June 10 - Como Zoo

Yes, I'm writing about June 10 in the wee hours of the morning on Aug. 24. I have a lot of catching up to do! I don't want to lump all of the events into one enormous post, though, so I'll get to them a little at a time. And here we go ...

June 10 was a Thursday I took off to hang out with Jonathan, since Jean needed the time to prepare for her eldest son's graduation party. Wanting to make the most of a weekday off with Jonathan, I packed him up in the van, tossed the Signing Time: Zoo Train movie in the DVD player and headed up to the cities to have lunch with my mom ("Mamo") and grandma ("Nana"). We had a great visit and enjoyed Grandma's delicious chicken salad (I love chicken salad), and afterwards Mom joined Jonathan and I for a trip to Como Zoo.

I'm not sure why, but Jonathan didn't seem quite as interested in the animals there this time. We had taken him once last summer as well. Maybe it was because there wasn't much of a crowd. He seems to get more engaged if there are more people around -- to a point, anyway. Or maybe it was just because he's more mobile now and prefers to be on the move.

But a couple of the highlights that held his attention for a while were the monstrous orangutan carrying around a baby orangutan and the puffin swimming in place right near the exhibit window. Diego's orangutan and puffin rescue movies are a couple of his favorite, so that might have had something to do with it. 

In any case, he also got a kick out of the umbrella Mamo bought for him and had a blast on the rides at Como Town! He's so small, he was only able to go on the little cars and the train, but he was thrilled with those and went on each three times.

Once the train started moving, he kept saying he wanted to sit somewhere else (in the engine, caboose, or any one of the other cars), and I'd tell him that we couldn't change seats while the train was moving, but we could switch once the train stopped. So when the ride was over, we'd get out and he'd walk to a different seat, but then ultimately ask to go back to the last open car. I'd ask him a few times if he was sure, because we'd have to stay there once the train started moving again. He'd affirm that, yes, he wanted to sit there ... but then, of course, as soon as we were on our way, he'd want to switch. What a character!

I nearly swiped his umbrella the morning we had four inches of rain in Lake City, because I couldn't find our big ones. Thankfully, the rain had just about stopped by the time we were heading out. But if it had still been so heavy that I couldn't see my hand in front of my face, I figured nobody would see the mini-umbrella either!

Here Jonathan was exclaiming, "All aboard!" while driving his car.

As always, Jonathan loved getting to spend time with Mamo, and talked about the zoo "adventure" for days.

June 20 - Memorial Day Weekend Recap

Yes, Memorial Day weekend was a while ago. I'm starting to think that if I blog about something within three weeks of it happening I'm actually doing pretty well ... And being without Internet service at our house for a week has made it difficult to do anything online. (That was painful. What? I have to wait to find out how to keep house finches out of my bluebird houses? How am I supposed to figure out how to make country style ribs without the Internet? No email at home? Ahg!)

While thinking about what fun thing to do with Jonathan over the holiday weekend, we considered visiting the zoo or a water park, but ultimately decided on taking him to the Minnesota Children's Museum. I told him Friday that we'd be going on an adventure the next day, partly because we didn't actually make up our minds to go there until Saturday morning and I didn't want to be too specific about what we'd be doing, but also because Diego is referred to as a "rough and tough adventurer" in the Go, Diego, Go! theme song and I knew he'd have a general idea of what an adventure was.

Well, that was all he'd talk about Saturday morning. "Going on adventure, Mom. Eat breakfast, then put shoes on, then go on adventure. Yeah." Of course his excitement didn't translate into getting dressed and out the door in a timely manner. But we managed to get there shortly after noon, having stopped to eat at Jimmy John's on the way. We even ate at a table outside and watched airplanes zoom by overhead. Jonathan thought that was a real treat, too.

I think Jonathan viewed anything that was new and different as being part of his adventure: parking in a parking ramp, walking down the sidewalk in "the big city," seeing all the tall buildings, and crossing the street where there was a stop light.

We purchased our tickets, and the cashier asked whether we'd been there before. I answered no (well, I'd been there as a kid myself, but that was ages ago), so he started to go over the layout. I was putting my wallet back together, though, and got distracted when I caught a glance at his name on the receipt: Garrett. It was even spelled the same, with two ts. He had dark hair and a nice smile. I looked for his name tag to double check. Yup, Garrett. My heart gave a little squeeze of affection for this stranger for having such a precious name.

Then we were off ...

Balancing Act

In the first room we visited, the Balancing Act exhibit, we stopped at a table near the entrance that had a few tops on it. Jonathan watched us spin a couple, and gave it a try himself, before taking a good look around and realizing he was in a giant playground. He was strutting around like quite the happy camper when he began to understand what his adventure was going to involve.

Our World
In the Our World exhibit, Jonathan enjoyed trying on different hats (although he was less interested in the coats and footwear that went along with the costumes), delivering letters, shaking a maraca and dancing to Smash Mouth's "All Star," listening to his heartbeat, and driving a bus! As great as all that was, though, he was pretty enamored with the conveyor belt he could turn to move dishes from a dining area to a kitchen. I think he did that about six or seven times before we convinced him to come see what other things the museum had to offer.

World Works
I think Jonathan could have spent all day putting ping pong balls in the various tubes and watching where they'd go. To be honest, I probably could have too. It took a while to figure out how to get a ball to the top tube in the water pressure feature, but we eventually got it. And Jonathan enjoyed sending boats down the chute even when he didn't have a partner to race against.  
 

Dinosaurs
Jonathan was scared of the dinosaur exhibit at first. When he saw the Tyrannosaurus Rex, he stopped dead in his tracks and started backing up into me. He was put somewhat at ease when Chris and I explained that it was only pretend, and touched the big teeth to show him he didn't need to be afraid. He still wasn't a huge fan, though. Other parts of the exhibit included tunnels, slides, and friendlier-looking dinosaurs that Jonathan enjoyed more.

Habitot®
The Habitot® exhibit is really geared toward toddlers, with plenty of things to climb on, sunflowers to spin, nooks to hide in, and a cargo net to scale. I was really impressed with how well Jonathan did on the cargo net, and shouldn't have been surprised that he'd decide he was just as capable of going up the slide as well.

Earth World
Apparently crawling through logs is a big thrill for toddlers, too. Jonathan and another little boy kept going through this one over and over again. They'd start at opposite ends, though, and couldn't quite figure out how to get past each other. Jonathan also has a soft spot for animal puppets and porcupines (at least those in his storybooks -- probably because I call each one a "prickly, pokily PORCUPINE!" and shower him with tickles when we see them), so he was over the moon for the porcupine puppet he found.

Earth World
Hiding out in the beaver dam was another highlight of the day. That combined with checking out a giant turtle shell, grabbing plastic tadpoles in a stream, playing peek-a-boo with another little boy, and crawling through ant tunnels helped make the Earth World exhibit one of the favorites. And of course the hand dryer was just as interesting as the other features.

Rooftop ArtPark
The Rooftop ArtPark had a number of areas to check out, but Jonathan was mostly interested in the water (he takes after his mom) -- both the drinking fountain and the stream where he could paint rocks with the water.

After being there for three hours, I think we were all pretty exhausted. Thankfully Jonathan was interested enough in getting some orange juice that he didn't complain at all about leaving. And he talked about his adventure on the way home, that night, and the rest of the weekend. As a parent, it's awfully satisfying to see your little guy have so much fun.

May 29 - Jonathan and Baby Talk

Lately, Jonathan has been enjoying reading Mercer Mayer's The New Baby, and when we talk about the baby, he'll pat my midsection and give it a kiss. (Hopefully such loving gestures will continue after the baby arrives.) But, somewhat surprisingly, he hasn't mentioned anything about Garrett or "baby brother" when we talk about the baby. It'll be interesting to see how he processes everything as the due date approaches, and what he'll think of the baby coming home and staying home this time.

Since Jonathan and I both see Sharon Riester, and he was due for his two-year well-baby visit the same time I was due for my second prenatal appointment, we rolled our checkups into one. He had accompanied me for most of my prenatal appointments with Garrett, so it wasn't entirely new to him. And I told him before hand that Sharon would put a wand on my tummy to listen to the baby's heart beat. When Chris got home from work later that day, Jonathan told him that he got two stickers at the clinic, a tractor and Thomas the Tank Engine. And then he told Chris he got to "listen to my baby." I thought it was sweet that he'd refer to the baby as his baby.

While we were eating dinner the next night, I encouraged Jonathan to eat his pasta to fill up his tummy. He stretched back and lifted his shirt to pat his belly and said, "My baby in the tummy." I tried to explain that little boys don't have babies in their tummies. Only mommies have babies in their tummies. But he was adamant that he had a baby in his tummy, too. Then he took a spoonful of applesauce and tried to feed it to his bellybutton.

May 22 - Big News

I've been thinking about a few lines from John Mayer's song "Wheel" lately:
And if you never stop when you wave goodbye
You just might find if you give it time
You will wave hello again
You just might wave hello again

With that, Chris and I are happy to share that we are expecting another addition to our family in late November or early December. The due date is Dec. 7, but since it'll be another planned C-section, this munchkin will most likely be born some time the week before that.

Having been thoroughly assured that Garrett's condition was a rare (approximately 1 in 3 million), unexplainable, but nonhereditary thing, we have no reason to think this little blessing will be anything other than perfectly healthy. Of course, another baby could never replace Garrett ... When he passed away, though, we not only had the grief of losing a child, but we also were sent reeling by how far our plans and dreams for a family had been knocked off course. As parents, I don't think we'll ever fully get over losing him, but it feels good to take a step toward getting our vision for a family back on track. And, honestly, I'm thankful that the timing of this little one's arrival will offset some of the rough memories of last Thanksgiving and Christmas.

So here's to a joyous holiday season, a house filled with baby sounds and burp cloths, early sibling affection and rivalry, and nights of sleep sacrificed for diaper changes and snuggles. This year, we'll actually get a Christmas tree and pull out all our decorations. And if we're really on top of things, maybe we'll even send out cards wishing everyone a happy New Year.

May 20 - Happy Birthday Jonathan!

Last Saturday, May 15, was Jonathan's second birthday. A couple weeks earlier, I told him that he had a birthday coming up and we'd have a party for him with cake and presents, but he was more interested in hearing who all would be at the party. I'd name all the family members I thought would likely make it, and his smile would grow bigger and bigger. Every day after that, he'd recite to us who all would be coming to his birthday party.

With thanks to my sister-in-law, Pam, for lending me her cake decorating set and letting me try out her great cake and frosting recipes, I made a fairly decent Blue's Clues birthday cake, if I do say so myself. And it survived untouched almost until we sang Happy Birthday. But, sure enough, our little guy got close enough to give it a little poke. (You'll notice the "a" in "Birthday" is a bit disfigured. That's rather minor, though.)

Jonathan was so interested in playing with all of his visitors, though, he didn't want to be interrupted to have cake and ice cream or open presents. I guess he has his priorities in order. Below you can see his somewhat listless expression of, "Ah, man, I'd rather be out running around ..." Thankfully, it was a beautiful day and he got to ride his trike and chase after his cousins to his heart's content after opening presents.

Happy birthday, Jonathan! We're so proud of the little man you're growing into. Soon enough, you'll be graduating and moving on to conquer the world, and we'll wonder what ever happened to the full-cheeked boy with darling dimples we used to rock to sleep. Until then, though, we'll cherish each day we get to give you great, big bear hugs and good-morning kisses, listen to you sing Miss Mary Mack and Take Me Out to the Ball Game, and play hide-and-seek with you in your ducky towel.

May 8 - Mushroom Hunting

I'm a little late in posting this, but better late than never, I guess.

Last weekend, we went for a hike down in the valley with a few of Chris' brothers. The proclaimed reason was to search for morel mushrooms, but I was more interested in just walking around and seeing what was new. We go down every spring, and sometimes enough mushrooms are found to fill grocery bags, but I'm never the one to find them.

Personally, I'm more interested in seeing how the usually-dry creek bed has transformed with the season's snow melt, and looking for unusual rocks exposed there. Unfortunately, plenty of dirt has been washed into the creek bed over the past couple of years, so now the rocks are mostly buried and grown over with weeds.

For Jonathan's part, he was content picking flowers (er, "flowers" ... as they were mostly dandelions) and jumping off fallen trees.

Tom was the first to find some good-sized morels (below). Chris found some more later. We followed the dry creek bed almost to the property line and decided to head back -- although we'd lost track of Chris by that point. He had been encouraged by his initial find, and was on a mission to find more mushrooms.

 

 

Jerry had taken a different path on the way down, and found a calf that must have just been born that morning. Apparently, a cow will often hide her newborn in the bushes and take off for a bit. I'm sure the cow wouldn't be happy to see us around her calf when she returned, but she wasn't anywhere in sight, so we let Jonathan take a look. He said he wanted to give the baby cow a hug. I didn't let him get quite that affectionate, but the calf wasn't moving around much, so I let him pet it a little.

It's a long, steep walk back up the bluff side, but Jonathan was lucky enough to have three uncles to alternate between for rides on their shoulders. Chris showed up not long after we reached the top. We didn't hit the jackpot like we have in years past (not yet, anyway), but there was enough to sauté and enjoy with dinner.