Camping!

We took Jack camping for the first time this past Saturday. We were a little worried since he has never slept anywhere other than in a crib or pack-n-play. It did take a little longer for him to go to sleep (Jim had to rub his back for a while), but otherwise it was a major success! Jack and Daddy put the tent together.
Hmmm...how does this work?
Jack's "hippo chair" was perfect for the picnic table. Thank you, Rombachs.
You can tell that Jack is already a fan of camping.
We camped at Sam A. Baker State Park. We thought of camping somewhere else, but when Jim saw that they were having a free bluegrass concert we decided to check it out. It was pretty good and Jack enjoyed running around while we listened to music.

Jack and Mommy enjoyed the show.
Here's a view of our site.
Sunday morning we went down to the river to throw some rocks into it. That is one of Jack's favorite activities.

Then, we headed to Taum Sauk Mountain for a hike. We got to see the highest point in Missouri (1,772 feet). We hiked the three-mile Mina Sauk Falls Trail and saw the tallest wet-weather waterfall in Missouri. We borrowed this backpack from Colleen and Mike to carry Jack. He loved it. Daddy got to carry Jack. Mommy carried the camera. We had some gorgeous views.




Notice the waterfall beside us. Impressive?
Jack did a little rock climbing of his own.

Catch Up

Once again, I have neglected the blog and have lots of pictures to add. We finally got the bike trailer we ordered and have really enjoyed it. The weekend after it arrived, we did a practice ride Friday night around the park and neighborhood. It went well. Saturday morning, we put the trailer in the car, along with our bikes, and drove to part of Grant's Trail. We rode a couple miles to Grant's Farm. Initially, Jack didn't like the helmet, but he quickly learned to live with it. "Come on Mom and Dad. When do we get to go in? I've been waiting for you to lock up the bikes forever."

We fed the goats through the fence. The goats were jumping all over the people who went into the goatyard, so we opted not to go in.
The goats were pretty aggressive and pushed each other out of the way to get the milk. Jack was done before the bottle was empty, so we gave the rest to another child.

Later, I met some of my high school friends and their families for a picnic. Here, Tom is pushing Ethan, Jack, and Monica on the swings. As soon as you get Jack out of a swing, he walks back to it and wants you to put him back in. The kid loves to swing!

Kathleen, Bev, me, and Sara hanging out. Notice that Bev and I have on the same shirt. Nice.
We went to my cousin's tennis match. Jack enjoyed playing with the balls. We are trying to teach him that he can throw balls, and not other things. It's difficult because he wants to throw everything, especially food.

Jack and I went to the zoo with Joslyn, Garrett, Nick, Nancy, Margo. It was great! We got there early and were able to ride the carousel for free, then went to the Children's Zoo for free. We also checked out the newly re-opened Zoomagination Station (also free).

The goats at the zoo were much calmer than the ones at Grant's Farm. Jack did, however, try to ride one.
Garrett got excited by this turtle (or was it a tortoise?).
Garrett and Jack played in the sand.
Jack and Margo played in the Jeep.

In the Zoomagination Station you can dress your child up in animal costumes. I thought Jack would make a great elephant. He disagreed. Jack loves to sweep. He tries to take the broom from me at home and then he will sweep the floor, even the carpet. There was a broom just his size here.
He even got to dress up like a doctor!
"This white coat is so annoying! Take it off!"
Our little Radiologist.
We had some friends and their families over for dinner last Friday. This hat from Robert was a hit! Jack wore it. He put it on Garrett's head.
Andrew wore it.
Jack shared his toys and seemed more interested in some of them than when he has them all to himself.
Garrett rode the school bus. Juliet enjoys the putting toy.
Jack showed off. Today, we went to the sculpture park. How weird is this sculpture?

I would like to know what the fullest extent is.
Here are two videos of Jack sitting on the stairs "talking" on the phone. They are hilarious and I couldn't decide which one to put on here, so I put both. No one is on the other line, in fact it is an old phone that isn't even connected. Jack enjoyed it nonetheless.