My favorite spot

Often when we are hanging out on the main floor of the house, Gerrit finds his way to the landing of the stairs. He loves to watch what's going on outside, whether its the traffic on the street, the people walking by, or the trees blowing in the wind. He also will go here to watch Adam when he is working on his bike on the porch. I enjoy watching him from a distance and smile at his enthusiasm and don't care about the hand prints that are constantly on that window either. Its his spot and I'll continue to watch from afar.

So cute when he puts his foot on the window ledge.

Ooooh, a Spoon

Today I was feeding Gerrit his oatmeal and because it wasn't real soupy, I gave him the spoon to see what he would do with it. He has been using a fork, with a bit of assistance (at times) getting his food onto the fork. He knew what the to do with the spoon right away. After he finished what was on his spoon, he tried to 'stab' his banana on his tray, as if he was using a fork. A great way to start our day.

Caught Him in the Act

Saturday I went to get Gerrit after he had made his way upstairs. Like I had mentioned in an earlier post, he likes to try and find his pacifiers that he has thrown on the floor. Well, here is the proof - I caught him in the act....That's a hanger and a piece of garbage Gerrit has thrown under his crib with some dust...

Knowing he is caught!

Passed the Test

When Gerrit had his 15 month check up (July 28), one of the topics of discussion was autism. I was going to ask about screening for it (not that I think he's autistic, I just see quite a bit of it at my job and so its on my mind a lot) but they beat me to it. There is a questionaire to fill out while you wait and then discuss the answers with the Dr. I filled it out and in our discussion, the only area that Gerrit didn't 'pass' was copying others. I couldn't think of times when Gerrit copies what we do. It is nothing of alarm and something that I would focus on watching over the next few months to report back at his next visit. Well, today he passed the test for sure! (I know there have been other times I just couldn't think of any). While Adam was assisting him with his dinner Gerrit farted and then laughed about it. Adam started making farting noises with his mouth and Gerrit laughed every time Adam made a fart noise. Then Gerrit started to make farting noises with his mouth! So, he has officially passed the autism test! Now telling his Dr. what he did to copy us is another story!

Our Olymipian

Not really, but he's dressed in his official Olympic outfit in honor of the Olympics. Thanks to his cousin Mia (and Aunt Erika/Uncle Jeff) for bringing it back for him when Mia joined the family. He looks pretty cool in it even if he doesn't understand the purpose of it!

Big Boy (edited)

Today we noticed more than usual just how 'big' Gerrit is getting. Today he said "ba(ll)". Here he is showing off his ability to balance:


He received this stacking toy as a gift before he was even born. I noticed on the label it said 6+ months. Gerrit is now 15 months and just figured out how to put the rings on! Hopefully he isn't developmentally behind! (Just kidding, he was into this toy at 6 months - he liked how it lit up.)

Now to the naughty side of Gerrit...He hasn't quite given up the pacifier (before school starts he will though) but only gets it in his crib. He often throws them out of his crib and has a nice little pile under his crib as days go by. He has discovered that he can go under the crib and find these pacifiers. So whenever Gerrit heads up stairs, I usually know what he's doing - trying to get a pacifier that he has thrown out of his crib. Well today was no different. When I went up to find him, I heard the pitter patter of feet and when I got to his room this is where I found him:

Hiding behind the rocking chair sucking on a pacifier - as if I couldn't see him! He totally knows what he's doing and that he shouldn't have a pacifier if he is not sleeping! Oh, what we get to look forward to in the days ahead... The plus side is he dusted underneath the crib - he was filthy!

County Fair 2008

We decided to head to the fair tonight seeing Adam got home a bit later than normal. There were little rain showers in the area so we took the umbrella just in case. The fair is just the right size for us. We get the feel of the big state fair, just on a smaller scale. Its cheaper and all the animals are represented as well as that good ol' fair food. Its fun to see all the 4Hers and their prize winning items. Tonight we even heard the sweet sounds of the demo derby (yes, Adam and I did experience the demo derby our 1st year at the fair - it will be the last too!).

We had a few sprinkles during dinner. Adam and I headed to the pork barn for our traditional meal and Gerrit had a hot dog and peas/carrots (from home). Here he is eating being shielded from the rain before the festivities began. We did stay long enough for dessert - mini donuts and a funnel cake (we shared them).


Gerrit didn't like the Roosters - when one 'cock-a-doodle-dooed' it scared him and he started to cry. We left that barn in a hurry.

Next we headed to the cow barn. I thought these cows looked cute and found them worthy of a photo.

Gerrit liked looking at the cows. They didn't make a loud noise.

The happy family at the end of another great fair experience.

We drove this year as we were unsure of the weather (last year we walked) and when we returned to the car this is what we found: (if you look close, you will count 3 cars and yes, ours is in the middle!)

The great guys at the Livestock market were walking around dumbfounded that people would be stupid enough to park 3 in a row! They offered to move the car with the bobcat (you could tell they were just waiting for the opporunity). So we waited. Unfortunately they couldn't find a spot to hook the chain to the car so we started walking home. (Adam will return later this evening to get the car.) As all of this was happening there were still people parking 3 in a row! How dumb can you be?

We did call a friend to come and meet us so we didn't have to walk because I didn't have good walking shoes and it was getting late.