain that it’s not very nice, but he doesn’t get that yet…or maybe he does! He just waits for Joshua to close his eyes again so he can try again.
The boys have a busy couple of weeks coming up: Three birthday parties, one being Caleb’s second birthday, (I can’t believe he’s going to be two!) Joshua’s baby dedication, a top secret mini getaway trip planned by Ben (and he won’t tell us where we are going), and the live show, Elmo Makes Music, at the end of May. Should be fun! I have a lot of video to post at some point, but I’ve been having problems with our video editing program — that’s right Adobe Premiere Elements — now you are getting bad publicity on this widely read blog. Once I, or I mean, Ben gets it figured out we’ll post some. Enjoy the pictures for now.
Yes, Caleb figured out that the vent covers on the heat and air ducts are removable. Not only does he like to climb inside, he also enjoys throwing balls and whatever other toys he can find inside. And yes, he has dropped his glasses down the vent too.
Here are a few more pictures from this month.
Well, it’s time to give Joshua the t-shirt on the head treatment. We included dad’s and Caleb’s picture as well. Below that you will find our latest photo updates. Enjoy!
Oh, and was it a walk to remember. It actually seemed pretty average, but isn’t that the way most memorable things usually begin? The young plumber never sets out in the beginning to stomp on fire breathing dragons, save the princess, and ultimately become the most famous video game icon of all time. But I digress…
To really understand, you need a bit of background. Our property backs up to a small creek and Caleb and I usually spend a couple hours a week doing those profound things that fathers and sons have done for ages: trying to block or divert water, throwing various objects (mostly sticks and paper boats… OK, actually anything that we can lift or roll) in to the current, and sloshing back to the house with more mud on our clothes and shoes than we left in the creek bed. Caleb especially loves to throw leaves and sticks in to the water, and it is never a problem, because thanks to my less than diligent landscaping there is always a plethora of leaves and dead branches.
Just down the street from our house there is a city maintained walking trail called the “Salisbury Greenway.” About a half mile away there is a covered bridge that is sometimes our turnaround point for our evening walk. That was the plan this evening, as innocuous as it may seem.
With the recent arrival of Joshua, and the cold weather, we hadn’t made the walk to the bridge in a few months. Jessica and I were both commenting on how much Caleb had grown up since the last time we made the walk. He actually walked along with us most of the way and didn’t need to be carried. When we arrived at the bridge he pulled himself up against the railing — which is close enough together to keep him from slipping through — as he oohed and awed at this much larger and swifter body of water. I even commented on how much deeper it was now than the last time. (Our creek is one of the tributaries that runs in to this small river.)
As I stood there looking at all the areas, now submerged, that were dry just a few months ago, Jessica let out a “somebody just got hit by a bus” scream. Because this is a pedestrian covered bridge, that particular scenario was highly unlikely, so I awaited the sound of a 23 pound splash hitting the water. Yet when I looked over, Caleb was still standing up against the railing, peering down in to the water with a single arm extended through slats of wood. I don’t think anyone can say for sure what is running through the mind of a 21 month old child, but I can speculate that it was something like this:
Oh! Look at this water! This has to be five times as wide as the one we usually go to see — and it is deep too! What a shame there are no leaves or sticks around here. Maybe I can pry one of these boards loose. Hmmm… no good. They all seem to be as tight as my old man. I can’t let this opportunity go to waste… hmmm… maybe if a pulled of a shoe. But I really like these shoes my cousin gave me. They light up when I walk. Besides, it’s a half a mile back to the house and I really want to run around, not be carried all the way back home.
There has to be an answer (as he places his hand on forehead in “thinking” posture). Alo, alo! What do we have here? I thought I had a dilemma and all the time the answer was right before my eyes.
And with that he snatches the glasses from his face and and extends his hand over the water, which is right at the point we rejoin my tale above. Whether it was because of, or in spite of, the raucous scream, the world may never know. What we do know is that Caleb’s cute little blue glasses were tumbling lens over ear piece in to the depths of what had to be the geologically surveyed center of the river. There was almost no splash as they slid in to the water like Michael Phelps going for the gold. (That ought to get the blog some hits in this news cycle, especially if I could also find some way to work in the words “bong” and “marijuana.” Ha! It looks like I just did.)
With twilight setting in as the sun dipped to the horizon, I descended through the briars along the bank and removed my shoes and socks, then rolled up my jeans. Did I mention that this was the first warm day we have had in a while? Within 10 seconds of immersing my feet in the mud, my toes started to tingle and ache. Nevertheless I proceeded toward the MIDDLE of the large creek… at least the middle is pretty easy to find. Did I also mention that the water had seemed a little high and swift from the bridge? It turns out that jeans can only be rolled up so far, and unless I could find a way to transform mine in to “daisy dukes,” I was going to be walking home in wet jeans. It’s a good thing I had the foresight to give Jessica my iPhone before taking the plunge.
Somehow, after pulling up only one twig (that mysteriously looked like a pair of children’s eyeglasses) I saw the little blue glasses embedded in the sand under two feet of water. I fished (ha!) them out and made a beeline for my socks and shoes on the shore. Jessica was overjoyed. Caleb ran down toward the brambles on the bank as I ascended. He jumped up, spread his arms and legs, and landed in an American Idol finale pose as he exclaimed “TA-DA!” Hmmmm… there is something profound in that somewhere, I’m sure.
The air was warm enough that the walk back to the house didn’t leave me shivering. Never being one to pass up a teachable moment, I took the opportunity to explain a few things to Caleb, like how much more expensive glasses are than sticks or leaves, and how the fish probably wouldn’t like that kind of lure anyway. Oh, and how the next time he made mom scream like that he was going to be the one to clean out my boxers when we got home.
For all the excitement, as a parent, the buck stops here, and it was really our shortcomings the instigated the situation. I guess we really should have taught him to say “My glasses need to be cleaned. Could I have a tissue?”
So I don’t know if we can rightly call this “a walk to remember.” At the same time, I don’t think it is one that we will soon forget. (Sorry the pictures are a little blurry… it was getting dark.)
