Cedar Point & The White House

We took a trip out to America's Roller Coast- Cedar Point, and boooy did we have fun! Jence went on his first rides alone (we may or may not have told them he can walk on his own...I mean he can- doesn't mean he does...). This little car was his first ride experience. Hilarious! He made this crazy little face on the first go around- like, holy cow, is this supposed to move like this?!- and after that he was hooked! He was steering and laughing, all in all a smash hit...



And then the mean lady came to unbuckle his seat belt and bad mommy took him out of his new car... Did not go over so well...

But then we got into a new one and life could go on...

Especially because he got to drive...

After 3 or 4 post ride freak outs I let him stay in this little red car for 8 or 9 rides in a row... luckily it wasn't the busiest of days!

Moving on... this one we only did 4 or 5 rides.

And this one only 3 times...

And then only twice...

After this we ate and cooled down for a while. After which he went with Gramps and Aunt Becky- and she has all those pictures- I may be able to put some up eventually- because she got the really funny part where he pukes after all the rides. (Just a little- he was still happy!) But the best is that he was feeding it to Becky from off his shirt and she didn't know what he was putting in her mouth- and that is funny if you know Becky because there is nothing that freaks her out more than vomit! Amazingly she and Jence are still friends.

Moving backwards now... We went to visit G-ma Betsy and G-pa Ron in VA.

Al sent me good-luck-at-the-dentist flowers So sweet!

Jensen weaseled this toy out of Grandma and Grandpa at Cracker Barrel. He loves it.

We got to go on a tour of the White House gardens. It was really neat- things you don't usually get to see. This one has the Oval Office in the background.

Phil, Paula and Isabella live in VA now so they came up for the weekend to go with us.

Jensen and me in the gardens. The kid would not let go of his food the whole time.

For example- Here is the picture with the snack trap...

Here without.

And so the snack trap stays. (in front of the Oval Office again)

Grandma and Jence in the Children's Garden.

Grandpa and the Boy with a good view of the White House. No fence in the way!

Jensen must have decided the heat was making me cranky, because he started sharing.

Break time. It got really hot out there so the shoes came off- like Grandma Chrissie says-"I'm hot, take off his shoes!"

He really doesn't eat as much as he used to- it's just happenstance that all these pictures contain food...

Back home Jence found a box of cereal- and there is nothing more fun than sharing with friends... One for me...

And one for you!

After a while of waiting for a slow baby the boys started getting a little pushy. Jence didn't really mind though.

I have also put up a fun new video on youtube.

Just Another Manic Monday

Caught Ya! He does this from time to time. He refuuuuses to stand when you set him on his feet- but every now and again he grabs his giant ball (the kind from the grocery store bins) uses it as leverage to get himself up, finds his bearings, picks up the ball, and throws it- remaining standing for as longs as no one notices. Liz and I have seen it a few times, but he's always so sneaky, leaving me no time to get the camera. But not this time- I missed the ball (hence the Frankenstein pose) but I caught him standing.


This is Jensen's handiwork. The beginning of the rest of my life, I suppose. This is the first time he'd done anything like this- fine motor skills-wise. Made me laugh.

Aaand, for Daddy- here we are, life as usual.

Into this...

On to that.
Here a little-

There a little.

Shhh. Don't tell Aunt Kookie we were playing with her guitar... He was being so sweet and gentle with it, though- just strumming away.

Basye VA

Grandma Chrissie, Jence and I went to Basye Virginia (pronounced Bay-see; we had to ask) for a week. We had a few complications upon arrival, but all in all we had a wonderful time.

There really isn't anything in Bayse itself except for a ski resort. We rode the chair lift to the top of the hill, which Jensen seemed to enjoy very much. He is turning into a real boy.

A typical Grandma Chrissie moment.
The resort has summer activities like mountain boarding and grass skiing, which we would have liked to do, but had a baby with us. They also ran a zip line down the mountain, which is what we opted for. Mom wanted to take a look at it before we committed, so here's Jensen- taking a look...

We saw an ice cream stand- mom's favorite, and it had Hawaiian shaved ice- my favorite...I ended up stopping there a few more times...
We're trying to give the big monster more walking opportunities, though it's not his favorite pastime... He is looking less and less like a drunken sailor. He still won't even consider standing by himself, unless you trick him into it .
Grandpa Ron informed me that these displays are Garner traits. He claims it's okay because they turn into good people in the end... how far away is "the end"? No, I'm just kidding- I think this face is hilarious. Loud, but hilarious.

In the spirit of making the kid walk (I'm not wishing away his babyhood, and I know it will be hard to chase him around, but he is SO heavy- I just can't carry him around ALL the time!) we got him a walker toy. I had been thinking that he was nowhere near ready to walk, but then he stands up behind the walker and starts picking it up to change directions! So, I'm thinking he's just a stinker.

This is in ride on mode. Still a little small for that.

Stinker.

This is our favorite game these days. Talking on the phone. He's been doing it for months. Everything goes up to the ear. Or the neck at least. And since he neeeever stops talking, that part of it is business as usual.
Apparently this particular conversation was noteworthy...

He has started following in the steps of his dad- a real "DIY" kind of guy. Let the games begin. This particular moment he didn't want the peeled banana.

Here's mom and me at the top of the zip line. We had a lot of fun.

And back to Mr. Monkey See, Monkey Do. You see he has my powder brush- which he is always trying to yoink-
Aaaand what else do you do with a powder brush than rub it on your face?

More food.

Our last stop was the Luray Caverns. He was so good down there- I'm afraid that it was because it was cool and that he takes after his Grandma Chrissie and becomes a crank pot in the heat (and I mean that in the nicest way possible, mom!)

I thought this was neat- this huge stalactite broke off the ceiling a few thousand years ago, but didn't break because the floor was mud at the time.

Jensen was more interested in the cave than in the camera, I guess.

There was an amazing area with a shallow pool that reflected the whole ceiling. It was one of the coolest things I've ever seen in a cave, and you can ask my husband, we've seen a lot of caves.

Outside the cave, someone was getting restless.

I wanted to include this picture so that everyone could get a sense of the ordeal it is to change a diaper- I usually have to pin him down with my legs.

Aaaand finally, sleep! Though for this to happen a curtain must be drawn to separate him from us, please note the blanket hanging from the handle, otherwise he WILL stay awake for the duration.