Fighting Sleep

Jesse has not wanted to sleep today, and I think it's because he has some new skills (i.e. pulling up) that are far more entertaining than sleep. At the moment he is sleeping peacefully, but I'm expecting that it could end at any moment. After playing in his crib for nearly an hour he finally fell asleep, but then woke up after less than 30 minutes of sleep, so I ignored it and after 15 minutes of screaming he is now back asleep, hopefully for longer this time because he really needs it. He was in there playing for much of the hour before he fell asleep, but at one point it got really quiet, so I tiptoed back there to take a peek at him and heard a soft scratching sound. When I poked my head in the door I could see that he was most definitely not asleep, but he was standing up and scraping his teeth on his crib railings. Not only this, but he had apparently been doing so for awhile, because he had brown stains from the crib wood all over his face...it looked like he had been out playing in mud. Anyway, I couldn't resist taking some video of Jesse's playtime. I probably wasn't helping him fall asleep by going in there and taking video, but he was too cute.

Little Scientist

Most of the museums here have periodic free days when Illinois residents can get free general admission. Today the Museum of Science and Industry was free, and since it's within walking distance from us, I decided to take Jesse. We had fun walking around and seeing a model train exhibit, a baby chick hatchery, and a model farm. There is a fun area for toddlers and preschoolers that Jesse will be able to enjoy pretty soon, but we didn't check that out today. Jesse enjoyed all the sights and sounds, and it was so fun to see him smile when he saw all the tiny baby chicks. I'm so glad there are so many fun (and free!) things to do nearby!

Looking at the model trains wind through mountains and cities...

Raising his hand to ask a question about how greenhouses affect plant growth...

Looking at a John Deere tractor at the farm exhibit...

Feeling a cold tube that shows how cold milk gets once it goes into storage tanks. He seemed very intrigued by this.

Learning about cow poop...what could possibly be more interesting for little boys?

And of course, I couldn't resist taking a picture in front of the "say cheese" sign...

Fun in the Tot Lot

We spend lots of time down in the 'Tot Lot' when the weather is not so nice. This place is usually full of kids between 4:00 and 5:00 every afternoon, but Jesse had the whole place to himself when we first went down there yesterday, so I thought I'd get some pictures. This place is wonderful, because there is an endless supply of toys for Jesse to play with, other kids to interact with, and of course adult conversation for me.

Jesse loves to play in this little house. He especially loves opening and closing the mailbox and the front door.


He also loves to make music with the xylophones...


Playing peek-a-boo in the big house...

Pulling Up

Yesterday Jesse and I were downstairs playing in the indoor playroom with a friend from our building and her little girl. She told me that "tomorrow Jesse will be pulling himself up", and sure enough she was exactly right!

As I was getting my breakfast ready this morning, I turned around and found him standing up in his pack 'n play. He was so proud of himself! He's been getting up on his knees for a while now, and will even "walk around" like this with the help of toys with wheels, but he just hasn't ever seemed very interested in getting onto his feet until today.

Then later I found him standing up in his crib after I had put him down for his nap.

Who knows how long it will be before he is cruising and trying to take his first steps...it could be soon or it could still be a while yet. I have mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, it's so exciting to see your child learn new things and reach new milestones (and believe me, our backs could use a break, so reaching the walking milestone would be kind of nice), but on the other hand, that means that he will be getting into more and more things and that he will be harder to keep up with. Either way is just fine, though...we'll just have to wait and see.

Blessed

Today I am celebrating 26 years of life, and I get to spend it with these two guys!

It's a goofy picture, yes, but it shows some of the fun we've had today. While Jesse is napping and I'm waiting to switch the laundry, I thought I'd write a quick post.

Jesse and I took a walk over to campus this morning and met James for lunch. I brought along some Puffs for Jesse to munch on while we ate, but today he was more interested in putting them in James' mouth than his own (as seen in above picture). Those that he did eat, he ate very meticulously, biting off all the tiny points one at a time until he only had a teeny tiny piece left, and then he would finish it off. (Another tidbit...I think Jesse may be a leftie, because he will only put food in his mouth with his left hand...if he picks something up with his right hand, he always transfers it to his left hand before eating it.)

Here are some more pictures of our outing. I am probably overdoing the pictures lately, but I know there are some grandparents out there who don't mind. :)

We had a hard time getting him to "pose" for a serious picture with me, but at least he would look at the camera when distracted with a lens cap.

The Return of our Little Man

I think Jesse is on the mend now. At least, he has seemed more like his normal, happy self today. You know something's wrong when it's hard to get smiles and giggles out of this guy. Here's our happy guy on our walk and also enjoying some snuggle time with Dad.

It's a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

We keep having gorgeous fall days here, and each time we decide we must get out and enjoy it because we think it's our last one. I think tomorrow's supposed to be nice, too, but it looks like colder weather is in the forecast soon, so we might be nearing the end of these beautiful days. Don't get me wrong...I'm looking forward to cold weather and snow, but I am dreading the length of winter here.

Anyway, I thought I'd share some pictures from our walk through the neighborhood today. We took a leisurely stroll to Jackson Park, where we enjoyed a peaceful and tranquil time (see picture below) in the Japanese Osaka Garden. Then we came back home through campus. I thought I'd share with you some pictures of our neighborhood and the park.


Lots of geese behind the Museum of Science and Industry:


The lagoon in Jackson Park:


Entering the Osaka Garden in Jackson Park:


If you can't read the sign, it says "the Osaka Japanese Garden is a culturally authentic site, designed to create a feeling of peace and tranquility".


Heading back home through campus:


Pretty houses near our building:

Apple Pickin'

Today we set out to pick some apples at County Line Orchard in Indiana. There were tons of different activities at the orchard (corn maze, petting zoo, kiddie train, pumpkin patches, etc.), but since Jesse hasn't been feeling very well, we made it a quick trip and just picked apples. It might qualify us for the bad parents of the year award, seeing as Jesse isn't quite feeling his normal self, but I think he probably enjoyed getting out more than he would have enjoyed staying in, and the weather was actually really nice. Sometimes he acts like he isn't sick at all, but then other times he seems quite pitiful (like when he coughs). I wouldn't say that Jesse was overjoyed to go on this trip (as you can probably see from the pictures), but I think it was a good distraction from his little bug, and it helped me maintain my sanity, since I have been inside most of the week, due to all the rain and wind that we had here.

In the car on the way there. You can see he is not too stoked. I felt so bad for him, so I rode in the backseat with him to keep him company. I just hate seeing him not feel well. It hurts.

Riding the tractor to the apple orchards. I think Jesse and James look a lot alike in this picture (and this was taken just after a lady commented on how much they resemble one another).

Not a good picture, but I love Jesse's facial expression. I think he's saying, "Enough already, can we get out of here?"


Lots of pretty apples...

We came home with a nice, big bag of apples, but I was too pooped to do anything with them tonight, so I am hoping that tomorrow I can make some applesauce and maybe an apple pie. Yum!

Tiny Dancer

James has been working with Jesse, trying to teach him how to dance. His first dance move basically consists of bouncing up and down while standing on his knees and holding onto a coffee table or an object of similar height. Jesse usually smiles and giggles when dancing, but the poor little guy seems to have caught some kind of cold or other kind of virus and has not been his normal self the past couple days. So here's the best example we have at the moment:

Applesauce Faces

Apparently applesauce is really sour to Jesse. He loved it the first time I gave it to him, but today he wouldn't stop grimacing and shuddering and making sour faces. Surprisingly, he kept opening his mouth for more. I was glad to capture some of these faces on the camera.

But...it all ended happily. Nothing better than water to wash down that tart applesauce.

Obviously he prefers crackers to applesauce...