Decorating our ducks for the race 

Duck Race

So Saturday we spent the entire day away from chores and the farm and took E to the duck race in Durham. What is a duck race you ask? It is where you can buy a rubber duck and put it into the water feature at the Tobacco district in Durham and race it to the finish line for prizes all in support of hunger. We bought two and used our birthdays for our duck numbers. We even got to pin real racing numbers on Jeff and Ethan's backs. Ethan had a fabulous time playing with dogs, watching the Durham Bulls Mascot, and running around the park. We went to Mellow Mushroom for lunch and had yummy pizza and really enjoyed our day with Gray and Georgia who were nice enough to invite us. You can check out the N&O for some more information on the event.

The American Tobacco campus is beautiful and we walked around downtown Durham looking at some cool art painted in buildings currently being restored. You can only see the art with a camera lens at a particular angle. You can read a lot more about it at the Rousse project website if you are interested.

Approaching 15 months

Ethan is after the remotes. Note that we actually give him one he can play with but he KNOWS which one actually can turn up the volume and how. Lucky us. 

Things are getting busier as we chase him around the farm. He sits on the horses now and loves the cats and spends a lot of his time playing outside. Ethan loves daycare although he has been sick more than he attends and the trips to the emergency room and doctor's with 104 fevers are getting old. He does love the kids and the teachers and is very stimulated. Pick up time is the best part of our day as he lights up and runs over to greet us.

I got it and now I am going to take off running before you catch on. 

Reading the paper with Daddy. Ethan loves to sit in the rocking chairs on the front porch and emulate Jeff. The cat and I are on either side of him so he doesn't dive off onto the concrete. 

A wagon ride after breakfast among the weeds. Hoping we have a lawn in October but so far so bad. 

Ethan waving at Mommy 

Who me? What do you mean don't play on the stairs. I'm not playing. I'm just sitting here minding my own business. 

Learning new words

Ethan keeps asking us "eh?" for each item in his new word book....over and over again. We have to tell him what they are and then he points to a new one. He can find the kitten, horse, banana, tractor, truck and baby by himself.

His vocabulary now includes Bird, Bottle, Banana, Dada, Mama, Hi and the sound effects for kitty, tractor and airplane. Still working on stinky and bye which have distinct usefulness.

Careful studying of the magnets on Ethan's etch a sketch. He has learned they will stick to the refrigerator as well.

But I don't NEED a hat.

All I NEED is my cell phone. Hi....hi....hi is all he says.

We say good-bye

We lost Grandma this morning. We were all here and had spent the night at Mom's taking turns sitting with her. Hospice was so wonderful. I can't descirbe the loss and won't truly feel it until a year from now when I am celebrating something very special and notice the hole left by our matriarch. There won't be a lot of pics posted this month but there will be so many passing by in my mind. She raised us too and we went clothes shopping before school each year, she made us snacks "up the hill", watched us as we swam. She wore the best pink lipstick although I always made fun and never told her how wonderful she looked to me. She adored Ethan. I am full of sadness when Ithink of him growing up without his Mi-ma. She will miss out on so many of his firsts and he will miss a very warm and loving person who can chase you with a wooden spoon like nobody else I know.

Ok....you could be right. I might need a bath.

I'm a walking!

Yep....at first a few steps here and there over the last month but today I took off and walked. We aren't talking any few steps in succession here. We are talking 25 and across the entire room at daycare and then again at home. School is still a bit stressful at drop off time but I stand outside the room after I leave and just listen for a few minutes. By the time I sneak a peek in the window, he is quiet and playing with with the teacher. His favorite things are story time, bubbles, and playing with the buttons on the radio and the drinking fountain. That could correlate to why he seems to also come home with only half his clothes on.

For dinner tonight we had crab legs for the first time. How many 1 year olds do you know eat an entire hot dog (first time for that too), spoon of green beans, mac and cheese and then scream and beg for Mama's crab legs. Since he started on solids, I have yet to eat a meal without him talking some. I think Jeff is going to have to volunteer his food next time. Oh...he did also eat half my Key Lime pie but I probably didn't need that anyway. :-)

Christopher went to racing school today to do kart racing (http://www.rushhourkarting.com) and had a blast. There were three kids in the class and they had 4 hours of track time and worked on various exercises and then a heat. He is begging for more as we speak.




Christopher also took Ethan on his first bike ride as we went to the barn to feed the horses. Ethan just adores his big brother and lights up whenever he sees him. And Christopher is very gentle and always helpful with Ethan.





Cousin Anne sent me some pics from our day at Mom and Dad's after the wedding. Here is E in the pool and C playing Frisbee with the boys.