Feeling Hot, Hot, Hot

We are in the midst of a heat wave right now, but it hasn't stopped us from enjoying lots of fun this week. On Wednesday, Joshua & I went to the Indianapolis Zoo with his buddy Ethan and my friend Holly. He really enjoyed the penguins, fish, seals, walrus, and rhino, but the elephants were definitely his favorite. He sang the marching song from Jungle Book and danced when he saw them! Ethan seemed very excited about the lions and sharks as well as the baboons.

That evening, we went to the fair as a family. So nice to people watch, have milkshakes, and pet the farm animals. Joshua was very enthralled with the little goats (and vice versa).

At least twice a day this week, we've also played in our own personal oasis in the back yard. Joshua's favorite part is when the hose is adding fresh, cold water to the pool. He's so good, though, to move on to new toys when it's time to turn off the hose.

Visit with the Eickmeyer's

Joshua & I made a special side trip on our morning walk today: we went to visit his buddy Henry and my friends Sarah and Jim. Sarah made a gourmet breakfast of cinnamon buns, luscious fresh fruit, and a fancy coffee drink. Joshua loved playing with Henry (as demonstrated with much hugging), checking out different toys, locating sticks, and trying to get to the dog. Henry seemed to like the attention, as long as he could keep a set of car keys.

Baby Levi was adorable. As is the case with many infants, he slept REALLY soundly during most of the visit. Once Levi woke up, Joshua was thrilled to smile at the baby while I held him. I'm so glad he's gentle with babies and credit Elmo with the babies are good PR.

Beatles Music on the Indianapolis Canal

One of the treasures of summer in Indianapolis is the frequency of good free music performed outdoors. On this lovely Thursday, we had a picnic dinner and watched a good Beatles tribute band performing at the Indiana Historical Society.

Joshua really likes these events. Not only does he enjoy the music (and shows it by clapping after each song), he also appreciates the scenery and, most of all, the dogs people bring. Mike and I laughed that we think the hillside of people behind us were betting on how long it would take before we needed to fish Joshua out of the canal. We had a few close calls...

Morning walk- in heat wave!

One of the best ways for me to build a daily walk into our routine is to go right after breakfast. So, after a healthy breakfast of an egg beater omelet and homemade low fat apple bread, Joshua & I are headed out the door for a walk and Mike is going to work. Usually, I take Joshua in the stroller, but today -- despite the heat-- I decided to carry him in the backpack for an extra big core workout. Joshua LOVES the backpack rides! Boy, did I laugh when I saw his arms up like this. Yeah, backpack ride.

Boy or many talents

Joshua loves to play with his blocks right when he wakes up in the morning-- I've mentioned that before. Today he added a new trick: he rearranged all his alphabet letters in a diagonal line on the fridge today!

Another trick he does daily now is bringing us a DVD case to tell Mike and me which movie he'd like to watch next. If we tell him, "Not now. Now is time to play/read/go swimming," he sometimes does a very exaggerated, down-turned mouth, sad face. I sure wish I could catch that priceless face on camera!! I'm not sure if he reads the titles or recognizes the pictures, but I'd love to ask him someday when he's older.

Faucet Fun

Joshua loves playing in the faucet out back. He likes to drink the water right out of the faucet(I've never seen a kid get so excited to drink water all day long like Joshua) as well as play in it. He can turn the faucet knob, so the water comes out faster, but he hasn't experimented with door knobs yet. Since it's almost time for bed, this was a great opportunity to let Joshua get soaked! So cute.

Doggie Haircut

One of the tasks I which I did monthly instead of quarterly is grooming our dog Daisy. Her hair is thick and curly, so it can be quite a job to trim it evenly if it has been allowed to get long. As you can tell from the frowzy photo or Daisy, let's just say more than a month has passed since the last haircut...

Joshua loves animals in general (especially dogs) and is very happy to "help" me groom Daisy. For much of the process, both of them were on my lap! It's so sweet how gentle they are with each other. There is clearly a special bond between toddlers and the family dog. One is fluffy,fun to chase, and tolerant of hugging, the other drops delicious morsels of human food.

Backyard Fun

Our sweet Joshua loves the outdoors. Going on walks, swimming, turning on the outside faucet to play in the water, and climbing on slides are daily highlights. Mike bought Joshua a fantastic climb and slide set. Joshua's face lights up at the mere mention of going out to play on it!

We often eat dinner outside on the Bistro and watch Joshua play. He checks out each garden area, the neighbor's swing set, and Daisy's pen when not climbing on his slides. The big temptation is not touching the tomatoes growing on the tomato plant. Notice the great picture of Joshua exercising self-control.

Daisy's vet appointment trip

I brought Joshua with me to take Daisy to the vet for her annual shots. I love going to that country vet. Dr. Brickler is terrific with animals (Daisy doesn't even cry when she gets a shot from him) and very knowledgeable about the latest research. Even better, though, he has a collection of animals. I really like llamas and peacocks. This time there were baby cow and baby sheep, too!
Joshua loves reading books about animals. He is especially fond of elephants and dogs, but he likes lots of creatures and can point to them is you ask about a particular animal on a page with several. It was very exciting for him to see real live cows, sheep, ponies, turkeys, and roosters.
The vet assistants really liked Joshua's visit, too. At one point, an assistant opened the door of the exam room before I had Joshua back in the stroller. He took of running around the corridors in the building. The faster he ran as I approached, the more they laughed. He's very quick!

Happy Fourth of July 2011!

I'm super late on updating this blog, but I want to capture this wonderful weekend before catching up on the fun we've been having the last couple of months. We spent the weekend much like normal. Our normal is still really something, though.

Joshua wakes up in the morning wanting a good hug, then time to play with blocks or arrange his little animals. After a few minutes of playing together, Mike brings a guitar into the kitchen for music time while I cook. Weekend breakfasts are multigrain pancakes or waffles. I sing as Mike plays guitar, then Joshua joins us to help Mike play guitar or watch me cook as he sits on my hip. We went for a lovely walk around the college, Mike swam while Joshua and I read. Then, Mexican food for lunch and naps for everyone. Swimming, barbecue dinner, church, more playing, then watching part of a movie together on the couch. Joshua loves Shrek, Jungle Book, and Dumbo right now. When Joshua goes to bed, Mike and I do a p90x workout.

Mike is on the mayor's committee to determine a plan for the land under the homes destroyed by the big flood three years ago. So, we all went to the Franklin Festival, where Mike ran a booth for public input. The highlights of the festival were Joshua's reactions to the community band and the water fountain. Joshua's face lit up with a huge Oh! when the music started. At the end of every song, he was the first person to break into applause. Such a music enthusiast!

It was one of those wonderful toddler days when he seems so big during the day- climbing, running, feeding himself with a spoon, choosing books and clothes, and helping put laundry into the washer. But at night, Joshua wanted to snuggle in my arms with a cup of milk, in almost nursing position, before going to bed. I love the big hugs and snuggling. He's so long now, he is almost as long as his crib when stretched out. When he goes to sleep, though, he's face down with his knees drawn up under him, next to his reindeer.

Mike is as romantic as ever. While walking to the car during the last bit of our date, he commented on how pretty the moon was, in the same crescent shape as the one the fishing child sits on at the beginning of some movies. We enjoyed watching fireworks in neighborhoods the whole way home. Like giant fireflies guiding us home.