18 months

A few months ago I commented to Gil that it seemed out little man wasn't a baby anymore.  It was as if some switch had been flipped and he was a toddler.  It was a perceptible change too.  Don't know how to describe it.

Crazy to think he's 18 months.

Gil's senior design project is a module that can be attached to an HVAC unit that will monitor air quality and sanitize the air using a UV light.  He uses the HCAV unit in our apartment for testing his sensors and running the light.  Wesley likes to look at the readings with him.

He has learned how to wriggle out of his shoulder straps in his car seat.  (I've started crossing them so he can't.)  One morning after he'd wiggled out and was getting sleepy on the drive home, he was twisted around trying to see out the windshield and his head just dropped where it was.

Wesley as himself

Sitting on the bottom steps, enjoying the shade on a hot day.

Looking so handsome in his tie after church one Sunday.

He crawls up onto our bed and goes straight for the tablet then snuggles himself between our pillows.

At my parents, he again goes straight for the tablet, then sits on the little stool which is perfectly sized for him.

Hiding in an empty diaper box.

Testing the water.

Wanting to be like his daddy in every way, he hasn't quite mastered drinking out of a cup, but he's close.  Next best thing is to put his sippy cup in Gil's cup and pretend.

One of my friends made some homemade apple sauce.  It was really good.  Wesley thought so too.  We did not teach him to lick his bowl.

The kitchen chairs have long been pinned against the wall by the table but Wesley can still climb onto the shoe cubby and reach quite a few things on the kitchen counter.  He grabbed the bag of gingerbread cookies, opened the baggie (I didn't know he could do that), and started munching on a cookie until I caught him.  I love that face!

Making a decision

 My dad shared with me to following quote:

Alexander Fraser Tytler
"A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government.  It can only exist until voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse from the public treasury.  From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy, always followed by a dictatorship.  The average age of the world's greatest civilizations has been 200 years.  These nations have progressed through this sequence: From bondage to spiritual faith; From spiritual faith to great courage; From courage to liberty; From liberty to abundance; From abundance to selfishness; From selfishness to apathy; From apathy to dependence; From dependence back into bondage."

The question I have been pondering for a handful of years now is how do I/you/we help without enabling?  I have yet to find the answer and I doubt there is an answer that will satisfy every situation.  

Macrame

I was chatting in the breezeway with a neighbor in my complex when I noticed through her partially open door a beautiful macrame wall-hanging in her living room.  I did some searching on line and discovered some really pretty items.  I decided to give it a try.

I first got some books from the library for information on tools, fibers, design ideas, and most of all, knots.

Then I drew out my pattern and figured out how many strands, length, etc.

I decided to practice first with some regular twine.

I bought cording and a dowel rod and went to work.

Ready to start tying knots.  

The knot tying was the best.  It was so relaxing to stand (or perch on the edge of our kitchen table) and tie knots and watch the design emerge.

I estimated the cording in feet then bought that many feet in yards by accident.  (It was fairly cheap so I didn't feel too bad.)  I cut my dowel in half and made two hanging shelves.  

I am absolutely delighted with how they turned out.  A really fancy shelf for baby wipes and butt paste.

Will I do this again... I don't know.  I enjoyed it, but I don't know if I enjoyed it enough to order more cord.  I still have one whole skein left so we'll see what I do with it.

Apple Hill

About 15 miles east of us on Hwy 50 is a farming community known as Apple Hill.  Each fall, the farms open their properties to the public for general everything apple goodness.

I got one each of five different types of apples that I'd never heard of.  Gil and I enjoyed sampling each one over the next few days.  Imaging three more rows of bins like this, full of different varieties of apples.  It was amazing.

One of the farms we visited had a pond with ducks.  One of the few sounds Wesley makes is a duck.  He is quite good and will quack on command.  It sounds more like "kak" but it is our favorite.  He saw the ducks, immediately recognized them, and went running after them, yelling, "kak, kak, kak!"  It was very exciting.

That farm also had craft booths and vendors selling their wares.  My mom got Wesley a cute Christmas ornament with his name on it.

We went to a second farm that is known for its apple donuts.  We got a half dozen and a small quart of apple cider and sat at a picnic table to eat the lunch we had brought with us.  The donuts were amazing and the cider was delicious.  Gil wasn't able to come because of school but I saved him some of both.

There was a tractor in the picnic area and Wesley had a blast "driving" the tractor.

It was a fun outing but not sure I need to go again.  I'm curious to see what some of the farms do when there aren't virus restrictions in place though.

Echo Lake

My friend Andrea invited us on another outing (previously adventured with her to Big Trees).  Gil had too much homework to be able to go but Wesley and I were game.  The weather has been spectacular and since it hasn't snowed yet, we ventured to Echo Summit.

Wesley did great.  I brought the carrier but he hiked most of the way.

The lake was beautiful and so blue!

We went to a look-out point where we could see Echo Lake on one side of us and Lake Tahoe on the other.  It was beautiful.  Wesley discovered that other people have more exciting and interesting things for lunch and helped Andrea eat her sandwich and some of her kiwi.  He did share his blueberry puffs with her.

He was a happy, dusty boy by the time we got back to the car and he slept most of the way home.

Tall, Strong, Smart

This little person amazes us every day.  

He knows that keys are used to open things.  I gave him the car keys (manual locks) and he entertained himself trying to get the key in the lock of the car long enough for me to unload the groceries.  

He is tall and these stripped pajamas make him seem even more so.  He's learned he can push the kitchen chairs to the counter to get into whatever looks interesting.  It makes making dinner a whole different challenge for me with little fingers creeping onto my cutting board while I'm chopping veggies.

He can't get the chairs onto the carpet but found his walker can serve the same function as the chair.  Here he's trying to get to my computer.

Climbing, climbing, climbing.  I was making dinner when it got too quiet.  I found Wesley had climbed into his diaper basket.  

Bring on the next level of Wesley proofing the apartment!

Parks

Now that the weather has cooled a little, Wesley and I have been exploring the parks in the area.  There are two fairly close to us: the equipment at one is a little too advanced for Wes and the other says it's closed due to the virus so we haven't tried it out.

There are a number of other parks in the community just to the west of us.  I have found one that I love and a few others that are perfect for us.  It's been fun exploring and meeting other moms and letting Wesley interact with other kids.

Wesley loves the swings but I've only found one park so far in our quest that has the bucket swings.  He thinks he can do the regular swing but hasn't quite grasped holding on to the chains to stay on the swing (pun intended).

His favorite by far though is the slide.  He could go down the slide again and again and again, and he does.  He's pretty good at taking turns too if there is another child.  Pure joy.  

Some of the equipment is sometimes too advanced and I use this as an excuse to climb and explore and play too.  I love it!

Lake Sylvia

I'd been wanting to have a hiking date with Gil for a while.  We had originally planned this hike a week earlier but the smoke from forest fires was very dense and not healthy to be out in.  

The weekend before school started for Gil was our last chance.  Thankfully the smoke cleared, my parents were thrilled to watch Wesley for the day, and we were off.

The hike to Lake Sylvia followed Lyons Creek for a while and made for a lovely setting.  We made good time to the lake.  Another couple was backpacking nearby and it made me want to go backpacking very, very badly.

We explored on our own above the lake.  There was no trail but that didn't stop us.  The alpine meadow and the views were stunning.

We found a small pool with the clearest water.

We found a big rock in the shade and had our lunch.  This was a really pretty bug that joined us.

Another wonderful adventure on a perfect day.  Not a lot of adventuring for the next little while; our next task is to get through another semester of school.

Bassi Falls

Lack of work stress is a wonderful thing.  I didn't realize how much it affected my health, my mood, and my relationship with my family.  I thought I would worry about what was happening at work and if everything was getting done that needed to be.  Not. At. All.  

Case in point: We decided to adventure once again yesterday.  There is a very popular hike to a waterfall on the Eldorado National Forest and we decided to check it out.  There were so many things I saw on the drive to the trailhead, at the trailhead, and on the hike that were cringe worthy but I simply thought it's for someone else to worry and stress about.  I enjoyed myself thoroughly.

Not a lot of water at the falls this late in the season but it was still a beautiful day and Wesley did great hiking, though he spent a lot of time on Gil's shoulders this time.

We found a little pool away from the falls and the rest of the hikers, stripped the Wee Lad down to his birthday suit, and let him play in the water to his heart's content.  He loved it.  

We moved to a different pool and Gil and I took our boots off and soaked our feet too.  It was cold!  There was a big smooth slab of granite with algae growing on it and a very small amount of water passing over it.  Gil held Wesley's hands and let him "slide" down the algae.  The Wee Lad thought this was great fun and we did this for quite a while.  (Poor guy has a few little scrapes and bruises on his bum but it doesn't seem to bother him.)

We found a nice shady spot to enjoy our lunch before hiking back.  

 I love the High Sierra and I love hiking with my two favorite boys.

Big Trees State Park

Another adventure!  My friend Andrea loves Big Trees State Park located a few hours south of us and invited us to go walk through one of the Giant Sequoia groves.

Standing on the stump of one of these trees you get a sense of just how big around they are.

Wesley was not content to stay on the trail or look at the trees.  Instead, he was very interested in the rocks and sticks and brush to climb through off the trail.  He was covered head to toe in dust by the time we had lunch.

Lunch included his first ever Doritos.  He was a big fan.  Thanks, Andrea!