Museum Fun....

It has been so dang hot outside (yes, Alana just complained that is was too hot) that our zoo membership hasn't been getting much use. If we go, it has to be first thing in the morning because by 10 am it is getting pretty nasty. The plan was to go and pet some goats this morning, but Mac decided that sleeping in was more important to him and he didn't wake up until 11am (I'll come back to that later). I wasn't in a bathing suit mood so we went to the Children's Museum instead. This is the first time in a while that we have gone and it's a whole new adventure now. Mac used to just pass right by all the big kid stuff with no problem. Now he wants to join in on the fun. He really is a kid now...not a baby. We still went to the baby/toddler area, mostly because I can let him run free without him getting knocked over and getting in the big kid's way. He had a blast, but he was all over the place! The car/truck were a big hit as usual, but we really need to work on our people skills. I caught him trying to bite at least 3 kids as they would try to sit next to him in the car. Actually, to his credit, he does give "warning bites." He opens his mouth like he's going to bite but lets out this high pitched sound instead of going in for the kill. Regardless, he was removed from the vehicle. I made him go give hugs to the kids afterwards which he was not too thrilled about. I'm sure the the kids on the recieving end weren't too happy either, but I feel like he needs start learning to apologize in his own way.

They have a do-it-yourself face painting booth so I decided to make Mac into a cute kitty cat (manly, right?) on our way out to the car. He looked in the mirror when we were done and gave me that big cheesy smile. I asked him who he looked like and he barked...close enough.





Back to the sleeping issue. Mac has been doing really well with naps lately. No crying, no struggle; he just lays down and waits for you to hand him his blanket. Even at night he has been doing a great job. Last night he started rubbing his eyes around 8:15 so I took him upstairs and by 8:30 the child was actually asleep! I can't remember the last time that happened. I fully expected him to be up earlier than ususal, but he got up later than normal. I am starting to wonder if he sleeps too much. Maybe he's not getting good quality sleep? Just something else to add to the worry list I guess.

Here are a few cute videos of Mac that I just took too =)

Fathers, Fish, and Falls

Fathers:
Happy (belated) Father's Day to all the Dads out there. Especially my wonderful husband Eric! Not that I ever doubted his ability to be a great father (the diaper changing was up for question for a while), but I am just so inspired every time I see him with Mac. Eric will do anything to make that little guy laugh. When Mac woke up we opened up one of Eric's gifts and then headed over to Fountain View Cafe. If you haven't been, and you don't mind waiting on your food, it's really great. Fortunately, we had Mac there to entertain us with his great lemon eating and straw sucking skills so we were good.
After we finished we headed over to get Daddy's big present...he got to pick out boots! Eric has talked about getting a pair of boots for some time now and I thought it would be cute if the boys could get them together. Mac ended up getting the first pair he tried on and happily paraded around the store with them on. He loves them!
Eric tried on a few pair but something just wasn't right...oh, it was the khaki short/boot combo! He finally went and got a pair of jeans so that the boots didn't look ridiculous. He chose a pair that I think he will really get some wear out of. And of course, I somehow ended up shopping (I swear it was not my plan!) and got a pair of boots that look just like Mac's! That was pretty much it for the day. We all took a nap together in our bed and had dinner. A pretty uneventful day, and it was just perfect! From the time Mac wakes up, until the time he goes to bed, he is looking for and anxiously waiting to see his Daddy. Happy Father's Day baby...I love you!

Fish:
Today Mac and I headed over to the downtown Aquarium with our friends Heather and Halen. We had a buy one get one free ticket so it ended up costing us a total of $15 for all four of us to get in. The boys had a great time looking at all the sea life, snakes, and even a beautiful white tiger that Mac thought was a giant dog. They have a little area where you can interact and touch a few sting-rays, sharks, and crabs. The water was too deep for the boys to really touch anything, but that didn't stop me from acting like a big kid and petting everything I could reach. I am amazed by sting-rays (especially ones that have had their barbs removed) and love the way they feel. They may not be pretty creatures, but they are fun to watch. There was a little bounce house that we all played in, a train ride around the facility, and a Merry-Go-Round. Other than the extreme temperature this morning, it was a lot of fun.





Falls:
We were all starting to get hungry so we went upstairs to eat in the resturant. Mac has been doing really well sitting at the kitchen table and he even sat in a booster seat yesterday when we had brunch so when the lady asked if we wanted booster seats I said sure. While we were waiting for our food to arrive I saw Mac rocking his seat and before I could grab him he fell face first onto the floor. The poor guy fell pretty hard. Before I could even get him up he was crying. I think it scared him more than anything, but he was very upset. I could feel the eyes of the entire resturant focusing in on us. I felt so bad for letting him fall, but lesson learned. We switched back to the high chair. And don't worry, once he saw a french fry, it was all good!

We went to the little splash pad for a little while to let him play, but I could see how sleepy he was getting. By the time we left the parking lot the little man was sound asleep...and that was 3 1/2 hours ago! Gotta love playdates!

Halfway There...

I have sat down at least 5 times over the past 2 weeks to blog, gotten halfway through a post and been forced to stop to do something else. Of course I never got back to finish any of them up so they retired to the graveyard of unfinished posts. I am determined to finish this one!

I feel like a lot has gone on since the last time I posted...Eric's siblings came into town on Memorial Day to visit with Mac (and us of course). We took Mac out to eat that night and he provided us with entertainment as usual. As we were waiting for our food we noticed a big wet spot on the bottom of Mac's overalls. Thinking it was water, Eric stuck his hand in the hair chair too see if it was wet. It wasn't water. Mac had a huge blow out diaper. It was absolutely disgusting and somehow I got Eric to change him! Of course I didn't have an extra pair of pants with me, but since we were outside on a patio, and no one else was there, I said oh well and let him go pant-less. Everytime people walked by I could just see it in their eyes. The first couple didn't have any kids so I got the "who would let their kid run around with no pants on" look. The second couple to come by had an infant so I got the "we will never let our baby do that!" look. And my response to each of them was a little smile and the following internal dialouge: "Just you wait. Oh, just you wait."
The next day we decided to go to Discovery Green. We had never been, but I had heard it was a good place for kids. It was GREAT! We went in the morning so it wasn't very crowded and the heat was still tolerable. Mac had a blast in the splash pad area.
Later that week my brother called me to say he was coming into town late that night and leaving the next evening. I rearranged some plans so that Mac and I could spend the day with Uncle Kevo. I hate that he lives 5 hours away. We spent the day visiting and while we were at my Mom's office we found a giant bunny costume in a box (random, I know) and Kevin put the head on. I was waiting for Mac to have a meltdown, but he loved it.

Mac has really taken to the water. He actually cries when we leave the pool. The first time we went I was a little nervous that he was going to hate it and I would therefore spend an entire summer trying to coax Mac in. To my pleasant surprize, Mac puts his face in the water, kicks his chubby little legs, and jumps off the edge of the pool! Everytime we go people are impressed that a kid his age is so comfortable in the water. Eric had not been able to see Mac at the pool so I was really excited when he got to come with us on Saturday. Of course Mac was in heaven since Daddy was there.
As you have probably noticed in these pictures, Mac got a major haircut. My hairdresser took about 3 inches off of his hair! I actually think I like it better short, but Eric misses the curls so we may end up finding a happy medium next time he gets a trim.
In not so good news (at least to me), Mac has really become attached to his pacifier and blanket. When I get him out of the crib in the morning he clutches both items as tightly as possible and refuses to leave his room without them. It's gotten so bad that he now wants to eat breakfast with them in his lap, use them in the car, etc, etc. I guess it's not the worst thing in the world, but I can only imagine the battle I will have on my hands when I decide he is to old to carry them around.
Oh, and by the way, Mac has found the joy of suckers =)