My Life as a Mini-Baby: "Bows," "Choo-Choos," and "Cuas", Oh My!

We had a great time over the long holiday weekend. We hurried Chris out of work on Thursday evening and hopped in the car to head southbound 35 to the Hill Country. Chris' parents recently packed up their lives and semi-retired in the beautiful and peaceful town of Wimberely.

Friday morning, we enjoyed the longest parade known to man. They brought out all the town's local celebrities (mostly politicians running for re-elect), the finest cars, prettiest cheerleaders, cutest animals, and all the candy available within 25 square miles. I swear Josh was in the above pose for most of the parade. When he wasn't trying to run out in the street to catch the miniature horses trotting by, he was pointing at everything coming down the street. He had a serious face on the entire parade, but I know he was loving every minute. It still amazes me to watch him see things for the first time. I wonder what he was thinking when he saw the clown riding down the street on a unicycle? I was thinking, " Oh no, here comes a creepy clown on a unicycle," but Josh was probably so curious and excited to see something he had never seen before.

Please don't ask me what Josh had to do for those beads.

I love this picture. He just couldn't wait to see what was coming next.

After the parade (and naps for the young and old), we headed to the river for an afternoon of swimming and kayaking. After seeing what the river has to offer, we will be putting enormous pressure on Pa and Granee to get a house by the river.

It was a delightful time.

Josh stole a ride in Pa's kayak while we were on the river. I was more than a little uneasy about it; the two times I've been in a kayak, it has tipped over upside down in the water. Luckily, Josh had on his fancy Mickey Mouse Life Vest and more luckily, he and Pa are much more coordinated than me and were able to stay upright. Josh recently learned the word boat, pronounced "Bow" in 3 or 4 drawn out syllables. The rest of the evening he was saying "Bow. Bow. Bow."

Josh obviously thought Pa was going too slow and needed some lessons.

I don't' know how Josh got lucky enough to score the big comfy float. It must be those cute curls. Lucky kid. I was treading water and slipping on rocks while he was laying out in his ginormous float.

Once on shore, Josh wanted to point out the boat in his "My First Words" Book, just to be sure we were all on the same page of what a boat actually is. The picture was of a sailboat which looks very different than a kayak, but he got the point. I thought he was all advanced and smart until we were on the road back home last night and he pointed at a piece of machinery (clearly not a boat) on the back of a truck and said "Bow."

Not so much, little man.

After our exciting times in the beautiful Hill Country, we were on the road again. This time a stop in Austin for the Jones' annual 4th of July Party. On our way in town, we stopped at Zilker Park to ride the train along Town Lake. Josh's "bow" ramblings soon turned to "Choo-Choo, Choo-Choo, Choo-Choo." He looks rather unhappy in the above picture. He was ready to drive that train himself and couldn't understand why we didn't let him sit in the engineer's seat. Life is tough.

I think Chris and I enjoyed the train ride as much as Josh. I will remember that train ride forever. Not only was it so fun to watch Josh's sweet face light up at the sight of the train, the ducks in the lake, and the dogs running on the trail beside us; but the memories of our days in Austin came flooding back as we passed Barton Springs and Town Lake.

Josh was quick to find a firetruck to play on at the park. He truly looks like a "mini baby" behind this wheel.

Let the games begin! The Jones' party was another success! I loved watching Josh hang with the bigger kids this year! Last year, he was too small to play, but he made up for it this year. He loved being in the pool with Matthew, Tyler, and Ava. The really big kids (a.k.a. Zach and Joy) made big waves in the pool and Josh and Ava had so much fun playing together. Hopefully, this will get Josh ready for our next beach trip.
SLIP