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!