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.

We had a big weekend. Went
down to MA to help our friend Andy celebrate his 2nd birthday
party at a cool place called Davis
Farmland. Sadly it was closed because the weather was
horrible. I was bummed because I think we all would have had
fun there. So we visited with Jim and Julie instead. Then had
breakfast with Andy (and his parents and sister and lots of
other familly) then drove back to NH for a co-worker’s
babyshower. She has a beautiful house, view, and pool! So Lex
and Alan went swimming. Lex was a little nervous at first, but
once he got used to the cool water he had fun. We had his
rubber duck with us (can’t travel without at least one duck!)
and Alan threw it in the pool, so Lex and the other kids spent
the afternoon playing with the duck in the pool. It was
cute.

The other big thing we did this
weekend is turn Lex’s car seat around. He can now see where
we’re going, instead of just where we’ve been, and we can now
reach him without special contortionist moves. Seems like a
win-win for everyone. He seemed to like the ride too. I think
it will make our trip to Franklin next weekend a bit
nicer.

What a beautiful day today. We started
with an 8 mile walk (yup, you read that right). I had mapped
out a 3 mile walk for us, but the roads didn’t actually exist
like the map said they would, so we ended up going for 8 miles
instead. It was great exercise. Although Lex was in the
stroller the whole time, he was exhausted when we got home and
took a 3 hour nap!

For dinner we met
Grandpa and Grandma at Salt Hill (a nice Irish pub). Grandma
was telling us how much she enjoyed the pubs in Ireland. She
said over there people bring their whole family out to the
pubs. She said the kids all dance and the families have fun.
Then around 10 they bring the kids home and put them to bed,
and the grown-ups come back. I tell you all this because part
way through dinner an Irish band started playing and a bunch of
little kids started dancing. When we were done eating we went
up near the band and Lex danced. He was the smallest one there
(dancing, anyway) and he had a great time. There was a little
blonde two year old girl who kept dancing with him. We hung out
for awhile just listening to the music and letting Lex dance
and play with the other kids. It was so nice.