Eat your heart out, Nora. I received some negative feedback about last week's one-photo blog post. So I got right to work the next day taking pictures to ensure I'd have an assortment this week. These demonstrate some of his latest skills and, in one case, what passes for entertainment amid the sweltering summer heat.

In addition to knocking down towers, Edward now likes to participate in their creation. He hasn't quite mastered the art of scale, however, as you can see him trying to stack one of the largest blocks above one of the smallest. Today he put his sippy cup on the block and then tried to put other blocks on top of that. Live and learn, Edward.

He also loves music, and seems to be interested in creating as well as listening. For the last two weeks the "theme table" at the front entry to the daycare has held an assortment of rhythm instruments and it is a struggle each day to get him to move past the front door back to his classroom. There's a wood block, some bells on sticks and a shaker, among other things. He also walks up to the stereo case in the living room and starts bopping back and forth until we turn on one of his CDs. Then he moves from one side to the other listening to each speaker in turn. And, as you can see, he has tried John's guitar, with careful supervision. I think he thinks the sounds are cool, but what he really likes is dropping the pic in the hole. They mostly play with their fingers.

Edward is also a skillful climber and has learned to hoist himself into his high chair unassisted, as long as the tray is not attached. Luckily, he doesn't attempt to climb down alone...yet. He also likes to stand on the back legs and reach up to pull the straps through. He thinks it's hilarious when John is on the other side pulling them back. This occupies a great deal of the "dinner's not quite ready" time.

I am quite certain we are not alone as parents in exploiting our child for our own amusement. While playing outside the other night after dinner, Edward decided to take his hat off, which was fine since the sun was on its way down. (He still has too much exposed scalp to risk going hatless during the day!) John noticed how sweaty he was (no surprise given the humidity levels this last week) and decided to create a new hairdo. We'll probably pay for this some day in the future: "What do you mean I can't dye my hair blue--YOU once gave me a mohawk!" But for now, it was innocent fun.

It seems like Edward is learning a new word or words every day. He now says "bye" when waving and blowing kisses. He also caught on to "ring around the rosie"--especially the "all fall down" part. But he also says something approaching "ashes ashes" when looking for that page in his nursery rhyme book. He also said it when he heard John update the grill progress tonight: "The coals are starting to ash over so we're almost ready for the meat."

Finally tonight, here's a game that John and Ed created that they both seem to enjoy. It is perhaps an homage to PopPop's famous "stair ball." Given that we don't have stairs, this was the best they could do.

Not much action on the house this week. All the action went into keeping it ready for the action it didn't see. It's tough to make your house seem homey, and at the same time, as if you don't live there. Never anything on the kitchen counters...no dishes in the sink...no shoes on the shoe rug near the door...no toys out of the toy corner. This is how we have to leave it every morning when we go to work in case anyone calls to see it while we're gone. It's only been a week and already stretching my admittedly meager housekeeping skills.

The realtors toured on Tuesday and didn't have very nice comments for us. Three thought it was overpriced. Of those three, one thought it was a duplex (it's not) and said "you could get a real house for that price," another thought it didn't have a garage and the third thought it didn't have a basement (it has both.) So clearly they were not very careful or interested observers. Annoying, especially since these are the agents who work for the company with whom we have listed the house. Our realtor sought out the commentors (they're anonymous, but not hard to figure out I guess) and set them straight on the various things they'd missed or misunderstood. He held an open house this afternoon and said eight "groups" came through. Only one identified themselves as neighbors and even they weren't just there out of curiosity, but because they had friends who might be interested. So that's good news. Our agent says open houses usually draw primarily nosy/curious neighbors.

As far as Edward is concerned, the best thing about having the house for sale is the realtor lockbox on the front door, which he thinks is a telephone. He loves to push the buttons (which light up!) and say "a-lo, a-lo!" (We tried unsuccessfully to capture video.) He's figured out this aspect of phone communication, but hasn't translated it to actual phone calls. If we offer him the phone to talk to a grandparent or anyone else, he just stares at it and then grabs to push buttons. He never says a word. Luckily, he now gets to see one set of grandparents in person a lot more. John's folks moved to Coralville (neighboring town) this week so it's great to have them so close. We got to celebrate Bill's birthday today while hanging out during Ed's naptime and our open house exodus.

Big news since the last post. Our house is for sale.

We've been looking for a few months to see if we could find a place that had a few amenities that this one is lacking--namely space. We'd seen lots of duds and a few possibilities, but last week we finally found one that had (almost) everything we were looking for. We made an offer and after a few counters we reached an agreement. We offered contingent on the sale of our house so that meant we had the weekend to get it ready to list. That meant no rest for the weary around here. Lots of cleaning and "decluttering." A trip to the dump and another to our recently rented storage facility. Oh, and keeping track of Edward all the while. No easy task given that he was very curious about what we were doing that was taking our attention away from him. He did try to help a bit, which was fun for all. John was washing the kitchen storm windows and Ed wormed his way into John's lap to get a closer look at the action.

But he also had a bit of a stomach bug, which meant he was not his usual cheerful self, he couldn't eat many of the things he loves, and we couldn't really ask anyone else to watch him for us because we like our friends too much to impose those kinds of diapers! We managed to make it work, mostly because John broke his back getting things done while I kept Ed corralled. The most egregious example was when we went to the park while John and our friend Loren loaded up the truck and headed out to unload it in storage.

We're hoping Ed is on the mend now. At daycare they think it might be related to at least one new tooth, a molar. He has his (delayed) 18-month check-up tomorrow so we'll review the last couple of days with his doctor to see if she thinks we should be doing anything differently. The biggest thing is trying to get him to drink. He refuses water and of course juice is out of the question. He had quite a bit of sugar free Jell-o today, which I understand to be an acceptable form of hydration for sick kids. He's not too fond of the pedialyte, but maybe in the morning he'll be thirsty enough to give it another go.

In the meantime, our house is cleaner than it has ever been. And I've been reminded of just how terrible a housekeeper I am--oh my, the cobwebs!

The heat broke today sometime between 4 and 5 p.m. The windows are open and a cool refreshing breeze blows through now, replacing the stale air conditioned atmosphere we've had since returning Friday from our trip to Evanston for the 4th of July. The weekend heat was simply oppressive. Even a foot dip in Ed's wading pool didn't take the edge off.

We had a great time in Evanston though. We got to see some family on the 4th, and then John and I went to the Police concert at Wrigley Field on the 5th. It was a great show; John offers better details on his blog. We were amused and chagrined at the Chicago Tribune's crowd description: "more mini-van than mosh pit." Truth hurts I guess. For the record, we don't drive a mini-van, but substituting "station wagon" would have sacrificed the alliteration.

The picture above is Ed on the 4th with Shadow, my aunt and uncle's extremely patient dog. His best efforts to hide in corners, under chairs and even once in the bathroom did not thwart Edward's determination to show his "love." We're working on "nice" gentle petting of animals, to varying degrees of success. Edward can say "niiiice" but the actions don't always follow.

Other words in his ever-expanding vocabulary are: car, outside, all done, and of course, NO. He's been saying this for a while now without any exact meaning, but has started using it as intended in the last week or so, much to our dismay and frustration. In this video he demonstrates some of his language, his understanding of the difference between hot and cold and his version of the sound a dog makes.

Did you know church could be hazardous to your health? Edward and I found this out this morning...the hard way. He's usually pretty good, despite the total inability to sit still. He sits and stands on the kneeler, reads the books I bring, puts the envelope in and out of a slot that holds a spare one for those who forget their own, makes faces at the people around us, etc. Generally harmless. In the last few weeks, he's learned how to climb up on the pew, so he's added this to his repertoire, standing and sitting over and over to amuse himself. I generally keep a hand right behind him because of course I do not trust him, and really, why should I? Today he got himself seated in between me and the other person in our pew. I watched him scoot forward to the edge of the pew and could see he was trying to get down. In an instant, he pitched forward and crashed into the pew in front of us. He must have caught the corner of the missal holder as well because by the time I carried him screaming back to the cry room, I felt something moist when I pressed his head against my face to comfort him. Blood. Lots of it. We left the cry room in search of a helpful usher, who led us to the church basement seeking a first aid kit. We never did find it, but I managed to mostly stop the blood with a wet paper towel in the bathroom and then cleaned as much blood from the two of us as possible. The usher was still waiting for us when we got out of the bathroom and tried to find us some ice, to no avail. I could see two knots swelling on his head and decided we'd better head home. He screamed when we tried to ice it here, so we gave up after a few attempts and covered it with a band-aid. The photo above was taken several hours later, after a long nap. He's not actually crying here, just making a funny face. He cried amazingly little, for how shocking the whole thing must have been.

Maybe he'll have to get out his winter hat again this week to cover the wound. He dug around in a cupboard he has easy access to and found these items earlier this week. He brought them to me for help and then walked around like this for quite a while. His other silliness these days is walking around with his highchair toys dangling from his pockets. He walks quite gingerly and giggles as he goes. I'm not sure why this is funny, but whatever keeps him amused is fine with me.

Unfortunately for Edward, most of the Geraghty family injury sympathy is used up this week on my brother, P.J., who had a motorcycle accident on Tuesday and severely injured his right leg. He's had surgery and was supposed to leave the hospital today to go home to the hospital bed they had to bring in for their downstairs. He'll have a long recovery ahead (including another surgery in a week, after the swelling has gone down) but we're all SO glad it was only his leg, as an accident of this type could have been much worse. And thankfully, the motorcycle has been towed to the repair shop where it will remain until some other fool decides to buy it. If you're interested, the link above takes you to his recovery blog where he's keeping us posted on his daily progress.

Not many pictures tonight after a busy week and weekend. Last week I took one of my MBA courses--yes a whole course (3 credit hours!) in one week. It was 12 weeks jammed into one and we made it work by going from 8:30 to 4 every day. Efficient, but exhausting. It was an interesting topic though, conflict management, and the professors were excellent so in the end it was all worth it.

Gram came Monday and Tuesday to hang out with Edward so he wouldn't have to go to daycare all day all week. Grandma and Grandpa Kenyon came Wednesday afternoon through Friday. All seemed to have a great time, especially Edward! He learned a few new tricks--like how to place the animals on his train toy so that the toy announces what animal it is "I'm a monkey!" "I'm a panda!" He thinks this is hilarious. Gram also claims that he knows how to do the hand game that goes with the Itsy-Bitsy Spider song, but there has been limited demonstration of this. Occasionally we see "down came the rain" and "washed the spider out." Further bulletins as events warrant.

But most amusingly, he learned to make a sign for "cold." He has been obsessed with things being "Haaa," translation: HOT. No surprise as we've had some hot days in the last few weeks so he's felt hot slides and the hot car. But he hasn't really mastered the concept because he is hesitant about many things that are not actually hot. So I've been trying to say, "No, it's not hot. It's warm" or "It's cold." Cold he also gets because he can feel the cold air through the AC vents in the house. So he started making the famous Geraghty "cold face," which I thought my mom must have shown him, but she says she didn't. The first picture here is an attempt to capture the face, but it doesn't really do it justice. He tenses up his whole face with his mouth in a big wide clenched-teeth grin and then clenches his hands and shakes them in front of him as if shivering. It's hilarious. In the picture it looks like a smile, but when he's really going to town it's quite strained.

On Thursday afternoon, John left for his annual Regional Business Publications conference, this year in Denver (big improvement over the last two locations, Detroit and Little Rock.) That left me as a single parent for the weekend. Saturday on the way to the library for story time we stopped by the second hand store to see if we could find a push bike for Ed. He's been using his wagon with the bin upturned and we thought maybe he should have the real thing. We found this one, which he's still a bit uncertain about, but he does like going backwards. (Appropriate, given that his cousin Sean thinks that's his name. You know--Edward, Backward, kinda hard to tell the difference!)

We were expecting John to be home by the time Ed got up from his nap this afternoon, but he and his co-workers ended up getting bumped from their noon flight to one at 8:30 p.m. Ugh! He was not too happy, and I discovered that I'd need a second wind to get through the extra time. I'd paced myself to be relieved by 3 p.m. today and instead had to keep going until Edward went to bed at 7.

Hence, my current exhaustion. So I'll sign off and go commune with the remote control. Nothing like a little mindless entertainment...

Happy Father's Day! Edward is celebrating with a nap at the moment. John may be joining in the fun soon. It's too hot for much else around here. We're hoping the forecast is correct in calling for a break in the heat tomorrow or Tuesday.

This funny photo is from yesterday. I'm not sure what elicited this cheesey grin from Edward--he's never hammed it up for the camera before. We don't even say "Smile!" when we take pictures. Just one of the many things that leave us wondering.

Yesterday we took out Edward's wading pool for the first time. John had a bit of a challenge blowing it up, but he got the job done and we set the pool in the sun so the water would warm during naptime. The spot we picked was one I've been watching and knew that by late afternoon it would be shaded. After his nap and snack, we got him all suited up and took him out, only to realize that the semi-overcast afternoon had turned into a dark, stormy sky. He was in the water for about 10 minutes before we heard thunder. He got out on his own and started walking around leaving wet footprints, but then it started raining so we had to scoop him up in the towel and head inside. A lot of effort for a short activity. We'll try again today and see what happens.

Ed's vocabulary is expanding, but context is extremely important in figuring out what he's saying. If he's outside and says "Buh, buh!" and points, it usually means he sees a bird. Inside it more often means "ball." He can also say "Nah-na" in the morning for Banana, but his patience wears thin as his belly rumbles awaiting breakfast. He'll also mimic quite a bit. John taught him to stand in front of the fan and say "Ahhh!" in a sigh of relief. They may next move on to the prolonged "AHHH" to listen as the fan distorts the voice.

He also uses "More"--the sign and the word-- for things other than food, though it's still an important communication tool when eating. And speaking of eating, check out his latest skill--the fork. He kind of started doing this before we went on vacation, but we didn't want to hassle with taking along Ed-sized utensils so abandoned it for that week. But he picked up where he left off once we got home. He can't always spear what he wants--hasn't quite figured out the necessary angles--but he loves to pick up his own fork and bite off whatever awaits. Wish I could say this reduces the mealtime mess, but it is not to be. He's also learned to turn his head away in an attempt to "hide" when he sees us coming to wipe him up.

If you're feeling overheated wherever you are this afternoon, think cool thoughts and watch this splashy video:

Taking a vacation is apparently not an acceptable excuse for a blog hiatus. For her birthday today, my sister requested only one thing: update the blog!

We had a great time and the trip went more smoothly than we had a right to expect. With one glaring exception, Ed was a champion road tripper. My brother's wedding (east of Pittsburgh--about a 12 hour drive!) was a great occasion to have the whole family together--a rarity these days as we now officially number 19. Most of the siblings and cousins were able to stay in a house adjacent to the inn where the wedding reception was held, so that was definitely an experience in togetherness! The kids really had a good time playing together and the adults did too...after the kiddie bedtimes!

After the wedding we took a few extra days coming home, stopping one night/day in Cleveland and three nights in Three Rivers, MI, where we stayed in a rustic cabin on a small lake. At both the wedding inn and the lake cabin we could not get cell phone reception so we really felt like we were able to unplug and unwind. We were definitely ready to come home after a week though and glad we planned it so we arrived home Thursday leaving a few more days off before heading back to work on Monday.

Edward used the occasion of his second wedding reception in as many months to show off some of his latest dance moves:


He also cemented his status as band groupie by walking right up to the band as they began setting up and watching every move. They appreciated his attention so much they gave him the tambourine to try out. He liked it, but got a bit too creative in his method.

(Side note: we have taken Ed to two of the free, outdoor concerts downtown this summer and both times he walked right up to the stage to get up close and personal with the band!)

Edward also spent the wedding weekend basking in the attention of his adoring cousin Colleen. She's such a big Ed fan that she even sent him a letter as part of a first grade lesson this spring. She and her sisters and cousin were lovely as the flower girls and ring bearers at the wedding. After the ceremony, Ed and Sean helped the girls pick up the flower petals in the aisle and then had a tremendous amount of fun throwing them over the back of the pew and making Colleen pick them up again to start the game all over.

Colleen is so cute and charming she even got John out on the dance floor, but to avoid the dissolution of my marriage I'll refrain from posting photographic evidence.

After leaving the wedding festivities late Sunday afternoon, we drove only as far as Cleveland (about three hours) and stopped for the night. John has always wanted to see the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and it's unlikely we'll be in the area again anytime soon, so we built it into the itinerary. While he did that on Monday, Ed and I went to the Cleveland Zoo, where he was a boy after his grandma's own heart--a fan of the giraffes. Much to my chagrin, we was also fascinated by the flamingos, as they came right up to the fence separating their area from the humans. Luckily, flamingos are flightless or we'd have been in a world of hurt, and you might have read a dateline Cleveland AP item headlined "Terrified Mother Flees Flamingos, Leaves Toddler To Fend For Self." He also liked the elephants and anything else large enough to see from a distance. He couldn't focus too much on the smaller animals, even monkeys crawling around on a big rock.

After driving through a driving rainstorm that included several "Hail Mary" moments of near-blind following the hazard lights of the car ahead, we arrived in Michigan for three days of "nothing." No schedule, no plans, just see where the day takes us. Ed continued his animal adventures there with the resident ducks and cats. There was also a petting zoo in the town where he discovered how funny it is to stick your finger in a goat's nose. Not so funny for the goat, but for the boy, hilarious. He also got a big kick out of the bird room. I abstained, leaving John to explore that with him. As you can see, it was a bit chilly there--sweatshirt weather. No complaints though--we had packed our jeans and sweatshirts and had no need to be hot!

All in all, it was a great trip, but we're happy to be home. I would not recommend 25+ hours in the car with a toddler over the course of a week, but if you can break it up in to small chunks and get him to sleep while you drive (which Ed did about 80 percent of the time) it can be done. Next year though, I think we'll look for somewhere a little closer to home!

We had a fun and tiring Memorial Day weekend, with a trip to see Ed's great-grandparents in Chariton and a lot of outdoor play.

Ed and Great-grandpa Askren played a bit on Saturday during our visit. We had a big meeting room for our small gathering, which meant Edward had the chance to do a lot of walking and get in a lot of laps. He appreciated the extra space!

On Sunday, we went downtown to play on the big playground equipment they have next to the library. At one point, Edward noticed the fountain that's just down the pedestrian mall from the play area. He wandered over, fearlessly, and started toward the water. Mary took off his shoes and socks and rolled up his pantlegs and he sallied forth. We caught this photo with her cell phone, capturing the moment when he stuck his hand into the spray to make a nice wet mess for everyone. He really enjoyed it, and I'm sure we'll be back as the temperatures climb this summer.

Today we spent at home, catching time outside between short rain showers. Edward is getting more bold about venturing around the yard these days, taking time to stop and, well, he didn't smell the flowers, but he did try to pluck their petals off. Either way, his expression here isn't really indicative of his overall attitude toward the peonies.

Wednesday was Edward's first full day at daycare, and he seemed to do OK. His teacher told me this morning when I dropped him off that he had napped better than the other kids (that's my boy) and that he seemed happy and content all day despite the schedule change. Then, she showed me photographic proof. Ed was out on the playground playing with the other kids, but had come over to the window to see what was happening inside. He began to make faces, and they caught a couple with their camera. In the second one he's pressing his face against the glass.

I worried about him spending the bulk of his day away from home, but he seemed no worse for wear. We're glad we have the luxury of only having him there for half days, but it's nice to know he has fun there so when the need arises we know he has a safe place to be.

Edward is getting much better about wearing his hat. So good in fact that he now will find one laying around and attempt to put it on his head. He has achieved varying degrees of success. On Sunday afternoon, he tried a new variation on the theme.











John notes that it is a major concession to vanity that he allows these to be posted. I said he's got nothing on me, given the video of my reaction to Ed's first steps that I allowed to be made public.

This was a rare moment of tranquility as Edward has spent the last few days welcoming four molars. I think he'll like them in the long run, but for now, they're nothing but trouble. His other teeth came in just two at a time, either top or bottom on both sides. We've dosed him with Tylenol and allowed some extra pacifier time (usually this is reserved only for bed) as well as more frequent flopping on a parent while watching Thomas the Tank Engine. This time it's a quadruple whammy. While I don't like to see him sad or in pain, there are no words for my gratitude that this is happening now and not during our long car trip to Joe's wedding next week!

Maybe when he feels better he'll want to try another encounter with the sprinkler, as shown here. He wasn't too sure about it, when I turned it on on a hot afternoon last week. It didn't help when I accidentally soaked him while trying to adjust the height of the spray. He likes water in his "bubble cup" and in his bath though, so I think he'll figure this out.

Our thoughts today are with the entire Sepersky family as they mourn the loss of a great man, who was father, grandfather, husband, son and much more. I've only known him as long as he's been my sister's father-in-law, but I know how much he meant to his entire family and a large circle of friends. And I know mere words will never be sufficient to express the tragedy of a life cut short. My mom says, "It had better be a slow day in heaven when I get there. I've got a long list of questions I want answered." And we add another.

Happy Mother's Day to all. I know it has been a happy one here. We had a gorgeous weekend and spent lots of time outside. We started out Saturday morning with the third-annual Preeclampsia Foundation Walk-a-thon in Davenport. I gave a speech at the beginning of the walk. It's posted on Will's blog. Edward liked the playground better than the walk itself, but he didn't object too strongly to the stroller, especially when he was being handed bits of granola bar or his juice cup!

These photos are from today, when he was attempting to build on his climbing skills by adding the challenge of doing so while holding the cup. He was somewhat successful, though efficiency was totally lost in the equation. He could not be persuaded to let me hold the cup while he climbed and then come back for a drink when he came down the slide. Oh well--not the first or last time he simply has to do something his own way. He's much better these days about keeping his hat on so I'm glad not to have that ongoing battle. In fact, sometimes he'll find it and put it on himself when we're playing inside.

Late last week Edward demonstrated a new skill that we found hilarious so we'll share it with you in this video. No explanation for where he got the idea to do this.

Edward enjoyed himself at his first wedding this weekend. My cousin was a dazzling bride and we were so happy to be there to celebrate! Edward particularly enjoyed the mostaccioli from the buffet. I took a spoonful on my plate, but never got to try it because he devoured it as fast as I could hand it over! This was after his Teddy Graham appetizer, which he enjoyed from his perch under the high chair. Who knows why that was so fun, but it kept him occupied and quiet, so we weren't in a position to question.

In other feeding news, Ed wasn't cooperating with John's attempt to feed him applesauce this evening. This is one of his favorite foods and we knew he was hungry, so we decided to indulge his need for independence and let him take over the spoon. He was much happier, though considerably less efficient. It's a work in progress. As I prepped this video, it occurred to me that it was almost exactly a year ago that Edward had his first spoon meal. What a long journey in such a short time!



And finally tonight, we ask for your prayers for my brother-in-law's family. His dad is extremely ill with complications from a lung infection. Many of the reports we're getting are transporting us back to Will's bedside, where we watched, as they do now, his oxygen saturation, blood pressure, lung x-rays and edema and listened to doctor's assurances that they were doing their best to help him. It's so hard to believe that a previously vigorous 53-year-old could now be facing such similar challenges.

Edward continues to innovate when it comes to play, creating things that don't seem like they would be much fun to anyone else, but which entertain him endlessly. The latest game involves taking animal toys from a train set he got from Grandma and Grandpa Kenyon, dropping them over the arm of our chair in the living room, running around to the seat to grab them, and then doing it all over again. The video below captures this, as well as Edward giving his Mom a puzzle piece, seemingly giving her some instructions about what to do with it, and then expressing delight that she agreed to comply.

He also discovered how fun it was to dump all of the blocks out of his wagon and then sit on it and try (in vain as yet) to push himself around the room. It was more fun to play hide and seek with Mom around the edges of the wagon, and then have Mom push him back and forth across the floor.

Here is Edward at 16 months. He's clearly pleased with himself. His parents can't share his joie d'vivre this evening.

Two inches of rain since 3 p.m. yesterday. More expected tonight and tomorrow. Our backyard is saturated and apparently, so is the ground beneath our house. We are the proud and beleaguered owners of a new six-gallon wet/dry vacuum. John went to the basement for another reason after dinner and discovered the water. It wasn't deep, but it was spreading so he went to work moving/rescuing various items and mopping up what he could. At quarter to eight, after giving Ed a bath and putting him to bed, I went to see what I could do. The hardware store down the street closes at 8 so we decided not to gamble on things getting worse overnight. I dashed out for the equipment while John kept mopping and wringing and dumping the 5-gallon bucket out in the alley.

Ed's new rainy day toy is much more fun. This is something he got for his birthday but we'd stored it away since he was just overflowing with new things back in December. I had a feeling we'd need a little diversion sometime and this week was the time. The living room feels quite small when it's filled with Edward Energy! He wasn't sure what to make of this at first since it was singing the Alphabet Song to him, but he figured out how he could make other noises and then he noticed that it came with 25(!) animal pieces to carry around and deposit around the room. Or, in this case, to bang on the metal folding chair for the delightful noise it produced.

Today's other news was a clean bill of health at his 15-month well-baby check. Yes it was a month late, but who's counting. All we know is that he is continuing on his mid-range weight and supersize head trajectory. After the results come back from lab tests, we may be able to stop the iron supplement, which would be nice. It's not a big deal, but just another thing to keep track of, as we have been giving him the medicine three times a day. We're supposed to give it with juice because the vitamin C helps with absorption so a little bedtime sippy cup has become part of the routine. We may keep that even when we lose the medicine, since it's clearly part of how he unwinds.

No new video lately, but if you need a fix, I highly recommend checking out Ed's cousin Katherine who really knows how to bust a move. She's got rhythm!

Yesterday's WalkAmerica in Iowa City could not have been more perfect. It was sunny and warm, with a light breeze to keep the sweat at bay as we trudged up the hills (yes, we do have hills in Iowa!) Many friends joined us to walk the six miles in memory of Will, in honor of Edward and in support of the important work of the March of Dimes. We have so much to be thankful for, and the love and support of our family and friends tops the list.

This is Edward just after the walk. Does he look tired to you? Riding in a stroller can really sap a guy! Not just riding in a stroller, but riding and snacking on the various treats at the water stations along the route. Edward apparently loves chewy granola bars with chocolate chips. He also managed to drink a little water from his sippy cup without soaking himself. Good thing because he had several layers to soak through. That could have gotten uncomfortable and heavy. I didn't really know how to dress him for the walk. I knew we'd be warm enough from the exertion, but wasn't sure what he'd need. He ended up shedding a couple of layers toward the end as the day grew warmer.

It was just as warm today so we tried a new look--shorts! For most of the day he had shoes on outside, but here was a brief barefoot interlude. He's engaged in a new favorite outdoor activity. We started with a jar of bubbles on Friday afternoon. He loved the wand, but didn't care too much about the bubbles I blew for him. He just wanted to dip and dip and dip the wand. It made quite a sticky mess. So today I wised up and gave him the wand with a jar of water. That was fully satisfactory, and as a bonus this jar mouth was wide enough that he could stuff his whole hand in and watch the overflow. It was loads of fun.

Some rain this evening brought some cooler temperatures and we're not expecting to wear shorts again this week. This is actually fine with me. I'm not at all prepared for true summer. My summer clothes are still in storage so I've been wearing whatever comes out of the bin when I reach in and tug on a t-shirt, which is why I cropped myself out of this picture! I'll savor the breezes though--love having the windows open. Except when the neighbor decides that 1 a.m. is the best time to drag race his motorcycle. What a scourge of a vehicle!