Air and Water Show

The Air and Water Show weekend was so much fun this year.  The jets were practicing on Thursday and since we planned to watch them atop our friend's rooftop on Sat, I figured I'd take AJ up to our own roof to see how he's handle the noise.  So, I grabbed a smoothie pop and we headed upstairs.  There were a couple of other neighbors up there and they got a kick out of AJ who said, "hiiii!" to them all.
He loved his smoothie pop, though it was so windy his bib kept blowing up into his poor face.  He sat nicely on the steps and ate, but once he was done with it, I had a hard time getting him to sit still and wait for the loud planes to fly over.  Where were they anyway?  Every time I thought I heard them approaching, it turned out to just be the El trains.  Poor AJ had no clue why I kept talking to him about planes!  

When I couldn't keep him on the deck anymore, AJ loved exploring and running back and forth on the long walkways. I felt OK about that since they are  contained by the railings, but he will go so far away from me without even checking to see where I am. The boy has no fear sometimes! I knew it was only so long before he'd tire of this game too, so we headed back to our place without ever having heard one of the jets that had been flying over so frequently that day! Their practice must have ended right as we arrived on the rooftop!  I knew that we'd just have to see what would happen on Sat then...

On Saturday, we took AJ to our friends' John and Kris's place in Old Town. Their rooftop is RIGHT under the flight patterns of the Blue Angels, and it's so cool to see them so close and feel the base rumble in your body. Like I said, we were a little concerned about how AJ would deal with the sudden LOUD noise, but as it turned out, he was not even phased!  He loved seeing the planes in the air and added a new sound to his repetoire. "hhhhhhhhhhha" is what a plane says! 

 We got a few good shots in while we ran around John and Kris' rooftop deck making sure AJ didn't sneak down the stairs or eat a tomato plant (toxic, fyi).  He really dealt well with the big crowd of people he'd never met, and with all the noise and sun. His favorite activities along with the other young guests was to take ice from the keg tubs and try to hang out on the hammock without bouncing off!

Here he and Andy are chillin' and waiting for more planes to fly overhead. 
Aren't they cute? This hat was bought for AJ earlier this year and now is really tough to get on and even harder to get him to keep on!  I think we're sticking to baseball caps for the rest of the summer and next  year we'll have to get him a 4/5yr hat!  hahaha.

Where'd He Get That Hair?

Those of you who did not know me as a child, this one's for you!  All that did, enjoy the stroll down memory lane...

Since AJ's hair finally seems to be growing, it's become apparent that he's blonde. Some kids have had several haircuts by 17 mo., but AJ has never had as much as a snip so far (!), but it's think/long enough now that one can easily tell it's not brown like Mommy's or Daddy's.  Because of this, I'm often asked, "Where did he get the blonde?", or "Is your husband blonde?", or "Does your mailman have blonde hair?". (just kidding on that last one)

Low and behold, I did have very blonde hair as a little kid! And I also stuck out and didn't look like the rest of my family (prompting my sister to tell me the gypsies dropped me off as a baby). Here's proof! (in case you aren't following, I'm the blonde one in each pic)

As I got a little older, it was still really light. Dig the groovy couch in this one and my cool butterfly pin. Also, my hair was always flat and pin-straight, so my mom must have set my hair in curlers before this was taken at my Nana's house.

And here is a shot I found of my hair in its in-between stage as it became brown. Maybe I was 8 or so?My sister and I were soooo cool in our opposite outfits that my mom made. I think we were at Disney World!?

Videos, videos videos!

As more and more words and actions creep into our lives these days, it only seems fitting that we are taking more and more videos to record the fun. For those of you who have requested it (Kaya) these are for you!

This clip is from after a meal.  It showcases AJ's ability to try to wiggle out of this seat, even when buckled-in (scaring me half to death), but he usually complies with our requests for him to sit back down. And see, Holly (and all of the Steins!), he really does remember Max! (Their dog...see earlier post).

This next video is AJ pushing his bike up and down the hallway. He CRACKS ME UP! Not too chatty in this one, but showing off new skills nonetheless...

And here is our little hippie. We have been dancing around the house lately to a live Phish CD and AJ seems to dig it. Here he is spinning like he's at a show. (the song is Tweezer by Phish for those of you who are unfamiliar to the world of Jam Bands)

Random Fun!

We have been busy lately with all kinds of fun, from lazy to silly to fun-in-the-sun! Here's a shot of our silly little guy trying on mis-matched shoes one morning. He loves to bring his shoes to me and sits in my lap so I can put them on as he holds his feet up. I love this because these days I like any activity that resembles cuddling and gets him to stay still for a few minutes! Here's a video clip of AJ checking out his Charlie Parker Played Be Bop book with his lion, Leonard.

  Notice that he's also wearing no shorts. He was so funny running around in his shoes before we got him all the way out of his PJ's! And I don't know if you can tell in these pictures, but AJ has a great tan on the bottom half of his legs and the top halves are WHITE! It's funny to give him a bath these days with his tan lines on his feet too, but the kid gets tan even with sunscreen! I guess it's better than a burn.

AJ is still big into BOOKS. Books from the library, favorites from his collection, flap books, pop-up books, touch and feel books, etc.  He will often come up to me with a book, hand it to me and then back into my lap.  (Sometimes I make beeps so he can back up like a truck. hahaha!) Here he is reading with Andy. It's a book called Windows to Color, and I think he is really into it now that he can identify Green, Blue and Yellow (all in the book). I always think that their Father/Son time is so precious too! AJ does not relax like this with me...

...this is more like it!  AJ and I together on our laptops.  He cracks me up!  I'd better watch what behaviors I'm modeling because he's apparently paying attention.  Still in our PJ's, I'm checking out what our weekend weather's going to be like and what time everything opens. AJ's checking out whether the yellow star is still going to blink and sing on the weekend and if his laptop still opens! He does try to type on my laptop, and though I allow a little bit of that, it makes me nervous so I'm quick to shut it down or distract him. If I made it an outright "No" he would have little meltdowns over it and I'm trying to avoid those these days. I'm thinking they are the precursor to tantrums.  hmmm. 

Also last week Omi invited AJ and I to come out to Roselle to swim in the public pool. When I was a Roselle resident and swam on the town's swim team, the pool was just a plain "L" shape with a large rectangle of lanes and a square off of one end for the diving well. Then it became run down and was closed for many years because they didn't get the $$ to fix it up. WELL, now it is a beautiful, fun-for-all-ages pool! It's got a wide zero-depth entry, fun, bubbly fountains, a small wet slide, a whirlpool area with jets that move the water in one direction in an oval and water fountains you can swim under, as well as a "normal" pool area and a separate pool with a big waterslide. There is also a full concession stand and an eating area with umbrella tables, and a seating area in the pool that is totally shaded, as well as a grassy area! Can you say HUGE improvement?? I was really impressed, and AJ had a blast playing in the water with his grandma and cousins. Grayson mostly slept in the shade, btu wait until next year! This shot is obviously of AJ going down the little slide with Omi spotting. He did pretty well!  He LOVES water!

AJ and Izzy at the Park

So I have gotten a few comments recently about the lack of posts in August...didn't it matter that the only one so far was a short novel?!  LOL!

OK, so this one is about last Wed when I was trying to meet a few friends at LP Zoo for storytime (which I guess they do every Wed am for FREE, followed by a concert with a performer called "Mr. Singer".  Fun!) but AJ and I had NO LUCK finding parking.  Parking in that area is always a challenge, but I thought we'd be able to find something.  Well, I was wrong.  There is the Zoo lot, which is a min of $14 to park, and the public lot is a min of $9 with a validation from the Farmer's Market.  I am generally against paying to park (other than a meter once in a while) because I always feel like it's such a rip off.  And I especially feel like that after I've circled the Zoo area for 25 min having spot after spot taken right before I could reach it. I may have said a choice word or 2...from now on, AJ and I will be taking the bus (less gas per person and only $3.50 round trip, and even less if we make it back in time for the transfer. Take that, Parking Lot!)

Well, after I had decided to give up on the storytime completely, I called my friend Nancy and asked what she and her daughter Izzy were up to, since they skipped the Zoo altogether that day. We decided to meet at Fellger Park

and I knew I'd be able to park over there! AJ and I like this park, I has 2 big play-structures as well as some little things, a playhouse, a play train, swings (I like that the big-kid swings are way over on the edge of the park) and a splash fountain.

AJ ran all over the park and had a ball. He loves running from thing to thing, and I just watch from the sidelines or else I'm too tired to make it home myself! Izzy got treated to an ice pop, and since I had rushed out of the house that morning (to try to make it on time to the storytime, how ironic!), I had not packed a snack for AJ!  But Izzy saved the day by sharing her goldfish with us.  Thanks, Iz! All in all, the day turned out to be relaxing and fun, and we'll try for Storytime at the Zoo another week...via BUS!

And here's a cute clip of AJ and Izzy (on another day) having a drink together after a long day's work...

Kristen and AJ go to CO

Warning, this is my longest post ever!

This Aug. I took AJ on his third trip requiring an airplane. I was a little nervous since the last one was when he was 3 mo. old, and the fact we were going without Andy only added to my apprehension.  I solicited many friends and family members for tips, and one friend asked, "how long is your flight?" "2.5 hrs" I replied. So she said, "Just keep telling yourself, 'it's only 2.5 hrs' then!" Very funny. Then she added, "And remember you will never see any of those people again!" Hilarious. (In hindsight I can laugh though!) My mom bought AJ a new outfit for the plane and he was trying it out before we left by doing Downward Facing Dog and Forward Fold (yoga poses). He decided it was very comfy.

SO... Andy dropped us off at O'Hare on Thurs morning and I was informed I would have to pay $25 to check a bag for AJ. Funny how they think a child young enough to sit on a lap should need less luggage, considering they will need diapers, toys, and other baby stuff. If I'd known that rule ahead of time (it was not listed on their web site) I probably could have jammed all of his stuff into my suitcase, but oh well, what choice did I have? (I'll be writing a letter to United)

And off we went, "zoom in da Ky"! AJ did great on the plane, thanks to many "new" toys that my friend Erin lent to us, a picture album filled with magazine cutouts I made with my mom, and plenty of snacks. He was a trooper and only cried when I had to change his (poopy) diaper standing up in the tiny lavatory that didn't have a changing station (I know, that will go into the letter too). When we deplaned in CO, nice people helped me with my bags and we met up with my good friend Holly Stein and started off to have fun in Breckenridge!!

We stopped at a spot along the road for a short scenic hike with Holly and her kids, Sydney and Ian. Syd and Ian both liked pushing the stroller, which was a welcome break after our travels, but made me a little nervous when the path's edge was a steep drop-off! The scenery was beautiful, but Holly told me the reason that there were so many dead trees.  Apparently, CO is dealing with a huge Bark Beetle infestation and the problem is so out of control that it's too late to save the trees. She guessed that next year all of the lodgepole pines will be gone (or at least dead and drying up). Beyond the devastation to the tree population, this also raises the threats of fires in the forest to a dangerous level. Residents have been made to cut down any trees 30ft or less from their homes. At least the beetles leave the Aspens alone, but if the national forest goes up in flames, they will be gone too. I was told that sometimes this is how nature renews itself, and that someday the trees will grow back...here are 2 pics of the spreading of dead Lodgepoles.

On a happier note, our little hike was fun and here is a shot of Holly, Syd, Ian and AJ at an outlook.  A little further down the path was another outlook and Holly took this shot if AJ and I with the gorgeous Rockies behind us. She knows the names of many of the peaks, but it was info overload for me!

There were a bunch of other people at this spot feeding chipmunks and squirrels, and we watched the action just long enough to see this sly fox, which Sydney named Roxy. The fox stopped and posed for us and seemed to enjoy the attention!

So after our little trek, we hit a park to let AJ blow off some steam. Look what kind of backdrop parks have up in CO! It was really something. This is the Dillon Resevoir, just about 15 or 20 min from where my friends live. AJ really enjoyed running around and climbing on the equipment, and of course he found the sand area. (He's generally over the wood chips, but still tries to taste the sand.  Why, AJ, why??!!) This is a clip from the park, followed by a picture Holly took of he and I on the bike path beyond the park and AJ bending down to smell a flower.

We had a lot of fun relaxing and spending time with the Steins. Our next adventure (of which I have no pictures) was the local Rec Center in Breckenridge. Sydney goes there all the time and thought for sure we'd like it, and she was right. We took AJ to the pool there and it was so fun. The water was WARM and very shallow and there were all kind of fun things to do in the water, eg: turn a crank to fill up overhead buckets that dump over when full, ride around in a mini whirlpool, go down a very cool older-kid slide or the little kid one that landed in the water, etc. AJ was bummed when we decided it was time to get out of the water. He was having way too much fun turning into a prune. He even puts his face into the water and scares me by going under! what a little fish!

Holly planned a picnic to a special place they have found where a rock outcropping is the perfect vantage point for a beautiful waterfall. It was not a good place for AJ to explore, so I wore him in the sling and fud him his lunch by placing pieces of food on my shoulder. that worked pretty well and he was generally loving the waterfall and watching the Stein's dog, Max, run around the area Here are a few shots from the picnic...AJ and I, Ron, Holly and Max, and the view downstream to a lake.

There were also several trips into Breck...for Starbucks, sightseeing, dinner out and some general stroller-time. The town was so pretty this time of year with tons of flowers blooming in planters and yards. 

Some of them were so colorful and perfect that they looked fake! Check these out. Niether of us were sure what they were, so if anyone does, post a comment. whatever their name, they sure were showstoppers in their roadside planter. Here is a cool shot of one of the peaks of the actual resort. I thought the runs looked like a golf course turned on it's side! It would be great to come back in the winter and ski sometime. I think AJ would love it, daredevil that he is becoming!


One morning, Holly and I took AJ into Breck to troll the farmers market (which is more of an open air market, really , since there were only 2 stands in all selling any produce). We also stopped up near a decommissioned rail snowplow and let AJ run around it. He was also just short enough to fit under it! I think he thought it was neat. I sure did! In the picture of he and I on the rock, you can see part of the front that was the snowplow. after being driven through these mountains for a few days, there's no way I'd want to be the guy plowing off the tracks after a big snow! Yikes! But all looks so soft and benign in the 78degree sunshine...

There's also a picture of a rainbow or rocks we found in the railroad track rubble. I thought it was pretty amazing to find all those colors within 2 sq feet! (the rock collector of my childhood was coming out in full effect, and I pocketed the rocks...not sure if that was agains the rules since the only signs we saw said not to climb on the train...)

We also had fun around the house. AJ loved practicing his stair-climbing/descent and learned how to operate the light switch. He was soon banned from flicking the light on and off, on and off, over and over, as Ian informed us that was a waste of energy. I told him the light was tired and it was sleeping. I don't think he bought it, but he started pointing to the light and saying, "no.  Noo.  no." so I guess he got the point.  He liked to read his books, and Holly got him to sit with her for a reading of "Where's Spot?" in this cute shot.He also had fun with Holly's husband Ron. Here are two clips.  One of AJ on the couch with Ron and another with him wearing Ron's hat and making his way up the stairs.

OK, I know this is really getting long, but there's just a little more I have to tell you. Holly's backyard may look sort of "average" when you first look out her back window, but that's until they tell you they own land going straight back tht includes a teepee, the Blue River and many trees and wildlife homes! Oh, if I could have grown up there! It would have been my dream to go exploring in that "backyard" every day...building forts, following trails, catching frogs, what fun! I think Syd and Ian will love it as much as I would have, and Max seems to get a kick out of it as well. Ian was beating down a path for us, so I nicknamed him "thrasher".

So here are some pictures of my little jaunt into the willows with Syd, Ian and Ron. There's the Teepee, Ron crossing on a plank, and the pretty flowers leading back up to the the house.

On our return trip, AJ and I were delayed about 3 hrs due to the storms in Chicago. There's not much to do with a 16 mo old in an airport terminal with moving walkways throughout, but we survived and he was a trooper. He did great on the flight too, even falling asleep on my lap for about 40 min, and the people around us were all so warm and helpful. Andy took the train to O'Hare and met us at the Baggage Claim and here is AJ riding the train home. He even looked perky for having been contained most of 11hrs that day. All in all a great vacation. Thanks a million to the Stein's for having us!