As dad was finishing up mowing and clearing the garden, Des came out to help with the last bit of raking. He crawled over, sat down, and almost instinctively began moving the leaves about.
Over the past few weeks, Des has come to loathe having his face washed. Sorry kid, no Pig-Pens in this house. Poor little man.
Started off the morning with a solid nap while dad watch reruns of Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations. Getting awfully excited for our trip to NYC next week!
Des is between sizes with his hand-me-down shoes, so in preparation for our trip, we went shoe shopping for the first time. Buckle up for safety.
Our little big man in his new kicks
This weekend we took our annual trip down to Nebraska City for the AppleJack Festival. It’s a tradition we’ve all come to enjoy- a day picking apples, picnicking in the park gazebo, and walking about the sizable classic car show.
Upon receiving his first apple, Des mimicked Viv and just held it to his mouth. Curiosity soon got the best of him and he tried biting in. One taste of the juice and he was hooked.
Mom has eaten an apple or two every day for the better part of her adult life. She can quick draw an apple in just about any situation. Formal attire included.
Second generation apple fanatic.
Goofing around with pa and Viv. Note that when he was thirsty, he wouldn’t give up his apple to drink. “I’ve got two hands, don’t I? I don’t see the problem here.”
Des wearing our combined excitement and relief for deciding to pick apples first this year and beat the crowds a bit.
After the epic picnic spread ma prepared, the cousins scurried off to the playground.
(No pics of Des at car show. He napped and the Mustangs consisted of three ’67s and two Shelby clones. Yawn indeed.)
Oysters and (first) crayons, that’s just how Team Llama rolls on Friday nights.
No one recalls the first instance, but at some point, Des picked a lemon off a restaurant table and ate it (well, chewed on it for an extended duration). Not one sign of distress or bitterness. Since then, he has had a number of lemon wedges over the months. Tonight began like most lemon encounters- first lemon, chewed it until only the rind remained. Second lemon, conquered with nary a wince. The third lemon, well, finally…
It was the memory of a goldfish- chomp chomp, bitter face, three-count, repeat. Over and over…
After six ear infections in eight months, and over the typical cold-free summer to boot, we made the decision to get tubes in Des’ ears. It wasn’t a light decision, but given all the details, we felt it was clearly the right choice.
And so Des entered his 11th month of life with an early morning appointment at Children’s Hospital. After being admitted, Des gets has a few sensors placed for readings. “You’re telling me these things you just attached to my legs aren’t for playing with? You’ve got to be kidding me!”
Des looking awefully cute in his special PJs.
“Hey, this riding in a car around strange hallways is fun and all, but why are we doing this at 7:10am??”
Our little man getting ready to leave us for a few :/
This view was unexpectedly more difficult than we anticipated.
But within 20 minutes, mom was back in the recovery room feeding Des. Within 40 minutes, he was back in our room with both of us. It took upwards of an hour for him to get his bearings and calm down, but we were home by 9am.
There was a warm breeze blowing and as we detoured to the front porch before going inside. Des always has this peaceful, meditative demeanor in the presence of a good breeze. After a bit, dad was even getting him to laugh a bit.
Two high-quality naps throughout the day. The next day you could tell he was already feeling better*.
*Sounds like non-medical hyperbole, but with fluid already draining from behind his eardrums, his energy was up a notch or two from prior weeks during the last infection and inflammations.
Des’ first visit to Block 16 getting a pre-hike picnic to-go
While waiting for our order, Des is entertained by some interior design elements created by the same artist, Peter Cales, that crafted our dining room table.
Des has his hiking leaf, he’s ready to go. He held on to his hiking leaf all the way to the river.
Fontenelle Forest is a 2000-acre conversation area between South Omaha and Bellevue along the Missouri River. It’s one of our favorite hiking areas close to town.
Made it all the way down to the river
Des is the only person I know that snores while hiking.
Passed out and missed the dozen or two turkeys we crossed paths with.
While in the great tussle that is teething, Des finds comfort with his frozen ring.
Mom and Des
A little spilled soap in the tub meant Des’ first bubble bath. Totally wasn’t sure what to make of bubbles.
Lunch with Des and Cal
Meeting Rod and Nora
Playing with Cassie
Mom and Des recreating a photo of mom and dad when they were first dating in 2003
Des investigating grandpa’s mouth
Losing a toe to Phyllis, Travis, and giggling
