Dill Pickle Pringles

Rosemary gave me some dill pickle Pringles the other day. They are pretty sour. Dexter loves them with milk for a snack (eeeeew).

Blueberry Jamborie

Followed by bath which quickly became blueberry soup.

Mentos and Diet Coke

Just another summer evening in the neighborhood.

More Than One Way to Skin a Cat

Or eat with a fork...

Caught!

We could have used these with the franks and beans!

Franks and Beans

Colors

Dexter likes to color with crayons. He also likes to take his crayons out of their bucket one-by-one and put them back in one-by-one. He looks to me to tell him the color of each crayon. The first time we played this game I said, "brown," and Dexter started taking it to the bridge (see previous post if you don't know what that means). It took me a minute to understand why he was doing that!

James Brown

Shape Sorting

Dexter is mastering the skill and is very proud of himself (as are we).

The Welcoming Committee

After driving for hours on a four-lane highway that turned into a two-lane highway that turned into a one-lane highway, we took the turn to Great Grandma and Great Gunker's farm at the big house on the hill. As the one-lane road turned into a dirt path, we were greeted by a hyper black lab who darted out in front of the car causing me to stop for fear of running him over. He was barking like mad, jumping up on the driver's side window, and circling in front of the car. I could see a woman yelling at him from the farmhouse in the field and imagined her screaming, "Quit frightening the city folk!" Whatever she said, that dog ran back to her and we made it to Great Grandma and Great Gunker's house without incident.

Summing It Up

Ben and I couldn't resist buying this t-shirt for Dexy at the Farm and Home. "Corn Fed and still hungry" really summed it up.

Extended Family

I'm not very good at geneological terms but I think these are Dexter's Great Aunt Joanie (Ben's mom's sister) and Great Uncle Gene (Ben's mom's sister's husband) and Great Aunt Patti (Ben's Dad's sister). Whatever the term, these wonderful people are family and they are part of Dexter's caring community of loving adults.

Thanks so much, Patti, for watching My Bologna while we enjoyed the Best Buffet (too bad My Bologna couldn't go - he would have loved it!).

Soldier's Home Deer Park

Ben and I visit the Soldier's Home Deer Park every time we visit Quincy. Ben spent many peaceful afternoons here as a child. Each time we come, a different array of animals (including deer, sheep, llamas, goat, ducks, swans, geese, and buffalo) come to see what kind of critter My Bologna is. We have watched the youngest buffalo grow since he was just born. This time, Dexter got to enjoy petting a deer.

Tractor Time

Gunker and Great Gunker took Dexter and cousin Adam for a tractor ride.

High-Fiving with Great Gunker

Birthday Girl

Dexy and Great Grandma Wolf got along swimmingly!

Two Day Buffet

We drove to Quincy this past weekend to visit with Ben's family. On Saturday, we visited with Ben's dad's family at his parents' farm. Grandma brought a huge tub of assorted homemade cookies and put them on the coffee table. Dexter, who doesn't usually eat cookies, wouldn't stop! He took a nibble out of every single cookie in the container (I think I'm going to have to commission Ben's mom to make a whole batch of sugar cookies just for Aunt Bonnie). Dexy must have eaten at least three whole cookies and then celebrated cousin Aaron's 3rd birthday with chocolate cupcakes.

On Sunday, we celebrated Grandma Wolf's 86th birthday with Ben's mom's side of the family at Best Buffet. Dexter had his fill of Chinese food before enjoying more chocolate cupcakes (at least we got some green beans in him by feeding him with chop sticks). It was wonderful to see family again and to meet Uncle Fred, Aunt Sheree, second-cousin Brantley, and Aunt Patti - all of whom Dexter had never before met.

No Fear

Despite wind and waves on our first day at the lake, Dexter ran towards the water ready to experience all it had to offer.

Making a Splash

Getting Tossed

Once Sky warmed up to the idea of being in the water, both boys enjoyed getting tossed by their Daddies.

Could They Be Any Cuter?

Honestly, I don't think they could...

Snacks

Madoka also remembered to bring snacks to the beach for the boys. Dexter had his first box of sand-covered raisins. He didn't seem to mind the crunch a bit! I wonder if he'll like non-sand-covered raisins as much.

Perfect Days

We were lucky to have perfect weather. Everyone loved the time at the lake! Thanks, Madoka, for sharing the sun-blocking swim shirt with Dexter (I didn't know such a thing existed - what kind of mother am I?).

Together Again!

We all had a lovely time together in the little Union Pier house for a few days despite getting off to a rocky start. When we picked Madoka, Dave, and Sky up at the airport (three hours later than expected due to changes to a last minute change to their itinerary - who wouldn't want the added bonus of stopping in Detroit?), Delta had misplaced their luggage. They promised Dave that they would deliver it to the house around 8pm. When he called to check on it, they explained that they couldn't deliver to Michigan. After a round of phone calls and, "can I please speak with your supervisor," Delta had the luggage at the house at 8am the next morning.

Hanging together with the boys was slightly more challenging than the last time they were together at 6 months old - they were on different sleep schedules and had to learn to share the few toys that we brought. Sky made good use of the word "no" whereas Dexy resorted to pushing to express himself. Nevertheless there was lots of running, jumping, laughing, and successful sharing as well.

The house was fantastic with all the necessities and it was very tastefully furnished. It wasn't furnished for toddlers but we moved all the breakables off the coffee table and fed the boys on the counter or on the move. It all worked out really well.