Remember When He Didn't Like Sand?

Not anymore!

The other day, we met up with his friend Tuesday for some sandbox fun.

And he dug right in.

Made a new friend.

Sold some sand tacos at his taco stand, trying it out for Papa.

And decided sand is one of the more fun things in life after all.

Crackberries

Ollie discovered how much he likes blackberries today—he ate an entire pint while we were strolling down the street.

Hopefully Mama can discover how to get blackberry stains out of clothes.

Ohio Entertainment in Brooklyn

Part of Mama's gym class when she was growing up in Ohio was to go to the bowling alley every Friday. (Not kidding.) So we thought we'd get Ollie started on that vital life skill plenty early.

where's my food? if i'm going to pick up that 12lb ball, i'm going to need some strength!

chips and salsa should do it, but only if i can double dip the chips all by myself.

this one? i think the finger holes are a little big.

those gutter bumpers are for papa, just so you know.

picking up that spare ain't as easy as it looks. i think we'll have to go back for some more practice!

What Else Do You Do When It's 102 (Degrees)?

You have a pool party on the roof with your neighbors! Here are a few tips:

Always put the umbrella up for a little shade.

Make sure you bring your own hat so you don't have to fight over one.

Put the hose on mist.

Tubs of water are just a fun as pools, by the way.

And what pool party is complete without some watermelon? (or mah-meln as Ollie would say)

Summer, we love you.

Grandma Jane

You've probably figured out by now that we're generally running about two weeks behind with our blog posting. So while we spent last week relaxing and sunning ourselves at The Cottage (without internet access!), you'll have to wait a bit to hear about those adventures. Today we're going to tell you all about Grandma Jane's visit, which was, yes, about two weeks ago. We're very lucky that Grandma has the summers "off" and can come visit us so much.

Ollie's favorite thing to do with Grandma was to read books. He made her read every single book he owns. About ten times each. 

Grandma was incredibly patient and thorough with him, and all that reading sure paid off. He can now identify crucial things like mermaids and yaks in case he ever sees them in real life. He can also say important words like "strawberry" and "harmonica" (those are actually useful). It was amazing to see how much his vocabulary grew after she was here. And how much more he tries to repeat whatever you say to him.

His favorite book to read with her was this extremely funny one.

But wait, maybe it's not the book that's so funny, it's just Grandma!

They did some other things too, like build tunnels for his cars, which should obviously be pushed around with one's feet.

And he also helped Grandma style her hair.

But the highlight of Grandma's visit was our trip to the beach. 

Can you believe this kid used to hate the sand?

Now he only hates it if you bury him in it up to his waist.

Playing in the sand and the waves is a lot of work and requires lots of snacking.

And nice comfy naps.

Thanks for coming to visit again Grandma Jane! We miss you and wish it was summer all the time!

Hot Hot Hot

Two Fridays ago it was 125 degrees out. Ok, well only 102, but it felt like 125. But no matter the temperature, you can't let that stop you from getting out of the house with an energetic toddler. So what do you do? Why, you go to Ikea with your Grandma and your friends* of course!

(*Adorable aside: when Mama says to Ollie "we're going to visit your friends now." Ollie says, "Zadia?" (which sounds more like "Adia?"). But so adorable.)

So we packed up and took the B61 bus straight to the air conditioned gloriousness that is cheap furniture heaven and more importantly, a vast playland for kids.

After a delicious Swedish lunch, it was right to the designated play area. Clearly stools are way more fun to stack and arrange than to sit on. Zadia did most of the directing, while Ollie made subtle suggestions on color patterns.

Zadia was very particular about how she wanted things. 

While Ollie was more interested in finding the best seat in the house to watch the big tv that was on.

He rarely gets to watch anywhere else, so he was a bit mesmerized, from whatever seat he could find.

The duo then went off to explore possible furniture combinations for their dream bedrooms.

hmmmm... a slide in my room? i could get used to this.

a floor full of pillows? also an amazing idea. they must have 2 year olds working in the design department at ikea.

tunnels with ribbons!

give that two year old a raise!

what do you think, do i look sexy in pink hearts?

i'm not sure about that, but they sure are comfortable. come get me when you're done shopping, mama.

Ikea is just baskets full of fun for these two! A great idea on a hot, hot day.

Bath Phases

He's in an "I love my bath, but only when Mama gives it to me" phase.

Boy Knows Who He Is!

So many things to post, but this is by far the cutest one as of late:

spoiled again!

nana and poppy came to visit us the week before last and i had a blast. they like to spoil me rotten and i can't get enough of that.

i got to watch more videos than mama ever lets me watch!

nana and poppy brought me my very own chair, which i love, and sit in every day, mostly to read my books or play my harmonica.

while poppy took a nap, me and nana went up on the roof and played ball, which as you can see, i love to do.

nana and poppy also brought me my very own set of golf clubs. golf is okay, but i mostly like to play a new game i made up called gockey. it's more like hockey and and little bit like whack-the-ball-around-and-scream. tons of fun. you should try it.

we also drove up to the bronx zoo where i saw tons of new animals.

my favorites were the alligators and the ducks, mostly because i liked saying those two words over and over.

i also got to pretend i was a prairie dog, which was thrilling.

i don't remember what we were looking at here, but it looks like something scary.

as always though, my favorite parts of their visit were the silly times at home. upside down with papa.

and tickled by nana and poppy. i miss you nana and poppy!