Midwest Extravaganza 2012

We just returned from our first big family trip. On said trip we realized that we'd never traveled more than an hour away from home since Wesley was born. All went very smoothly. We saw a huge number of family and friends. It felt so amazing to see everyone again, and to have them meet Wesley.

Prior to the trip I had no idea how Wesley would react to seeing so many people, including many other kids, in so many different places. He did really well. It was fun to see him being so social. With the kids he was very open and interested in them, which was not surprising to me. With the adults, he was smiley and talkative. He definitely wanted either Casey or myself within sight unless he was with my immediate family, but he was comfortable playing with other people if we were nearby.

He developed so much over the course of the week. His communication skills and language skills blossomed. He seemed to grow up a lot over the course of the trip. Perhaps big experiences which demand a lot of adaptation offer that opportunity.

Our generation has definitely started having babies in the Midwest. We saw a lot of other little kids.

First, we went to Iowa.

My parents rented a home and we stayed in one room, my brother and his family stayed in the other, and my sister slept on the pullout couch. My parents came over in the early morning, and then we went to my grandma's during the day.

Looking at chicks and riding a cow

My cousin and his family spent a lot of time with us. They have two daughters, my brother has two daughters, and we have Wesley.

Our generation's kids

Amish country

Horse trough fun

Claire was chasing Wesley around the yard trying to hold his hands. Eventually she caught him. Then they walked around together holding hands. He was a little unsure about her joy for holding his hands, but it was really funny and cute.

Trucks with Aunt Amanda

I can't express how special it was to have Wesley here. We left Iowa knowing I was pregnant, wondering when we'd return for a visit. I was so happy to have my grandma and my aunts meet Wesley. So sad that my grandpa wasn't there. So meaningful to be there with them and my family. 

Wesley totally loved his Uncle Jason ("Jase"). It'd be the first thing he'd ask about when he woke up in the morning or from naps. He'd run out of the room to go find Uncle Jason. He always expressed his hope that Jason would be wherever Wes was going. It was really adorable how smitten he was with his Uncle.

We visited friends in Fairfield twice. We spent a day there which including one wonderful dinner and late evening. Then we stopped through on our way out of town. My heart warms so much around these amazing people...I unfortunately took very few pictures there...

Then we toured through Illinois, where Casey's Mom is from, and saw Casey's extended family.

The Lewis Family hosted us one night. They made us the most divine falafel feast. Yum. Wesley was over the moon happy to have a whole bin full of trucks, trains, and boats to play with all by himself.

Then we visited Great Uncle Harry's work at the Govenor's Mansion. The coy would come up and nibble our fingers, which of course Wes totally loved.

Surprisingly, he was brave enough to let the fish nibble his fingers a few times, too. He really didn't want to leave those fish. I was impressed with the grounds and interior of the mansion. What a great tour!

We headed South to Blue Mound and Decatur to see the rest of Casey's family. It was a beautiful day on the farm. Wesley enjoyed Casey's cousins' tree service trucks, the rooster, and the horses. We enjoyed the good company, plus all those things. We visited twice including a breakfast in which Wesley ate half an omelet plus five pancakes (growth spurt?!?).

It was great to visit with the Parrish Family including Casey's Aunt, Uncle, cousins and cousins' kids. A wonderful gathering.

Casey also got to visit with his uncle and his family, though it was past Wesley's bedtime, so he went solo and had a nice visit.

Then we headed to Indiana to visit my friends.

This is us at the mall...Wesley really wanted me to ride with him, though he did not want the ride to actually move.

We met my friend Kate and her family (husband and two kids with another due in August) and her Mom at Cracker Barrel. It was so nice to see them all and to catch up. I love how Wes is totally eyeing that awesome toy in this picture. Kate and I have been friends for over twenty years (!!!).

Then we drove to Indianapolis (where i went to middle school and high school). We stayed with my friend Nic. It was relaxing to drive around town, eat out, and just hang out together around town.

Among our Indy adventures, was a trip to Broadripple. We walked the Monon Trail. We had ice cream and then ate at the local brewpub.

We also visited my friend Erin and her family. She has three adorable children. Hal is just a month younger than Wes, and I so loved meeting him. 

They were pretty cute together.

We also visited my brother and his family briefly. My sister-in-law Christie snapped some of the most wonderful photos of Wesley (and myself). She runs Christie Marie Photography and is seriously talented. Wes is generally not easy to photograph (i.e. can't be bothered to stop his work or look up at you and can give some very serious looks, despite smiling a lot in natural life). She did an awesome job in about three minutes (the attention span of a toddler).

These are her pics...

When it came time to leave Indy, we went to the airport to fly out. Flights were way overbooked due to spring break. We took some airline deals and ended up staying two nights in a nice hotel with paid meals and four tickets totaling $1800 worth of flight vouchers. An awesome little bonus to the end the trip. It means we can look forward to more vacations in the future. It also means that we went to the airport on three separate occasions, waiting through boarding each time. Wesley was a total trooper.

It was Wesley's first hotel experience, and he didn't really love it. He didn't like being in the room, and hated the TV. So, we couldn't watch much TV which is one of the perks of hotels.

Hide n Seek with Daddy in closet

He did, however, love the pool. He splashed and paddled his arms and really wanted to practice blowing bubbles (with which he had zero success other than inhaling a lot of water). He was so ecstatically happy.  I hope we can go a lot this summer, after we invest in a life jacket or something. Squirmy toddlers are hard to handle in the pool! It was joyful to watch him swimming, though.

We made it home safe and sound. The flight home went smoothly.

I loved seeing everyone on the trip. It made me wish that we weren't so far away from such amazing family and friends. It was a special trip, and I'm so glad we took it. A resounding success.

Month 20

Wesley's current favorite song is "Preacher's Son". He loves it. One morning it came on and he reached up toward me and said "dance". So we did. Look how tall he is now...

He zonked out, and I couldn't help but remember all the hours we spent dancing together when he was a tiny infant. It used to be his favorite way to go to sleep...

He is now tall enough to walk his trike around the house on his tiptoes. He can also rock it back and forth with his feet on the pedals.

Gorgeous weather has led to many park days this month. Wesley packs his park bag by choosing which trucks he wants to bring. It is generally all of them.

Wesley realized that Monkey wanted to share a taste of smoothie. He generously shared.

"ahhhh fresh". So refreshing.

Transitions in Toddlerhood
Watching Wesley and his friends, it is easy to see that new dynamics are emerging. Though nobody is screaming "MINE!", the sentiment is there. Meltdowns over others' using a preferred toy, wanting the toy that someone else has, etc. has increased this month.

Wesley has been getting a lot of practice managing the new social dynamics this month in his play with his friends. And I have to say, I think he's doing really well. He is generally willing to wait his turn, or wait until the other child forgets about the toy. Unless his bulldozer is involved, he will typically let others borrow a toy from him.

It is increasingly important that we monitor hunger levels. When things start to get intense, usually a snack break will put everyone into much better spirits.

Solo Reading

This week Wesley has started spending a fair amount of time reading aloud to himself. He goes over to his shelf, chooses a book, then plop himself down and start narrating the pages.

Because he so thoroughly knows his books (including the truck books from the library), he reads highlights from the page. Overhearing him may sound something like this...

"Come! Bulldozers! Push! Dirt! Road. New-New."

That of course, is the page talking about how bulldozers help make new roads by pushing dirt out of the way. Then he turns to the next page and continues his reading.

It is a very sweet activity to watch. I love watching the evolution of his relationship to reading and books. He has previously enjoyed flipping through his books on his own, but he hadn't spent much time reading longer books aloud to himself.

The Oscars 2012

We went to Godmother Norma's house for our Oscars party last night. Uncle Jesse and Auntie Lisa were in attendance, and we had a lot of fun. We indulged (to put it mildly) in an amazing spread of food and were able to enjoy both the Red Carpet and the awards show.

Norma is the Queen of Footstools. Wesley loved pulling all of the ottomans around the room, putting them under different people's feet, then taking them back for further distribution. When Norma brought out his little chair, he immediately carried an ottoman over, crawled into his seat, and put up his feet.

At one point Wesley walked out of the room. He had been doing this all evening, so we thought nothing of it. He enjoys going into Norma's room to "look" but "touch...no" her many treasures. 

After a minute of quiet, Casey went to look for him. He couldn't find Wes and was about to enlist my help. He got that panicked feeling one gets when a child's whereabouts are unknown. He looked in Norma's room. No Wesley. Then, he checked again, and he found him...crouched down quietly "hiding" behind the bedroom door.

You found me!

We have been playing a lot of hide and seek lately, but only with his toys (I hide the bulldozer, then he comes and looks for it). This was the first time he spontaneously hid himself, let alone in a different room in someone else's house!

He loves the game. He yells "Hide!" and "Find!" When he is the one hiding, he hides in the same place, or one of two places each time. Peek-a-boo is still fun, but hide-and-find is where it's at.

Float or Sink

Wesley loves playing "Float or Sink". It's an easy activity.

1. Get a bowl (I used a large mixing bowl) and fill it with comfortably warm water.
2. Find random objects around the house that can be dropped in water. Put them in a bowl.
3. Write "float" on one piece of paper and "sink" on another.
4. Child drops objects in the water to see if they float or sink.
5. You can try guessing beforehand, you can take the object out and have s/he put it on the correct word, etc.
6. Child cleans up drips and spills with a rag or sponge.
7. Go find more objects around the house to "test", if you are comfortable with that.
1. Wesley mostly suggested trying more acorns, more buckeyes, and more rocks, but I could imagine some kids suggesting an iPod or something...

We did the activity a couple of times and kept the bowl on the counter for a few days. Wes would ask to play "Float. Sink". He was even willing to play the activity by himself while I did dishes (lately, virtually no activity garners such solo play). 

Wesley (19 months) has an interesting comprehension of the float/sink phenomenon. When he drops the objects in, he is inconsistent at guessing whether they float or sink. I think he is more than 50% accurate, but certainly doesn't entirely "get it". 

However, when the activity is done, and I ask him if he remembers anything that floats, he says "leaf. buckeye. acorn". All correct. When I ask if the money, rocks, and Buddha statue float or sink, he says "sink" for each. But, he generally can't suggest items that sink. A couple days after playing the game, he had forgotten the items that sink, and would say "Float! Sink!" when asked if the money floated.

We enjoyed the activity. Wes was focused. He loves water. He loved the guessing game. He loved seeing his familiar objects in water.

* * *

This activity came from the lovely book Help your Preschooler Build a Better Brain by John Bowman. It is full of Montessori activities that are inexpensive/free and easy to do at home. E-books available and their Montessori at Home site has a lot of info, too.

The Banana Boat

I am overdressing Wesley in a cotton long-sleeve shirt and pants...in February. The weather this week has been full-on summery. Tanktop weather. It has been amazing. We have been spending a lot of time playing outside.

Just messing around