The Sights of Davenport

My parents got into town almost a week ago and we have been exploring the best sights of Davenport, in the eyes of my two year old. I don't know of any sights in Davenport for any other age group so if you are planning to head this way be prepared to act and enjoy like a child, a male child. Our adventures have taken us to the park, the zoo, the Channel Cat ( a little boat that takes you across the Mississippi), the John Deere Pavilion, and the Children's Museum. Tate has loved showing off all of his favorite things to his Grandparents. I just realized that all of our destination highlights included some mode of transportation; at the park we drove cars down the slides, at the zoo we rode the train, on the boat we watched tractor construction, the Pavilion=tractors, and at the Museum we played on the train table. I can't imagine life without wheels...

 Someday Ian will forgive me for this picture, but notice he is standing ALL BY HIMSELF!!! He still wobbles though; I had forgotten how thrilling/terrifying the beginning of two footed mobility is. Crashes are unstoppable and unpredictable. He can walk holding just one hand so it will be soon.

 We discovered selfies on my new phone. Tate will actually look at the camera for a picture. It is absolutely magical. I guess he may be a little narcissistic, but if that's what it takes to preserve this smile for me to remember forever I don't mind one bit.

 Notice how he can't just play with the tractors or read a book; he must do both. I'm thinking he's a little territorial.

 Doing the Uncle John lip buzz and everything.

We walked out of the pavilion and what did we hear but a train whistle only a half a block away, "Oh my goodness a train!!!" said Tate. Hands on mouth reaction is the true story and so is Ian's jolting shock.

 

10 Minutes later Tate is still enthralled and Ian is sharing my sentiments. 

 Our lovely boat. It was a beautiful day for a ride.

 More train watching. Tate was thrilled. I just need to get a freight yard action schedule for his Christmas present and make coupons for hours of observing and we will be set.

 The conductor of this train even waved at Tate and we was wearing orange which makes him that much cooler.

 Feeding the birds was fun until one stepped on him. Then he nearly dropped the food.

Tate did a happy dance though when the birds climbed onto anyone else.

 Riding the train at the zoo. I will probably never be able to go back again without riding the rails. The kids are in love. Why does the zoo even have animals?

Ian has found his new talent. He played here for about a half hour and even helped shine his instrument with dripping slobber. He didn't even need the mouthpiece to do it.

 Ian's other favorite activity was throwing the eggs around in the hen house. He and Tate are already making a good team! I'm thinking Ian is going to be my little athlete because he is absolutely in love with balls and he can already throw impressively well.

The highlight of my day was watching Tate dominate his first rock wall. He was a natural and I expect many great future experiences to come with these skills!

"Ian is my Best Friend"

Getting dinner for everyone on the table at the same time with little kiddos is about as exciting as the circus at our house. One child is normally shrieking, throwing stuff, and doing all sorts of crazy acrobatics to try and escape his high chair while the other is melting down, feigning starvation and the end of his world. Amidst the chaos I frantically run around the kitchen trying to get all the things on the table that dinner requires including the hand washed Cars plate that we use nightly because it somehow changes the flavor and appeal of food, the extra napkins to survive dinner with a toddler and a two year old because at any given moment they become life saving, and the large fork required to inhale my meal during the few seconds I have between shoveling bites into Ian dissuading his attempts to shriek like a pterodactyl and faking sleep every time Tate eats a vegetable. Even when I feel like I am on the top of my game something always seems to turn turn a calm dinner into the main event. I'm sure by the time I master my mommy magician act to tame my circus crew they will have moved to the zoo... Oh the adventures of parenthood.

Tonight after Tate and Ian were both calm and content for a couple of moments Tate turned to me and said, "Ian is my best friend." By far the best moment in my day. Tate has started calling Ian his little buddy and despite how he is continually crashing and bowling his little brother over, I think their relationship will turn out OK.

Tate's unsuccessful attempt to dress himself this morning. He has one leg in a leg whole and one in the top of his shorts and both legs coming out the other leg hole.

 Hiding under the rug. For some reason it was so much cooler than a blanket.

SO BIG!!!

Autopilot

After a rough morning with a 2 year old we loaded into the van and headed for the park to meet some friends. I ended up at the hospital where Josh did his radiation before I remembered where it was exactly I was going. It was weird to realize that when I was super stressed I reverted back to autopilot from over 6 months ago now. I'm grateful that is behind us! Anyway here are some random pictures from the last couple days.

 This is how Tate and Ian watch TV in the afternoons when they should be sleeping.

 My tomato plants! It is so fun to have them thriving! I have picked over 20 cherry tomatoes in the last week!

 If you look closely you will see that the little black spot is a frog; the smallest frog that I have ever seen in my life. Notice it's size compared to the whirly seed!

 Tate giving his tractor and dinosaurs a ride on his scooter.

 This is how Tate sorts his pull-ups, by design. He was entertained doing this for over a half hour. If I wasn't so determined he get dressed in the morning I think I would have enjoyed it more.

 I let Tate take pictures on my phone for about 2 minutes today. Of the 50+ pictures he took, this is my favorite. I think there were probably 2 in focus.

Ian's new binky chomping. He is always so exhausted and tired at night. Even with a box fan on his brother still manages to wake him up during nap time!

Kids Say the Darndest Things

I decided this morning that Tate has officially entered the funny stage of childhood in the area of language. Yesterday at the park he decided that while swinging it would be most delightful to spit all over. Of course I questioned why to which he replied, "I am cleaning the dirt." I quickly delivered the message that spitting is what we do after we brush our teeth and is not permitted from the swing. Upon continuing in his expectorating he found himself on the ground once more. Noticing his careful inspection of the ground I asked him again (as I do a million times a day) what he was doing. His reply, "Mommy I can't find my spit." I told Josh the story last night and his response was, "If he couldn't find his spit than he is not spitting right." I will never understand how boys think but they are very entertaining.

Tate has a Cars addiction as well and his new favorite thing to do is read his cars book and quote lines from the movie. Last night over his snack I watched him point to Lizzie and say, "Stop talking to yourself, people will think you crazy." Then he quickly moved on to the next car. So many funny moments with kiddos around. 

And my favorite laugh of the day - Shark butt hoo ha ha :)

 Tate was hungry and got himself a snack, aka the end of a loaf of bread.

Mornings as a Mommy

I LOVE mornings. Today's consisted of laundry basket races up and down the hall and Tate's version of tower defense; he builds a wall of toys around him and challenges Ian to enter. He even attempted to carry Ian back to his game when Ian had moved onto other things. Oh boys. They definitely keep me busy.

Cow Apprecitaion Day

So today was Cow Appreciation Day. Thank you Chick-fil-a and our amazing Davenport friends for the the wonderful memories. Tate was most excited about the chocolate milk, the play place car, and following the cow around. For some reason his food lost all appeal if the cow left his field of vision. Ian loved sitting in his highchair and observing the chaos around him. The things we do for a delicious free meal... Now I'm craving a milkshake!

Back to "Normal" Life

My life has been too eventful for the past year. The last 2 days Josh has gone to a full day of school and it's strange for me to be back to "normal" life. I am a different person now, better I'm hoping, but I am having to do some serious adjusting. If I could just skip the hours from 1-3 when my children should be, need to be, napping I think I could extinguish the mommy monster that threatens to escape.
Anyway.. After a much needed walk with an amazing friend the day turned around. After dinner was the highlight as I introduced Ian to the sandbox. After his binky took a dive and he lost it, he didn't even try to taste the sand :) 

 And here is the golden conversation of the day:
Me: Here Tate let me trace your foot.
Tate: Good job Mommy. Draw my face.
Now that laugh was hard to suppress.