My rock star

Lane's Auntie Amy gave him her old sunglasses from when she was a kid (see pictures here). He loved the sunglasses. They were a toy to him but he loved them still. And then they kinda broke. Sorry Auntie. I actually think I was responsible for the breaking of them. I think the situation was something like ugly weather, high-heel boots and a mom that just wanted to get the kid in the carseat as fast as possible to keep the exposure to the elements to a minimum. And somewhere in there a lens popped out, never to fit in again. Let me say it again, I'm sorry Auntie.

On to happier things. The kid and I drove to the city and did a bit of shopping. And I decided the kid needed another pair of sunglasses. Not that they would stay on his head but more to keep his grubby paws off my pair.

After much trying on of glasses and much deliberation on the part of this not-particularly-fashion-conscious mother, this is what we walked out of the store with:

He's my totally cool rock star. Do I need to tell you how happy he is to have his toy?

That's right. Rock on.

New camera

I bought a new camera... and I have the cute pictures to prove it. My old camera just couldn't keep up with the boy, especially now that he can motor. It took too long to snap pictures, too long to save the picture to the camera and too many blurry photos.  So, I broke down and bought a new one. Still not quite the camera that we would like to have but we don't have the cash for that kind of camera right now. And I'm not sure that I'm that good of a photographer anyway...

But you don't really want to hear about my new camera; you want to see pictures of the boy. Without further ado, here are the pictures of the week:

Jamie calls this one Lane's "innocent look".

My outdoor explorer. With outside temperatures in the mid-20s Celsius and a UV index of 6, a hat has become part of the essential outdoor gear. Surprisingly, he doesn't mind wearing it...

But to no one's surprise, he still likes to help out, especially if it's outside. Anything that he sees his parents using is best - be it my garden trowel (which he has successfully commandeered), a spade, pitch fork or garden fork.

Reading

Lane likes to read. Or be read to. He just likes books in general, I guess. But he is to the point now where he'll bring a book to you and want to sit on your lap and will be very attentive while you read it. He often doesn't make it from front to back because the previous pages are always more interesting than the ones to come but I enjoy seeing just how much likes to "read". And I love it that he crawls into my lap so that we can look at a book together. I can't wait until we can start reading novels out loud to him. Until then Goodnight Moon and The Very Hungry Caterpillar will have to suffice.

Grandpa Dennis reading Lane The Very Hungry Caterpillar.

Lane and his daddy reading a book together.

A little glimpse into our world

Ludicrous, I know, but I thought some of you out there might be a bit bored of Lane populating all the posts on this blog. He's cute, I know but really, is he that fascinating all the time? Actually, he is. We get a kick out of watching him encounter new things - being able to play in the drapes behind the couch, the expressions he gets when he tries some spicy food and the desperation with which he tries to converse with us at the supper table. Really, what more is there to life?

Building a veranda/porch. Jamie is attempting to bring some of the South to the North. It drives him bonkers that our front doors up here don't usually lead to anything, often just steps down to the grass. So, with our house in desperate need of some curb appeal, we are in the process of finishing off a front porch. It is being a bit of a learning adventure for Jamie as he has never done roofing before but he seems to be game to learn.

Gardening. Jamie built a plant stand for starting plants this year. He had never used grow lights before so it is one more experiment that he is trying in this prairie climate. Tomatoes, tomatillos, cucumbers, pumpkins, celery, onions, chili peppers, herbs (and probably a few more things I can't remember) are all rapidly growing in our garage. We have our neighbours commenting on the eerie glow coming from our garage.


He has also been cleaning up the garden plot, getting it ready for another year of growing. He already has carrots, potatoes, lettuce and spinach planted... we'll see when things start popping up! He also helped me extend my flower bed this weekend. I got to plant 12 new lilies and I'm excited to see what they look like.

I've been keeping busy with a variety of projects, work, keeping house, running after Lane. The usual gamut. But I made time to piece a baby blanket for friends of ours in North Carolina. I was pleased with how it turned out as I used a new piecing technique; Jamie was quite thrilled with my "art" and made me take a picture of it. So now you all get to see it too!

mothers

For all the mothers in my family:

my mom

my Grandma Thiessen

my Grandma Friesen

 my mother-in-law

and my husband's granny

Still climbing

And getting braver and more independent every day. The climbing has progressed from just getting on top of the boxes to being able to climb all the way on to the couch.

It is an accomplishment that he is very proud of... now, if we could just teach him a painless way of getting off the couch.

And he is also teaching his parents to be very careful about what they leave out...

or what they buy him...

...because everything is fascinating when it is new...

The vacuum.

Can a vacuum really be a toy? Lane used to be terrified of the vacuum cleaner; I'd have to hold him in one arm, vacuum with the other and yell at the dog to get out of the way if I wanted to do any vacuuming. Now Lane will play with the thing if it happens to be left out. He tries his best to run the brush over the floor, mimicking what his mommy does.

He plays with the on/off switch and freaks out if he actually manages to turn it on. What better toy could there be? Is there any chance this fascination will last until he's old enough for me to make use of it?

Not only that, but he'll go into the closet and retrieve the pipes so that he can play with them? Can this be my child? Oh wait, yes, yes, it is.