Bye-Bye

Nana and Papa ended their four week visit this week. We were and still are sad to see them go. Who new I could still live with my parents?? Then, Aunt Sharon came to visit. I think if we didn't have someone coming up right away, my mom would have changed her ticket to stay longer. Aunt Sharon has busied herself sightseeing, helping around the house, and bonding with Stephen. Stephen has taken to her and enjoys playing. Today, he spent a lot of time playing with her. She even let me go to Costco by myself to shop and watched him.

Since our last post, we have been busy! I finished two weeks of call in three weeks, plus being on call over the Fourth of July. As soon as my time on call ended, we headed north. Stephen, Nana, Papa, and I drove to Denali. A long four hour drive for my little guy, but he did great. On the way up, Stephen and I took a nap. When we woke up, my parents said we would find a place to eat. Well, there really isn't a place to eat on the way up to Denali after a certain point. So a snack tided us over until an early dinner.

Once at Denali, we checked out the visitor center. I was impressed by the displays. Stephen was impressed by the animals. He actually took his time and looked at the animals, made bear noises, and was an attraction himself! As he "ROARED" at the bear, so many couples just smiled and oohed at him. I was so happy to see how well behaved he was and how smart (of course I would say that)! I didn't feel rushed through the exhibits. Then we took a "hike" on one of the paths. Stephen had it easy:
Then we drove out as far as we could to mile 15. No public vehicles are allowed into the park past that point. The above picture is deceiving of the weather. It rained the whole drive up, then cleared about 10 miles from the park. Unfortunately, there were so many clouds that we couldn't see Denali (Mt. McKinley). The drive was beautiful though. The next day we thought we would try again, but it rained all morning! We did stop for the obligatory picture at the entrance though:
As we were driving towards the exit of the park, we were awed by Mama "Moo" and her two calves. (Moo = Moose in Stephen speak.) We watched for quite a long time. I used the excuse that we were boxed in by the park ranger van. Apparently she is very aggressive around people, so we kept our distance and got some good pictures. She did show her aggression as we were leaving by charging people on a path behind the thicket who didn't know she was there. Scary, but exciting. Glad it wasn't us.
Then off to Eagle River, four hours back. Again, we napped. We did make a stop in Talkeetna on the way back. A very hippy town that is the starting point for people wanting to hike McKinley. It was fun to walk around and Stephen almost made it the whole way walking around. He waved hi to everyone, went in shops to look, and enjoyed looking at the moose parade (like the cows in Chicago a while ago.)

The below pictures are some of Stephen's new activities! My parents enjoy reading the paper and had them stacked on an end table. Stephen pulled them down and then decided to read. You can't tell by the picture, but it is the sports page. He has always enjoyed reading and is now branching out. (I still can't read the paper, the smell of the ink makes me nauseous.)

His other new activity is enjoying the toys that I have found on craigslist. It is fun to peruse the "classifieds" and be successful. I know it is a soccer ball, but it is the perfect size for his little hands. He has even made a basket. He also enjoys the slide mama found, and will enjoy the picnic table when I pull it out. I have to spread the purchases out to make them last!
His newest and most exciting area of development for me is object identification. He has been able to look at his books and point stuff out. But the other night we were looking at a Land's End catalog and he saw a girl with an apple, and pointed the apple out and said the word. Then he also discovered a ball, a dog, and shoes. I was so excited I wanted to jump up and down. His vocabulary is expanding daily. Even my mom was suprised at how much it grew while they were here. His newer words include airplane, truck, eat (along with the sign to eat), agua (water), grape, slide, TV (my favorite), and happy (ie. Happy Feet.) Favorites include bear, moo (moose), book, berry, cheese.

We are sad that Aunt Sharon has to leave this week. It has been great to spend time with her and get to know her better. Stephen sure will miss having her around. We are "alone" next week - no visitors. It will give us a chance to make a mess of the place!!! Can't get to messy though, because John and Debby Laurie arrive on my anniversary - at least I will have someone to spend it with!

Next post will include pictures of the accomplishments my parents (and a little me) in the past month to include quilts, painting, and our yard!!