Alton Summer Fun!

Okay, so I was called to the mat last night for not posting enough new cute pictures of Alton. Here is a smattering with short captions!
So you might know that, of course, right after we got all prepped for the big family bike ride, I sprained my ankle. I was understandably bummed and waited a week before I was determined to test out the baby bike seat with Alton. I did one small and two medium-length rides (for me) and felt like I was pushing it, so I have backed off and not ridden for a few weeks. But we had a lot of fun; on Alton's second bike ride with me he fell asleep in his baby seat on the way home!
Here are pictures of Alton trying on my neon orange safety vest: I wear the vest over my backpack while riding to increase our visibility to cars on the road. We also have a flashing light on the back of the baby seat!


A bike ride down a country road, five miles in each direction: $0. Aching thighs, knees, and mending ankle: $0. Basket of strawberries once I got to the cash-only U-pick farm and realized that I had no cash: $0. Oregonian kindness of the lady running the farm store who gave me the free basket of berries for my baby: priceless.

Alton sure enjoyed those strawberries!

We knew it couldn't last very long...Alton has been walking on his own grandly since April and we have escaped with not many big bumps on the head. Whoops! Spoke too soon: he fell and got a little bump on the sidewalk at the park...

...and then the next week gets a big shiner from toppling over at home. Poor guy! But he gamely shows you the REAL way to eat yogurt.


Alton's new summer afternoon M.O.: Play in the water table in the hot summer sun, get sopping wet, (discard hat) roam around the backyard, take off wet clothes, eat dinner naked, bath and bed! Sounds good to me!

Bye, bye, hat.

Hello water!

Note the wet front of his overalls!

A wheelbarrow covered in dried cement seems like a good toy.

Let's see what's inside.

Nothing! Darn!

Bye, bye!

Our baaaaad idea: Alton at the computer. He is very good at the mouse and keyboard, so we thought we'd give him a word document and let him type away. Bad idea! He enjoyed himself too much and he wants to work on his manuscript every day.



Alton and Andy had a special Father-Son day last Friday. They played, went to the park, went to the library, got wet, played some more, and had a fabulous time!
"C'mon, Dad, get your backpack and let's go!"

On his way to a "luau" with...party rings!

"Which of you lovely ladeez ordered the colorful rings? (Stud muffin optional.)"

I really was serious about that afternoon water play every day! Here we are with li'l Huckleberry, post-nap after spending the morning at the zoo--hence his pink cheeks! (For this zoo trip we hit the African Savannah first and got to see the giraffe, zebras, hippos and elephants before it got really hot. The rhino, however, remained elusive, as he is wont to do.)

Splashing you!

Spill time.

Both arms splashin' in the water bucket.

Purposefully striding across the patio with his watering can.

Eating a tart grape!

Kickin' back in his patio chair.

Wet head! Time for bed!

For the Fourth of July we went and enjoyed ourselves at Matt & Di's and had some GOOD barbeque (including baby's first ribs!), but didn't snap any pictures. With the sunset up here being well past 9pm, we didn't get to stay for fireworks and instead whisked Alton home for bed (nearly one hour late! Party animal!), where thankfully he slept through the neighbors' lengthy displays which lasted until midnight. We had our friends Chris and Elizabeth come over on Sunday the 5th to let *B get a turn at the old water table. And impulse buy! We spotted some patio furniture that we loved on clearance at Target and snapped it up!

Elizabeth and me with our guys *F and Alton, respectively.

Alton loved the guacamole so much we got him his own bowl to prevent double finger dipping!

Alton and *B hard at work at the water table.

For now: that's all, folks!