Lake Harriet picnic

(OK so let me start with the know fact that I am a long way behind here!!)  Sometime ago...back in August..we joined our friends at Lake Harriet to celebrate a birthday.  It was a great afternoon - the rain clouds  stayed away, there was live music, the children played and there was some good conversation.


On a side note, the playground pictured above has now been flattened and a new playground is being built.

After the picnic we headed over to the Como-Harriet Street Car Line for a ride on the trolley.  Dylan enjoyed the ride much more than he did the first time we rode the trolley.



The afternoon was so nice we decided to stay at the Lake and indulge in a burger from Bread and Pickle for dinner.

Monkeying around.

August started out with some very wet rain but that didn't stop us from heading out to meet our friends at the Wild Rumpus.  For those of you not in the know, Wild Rumpus is a kids bookstore and even better than that they have animals.  Some of these animals roam the store.  Dylan likes to follow the cats around but is not yet interested in the chickens.  I like to check out the chinchillas.



Snuggles with monkey.


We had a trip to target where Dylan took a liking for the kitchen sponges.



Dylan tried out a lime ice block.


Dylan checked out the driving seat in the Prius.



There have been many laps around the block with the lawnmower - mowing, collecting sticks, playing with cars and cats.




The neighbor's cat taking a rest on our window ledge.


Riding on Mama's shoulders.

Tractors and Rocks at the Cabin

Grandma gave Dylan a new truck. It is a cabin truck because it makes a noise that I could not live with on a daily basis! The new truck has a arm on the top with a bucket very much like the one "the man" was in when he went "up up up" in the tree and "cut" the branches and they went "boom". Dylan is still telling this story, his parts are just the ones in quotation marks. It was Dylan's favorite toy all weekend.

We went to see some real trucks when Grandpa went to get some rock for the garden.







Down on the dock.



Watermelon on the steps with Grandma.

On the phone with Grandma.

Talking on the phone with Grandma while riding on the tractor. I hope this doesn't start a bad habit.

Moving and Shaking in July

We had two music classes this week and Dylan really enjoyed them. He now recognizes the building as we approach and get excited. He has started to vocalize during class and no longer wants to be picked up and carried when we all stand up to move around. It is so great to see his progress.

We had our first Art with Ellen class this week. The mediums were clay and play dough with the theme of picnic. Dylan enjoyed the story time at the beginning of class. Ellen is an amazing story reader, her enthusiasm almost wears me out.  The play dough now features as a popular play item and so far there hasn't been too much in the mouth.




We braved the heat and humidity and took the stroller to get our csa this week. On the quieter streets I gave Dylan the option of walking. He enjoyed collecting sticks and dandelions. We always identify all of the fruit and vegetables as wwe pack them into our bags. Dylan liked the look of the pluots again this week. He grabbed one and bit into it. He ate just over half before he lost interest in it. I noticed that he was just holding it in his hand and asked if he was finished with it. His response was to hand it to me.



Dylan likes to play with the nuts, washers, screws and hinges from Daddy's toolbox.




Winter boots and hat??? His choice, not mine!


Our harvest from the garden this week.


Dylan tried out some corn before I put it on the grill.


Smiles.


We have had some beautiful butterflies in the garden.

Bits and Pieces from July

We met Sarah and Rod at Sea Salt Eatery for lunch. Grandpa tried to join us too but the timing just didn't work. As a result Dylan ate most of Grandpa's taco even though we didn't see Grandpa...


Dylan liked the look of the pluots in the CSA box. Fortunately we had a disposable bib for the ride home and he didn't throw the pluot onto the seat when he was done with it.


We picked gooseberries from our little bush. There was enough for one pie. It was yummy even though it could have done with a bit more sugar.



I can see more of this in our future...