More fun with Papa

Who likes ice cream.
I do! I do!



George created a "playhouse" out of a cardboard box for Henry. While Henry isn't quite ready for imaginative play yet, he did think it was pretty cool. Especially when Papa was inside. Or when pillows and blankets were piled inside. It was also a good sized garage for his cars.

Practice makes perfect

Henry has been practicing using a spoon. In fact, sometimes he refuses to eat unless he can do it. Here's the aftermath of his morning oatmeal.

Part of me is excited he's on the path to becoming an independent eater. And part of me isn't.

Picnic in the Park

I may have failed to mention in the previous post that aside from the botched camping trip, George has remained busy with his residency work and has missed out.
Therefore, tonight we decided to have a picnic in the park for impromptu summer fun. We ordered Thai food (Henry is a fan!) and let him splash around in the new (and free!) splash pad.

Summertime News & Blues

Time has flown recently! Summertime activities keep us outdoors and away from the computer screen. Here's what we've been up to:

• Fireworks! Our new house is located conveniently close to Madison's "Rhythm & Booms" celebration. Grandpa & Aunt Jessica were here to enjoy the show with us, however, it was postponed a day, so Grandpa had to head back home and missed out on the action. There was a moment of panic for Henry when the F-16 jets flew overhead at the end of the Star Spangled Banner, but he recovered quickly. His recovery was faster than mine as the noise was quite loud and unexpected, and the look on his face had me jumping to snatch him from the stroller in a hurry. Henry watched the fireworks with the same fascination and intensity as last year. Then he promptly fell asleep in the stroller on the walk home. The fireworks, in combination with the music, were truly an amazing show. We highly recommend staying with us the last weekend in June to catch this event!

• Swimming! A heat wave led us to the local swimming holes. Actually, Henry and I tagged along with friends to a swimming lesson to hang out in the baby pool. Henry was. a. nut. I wish I had a little video of him going crazy in the baby pool. Unfortunately, for his safety and my sanity, that was simply not possible. It was his first time in a pool. The pool had little squirting fountains and pouring water over an umbrella structure and he was a maniac. I envisioned resting on the pool's edge watching Henry enjoy the water. In reality, he was so rambunctious I spent all 45 minutes shadowing him like a hawk. In. Out. Up. Down. Running. Splashing. Diving. (that's right, I said diving) Sputtering. Sitting. Kicking. Twisting. Laughing. Shouting. At one point he smacked his face on the concrete wall, but when I picked him up to check out what I thought would be a bloody nose, he was angry that I lifted him out of the water. A near hit, avoided. Phew. Several other moms commented about his energy, because he was so funny to watch. He took a 4 hour nap that afternoon. The next day when we went again, he was more reserved. I was more relaxed.

• Strawberries! The true taste of summer. Henry has been hit or miss with strawberries. I figured out why. He simply has excellent taste in strawberries. The supermarket strawberries can't hold a candle to the sweet and juicy taste of locally grown berries. I went with a friend and her 8 month old to a U-pick strawberry patch. Thankfully, it was Henry's nap time, so he slept in the car while I picked my first quart. Then he woke up and helped me pick to fill my second. He quickly learned what was going on, plucking red berries from the small bushes. By the look on his face, I'm guessing he discovered the green or white ones taste nasty. We left the patch with red fingers, and the two little ones left with red fingers, faces, and clothes!

• Camping! Last weekend we attempted a camping and boating trip that had been planned for months as a Capper family vacation. Unfortunately, it rained. A lot. And our tent, despite being new, leaked. A lot. We were not happy campers. So we abandoned our plan, and our campsite, and spent a day or two at Grandma and Grandpa Capper's house recovering from our lousy nights sleep. We were completely bummed to have missed out on the campfire dinners, songs, s'mores, and swimming. However, we did enjoy seeing our family and were thankful that everyone was together. Henry loves to watch his cousins play and he smiles when they try to involve him in their antics. We hope to have another visit again this summer. Maybe in Michigan when the peaches are ripe!
  

Tractor

Favorite word:

Uh oh - troublemaker!

It only takes a couple of seconds to go from playing quietly to getting into trouble!

"Look what I can do!""I cleaned out your flower pot for you Grandma."

First Boat Ride

Henry took his first boat ride this weekend. What fun!

George had the opposite of a golden weekend -- the dreaded "lead" weekend where he is on call Saturday into Sunday and therefore, has no weekend. I took the opportunity to make a quick trip to Iowa in the midst of a little heat wave announcing summer's arrival.

Let me start by explaining that Henry absolutely LOVES the water. I believe it started with bathtime, and now he has radar for any puddle, pond, lake, creek, or river. It's actually quite tricky keeping an eye on him around any standing water because he just can't resist a quick splash. At the lake, he's quite brave near the shore. He starts at the edge, but soon just continues deeper and deeper into the water. He throws his arms back and forth to splash, likes to sit down in the water, and loves it when I swing him around so his legs drag through the water. Eventually, he even gets brave enough to dip his face into the water. Even after he comes up sputtering and coughing, he still goes back for more.

After playing at a beach along the Coralville reservior, we continued our afternoon with a nice, long, relaxing boat ride. Though Henry resisted sleeping at first, he was very relaxed. He resembled a wet noodle. Eventually, though, he drifted off to sailor sleepyville.

Thanks, Grandma and Grandpa, for a great boating afternoon!

CSA Day

Yesterday was our first CSA pick up. CSA stands for community supported agriculture, meaning members pay for fruits and vegetables up front, and farmers deliver the goods through the growing season to a "pick up" location. Not only are we excited about buying from local farmers, but the farm we chose uses organic practices as well. In addition, our health insurance covered over half the cost of membership!

We (ok, mostly *I*) have been looking forward to our fresh vegetables since we signed up back in March. I was not disappointed. Our box of food was amazing! The heads of broccoli and lettuce were HUGE, the beets and green onions were gorgeous, and the jury is still out on the salad turnips (we just haven't tried them yet) but it's fun to try new veggies. The radishes had surprising bite (the newsletter decribed their taste as "hot & pungent") and they weren't kidding!

The look on Henry's face suggests he rather enjoyed the zip!

We tried the recipe suggestion in our CSA newsletter: frittata
Henry ate it up - broccoli and all. :)

We look forward to a summer filled with adventures in eating. Tuesdays are fun days!

Beach Babe

Henry went out for an evening walk with Charlotte and decided to turn splashing at the water's edge to a full out diving into Lake Mendota. The cell phone camera shot doesn't do it justice - he was soaked head to toe and having the time of his life!

(Despite some skeptical comments from nearby canoe-goers, honest, the water was quite warm near the shore!!)

New Summertime Do!