The Clydesdales Come to Spartanburg

The Budweiser Clydesdale Horses have a 'Hitch' Tour with stops all along the East Coast. Last week the horses were in Spartanburg, and the horses were open to public viewing during certain hours of the day. I had only seen the horses one other time at the St. Patrick's Day parade in Savannah a few years ago with Doug (which happened to be the highlight of that parade!), so I thought it would be fun to take Callen to see them. Cal's buddy Wyatt and his mom joined us for the morning outing to Spartanburg. (It's so much fun to get these boys together and watch them grow and change. Even a month or two ago they would 'play together' but hardly even look at each other. They are starting to interact more and do things the other is doing. I am so happy Cal has such a good buddy so close in age,)

Taking turns driving the beer cart...

Cal enjoyed looking at the horses, but because they were in the 'travel' stable the entire time, it was hard for him to really show any interest in them since they weren't moving around much. He did stop and watch a few of them eating and drinking.

A little while after we got there, one of the horses was led out of the stall for a bath. Cal stood and watched this activity for a minute, and was back to running around and playing with the dalmatians! 

I am pretty sure the highlight of the day for Cal was the dalmatians. There was a full grown dog and a puppy named Barley. Cal was following the dogs around and trying to 'play' with them. He would pick up a toy and toss it throw it at the dogs hoping they would start playing with it. He was good and went over and petted the dogs several times.

Please play with me!

This was a great activity for us...we were able to get out of the house and see and do something different, but also because Cal could run around and not mess up much of anything! One day looking back, he will appreciate that he was able to see and experience the Clydesdales.

Water Boy

We were excited for our recent trip to Charleston because this was the first chance we have had to try out his new life jacket. We had one for him as a baby but he hated it. It went up and around his neck, and he tried to pull it off anytime you put it on him. If he couldn't pull it off, he was crying that it was on. Now that he is bigger, he is able to fit in one that is a jacket. We figured he would be more likely to keep this one on since it doesn't go up and around his neck like the other. Every time I would show Callen the life jacket, I would prep him that he has to wear it on the dock at Nana and Oupa's house and at the lake. Over and over he would hear 'every time you walk on the dock, you HAVE to wear your life jacket.' Surprisingly, he did really well wearing it. He knew that if he wanted to join us on the dock, it had to go on. There were a few times he wanted to go on the dock, but didn't want to wear the life jacket, so he had to stay behind in the yard.

Because he did so well wearing the jacket, we were able to take him for a boat ride as well as spend time fishing and hanging out on the dock. We had one very interested little man during these activities. 

The boys took Cal out to the end of the dock to get the mud minnow trap ready. Each time we walked by the trap, we had to look down to see if anything was in it. We finally caught enough mud minnows to do some fishing off the dock. Ken caught a nice trout, but Callen had nothing to do with it. He did not want to see or go anywhere near the fish! He finally came around and helped me to fish. He helped hold the rod and reel in the line several times. One time a fish caught on the end of the line, but I wasn't able to hook it...Cal caught his first fish, which I am sure he was glad did not make it out of the water!

Walking with my Uncle Dave

Checking on the mud minnow trap

Look at all the fish...just don't make me touch them!

No Oupa, you put them in the bucket

Making sure the door is closed tight!

Working on my fishing technique with dad

On our boat ride, Cal just stared in amazement at the Wando terminal port happenings. He couldn't have been happier...trucks, boats, and cranes all in one place! He watched intently as to what was going on with the loading of the containers onto the ships. Any time the boat would drift and he could no longer see what was happening, he quickly let us know so the boat could be repositioned! Had bad weather not started moving in, I am sure we could have sat there for an hour or more looking at the action.

Enjoying a 'nack' on the boat

Watching the trucks move the containers

Constant pointing to the action

Cal waved to the guys on the tugboat, and they tooted their horn at him!

I have a feeling we will be going on just a few boat rides this summer. Cal was a huge fan of hanging out on the boat and enjoying the surroundings.

Touch a Truck

I've mentioned before how much Callen enjoys watching trucks and construction equipment. There are many afternoons that we walk or ride our bike around the neighborhood in search of a house project where there will be lots of trucks gathered. In the car, he is constantly pointing out any type of truck he sees. Often times I will drive around in search of large construction projects so that Callen can sit and watch the heavy pieces of equipment do their work. He is always mesmerized!

I have been looking forward to this summer when the Downtown Farmer's Market has their Touch a Truck event. I have heard the crowds are large, so get there as early as possible to avoid the masses. But, that event is at least 2 months away. I was so excited when I learned that downtown Greer was having their own Touch a Truck last week...in the evening no less, so Doug could join us. (I try and keep Cal busy during the week and take him to neat events and activities, but Doug misses pretty much everything because he is working). Doug was excited to be able to share in Callen's excitement for this event.

The event was great. There were utility trucks, city vehicles, a military tank, and several pieces of construction equipment all on display. We took Cal straight to the school bus and sat on it for a second (literally) before he had had enough and was ready to get off! He was ready to see all the big trucks! We had to stand in line for most trucks Callen wanted to sit in. Usually I would stand in line while Doug and Cal walked around. At first Cal was a little weary of touching or sitting on the trucks by himself, but he quickly got over his fear and wanted to sit on every truck he came to. Eventually he started jumping to the front of the line and try to climb up on his own.

Walking on the school bus

Wow! That's a big truck!

Not so sure about these trucks to start with

Hanging out on the tractor tire

Riding in the Bobcat

Trying out the fire truck

Finally getting the hang of riding in one on his own

Pure joy!

I hope this is the one and only time we see this scenario!

Running wild on the back of the truck!

I am so glad we were able to go (and the rainy weather held off for most of the event) and let Cal explore the trucks. He was so excited to see so many trucks all in one place. By the end of the evening, he was all smiles!

Dying Easter Eggs

Our first attempt..until he touched the Cool Whip

I love when I have this wonderful image in my mind of an activity that Callen and I are going to do together. It's going to be fun, entertaining, and occupy at least an hour of the day. And then reality hits...Callen will have nothing to do with the activity, and I end up spending more time prepping and cleaning up than he spends in total playing. That was us with dying Easter eggs today! I knew Callen would be easily bored or make a complete mess with the traditional method of dropping the egg in colored water and waiting for it to be ready. I could see him tipping over the cups, dunking his hand in a bright blue color, or drinking the water. While reading different blogs, I saw several posts talking about using shaving cream or Cool Whip and food coloring to dye eggs. Simple technique...spread the shaving cream or Cool Whip in a glass or ceramic dish, drop a few drops of food coloring (2 colors is best), swirl the colors together, and then roll the eggs in them. You allow the eggs to sit for a while and then wipe off the exterior. Viola! Colored Easter eggs. 

I thought this would be great for Cal and me to attempt. I figured it would be a good interactive activity and allow Cal to actually color some of the eggs on his own. I opted for Cool Whip in case Cal decided to take it to the mouth. I had everything set up on the back deck and Aunt Kimber and Ella came by to help with the activity. We were ready to go...until the kiddos touched the Cool Whip! Instantly hands were jerked back and trying to shake off the Cool Whip that had made it on to the fingers. I tried to show Cal that you could eat the Cool Whip thinking he might touch it if he knew he could eat it. He didn't fall for that trick unlike Ella! She was all about eating the Cool Whip!

After handing Cal an egg and letting him play with it for a little while, he finally dipped it in the coloring mixture and swirled it around for a second. I feel lucky that he dyed ONE egg on his own. Ella and Kimber did a few, and I was left to finish the remainder of the 18 eggs I had hard boiled.

Taste testing the eggs before dying

Finally going in for the dip

The eggs after the dye

I put them in the fridge for about 4 hours before wiping clean. One thing I learned...wipe clean with a paper towel and not rinse with water! You are left with white eggs if you rinse with water!

The finished product!

Even though this activity did not go as I had thought it would, I still enjoyed it. I think it will be a fun technique to use in years to come for Cal as he can help choose the color combinations and help make the egg to look like he wants it to. For now, this was a good sensory experience for the kids and a reality check for mom that nothing goes as planned!!!

Books and Puzzles

We have read books to Callen since he was a teeny tiny baby. He would lie in our arms and we would read whatever kid book that was nearby. Neither Doug nor I are the best about reading...we read while traveling and that is about it. We both know the importance of reading and have really tried hard to instill the love of reading in Callen. Once Callen became mobile, his desire to sit in our arms and read quickly dwindled! We would pick out a book to read, he would sit still for about a page, and then off he went to play. However, over the last few weeks, Cal has taken a greater interest in books. He has a stack of about 7 that he loves. Most of the books are about trucks or animals, but one of his favorites is a book full of pictures of babies doing everyday activities (eating, sleeping, crawling, walking, etc.). He always asks for his 'kid' book, and will stand at his chaise lounge and flip through the pages for a good 5-10 minutes at a time (that seems like an eternity for this child!). Other favorites include Goodnight Moon (love looking for the mouse moving around on each page), My First Truck Board Book (he wants to know the name of each truck on each page), Fischer Price Little People Let's Go to the Zoo book about the zoo (he enjoys lifting all the flaps and making the sounds of each animal), and Little Blue Truck (he loves looking at the dump truck and making the sounds of the animals in this book too). We recently started naming all the 'kids' in his Little People book after the kids in his Kindermusik class. It is so cute to see him point to each kid after I ask who each one is. He loves his little friends! 

Cal will either stand at his chaise lounge and flip through the pages on his own, or curl up in your lap and read the books with you. I used to fear what I would find if I left Cal alone for a few minutes and did not hear the pitter patter of his feet. Now when I don't hear any noise, I go straight to his room to find him standing and reading.

Good snuggle time with Grandmom

Loved showing Nana and Oupa one of his favorite books

Not the chaise lounge, but it is a place to perch his book so he can read!

He has also taken an interest in puzzles. He is getting really good at them and can do a puzzle that is aged for 3+ with just a little bit of help. He cracks me up doing the puzzles...he knows where each piece goes, so he purposely puts the pieces in the wrong places and says 'nooooo' and moves it to another incorrect spot and says 'nooooo' before putting it into the correct place. Cal recently got this puzzle to try and advance his puzzle solving skills. He hasn't been able to take every piece out and put it back together yet, but he can take out 3-4 pieces and put those back in place. I have a feeling he'll be doing a 1000 piece puzzle with me at the beach this summer (one of my favorite traditions from family beach trips!)!!!!!

Cal uses the coffee table as his puzzle table!

Friday Fun

I am so sorry for the lack of blogging the last two weeks. Doug was out of town all last week, and Cal used that time to wake up every night and stay wide awake for a good 4 hours. He sleeps pretty well most of the time. However, when Doug has to be out of the country for a week, he chooses to party hard in the middle of the night! I spent nap times and any down times resting and catching up...or in preparation for what was to come the next night! This week has been spent enjoying the warmer weather and getting outside as much as possible. Also, Cal has decided that he no longer likes his 2-3 hour afternoon nap and would prefer to be up all afternoon. NG...no good...for this momma! I am sure it is a phase and he will be his old self soon, but it makes for a long day and one tired mom!

One of Cal's favorite things to do is to go on a laundry basket ride. We started carrying Cal in the laundry basket at an early age when we would go downstairs to the basement to do laundry. At first it was a simple ride in the clothes up or down the stairs, and then get tossed onto the bed. Next it became a ride around the living room before dumping him on the bed. It eventually evolved into just riding in the laundry basket through the kitchen and living rooms...over and over and over! Cal loves for Doug to race him around the rooms and have me jump out and scare him. While Cal should have been napping this afternoon, he ran into the kitchen and found the laundry basket that was waiting to go back to the basement. He carried the basket in to his room and climbed in it so I would take him on a ride. There is so much enjoyment on his face with each ride that we can't deny him this fun.

In this video, Doug is racing Callen around the front rooms and I am jumping out to scare him. Notice at the end that he is asking for 'more please' (this was already about the 20th time we had done this with him!). Doug was one tired daddy.

This is what you call one wild party at the Morris Household!