outdoorsy stuff – Page 7 – Myriad & Sundry

Kiddie Park

July 10, 2013 No Comments

The last weekend of June we went to a kiddie park with our friends! Jameson had never been, so we weren’t really sure what to expect. It turns out that Jameson loved rides! He wasn’t as happy riding the caged in Ferris wheel or the roller coaster, but otherwise he wanted to ride anything and everything.

The kiddie park was particularly nice because it’s made for very young children and you pay per ride with tickets that never expire. How quaint (and convenient!).

Our first ride was the boats, and poor Jonathan wanted to ride the carousel first instead. He wasn’t happy until he got to ride the horses a little later! Lily rode with her friend Milo who we met for the first time.

A little later, dads rode the roller coaster! There was a poor girl in the middle we don’t know whose face just makes me giggle. That poor thing! Jameson was ok but seemed very concerned. The ride didn’t dampen his excitement for the next though!

Coraline was pretty good while we were at the park. I did leave for a bit to feed her in the car, of which she ate a little and then wanted to nap some.

Jameson got to ride these cars twice. This is one of the few rides he gave us big grins on because the ride operator would hold out his hands and request a high five at every pass. Jameson never gave him any but he would offer the widest smiles as he passed!

Jonathan finally got to ride the carousel! Jameson wanted a pink horse but it was in the middle, and I wanted pictures of us so I offered him the one on the outside which he tolerated.

Jameson insisted on pink for the next ride, airplanes. He told me while he waited, and then ran for it as soon as the gate opened!

Our happy baby woke up and offered us smiles! We had to take a break for a little while because there was a sudden downpour! It only lasted about 15 minutes before we were able to start rides again.

Our last ride of the day was the cars, which was a little daring because the kids get out sight on the track for a minute.

At the end, we convinced Jameson to go potty so he could go out to lunch. It required a lot of patience and showing him that it wouldn’t flush on him but success!! I was so proud of him. We went to Winking Lizard then, our usual, and all the kiddos were pretty good. It was such a great day!

life with baby

Father’s Day Weekend

June 26, 2013 No Comments

For Father’s Day this year we spent Saturday with Brian’s parents and Sunday with family, which was nice and not a lot of pressure to go places and do things! We did wind up doing a lot more than planned when everyone was behaving on Sunday, which is the best way to go about things I think. Set the bar low!

It had been a while since our last cookout at Brian’s parents house, and Jameson loved having Grandma and Aunt Melissa to follow him around and play with.

Grandma even had Jameson’s big boy bed set up there so he could see that Coraline was going to use his old crib; that seemed just fine by him but we’ll see when the time comes for him to actually use it 🙂 Coraline slept like an angel in the crib. However, she did have some trouble with the bottle again which we won’t dwell on too much. Suffice it to say, she did have to skip a feeding because she refused the bottle and I had some wine, so the last hour or so of our visit was less pleasant.

Up til that point though we had a great time and dinner was excellent!

I love that I finally got some photos of some of the things Jameson loves to do at Grandma and Grandpa’s house, which include throwing rocks in the creek and going under the “tree house” looking for pine cones.

Sunday was pure spontaneity. After opening gifts from Jameson and Coraline (ice cream maker was a hit!), we went out to eat about 20 minutes away at one of our go-to restaurants, The Winking Lizard.

The restaurant has a paved trail behind it (the Towpath), so when not only Coraline was well behaved and awake but also Jameson (who actually wanted to sit in a highchair!), well, we jumped at the chance with two happy kids and took them out on the trail walking for another half hour or so.

Coraline passed out napping and woke back up on our way home but still seemed happy even though it was near her feeding time, so we dared one more stop at a frozen yogurt shop where dads got free bowls. Win win win!

It was a wonderful day with perfect weather, children, and food. I am not sure that that will happen again for a long time. We are so blessed to have such a happy, content baby who loves to watch and look around.

And… obligatory Father’s Day photos were also a little spontaneous. Jameson didn’t want to take any, so he got tickled. I got risky and stood over them on the bed with the camera, over tickled toddlers and an infant. No one got hurt, phew.

We sure do love you, daddy, and had the best weekend with you!

children

Adventure

June 13, 2013 No Comments

On Sunday we had what must’ve seemed like an adventure to Jameson! We first went to see a castle, followed by seeing lots of animals in the marsh!

Squire’s Castle is north of us and we had never been there with Jameson; in fact, I hadn’t been there in years and it was Brian’s first time. It’s small but to Jameson it seemed pretty big and empty. He wanted to jump from the steps.

Just outside the castle there is a paved path and a dirt path that go around the grounds; we went up the dirt path a little ways until it got too steep for the stroller. Coraline was just wide eyed, looking up at the tree canopy above her. It really was the perfect day for it, not too hot or cold, and cloudy without being chilly.

We returned back and I tried to feed Coraline unsuccessfully on a bench; about 15 minutes later I had more success in the car where we were both a bit more comfortable. While I fed Coraline, Jameson devoured his lunch in a picnic area in the Cleveland Metroparks. A minute away we turned into the park with the marsh boardwalk which I also remembered from my trip a long time ago. It was as I remembered! The marsh is full of birds, frogs, fish and plant life, so much so that it is almost loud as you walk around.

Coraline was very alert but starting to get a little antsy in her stroller. Likewise, Jameson just wanted to run on the path but he had to hold hands near the water.

Jameson didn’t seem to understand the concept of the telescope yet and couldn’t quite figure out how to look through it even after Brian focused it on a goose nearby.

He was however very very excited about the baby duck we saw very close to the railing! We talked about that baby duck for awhile and after we finished on the boardwalk he wanted to go back and splash a stone in the water “by the baby duck” which luckily for it was gone.

The frog statues were fun to sit on, but I think Brian was more excited about the real frogs he could point out to Jameson.

There’s a real frog in the picture below, can you find it?

We walked around outside the marsh and Brian showed Jameson how to skip stones. Or rather, Jameson wanted to throw big rocks in the water to make a big splash. I loved watching them together.

As for me, aside from watching my two favorite guys, my favorite part was the lily pads and the cattails (Brian likes to “reminisce” about the time I left a cattail in his car and created a huge mess of fuzzies when we remembered a few weeks later).

children

Neighborhood Party

June 12, 2013 No Comments

We’ve meshed our backyard play equipment into a mutual spot around the center of our houses so that Jameson and Lily can play on whatever they choose; and last weekend, we also meshed to create a big cookout. The neighbors were already planning the gathering, and Brian and I provided the bounce house.

Jameson has become really daring in the bounce house and jumps from the top of the climbing half cylinder straight up and into the “bars” in the obstacle course bouncer. He also will slide down the middle between the two actual slides. I only held my breath a couple times while watching him.

Coraline enjoyed being outside as usual but had trouble napping.

Brian cracked me up with pretend feeding her… it won’t be long though, I’m sure it will go by quickly!

We enjoyed burgers, pasta salad and fruit as well as lots of different dips for appetizers. I nearly stuffed myself in dip long before food was ready!

One of the best parts of having extra kids over is watching Jameson interact. He wanted to spend most of his time in the bounce house, but he would try to get other people to go with him (including mom and dad who refused). He really wanted to be around the other kids, and especially the older ones. Lily’s cousin in particular captured his interest and he followed her around specifically for a while. They even went inside where he burrowed his way between them in Lily’s bed, which was pretty funny and cute, since you know, he’s 2. haha!

children

Memorial Day Friends

June 3, 2013 No Comments

We took Jameson to see the doctor on Saturday over the holiday weekend and found out he had strep throat and an ear infection, but thankfully he wasn’t contagious 24 hours later, so we still were able to get together with JP, Lisa & Jonathan on Sunday in celebration of Memorial Day and Brian’s birthday. (Mmm another ice cream cake!)

I love this close up of Jameson; he was hamming it up for the camera, which is rare for him. He still moves very fast so I took about 20 of these hoping one would be in focus. To get his natural smile, I made him laugh a little by asking him to show his teeth (that’s what this pose is below)

He may have had strep, but that didn’t stop me from getting one of the two of them together. It was still on the cool side so everyone was in long sleeves but I loved the opportunity to get Coraline next to Jameson outside. She’s getting ever sturdier and is a little less intimidating for him. He was willing to put his arm around her.

When I laid Coraline down in the yard in our limited shade with her blanket, Jameson had to get his and join in as well.

We enjoyed bratwurst and burgers with JP and Lisa’s pasta salad and corn on the cob. Jameson is an expert at eating corn this year, but he did lose his first piece on the patio. Oops! Good thing we made extra.

The boys only sat at the table for about 5 minutes before they joined us at the adult table; luckily there were plenty of chairs.

After dinner, we all played outside for a while. Coraline got a little antsy and over tired though. It didn’t stop the party though!

Jameson and Jonathan decided it would be great fun to go down the slides head first… Clearly a lot of fun! The slides aren’t too high and they don’t get much speed so we all enjoyed watching the boys find this new way to play.

I love seeing Jonathan and Jameson play together. Jameson was so excited for him to come over and kept saying “Jonathan play with me?”, and even though by the end of the day he was exhausted and cranky, undoubtedly in part because of being ill, it was so much fun.

house

Fresh from the Garden

May 30, 2013 No Comments

We finally got some rain at the end of last week; it was nice not to have to water the garden. Also to start filling our rain barrel!

Brian called around local breweries and wineries looking for an old barrel; we obtained one a couple weeks ago and he built a stand for it and installed it around the shed gutters (also newly installed).

It has a minor leak around the spigot which he just installed, but otherwise it looks like it’s going to work out perfect.

The garden is coming along great, and I was excited to see the radishes shot straight up. Within a couple weeks I already had to thin them out. We also have pole beans, carrots and green onions sprouting, and the peppers and tomato plants are getting bigger.

Last week we also added mint and strawberries potted, planted lettuce, and some additional pepper plants and basil.

Saturday was also our very first crop share program pick up. After three years of being on the waiting list, we finally were able to obtain “shares” at a local farm. We pay a lump sum, and each week we pick up a box of fresh produce. In our box this week was kale, bok choy, turnips, radishes, mustard greens, and a lettuce head. You can’t see the lettuce head here or the bok choy.

I’m so excited with the fresh veggies we are going to have this summer!

children

Thomas the Train

May 29, 2013 No Comments

Brian’s birthday was on Saturday, and he opted to spend a little extra time this Memorial Weekend with family and took off work on Friday. We took Jameson to see Thomas the Train at our local railroad!

It was so brisk on Friday in the lower 40’s that we had to wear heavy coats, jeans and hats after weeks of shorts and short sleeve weather. It was a rough transition but worth it to see Jameson excited. He started out with a solemn observant face but got more excited as Thomas approached.

Jameson was even more excited once we got on the train; we had another 15 minute wait before the train was to leave the station but he was so well behaved. He even refused snacks!

Speaking of well behaved, Coraline was simply adorable and pleasant the entire time. She sat still for about 15 minutes and then enjoyed her back being patted for about a half hour, just looking around. After the ride, she fell back asleep in her stroller and on the way home. I am so proud that we enjoyed a family outing without anyone crying.

Well-dressed conductor-like attendants came by and hole punched our tickets. Jameson was a little concerned but always happy to be helpful and hand our tickets over.

During the ride, we saw water and trees and flowers and passed on rail crossing and waved at the cars as we passed. I loved this photo since I could see Jameson’s reflection in the window.

We opted against professional photos after we exited the train and instead took a few of our own in front of Thomas. So much fun! Jameson told us at dinner that he had fun riding Thomas the train and that he was going to tell Lily (our neighbor friend) and Mr. Curtis (her dad) about it the next day.

After the train ride, they had some other activities. Jameson had a cold which was causing a fever between Advil doses (ok we found out Saturday it was strep throat and an ear infection, so we sincerely apologize if we got anyone else sick!), so we didn’t want to spend much more time there.

He sat in the construction truck at the before the ride, and ended going into the pilot seat in part of an airplane. But I think his favorite, other than the ride itself, was getting a tattoo to remind him of this fun day!

children

Water Slide

May 28, 2013 No Comments

The weekend before last was so hot, we enjoyed pulling out the pool that goes with our swing set and playing outside. (Sadly our Memorial Weekend was COLD!) Jameson loves dumping water down the slide and going down after it.

After over a week without a proper nap (since he doesn’t nap anywhere but school, he didn’t sleep at Meemaw and Grandpa’s or over the weekends), he was simply exhausted and on Sunday he passed out on Brian. Brian moved him onto the couch by himself where he slept for over two hours before we woke him up.

Coraline even napped some at the same time, and a quiet house in the middle of the day was very odd.

We also found eggs in the bird’s nest on our porch. However, something got into the eggs since and its now empty; mother bird has abandoned the nest. I was particularly disappointed since I wanted to both document it and show Jameson their growth. They were pretty.

general life

Golden Evenings

May 21, 2013 No Comments

In the evenings the past couple weeks we’ve been working on the garden (now finally planted!), and playing outside. We’ve had near a week straight of beautiful high 60s and 70s weather with just a little breeze to keep it comfortable. And of course, the sun makes such beautiful golden light in the evenings.

We have let Jameson stay up a little later than he usually wood, but that’s okay. It’s totally worth it to see that wide, open mouthed smile.

Brian just took him to get his hair cut the other week (first time at a non-kids oriented salon), so I am particularly enjoying these photos of him swinging with his hair flying wild in the wind.

I am sure I will love our evenings even more when I return to work. For now, I just enjoy all our family together in the evenings, and the ability to take Coraline out in the dying sunlight since I usually run for shade for her. It’s a wonderful time.

general life

Zoo Trip with Aunt Carol

May 9, 2013 1 Comment

The animal Jameson told us he wanted to see this time was a polar bear (last time was a zebra). We did see the polar bear, but not until the very end!

First we saw the elephants, and for the first time we happened to be there exactly when they were doing the Elephant Crossing (rotating the elephants from one side of the exhibit to the other, crossing close in front of us!)

The elephants lift up their trunks and open their mouths for a treat when they are finished, which was pretty cool to see.

It was nice that it wasn’t too hot; many of the animals were active. It did get warmer than I originally expected though since the rain held off and the sun came out!

We went with my Aunt Carol which was great since I don’t have a double stroller. It would’ve been ~~hard~~ impossible to push two strollers by myself!

Jameson was very into climbing onto the fences. We would stop, he was request to get out of the stroller and climb up; and when we went to move on, he wanted to buckle himself in by himself.

We stopped here underneath flowering trees for me to feed Coraline, and Jameson was great while we waited. He had an applesauce snack. We also heard the wolves suddenly start howling like crazy, so Aunt Carol took him to go look at them. We usually can’t see them, but apparently they were visible and calling out!

The sloth bear was great. He got up and rotated himself, slinging his head over the log like that as we were watching.

And finally we got to see the polar bear!

We stopped and ate subs at a picnic area which was surprisingly calm since there were schools at the zoo this weekday. It’s so nice to pack up a little lunch so we don’t have to buy anything and just stop when we’re hungry.

After the zoo visit, we played outside with Lily for a while. Coraline slept most of the day this way in her stroller, so later in the afternoon I made her get up and stretch out and play inside for a bit. Aunt Melissa came over in the evening to help with bedtime since Brian had a work dinner. It was such a lovely day to have Jameson home and play.

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