Julie and Jerry were kind enough to lend Lex some pieces from their train set while he was in Boise.  He loved watching the train circle the track:

The weather wasn’t quite what we were expecting for Boise in June.  Here’s Lex bundled up for a walk with his grandma:

Playing in the sink, of course:

Even Aunt Julie got in on the sink action:

The teddy bear’s almost as big as Lex, but he enjoyed hauling it around:

The drive back to Portland wasn’t as easy or as fun as the drive to Boise.  Lex was tired but struggled against falling asleep in his car seat.  We all just wanted to be home and the drive felt very long.  We did make a brief stop in Arlington though to visit my friend Jenny and her son Ethan, and that was a nice break.   

Once we were home, it took Lex a few days to adjust back to the Pacific time zone.  We all suffered the consequences as he woke up bright and early, ready to start his day at 5 am.  Luckily he’s adjusted now and we’re back to the usual 6 or 6:30 wake-ups.

Today Lex seems to be sick with the flu.  The poor kid has a fever and chills.  Earlier today, when he was feeling better, we accompanied Tim to his soccer practice by Reed College.  Lex and I wandered around the beautiful campus while daddy played in a scrimmage game.  We just happened to come across a ukulele festival while we were there.  I think Lex and I were the only ones in the audience under the age of 50, but it was fun to hear some folk music.  Somebody even came over and told me that my son was very well-behaved.  I just smiled and thanked him…I didn’t want to spoil anything by revealing that Lex was only calm and quiet because he had a fever.

And we’re back!  We stayed in Boise an extra day and ended up driving home on Tuesday. Our drive to Boise was very smooth.  Lex kept himself entertained by pointing out all the trucks and buses along the way.  But if we didn’t acknowledge him by saying “yes, that’s a truck,” he would just repeat his announcement louder and louder until we gave him the attention he felt he deserved.  

We enjoyed our time in Idaho and caught up with many relatives (and I had lunch with two friends from high school).  We even hit a movie one night (”Up” in 3-D…highly recommend it!).

As always, Lex enjoyed spending time with his grandparents.  He still loves playing in water, so he spent most of his time outside, and also playing at the kitchen sink.       

I’ll post some more pictures of the trip in my next blog entry…

Tomorrow morning we’re driving to Boise to visit Tim’s family.  I’m hoping (but doubtful) that Lex will sleep a lot during the long car ride.  If not, I’ve packed plenty of toys and books, as well as an arsenal of every cracker known to mankind.  

Lex slept so soundly last night.  He only woke up once, and he put himself back to sleep without needing any parental comfort.  We’re hoping for a repeat performance tonight.  After that we’ll be on vacation and will totally rock Lex’s world.  We’ll see if he continues to sleep well in Boise in his pack n’ play.  

I’ll try to keep blogging while we’re out of town, but I’m going to apologize ahead of time for not posting as frequently over this next weekend.  I assure you that you’ll see pictures of our trip eventually!

(and no, we didn’t cut Lex’s curls…we just slicked his hair with some water)

Yesterday we took Lex to a free puppet show at our local toy store.  (We almost didn’t make it to the show because Lex was napping.  It was all I could do not to wake him up so we could make it on time.  Tim laughed at my enthusiasm and said that there are two toddlers in this household.)

It was an “under the sea” themed show, and the main character was Wanda the whale:  

Lex was enthralled…

After the show the puppeteer came around and let the kids pet the various characters .

This morning we took Lex to Munchkin Playland, an indoor playground for kids and a coffee shop for their accompanying adults.  You pay five bucks and kids can play for as long as they want.  Lex had a good time exploring and climbing.  

Our son continues to be quite the chatterbox.  He loves pointing out buses and trucks as we drive places, and he’ll light up if he sees any balloon.  Most of his words still manage to sound a lot like “apple,” but we can determine the difference by seeing what he’s pointing to.  

Lex now only nurses once per day, and that’s right before he goes to bed.  Last night was the first night that I didn’t nurse him at all in the middle of the night.  Tim was able to comfort him when he woke up by rocking him.  Our gradual weaning plan continues to be successful!