As promised, here's a 2nd post for this week, bringing everyone up to speed on the life'n'times of the Ballou clan. I know you've had sleepless nights wondering what we've been up to, so without further idle chatter--to the post!
Ok, a couple of weeks ago, I declared E as a walker. Ha! Little did I know. Sure he was taking controlled steps, but only with coaxing. He could walk, but he much preferred to keep one hand on something steady. Over the last week, that's all changed. He now heads down the hall or across the house whenever he deems the time to be right. He could hang onto something, but it'd slow him down, so he doesn't. Mark your calendar folks: E's an independent walker.
Another cool milestone: He grasps the concept of utensils. Of course, he can't always use them correctly--stabbing those little zucchini bites is hard--but he knows how to do it. I'm confounded daily by how much he understands.
Last post brought us up to the night when Tante 'Ness was coming into town. She arrived with her good friend from Alaska, Danielle, and Danielle's 18-month-old daughter, Rylan. E and Rylan hit it off from the start. By the end of that night, they were learning from each other, and mimicking and laughing at one another. Plus, they both love corn-on-the-cob.
The next day was a work day for Lisa and I, but the rest of the family scouted sites in Sonoma for Ness' wedding. Yep, E and Rylan had a great first day trip to wine country together. E arrived home exhausted (and way past curfew), but happy...and ready for his second July 4th.
We spent the holiday morning relaxing and taking the dogs for a walk. Right before lunch, we headed to a big BBQ with Lisa's company. The house had a great view and a fantastic pool. He had fun with Hailey Decker, too. Though E's favorite activity, by far, was watching the ping pong. For lunch, they made not one, but TWO whole slow roasted pigs. For the evening, we met up with a bunch of family and friends at Central Park for fireworks. It was a gamble, since it was well-past E's bedtime.
It wasn't a good bet.
He was pretty good leading up to the big show, but the blinding lights and deafening sounds freaked him out. We felt awful to terrorize him with such festivities, but we were stuck in a field with thousands and were unable to leave. Lisa cuddled him and sang to him him. After about 5 minutes of horror (though it felt closer to 5 years), I think he was so overwhelmed that he zonked out for the rest of the show.
Unfortunately, Lisa had to work the day after, but I didn't. So--fortunately--I got to be Mr. Mom for the day. And it was a great day. We had a lazy morning and then took a drive through the Santa Cruz mountains. For lunch, we had a picnic at a local park. After his good, long nap, we went to Costco and then walked the dogs all over our neighborhood. Finally, we met up the rest of the family (and Rylan) for dinner. It was a simple and fun day.
Saturday morning we all went to visit another possible wedding venue in the Santa Cruz mountains. It was beautiful up there. We had a nice lunch out with Rylan and E loving to eat next to each other. That evening, Oma and Opa had us over for a steak dinner. On Sunday, Lisa and E joined 'Ness for brunch with some of her college friends. So I had most the day to do chores, play with the dogs, and relax. The brunch crew made it back just in time for a wedding dress appointment followed by a family birthday party at Uncle Ron's house, honoring Oma and Uncle Brian.
E and the rest of us were sad to see Tante 'Ness, Danielle, and (especially) Rylan leave on Monday morning. Though we did have something to look forward to: Uncle Brian's birthday. And you know what that means? Another dinner out! It was a great night, E was perfectly behaved and the food/wine were awesome.
Whew and that, friends, catches us up.
Don't let me ever get behind again, ok?
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