We went to the Big Apple
Circus today (thanks Katie!) It was great. It’s been
pouring all day so everyone was drenched, but the tent was cool
and nice. Lex cried a few times in the beginning (when the
lights went out, when the audience burst into applause, etc.)
but ended up loving it. They had several dog acts and Lex is a
big dog fan, so that was good. Towards the end he was tired and
bouncy, climbing back and forth between my lap and Alan’s, but
still being very quiet and watching the show off and on. It is
a one-ring show and a small-ish tent (compared to the Ringling
Brothers anyway), so “all seats are less than 50′ from the
action!” Katie got us 2nd row seats though! So we were right
there getting hit with soapy bubbles from the clowns! It was a
ton of fun.

Afterwards we went out to
dinner at a local fry joint and we had tasty food. Lex got to
run around for awhile and he even saw ducks, so he was a happy
camper. He ended up having french fries, chips, and ice cream
for dinner… but what the hell. :)

Ahh… good times.

With Lex going on 14 months old we finally
got around to putting safety latches on some of the cabinets.
He is pretty good about not opening cabinets, but I figured
better safe than sorry, especially as we start to approach a
more rebellious age. The problem is, though Lex hasn’t noticed
the new latches, I notice them all the time when I go to swing
the cabinet open and it snaps back abruptly — really
obnoxious. But I keep telling myself, better safe than sorry.
:)

Now if we could just figure out a
good way to baby-proof the stairs (or just get the hell out of
this appartment).

Day one didn’t go quite as planned, but we
ended up at the pool so all was good. We missed storytime (Lex
decided to take a late nap instead) and missed the walk (my
friend’s doctor appointment took all afternoon!). Towards the
end of the day we were hot and I was ready to get out, so we
headed for the pool. It was our first time and I was expecting
a little wading pool for Lex, but their kiddie pool is huge and
goes from just inches deep up to 4 feet! The pool also has
fountains and toys and tons and tons of kids. Lex loved it. I
was highly unprepared for this type of activity (no bathing
suit) so I ended up drenched in my shorts and t-shirt. But Lex
was thrilled so all was good.

We met up
with my friend today for a walk (90+ temps at noon) then hit
the pool afterwards. I was better prepared this time and we had
a blast. I think this may become a regular event for my little
tyke.

It’s 7am Monday morning and I am not going
to work. Sweet :)

We had a great
weekend. On Saturday we went to a friend’s birthday party. She
had lots of family there and many kids. Lex got his first
experience with a great summer pastime – running through the
sprinkler. He liked it, for the most part. The kids were all a
bit older, so it was neat to watch him interact. They all
headed for the sandbox as well and Lex joined right in. He made
it for a whole 20 minutes before eating the sand (and thereby
ending that activity). Sadly, I didn’t get any pictures. He was
super cute in the sprinkler. All the kids had their bathing
suits on, but Lex was in his t-shirt and jean shorts (we didn’t
think to bring a bathing suit).

On Sunday Alan’s parents came
to visit. His mom’s birthday was last Friday. Hope everyone
said Happy Birthday! :) We went to the Montshire and played in
their outdoor water exhibit. Lex loved it even though he didn’t
get the full experience. Several parts require a swim diaper
and we didn’t have one (and didn’t feel like buying one from
the gift shop). Since we have a membership (thanks G’s!!) we
can go back and swim as often as we’d like. Yay!

Today is the first day of my new life. I think
we will go to the story time at the local library and then head
back to work (yeah, I know) to walk with my co-worker. She is 9
months pregnant and due next week, so I was thinking of walking
with her this week and next until the baby comes. Then she’ll
be home too. I have to see if I can just meet her in the
parking lot and avoid the rest of the office.

I’m off now to wake up the hubby and play with
the baby. Lex is currently filling my lap with toys, which is
making it harder and harder to type :)

It’s 3:30 and my last day at work. It’s
weird. The office is pretty empty today (vacations and “work
from home”-ers). I’m all out of things to do so I’m pretty much
killing time for awhile. Weird. I think I’m going to go home
early today :)

I’ve become an unbrella person. Does that
mean I’m older or wiser?

We went out to dinner last night with some
friends of ours. At the table next to us was a group of
grownups and (what I’m guessing were) there parents. The father
of this whole group was super friendly and playing with Lex
throughout the meal. He actually started chatting with Lex
while we were waiting for a table. Lex loved it (he’s a ham)
and was playing and giggling with this guy. Then, at one point
during the meal, the guy slides Lex’s highchair over to their
table. We all saw him do this and laughed. Poor Lex looked at
him, looked back at us, looked at him again and let loose a
wail. It was sad and hysterical. Alan slid him back to our
table and he was immediately happy again – and went right back
to being silly with this guy! It was so funny.

But the happy news of the day is… I only
have 2 weeks left of work. I finish this week, take two weeks
vacation, and go back the first week in August to train my
replacement. Then I’m free to be a full-time mommy! I’m so
excited :)

Lex is having a big brain development
week. It’s so amazing. This morning he used the potty twice,
both times “telling” us he had to go The first time he did the
diaper sign and said diaper (bi-ber!) over and over and over
even though he had a clean diaper. Alan sat him on the potty
and he peed right away. Then got up and walked away :) A little
later, after breakfast, he pulled out his diaper changing mat
and brought it too me. I checked his diaper because he often
brings it over when he needs a change, but it was clean. So I
sat him on the potty and he pooped — a lot! He read his books
and was quite happy about the whole thing.

He is also getting very good at getting things. Alan asked
him to get his sandals out of the living room and he did. I
asked him to get his plug for bed and he did. We lost his milk
cup the other day. We looked and looked, but couldn’t find it.
So we asked Lex, “Where is your milk? Do you want milk? Where
is the cup?” and he went and pulled it out of the toy box where
he had put it.

It’s just so cool to
watch him. I can’t wait to be a full-time mommy!

Ok, kids, I need some feedback here. Do
these movies work well for you? Do they take forever to
download? I’m using the free version of this DropShots
software, but if it works well for everyone I’ll probably pay
for the full version. Lemme know — and enjoy Lex with a bucket
on his head :)

This one is from a few weeks ago but it’s a
bit longer so I wanted to see how well it played.

With the help of a fancy new
bucket (thanks Ron & Laura!) Lex has discovered two of the
time-honored toddler pastimes — “filling and dumping” and
“bucket on the head”. And boy does the love them! We got some
great pictures and movies of him walking around the house
tonight with a bucket on his head. He’s such a ham though,
every time he noticed I was taking a picture he grinned real
big and started running (walking fast anyway) towards the
camera.