Big Red and Sassy

We officially went horseback riding for the first time since finding out I was pregnant. Lucian and I rode a beautiful horse named big red, who used to be wild. Joe rode a little horse with a lot of attitude named Sassy. We did a one hour trail ride along the local forestry. Lucian seemed to really enjoy it for his first time ever. I wasn't sure if he would like it or not. Our ride included trots as well, which he was very vocal through. I couldn't stop laughing over his cuteness. In the end I think it was successful. He may even want to try again. I hope so at least. Even though I had to kill a lot of horse flies and my butt is potentially bruised, I would most definitely take him again. The place we went to seemed to really care about there horses and their best interests. I hope to find out more about there care through further visits. Maybe we can do a night or winter ride in the future (if it's not negative 10 degrees this year).

West Coast Fun

After a busy weekend of moving we headed west to Washington state. What were we doing out there you ask? well, we were visiting grandpop and grandma of course! We had a great time and Lucian made a new best friend, Ian. He asks about him a lot and would like to visit him again soon for hours of non-stop playtime. He even likes to invite Ian over to our house to play. We had a great time while we were out there too. Though we didn't make it to Seattle this trip, we did make it to the waterfront and to another really cool rock beach with a fantastic view. It was a good experience for Joe and Lucian to experience salt water life rather than fresh water.  There were jellyfish in the water too. Lucian liked seeing all the baby jellyfish. We all hung our heads over the edge of the dock and looked into the water to see the other various life. There were big schools of fish swimming around , oysters on the dock edges, tube worms, and other life. We didn't get to look for crabs on the shore this time around but that will give us something to look forward to next time.  The other beach was just as fun. The tide was low so we were able to walk down fairly far. There were oyster and clam shells along the different sized rocks.  We gathered some cool stones along the way.  Then we played in the playground area and picked blackberries.  I forgot how much I missed being able to pick wild blackberries and walk among really straight evergreen trees. It's just a different type of forest.

At grandpop's house Lucian played with Ian non-stop. They played in the pool, outside on the playground, inside every room, they had a dance party, a bath party, and watched cartoons together. They had a blast. They even did an excellent job taking turns riding the tractor power wheel. Lucian even had his first actual tractor ride sitting on grandpop's lap! The boys also got to pick out there own piece of pottery to paint at the ceramics place. I think they did a great job. I can't wait to see how they turned out. Needless to say, they had fun. I'm looking forward to the next visit.

Surprise Visit for the Fourth

Surprise! We took a trip up to Northern Indiana to visit Joe's family. We wished we could have stayed longer. Lucian had a really good time and was active nonstop the entire time we were up there. The first day was spent with Joe's grandparents, Lucian's great grandparents. He played with their dog, goat, and a little with the piggie. I think he really liked the goat. I can't blame him the goat was pretty cool. We also roamed through their garden, which is pretty big. It makes our potted plants seem minuscule. Some day we will have a big garden with, hopefully, less mosquitoes floating around. They were lethal.

The second day, the fourth of July, was spent with Joe's Dad and family. Lucian had a great time playing with the kids. He has a lot more independence too, which he rather enjoyed. I don't think he wanted to leave and would have been more than happy to return the next day. He played ball, ran around, attempted video consoles, went to the park, and attempted the pool that was really cold. It was a beautiful day. Though we didn't partake in fireworks, we still were able to grill.  Lucian was exhausted by the end of the day.

The last day was spent with Nana (Joe's Mom) and Papa. We took Lucian to the park with Nana in the morning. There weren't a lot of kids there but he still had fun. Then we went over to the zoo. I thought it was a cute little zoo. It wasn't very big but it still had some unique animals and a petting zoo. Lucian was able to brush a goat. I think he likes goats? After that, we picked up Papa and went golfing - mini golfing! Of course, that is one of Lucian's favorite pastimes, so he naturally enjoyed it. He picked out a golf ball color for each one of us. He even remembers who had which color ball. As per tradition, we ended mini golf with some ice cream and score tallying. Lucian won. He was a tough competitor. He even decided to try out the driving range with the boys. I think he did pretty good considering how much bigger the club was. After all that fun I thought he would be tired but he wasn't. Joe and I left him with his grandparents for a bit so we could have some down time. He was still awake when we returned! He had so much fun that he requested to spend the night at their house. So we did.

It was a great little vacation. We all had a wonderful time and it was really nice to visit with family. It would have been nice to stay longer, but we will take what we can get for now. Until the next adventure!

What we are up to as of June

I have officially updated the picture section. You are welcome. They go up until today when I took the fishing pictures. We didn't go actual fishing (yet). He was just out fishing in the pool. We stuck a bobbin that he picked out onto the line of the rod and let him have at it. Apparently he picked up the concept very quickly. And, of course, I was able to take some pictures of his awesomeness. What can I say, I love the kid.

As for updates on Lucian. He has been going to gymnastics and dance since the new year began.  He continues to go to gymnastics every week and loves it. As for dance, he was originally taking creative movement class up until summer sessions.  They ended with a recital, which Lucian rocked in.  He is a natural dancer. I'm not sure he gets that from Joe :-) Since, then we decided to try a different class, which he seems to love. Why wouldn't he? He gets to make a lot of noise. Needless to say, I bought him his first (and second) pair of tap shoes today. Move over Shirley Temple, here comes the next child tap star. I can't wait to see all his cool moves; I really hope there is another showcase. We did get the first one on video. I'm not sure I will be able to upload it, I had some trouble in the past getting videos up.  Maybe I will try again. As for now, I think I am going to join the boys and the bubble machine.

Current height: 37"
Current weight: unsure but it's hard to hold him for long periods of time
Current likes: water, bubbles, stickers, balls, painting
Current activities: gymnastics, dance, wonderlab, pool, park, going out of town for new discoveries
Current dislikes: listening, clothes, and eating anything he previously liked ;-)

Adventures In Greenwood

So Joe and I decided to try and make this summer especially fun and busy for Lucian. The harsh winter made us all a little sick of doing the same stuff all the time. As you can see we've been traveling up to Indy quite a bit to experience new things. This time we decided to go to Greenwood, which is right outside of Indy but closer to home for us. This time Joe had the pleasure of planning our trip.  We ended up going to a family fun center. They had mini golf, bumper boats, go karts, arcades, and mini bowling. It was a beautiful day out ( a bit too bright). We got Lucian a wristband for an hour so he could pick from the bigger activities. Of course, he went straight toward the mini golf. We ended up playing both courses, well Lucian's speedier version I should say. He's getting really good and his shots are more accurate. Then we played some mini bowling. It's considered mini due to the small lanes and the small balls that are used. He seemed to really enjoy himself. We tried to convince him to try the go karts, but I think they are still a bit too scary for him. I'm sure that will change some day, but who knows!

Then we played arcades for a good hour or so. They had a few games that we don't have at our local play place.  It was nice to let him try out new games. We wanted to play the water spraying game but it was broke. I thought it would be a good match. We has a good amount of tickets and Lucian picked out a ball and some slap bracelets. Not the greatest prizes, but it could have been worse. Lucian ended our adventure there with a nice cone of rainbow "superman" ice cream. I thought it was gross, but he devoured it (with a spoon).

Later we drove back to the field we played on after our last Indy trip. This time it was more of a mission. Last time our frisbee disc ended up stuck in a tree and we couldn't retrieve it. This time we were more prepared. Lucian and I played in the field and blew bubbles while Joe worked on getting the frisbee, which was still there, back down. He was successful, after some climbing and branch cutting. I think we learned a valuable lesson about throwing it in the direction of trees. At least we got it back! We ended the day with juice boxes and ice cream! Mostly ice cream to take home. We pick out a few quarts every time to try new flavors. We were all pooped. It was a blast.

We've Got Rhythm!

After a lovely visit with Nana and Papa, we took a trip up to Indy to the Rhythm Discovery Center. We are trying to have a good and relaxing summer this year with lots of activities. It all started over the weekend with special visitors. Joe's parents came down here as a midpoint to St. Louis. We were able to spend a lot of time together, play, and venture around town. This was a very significant visit for Lucian, as it was his first time meeting them in person. You see, they have been living in Germany for the past several years since Lucian was born and were unable to meet him in person.  They did, however, talk frequently over the phone and via skype.  This was the first time face to face where they could actually interact and touch in person.  It was a lot of fun for everyone. I'm really glad that they met and had a great time. We look forward to the next visit.

As for rhythm discovery center, that was so much fun.  It is an interactive museum full of percussion instruments. There was almost no one there when we went, so we could play anything without waiting. It was fun to interact with everything. They had all different types of drums, shakers, gongs, bells, xylophones and some unique instruments, like the steel pan. Then there were different mallets you could choose from to make different sounds and effects. The museum displays were interspersed with these interactive instruments to keep people from touching the displays. The displays were interesting and educational. They talked about famous musicians and their specially designed instruments, how different cultures make and use certain instruments, and how certain instruments , such as the drum set, came to be. I didn't get to read all the information but it was fairly interesting. This was a good place to go for a few hours to learn about instruments and experiment with the sounds they make. I would certainly consider going back in the future. Can't wait to see where we will end up next!

Indy Zoo and Ice Cream

So we went to the zoo! On Saturday April 26th we scheduled a visit to the zoo. This was Lucian's first zoo experience (though we went to the aquarium previously in Seattle with his grandparents). It was a wonderfully hot day and Lucian broke his fever the day before from being sick. We debated on going, since it was so warm out, and ended up deciding to go. It was a good choice because we had a blast! Lucian did great, even in the sun, and was allowed to have as much ice cream as he desired. We didn't make it through the entire zoo because we were all getting tired of the sun and Lucian was still dragging from being sick. They do have a splash pad for the kids to play in which was nice in the heat. They also have little playground areas. It wasn't a very big zoo and some exhibits only had 1 or 2 animals.  I can't say I was overly impressed because instead of building a roller coaster ride they could update and expand some of the habitats. The dog show was pretty neat and provided a nice mid day shade break.  We did not go to any feedings or the dolphin show due to the crowd. We did end up having a good time, eating lots of ice cream, and taking a good amount of pictures. We even walked through the gardens next door to see the butterfly exhibit. Lucian was pretty excited about the butterflies and flowers. In the end: zoo = success.

On the way home we stopped out in Greenwood and visited their mall where he played with a group of kids.  We also stopped at toys'r'us since we don't have one in Bloomington. He showed a very strong interest in the powerwheel type vehicles. He specifically liked the red mini, which was surprising. Totally thought he'd go for the jeep. Future birthday present. *hint hint* We ended the day by stopping at Ritters for some quarts of custard to bring home. Joe picked those out of course. We were all exhausted after a wonderful family day.  I look forward to having more of those this summer. It really makes you realize how much you miss with school and work. I'm glad we have the opportunity to work and go back to school, but I'm even more grateful for the moments we have together as a family doing "normal" family things. We may not be a typical family, but I'm proud of what we have become and where we will go from here.