Ajax went to bed at 7:00 pm tonight. Again, seven. Such a busy little man.
Ajax and I headed out to my parent’s house yesterday morning, as that seemed to be where everyone was staying/congregating. We went to dinner, did a little shopping, and played quite a bit. We had wanted to hit up the lake, but unfortunately the weather wasn’t too cooperative. It was very nice seeing everyone, as people are pretty spread out these days. We stayed the night and played today as well! Ajax didn’t go to bed till 9 last night and only had one nap today, he was so busy.
Fawn and I headed into Tecumseh today and had a nice lunch and did a little window browsing. The kids were great and so well behaved. On the way home they both zonked out.
We’ve never had a large BBQ at our home because we’ve always been worried that if the weather turned bad, where would everyone go? Well with family in from Washington (My Aunt Lynda, Cousin Andre, his wife, Fawn, and their two-year-old son, Daniel) we decided we had to celebrate! This is Fawn and Daniels first trip to Michigan, so everyone wanted the chance to meet them. There were about 40 people over and everyone seemed to have a great time. The weather was very cooperative, a little overcast and not too hot. The kids had a blast, playing the majority of time in the water toy- this necessitated several outfit changes though…
Dave maned the grill and put a Cajun fry to some hamburgers and hot dogs. Ajax seems to be in quite the bully-mode and tried to push all his male cousins around, however, Emma, who is four months younger than him seemed to the only one to put him in his place. It was pretty funny.
play time!radio flyerThe water toy was a hitAjax was all about pushing his cousin, Alex, around in the car.Here's all the babies in the family right now!sorry the grill is so prominent, but ya know it was a BBQ
On Friday night we went to a BBQ as some friends are in from Boston. I forgot my camera unfortunately, but it was cute watching Ajax interact with their little one, Riley, who is about 6 months older than Ajax. Riley was much more outgoing than Ajax and wanted to be friends immediately, but I’ve noticed that Ajax hangs back a little and observes before opening up. It’s interesting watching his personality coming out and realizing how very similar he is to his father.
We had an exciting day on Saturday. Dave managed to cut the grass (some of it, half our yard is still under water from all the rain we’ve been getting) and I played around in the garden. While we worked Ajax was busy exploring the yard and moving his toys into different areas of the driveway. We have had some interesting weather lately. In the morning it was hot and humid, somewhere in the high 80s, but by late afternoon we noticed the temperature dropping significantly, probably low 70s.
We had family over for dinner as my Grandma Flo and Grandpa Stan are now here from Florida. We had eight adults and one nino in our house, which is quite a house-full for us.
I hit the sack early and left Dave on the couch watching TV. At about 11:30, however, a loud siren woke me up. In my daze I thought Dave had the TV on too loud, but then I realized it was the city’s tornado warning. I stumbled downstairs and Dave and I sat in front of the TV watching the local news and listening to the sirens. We poked our head outside and the sky had a greenish hue with terrible clouds. Our whole neighborhood was awake, but Ajax slept through the whole thing. It amazes me what he’ll sleep through. There were some funnels that touched down, but it was quite a bit west of us.
Ajax and Grandma Flo
Ajax wanted to go out and play, but the weather was horrid so I had to say no and he was just so upset.
Tonight when I was trying to make dinner (chicken and pineapple quesadilla, yum!) Ajax discovered the cabinet filled with the pots, pans and rolling pin. For some reason he has never been too interested in that cabinet before tonight. Now he was so excited to push the rolling pin all over the kitchen, which made maneuvering between the stove, sink and counter a bit of a trick.
Dave also said that I needed more lake pictures, so I thought I’d comply! Also I have a confession. I have been slacking on the coupon front lately. We’ve just been so busy that at night I am just exhausted and all I seem to be able to do is sit on the couch and watch HGTV (I’m watching House Hunters right now). I’m hoping that this weekend I’ll get back on the coupon horse.
Ajax plays so hard outside that he is now taking three naps again, lol. He wants to be outside all the time and will bang on the back door to go out. Once outside he pushes his car up and down the driveway, tries to pull the wagon, plays on the slide, and tries to help with the garden (though when he “helps” he ends up pulling up all my flowers, I keep saying- gentle, gentle… oh well). We actually have a few things coming up in our garden, so we are very excited. I think I may have planted a few too many beans and I may need to learn how to can (I’m hoping my mother in law would be so kind as to teach me!).
For dinner it was another grill night as we are getting hit with some major summer weather. It’s been in the high 80s all week. We did chicken, zucchini, and corn-on-the-cob. I ended up giving Ajax 1/2 the cob and letting him chew on it (or lick off all the butter). He seemed to enjoy it.
Ajax fell over and was shocked that his hand was dirty. He does not like dirt on his hands.On the move!Learning to garden.Enjoying corn on the cob!Just showing off our garden. Those are green peppers and beans!
Summer is upon us! It wasn’t here yesterday, but has made its presence known today hitting a high of about 87! It is supposed to be in the high 80s all week, so yep, summer, in your face. Ajax and I went visiting this morning over my Grandpa Nader’s house. Ajax is such a ham around all his cousins and aunt/uncles and loved the attention. He kept opening cabinets in the kitchen and taking cans out and handing them out to people. We also had my family over for dinner. We cooked out on the grill and finally got to utilize my mother’s day gift by eating outdoors! It was great! Ajax didn’t really want to settle down to eat as eating outside was maybe just a little to much for him as all he wanted to do was play. My mom and dad ended up having to take him for a wagon ride up and down the street.
learnin' to use a spoonsitting with Franklin the bearand then losing interest and trying to escape
Sometimes I call Ajax my hungry little hippo because he eats so darn well! He will try almost anything you put in front of him; we were out to dinner on Friday night and the waitress commented, wow! he’s such a good little eater (after he ate two large pancakes, some eggs, and a little potato).
Tonight we made hamburgers with a chunky-homemade chic-pea/radish sauce (I found it in a Martha Stewart magazine, it was so/so). I was amazed that he tried everything and seemed intrigued with the chic peas. I also tried to introduce finger painting today with yogurt, but all he wanted to do was eat his “paint”! He then got frustrated and demanded I spoon feed him the rest of the yogurt. It’s also interesting, but I have no doubt that Ajax is left handed. Dave and I have actually been saying that for a while now, but really his left hand is obviously dominant.
Ajax thought it was hilarious to put this bowl on his head and run around the house. It was pretty funny. Oh we also have a new word- “baby” and “hi there!”
So very sorry for the lack of updates this week. If it’s not one thing it’s another, right? Work, kids, sewer lines busting, ah life.
Ajax has been sleeping through the night lately, so that is some much needed relief. He’s also much more sturdy walking about and now starting to run. He is all about push toys right now and pushes them up and down the driveway and then gets mad when they won’t roll over the grass. He also all about head butting things right now. It’s getting a little ridiculous. His forehead is all bruised up and it makes me feel terrible, but I can’t put a helmet on him… right?
Ok, so as I mentioned major sewer line issues (we have a crew coming out tomorrow to dig up our yard), so Ajax has been getting sink bathes lately and just loves it. He thinks it’s the coolest thing ever.
Our house has basically been under construction since I bought it in 2004. Since our home is finally buttoned up we have finally put our attention on our landscaping! Of course we did a halfhearted attempt last summer, but with the nino, it just wasn’t going to happen and honestly I don’t even remember last summer (really, I don’t). So we have renewed our efforts and I am just so proud with how well our yard looks! Dave and I have been working so hard on it. We each take turns working, then playing with Ajax (because he’s not really that much help now).
We also put our garden in! After years of wanting a garden we finally got around to getting to it. We put in- beans, green peppers, carrots, tomatoes, squash, zucchini, swiss chard, and strawberries. It’s when you have no extra time, that you learn how to make time.
Ajax has had quite a busy weekend! Little man is also teething- his nose is all runny and he’s congested and his cheeks are all rosy. Maybe we’ll see some more teeth soon.
Yesterday morning Ajax and I headed out to Ann Arbor to meet my mom at Briar Wood mall (thanks for the clothes mom!). While we were waiting for my mom I let Ajax run around the carpeted area of the mall. A little girl went up to Ajax and was just so excited, she was maybe 2, and just a little bit taller than him. She was saying, hi hi, hi! She then hugged him and before I knew she was trying to pick him up. Of course he was too heavy for her and they both toppled over. Both kids were fine, but Ajax started crying and would not let me put him down till the little girl was far away. I couldn’t stop laughing and her dad kept apologizing, saying she had a little brother at home. It was pretty funny.
Ajax did great the whole time we were out. He made a bit of a mess at lunch, but my mom gave him a spoon and he entertained himself for a good 10 minutes with it. I think we’re going to have to start introducing silverware soon. Ajax has also learned the word- HOT! I tell him this as I place warm food on his plate. I realize I say it like a warning because Ajax will hold his hands together, look at the food and say, hot hot.
