2009_08_30 Sunday

Today, we visited the Black Moshannon State Park's bog walk. They had so many wild blueberries still ripe that we picked them off the bush. Jonathan got a big kick out of that. And, he ran along the boardwalks, hiding from us at the turns. He thought he was pretty darn funny. It gave me a coronary, since there was no fencing from the water/bog. I saw a snake -- an anaconda, for sure. We also took a stroll into the forest, where he and Opa found lots of mushrooms, acorns, and trees to hide behind. When the clouds rolled in, we hightailed it to a gas station (rolled in on fumes!).

2009_08_29 Saturday

Today was a very busy day for us! The roosters woke us up very early: 6:30 or so. We spent the morning helping Oma at her local farmers' market.

In the afternoon, we went to the Grange Fair to see all the farm animals (piggies, chickens, ducks, bunnies, mama cows, baby cows, sheep, and goats) and farm equipment. It was rediculously muddy, but we had a nice stroller to keep Jonathan above it all. My poor car, though. Right outside the event was a train-themed restaurant, where we had dinner. Jonathan got a real kick out of all the trains everywhere. They even had two real cars to walk around.

2009_08_28 Friday

Due to the rain, I cancelled our weekly Stroller Rollers walk in the reservation. Instead, I got us packed up and out the door en route to the Barony. Jonathan is just so great in the car; he occupies himself with his toys and books. We made it around 3 and spent the rest of the day playing with the peeps and chickens and the cool trains and blocks.

2009_08_27 Thursday

Today we embarked on a new adventure: we went to the Dover Community Children's Museum because it was "Everything Dino" Day. That wasn't really all that impressive, but the museum was cute. Jonathan got to play in an indoor lake house, which had blue mats for the water and green mats for the grass. They had a small space station, a Picasso exhibit, some cultural items, a 'televised' stage, and an electricity exhibit. The biggest hit, though, was the train tracks, which were no different than what we have at home, but somehow cooler.

2009_08_26 Wednesday

We had our art class this morning at Whole Foods. Alanya and Josh both came, so that made it even more fun! Then, we blew some bubbles outside. He's getting very good at that, although he blows by making an 'f' sound.

Then, the excitement hit. I built up his toddler bed and he climbed in for his nap. He stayed for about an hour...without sleeping before freaking out for his purple paci. So, I placed the mattress back in the crib, and he's zonked out quickly.

2009_08_25 Tuesday

We spent the better part of today at the zoo. It was gorgeous out, so I figured we better take advantage! I didn't even bring the stroller, so I knew he'd get tired fairly quickly. We participated in their animal program, so he got to see a snake, a box turtle, and a skink (which he's confused with "stink" and says "peee-u" everytime) up close. Then we also splurged for a ride on the carosel. He sat on a frog with an eagle saddle and thought that was very cool. He began to sputter out when we got to the farm, which is the furthest from the entrance possible. Oh well. I was amazed, though, that he could remember which animals were at the zoo (porcupine, eagle, bison, etc). He wasn't interested in the train ride this time.

When we got home, I set up the toddler car bed for him, made a big fuss about how neat it was, and explained that big boys sleep in car beds without pacis. He was pretty skeptical, although he enjoyed playing on it. I left the "baby crib" up for him, and pacis are ok in there. He actually op-ed for the crib for both sleeping opportunities. I was a little disappointed, but it was just the first day.

2009_08_22 Saturday

What a rockin' good time we had today! It was Jonathan's 2nd birthday party. We had about 40 people come, including Grandpoppy, GreatGrand Aunt Janie, GrandAunt Holly, all three sets of grandparents, three sets of aunts/uncles/cousins, and a bunch of playmates. Unfortunately, the weather didn't cooperate with us this year (rainy and humid; ugh!), so we had to do it all inside. Dave flew out to get a mega-air conditioner right before the party, and it was such a wise move!! I had about 5 stations throughout the house (puppet theater, club house, ball throw, truck mat, picture frame decorating, normal toys and VHS tapes in the den, and a bubble station outside w/ Oma/Opa) to keep the kiddies occupied, and a kiddy refrigerator for their drinks. Each kid got a picture frame to decorate with stickers in lieu of party favors; we sponsored a poison dart frog at the local zoo for a year instead. Opa grilled like a champion. And, we had cupcakes and ice cream sundaes (thanks to Uncle Steve's expert scooping). What a great time. It was really neat to see so many different friends/family mixing too. I was pooped, and I sure hope all of the kids slept well because they sure did get a lot of energy out.