3-D Artwork

PJ glued colorful feathers to a paper plate at school today.  I wish they took videos of some of the activities that they do at school.  This is one of those activities I would have liked to have seen in action.  I can only imagine glue with a bunch of toddlers, let alone with feathers.  I know that PJ prefers to eat feathers, so I just giggle every time I look at this piece of artwork.  

Colander Hat

PJ and I enjoyed the afternoon playing in his little pool.  If you look closely you will notice a saggy diaper from sitting in the middle of the pool with the colander that is shown on his head in the picture.  While he was in the pool PJ taking the colander, putting it under water to fill it, and then would get quite frustrated when the colander came of of the pool empty of water.  So to change the result, PJ got out of the pool put the colander on his head and started walking around the deck pouring water from a cup all over the place instead. 

Cheyenne's Latest Discovery

PJ has been given this fabulous little chair by some great friends of ours.  Rosie the Boxer has debuted on the blog as the first user of the chair.  PJ has used the chair since, but I have yet to get him on camera in the seat.  He would have to be still in it for at least a minute to capture the photo.  So today I snapped a photo of Cheyenne, who was being very still in the little chair. In fact when I discovered her, I had to leave the room and come back for the camera, and she didn't move.  Apparently that chair is super comfy!

Favorite Photo from the Weekend

We got some great quality time with Stanley girl this weekend.  I had to post another picture of her perfection.

Blackberries

Ry and PJ left the G-Rent's house after dinner to walk down the driveway and pick some blackberries before PJ went to bed.  About 15 minutes later the boys returned, and evidence shows that they found some berries.  Apparently PJ loves blackberries as much as he loves raspberries. 

Ry is showing us a container that has about 10 berries in it. 
I think they ate more than they brought home!

Look at all that berry juice!

Happy boys

Stanley Girl!

Today we got to meet our precious niece Stanley.  She is perfect!  To see all the pictures from this weekend, follow this link.

Banana Breakfast

PJ woke up so happy this morning.  While we got ready for our day he played around us, giggling and just being happy.  During our morning routine PJ gets some sort of breakfast; today was a banana.  While we got ready PJ plays and every few minutes he comes over and requests a bite of banana and then goes on his way.  So this morning he ate the entire banana, while dancing and playing with Cheyenne.

Fast forward about 20 minutes later and be thankful I didn't have the extra hands to take any pictures. 

I am looking in my rear view mirror about to change lanes, when I notice PJ put his fingers in his mouth and then a few moments later he coughs and the entire breakfast banana is now on the outside, all over his outfit, the car seat and quickly getting into his hands, which in turns gets in his hair. It took me 5 mintues to get to the exit and pull over.  Within that time, PJ was covered head to toe in banana vomit, half happy to play in this wierd feeling stuff and half upset that he covers in this wierd feeling stuff.
As I proceed to get him out and strip him from his banana vomit covered outfit his mood turns to sheer delight.  He is waving and clapping at all the big trucks surrounding us since I have found a truck stop to pull into for the clean up.  So here we are in the truck parking lot, little man is in just his diaper and sneakers waving at everyone.  I have his diaper bag out looking for a new outfit and what I can use to clean up the mess.  Thank goodness I have an extra bib, a burp cloth, a muslin balnket and a lot of wipes.  While I get to work cleaning up the mess as much as possible to get the boy back in the seat; PJ is emptying the diaper bag, bringing me each item as if its a treasure.  After about 3 items were removed, he found the goldfish.  Thank goodness for goldfish!  PJ started eating, which was a relief for so many reasons: I knew he wasn't actually sick, he had a great distraction and he stopped emptying the diaper bag. 
The sweetest part of all of this is that PJ stayed very close to me.  For the most part he hugged my leg or was bringing me things the entire time.  PJ being a typical toddler could have run off.  I am proud to say I didn't have to chase him.  In fact PJ was being so good that at one point I called out his name rather sternly because he wasn't in my line of sight, but that was because he was right at my feet being really quiet just hanging, eating goldfish.  I had to stop what I was doing right then and give PJ a hug so he knew I wasn't mad but instead so happy he was such a good boy. 
I am so grateful I was able to stop and hug my sweet boy and just embrace the moment of ridiculousness.  Just as I was just starting to get into my own head about how awful the mess was and how late I was going to be to work, PJ's sweet face looked up at me and it all washed away. 
In about 15 minutes we were all back in the car, dirty clothes in a bag, wipes disposed of, and best of all little man trying to sing The Lumineer song "Ho Hey".

X-man's Visit

Tonight our friends Katie, Alberto, and Xavier joined us for dinner. We had a great time eating and catching up out on the deck. PJ and X-man played a bit too. X-man brought his new camping chair. PJ was interested in the chair, but even more entranced with X-man.

15 Months Old!

Yesterday marked 15 months 'young' for PJ.  I am having a hard time believing its mid-August already, although we have done a pretty good job of getting out and enjoying the summer.  PJ loves to be outside, this is not a new fact, but now that he can walk he has been trying really hard to get the door to the deck open to get himself outside.  He really enjoys playing on the deck and throwing the ball for his puppy.  We moved Poppy's cart outside and that has provided countless hours of entertainment.  I have actually been able to prepare an entire meal while PJ wheeled the cart from one end of the deck to the other and then repeated.  I would say his most favorite activities this month have been when he is outside.
The latest highlights that have come with a month of growth are as follows:

• No more spilled milk! 
• PJ used to throw his milk cup after every sip he took from it.  Of course it took me several frustrating meals before I tried calmly saying "PJ please put that cup right here on the table when you are done drinking." You will not believe it!  PJ actually put the cup exactly where I said on the table and didn't throw the milk.  We have a 98% success rate with this method which is much cleaner and much less stressful at mealtimes.  No discipline was really needed; turns out PJ just wanted to understand his what was right, not what was wrong.  I think I learned more from this development than PJ did!
• A lot more sign language
• Pj had already mastered 'more' but now he is starting to sign 'eat', 'milk', and most recently 'please'.  The joy of sign language is that there is a lot less yelling and screaming from PJ and more adamant 'hand waving'.  This change keeps things much more calm while Momma "slowly" pours more milk for PJ, or Daddy takes a full minute to slice a banana. 
• Mastering stairs and using furniture/hands/railings
• PJ has definitely figured out stairs, especially going up.  As for safely going down on his own, he has figured out that he can go down anything on his bottom and be safe.  Although, safe is barely an interest for PJ.  He is always trying to figure out how to do things like Mom and Dad without having to modify.  So he has also put together there are railings and things on the stairs, or Momma's hand that can be of use to him in getting what he wants.  Its only a matter of time before he realizes a stool can get him higher, or using the cabinets could get him closer to the counter. 
• Stacking toys with pegs
• Uncle Troy and Aunt Sami got PJ a toy for Christmas that up until this month PJ has had little interest in, but now its the best!  We spent over 30 minutes (eons in toddler time) taking the pegged circles, squares, and octagons off the peg and then back on.  This has been a fun evening activity as we get quiet for bed and start to slow down for the night. 
• More babbling
• PJ is still not saying too many words beyond what I had listed last month, but he sures tries to say a lot more sounds.  Yesterday he babbled for the entire drive home from hiking (about a 60 minute drive).  PJ seems to pick up  repeating sign language a little quicker than repeating words.  I know PJ is comprehending everything we say and share with him, but for now just sounds and pointing in return.  I am not in any rush to hear him speak, but I am looking forward to hearing the words he decides to use first.  He hears so much from us, that it will be fun to see what he thinks is worth repeating. 
• Hiking 
• PJ loves it!  When we get his pack out the night before to get all prepared PJ will try to climb in it and is very interested in everything we put into the bag.  When we are out hiking he loves to be able to drink out of Dad's camelbak while he is still in the pack.  He babbles, points and wants to know everything he is seeing.  We have been on quite a few hikes this summer and so far not a single hike has resulted in a meltdown.  I am sure that its possible and we will have sour experience, but so far its been a great time for the whole family. 
• Mealtime
• At daycare PJ gets a real spoon and fork and is getting pretty good wielding them during mealtime.  This month he has mastered eating on his own.  Its still quite messy and we still help make sure all of the meal goes in his month, but PJ is more in control.  In fact if you give him food straight to his mouth he may or may not take it, but if you put the same type of food on his plate he is 90% more likely to eat it.  Cheese and meat are still not a big part of PJ's diet, but we keep trying.  PJ's favorite food this month are rasberries!  He will eat an entire quart in one sitting. 

Talapus Lake Hike

Today we headed out for our last hike with our church growth group; our planned destination was Talapus Lake.  We made it to the lake about an hour after we started which was just the right amount of hiking since we got a slightly later start and we were all quite hungry.  While we sat for lunch, Cheyenne played in the lake.  While Chey swam, we all chowed down on lunch and shared ideas on how to keep up with hiking now that the group is officially over.  I am sure we will hit the trail with some of the parents again.  It is really nice being able to hike with people that understand the need to stop at anytime and get water/food/clean diaper.  I think we inspired a few people to get out on the trails a bit more than they had before they met us, which was our goal for the group. 

A picture to come when we get them sent to us.