First Few Days of Summer...

As Blanden's first week of summer vacation winds down, I think it's safe to say that the fun is just gearing up. Grammy has been in charge of Blanden this week while Daddy and Mommy work, in various ways.

Blanden likes to sit on Grammy's bed and play with all sorts of things he can find to get into in her room...

Enjoying some pajama playtime in the morning...

It is such a treat that no one in the house has to jump out of bed, quickly get ready, and rush out the door each morning!

Yesterday one of Grammy and Blanden's adventures truly turned into an adventure -- not long after they left home on a walk they got stuck in a sudden hail and rainstorm! (Fortunately no thunder.)

They waited it out under an enormous tree at the park and blew bubbles until Mommy could get there to pick them up...

Then came home to play in the backyard, just in case the severe weather decided to whip itself up again.

The sandbox is definitely a hit.

It looks like Blanden and Grammy built a garage for Blanden's tractor. Blanden built his first fort out of these a few days ago, all by himself. It was the first time we had seen him do anything with them other than tear down the towers we built for him.

Hanging out with Dad -- always a blast. In between getting a lot of work done (around the house, the yard, running errands, and setting up and taking professional-quality photos of me in my last stages of pregnancy), Ed is enjoying every moment of so much precious time with Blanden.

While I work in the basement, I hear Blanden squeal with delight as they wrestle and chase each other around the house. Daddy wears Blanden out as much, if not more, than daycare does!

Day with Grammy

Blanden got to skip school today to spend the entire day with Grammy while Mommy and Daddy were at work. After Blanden's nap, they went on a big, three-hour walking adventure -- good thing Grammy did all (or at least most of) the walking! Blanden got to spend an hour playing on the playground at Washington Park, and with all the big kids in school he had the place almost all to himself. Afterward he promptly fell asleep for a second nap on their way to Bonnie Brae, and he was even too mellow to want to each much ice cream after he woke up. Tonight Grammy joined came with us to music class.

Grammy is going to pick Blanden up from school early again tomorrow. They will enjoy one last evening alone together before Grammy heads home, as Mommy and Daddy will be taking a tour of the hospital where little brother Eli will soon be born...

A Baseball for Blanden!

This afternoon, we went to a Rockies game -- and Blanden got a baseball! Our seats were in the front row in right field. When a foul ball came barreling down, just outside the first-base line and right in front of our seats, the field attendant got it and gave it to Blanden! We owe it all to Grammy. Daddy had gone up for refreshments, and Mommy wasn't paying close attention, but Grammy was watching out for B: in the midst of the sea of fans who were hoping for the ballgame ball, she flagged down the field attendant and pointed out the adorable little boy in the front row who would love to have it. Blanden is too young to know exactly how big of a deal this was, but he was all smiles and held tight to the ball while everyone around us congratulated him.

Here we are heading into the stadium.

Blanden was pretty excited to have his own seat. He got into clapping when the crowd cheered, and he particularly liked all the music clips they played in between batters.

(He also enjoyed drinking lemon-lime Powerade -- from the bottle, of course -- to stay hydrated.)

In the third inning, Tulo (Troy Tulowitzki) hit a double that led to two RBIs. (Ed captured this photo just tenths of a second prior to Tulo hitting the ball.)

Hanging out with Dad.

Of course, we tried taking these photos at the end, just before we went home, so Blanden was getting a bit restless...

Still, he made it to the top of the eighth inning...and is showing off not only his new baseball, but his new lucky Rockies jersey (an early birthday gift from Dad, bought at the stadium today).

What a wonderful way to spend this glorious, 75-degree, sunny spring day in Denver! (And the Rockies won!)

Too Busy Having Fun

Grammy is back in town! But sometimes we are just too busy having fun and enjoying each other's company to stop and take some photos. We have to thank Grammy for taking these at all and reminding us we could update the blog again (after all, Papa anxiously awaits news of Grammy's visit). It's certainly been a fun-filled week.

Grammy arrived Tuesday night -- just on time for Blanden to greet her with a smile and a big hug before heading to bed. Here he is the next day checking out a new toy: a tractor and trailer to add to his Duplo Lego set.

On Wednesday, Mommy and Daddy had to work, but Grammy got to pick Blanden up early from school and they came home for some enjoyable playtime together. On Thursday, Grammy again picked Blanden up early -- and they went out for ice cream, just the two of them. Blanden ate a whole double (child-size) scoop of strawberry!

On Friday, Mommy took the day off. Grammy and Mommy spent the day doing some baby-prep shopping (which was great fun for us but wouldn't have been fun at all for Blanden), and then again we picked Blanden up early from school.

Daddy is in the middle of a three-weekend photography course, so on Saturday Grammy accompanied Mommy and Blanden to swim lessons.

The day before, Blanden did just a bit of shopping with us (but don't worry, Dad, not too much!)...

And here he is sporting his new rash guard. (He gets so cold in the pool he sometimes wants to get out early, but he loves the water. Hopefully his new lobster shirt will help keep him warmer.)

Playtime.

Dressed and ready to go -- Blanden loves to play inside the lockers (we just make sure he doesn't shut the door).

Saturday afternoon, Grammy, Mommy, and Blanden went on a little adventure: up to Idaho Springs (about a 45-minute drive from Denver into the mountains) for pizza at the famous BeauJo's.

Saturday night, Daddy and Mommy went out to dinner on a little date while Grammy and Blanden enjoyed some time home alone together. They had more time with each other on Sunday morning as well, while Daddy and Mommy took a child safety course together. ... We must admit, we are thrilled that the next time Grammy comes to visit, she is staying for a long time: three weeks! She is here for a week now, but it's going by much too quickly...Still, we're loving every minute of it!

Children's Museum with Grammy

In addition to Blanden's giraffe t-shirt, Grammy and Papa treated Blanden to a visit to the Children's Museum last Saturday to celebrate Valentine's Day.

Exploring a pretend forest.

Cooking with a little girl.

Blanden loves to play in the kitchen.

Looking out from the top of a tree house.

Going down the slide.

Reading in a big chair.

Giving a giant bear a giant hug.

Checking out a real old fire engine!

Pretending to be a fireman.

Answering an important phone call.

The best part of the Children's Museum for Blanden right now is the toddler room, for children under age four. But we ventured upstairs to check that out too.

Grocery shopping.

He really liked the magnetic wall ... Perhaps an idea for the boys' room someday.

Playing in the puppet theater. (Mostly he liked throwing all of the puppets out and letting Dad toss them back in.)

Whew, what a day. So much fun!