There are several routes to choose from in order to get to Grandma and Grandpa's house, and Connor knows every one of them. Some are more direct than others. The fastest is to take the toll road, but obviously since it's a toll road, it can get costly. We happen to have transponders on all our vehicles so we don't have to stop at each toll booth when we choose to take that route. It costs us an arm and a leg, but at least we don't have to stop. Aunt Tin, however, does not have a transponder. She surprised Connor by picking him up from daycare right after his nap this afternoon, and drove out to Grandma's so he could play with Kenner. When she stopped at the toll booth to pay, Connor informed her if she just went on the "other side," her car would just beep and she wouldn't have to stop. As they got closer to Grandma's, he began looking for airplanes. Once he spotted one, he commented, "I'm
way too big for that airplane."
Now that he's mobile, it's pretty hard keeping Riley contained to a specific area in the house. We've come up with a couple of options to barricade him in the family room, but just when we think we've figured it out, Riley figures out a way out. He climbs over, under, or through whatever obstacle we attempt to put in his way. He's very persistent, and somehow makes it work in his favor each and every time.
We finally had a day where it was nice enough to take Connor's new bike for a test ride. For never having ridden a bicycle before, he did a great job. I thought it would be fun to have him ride it to the park near our house. Not thinking ahead, however, I forgot about a pretty big hill on the route we were taking. Daddy was nice enough to help him walk the bike up the hill. Once we got to the park, Connor was off, climbing and sliding. Riley, on the other hand, was perfectly happy sitting in a swing.
It worked out that we were able to celebrate Lexi's first birthday while Jules and the kids were still in town. Hard to believe she's already turning one. And, it turns out, already has a motherly instinct. When Kameron was given his bottle, Lexi decided she needed to help him out with it, just like she does with her dolls. Kameron didn't seem to mind though. Nate and Dre (okay, so we all know it was really just Dre) planned a game for everyone to play where everyone walked around a circle as Lexi's favorite music played. Once the music stopped, Dre called out a number and the person standing on the number was out. As they were called out, however, each person received a goody bag. It came down to Connor and Jules, walking back and forth between two numbers. Connor was thrilled that Jules' number was called and he became the official winner. The game was followed by presents and the ceremonial first birthday cupcake, which she loved.
