So Ajax had his second night away from home this past weekend (I dealt with it much better this time around and Dave and I had some much needed R and R). My mom picked Ajax up Friday, late afternoon, and my family had him till Sunday. They said he did very well, like a little adventure baby, he was all over the place- chasing the dogs/cats, moving buckets in the barn, and general goofing around. Dave and I headed out to Brooklyn Sunday morning to pick him up and I was so happy to get my nino back.
Since Ajax was gone Dave and I took advantage and got a ton of things done outside. Of course the weather was horrid- mid-40s and cold rain, but we were able to clean out the garage, picked out all our flowers/veggies for the garden, picked up all the material for fencing for the garden, and built a border for the garden as well. I also finally got my patio set! So we picked that up and put it together as well. Dave and I were up at 7 am on Saturday and didn’t roll into the house till almost 5 pm, we were so cold and achy, I’m just not used to working outside all day in the cold like that anymore.
my mother's day gift!the space for our garden. you may notice a gap in our border... well I refused to buy wood for the project and instead we used scrap we had laying around... we just didn't have enough. I'm not worried about it.ajax and aunt emilyajax and grandpa gordyajax and grandma mary
So we were up north this weekend visiting. Although we’ve taken Ajax up north a few times, this was the first time that he seemed to realize that he was going on trip and that he was someplace new. I guess he recognized it as an adventure to see Grandma and Grandpa.
We made pretty good time and arrived up north at about 9:45 pm on Friday. We made the mistake, however, of getting Ajax a little too wound up once we arrived and he refused to go to sleep. Dara ended up having to take him in the living room and I do believe they fell asleep in the chair for the night. On Saturday Dave and I went out to lunch and did some exploring so that Ajax got some one-on-one time with his grandparents and on Sunday Dara took Ajax to church. She said that he did wonderful, but kept talking throughout the service and throwing cheerios.
Rod and Dara have a pond in their backyard and Ajax was just enthralled. He kept trying to jump in and would have had I not been there!
Since we were out the ducks were hiding.Walking with grandpa.Loving Millie. Millie is such a good dog and so very careful with Ajax.Explaining things to grandma.Ajax was talking to the dogs who were outside.
This weekend we’re heading up north to Mikado to visit Dave’s family and since our grass has been growing like crazy we decided to do our yard work tonight after dinner rather than dealing with a messy yard on Sunday. I’m not sure if it’s a rule, but Michigan residents have to cut their grass every weekend, it you don’t your neighbors glare at you and look down on your wild yard.
Anywho, after dinner we all headed outside- Dave to do yard work and Ajax and I to help. By help I of course mean that Ajax pushed his little car up and down the drive way a dozen times. Ajax was very curious about the lawn mower and kept pointing at it. He’s all about pointing right now. When Dave was done and the mower cooled down Ajax immediately wanted to try and push it as well. He might as well get familiar with it now because really we just had a kid for manual labor.
Ajax found a yellow ball in our yard and of course had to have it, hold it and then chew on it. I have no idea where this ball came from… it probably belongs to the dog next door. And of course, instead of taking the ball away from him, I laughed and took a photo.
Today Dave had an eye appointment in Chelsea, MI. Since the appointment was with my dad’s cousin, I took the day off as well to accompany him. As Dave and I were both off, we thought Ajax should come too. Dave’s appointment was at 9:30 and we left the house at 8:15 and made it there just in time as the weather was cold, rainy, and there were a ton of accidents. The appointment went well and the Doc ordered one more test to see if Dave is eligible for lasik surgery. We were there until 11 and honestly Ajax did wonderful. He was well behaved with only a few minor yelling moments, overall we couldn’t have asked more from him.
After leaving the Doctor’s office we headed into downtown Chelsea, which is just the cutest little town ever, to find something to eat. Now as a young family we were on the hunt for a Coney Island, Big Boy, or some other generic family-friendly place where we wouldn’t be horrified if Ajax lost all patience and started screaming. As we were cruising through the little downtown area, however, we saw no generic restaurants, so we settled on a place called The Common Grill, which we thought would be a quick little sandwich shop.
The Grill opened at 11 and we walked in at 11:02; as the doors had just opened, we were the first ones there. We could tell immediately that this was definitely a step above the sandwich shop we had envisioned. The James Beard Award on the wall was certainly a clue. We thought what the heck, we’re the only ones here.
Not only did we have an excellent lunch, but we also had an awesome waiter. The waiter’s name was Gill and he actually took Ajax so that I could eat my lunch. Now, before having a nino I didn’t think I would be the person to hand my child off to a complete stranger so that I could eat, but today I had no issue passing Ajax along so that Gill could walk him all over the restaurant, meeting the other patrons who had trickled in and the rest of the wait staff. Gill also took him in the kitchen to meet the cooks and Ajax was happy to meet the new people. For lunch Ajax tried some white fish and dried cranberries, which he seemed to enjoy.
After lunch we headed over to the Chelsea Teddy Bear Factory and let Ajax pick out a bear. He kept picking up stuffed animals and hugging them. He would also try and grab several at once to hug them, which was pretty funny. Overall it turned it a very fun family day and right now I’m just hoping that the weather warms up so that Ajax can play a little outside after his nap.
Ajax kept petting this giant bear at the Factory.Ajax with his bear.Giving his bear hugs.
So there’s a small problem that neither Dave nor I foresaw when we set up the play-scape outside. The issue is that Ajax can clearly see it every time we go in or out of the house. This evening when Dave was carrying him into the house Ajax lunged toward his peddle car and then his play area. He then made a desperate, though futile attempt to get out of Dave’s arms in the hopes of reaching his toys. Ajax thinks it’s play time all the time, and this I think is going to be an issue as the weather turns progressively warmer. We may have to move the toys behind the garage sooner than we thought.
We love putting hats on Ajax.Playing outside.Silly boy.Ajax will actually go down the slide himself, but needs help on the landing.
In case our neighbors had any question as to whether or not there was a nino living in our home, we have now removed all doubt. A dear friend gave us two Little Tikes playground sets and today was nice enough for Dave to clean them up (as they have been sitting next to our garage all winter) and set them up. Thank you Carol!
Currently they are set up next to our garage, but over the course of the summer they may move farther back behind the garage near the (future) garden… we shall see. Ajax of course thought this was just the greatest thing ever as he now has a playground in his backyard. He kept wanting to go up and down the slide. He also wanted to explore the tunnel portion of the play area, but was just a little to nervous about the whole thing. Ajax is a pretty cautious little man, which certainly is not a bad thing now that he’s getting more and more adventurous.
It was warm and sunny today and we spent the majority of the day outside.The kid loves slides.Ajax so wanted to go through the tunnel.And trying to climb up the slide.
The weather was so lovely this evening that Dave, Ajax and I hit up the park! This was really the first time that we’ve been able to take Ajax to the park. We headed up to the elementary school in our neighborhood, which is maybe a 15 minute walk from our home, and let Ajax play on the jungle gym and slide. Goodness did he love the slide! I’d sit at the top and Dave would be at the bottom to catch him, he had a blast. Then he’d turn around and try to scramble right back up again. He also liked to crawl up and down the steps on the play-scape since he is now a pro at stairs.
Ajax has also decided that he sometimes needs to be a monster. Apparently it’s just something that needs to be done. He’ll crawl around the house, scrunch up his nose, and growl. It’s the oddest thing, but really it’s like he’s channeling some sort of monster, we’re not really sure what else to call it. lol.
I now know that when it comes to water Ajax definitely takes after me. He is just a little fish in the bathtub. He’s more courageous in the tub than on land when it comes to trying to crawl or reach items. He’ll flop on his stomach and kick his feet, then push himself off the side of the tub, all while trying to drink the bath water.
He’s also started handing us things. He’ll hand Dave his bath toy and then want it back immediately. At dinner he pretended to hand me his strawberry then when I would hold my hand out for it, he’d pull it away and smile. What a tricky fish.
This was a sad weekend. I am missing Max terribly and being home all day really makes his absences noticeable. We cleaned the carpets and overall did some deep cleaning of our home. I made quite a bit of baby food, so the freezer is now full. We brought up winter clothes, as unfortunately cold weather is here. We also attended the Detroit Zombie walk and had a very good time. We actually got a few people to go with us this year too. There was my sister, Emily, and friends, Mary and James, and of course Ajax! Good times all around. Ajax just smiled at everyone who came near him and was a very happy little dude. Ajax is still fighting the last stage of his cold, making him more tired than he realizes, thus making nap time a royal pain, but otherwise he’s doing fine. Below are some pics of our zombie walk and I would like to point out there there were a ton of babies/kids there, some were even dressed up and in the walk- Total Family Event!
