H is for Ha!

Today was full of laughs for us. Gram Betty came over to watch AJ while I ran errends and attempted to make sense of my kitchen. She said AJ pulled out all of his cuteness while they played.

After she left, AJ and I were playing with his ABC phonics bus. He likes to push the buttons and listen to the voice tell him what sounds the letters make. This voice drives me insane and I find myself repeating, "Q says qu- as in the first sound in queen" OVER AND OVER. But I digress...he was giggling over H. This adorable little scene went something like this- push H, listen, giggle and scrunch up shoulders, look at me, push button, listen, giggle...

Take a look.

Hot Day, Cool Water

We spent the day in Algonquin in the kiddie pool. AJ wanted to visit Bailey and I wanted to visit my parents...or was it the other way around?

Papa Rog put the pool in the sun in the morning, so the water wasn't too cold. It was a real scorcher, and I asked Papa Rog if he had any popsicles in the freezer, as he always has a stash of treats in there. He said no, but a few minutes later told Gram Betty and me that he "had to run to the store." He came back a few minutes later with AJ's first ever popsicle. Papa Rog is a great guy!

Papa Rog dug into the archives in the basement and came up with another doosy...Watch the video and see if you remember this.

Soggy Diaper Crew

We went to Jayne and Jillian's house for some summer fun this afternoon. The kids played at the water table and kept cool. Jayne and I kept cool sipping a Margarita. We stripped them down to their dipes and relaxed.

It was great catching up with a good friend.

I Should Change the Name of This Blog...

to "When Ya Gonna Wake Up?"

I spent the first 9 months of AJ's life trying unsuccessfully to get him to take a nap. He slept on me, on other people, or in strange places for small snippets of time.

He has certainly come around. He still takes 2 naps. Being 18 months old, this is a gift to me that I should not overlook. But now that he is really exciting to hang out with and we can go out and do more fun things this summer, this napping need is really cramping my style.

Napping in the morning does not impact his napping in the afternoon. And that nap does not impact his bedtime. The boy just likes to sleep. I can't believe I just typed that.

Onto some fun info that was delivered by Julie and her family in sunny CA...they were looking for some adventure and went "treasure hunting"! It looked really fun, so I Googled it and found some neat things to search for in Algonquin near Gram Betty and Papa Rog, in Glenview near Lola and Lolo, and even right around our home. I think we'll get Mike going and see if we can wrangle some freinds into making a day of it. I am kind of a nerd like that, as I like facts, going places and treasures. I'll let you all know if we find what we're looking for. By the way, check out Julie's blog if you scrapbook- she has awesome layouts!

2

AJ has decided that he will act 2 before he is actually 2. Well, he has his moments when he thinks he is 2. Take last night for example. During bathtime, I thought a little fun bubble blowing might be fun. After a while of giggling and fun times I felt lightheaded so I thought that the bubbles should "go to bed" and they would come out again tomorrow. You would have thought I was torturing him with the screaming and the flailing that came next. When AJ wants bubbles, he wants them and that is that.

So after bath, I carry my screaming and hitting wet noodle of a son into his room to wrestle jams on and he sees his Yoda sunglasses. He WANTS THEM ON. NOW. You can see his stylish glasses in use in the previous post here at Is It Naptime Yet. At least he had stopped kicking me, so I figured why not. After bath and jams, AJ knows it is time for bed, so he goes to find his dad to give him a kiss, but he realizes that things look pretty cool through those glasses, so he takes his time finding Daddy. He looks at the table real close. He looks at the chair real close. He looks at the bookshelf...real close. He didn't protest too much when the glasses had to come off.

His shoes are another matter. He loves his big guy sandals. He loves to look at his feet peeking out. He will stop every few steps just to check if his toes are behaving. Come December, AJ will wear those sandals in the dead of winter in 3 feet of snow because they are the only shoes he will allow and that I can manage to get on his feet. I say to myself, "He is small, and you are the parent. Put the shoes on his feet." But I lose the battle every time.

I will remember this when he is 16 and we are waging much bigger battles, when there is much more at stake. Then I will look back at the bubble, Yoda glasses and sandal battles and wish it was that simple again.

Too Cool For School

AJ was ready to party at Anthony's house for the Choudhary Summer Fest. Mrs. C. made a photostory highlighting all the fun.

Furry Cousin

My mom has agreed to care for my furry niece, Bailey, in Algonquin for a while. She came from New York today and AJ had a ball playing with her in the backyard while she became comfortable. We all hope things work out for the best, but until they do, they will make great playmates.

Big Boy Hair

You know how you shave dogs down in the summer so they don't overheat? If the weather ever gets hot, AJ is prepared with his "summer cut".

Sandy Land

G & G Paldauf have a new sandbox at their house. If AJ could sleep in the sand, he would. He loves everything about sand- the feeling in his hands, the feeling on his feet, the taste of it, the sound of it, the way it flies when he flings it, the way you can dig a hole in it- everything about it. She when he gets a chance to sit and study it, he really goes to town.

3 Days Left...

There are only 3 days left and then AJ and I will be having fun in the summer sun. It has been a hard year for me, for many reasons. And I am glad it is over.

AJ and I have been playing and listening to music in the afternoon when we come home. He likes to dance, but he would rather I not film him doing so. I will have to resort to some sneaky behavior to catch that footage, I'm afraid. However, he is not shy about putting things on his head and running around like a maniac. Today it was the Kleenex box.