Splish Splash

Ian loves water! He sprints toward Pippins water bowl every time we leave it down. He relishes bath time. And now he loves the pool and the ocean. The first time we took him to the pool he wanted to stand on the side and jump in. We kept forgetting that he couldn't swim- or breathe under water. We definitely have a water baby on our hands. The pictures make it seem like we are in Miami, but don't be fooled. A Miami couple recently renovated an old local hotel and the pool is open to everyone. They are super kid friendly and have a ton of beach balls and floats for everyone to play with. $10 gets you access to the pool and a burger flipped by Spike (Top Chef). After going two Sundays in a row Ian is now on a first name basis with Spike and friends with all the ladies.

Chillin' poolside

Playing in the water with Awesome Nate

Exhausted after an afternoon in the pool

No Shame

We just returned from a trip to Cape May to celebrate Cynda's 30th. We had gorgeous weather, didn't even have to turn on the air conditioner once. We had the quintessential Fourth of July complete with American ballads, a lobster dinner, and fireworks over the ocean. Ian loved playing in the sand. We were a little apprehensive about bringing him to the beach. I feared I would have to be watching him non-stop in case he tried to shovel sand into his mouth. Instead Ian just sat on the beach and played allowing the sand to sprinkle between his fingers and toes. It never does get old does it?

It was also on this trip that we decided amongst our friends that we needed to distinguish between Ian's real Aunts/Uncles and our best friends that Ian sees every day. As mentioned above, the guys will go by "Awesome" ie, Awesome Rob, Awesome Nate, Awesome Jesse, Awesome James, Awesome Cody. This may or may not have occurred under the influence of some cold Corona's on the beach. We are still pondering what the girls should be called...Princess and Lovely are currently in contention.

On the ferry to Cape May

Ian loves being buried in the sand

Napping with Owen

Playing all alone on the beach

Our Lobster dinner- yum!

Ian sleeping through dinner- the best!

Ian with his Godmother, the birthday girl

The girls...

Watching fireworks with Dad

Departure photos

Watching the sunset from the ferry

Saying Goodbye to Cape May

Ian's "Would you Rather" at 11 Months

Ian is 11 months! Only one more month to go until the big 1 year birthday. It is incredibly hard to believe that a year has almost gone by. At this time last year I was so big and in incredible pain every time I took a step. No wonder Ian came 2 weeks early.

At 11 months Ian is starting to take a few steps. He basically walks around the house holding on to things. It reminds me of a game I used to play when I was younger- jumping from sofa to chair to coffee table without touching my feet to the floor, in case the sharks in the carpet below might eat them up. Ian has also started to wave to everything in sight. This morning I walked him around the block and he waved to every single car. He still only has one tooth as you can see in the picture above, but based on his sleeping patterns and crankiness lately we think another one may be on its way.

To sum up the last month I thought it would be fun to post a little game- "Ian would you rather?" See if you can guess right, then look at the picture below for the answer.

1. Would Ian rather ride in the stroller or on daddy's shoulders?

Daddy's shoulders of course!!! Although Ian is starting to warm up to sitting in the stroller, his favorite place to be right now is on Tim's shoulders. It has made for some interesting experiences for Tim in the last month including poop on the neck and spit up in the hair.

2. Would Ian rather play with the remote or with mommy's purse?

Duh- BOTH! Of course he does tend to go for my purse whenever it is in reach.

3. Would Ian rather play video games or drink a bottle?

I was doomed to a life of living with boys who play video games. Ian recently has been shoving the bottle away for more mind dulling fun with Tim. Ian is teething again and that means that he is not eating as much as usual. We try to shove food in his mouth whenever possible but he seems pretty content just to drool and chomp on his fingers.

4. Would Ian rather have Truman or Obama for President?

Truman! My parents recently came to visit and to take Tim and me out to dinner for our birthdays. While the guys were golfing my mom and I went to Madame Toussads. It was a fun experience, although Ian was a little freaked out. He had a very strange look on his face the entire time. He couldn't decide who was real or not. I just recently read Truman by David McCullough and just had to get a picture with him.

5. Would Ian rather listen to the Gymboree instructor or play with Isaac?




Play with Isaac, some of the time. Jaime and I recently took our boys to a Gymboree music class and it was quite an experience. Ian was rather perplexed by the whole teacher, student relationship and chose to do his own thing. Ian's idea of playing with his friends these days involved climbing on top of them or touching their face. It was rather hilarious at first but it is becoming quite brutal so we constantly have to keep an eye on him.

6. Would Ian rather play inside or outside the house?





Outside! Ian LOVES being outside. Whenever he is having a meltdown all we have to do is open the door and he stops. Recently I have been taking Ian and Pippin to the park which is a few blocks away. Ian is at the perfect age to play in a five step radius, not mobile enough to go running around the park. Some of my favorite times with Ian have been spent in this park.

7. Would Ian rather wear a hat or no hat at all?



Ian loves wearing this hat! He has not once tried to take it off. Thank the Lord because this poor boy has the whitest skin I have seen yet (except for Aidan :) and he is doomed to a life of SPF 45 and hats.

MEMORIAL DAY 2009

Phwew! Boy have things gotten busy lately. I guess it is just that time of year. I never got around to spring cleaning earlier in the season so I have been purging our unused storage and house dust for the last month. We fortunately got a chance to take a trip to Ohio for Memorial Day to catch up with the Chapman clan and for Ian to see his grandparents, great grandparents, great aunts and uncles, and all his amazing cousins! As always Aurora was a slice of heaven.

Ian learning the basics of tennis from his great grandmamma

In the early morn Ian crawled around the house and yelled to wake everyone up

Ian and his Uncle Pete

Ian and his great grandfather

Beautiful!

Relaxing and taking in a game of tennis

Total Fluff

So this is a total fluff blog post, but I needed some cheering up so I decided to look through my pictures of Ian. It did the trick. Here are some recent pictures of Ian that totally capture his personality and spirit!

Widsom Teeth and a Bouncy House

Three milkshakes, a dozen avocados, one pureed angel food cake with strawberries, and loads of oatmeal later I have finally healed, well sort of. I got my wisdom teeth out two weeks ago and still can't chew meat or bread, but things are looking up. I got dry socket a few days after getting my wisdom teeth out and it was all downhill from there. Doctor visits every other day consumed my life. I was lucky enough to have my sister Emily come and watch Ian while I was drugged up following the surgery. She was amazing!

Ian and I did get to go to my brother's sweet 16 a few weekends ago. My parent's rented what we called a bouncy house for the party and we had a blast playing in the house. Ian loved it!

Green Thumb

There is no doubt that Ian is a boy. He loves to play in the mud and get dirty. The only time he cries is when I try to clean him off. He lets out this loud pitch scream when I attempt to pick the mud out of his gums and brush off his knees. Ian is really most happy outside playing in the leaves and dirt. Although we have not seen much sun this spring, we have had a few days that allowed us to get the front yard "patio party" ready. Ian loves to help out with the yard work and especially loves to peer through the gate at passersby.

Still Teething...Wild Hair and Grunting

Ian is STILL teething, and there are still NO TEETH. I can feel one coming but it is taking a REALLY long time for it to push through. Unfortunately, Ian does not seem to like the normal teething devices such as frozen bagels/waffles, teething rings, etc. Orajel and tylenol seem to have no effect so I stopped using them. Ian is very frugal and practical like me, he just uses his fingers or my shoulder.



Ian's hair however seems to be growing at a much faster rate than his teeth. He has developed somewhat of a mohawk which fits Ian's new hobbie: grunting.

I am not quite sure how our parents survived six kids. I had the pleasure of watching my sisters two kids a few weeks ago and I barely survived two days. Just kidding Sally! It was actually really fun having Cate and Will around all day, just a little interesting come nap time. Ian absolutely loved having his cousins in town. I think he just sat and stared at them the entire time, thoroughly enjoying having more kids around the house.