Miles, Shay and Patrick hang out

We met Miles and Shay out at the mall last night.

They seemed to have a lot of fun out there. Patrick ran around screaming the entire time. It was easy to find him when he got lost! And no, the three of us would never loose a child, not us. We certainly wouldn't need someone else, a stranger, to tell use that our child had escaped.

Patrick was so smilely and really had fun becuase he can now do most everything at this playplace.

Peek!

Tooth!

Patrick finally has another tooth! I think the last one was in February. That makes 7 total!. Ok. that's all.

Carousel: SD Part something

When traveling with a 15mo old you start to learn some tricks. One of them is stopping and stretching your legs. These may be potty breaks if you don't have kids that last 5-10min. But with kids, these are 1-1.5 hours breaks with running, food and entertainment.

Mankato is a good 1/2 way point for us, also good for us that P slept from Brookings to Mankato which made the second half of the trip much easier.

They have a refurbished Carousel here in the mall. I actually couldn't remember if I had ever been on one.
'
For $1 it is some great entertainment!

Playing in the park:SD Part 3

Another highlight of our trip were a couple trips to a local park. Patrick really loves going down the slide now. He will try to climb up it and then likes to slide down on his belly.

This was a very old park and I can not believe they still have slides this high! Patrick attempted the steps and gave me a heart attack!

They didn't have any kid swings at the park so we had to do with the big kid swings. Patrick actually loved these! The only thing is that he tried to lean back to far so he could laugh at daddy. Luckily he was there to catch him!


I think this is mickey's crazy cousin. Not sure, but isn't this thing scary looking?

The next day the whole family joined us at the park.

I think they all had a good time on the swings!

Patrick thought it was great having everyone sharing in his joy as well!

Playing outside: SD part 2

Luckily the weather was nice in SD because it gave us the opportunity to play outside. Patrick's favorite activity was to open the screen door and step over the ledge then close the door and then do it all again.

He thought this was the best game ever and laughed a lot!

Patrick was also quite fond of the hose on the back patio. He wanted to take it with him everywhere he went.

At least he seemed to understand what it was for. He tried to help Grandma out by tearing apart watering her plants.

I think he was a big help to her!

Out in the country: SD part 1

Out in the country, everything is different. The sunsets are prettier, the road longer and the corn is everywhere!

We did a pit stop on the way to SD to stretch our legs before Patrick fell alseep. Of course with the sun setting this was a perfect opportunity for an impromptu photo shoot.

That also meant jammies on a gravel road.

It also meant lots of smiles in a new place.

Patrick was a total ham the whole time. I could seriously post all 50,000,000 photos that I took, but you would have to scroll through a lot of photos!

Instead I'll just leave you with my little lost boy on a dirt road.

Yahoos in South Dakota

Guess where we spent our weekend?
There was great fun to be had.

It wasn't a huge bore.

We giggled some.

And wondered a little.

But we mostly questioned the sanity of our relatives.

The blankie

We have a new night time routine. Patrick nurses with me on the couch while I or Ryan read books to him. After books he heads upstairs and rocks with daddy. He always has his blankie with him. He is so cute in that he will rub the little green satin while falling asleep.

Tiffany, his care provider, made this for him. We don't leave home overnight without it. It is the perfect companion whether it is hot or cold out.
I think Patrick and his blankie are going to be lifelong friends!

Ride 'em cowboy!

Why do they make a bouncing Zebra? For one thing, wouldn't you prefer to ride a horse?

Another thing, Zebra's don't bounce. At least I don't think so.

If you want to make it bounce, why not a bunny? (oh yeah, no more bunnies for us!)

Oh well, regardless of crazy toy manufacturers, Patrick bounces on his Zebra while it plays music from the Mario Bros. games.

Wait a minute, that isn't the zebra!

Mama time

I decided to hand off my camera the other day. I don't get on this side very much. Not because I don't mind having my picture taken, but mostly because I am the one always holding it (well, that, and I usually look like a total scrub on the weekends like below!)

I would never as a good perfect mother, let my child run with scissors. No way, no how! Not me!

I love most every minute that I get with Patrick. I feel like they are so few with a full time job and a part time business and a little me time thrown in for sanity. My baby is growing up, whether I like it or not. Lately he has been so cute about giving kisses. I just need to help him learn they can be on the cheak and with a mouth closed!

oh well, this picture will still work for a little bribery later on in life!

The bunny, the bunny, oh I love the bunny...

Ok, the bunny is back for a brief moment. I think I just need to let the bunny lie.

Patrick slept a blissful 7 hours straight last night! Woohoo! Want to join us in a victory dance?

I was testing out my lights on him the other day. Thought I would share.

The weekend in review

We had a busy weekend. Friday night was a work thing for me and then I snuck out after P was asleep to shop for a new purse. I hate this process as I can never find the "perfect" one. I got something that will have to do.

Saturday I was busy with photo shoots and then we enjoyed a wedding that evening. After the reception P decided he wanted to catch part of the twins game with daddy before bed.

We have changed our bedtime routine up a bit and it appears to be helping somewhat.

I love P in his jammies. He still looks more baby in them, and I'll preserve that as long as possible!

Sunday we spent time at a couple different playgrounds. P loves watching all the other kids playing. He is also becoming quite the daredevil. We continue to explain that going down the slide face first doesn't always work or that you need to sit before sliding instead of just stepping off. Luckily he has only suffered a couple bruises, but I am sure the day will come for a larger injury at the pace he is going.

Patrick also caught himself a cold this weekend. So sneezes, coughs and a runny nose are now par for the course.