Something wrong, Mama?

Jameson, the poster-child for Baby Mischief!


No, he wasn't trying to give himself a mud-mask or practice for the world-champion mud wrestling competition. It was a warm night and we were all in the backyard. Alex and I were playing ball, Jameson was crawling around on the grass and Stefan turned on the hose to water the garden. I noticed Jameson make a bee-line for the spicket because there was a small line of water dripping down... no big deal. In the space of 45 seconds, he transformed himself from a relatively clean baby into this!!
Hmm... I wonder if she will notice if I make a run for it!Big brother Alex says, Jameson, what were you thinking???



On the topic of Star Wars from the last posting, here are some pictures of Alex performing his jedi tricks:


And a few pictures of Jameson and I from the farmer's market. Thanks to Jenni who took these pictures. I know I mentioned it before, but it was a really fun outing. The weather was perfect, the market was full, there were flowers and asparagus and a few other fresh produce items for sale, great friends, a turkey sandwich with Phil's Chevre Herb cheese...is there anything better?



But back to reality, Jameson did a great job of finding cigarette butts and other fun items to put in his mouth. I forgot how time-intensive this age is. But he did a pretty good job putting up with being in the stroller for a long time. What a little Ann Arbor-ite.

After the farmer's market, Sylvie stayed at our house for a few hours. I was outside listening to their conversation as they played. It constantly amazes me how different boys and girls can be. So I love it when Sylvie visits and I see her and Alex try to combine their imaginary worlds. Before I had kids, I thought the stereotype of boys wanting cars and girls wanting dolls was perpetuated by their parents! But Jenni, Sylvie's mom, isn't the type to push dolls or fairies or princesses... anyhow, it is too late tonight to go too far into the nature vs. nuture argument tonight, so here is a summary of my observations for your viewing pleasure: (S=Sylvie, A=Alex)

S: Pretend I'm a princess trapped over here by this bench and you are a prince that comes and saves me. Okay?

A: Okay, but I'm a jedi knight. And there's a big hurricane striking and I have to use my light saber to get through it. Okay?

S: Okay but I'm a beautiful princess and I'm going to hide under here during the storm. Come hide under here with me. Okay?

A: Okay, but I'm going to stop the hurricane and now we're going to pretend we're on a ship sailing through the Galaxy and I'm a Jedi and so are you. Okay?

S: Okay, but I'm hiding under here during the storm because I'm a princess but I still carry this light saber. And then, and then, and then pretend that we're on a boat in the ocean and that's the island we're going to. Let's say this is the look out on the ship. Okay?

A: Okay. (Alex runs around waving his sword while Sylvie picks flowers for a while)

A: Okay, so now we're going to fight some bad guys because we are the good guys. Okay?

S: Okay, but I'm the princess and ... (you get the idea!)

Alright... so there are a few exaggerations here... but you get the picture. This is why kids need other kids to play with... I have somehow lost the ability to get into his world like that.

Other weekend happenings: Stefan's Volksporting group had another successful walk, with over 100 people walking 5 or 10K through Gallop and the surrounding areas. The boys and I walked with Jim and Gustie, as well as Sylvie and Brad. We definitely went at a "kid's pace" (3.5 hours for 3.1 miles!) but it was a beautiful day for walking, talking, taking breaks, and having snacks.

On Saturday, Stefan had a lot to do to prepare for the event, and I had one of those "I can't stand anymore time here alone with the kids" moments... so we got in the car and went to Saline! Jim and Gustie were kind enough to meet us at a park and then take us to dinner. We discovered that Jameson loves beef barley soup.

I noticed this weekend that Jameson is starting to be a little more careful as he navigates around on his hands and knees. It is fascinating to see this shift in his development. At one point, he was on some wooden steps at a playground. He cautiously tried to climb down by putting a hand down the step. I could see the wheels in his brains turning... hmm... my hand doesn't reach... hmm... what about this other hand... no that doesn't reach... okay time to look up at Mama and fuss because I'm confused!! At other times, he did manage to manuever his body and go down feet first.

More boating pictures, just for fun: