From August

Alex enjoys the swings at the local park. He's fascinated with the buckles on anything -- swings, car seats, high chairs. We got more pictures the next weekend, smiling and drinking as he swung away. After that, it was off to the other playground equipment. Both Alex and Mommy enjoyed the slides.

He was quite proud of himself when he figured out how to get into the laundry basket without flipping it over.

Who says beer isn't educational? Here, he prepares for a future job stocking the cooler at the local grocery store. He can also build vertical displays.

Snack time in the toddler room at his old day care.

More mileage from old toys. Believe it or not, he wanted to climb in, and was perfectly happy for the next ten minutes.

When it's time for a walk, he lets us know by 1) attempting to open the door and/or 2) bringing shoes to us. This time, it was the park again.

Mid-August or so, he learned to climb on the dining room chair. Mommy's laptop is one of his favorite (and forbidden, supposedly) toys.

We went to visit Ben (friend from day care) at his house, shown here with his older brother. They played in the sand for the afternoon, then sat down for dinner.

In Muscatine the next weekend, Alex empties the fruit bowl, then refills it with Grandpa Jim. Here, he shows us how he can grab his own foot while sitting in a chair. Granny Susan found a coloring book and taught him how to color on it (and the table, and his hands, and ....). Outside, he started his golfing (or caddying, perhaps) career. No interest in the balls, but he's quite happy swinging around the clubs.

That Friday, we visited Niabi Zoo. We saw more animals there than at both Brookfield Zoo trips combined! The baboons were howling at us before we even made it through the gate. Alex was mostly quiet for the train ride. The tunnel was a bit spooky (and dark, save for the occasional flash). Afterwards, a family picture in front of the engine, then a quick elephant ride.

The petting zoo? Well, Alex loved the baby cow, and the baby goats just loved everybody -- especially when Grandpa Jim started feeding them! We braved the bird cage, and loved the close-up views (my hat survived, unblemished!). By the time we hit the giraffe pen, some people were getting very sleepy. Random fact: some animals sleep standing up. There were three lions basking in the sun, but none of them moved so much as a foot for us.

Near the merry-go-round, we found an out-of-order ride that nevertheless gave us a great photo. The carousel was a new experience, but he caught on quickly. Then, a few final monkey pictures and it was off to the buffet for lunch.

(57 pictures in one post!)