July

Wow time goes by fast.  I didn't realize that it has been so long since I have made a post.  In June and July we have worked a lot at our jobs and around the house.  Mainly we have been landscaping and Shane has continued to make progress in the basement.  I have been busy at work since June, July, and August are our busiest months.  hmmm...nine months ago...guess it was just starting to get cold.  Anyway, I love my job so I don't mind being a little more busy.  Shane has been able to get some mountain biking in and he just got back from a five day fly fishing trip in Montana.  He was kid-free and had a good time with his buddies. 
Dylan has been saying more and more new words.  He is definitely a boy as he loves to throw things, get into everything he can, play with his baseball and get into the dirt.  I always wished that he would start talking soon and be able to understand what we are telling him; but now that he can understand us for the most part, he has started to say "no" when we ask if he wants to take his nap or to put his shoes on or to put his pajamas on.  Now we have learned to not ask question that he can answer with a no...most of the time that works. 
A couple days ago I took him to Wheeler farm,  a local farm that lets the public come and look at the animals and see the equipment, take hay rides on the tractors, etc.  Dylan definitely does not have any fear of the animals.  While other kids were backing away from the fences, Dylan went right up and tried to pet them.  When we were at the barn where they have the cows there was a little calf out by the fence.  Dylan went right up to it and it mooed at him...Dylan mooed right back.  It was the cutest thing I ever saw.    He also loved the pigs.  The pig area had a little swimming pool and when the pigs started to get in, Dylan started to cry because he wanted to take a bath with them.  He kept saying "Bath, Bath" as he was crying.(He loves his baths)  I had to peel him off of the fence and distract him with the turkeys.
Well, here are some pictures.  I will try to not make it such a long time from post to post.

His cute sock monkey pajamas...so cute!

I tried so hard to get him to smile.

He now knows how to open any type of door...how do you toddler proof that?!?

...and into the cookies he goes.

He finally fits into his Johnny Cash, Crawl the Line shirt!

Oh how I love that cute smile.

He really does get into everything he can.

Watching fireworks with mommy and daddy.

He LOVES the water.

I finally gave in and let him pounce around in the puddles...he was laughing and laughing.

Dylan petting the animals at the farm.

These baby goats were as small as a puppy...so cute.

Dylan was a little unsure of the ducks, probably because they were the only animals constantly walking towards him.  There was a large family that had just got done feeding them and I think the ducks thought that we had food too.

Moab Getaway

Last week we took five days off and went down to Moab, UT.  The weather is perfect there in the spring time.  We ended up finding a great camping resort and rented a cabin.  It was really nice to have the cabin so Dylan could take his naps in air-conditioning and we could have a good place to sleep and stay out of the rain at night.  It was completely different camping from what Shane and I are used to, although with a toddler it was perfect.  We had a barbecue which we used to make awesome mountain pies.  They also had a pretty large playground to keep Dylan occupied.

 Shane had a good time mountain biking with his friends and my brother and while he was gone, I took Dylan into town and we would walk around or go into the national park and take a short hike.  One of the days we went on a gorgeous hike to Delicate Arch.  It was amazing and we got there in the early evening which was the perfect time of day for the sun to light up the rock.  Dylan did really well in his carrier and gave me and Shane a extra workout during our hike.  We stopped at a few places to let him out to play.  He probably could have sat all day playing in the sand and exploring his new surroundings.  All in all we had a great trip!

Shane and Dylan in front of our cabin.

Dylan giving Daddy loves.

Dylan wanted to try a onion ring...we went to Moab Brewery for dinner one night.

Dylan getting a little sleepy in his carrier.

Shane and Dylan walking the trail.

Dylan thought is was so fun to play with my ears.

Delicate Arch

The Mowen's under the big arch.

The rock formation is called Parade of Elephants.

Florida! Oh Sunny Florida how we miss you so much so soon!

We just got back from a great trip to Florida.  The weather was warm and the sun was shining.  The temperature ranged from about 70-85 during the day and in the 60's at night.  We spent a few days in Ft. Lauderdale which was very nice.  We had a oceanfront balcony room.  After Dylan would go to bed we would enjoy a bottle of wine and some dessert on our balcony.  Dylan did pretty well except for the fact that the ocean scared him and he was not a fan of the sand  either.  So, we ended up taking a lot of walks while carrying him and sometimes we would take his stroller.  After Ft. Lauderdale we drove over to Estero where my Grandma lives during the cold Minnesota winter.  We had a very relaxing time.  She even watch Dylan a couple days so we could catch a few Orioles baseball games.  Shane and I spent a good bit of time at the pool; primarily when Dylan was napping or after he went to bed.  Dylan loves his stroller, so we took a lot of walks and would let him out of the stroller to play.  One of the ponds nearby had a alligator in it...speaking of alligator, one of the restaurants we went to we tried a little alligator.  I thought it was a little salty but not bad.  We had lots of good food and good sun!  There was so much more but I will just list pictures instead of rambling on about it...

Ft. Lauderdale...outside of our hotel

He was so upset about the ocean he got his binkie.

Checking out the sand...unfortunately he did not like it.

Relaxing on the balcony

Our hotel...our room was on the top floor and we had  a great view.

Yes, he was lathered in sunscreen!

Baby Feet!! So cute!!

Shane and Dylan walking in the water

Tried to see if he would like the sand everyday and no mater his mood he still didn't.

But, he did love playing by the pool and climbing on all of the chairs.  During the later portion of the day the hotel would have a band by the pool and Dylan would stand there and just be amazed...his dancing was pretty cute too. 

He thought foot prints were funny.

Acting shy by his Great Grandma...luckily he got over that in about 2 minutes.

Outside of Grandma's house

He just couldn't keep away from those rocks.

Giving Daddy a big hug.

He learned how to climb up on her chairs and they would rock back and forth which kept him busy for a while.

Looking for lizards...here he saw one climb into that hole.

There were tons of these little lizards.  Dylan would try to chase after them once he spotted one.

During a walk Dylan went over the these palms and started shaking them.  He was in awe that he could shake a whole tree and the leaves would move.

Splashing in the bird bath. 

Playing on the bike rack.

Grandma was trying to show him how to ride it...but as you can see in the next picture he thought it was easier to just pick it up.  He would get frustrated because his feet would hit the front and back tires unlike the one we have at home.

I thought at first, oh how cute he is running from tree to tree, but then he started to go from tree to tree riping the bark off. 

Shane and I at the Orioles stadium in Sarasota.  The just got done renovating it and it is so nice.  We had front row tickets which made it even better!

I tried hard to get a cute picture of Dylan and his Great Grandma but unfortunately he was not in compliance.  I'm glad Grandma thought it was funny.