It's Where Fun Is!

We had a great time yesterday at Cherry Hill with my family.  Special thanks to my mom & dad for having the kids set reading goals and then treating us all to a day at the water park.  With a giant pirate ship to play on, Jay was in heaven all day.  When I asked him his favorite part of the water park, he just looked at me like I was an idiot and said, "the pirate ship, Mom!" He also liked sitting on the tube in the dizzy river (as Jay calls it) and finally admitted that the water slides weren't that scary.  Curious George liked the lazy river and the pirate pool, and M & I really liked the lazy river and the rapids slides.  Best of all though was being with family, and Jay was so sad when we had to leave his friends (he says friends instead of cousins).

Jay and his cousins sailing the pirate ship and getting ready to shoot the cannons. 

 Jay and his cousin plotting their next pirate move.

Instead of walking the plank, Jay got to slide down the ship's water slide. 

These crazy three cousins couldn't get enough of the pirate ship and pirate pool.  Here they are playing in the pool.  I have to say, listening to them plot and plan their pirate moves and hearing their conversation in the pool was an amusing lesson on what really goes on in the mind of a little boy.

Pretty sure he was pulling down his suit so the water could bubble up right near his skin. 

The day of fun tuckered Curious George right out. 

Cousins floating in the lazy river.

Curious George at 11 months

What!? My baby is almost one?  When did that happen?  Here are a few things that Curious George is into at 11 months:

• He is a crawling maniac.  He crawls so fast and loves to do the "bear crawl".  He can stand on his own for over a minute and will take a step or two if he doesn't realize what he is doing.
• Georgie loves to ham it up.  You can see his mood and what is he is feeling right on his face.  
• He loves, loves, loves to eat.  He eats 3 meals a day with 3 bottles a day.  He has recently started using utensils, and he feels like he should be feeding himself all the time.  He does pretty good, even if he uses the wrong end of the spoon sometimes.
• His favorite word is "Mama", and it melts my heart every time he says it.
• Curious George lives up to his name and is very curious and independent.  He loves to explore the house and the yard. His favorite rooms in the house are the bathrooms and the kitchen because, hello!, so many drawers to unload!
• About 90% of everything he touches goes right in his mouth.
• Following in the footsteps of his master Jedi brother Jay, Georgie has already mastered the art of sword fighting.
• He loves to play Chapstick Game with his dad and brother.  Mom stays out of this game, as it involves a lot of wrestling and trying to pry Dad's chapstick away from each other.  
• He can go up the stairs successfully but still heads down the stairs face forward.
• He gives the best hugs after naps and loves to give kisses.
• Georgie loves to get into the tub and will go stand by it during the day (if we don't forget to close the bathroom door), calling out "Mama" and trying to climb in for a little tub time.
• Curious George does have trouble with his naps, and who can blame him?  There is too much to see and too much to do.  He has started to really refuse a morning nap (when he takes one it is only ~30 min) and his afternoon nap is usually only an hour or less.  I am seriously sad to be losing my favorite workout time and some of my sanity time.  Jay was 14 months before he transitioned to only one nap, and George doing it this early has been really hard.
• He has got great rhythm and loves to bounce and "dance" anytime there is music.  He can keep a beat pretty good, and Jay has upgraded him to the maracas when we have our family marching band.
• Like father, like son - Curious George likes to play video games with Dad.  He holds his controller and sits right by M as he plays.

Georgie has found a new favorite food.  He loves to eat corn on the cob and will eat an entire ear at dinner. 

Curious George swimming at Cherry Hill.  This guy is fearless in the water.  He will crawl out in the middle of the swimming pool, even if he can't keep his head above water.  What a crazy guy.

I just wanted to document a little of how Curious George is at this time in his life because time is moving too fast!  Why is it that time with the second child moves faster than with the first?  I swear Jay was a baby forever, but George is already growing into this little toddler.  Oh well, we love our little Georgie and I am just trying to enjoy him every day.

Cabins and Cousins

The last week-and-a-half has seen us up and back and up and back to my parent's cabin in the Uintahs.  Each time we were lucky enough to go with family.

The first time we went with M's family - all the siblings came, even his youngest brother drove up from California.  It was so fun to see everyone and get all together, and of course Jay loved being with his cousins.  They swung on swings, went searching for sticks, spotted a ton of deer, hiked to the beaver pond, and caught some pretty big fish with the uncles.  

Because M's sister follows a restrictive diet, I volunteered to make all the treats.  Although this was not so great for my continued efforts to lose the last of that baby weight, Curious George thought it was pretty awesome.  He would stand below these cookies and try to reach up and grab them.

Jay and his cousin swinging.

Jay and his uncle fishing at Butterfly Lake.  We actually caught quite a few fish!  I even caught my first fish ever, but I lost it before I could get it out of the water.

Jay, Curious George, M's youngest brother, and 2 of the cousins showing us what all those deer looked like. 

The second time we headed up it was for a "girl's week" at the cabin.  It sounds more glamorous than it really was because we all brought our kids.   And yes, I didn't shower for 3 days but with all the smelly boys in that cabin no one even noticed :)  Jay, once again, loved being with his cousins.  They disappeared outside to explore teepees, have wheelbarrow pulls, ride the four-wheelers, make bows-and-arrows, and who knows what else.  Well, we do know what else because ever since the trip James has refused to sit down to use the bathroom.  He has to stand up now, "just like outside at the cabin!" He has been so excited about his new skill, that I am not even complaining (yet!) about having to start daily bathroom cleaning duty.  Somehow, we all survived the crazy 3 days, 2 nights with 12 kids ages 10 and under.  We missed Maggie & the Shippens - for sure next year!

 The whole gang minus the newborn

Curious George conked on our short hike. 

Jay 4-wheeling.  He was pretty nervous at the start but ended up loving it. 

The dirty three.  I don't know if you can see these guys faces, but they are so dirty.  I have no idea what they were doing that made their faces so dirty, and I am not sure I really want to know.