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Thursday, May 31, 2012

May Recap

May was kind to us.  It was a month of celebrations, as both Aunt Britt and Grandma Cherie celebrated birthdays.  The warm weather meant lots of outdoor fun too.  Here is a photo tour of the highlights:


Cal is such a ham these days!


Hanging out with Chris and Ingrid.

Checking out the flowers with Mommy.

With Grandma and Grandpa Lollis

4 Generations

Goofing it up on Aunt Britt's birthday.

Hanging out at Eastern Market.

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Memorial Day

We had a classic American Memorial Day and it was lovely.  Cal and I started the morning off going to the parade in downtown Milford with Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Britt and Uncle Rick.  Despite the crowds, we had an awesome spot.  Grandma and Aunt Britt had done yoga in the park that morning, and on the way home noticed that people had begun setting out chairs to hold their spots.  A quick call to Grandpa and a few well-places chairs later meant that we had a prime viewing spot despite the crowds.  Cal really loved the service dogs and the military vehicles.  It was his kind of parade!


After the parade, we headed to Grandma and Grandpa's for a quick lunch and a nap.  While Cal was sleeping, I headed out on the boat for a little cruise and swim.  Cal joined us when he woke up, but he was not a fan of the cold water.  Instead he weaved around the boat like a little drunken sailor, stealing chips and fruit.

Back on dry land, Cal continued the party on the beach.  He loves the sand.  He also tried out the tube and played in the fountain.  They day ended with a sandy little boy getting a sink bath to wash off all the dirt and sunscreen.  He was asleep before we hit the end of the street!


Who me?  I'm not playing in the fountain.

Hanging out with Grandpa.

Friday, May 18, 2012

A Picasso or a Garfunkel

Although Cal has made me numerous hand and foot print crafts at daycare, I had not yet attempted anything artistic at home.  Not that I don;t want to honor my child's artistic side, but more that I didn't want to deal with the mess.  After almost 18 months, I figured it was time for me to get on that, so in honor of Mother's Day, Cal and I attempted to paint for his grandmas.  It went better than I thought, thanks to some pre-planning.  I stripped him to his diaper, and already had the bathroom ready to go, so we were able to go straight to the tub when we were done. 

He was a little timid at first.

What is this stuff?
I wonder if it tastes as good as it looks?


The final product.


I totally forgot to take pictures of his masterpieces, but let's just say that grandmas were impressed.

By the way, we used this finger paint and were pleased.  It washed off very easily, from both the kid and my counters.

Crayola 4ct Washable Fingerpaint, Primary Colors

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Wordless Wednesday...

... because there are no words for this, except: Daddy was involved.

Monday, May 14, 2012

When life gives you lemons...

... Eat them!

Great-Grandma and Great-Grandpa Grissom have made their trek back to Michigan from California and brought with them some beautiful lemons from their lemon tree.  Cal grabbed a wedge out of my water glass and went to town.  If I hadn't stopped him, he would have eaten the entire thing - rind and all!



(And yes, those are his Christmas jammies.  He also still rocks his Thanksgiving outfit.  Why waste good clothes?)

Saturday, May 12, 2012

Sleeping Beauties



This is what I walked in the door to one day last week.  Cal had come home from daycare early with a fever and Billy had been out late helping a friend with car problems.  Although Cal likes to cuddle, it has been a long time since he fell asleep with one of us.  Melted my heart.

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Toddle Along Tuesday





I'm linking up with Growing Up Geeky today for Toddle Along Tuesday.  This week's theme is "Cheap Ways to Entertain Kids."



Our favorite free activity is the park.  Now that spring is here, we go as much as possible.  While I wish we had a good park within walking distance, I am content to drive to our favorites.

This is Marshbank Park:

Photo Credit
Photo Credit
 
They recently did a renovation, and now the park boasts two new play structures, including this beauty.  In addition to the main piece seen above, there is also a shorter toddler structure that Cal can easily navigate on his own. 


It also has some toy steering wheels, which my kid LOVES. 


He is also a big fan of the bridges and roller slide on the larger structure, although it causes Mommy some anxiety because they have several openings on the sides where big kid attractions such as the fireman's pole and rock wall are. I try not to hover, but I also don't want him to fall off at one of those gaps.



 They have a nice shelter near by with restrooms, and a few covered picnic tables.  I think one night we may bring dinner with us. 

We had the chance to visit another park over the weekend: Hess-Hathaway Park.

All Kids Playground
Photo Credit
 
Photo Credit

The play structures here seem to be made by the same company as those at Marshbank, so Cal's favorite steering wheel, bridge and roller slide are all present.  This area is a bit bigger, and includes a sandbox/water table area that I can see being pretty messy.  Luckily he was more interested in the other stuff.  Like Marshbank, there are a lot of climbing things for older kids that attach to the play structure, so I do have to hover a bit.  They also have a maze and a farm, although we have not had time to check those out.

The best part is the both parks are handicap accessible.  Children with wheelchairs or other adaptive devices can easily enter the play structures using ramps that connect with the bridges.  Both parks also offer special needs swings that allow for larger children who still need the benefit of a seat bealt/harness to enjoy swinging.  We're pretty lucky to have these awesome parks near us!