Our own park

It is getting harder to chase after Dane in the front yard so we had to move our play time to the back yard. Jacob and I have been on the look out for cool toys to put in the backyard to keep Dane entertained this summer. With a second baby on the way we are not sure how much getting out we will be doing so I wanted to have a nice place to play without going somewhere. We have managed to get quite a few things for Dane recently. His two favorites are the sand/water table and the big play gym. We have only been able to pull out the sand / water table a couple times but he has a blast making mud or even just getting himself soaking wet.

17 months

I am sure if I looked back over the months I have said that this age is the best but honestly I am having SO MUCH FUN with this age. Danes personality is really developing these days, the good and the bad. He is starting to repeat words that you say and actions you make. Since he was about 3 months old he has been in love with Baby Einstein videos. Although we don't let him watch them very often he goes absolutely crazy when we do. I noticed the other day that he was performing the actions on the video right before it happened. The one he is watching now is called Baby Moves and it teachings things like stand up, wave, clap, spin, etc. Now when I ask him to wave he knows exactly what to do. I am just amazed that he is learning from the dvd already. His favorite part in the video is when the kangaroo puppet plays peek-a-boo.

Another new thing he is doing is he wants to be in his crib all the time. In the mornings now he wakes up at 7 and the second I walk in he throws up his hand and asks me for his milk. Once I give it to him he wants to lay in there for another hour plus. I usually give him some books too and then I go back to bed. Somewhere around 8 or 8:30 I will go back in there and I still have to fight the kid to get him out. I don't know what makes him want to be in there so long by himself. I would think he would be so bored and ready to jump out once he woke up. Oh well the nice part is I get to relax in bed before I have to fight him to get out and put on his clothes. He is also doing this at his nap time too. Maybe he gets this from me because I love laying in bed all day too!

breakfast with daddy

It is exciting watching him become so independent. He wants to walk on his own now and sit at the kitchen table in a booster seat (definitely not in his high chair because it is for babies!), run, play, and climb all by himself. He doesn't really want help with much lately except he still needs someone to read him all his books. Jacob is his favorite reader. Once he sees his daddy it is only a matter of a few minutes before he takes him a book to read him. He also likes to eat a second breakfast with daddy once he gets up.

Visit to Crown Center

Double X for the win!

hiding in the sea weeds

found an abandoned ship

every ship needs a good captain

thank goodness he is a good swimmer or that shark would have caught him.

reading One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish

Love my boys!

The moms and I took our little ones to Crown Center to see the Under the Sea exhibit. Every few months Crown Center will host a free exhibit for little kids to explore and play in. Several months ago we went to the Clifford exhibit and Dane loved it. This exhibit was quite a bit different because it was like a maze. Dane wore me out running around in there. Thank goodness Jacob went with us because we needed his extra hands! It didn't help that there were lots of other kids there too. The exhibit had all kinds of places to hide and interact like steering a ship, mirrors, and stairs to climb. They also had a table of books about fish and underwater stuff. Although we were exhausted I think the kids enjoyed it. Dane did get a little overwhelmed towards the end so we decided to get some lunch at our favorite pizza place D'bronx and then we stopped by the Crayola store. Dane enjoyed playing tic tac toe while he was there.

Playdate with Mattie

Dane can't help but give a cheesy smile when he sees the camera!

Mattie shows Dane how to color.

Although Mattie lives 2 houses down we don't seem to make very many opportunities to get the two kids together. They are 6 months apart but so very different. I think this summer they will be best of buds playing outside. Lately Mattie has been talking about Dane a lot though so her mom has to make time for us. :) A few nights ago we let them play for an hour or so and they played pretty good. They ate pigs in a blanket, fed the dog pigs in a blanket, colored, and played in her cool ball pit.

Dr. Seuss at Barnes and Nobles

 

 

We took Dane to Barnes and Nobles last Saturday for story time and it was Dr. Seuss Saturday! This was the perfect day for us to go because all 3 of us love Dr. Seuss.  Although the story time at Barnes and Nobles is not as age appropriate for Dane as the library's it was still fun. The lady read Green Eggs and Ham to the kids and then Dr. Seuss surprised all the kids. After they visited and took pictures with him the kids get to color or do a craft while drinking a Starbucks vanilla frapp all for free. What a deal huh?

First experience at Fun Run

Last Saturday I took Dane to fun run because Jacob was working and it was rainy outside. We had never been but I heard they had a toddler area so we decided to check it out. Unfortunately Dane was too scared to get into the bounce houses. I thought he would enjoy them since he loves the trampoline so much but he wasn't having any part of going on those things. Besides the bounce houses they had a few big toys to push around, which Dane loves to do. They also had an arcade too. I managed to get a few pictures of him playing with other toys before he found the arcade. Once he feasted his eyes on this race car driving video game it was all over. This kid was glued to this game. At one point a 3 year old boy tried to come over and pull him down but he had a death grip on that steering wheel. When it was time to go home he kicked and screamed all the way out the door and proceeded pretty much the whole way home. It was kind of comical how he tried to keep himself crying. I guess I give the kid an A for effort. It is so crazy how much he loves video games already. Of course you know who is to blame for this right? All in all we had a good time.

eIntense driving taking place

Asher and Dane both had lots of laughs at the crocodile game

Day at Oak Grove Park

Parks are the best! Nothing like being out in the nice weather enjoying a free activity. Last week we met some friends at Oak Grove park to enjoy being outside. Dane is now at the point where he can get up and down off of the big toys and slides all on his own. I thought this would really be nice because I could sit back on the bench and watch but this also means he can take off running places he shouldn't as well. Oh well who needs rest anyway right?