Potty like a big boy

Before each bath I try to remember to sit Patrick on the potty. Last night we put him on, ran a little water for encouragement and bam! We had pee in the potty.

*yeah, he'll hate this someday. ;)

More of SD

Just a few more of our trip.

GB getting his groove on the boat.

Patrick grooving right back!

When on vacation, dress code is not enforced.

Boat rocking makes P so sleepy!

I wonder if there is a law against 17month old's driving a boat while clearly needing sleep!

Watching Uncle Jay get the squeak out of the chair.

17 months

Yep every month this number grows right along with my boy.

What has Patrick been up to this month?

Talking, talking and more talking. Most of the time we don't have a clue what this kid is saying, but he continues to talk anyway. Some words are coming out pretty clear. Ball, Boat, All Done, Car, Truck, Bus, Kitty Ryan and I have begun just making up what we think he is saying. Kinda funny! yesterday he looked out the window and kept yelling a-boa! a-boa! We couldn't figure out what that was until we got outside and he ran towards a sprinkler yelling a-boa, a-boa! Who knew? He is so expressive when he talks to with lots of pointing and eye brow action. So fun.

Patrick is really good with utensils now. He'll use them for most of the meal and thinks it is fun to stab everything with a fork. Even applesauce. He prefers forks, but will use a spoon. He still resorts to his hands, but just when he is extra hungry and the utensils are taking too long.

We had to get Patrick tested for Whooping Cough this past week (cousin Luke had it), luckily it was negative, but he is left with a yucky cold. While at the Dr. we found out that he is up to 23lbs. He is really filling out lately and his 12-18mo pants and shirts are starting to creep up on him. He is wearing a mostly 4.5-5 shoe, but I suspect he may be out of those soon.

He still loves anything that isn't a toy, but the toys that do have wheels he is fan of. I found him a .99 plastic trike at the thrift store the other day and he has had a blast riding that up and down the sidewalk. He'll ride it down the driveway but then carries it back up. Very cute! (We did try out a really great bike at a friends house the other day, so if ever you see one on sale, give me a shout as I'd love to pick one up for Patrick for Christmas. Funny looking, but awesome! It's an Okiedog.)

We've had a great time traveling this month. Patrick did great in planes, cars and buses. He traveled a total of close to 90 hours in a little over a week with a 3 hour hike thrown in there. He was a real trooper. He did great sleeping in all the strange places too. In only a weekend he was in 3 hotel rooms! We were all glad to go but glad to be home as well.

I got a total of 3 photos of him before he ran out of the studio this week, and had to take them with his jammies on. It's the best we can do down there lately!

More cabin fun

Here are some more photos from our great labor day week. P wanted to run out on the dock all the time, it gave me a heart attack just holding on to him out there.

Nana loves.

More fun on the beach.

Every boat that would go by, P would get super excited and shout "boat" with this adorable Canadian accent.

Fun at the beach

While at the cabin, Patrick loved playing in the mini-beach that my parents have.

The shovel was perfect, but as you can tell I wasn't really planning an early morning swim.
But when at the beach, you don't always have time to change into all the neccessities to have fun.

Beside, a little sand and water are washable!

Fun at Great Grandma's house

I finally have a minute to write about the last few whirlwind weeks.

Last week we traveled to Colorado for a friends wedding. We had an amazing time and it was so fun to be in a new place and exploring the world with Patrick. Upon our return I learned of the passing of my Grandma's sister Florance. Since this is the last remaining sister, I felt it important to try and be there for the funeral.

Unfortunately the funeral was on Tuesday (we returned Sunday) and we were scheduled to be out that way on Thursday. Monday morning I decided it was important enough that Patrick and I would travel Monday afternoon and return Tuesday evening. Upon arrive at work, my boss convinced me that taking the week off would be fine and better for the whole situation. So I left work and was on the road for a week in only an hour!

We arrived to greet a number of family members. Patrick instantly fell in love with the farm.

It was so fun to just let him run and explore everything without the worry of other people or traffic interfering.

We didn't spend a lot of time at the actual funeral (Patrick thought climbing on headstones was more fun, don't worry, I removed him and we played in the car instead!)
We finally got some pictures with Great Grandma Gladys after the funeral as I was hoping to do for a long time.

We also got a 4 generation picture, which amazingly turned out pretty well!

It was so fun to see Patrick enjoy the many things at Grandma's house that I enjoyed for years growing up, including this old baby buggy. He ran over a number of toes, but enjoyed pushing the old creaky buggy all over the house!

1 wedding, a funeral and an unexpected vacation.