Helping Outside

After helping inside, I thought the flower beds could use some attention. I should let my other young friends know, though, that dirt does not taste as good as it looks, but if you're determined to taste it you have to be very fast before your mommy wrestles it out of your mouth.

Mommy failed to realize that this particular pot had a fire-ant bed in it. We're still not sure how I didn't get bit.
Hooray! Daddy came home to play!

Enough of this helping mommy business. Time for man-time with my Daddy.

Helping Mommy

I'm almost one and you don't get by around here without pulling your weight, so I've started by helping mommy clean out her cabinets.

And this floor, well, let's just say it needs a man to sweep it. The handle is a little long but I think I can manage.

She found me out! Ok, I didn't really want to sweep the floor but I DO love the broom so much that mommy had to move it to a hidden location because I love the bristles (and they're a mite dirty).

I LOVE BREAD AND MOMMY!!!!!!!

Exploring

Now what is this I see...

I think these things come out of this box...

I was right! Not only do they come out, but I'm learning about division and multiplication :). If I divide the tissues into small pieces, they multiply in number.

My First Parade

On Labor Day we were in Sheldon and they had a big parade that we got to go to.

I think I see a fire truck!!!!

The girls were ready with their candy bags.

Great-Grandma Smit and Grandpa-Smitty.

Simon was sleeping, but here are the rest of us cousins. And, Uncle Micah and Aunt Carolyn are having a BOY in January so Simon and I will be even on numbers with the girl cousins :0)

Lake Okeboji

Mommy has some extended family that live on a lake and they invited us out for the day.

We were going to take a boat ride so they strapped on this ridiculous vest to supposedly make me safe.

This is what I thought of it.

Finally they took that dreadful straight jacket off and I fell asleep for the rest of the boat ride.

Sophie was unphased by her straight jacket and enjoyed the ride while sipping a cold one.

While I took a nap Mommy and Daddy went jet skiing. I might've been interested if it didn't involve the straight jacket.

The Park!

September in Iowa means a whole different temperature than it does in Mississippi - I got a lot of use out of my jacket and pants - it was cold! But I got to go to the park several times and discover something new - stones! I never tried to put them in my mouth. I just sat and let them sift through my fingers over and over.

All the galavanting is tiring. Daddy and Smitty needed a rest.

They weren't the only ones.

I couldn't keep my eyes OPEN! But realistically, who COULD stay awake in a swing this comfortable?

Great-Grandpa and Great-Grandma's farm

I got to go on a tractor ride while Daddy drove it - what boy doesn't love riding on a red tractor!

Uncle Daniel with Great-Grandpa and Great-Grandma Wagenaar

And what vacation is complete without a tastey treat? We stopped at the Prairie Queen for some ridiculously cheap bars, cookies, and pastries (80 cents for a 3 inch square bar!)

Great-Uncle John's Farm

I got to see my first up-close-and-personal duck at mommy's Uncle John's farm. I kept a safe distance.

This is the first time Mommy and her 3 brothers have all been together in almost 3 years. Mommy says Uncle Daniel looks so much like her daddy looked.

Uncle Micah likes to do 'artsy' shots. Here's Uncle Joel and Aunt Rachel in the corn field. Great-Grandma was petrified that one of the kids would wander into the corn field and get lost. She was always asking the adults if they knew where the kids were and admonishing them that if they wandered into the corn field they would be LOST.

I didn't have to worry about the corn field, though, becuase I was more interested in SWINGING, my new favorite activity.

I'm glad I'm a boy. Looking at my cousin Sophie here, being a girl looks like a lot of work.

My Dutch Roots

They have the GREENEST grass in Iowa without all the weeds we have in my yard at home (Mommy says this is offensive to bring up the weeds in our yard - it's a bit of a sore spot with her.)

I felt so at home in Orange City with windmills and wooden shoes everywhere. Mommy's 100% Dutch which makes me 50% Dutch. Daddy says Mommy's Dutchness is just a sham since she never lived in Holland, but it's fun to play like it matters :).

Rockclimbing - I must stay in shape since I don't have the chin-up bar like I do at home.

This is a big slide for a small boy - don't worry, I didn't really get to go down it. And if the truth be told I started crying mere seconds after this shot was taken.