Category: Family news/Updates

Tonight after dinner Ajax had an excessive amount of energy for some reason and insisted and running circles around his high chair.  He loves his little cart and pushes it all around the house.  He was singing an actual song before I picked up the camera, but it seems as soon as I got out the camera he was only yelling.   We’re very proud.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cd3HbWFHdK4?hl=en&fs=1]

Yesterday Dave and Ajax were playing in the living room while I was cooking in the kitchen.  I believe they were playing with Ajax’s trucks.  All of a sudden Ajax says- Dad, you’re my best friend.   He then said- You’re my best friend too mom.   I almost died.  It was the cutest darn thing I have ever heard in my entire life.  Ajax then just continued on his way playing with his trucks.

I’m exhausted.  Dave’s exhausted.  Ajax is exhausted.  And I’m quite sure our folks are exhausted, lol.

Our construction project continued into Saturday with the Michigan heat reaching into the 100s again (today it’s 63).  My dad was already over as he stayed a second night at our house.  Dave’s parents came down Saturday morning and had two of Dave’s second cousins (ages 5 and 3) as they were babysitting and Dave’s cousin lives near us.  They also had Eli the dog, which Ajax was very excited about.   My mom and sister also came over Saturday morning and ended up being on kid-detail while the rest of us picked up our tools!   Between five adults working we were able to paint the entire garage and clean up the electrical inside.

Ajax had a ton of fun with his cousins and all three played so so well together.  At one point we thought they’d take a nap, with Ajax and Travis (age 3) laying in Ajax’s room, but when my mom peeked in on them they were chatting away and gesturing wildly (no one got a nap on Saturday with all the excitement).  I’m still not sure what toddlers would be discussing at such lengths, but there you go.

The kids spent about half their day inside (as the heat was just too much) and then the rest playing outside and running through the hose.   Dave’s cousin and her husband came by to pick up the boys and ended up staying all afternoon just hanging and talking.  And then my aunt and cousin stopped by to say hi.   One thing I will miss about being in town is our family; I love having people stop by.

By Saturday night the garage was completely done.  I am still amazed that it was completed that fast, we thought for sure it would be a three day job.

My parent’s headed home on Saturday night and Rod and Dara stayed over.  On Sunday the work continued and Dave and Rod were able to put the gutters back up on the garage and did some masonry work.   Dara took Ajax to Ikea and he came home with some more pieces to his train set and a large area rug for his room.  I was also able to peel some tomatoes and peaches in preparation for another round of canning.

 

 

Well we’ve kicked off construction on the garage (it was also 101 degrees outside).  We tore off a few of the panels and replaced them with new pieces.  We put up some pine molding and plan on painting the whole thing to match the house.   We also plan on re-working the electrical and putting up a new flood light behind the garage.  That’s really about all we plan on doing.  We want to put in the very least amount of money as our hope is to put our house up for sale in February.  We just need it to be presentable.  My dad came over yesterday and stayed the night and Dave’s parent’s are coming down tomorrow morning to lend a hand.

A little catch up.

Sunday was pretty quiet.  Ajax and I met my mom, sister, and cousin in Ann Arbor to do a bit of shopping.  Ajax got some new Fall clothes per Grandma and a blue dump truck which he carried with him throughout the rest of our trip (thank you!).  Ajax also insisted on pushing his stroller through the mall and because he is now tall enough to see over the back of the stroller he did a fairly good job of avoiding people/obstacles.   Ajax also had a blast playing on the indoor play scape.  The play area was ridiculously crowded, but he did great playing with all the other kids and was so mindful of two little babies.  When he would wait for his turn on a toy he would stand and cross his arm across his chest.

When we were driving home, he was very tired but kept up a constant stream of chatter. He said, momma’s a woman?  I answered, yes, momma is a woman.  I then went over all the other women he knew.  When we were at the mall I took him to the restroom with me and as we entered I pointed out the word woman and that I was a woman and this was the woman’s restroom, etc.  Apparently he listened, lol.

Tomorrow Dave and I are taking Ajax to see an ear specialist as we fear he may have another ear infection.  We’ve been concerned for a few days and it doesn’t seem to be going away (we were hoping for some seasonal allergies).  I haven’t taken him to his regular doctor, so we may be completely wrong about this whole ear thing, but when I called the specialist she said that that was ok, and to just bring him in.   We shall see.

Ajax is still obsessed with the box.

Yesterday my mom and sister picked Ajax up from the sitters early and went visiting.  They also made an impromptu stop at the park with the splash park and from the report all ended up soaking wet with no spare clothes, lol.   Dave and Ajax were actually on their own last night as I had a work event last night which didn’t begin till 7 pm.  It was a benefits dinner, Ramadan Unity, and was quite enjoyable.  The long drive home at 10 pm, however, wasn’t so much fun.

Today we worked outside all morning.  Cutting grass, raking, and working in the garden.  I have a ton of tomatoes that I need to can… but right now they’re just sitting in buckets in my back room.   After working we went out to lunch at our favorite Coney Island.  Ajax was incredibly hungry by that time and kept asking every single person who walked by our table for – Pancakes.  As soon as the person walked by, he would say – are they going to get my pancakes?  When the waitress did come Ajax ordered his meal and ended up eating almost an whole order of pancakes!  Dave and I were amazed.

After lunch Dave was nice enough to babysit Ajax while I ran to the mall.  I was in desperate need of some new work clothes.   When I got home, we did dinner and again Ajax ate a ton, having two helpings!  He must be on the verge of a growth spurt.   We went for a walk after dinner.  Ajax insisted on riding in his stroller and talked the entire time.  He’s really into repeating his questions over and over again.  All and all a good day.

My mom bought a new car seat for Ajax, for her car, and Ajax loves the box-

UPDATE:

Well, Ajax did great in his bed last night.   He slept all night and in the morning he called out, momma open the door!  Open the door mom!  When I went in he sat up in bed and waited till I was next to him before bounding out.  He was then so excited all morning over his accomplishment of sleeping in his bed.  I mean – so proud!  Tonight was no different, he put himself to bed …. happily!  Honestly, Dave and I did not realize a bed meant this much to him, but he is so excited.  Before dinner tonight he even went in his room to check his bed and laid on it for a bit.

When my parents came over last night my dad brought some pictures that he had taken when Ajax spent the week out at the Farm with them.   Ajax had a great time at both sets of grandparents and Dave and I sure appreciated the help.

Ajax spent time at the lake fishing with my dad and grandma.  And he also got to investigate the large tucks and equipment behind my parent’s property where a company is drilling for oil.  My dad said he was very serious around all the large equipment.   Ajax and my dad also played trucks in the large sand pit behind the barn and made miniature cities which Ajax then destroyed.  All around good times for an active little boy!

Another weekend come and gone.  Where does the time go?

Saturday morning we were up and about fairly early as Dave and I had consecutive dentist appointments at 8 and 9 am.   I headed out first as mine was at 8 am and the boys weren’t quite ready to depart the house.  About a half hour or so into my appointment I knew my guys were in the building as I could hear Ajax in the waiting room.  I’ve been going to the same dentist office since I was old enough to see a dentist and the main receptionist has known my mom since before I was born, so everyone was quite excited to see Ajax.  Dave brought Ajax back into the room with me so that he could see me in the chair getting my teeth cleaned.  He kept asking, what’s my momma doing?   When it was Dave’s turn I held him so that he could see Dave getting his teeth cleaned.  He refused to sit in the chair but did agree to push the foot pedals to send Dave up and down in while the hygienist instructed and encouraged him. lol.   For the rest of Dave’s appointment Ajax and I played a large train set in the waiting room.  Ajax was quite the charmer and spoke with everyone the office.  We were told that kids start seeing the dentist and getting their teeth cleaned at about 3, so Ajax has a bit more time, but I’m glad he got to see both of us in the chair getting our teeth examined.

Ajax helped Dave cut the grass while I ran to Meijer.   Then he helped me make an angel food cake, which we took over to our friend’s house for dinner.   While over our friend’s home a horrible storm hit.  The storm was so bad there were lightening strikes and several transformers blew throughout the city, causing numerous fires.  One such fire was actually triggered right across the street from their house and you could tell where the fire was stretching into at least two backyards!  The storm was so bad that when we called 911 it took several rings for someone to pick up and then the operator explained that there were so many issues around the city that unless a home was on fire, it wasn’t a top priority!   After a few minutes fire trucks and police cars finally arrived and we were all plastered to the front window.  Ajax wasn’t as enthralled with the trucks as I thought he would be, but then again I refused to let him stand outside (you know with all the fires and down power lines).   Ajax was, however, enthralled with Mary and Jame’s dog, Scout, especially since Scout knows how to play hide-and-seek.  This entertained Ajax for quite some time and he kept a close eye on that dog.  He really does need a dog.   We got home late and were worried what the storm did to our house, but there wasn’t any damage and it looked like we hardly got any rain.  Odd how the weather works.

Sunday was relatively calm after Saturday’s excitement.   We did a bit of shopping and it rained most of the morning.  Ajax was a bit sluggish this morning as I think he’s still recovering from his cold/sinuses.   He was content to lay on the couch and watch Toy Story and just rest for a bit, which he definitely needed.   My parent’s and Emily came over for dinner as they were in town and were kind enough to pick up Ajax’s toddler bed that we bought him (which we found on Craigslist for $50!).    We put the bed in the garage as neither Dave or I wanted to attempt a new bed on a Sunday night in case the whole thing was a bust.

I’m sorry this was such a long post, I guess I just had a lot to say.  Oh, I’m also trying my first batch of canning via a hot water bath… and it doesn’t appear to be going so well.

When I got home from work I stopped the car parallel to the back deck waiting for the garage door to open.  I looked to my left and watched the door crack open.  Ajax popped his head out and smiled, HI MOM!  He kind of hung in the door for a bit and then all of a sudden he leaped out onto the deck.   I couldn’t believe what he was wearing and started laughing.   Apparently he got his clothes dirty at the sitters and I forgot to send over extra play clothes (which he wore home last week… opps).   The only thing he had in his cubby was a 12 month onesie outfit that Grandma Dara had bought him out in Las Vegas.  It looked hilarious on him and I can’t believe he even fit into it.

After I parked the car he came bounding up to me and was so excited to show me his bike.   Still no peddling, though he knows how, he just refuses to do it.   I couldn’t stop staring and laughing at his outfit.  When I went into the house Dave just said – I know right.

Ajax couldn’t figure out how to get the bag off the door handle.  Dave kept saying – lift up lift up!  And Ajax was having the hardest time before getting the hang of it, lol.