Zoo we have a good excuse for not blogging?

Yes we Zoo!
There are a lot of pictures from the 2nd half of the month of August. 

We took a day  to SMELL THE FLOWERS.  Tad has to smell the flowers, even the dead ones on his way in the front door. 

We spent a day at the COUNTY FAIR.  The petting zoo was great this year!  A baby camel and a baby zebra (Tad loves to say "ebra" now.)

Waving bye to the animals so we could go get a free pony ride.  (He looks so grown up!) 

 Fred and I even managed to get an evening out, while Tad spent the night at Nannie & Pompa's!

 Tad and I spent one afternoon at the PARK feeding the ducks & geese.  Tad's getting better at tearing the pieces of bread, but he doesn't understand that he has to stand still to throw them.  He would chase them around "Here quack, here quack." 

We spent a day making TREATS for daddy- I left the room to get something and he'd gone to get his "dolly" to help.  :}   Then this is what he did when I told him to put the marshmellows in the bowl. 

We spent a day, a whole day, trying to work on POTTY TRAINING.  (I'll blog when I find something successful.)

 I spent a day making SALSA!   I told Tad to quit squishing my tomatoes, so I couldn't resist taking this picture!  :} 

Finally, a few days at the ZOO!   That's right, not one, but TWO!   The dinosaur exhibit is ending this month, so we went with Aunt Crystal on Monday, and Daddy on Tuesday!

Tad was so scared of the T-Rex.  He'd walk this close, but when I tried to tell them to stop so I could take a picture he kept pulling Fred's hand.  Fred said there was no way Tad was going to let him stop! 

I know camels are usually gross, but this is just a funny picture! 

 Since Daddy still needed to work, Tad & I rode the TRAIN home!   He thought it was pretty cool. 

When we got off the train and it started to go, he took off running after it.  :}  He must have liked it!

Rocks & "Bees"

 Crystal & I went to check out some places to take my cousin's engagement pictures.  Being the compulsive person that I am, I wanted to get some scenery in mind so that I could start sketching some poses.   Crystal was a big help, hiking down by the river to find some places with easy access.  :} 

 We had a great time playing in the river.  Tad loves to throw rocks, even as I took his hand to move on he'd continue to bend down and pick up more rocks.  

On the drive home something hit the passenger mirror- a small bird or bug.  I didn't think too much about it, until Tad said "Bee, Bee".  I turned around and saw him holding a dragonfly in the palm of his hand!   (He calls all bugs bees.)  I pulled over, then decided I should move further out of traffic and pulled into a gas station.   When I turned around again it wasn't in his hand.   Being the good parent that I am, I made him hold it again so I could take a picture.  :} 

Too much water.

Great Gram invited us to go to the Splash pad with her.  I was afraid Tad would be overrun by the older kids, but it was surprisingly not too busy.  He loved walking around the outside, but didn't like to run through the middle.   Gram held him so they could get dumped on by a bucket of water.  He didn't even whimper.  It was a special day to be able to play in the water with Gram. 

Gram brought lunch for us and we visited as we ate.  Tad played peek-a-boo and ran around. 

We went swimming at the wave pool.  Tad loved it!   He kept trying to go out too far and the waves would splash in his face.  He was freezing by the time we left.  But was just fine to jump back in water when I fixed him a bath! 

The next day I let him play in his pool after we ate popsicles.  I'm not sure if it's all the water, or allergies, or teething, or an ear infection but he's been grumpy and crying because he doesn't feel good. 

Daddy also played with bubbles for Tad.  I know he's not in focus, but I think it's a cool picture with the bubbles in focus.  And it still shows what I thought was funny.   Fred told him to turn around his hat so he could see the bubbles and he turned it to the side.   (He wears it often like this.)  :} 

Toddler Tad Turns 2!

 After a long night at the wedding, Tad was nice enough to let us sleep in until 9am!   He got cute jammies from grandma and grandpa (They took him home early from the wedding because he didn't get a nap all day and was ready to go.) 

 He helped mommy get ready for church while wearing his "Cowey Hat". 

 Since he's obsessed with ties, we got him a few new ones.

After church we found a birthday card from my sister's family in CO.   Tad was so excited.  (He now goes around the house and takes everything out of any envelope he finds.)  (When they called and sang happy birthday on my vm, Tad kept trying to blow the phone like candles.) 

Tad got a nap after lunch, while Fred and I scurried to get the party ready.   BBQ chicken, Roasted potatoes, corn on the cob, cornbread, and a lemon-lime tractor cake!

 

(Don't look close, it's probably the messiest cake I've ever made!)

(Tad is sitting on my lap as I type, singing happy birthday to himself and trying to blow out the candles again.)

More presents than any 2 year old should get!   Thank you families for spoiling him - and helping stock his wardrobe. 

He had to clap with everyone else after he blew out his candles. 

Pushing "Dolly" in the swing.  (Funny moment at the party, I was opening some clothes for Tad from Gma & Gpa and found 2 baby outfits, I thought for sure they were for my sister-in-law, and turned to give them back to my mom, nope, they're for Tad's Dolly! They're size Premie and fit perfectly!)

A friend made this for Tad- it is the cutest stuffed horse I've ever seen, and it's crocheted!

We found a helmet and cheap scooter for Tad's birthday present.  We're hoping the 2 front wheels prevent too many accidents.   It'll take awhile to get down the coordination of pushing off, but he seems to like it. 

Tad had his 2 year appointment today.  35lbs, 37.5 inches, 99th percentile.  So glad that we're just moving to yearly appointments now.
He did have to get one shot.  He's been kind of emotional today and I thought for sure he'd cry, but he just gave the nurse a weird look, and checked out his cool orange bandaid.  (His new word of the day.) 
 

When we got home, there was another package in the mail from Fred's sister back east.  A cool farm set that makes animal noises.  

 I'm not sure which aunt taught him to stick out his tongue for pictures. 

Such a long week!

 

We knew we were going to have a long week of crazy schedules, so we took time to go on a bike ride and a picnic to have some family time.   Can I just say how out of shape we are?  Not to mention we went during the hottest part of the day.  Tad loved it though. 

Tad found Fred's cowboy hat and has now claimed it.  I love to hear him ask for his "Cowey Hat". 

 The first few days of the week were spent with Fred working long hours and when he was off he was gone doing some volunteer work for 3 days.  In between all of that I ran a few errands and weeded the garden.  I think we saw each other a total of 3 hours, then I did see him for an hour (helping him pack) before he left for scout camp for the last 3 days of the week. 
Lucky for me, Tad is an incredibly mild kid, but I still don't think I could ever do the single parent thing. 

Tad and I spent a long, hot morning at the zoo.  It was nice to know we didn't have to hurry back and try to catch dad in between schedules.   We saw the Elephant show, the Bird show, and part of the Discovery Show (where they let you pet smaller animals). 

Of course we had to eat out at Wendy's to finish off our "date".   Tad took a good nap, then we went shopping, to a birthday party for K, and Aunt Crystal slept over.   The next morning we found out there was a standoff down the street - that's the closest I'd ever want to be to a SWAT team!  Fred made it home from scout camp on time (I threatened his life).  He was home long enough to shower and head out the door for a cousin's wedding.   (He still hasn't unpacked.) 

He was so sore from his 10 mile hike the day before.   Aunt Crystal was nice enough to watch all 3 young nephews while we were in the temple.  (3, 2, and 1 year old.  She survived!  That is good birth control!) 



The happy couple!

 They had planned it well, we went to the temple, straight to a church for yummy dutch oven dinner, then outside to a bowery for the reception.  There wasn't any sitting around waiting for the next part to start.  My sisters, cousin, and I ran the refreshments so we continued to be on our feet all night. 
Such a long week!  And we still had Tad's birthday the next day....