bean construction site

chillin' at the playground

during the recent nice weather, we've headed to the playground as much as possible. for one, it keeps my house clean. for two, the boy loves it. for three, it's nice to be outside. so, here are some pictures of the adventures...

demonstrating how to go down the ladder:
playing with a car in the dirt:a sweet mid-jump shot:coming down this weird climbing apparatus. i hold my breath everytime.exiting the tunnel:
all of the pictures you see here happened before isaac had his big collision with a boy on a swing. i'm hoping that he learned his lesson and i won't have to remind him fifty times a day not to walk too close to the swings....

wny trip

two weekends ago, we made a short and spontaneous trip to the buffalo/batavia area. here's the proof:

isaac and derek coming down the stairs, amidst the snow and ice and slippery-ness.

 

isaac and anna (varland) making an artwork duet.

 

attempting for a pose in front of the ginormous tree at aunt eleanor's and uncle ray's house.

 

eating toast at the pok-a-dot.

 

derek's massive meal at the pok-a-dot. to be fair, the bacon was for isaac.

 

i played a little hockey with some old high school friends.

 

isaac checked out some piles of snow.

 

julie (donning my mom's atrocious hat) played with isaac at leslie's house.

 

jumping on leslie's bed (instead of sleeping).

 

all of us on leslie's giant couch.

 

jake, terry and isaac reading. this would be terry's last good moment. here, he's getting up to go get some pellets for the stove. he slipped on the ice and broke his collarbone. not good times.

 

isaac, taking a bath in the sink.

 

playing with some vintage little peeps at aunt e and uncle r's while bo, the dog, looks on.

 

on the ride home, we happened upon some stopped traffic in the middle of west virginia.

 

we got out and conversed with some fellow stopped travelers and took some shots of the wreckage.

 

it's hard to see here, but what caused it all was an overturned log truck. logs everywhere. they brought in a frontloader and pushed them all in the median. given the situation, it was a relatively short delay.

 

the harley

a couple of weeks ago, we received a hand-me-down (of a hand-me-down) harley davidson kids ride-on toy. for isaac's birthday, we splurged on new batteries to he could actually make it go, although he was perfectly content to just sit on in in the garage for 15 minutes at a time.

anyhow, the batteries came and we got them charged up (taking care of them is the equivalent of having a pet). at first, isaac was not too crazy about the harley. but, when we said, "ok, let's go in then", he changed his tune. he rode in backwards and forwards in circles all over the driveway, except for the one time he straightened it out and rode straight into the the garage wall.
never fear, he found that to be completely humorous...

some pictures of the happy harley rider:

 

 

 

 

and a video:

happy birthday isaac, volume 4: presents!

finally, the shots of the gift opening.

from aunt madge (an. nash.) - an art supply kit (complete with a paw print (blues clues) stamp):

 

from the aunt/uncle/cousins - cooking utensils (the spatula is a big hit!):

 

from paw paw - play doh (and not shown: a play doh fun factory and watercolor paints):

 

and from mom and dad - a vintage robot:

 

he also scored some kinder-music lessons from derek's parents and we picked up some batteries for a hand-me-down ride on harley that we scored from some church peeps...

christmas loot.

i see that i haven't blogged in awhile. it's been a bit hectic around here lately.

we had our christmas party with derek's parents over the weekend, so we were working fast and furious to get those gifts all lined up. we got some sweet loot from that exchange. i (we) got some christmas dishes to match our blue kitchen. and a couple of lowes gift cards for home improvements, gardening, etcetera.... or perhaps a new weed whacker.

isaac scored biggest. he now owns his very own grocery cart, complete with 100's of play food items to scatter all over the house. he got a personalized apron AND chef jacket (both of which he refuses to wear). hmmmm, what else... oh, a square chair that is like a giant booster seat. so, it's got a deep low seat, and a high shallow seat and when it's on it's side it's a like a giant dangerous stool. :) he scored a few more little toys but the grocery cart was the runaway winner...

anyhoooo, like everyone else, we have been and will continue to be quite busy with various parties and celebrations from now until christmas. throw in some baking and traveling and shopping, and hope that there's time to sleep. :)

crafty

in an effort to find a craft that didn't involve frosting (and the subsequent eating of frosting (and the subsequent weight gain from the frosting)), i decided to make felt-y fabric-y things. first, i tried my hand at the fruit, since it seemed less daunting. it wasn't too hard, so i moved onto this robot for the boy. he doesn't much care for it right now. but he will someday. i'll make him.

 

 

ps. i got the pattern here.

First felt veggies

My first four veggies: green beans, corn, eggplant, and a potato.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

our friday with cora

Isaac's friend Cora came over on Friday to play while her parents went to work and her Grandpa/Babysitter went on vacation. I think they had a lot of fun. It got a little touch and go just before naptime. Cora didn't want me to play with Isaac and Isaac turned into super clingy boy, so there was some crying and whining. Nothing naptime couldn't fix. :)

Here's some shots of when they weren't being jealous toddlers:

Each posing with the silly faces book:

 

 

Playing with the clock puzzle:

 

Eating a very toddler-y lunch:

 

playing

playing under the table (which often results in a bumped head):

just being handsome:

putting his clock puzzle together:

chillin' with crazy aunt madge at preston's b-day party:

Children's Museum

Derek's parents were taking Caison to the Children's Museum today, as a reward for beinga fully fledged member of the potty trained club. Isaac and I decided to tag along, not even realizing how much fun we would have.

The first room was pretty much a pre-school playroom and had all sorts of building toys.  
Then, we were off to the Krispy Kreme factory, where Isaac donned his apron and went to work putting donuts onto the conveyor belt. He showed no interest in moving up the corporate ladder, and couldn't be persuaded to try any of the other "jobs". 
Then, we were off to Food Lion for a shopping trip. We didn't really need much. In fact, I had to put the Gold Fish back, because he wanted to eat some, not pretend he was buying them.  
Isaac helped Caison with checking out. Caison did a great job with filling his cart. Not so great with putting the items back. 
The bakery window... 
Here we are in one of the chairs in the "Nursery Rhymes" area. I'm not sure which rhyme this pertained to. 
Crossing the troll bridge one of several times. 
Sitting in the big rocking chair. And by sitting I mean trying to get off the chair while a quick snapshot is taken, giving the appearance of content sitting. 
Back outside the giant preschool area with more building toys. 
Intense playing. 
Isaac and Caison playing in a water bin outside. 
Checking out the pinwheel patio decor. 
We also participated in a Fourth of July parade and were taped by the news, so hopefully Isaac can make his television debut tonight. :)

Derek's parents bought a season pass for them, us and the boys, so we'll definitely be back quite often. It was a lot of fun!