Splashpad Fun!

A few weeks ago, I took Nick and Henry up to Rosemont's Splashpad for some water adventures with Grandpa Mike and Grandma Patty.

Henry is a little too young for water adventures.

He mostly had napping adventures, and snuggling with grandma and grandpa adventures. Nick, however, had a ball. How many grandmas will brave the shooting water just for a fun time with their grandsons? Grandma Patty did!

The splashpad is an awesome concept. You don't have to worry about kids falling in the water, so they just run around and get wet.

I'm getting wistful looking at these pictures. That's because I had to get back to school starting yesterday. I already miss the (somewhat) lazy days of summer.

 

Barbeque for Grandpa Mike's Birthday

Last week was my dad's birthday, and we hadn't seen him and my stepmom in awhile, so we decided to get together and do something a little different.

So, we got together for a rather unusual barbeque. It was a special event at the Goodwill Store in Batavia, IL. You see, they had a special deal where if you brought in a bag of used goods, they'd give you free barbeque. They even had America's Chefs from Food Network's Diner's Drive-ins, and Dives preparing the food.

We had to keep Nick on his "tether" the whole time, because it was crazy busy there. There were huge lines and people carrying bags of old junk everywhere.

Nick was very active the whole time. He kept trying to go near the cars and run around. See my dad holding Henry? He's also holding onto Nick's leash. . . er, tether.

I like how Henry is looking up at his Grandpa in the picture above. I wonder what he's thinking?

My dad thought Nick's "tether" was pretty funny.

The food was pretty decent, and they had the biggest soup bowl I think I've ever seen. That's a lot of soup! I bet it all got eaten, though. The crowds were huge and it seemed like everyone in the western suburbs was in line, swarming around the food.

 

Henry took a nice long nap in the grass. He likes naps.

Hopefully my dad had a good birthday as well as some yummy barbeque.

A Father's Day Post

My dad has always been there for me, whether he was cooking dinner, playing games, or working overtime to support us. Without my dad, I don't know how I would have made it through college. He scraped and scrimped to help me pay for classes, and bailed me out every time I drove over a beer bottle and got a flat tire (Yup, it happened more than once!). He's one of the nicest, most jovial people I know, and he'd do anything for a friend. Ten days ago, Greg and I decided to make our new son's middle name Michael, after my father. We hope that Henry Michael will be every bit as kind-hearted as his Grandpa Mike. Here he is with Grandma Patty, holding little Henry on the day he was born.

Nick and Henry are very lucky to have three Grandpas. Happy Father's Day to each of them!

Here are Grandpa Jay and Grandma Linda (Greg's father and stepmother), holding Nick last year when we went out to celebrate Father's Day.

Here is Grandpa Ray (my stepfather), holding both of his grandsons on the day Henry was born.

Of course, I cannot forget Nick and Henry's daddy. He changes diapers, he cleans bottles, he burps, he chases, he snuggles, and he even does laundry. What a wonderful father.  : )

Here is the card I made for Greg this year. I was feeling a bit creative. This is the front. . .





Here's the inside of the card. . .



and this is the back.

Happy Father's Day to all of the dads and grandpas out there! 

Building Block Towers with Grandma and Grandpa

Last Saturday, my dad and stepmom came to visit. Nick had a fun time exhausting them. He especially loved building block towers with them. Running from room to room, showing off his toys, Nick was super excited to play with his Grandpa Mike and Grandma Patty.

Nick gets everyone to build with him. He also insists that everyone sit on the floor while building. "You sit. You sit on the floor. Build. Build blocks!" He especially likes to build houses for his little plastic animals.

It's funny--I can remember my dad sitting on the floor with my sister and me when we were little, playing with Legos. It's kind of neat to see him building with Nick, now. I do think Nick, with his floor-sitting demands, is far more demanding.

It's funny how you revert to a child as soon as you start building. At least I do, and I've seen others do it, too. I like to build for stability, alternating blocks rather than making each wall seperately. Nick likes to build straight up, without much regard for whether the blocks will fall down.

Oh, and you know what made Nick even more happy?

Grandma and Grandpa brought cake!

Christmas Post #1

Nick gets more Christmases than most kids. You see, since Greg and I both have divorced parents, Nick ended up having four grandmas, three grandpas, and two great-grandmas. For three of his grandmas (and two of his grandpas), Nick is the first and only grandchild, at least until next year. He is a very lucky boy, and this is especially evident around Christmastime, both for love and attention reasons and for the obvious presents that come with lots of grandmas and grandpas. Nick is a total people person, though, and having new people to play with was the highlight of each of his Christmases.

Christmas #1 was on the 23rd, with Nick's Grandpa Mike and Grandma Patty. My dad has really been enjoying being a grandpa, especially since Nick has started walking and talking. I can remember him getting down on the floor and playing with my sister and I when we were little kids, and it's so nice to see him having so much fun playing with his grandson now. Although Nick doesn't look too thrilled in the above picture, as soon as he figured out what this car does, he got really excited. All you have to do is shake it up and put the car on the floor, and it drives itself. This was a revelation for my boy, who loves anything with wheels.

I love the above picture because there are so many random things going on. First, Grandpa Mike is looking at a picture Nick drew while Nick brushes his hair with a rather serious look on his face. You can see Nick's new tent in the background, and Grandma Patty, too, who is laughing at the whole scene. On the table are several Play Doh creations. Nick likes to make people roll balls and make him snakes. "Make snake!," he'll insist, handing the Play Doh over to Grandma Patty.

Above you can see Nick opening his favorite present of the evening, a tent with tunnel attached. As soon as I saw it, I knew that this present would be a winner. I can remember how much fun it was to play in tents and make forts when I was a kid. Nick's eyes got really big and he crawled inside as soon as it was put together. I think this is going to be our go-to toy for rainy days when he gets bored.

Nick got lots of play time with his grandma and grandpa, and he was so excited he wouldn't even eat his pizza. He just wanted to color with them and play with his new toys. I believe they both left here pretty exhausted from his hijinks. He kept begging them to come down on the floor and play with him. "Play with me. Please! Sit here." It was a really relaxing, low key evening, and a great start to our yearly Christmas festivities.

Wordless Wednesday: Captions Please!

A Splashy Afternoon

For my dad's birthday, I took Nick up to Rosemont to visit the Splashpad. We tried to go last year, but it was far too cold the day we went. This year it was, if anything, too hot, but hey, that's what the water is for. Can you tell that he was having a ball? Nick just kept running through the water, again and again.  All of us got really wet, and my sister, who just wore her regular clothes, got her phone wet and it wouldn't work for awhile. Nick has been playing with hoses and in the shower a lot lately, so he's not afraid of water squirting him. Can you tell that he was loving the spray?

The fountains at the Splashpad are on a timer, so not all of them go off at one time. Instead, they start and stop, seemingly randomly. In the video above, Nick was busy trying to figure out where the water went. He kept saying, "Uh-oh."

After a few hours of running around in the water, Nick took a little rest and cuddled with his Auntie Mandy.

Then we ate pizza. Nick loves his pizza with veggies. He ate three slices!

There was cake for my dad's birthday--chocolate cake. Nick did NOT want to wait for us to
sing. He wanted cake NOW!

Happy Birthday Grandpa Mike!

Christmas #1 (w/Grandpa Mike and Grandma Patty and Grandma Toni)

On the first day of Christmas. . . we had Grandma Patty and Grandpa Mike over, as well as Grandma Toni, who was up for seeing Nick open as many presents as possible. I love the t-shirt Nick is wearing. If you can't see, it has two penguins and it says "Cool like daddy." And he is. :) Note the adorable doggie quilt that Nick got from my dad and stepmom. I believe this was the first of over 40 gifts Nick received this year. What a lucky, lucky boy.

Since both of our parents are divorced, we have four Christmases each year. Nick didn't seem to mind all of the excitement, though. Note how he zeroed in instantly on the cute, eminently breakable snowman bell. That and the bubblewrap were more interesting than toys. :)

Greg was very excited about our new salad set. I can see why; we just dropped a grand on an elliptical trainer, and we will need lots of salad to go with the new healthy lifestyle.

Nick was thrilled to see his Grandpa Mike, and even more thrilled with the cupcakes that they brought. My dad only had 2 girls, no boys, so his first grandson is obviously very special to him.

Here's Nick sitting with his Grandma Patty. Notice the crumby mess he left on the table. I believe he was eating chocolate chip cookies. They are one of Nick's favorites, just like his Grandpa Mike.

No, I don't believe we were tipsy, although it probably looks like that from the picture. Greg was blocking Nick from getting the envelope with his foot. Nick is always most interested in whatever is most forbidden/dangerous/delicate.
My camera takes really bad pictures, did I mention that? I think there is something wrong with it. Here is a family shot, and out of three, this was the best one. Nick was surreptitiously trying to sneak a bite of my cupcake.
Before they left, Grandma Patty and Grandpa Mike played with Nick and our cat Molly up in the loft. I can tell what Nick is thinking: "As long as I entertain them, I won't have to go to bed!" He was right, too.