Fabulous Friday's Word of the Day

And the word of the day is...



Yep, you guessed it... UP!!!!

The Weekend Adventure Club

[NOTE: This is going to be a huge picture post, so if this is not what you are in the mood for... run! Run fast!!! But if you decide to stick around, don't say I didn't warn you.]


So, you want to be a member, huh?

Seriously thinkin' about joining our Weekend Adventure Club?


Think you've got the chops??

Here are the requirements:
1. Must love the outdoors (even if it's over 95 degrees!)

2. Must enjoy holding (without the benefit of extra support) a 23lb. child for long periods of time while he points you in the direction he would like to go

3. Must enjoy chasing said child while shouting after him to "put that stick DOWN before you poke out an eye!!!" as he runs and trips and runs and trips away from you

4. Must find great pleasure in anchoring said child so that he does not...
......a) Get carried off by a giant Silverback to live in the Gorilla exhibit
......b) Join the Giraffes for lunch (no one likes an uninvited guest!)
......c) Become part of the park's water feature
......d) Cause a train wreck

If you fit all of the above criteria and would still like to join.... Welcome aboard!!

Just so you are up to speed on the club's recent activities, here's a little recap...

A couple weeks ago we went to the Aquarium. (Anecdote and photos here.)

The next week we went to the zoo...

It was 95 degrees. I was a drippy mess. (Sweat dripping from under my sunglasses and down my back and down my front. Ugh!) Dashell loved it!!

Loved the Meerkats!















Loved the Gorillas!

This is Dashy banging on the safety glass, after having spied the giant male Silverback...















And this is what happened after he had been banging for a while...















Ok. So yes, this is a bit of a "reenactment" photo but unfortunately my fabulous photographic skills did not really capture the moment when, in response to Dashy's banging, the male gorilla came running toward the glass pounding his chest. Veeeeery exciting!!

And this was Dashy's response...















What do you think... stunned, pleased or suprised?

Here's Dashell's reaction to the Flamingos...















And here's his reaction to the Giraffes...














You can definitely tell how much more he loved the Giraffes, can't you?? (And if you are thinking to yourself, "Boy, that Gwynn has got a fantastic eye for composition!" I say, "Thank you! I have been working on holding a baby on the railing of an exhibit while trying to photograph them and not loose my grip for a few months now and I think that I finally have it down.")

On our way back to the car, Dashell decided that it was time for a stroll and took off on his own weaving and winding his way around (and sometimes into) the other zoo patrons. Many of which exclaimed loudly that they were very impressed with his downhill skills. (Think skiing... it helps a lot if you are already staggering allll the way to the left and then alllll the way to right!)

After we made it down the hill Dashy decided to round the corner and start back up again. Here he is making sure that he handed me a much prized leaf to safely hold onto for him...



















This past weekend we went to one of our local gardens where they have many ponds and streams inhabited by several varieties of wildlife...















He was so excited, he had to make sure that I saw the fish too...



















And then he had to get down for a closer look...



















After we got done checking out the fish in the stream, we went to check out the fish in the pond...















And the turtles...

































And of course Dashell had to make sure I didn't miss a thing...















After he had successfully distracted me by pointing out one fish, he bent down to try to actually pet another one...















Then he decided that he should make a little shrine so that other travelers might be alerted to the fact that he had been there first...





























He arranged everything very carefully...



















And this was the final result...



















(I wonder if the person who found it had as much appreciation, as his mommy did, for his obvious superior artistic abilities?!)

We then proceeded to a lovely stand of mature trees where Dashy found the stick of his dreams...



















And proceed to run off with it...



















...amid my protests...


(Ok, I admit it, I shouldn't have giggled but the kid freakin' stopped to explain himself, something along the lines of "it is down", before continuing his stick-walk! I know, I know I should have had a better rebuttal.)

Since he had almost scratched his eye out with another stick earlier in the week, he knows now that he is not allowed to walk with sticks. (Unfortunately, as you could see, he only listened to me for a very short period of time.) So I took the stick away, but damn if that kid wasn't willing to fight me for it!



















Finally I was able to distract him and we left The Land of the Stupendous Sticks behind and headed to see the train. "WOW!!" was the only word the boy could seem to utter...





























If I had to rate Dashell's favorite things at this moment in time, the list would look something like this... (but please don't ask me to explain it.)

1. Fire Trucks (although he has only seen one in his life, he hears them all day long because we live two blocks from the firehouse and he loves, LOVES, LOVES his fire truck book.)

2. Horses (same as number one: he's only seen one in his life and I think it's size alone left him speechless)...

































3. Fish (see the upper and lower sections of this post)

4. Trains (once again, hasn't seen very many in his life time but obviously that is not a big determining factor where his likes and dislikes are concerned!), trucks and cars

After I extricated Dashy from the train, so that they could take some nice people for a ride (for which you must be at least 18 months old, which sadly we are not), he spied some lovely flowers...















And decided that he simply must sit amongst them and commune with nature for awhile...















...(or at least until he started to decapitate the flowers and mommy decided that it was time to go before we got kicked out!)



















On our way out of the park Dashy cried, "Agua!" (or, more accurately, he cried, "Aaah-ba!") and darted toward the sound of the water. Soon we found ourselves at yet another pond with, you guessed it, more fish!!















Boy, that kid loves him some fish!















Just as we were turning to leave a little fella decided to come up and say, "hi" and of course Dash couldn't resist pointing him out to mommy...(follow Dashell's finger to find the turtle.)















So, if we haven't deterred you yet, and you're still thinkin' you're interested in joining our Weekend Adventure Club, sign up below and we'll let you know where to meet us next weekend.

Adventures A-hoy!!

(Maybe I just left you a little hint there, or... maybe not. You'll have to wait and find out!)

Fabulous Friday's Word of the Day

And the word of the day is....



Yep, you guessed it... AGUA!!!

-------------------------------------------

And in case you're wondering, after watching the video, yes we did get a haircut today. No more Prince Shaggy-Head!

Before....



















And after...

The Happy Housekeeper

I had heard tale, for many a moon, that things change dramatically after your child begins to walk. So, as often as I could (hopefully without people feeling like I was a crazy stalker or something), I would pose this question to mommies I knew with toddlers, "How exactly is it different when they start walking?"

It was pure curiosity on my part. I mean, it wasn't like I was actually going to do anything until Dashell started walking. (As I've mentioned before, I'm kind of a "take it as it comes" girl.) But I did really want to know, because I just couldn't quite figure out what would be different.

As a crawler, Dashy is super fast and there was no way that I could imagine that he would be any faster once he was prancing around upright.

Also, he could already stand up on his own and so once he was walking it wasn't like he was going to reach anything that he couldn't reach already.

I just could not figure it out. And I have to say, the mommies I asked did not really offer much insight other than, "It's just a lot different." Not really the level of detail I was looking for. And, "It's nice. You don't have to carry them as much since you can just hold their hand and they can walk places." Okay, maybe this one was a little more specific and, consequently, helpful.

Dashell is getting awfully heavy. And when he insists that I hold him each morning while I prepare his French Toast/Smoothie/Omelette breakfast (spoiled a little?) my right arm definitely aches like I have done 200 curls with a 25 lb. weight! Buuuut.... Dashy being able to walk is not going to remedy the fact that he will still not be tall enough to see my magnificent culinary performance in action, up on top of the kitchen counter. So, I continued to be a bit perplexed.

And then, Dashell started walking. At first, not much changed. Just a few more cuts and bruises. He wasn't bothered by them, so the effect to my world - zero. But then, things started to get a little interesting... Yes, he was still the same height. But instead of honing in on table top objects only when he was standing near the actual table, he would now lock those same objects in on his radar from across the room and then wind his way over to them with gusto. It wasn't that he could reach more things, but that they crossed his plane of vision far more often and so they became far more interesting... far more often!

So, measuring how far he could reach and rearranging my objets d'art became a new past time of mine.

Soon after, something even more intriguing kicked in... I began to notice that I wasn't the only one who had taken up redecorating as a new past time. Many of my household cleaning items started to seem as though they had legs of their own. Then I discovered the real story...













































































































I have to say, I don't hold the same affinity for cleaning items as my son seems to. In fact, I several years ago I boycotted cleaning and hired a housekeeper because I simply could not keep up with my husband (who I nicknamed "the tornado of destruction") and still keep a smile glued to my face. (Quick note: My husband does have many other fabulous redeeming qualities!) So it's not like Dashy is imitating me or anyone else he sees regularly. But I have to admit, it was love at first sight when he first laid eyes on a broom!

And lately he has been quite smitten with the Swiffer...

Just in case you're wondering... yes, it's freakin' me out a little. Do you think he's trying to lead by example?!

And from cleaning-items-on-the-go there has been a bit of a progression. Now that Dashy is feels more secure in the walking department, his devilish side revealed itself this weekend...

Arlo (our #1 son, before Dashell came along) has had a wubby, basically, since birth. He treasures his wubby. And finds great comfort in sucking on it regularly.



















Dashell understands that the wubby belongs to Arlo, but this weekend that did not matter one bit...





































Dashy roared into high gear and tried to make a break for it...



















...but Arlo was hot on his heels...





































...so Dashy decided to do something really uncool...














...and then the little coward tried to hide in the fireplace basket!



















I have to say that Arlo was a bit nonplussed...



















So there you have it. If you are on the brink of toddler-hood and wondering, like I was, what the heck the difference is. The mommies were right, "It's just a lot different." And who knows what your little one will have a penchant for. But if he's like mine, maybe you should consider putting your feet up and letting your precious angel revel in Swiffering your floor for a while!