Rex's First Ride

I put Rex's Walk N' Ride together on Monday and the kid is loving it.



His Gram and Gramps got this for him on their visit when Rex was born. They bought his cousin Lucy one and I think she put more miles on it than our XTerra has! She pushed that thing all over the place for months. Anyhow, since it worked so well for her and really got her mobile, it seemed like a good idea to get one for Rex too. I shouldn't make any claims yet but I think he's going to put a lot of miles on his too. He likes to sit on it and push himself backwards. He can't really make it go forward yet so that's pretty funny to just keep watching him go backwards on the thing. He also pulled himself up to a standing position for the first time on Monday by grabbing onto the handle when it was in the "walk" mode (as opposed to the "ride" mode) so that was pretty exciting for all of us. We were not too surprised because we knew he was strong enough- there just is not a good place in our house for him to be able to try it.

Rex has had a few other accomplishments and new tricks lately. He can turn the pages in the books when we are reading. He can high five- he will keep slapping your hand though as long as you keep it up there. He doesn't understand that you just hit it once, probably because when I was teaching him we did it over and over so now he just thinks that is how you do it. Rex can also turn off the light switch when we are leaving a room. His fifth tooth (it's on the bottom) came in a week or so ago. He is moving into size 18 month clothes which is a little troublesome because it is hard to find him pants in that size- all the stores seem to just have shorts now but he still needs to wear pants. Lots of changes around here. In the last month, my baby has been changing into a little boy and it's fun to watch and see him grow and change but I think I'm also going to miss the baby stage.

Rob's Staycation

Rob had Wednesday, Thursday and Friday off last week. As I mentioned in my last post, we were planning on staying home and working in the yard. First though, he spent Wednesday finishing up the front porch. He still has one small part to finish up but it's only because we can't decide what we want to do. It is fully functional now though and looks great. I spent a few hours on Wednesday like this:



I hated cleaning the leaves out of that bush because it is full of thorns. I have scratches all over my hands and arms from it. Rob put in edging and built me some boxes for my raised planter beds. He wasn't able to finish off either of those projects because it rained a lot on Saturday and Sunday. That was okay though because we had a chance to actually have some fun and watch some movies. I tried to help in the yard while I could- mainly when Rex was napping. I got a lot of shrubs/plants/bushes pruned and filled up a 3 yard dumpster.



So far we have filled up one at least that size every spring which is fine because I love all our landscaping. Unfortunately, we discovered that it is not a good idea to plant perennials until Mothers' Day weekend so we had to hold off on doing that. However, the tulips out front are looking really good right now.



For some reason, almost all the tulips so far are red. I have two yellow ones and the rest are red. Last year, they were a mix of red, purple, white and yellow. I don't understand why they change. They were in the cheapo, jumbo bag from Sam's Club or Lowe's though so I don't expect too much. The fancier tulips I have seem the same as they were last year though they have not bloomed yet. Most of the daffodils and hyacinth have already come and gone by now. Finally, Rob had to mow the yard for the first time this year- here he is.

Happy Easter and Everything Else

We had a nice Easter last weekend- I meant to put this picture up last Sunday but oops, I forgot. So here it is now.



Although there was plenty of candy in his basket, only the book was for him. Rob took most of the candy to work and I kept a little stash for myself. I intended to buy him a couple more books but ran out of time. Thankfully, he doesn't know that mommy screwed up. I think the new book was mainly for me because I have most of his books memorized at this point and I needed something new in the mix. He probably appreciates it too.

Rex was 10 months old yesterday- Wow. It seems even crazier when I realized that his first birthday is in just two months! We're not going to do a big party because big crowds in his house kind of freak him out (as I learned when I hosted Bunco). Also, with the economy the way it is and us living on one income, I don't really see the point of spending a bunch of money on something he won't remember or even care about. Finally we don't have any family in the area so there really aren't a lot of people to celebrate with. I'm pretty sure Rob's parents will be here for the occasion so we'll celebrate with them here at home. We have friends I could invite but again, Rex is not a big fan of having lots of people in his house. I understand that lots of parents have big parties and I think that's just fine for them. It just doesn't make a lot of sense in our situation. I'll get him a little cake to thrash and we'll have a good time.

Rex got a little haircut last week. Rob and I did it ourselves and it took both of us so I have no pictures of the event. It was growing down over his ears and the hair right in front was also getting way too long. He had some crazy long hairs growing out of the top of his head that we trimmed up too. I almost cried because babies don't get haircuts, big boys do. He's growing up too fast. But his hair looks a lot better now so I'm glad we trimmed it up.

I have been busy designing plans for our backyard. Specifically there is one very large bed area that doesn't have much planted in it. It's a wonderful sunny part of the yard and I have been really anxious to get some plants in the ground. I picked out a Double Delight hybrid tea rose and we planted that yesterday. I have picked up a few magazines recently for backyard design and with the new book Rob got me for my birthday, I have been on a roll. I have also gotten several seed packets of different varieties and have even started some seeds already.



Rob has been planning on taking some time off this week and we thought we would take a roadtrip somewhere. However, we decided to stay home and work in the yard instead (mainly because it's kind of tough to travel with Rex at this point- when he can eat food from a restaurant, our lives will get so much easier). I have my list of plants to buy at the nursery and my budget all made out. Hopefully this is the last time you will see a picture of our backyard looking like this!

Nice Weather = Projects

Now that the weather is nice, Rob's busy with his projects again. Our salmon-colored fence and deck in the front yard have made Rob crazy since the day we moved in. There was also a matching salmon-colored screen door that he replaced last fall. The paint on the fence is peeling and the deck had some structural issues so they did need to be fixed or replaced. Here is what it looked like.



It doesn't look too bad really but as I said, it was a mess up close and the deck had some boards that were rotted out. Rob thought that this would be a nice simple project for him and his dad to work on while his parents were visiting. So here they are on Day 1, ripping up the steps and deck.



A lot of progress was made on Days 1 and 2.



However, on Day 3, there was a big problem.



They were unable to continue, obviously, and Pop left before they got a chance to work on it anymore. Rob's kept at it for the past two weeks and we now have something that looks like a very nice deck.



He still has to finish up the step and stain everything but he is getting close to being done. I'm so proud of him- he has worked so hard on it and it looks great!

Movies We Must See

We missed a lot of movies last summer. We were busy with something, what was it...



Oh yes, having a baby. We both really wanted to see the latest Indiana Jones movie and there were a few others I would have liked to see too though I can't remember them all. This summer looks even better though and we definitely can't miss these.

Wolverine- At the top of the list and less than one month away is Wolverine. I love, love, love all the X-Men movies and have been looking forward to this movie for a few years now.

Star Trek- Rob really is looking forward to this far more than me but I would like to see it too. I have never been too into Star Trek but Rob's getting me into it more and more. It helps to have someone around to explain it all. I have watched most of the episodes from the Enterprise series and we are working our way through all the movies. Next up is Star Trek III: The Search for Spock which I think we'll watch tonight. Friday night tv sucks.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince- I resisted reading these books or watching these movies for a long time. I'm not sure why now. I am totally a fan and love both the books and movies. I may be seeing this movie on my own which is fine.

I didn't really think I was a nerd but now that I see my "Must-See Movie List", I am a little concerned!

The Circle of Life

Last week, I celebrated another birthday. We had pizza- I really wanted that because I have been keeping to my diet and workouts faithfully and have not had pizza for quite a while. Rob also got me a little pink champagne cake which was so yummy and very thoughtful of him.



The circle of life continues on for me and also for everything else. Alas, this week we are in mourning for the passing of a dear friend- the bouncy seat. It took all the abuse Rex has dished out for the past 9 1/2 months and finally had all it could take yesterday. I heard the sound of metal snapping and looked over and saw Rex with his butt on the ground and he was laughing- he thought it was so funny! So then we were both laughing and I told Rob on the phone and then we all had a good laugh.



When Rob got home an hour later, we rushed out to Target to get a suitable replacement. The new one goes up to the toddler stage and holds a 40 pound child so we should be good for a while now. He seems to like it pretty well and likes the new toys on it. I think he is still a little confused about where his old one is though.



In other Rex developments, he is now taking his naps in his crib in his room. It turns out this was excellent timing since he used to nap in the dearly departed bouncy seat. Rob's parents were here for a visit and I just didn't want to be tiptoeing around him while he napped in the living room anymore. So I decided last week that it was time for naps to be taken in his room and in his bed. The first two days he put up a bit of a fight but it's been going pretty well since. And I am enjoying the freedom that I get with this arrangement. I used to rock the seat with my foot, close the drapes in the living room and keep it very quiet. Now I can watch tv, talk on the phone and do all kinds of things. I could even nap (like I plan on doing this afternoon) and blog (like I'm doing now)!

P.S. - Happy 3 Year Anniversary to Brent and Nanette!