Loving the Outdoors

Well, Josh is gone. After many LONG delays, rescheduling, and frustration (due to the crazy storms last night), he finally took off this evening heading to his last training school in California. I’m already sad that he’s gone (again) but at least I can sit here and smile as I continue to write about all the fun we had over the last two weeks.

There was a morning during the first week that Josh was here that I just couldn’t resist going outside. We’ve had some gorgeous weather over the past two weeks and we tried to spend as much of it outside as possible. That morning, we headed down to Ben Butterworth Parkway. For those of you not from the area, it is a walking trail along the Mississippi River that stretches for miles through Moline.

We took a long walk along the river and then let Dylan burn off some energy at the park. The playground is kind of shaped like a ship and there’s a really tall slide that, I think, is supposed to look like the crows nest? Well, Dylan wasn’t intimidated by the height at all. As a matter of fact, he climbed those stairs several times, passing up the smaller slides in favor of the huge spiral one.

He’s quite the adventurer! For being only one and a half, he’s such a rock star! I think he may have been showing off a bit for Daddy. Josh was at the bottom of the slide to pick him up and swing him around in circles every time, so that was probably another big part of why Dylan braved the top of the ship so many times.

On the other hand, he was not really a fan of the swing. For a kid who loves to rough house and be thrown around, he wasn’t all about flying through the air in swing form! Not even with Daddy holding him on the swing. But after clearly telling us he was through with the swings, he was running back to the tall, curvy slide in no time!

Back a home a few days later, Dylan got an early Easter gift from Grandma Linda, Grandpa Bob, Great-Grandpa Ben & Great-Grandma Cathie…his own slide for his backyard! He loved it! It was even better when Daddy gave him an extra push so he flew down extra fast! He also likes to stop himself before reaching the very bottom and then jumping off into the grass. Once again…such a boy!

We also got to celebrate Opening Day! I was happy to see that ESPN was celebrating the day by showing the Cardinals vs. Marlins game. Dylan and I got dressed in our awesome St. Louis gear while Josh wore his Tigers shirt. I am a baseball girl, and getting to watch the first game of the season with my boys made it the perfect evening. We even had my parents over for dinner! One of many great nights.

These two weeks together was so wonderful for Josh & Dylan. Dylan got to spend time with his favorite person (Yes, he’s a Daddy’s boy and I am totally okay with that. It’s easy when he’s got such a great Daddy).

And Josh got to really experience how much Dylan has started talking and communicating. He learns so quickly! Josh taught him a few really funny things while he was here and wouldn’t stop smiling the whole time. I’m sure it was the combination of how fun it was and how proud he was of his little man.

Christmas at Marlene & Larry's House

When we left the Quad Cities, we were headed East to Josh’s sister’s house for the Christmas weekend. We had such a wonderful time with Larry, Marlene and family. Dylan was completely loved on the entire time we were there.

Setting the table for our Christmas meal

On Christmas Eve, we went to church for the Christmas service and then headed back to the house for a wonderful Christmas meal. Marlene and Larry cooked up an incredible feast.

And we had to have Christmas toasts! There was a Sparkling Cider toast and a Corona Christmas toast. Good stuff!

On Christmas Morning, the younger kids were SO excited to open their presents, so we had an early wake-up call.

However, Marlene and Larry did tell them that they had to wait until at least 6. So, I was woken up at about 6:09 and present unwrapping commenced at about 6:15. I left Dylan in bed, but he heard all the excitement and woke up anyway. He was a little too tired to get into it like the other kids but he tried. As you can imagine, there was an late morning nap in store for him.

Cute Side Story: When we opened an 8x10 photo of the family (taken last summer at Grandpa West’s funeral) sent from Joe & Cindy, Dylan was very interested. He inspected it closely, and found his Grandma Cindy (you can see him pointing at her in this photo). He still likes looking at that photo. I keep it on a shelf low enough for him to reach. He carries it around the house checking everyone out.

We tried taking a family photo, but it was a little early for all of us and Dylan wasn’t really in the mood. Oh well, it works.

Strangely enough, I think Dylan’s favorite Christmas gift was actually Larry’s. He got a massage chair. Dylan saw all of us trying it out and decided that he wanted a go at it. We put it on the lower back setting so it was perfect for him. He sat so still and was so serious the entire time he was getting massaged. I thought it might freak him out, but he loved it. How crazy is that?

We left on Christmas afternoon to start our drive home. I know Dylan enjoyed his time at Aunt Marlene & Uncle Larry’s house just as much as we did. It was so special to be able to spend the holiday with them. We are very blessed to have such incredible people in our family.

Dylan and his cousins 

And the Award Goes To…

Elleah checking out Dylan's huge stash of new toys!

Well, Dylan’s birthday has come and gone. And, boy, did he get spoiled! A HUGE thank you to everyone who gave my little guy a card or gift. We were definitely feeling the love. And Dylan has been loving playing with his huge pile of toys.

Josh and I have joined the club of Frustrated Parents Association of ‘How the Heck do you get this toy out of it’s packaging?’ What is the deal with that??

Because he got so many toys, I thought I would give awards out! But don’t get too excited, there’s no trophy or anything…

The Duplicated Award: Helicopter (The Gooch’s)
Even though Dylan got a ton of presents, there was only one duplicate! The helicopter that sings. And when you drop the colored balls into the top, it tells you what colors they are. Dylan really likes this one and it keeps him busy for long spurts of time (so I like it too!).

Best Themed Award: The Pirate Ship (From Matt & Brittany)
This ship is a Mega Blocks toy that you can take completely apart. And it makes noises when you push the little monkey on the ship deck. Matt & Britt also provided a second smaller ship because, “The pirates needed another ship to commandeer.” Brilliant!

Check out all those noise makers that came inside!

The Loudest Award: Drum Set (The Skala’s)
More often than not, you’ll hear single or kid-less couples say that they bought the noisiest toy that they could find. Our loudest toy this year was one of the only ones that didn’t require batteries…ironic? It was a drum with several instruments inside. It even came with drumsticks! He loves using the drumsticks (on everything) and really likes the little egg shakers. So much noise!!! The Skala’s don’t have kids, but they have a dog. I see a really noisy gift for Dixie from the Sitko Family sometime in the near future!

Best Immediate Appeal Award: Thomas the Train! (The Jordan’s) At Dylan’s birthday party, this was the last gift opened, and that was probably a good thing because he immediately got on his new train and continued to play with it for the next 25 minutes. At first he sat on it for a while and played with the buttons. But then he realized that he could push it all over the house. He forgot that there were about 25 people in his way and just took off. Who needs Mommy & Daddy when you’ve got Thomas? BTW, I find myself running up and down our hallway pushing Thomas around while Dylan sits holding on for dear life and squealing!

20 minutes later, he was still pushing it around the house!

Best Daddy Approved Award: Blue Car, Drumsticks, Green Balls
Let’s face it. My husband is just a big kid at heart. He gets just as excited as Dylan about having new things to play with. So there is an award for the Most Played With By Daddy toys. And it’s a three way tie!

~The Blue Car. This was one of the gifts from Jim & Diane Vana and I don’t think anyone realized how great this car was going to be. It’s one of those push and go cars. But what we discovered over time was that if you really revved it up, it would bounce off walls and turn around, pop a wheelie, spin around in circles, and more! Many hours are spent in this house with Josh letting the car fly and Dylan chasing it down and bringing it back. All boy, all the time!

~The Drumsticks. Yes, Josh is an accomplice with the ‘Loudest’ toy. His idle hands find themselves using those drumsticks on everything…his leg, the couch, the floor, other toys! One thing’s for sure - we’ve got the beat!

~The Green Balls. Danielle bought Dylan a variety of balls. A huge bouncy one, a medium sized one that looks like a giant tennis ball, and a smaller one with noise makers inside. These balls create elaborate games of catch between my two guys.

Best Gift Not At Our House: The Wagon!
I know I already posted photos of Dylan in his wagon. But he loved it so much! It was a huge hit! I know he can't wait to get back to Grandma Linda & Grandpa Bob's house so he can ride his wagon again!

Overall, all of the gifts Dylan got this year were amazing. I could have given dozens of awards, but I have to get back to playtime now.

Dylan's Moline Vacation Highlights

I think Dylan’s highlight of our trip to Moline wasn’t Lili the cat, who he could never quite catch (no matter how hard he tried), all the different and interesting toys that aren’t at his house, the different house with that one step he could climb up and down all day long…no, I think the best part of Dylan’s vacation was his new Wagon!

Grandma Linda and Grandpa Bob got Dylan his own Radio Flyer Wagon, complete with seat belts and cup holders! He got a wagon ride every single day! And when he wasn’t passed out, he was talking and talking and talking! He loved it!

My mom, quickly adjusted the seating situation after the first wagon ride (when he fell alseep before she even got to the top of the street) so that Dylan had a blanket behind him to soften the blow when he passed out. He loved that thing so much, that you couldn’t even say the word without him walking over to the back door and looking at my mom like he was saying, “Grandma, I heard you say Wagon…let’s go!“ She even took him to the Farmer’s Market one morning and pulled him around! What a lucky little guy.

We also had a Birthday party since we were there only a couple days before his first birthday. It was a really nice little gathering with family & close friends, and Dylan got some great gifts. He also got to try some cake! I think he liked smearing it between his fingers more than he did eating it, but he smiled a lot, laughed a lot and made a huge mess. So I think it was a success.

Another great gift Dylan got was his John Deere sleeping bag from Grandpa Bob. It has a pillow and a fleece blanket all connected to it! It also rolls up and Velcros shut for easy moving. We’ve had it out in our living room since we got back. He loves to snuggle on his new blanket, especially before bedtime. He and Oscar even share sometimes. Another great success!

We had two flights to get back home to GA. The first one was a short jaunt to Chicago. We were in the last row and there was no one next to us, so Dylan got his own seat! But he didn’t’ really get to enjoy it because he was passed out before we took off. But how cute does he look in his own chair! I can't believe how big he is getting!

When we got home, Dylan had some quality cuddling time with his best friend, Oscar. Maybe Dylan was telling him all about the cat at Grandma & Grandpa's house that wouldn't let him snuggle, no matter how long he chased her around the house. Maybe he was saying that he didn't have cat hair on his clothes all week. Maybe he was just saying, "I missed you so much, Oscar!" And to tell the truth, I think Oscar secretly liked it.