Grandpa Ray and Grandma Barb visited us on labor day weekend and we had a great time… they brought the Florida heat up with them, and we made the best of it in many ways… here’s some pics to help tell the story!

On August 30th, out for a walk with Mama and Gma Barb, and in desperate need of a hat-lift. “Hat” is a word Ian says fairly regularly by the way. See this image larger.

It was time to re-visit the Meijer Gardens on August 31st… our adventure started with that little boy-sized door this time as well, but Ian seemed much less apprehensive, and more excited. Gpa Ray guides Ian to the door here… See this image larger.

Here he seems to perk up, maybe he remembers a bit about this place from his previous visit? See this image larger.

I know we don’t need 800 shots of him going through a door, but this one was also cute, couldn’t help myself. See this image larger.

That entrance area screams of fun to be had, and Ian can never quite stop himself from running when it is splayed before him. It would be like taking a starving man to Old Country Buffet and asking him to slow down. Ain’t gunna happen. See this image larger.

This boy was so intimidated by seeing a kid half his age running toward all the fun, that he broke away from his dad and started racing towards the activities too. See this image larger.

Look at his form here, you can tell he’s got that whole movement thing pretty well down. I think if you kind of outlined the shape of him running he’d make a good logo for Baby Nike or something. This sure is a great place to run… See this image larger.

…and run… and run… You bet he slept good that night. See this image larger.

Ian gets by with a little help from him mom… the bridge bounces around a little but that’s what makes it fun! See this image larger.

Ian’s face got so close to the lens here that he got some sunscreen smeared on it… gives us that nice soft-focus look. See this image larger.

Gpa Ray and Gma Barb stop for a quick image in the shade of the tree-fort, while Ian gives the American Sign Language signal for a scoring field-goal kick. See this image larger.

All is fun and games until the mama bird comes back to try and feed you Ian, do you know what they eat? Well then I suggest you play elsewhere, young man. See this image larger.

Ian grabs a hand and keeps us moving in the right direction — aka, wherever he wants to go next! See this image larger.

I’m going to go ahead and say he had fun! See this image larger.

Our brave explorer discovers the gate that keeps the garden visitors from being confronted by roving packs of feral 100 year old Meijer Garden security guards, whose only job is to keep hooligans at bay. See this image larger.

Mommy accepts and quickly discards a precious gift of sand. See this image larger.

In the background you can see Gpa Ray working diligently on creating a small pit… we later heard a woman say to her child something along the lines of “You almost fell in that man’s hole.” See this image larger.

Everything is better with sand… His hair is wet with sweat, he tried to drink from a puddle a few minutes after this. We figured out that he was thirsty and hot because we’re good parents and awesome detectives. See this image larger.

Ian horses around near a gigantic statue… If you squint a little you can almost imagine it rearing back, afraid of a little mouse-boy! And then it was time to go home… good trip! More on the visit next entry! See this image larger.

Alright I’ve got a big ol’ entry I need to make shortly for Ray and Barb’s visit 1.5 weeks ago, I just need to process the images… but the story below must be told, before I forget.

In the last few days, once on Melissa and I’s anniversary, and earlier today on the 9th, Ian and I had interesting conversations. We’ve talked before but you can tell he gets it more, wants to tell me more. Hard to explain the difference, but maybe you’ll see it by “hearing.”

Conversation 1:

Ian – [Sign language for more.]
Me – “You want more? More oatmeal?”
Ian – “Nooooooooo.” he says, pushing the bowl back lightly.
Me – “Well what do you want more of?”
Ian watches me say this, thoughtfully, and levels his finger at an open container of applesauce.
Me – “You want more applesauce?”
Ian nods enthusiastically, and smiles.

Conversation 2:
It should be noted that he excitedly pointed to the door to the garage and said “BIKE” about 10 times…
And it was clear as bell… unmistakably “BIKE.” So I strap him into the bike to go for a ride, but he cries as I try to put a helmet on his head.

Me – “You can’t ride a bike without a helmet Ian. Dada has his helmet on.”
(We try this several times, he and I. We’re at a stalemate.)
Me – “Well, I am not taking you for a ride without a helmet on, Ian. Are you sure? Alright well… do you want to go back inside?”
Ian – “Noooooooooooooo.”
Me – “Ok, well, how about a ride in the wagon… the one where I pull it.” I point in the general direction of our wagon, obscured by Melissa’s car.
Ian nods and smiles, lifting his arms for a pick-up; my initial sadness that he doesn’t want to ride a bike with his dad is replaced by pride.

The kid is getting smarter. So different to be able to “talk” like this. I know people say he will drive me nuts asking questions eventually, but to be able to reason with him, even a little… can you put a price on that?

This morning —
Conversation 3:

Melissa tries to put Ian’s shoes on.
Ian – “Nooooooooooo.”
Melissa – “Do you want to go play with your friends at daycare?”
Ian is pensive for a moment, then nods slowly.

Wow. Seriously. I can’t even begin to remember all of the things Ian has learned to say and do over the last several weeks. He’s ramping up his communication skills in a huge way. He’s picked up on speech patterns — which allows him to not just mime words but deliver them under the proper context. Some examples:

• “Uwaka.” Doesn’t mean much to you, does it? Except that he says it after we say “thank you.” Get it? He’s saying “you’re welcome!”

• “Please” has become a lot more prevalent, particularly when a cookie is involved. You can also expect, at times, to have this accompanied by the sign-language for “please” and/or “help.” (Which I believe is for “help Mama get me a cookie, she’s not getting it nearly fast enough.”) Also at times he bursts into applause and says “Yay!” when you say “would you like a cookie?” He also does this if I ask him if he’d like to watch TV, sadly. I’m not sure if he’s confused — it is hard to tell when he combines “help” “please” and “more” and generally means all three!

• A one-off kind of thing or two… he’s responded in the affirmative when I said “Okay?” I believe he said “yayh!” He really gets and uses no. Most parents I think would cringe, but I’m enjoying it: we get to the heart of the matter much faster. He also recognized and repeated the number 8.

• Another thing that has grown from a less common occurrence to a daily occurrence is Ian running around the couch and yelling “GO!” every few seconds while doing so.

• The other night at bathtime, as Mama let the water go down the drain, Ian bent over to get his head closer to the drain, put one hand in front of his face and waved at the disappearing bath. “Bye bye!” he said.

• During a bad Monday when Ian woke up cranky, he specifically asked for a particular DVD to be put on the TV… “Coo Kee?” (I could tell he was confused as he was pointing at the TV.) “You mean Kiki, Ian?” “KEE KEE!”

There’s so much more to tell you, but to be honest I think I’ve forgotten some of it. That’s what happens when you don’t update the blog for a few weeks I guess. BAD DADA. BAD.

On August 12th, briefly distracted by the camera, Ian enjoys a video at home. This is probably the aforementioned Kiki, or perhaps Pocoyo… it might also be Baby’s First Signs. See this image larger.

And now back to our regularly scheduled program… See this image larger.

On August 14th Ian discovered that what was usually in a kitchen cupboard had been replaced with something more play-worthy. “Uh-oh.” See this image larger.

Another in the series of Sunday-best outfits, this one from August 17th… you may remember the posts from earlier, his Sunday-best are church outfits. Here Ian is spinning around and around on his swing pole! See this image larger.

You’re not having fun are you Ian? I dunno if you’re allowed to have fun while we’re taking pictures! 😉 See this image larger.

He’s moving really fast these days, with a lot more accuracy and stability. When we rate his gross motor skills on a survey we take monthly, he’s always top-scoring. Still working on communication tho… See this image larger.

I think it is good to get as full a range of emotions as possible. This one? Sad. See this image larger.

When this picture was taken, I held the camera out and said “Say ‘Cheese.'” and he said “TCHEEEEEZ” right on cue, and extremely well. See this image larger.

Rediscovering the tupperware cabinet… how deep does this rabbit-hole go? See this image larger.

Later that same evening, Ian watches television patiently in his Mach 5 Nitro Burnin’ Yet Fluffy Pillow Dragster! See this image larger.