Storming Cinci

More of Our Trip
We spent one day down along the Cincinnati River front where there are parks and walking paths and scum warnings we didn't know about (thanks stranger lady person, we rinsed off the little like as soon as you filled us in).
Randomly Grady piped up from the back seat "mom, mom, nice hat". What a sense of humor! We shared the hat back in forth on the drive to the river front.
One of the Flying pigs of Cinci and Grady man.
This park was awesome for little tikes, along the River front and built under a an overpass. It had swings, and bells and climbing walls and sand play and slides and ladders and ropes and Grady was all over it. Best of all it was well shaded.
Unfortunately when you turn off the flash on our camera, it remembers that, even when you turn it off. Some of the next few picture didn't come out so well because we weren't aware the flash was off.
Here I am catching a ride across town on Mark's friend Jimmy's new road bike. It has a nice radio.
Cousin Judy in her Homecomming Dress.
We ate a lot of Graeters french pot, hand packed, saw it on Discovery Channel, only in Cinci ice cream.
Story time with Grandma Beverly, "Oh the Thinks You Can Think"

Cinci Road Trip

These pictures are in reverse order to how we did these things. I'll try and post more tomorrow. Anyway, here is our trip to Cinci!
Giraffe exhibit.
Choo choo ride at the Zoo.
Orangatang!
Polar Bear swimming at the Cncinatti Zoo. What a view!
Playing Drums with daddy at Pediliction studios.
Here we are standing in front of Stone Mountain in Ga.

My Men

Bathtime... too cute.

Bite Count

Just in case you were wondering I think G's fire ant bite count for the summer is officially in the 70's. Actually if I go back and count it sounds like 79.

Remember to boil water and cook them where they live...
:-)

G Man turns Two!

Pictures from G's 2nd Birthday Party on August 16th.Birthday Balloons mark the spot.
Ta-ran and G in the small pool together.
Big boy! Happy Mommy! Getting the cake ready
Here is my "traditional" Sally Falon carrot cake for G. Last year (if you go look) the one was spelled with pecans. This year I used carrots for the two and trim. Next year I'm thinking raisins. Everybody fit in our kitchen for the Happy Cake song.

Baby Ty is walking, hurray!

And here is the impulse buy, the porch swing,

Lastly I wanna send a shout out to our dear friends Chloe and her momma Chandi, Happy birthday little girl. (She and G share a birthday.)

Emerson's Party

More Pictures of G (thanks again to Julie, these are from her son Emerson's first birthday party last month).This little Lady is Isa, she is about 5 weeks older than G I think.

G, Isa and Oliver I believe.

Oh Bugs!

G has been to so many birthday parties this summer he now likes to sing "Happy Cake" to the tune of Happy Birthday. Thanks to Julie for this Picture! Our family camera is filling up, I'm still crazy about taking lots of photos but... well we've had some chaos and I can't find the thingy... you know the thingy. USB port stuff right?

G has had two more insane rounds of bug bites. First a series of mysterious misquito bites, 20+ that appeared over night over a two night span. I even got the pediatrician involved on that and we still aren't entirely sure what bug did all that biting. We're sure it wasn't fire ants, bed bugs or spiders, and we ultimately suspect a flying couple of no-see-ums or mosquitoes. Anyway they preferred G even though we all sleep in the same room.

Then a few days ago, would you believe he found ANOTHER fire ant nest. Poor boy! Eleven new bites on his foot and hand. And no one to blame because G and I were both on the look out for mounds and there was none were it happened. Boiling water works as well as any chemical and I feel relief at the sound of a kettle coming to a boil.

So our craziness is the unexpected remodel of a large portion of our house. Our office, once organized is disbanded. Our Dinning Room is now in our Living Room, and despite our best hopes we won't be able to complete this remodel until about a month from now. The good news is G has gotten a lot of supervised construction experience from us both as we work toward including him in all aspects of our lives as opposed to trying to hurry through this moment so we can play with him later. It hasn't slowed us down too bad, only we couldn't finish before our calendar filler up.

Peace

Dump and Pour

I would call this a Grandmother Moyer moment for me, Grady playing in the sink for a long while, quite happy.

Pause to Laugh

I laughed so hard I cried.

Please read this little blog and then enjoy the video at the end LOL.

:-) Is it wrong for mothers to breastfeed school-age children?.

Creepy Crawly

Hey all! I wanted to let you know Gs fire ant luck still isn't very good. A few days ago he walked right on top of the biggest mound in our yard, the one I've always warned him about. Telling him he was in danger didn't help. He froze right on top of it. We had treated the mound so I wasn't sure of an emergency. Well anyway I grabbed him and he looked ant free, but one got in his shoe and he got 4 MORE bites. I looked back over at the mound and it was swarming so we were very lucky.

G does not like anything that causes a Bug sensation. He now often insists there is a bug on him when there isn't. I have been trying to talk to him about how dirt can get in your shoe and sometimes our skin tickles like a bug is on it. He gets that creepy crawly feeling in the kitchen and quite understandably wants me to help get the "bugs" off.

"Mommy Bug! Bug!" Very sad.

We are working on treating the mounds, and we finally found the semi-hidden one that got him that first really awful time.

Very recently, a few nights ago G slept for 8 hours straight which I believe might be like the fifth time in his whole life. I actually slept as well which was wonderful. Unfortunately this didn't hearken in a new era of sleep. Though I had hope, I have learned better over the last 22 months.

Now G is ready to be needily autonomous, and Mom and Dad must do as he asks "Now!" (He learned that from a book I think, maybe from us too.) It has been a lovely weekend. I'm pulling out the parenting books and scratching my head, but this is the way I understand it: All new parents believe this will not happen to them, that superior parenting and communications will head off all explosions. Well I was one of those who knew I was kidding myself. Now I am wiser and I know just how out of control angry even my child can get. Now I suppose is a good time to stay calm and hang in there. G wants independence in ways he really isn't ready for. Forecast: Storms ahead.

Stinking Fire Ants!

So a few days after the fire ants got his ankles they got his wrist... here is what 62 fire ant bites look like in their prime!!

Freaking Fire Ants!!!

Each welt you see can contain more than one bite. For example on his foot I found inside one welt 6 different bites!
I gave him Ibuprophen for the discomfort and swelling. (we don't have benedryl on hand).
I have counted a total of 42-43 bites so far!

Pennsylvania Glory

G and I had a wonderful visit to my friends farm in Pennsylvania. free range eggs... super cute picture
giving milky to the baby cows
what a big bottle to manage
GMan was also a hit with the ladies of the human variety, from left to right; Rebecca and her sister Lydia, G and Madelyn.
Madelyn with her dad Mark and Lydia with her dad Sheamus. We were getting ready for a little bonfire and grilling.
Naaay naaay... and a blue sky, whew, really beautiful day!
G's sippy cup really gets around.
And if that weren't enough a sand box for all to enjoy, fabulous!

Here is a link to my friends farm.
Keswick Creamery

Airplanes

FLew to Maryland for Memorial Day weekend.

Visited with Family. Here is G with my dad and myself.

First Purchase

So he dug through my purse and found lollipops the teller at our bank had given me the day before. He had never seen a lollipop to my knowledge, yet he knew what that wrapper really meant, "Candy!". I let him enjoy the discovery for a little while. The unfinished (and forgotten) lollipop sits in our refridgerator.
"Tut-tut wayne". He spotted this umbrella at the Goodwill and had to have it. The image of him patiently waiting in line with a five dollar bill is burned in my brain. I wish I had a camera then. He kept trying to hand the money to the clerk while she was with other customers ahead of us in line. He didn't take his eyes off her, trying to give her the money so he could have it, like mommy said.

The only safe game I know with an umbrella is to walk around saying "tut-tut, it looks like rain." G was escorted out back to practice umbrella safety. (The way he swings this thing someone will lose an eye...). This Blue's Clues umbrella opens with ease, and is surprisingly well made. "Tut-tut wayne..."