Much closer to home this time—the elementary school just down the road. 🙂
Katie’s first slides! I missed her very first one but she kept coming back (though not one right after the other). A few times I thought she’d go down frontward but always flipped over.
She also really liked swinging with me. She’d say “Wheee!” And would swing back and forth a few times then want down. She’d wander off then come back and put her arms up. 🙂
On the way home.
Owen: Mom, that was AWESOME! Thank you so much for taking me to the playground!
I love how I never know what’s going to come out of his mouth.
We have the baseball playground (the playground next to where he plays baseball, of course!) and the playground that I typically refer to as “the one by Miss Katherine’s house” to which Owen usually replies “Big’s house?” which is true (Big is Katherine’s son) or “the one with the three slides” (yes).
But today after we had the typical exchange, he says “The one with the wood chips? Not the sand?” Um, wow. Yes. The baseball playground has sand and the other one has wood chips. Impressive.
I told Owen we could go to the playground this morning, thinking he would pick the one we’ve gone to a few times (the one we stopped at on the way back from seeing Tom off) that’s closest to us…but no…he requested the “baseball playground” (obviously, the one next to the ball fields we went to after playing baseball).
He also requested “socks like grannie’s at the hotel” so he could slide down the slides better. So I gave him some of mine (no pics, unfortunately)…and they stayed on pretty long, until he saw a girl in bare feet and then he wanted bare feet, too!
It was a nice, cool, fall-ish morning so we were all in long pants and long sleeves (which felt like heaven!)…but Katie just couldn’t quite understand the long sleeves and kept trying to pull them off.
This is how she sometimes goes down stairs.
Unlike Owen, she doesn’t mind sand at all.
Owen with Connor, one of the kids from my mommy group.
Katie had her first skinned-lip/chin fall on the sidewalk moments before this (she just stumbled). She cried for about 15 seconds while I brushed the sand off her face…and then she was fine.
Well, this morning was the first Special Needs Baseball game day! We drove around a bit until we found it (I’d never been to that complex before), picked up Owen’s shirt, and then it was a waiting game before all the registration stuff ended and volunteers got everything ready. And speaking of volunteers, there were a TON of them—a church group and a biker group along with friends and family—enough for a few on each base, ones to run with each batter, ones to have fun in the outfield, and many to just stand and cheer! (They told me later that there usually aren’t that many until later in the season.)
I had only brought my telephoto lens so I had to make Owen stand about 10 feet away to get a shot. Yes, he’s wearing it over his regular shirt—that was his choice. And I could kick myself for not taking more to have one with better lighting. Oh well. And yes, he had to go potty at that moment—that’s where we headed next. 🙂
Katie wasn’t really enjoying being strapped into the stroller, but since I wanted to take pics, I didn’t really have any other options. (In the future I likely won’t be taking as many pics so I can let her wander.) But she wasn’t really that bad (it could have been much worse) and she enjoyed everyone stopping to talk to her or wave at her. And I tried to keep her placated with milk, snacks, and toys.
He found a ball right away!
Lining up to be divided into teams. He was on the Crushers and they were in the outfield first. They even had a parent sing the national anthem!
Owen’s buddy in the outfield.
There was a lot of this in the outfield.
Bowling?
I think he was going for the fumble recovery. 🙂
Waiting for his turn at bat.
Picking a bat!
On second base!
Third base!
Running for home!
Back in the outfield.
I’m not sure why, but there was spinning.
Back up to bat!
He started running the wrong way, so the volunteers helped direct him! This is one of my favorite pics—even though it’s definitely not the best pic—because it shows how awesome and supportive the volunteers are!
Running to second base!
Coming in to a high-five!
Game over! High-fiving everyone!
You can’t really get a good feeling for how crazy it was. There were so many people around, the game being announced play-by-play on loudspeakers, lots of not-playing going on, no scoring, kids running to whatever bases they want, two or more kids running at the same time, some older kids actually hitting the ball and adults in the outfield taking care of those balls, some kids refusing to bat/run, etc. But it was fun and Owen had a good time…so yes, there will be more weeks of this.
Then they announced that lunch would be served at the pavilion, and Owen was hungry…so we went. Thankfully there was just a prayer before eating—which is just fine with me. They had hot dogs and popcorn—and if you can believe it, Owen ate an entire hot dog, bun and all! For the first time ever! WOOHOO! Then he wanted to play on the playground which was very close…so we went. And I finally got to let Katie out of the stroller and she had A BALL!
As we were leaving, Owen said “That was awesome”…and I’m guessing he meant the baseball, though I guess he could have also been referring to the playground as well. But it was a good day that gave me 428 photos to edit down to 58. 🙂 Next time I won’t take nearly as many!
The only good thing about driving too far the first day is that the second day is a lot shorter. BUT…the day started too early with Katie screaming good morning about 6:15. 😐 But it meant we were on the road at 7:30 again.
As usual, we stopped at our favorite park near Raleigh and Owen had a blast.
He’s getting SO much older. Now, he just takes off across the park without telling us…so we had a few chats about that. 🙂
And here’s how packed in things are—including Maggie! And it’s missing the last outside row that we had to take out at the park (the stroller, backpack, Maggie’s bag, etc.).
Look at that pathetic face. But don’t let her fool you…she’s perfectly happy. We had to literally DRAG her out when we stopped at the park.
Also, does Katie want her bottle at the park, when it’s convenient to do so? Of course not. She wants it 10 minutes later as soon as we’re back on the highway. Babies are annoying. But at least it put her to sleep so both kids thankfully napped almost the last two hours home…
On the way home Owen asked to go to the park so after a pit stop to drop me and Katie off, they went back to town.
“Here I am!”
Then he approached a boy who was playing on the bouncy alligator…so they bounced together for awhile.
And then made fast friends with a little girl… She apparently gave him a Twizzler and while he did try it, he also tried to give it back to her when he didn’t want it anymore! (We’re still working on that.)
He has SO much fun with other kids…it’s awesome to watch!
We went to the playground at Hanson Hills—which was really nice equipment but all sand (which Owen doesn’t care for).
He’s also getting really good at climbing!
Sliding, sand, and more climbing!
More climbing! And I don’t even get nervous!
Then we went to Camp Grayling to check it out since I haven’t been there since my 10-year reunion (in *cough* 2001 *cough*) and we stopped at the beach. I bet Tom that I’d be able to find a Petoskey stone and he didn’t think I would…I found the first one within about two minutes. 🙂
Owen had fun wading and trying to skip rocks like daddy (so, basically, just throwing them in the water).
Then it was off to the AuSable Park in downtown Grayling where he had fun running around, playing with other kids, and drinking from the water fountain by himself.
And it all wore him out…because he took a three-hour nap once we got home!
Well, I had an awful night. The whole barking dog fiasco combined with a very sore back (a combination of having been to the chiropractor on Thursday and the passenger seat not being very comfortable since it’s tweaked to best fit Katie’s car seat) meant I tossed and turned all night…and was wide awake enough to see midnight, 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5a on the clock. I gave up at 5 and caught up on email, Facebook, forums, Scrabble, the blog, etc. Tom woke up about 6, Owen was up about 6:15, then Katie woke up while Tom was showering. We were packed, breakfasted, and on the road by 7:30. Well, 7:40—as we were pulling out of the parking lot, Owen said “Where’s my B?!” EEK! He had had it in the room so I wasn’t paying attention…and he obviously set it down. Tom ran back in and got it. Phew!
The first sibling game of the day was sharing (that’s Owen’s B).
Then we stopped in Troy. I had to return some shoes to REI and we wanted to grab some sushi from our favorite place and take Owen to his old park stomping grounds.
First, Katie had some fries.
She usually offers to share.
Daddy and Katie sharing a fry, Lady & the Tramp style.
Owen was really excited about his fries on the way there, but once we got there he was way more excited about playing.
So off he went!
Katie after her first daddy-assisted trip down the slide.
And this is how she wanted to attempt it on her own.
Owen on his way up to the BIG curly slide!
He went down it about 10 times! He almost attempted a belly first (which we were going to allow) but then he changed his mind.
Katie’s first time on a real swing (and not just on one of our laps). SHE LOVED IT.
Owen would have stayed to play for another hour (and we hated to leave the memories as well), but we had to get on the road to Gramma Jean’s! Unfortunately, Katie had HAD it with the road trip and squawked for quite a bit. She did conk out for a few minutes, but about a half hour out she was JUST. DONE. Kicking and screeching and definitely not happy. I wanted to tell her I understood—I hate long road trips, too.
But then we were pulling in the driveway and Owen was so excited to be here and Katie was excited to be out of her car seat and the grandparents (including Grauntie Marge) were excited to see the kids…and then it was a flurry of activity as we unpacked, Tom’s mom and brother arrived, and we all ate dinner.
To officially start my vacation, I had a bottle of wine (yes, you read that right: bottle, not glass). And to make sure I slept that night (and didn’t get a headache from the wine!), I took two Excedrin PMs and a back pain pill.
Me: Owen, why are you chewing on that [the tail of the rubber snake, which is wrapped around his wrist]?
Owen: Because it gives me energy to run around.
Owen: Can I watch my TV now?
Me: No.
Owen: Please? Please? Triple please?
Me: No.
Owen: I need watch some TV mama.
Grannie: Why?
Owen: Because I have to. Pretty please with peaches on top. Very please. Very please. Very please. [Climbs on top of me and snuggles in.] VERY PLEASE. VERY VERY PLEASE.
Owen is dancing around.
Me: Owen, do you have to go potty?
Owen: No. Dances around some more.
Me: Owen—GO POTTY!
Owen: OKAAAAAAAAY!!!
At the park, to Tom:
Owen: Don’t follow me. Go stand by mama.
I told Owen to go downstairs and tell Papa that he had to put on his matching Cookie Monster shirt later tonight so I could take a picture. I’m listening from the stairwell.
Owen: Papa. Papa! Excuse me—I have to tell you something. You need to put your shirt on tonight. TONIGHT! Mama is going to take a picture of you and me.
Tom had to go to Raleigh to see one of his marines who was in the hospital, so we decided to make a day of it and take Owen with us (leaving Katie at home with Grannie and Papa). We thought it would be a special treat for Owen…which it was, after the tantrums stopped. He knew he was going with us—we reaffirmed it time after time—but it didn’t stop him from asking 74 times and whining for unknown reasons (like when Papa simply tried to talk to him).
Anyway.
He was a trooper on the car ride (and even enjoyed sharing our chocolate shake).
He was a trooper at the hospital. He was a trooper at Costco. Then he fell asleep in the 15 minute drive to Trader Joes…
…so he was a bit cranky when we woke him up…and he demanded he take his B with him out of the car (which we rarely allow).
Then it was off to the park.
And amazingly, he actually went down the slides—and liked it! (He used to go on the slides in Troy, but for some reason he stopped liking them when we moved away.)
We stopped at a new park on the way home from my chiropractor… Owen wasn’t too sure about it at first, but quickly got into it.
My biggest surprise? His hood came off and he let out a big OH NO (you will hear it) and wanted me to put it back on!
And then he went down a slide. The only one of four that had standing water and gunk at the bottom. Of course. Boys!
His response? WET! And of course I had no change of clothes (since we were in Tom’s car). It wasn’t terribly cold, so I stripped off his pants and he rode home in his top and a diaper! 🙂
After his nap, Owen kept saying “Park park park” (though it sounds more like pawk or puck) so I took that to mean he wanted to go to the park. He didn’t want his snack. So we went, and he had a great time running around for about 20 minutes, then he came over to me and said “home…snack”—the first time he’s ever really asked for something like that (aside from the park earlier). I know it’s not much, but it’s a start…and I love it.
It was a perfect 70-degree day with a nice breeze…so we were off to the park! Owen had a blast running and running—and finally decided he liked the slides (instead of just the one at home) so he had fun with those, as well.
Gramma Jean and Grauntie Marge came to the park with us…so since I had someone to “catch” Owen at the bottom, we let him go by himself! He loved it, of course! YAY, OWEN!
He found the mud puddles at the park…and I let him have at it. He seemed to really like the taste of mud!
Then after I got him cleaned up (as best I could with a baby wipe) he saw the big kids with the volleyball again—so headed directly over there. As he approached them (they were sitting off the court at a picnic table) I told them he saw the ball and had to come over—so one girl tossed him the ball so we played catch for a few minutes and he just had a ball. I knew that we’d never be able to leave because he just wants that ball so badly, so I picked him up, carried him back to the stroller, and we headed home…where he got his hands and feet washed in the sink!
Tom came home early today and we took Owen to the park. And boy, did he surprise us at the park!
Normally he doesn’t walk much on the grass because it’s uneven walking and he’s still a little unsteady. And normally he stops at the edge of the “big kids” play area because the sandy area is surrounded by a cement border that he just can’t quite get up and over by himself.
Except that today he mastered both! Tom was just following along behind him, expecting him to stop at the cement…but up and over he went with no problems, and traipsed around the play area kicking up sand! Then he spent quite a bit of time wandering around the grassy park, stopping to pick up a stick every now and again!
Then the fun came… Some high school kids were playing volleyball and, well, you know how much Owen LOVES balls—so he took off across the park to get to the ball. Did he let the hill stop him? No way! So he went up a little hill, then down the little hill, then probably 30-40 yards to the volleyball pit. Over and over and over (we kept carrying him back, because he would not turn around to leave on his own). It was soooo cute! We eventually had to leave the park because he refused to do anything else but try and get to the volleyball. (It’s hard to tell in this photo, but he’s at the base of the hill and that tan line running across the middle of the picture is a foot trail at the top of the hill.)
The other big thing for the day was…his first [local] babysitter! Tom and I had dinner plans and since we didn’t have any grandparents here…we had to use our first babysitter! We had scoped her out beforehand (i.e. emailed and met in person—we found her on a babysitter forum) so we were completely comfortable. I wasn’t nervous or sad or anything, but it just felt strange leaving him. He did just fine, and she loved him, telling us he was the easiest and happiest baby she’s ever had! YAY OWEN!
Since it was a gorgeous day, we all headed to the park! Most of his outfit is made up of pieces I bought from my friend Jen in Jacksonville…the Nautica sweatshirt, Ralph Lauren cap, and gray sweatpants!
