Summer Outdoors

When Sorin was born in August 2008, time flew by and it quickly turned to winter and the cold months. This included bundling him up in snowsuits and cute hats. Both Katie and I looked forward to the summer months of both an older age and outdoor activities.

That time is upon us and Sorin is an outdoor enthusiast! Often when I come home Katie will have Sorin in his stroller next to her as she's tending to her flowers and garden. One day she had him on a blanket as she was watering the yard. Soon Sorin figured out the fun he could have if he put his hand over the water, spraying himself and Katie.

As Sorin learns to crawl, most of you have seen him go up on all fours (off his knees) to move around. He now does this on the sidewalk and driveway. As Katie and I continue our training, Sorin enjoys our runs from his stoller. While he used to whine and need either food or his nuk, he now sits and observes the town as he cruises through it. On our run today, I told Katie that when he learns to ride his bike with us, he'll figure out that it might be nicer for him if he could return to the comforts of his stroller - not happening, by the way.



Oh, did I mention that he loves watermelon?

Knows No

I feel like I took another significant step towards being a father while at dinner the other night. Sorin's learned the word "no" around the house and he hasn't had a problem with walking away from certain things. But at the table he's been picking up pieces of food and dropping them over the side of his chair.

So after the second time I said 'no' and he looked a little hesitant, like something was happening. But then he picked up another piece of food and dropped it over the side. "No." ...... and he exploded in tears. Katie actually said, "that's the cutest thing I've ever seen." In some ways it was because it was Sorin responding to our verbal instructions. It included discipline, so there was a sense of Sorin's growth and development.

But those tears were strong. His lips puckered right up. He was hurt. It was hard for me. But it needs to be done. He knows no. And he doesn't like it that much.

It's going to be tough putting certain boundaries and restrictions around my children. But I know it's necessary. The upside comes after, when I can pick him up and walk him around the house to remind him how much I love him - and that nothing he could ever do would ever change that love I have for him.

The Last "Monthly"

Today Sorin celebrated his last monthly birthday - he's 11 months!! Crazy for me to think about. Things have gone so well - credit goes to mom on that. He's really started to learn some cool things - hi-five, "soooo big", soccer kicks, and he's even started throwing things today.

I can see how fast this growing up is going to happen. Each month has been so special, and now each year will be filled with the fondest of memories. What a treat to be a dad. Happy birthday, son. We're measuring in years from now on.

How does that saying go... 'If you can't find the nuk give 'em a nail clipper??'

Would this constitute as - weird??

Please note: he is playing with Daddy's CREDIT CARD, this is just one of Sorin's many 'toys.' Other 'toys' include remote controls, cell phones, lap tops, cords of all lengths, drawers, cabinets, VHS/DVD players, and, of course, nail clippers. All of which require supervision. THANK GOODNESS he still likes his soccer ball, softball, and his books.

Tuesdays are Library Day

Sorin and I go to the library on Tuesdays for story hour.  This Tuesday Daddy came with us so that was fun and he took some pictures.  Today's topic for story hour was 'Art is All Around' and Geri the children's librarian read books and told stories with the felt board and sang some fun songs.  My fav... I mean... Sorin's favorite book was: 

Sorin LOVES going there because it means that he can wander around the whole time.  He spends most of the time going up to kids and staring at them and then smiles and crawls away, and he especially likes to crawl out of the story time room to the train table as he gets to stand at it and it is the perfect height for him.  I always check a book out for him, and 5 for myself, and then 5 more for Hans (since he was with us). Libraries are great...

The 4th!

Sorin had a very eventful 4th of July Celebration...  

We started the day off right with Blueberry Pancakes and a talk about what the Fourth of July is all about.  Then we took him to his Grandpa and his Grandma Susie's to see his family: Grant and Tori and Jessie, and Unc and Dawnie, and even Meg, Brit, Dan and Olivia.  It was great fun.  We met them all at the Cedarburg Parade and Sorin - I think - liked it, though he wasn't crazy about the marching bands.  And then we spent the rest of the day eating relaxing and watching Sorin chase Lily around trying to kiss her...  as you can see below he seemed to have succeeded.  Unfortunately he wasn't able to stay awake long enough to see the fireworks...  Maybe next year...

My Dad does what???

Hans works in the tree care industry and is always talking to me about trims and removals... well maybe not always... and I try to be interested in the the ins and outs of tree removal but to be honest sometimes it is a little hard.  So I've always said to him, "I cannot wait until you have a child who you can teach all of this to and who will listen to your every word with amazement."  Well - it has already started.  Grandpa Dave and Grandma Margit had a tree that needed trimming and Hans was just the guy to do it, and since we were right next door - Sorin got to watch it.  Hans has waited for this moment for years (and so have I!).  

Here they are discussing

what needs to be done 

with the tree:

Here is Sorin watching 

from his stroller
He going to get into

that thing!?!?!?!  (the 

bucket truck)
Here is tree-guy daddy

with his chain saw:

Family Camp at Fort Wilderness

Last week the family went to spend a week at Fort Wilderness for Family Camp. It was a great trip for the whole family, which included both sets of grandparents!


On the way up, Hans was driving as Katie, dad, and Sorin slept in the back seat. Once we got up there, we went right to the water and Sorin got to play for the first time in a lake.












Being at camp was a little tough because he couldn't crawl as much as he has been at the house. But here you can see he got some good time at the dining hall. Sorin was a great camper - he even had his own water bottle!!











Sorin got to do a lot of things at camp. He was able to crawl around the gathering place where he really liked the drums. Before one of the sessions he crawled up to a young man who was playing a jimbe. Then Steve took him up for his first time behind a drumkit.








One of my favorite times was at Cowboy Truth with Jonathan at the stables. He talked about Biblical principals and how he finds a parallel as he trains horses. Sorin liked to watch both the horse and the horse dog running around.


It's really beautiful up at Fort. The atmosphere is full of so many fun things to do - or you can just sit back and enjoy God's creation. I did a more detailed account of our week on my blog, The Game Plan.