My favorite Boys

On the Road with Kevin, Aimee and Jameson

We got on the road around 10 am on June 6th. We knew we didn't have far to go as we wanted to stop in Vail for lunch. Unfortunately, when we arrived in Vail there was some sort of biking/kayaking competition going on, so we continued our trip and decided to lunch in Glenwood Springs. We found a darling deli that had one of the best reuben sandwiches I have ever eaten!

I wish I had a better picture of Jameson's "set-up" but trust me, he was one happy kid. Endless Backyardigans and Little Einsteins, the one problem with the DVD mount was when Jameson got bored he tried to rest his feet on it. Needless to say, it wasn't built to have a little kid kicking it around, so the DVD player ended up sitting on the console anyway.

We stopped for the night in Provo, UT, since we had already booked reservations it was no biggie, but in hind-sight we could have made it all the way to Twin Falls. Which is where we stopped on Sunday to visit our friends David and Lisa Heida. They graciously hosted us at their beautiful home, showed us Shoshone Falls and then cooked an amazing dinner. David can mix a very good drink and Jameson loved Lisa! She brought out all her toys she uses as a speech therapist, and Jameson was so happy to play. Good times were had by the Archer clan! It was great for Kevin and David to catch up over the past few years and reminisce a bit about the "old days." They even offered to host the Archer clan + our three cavaliers on our way back. Ha ha, we told them they didn't know what they were getting into, but their Basset hounds, Abby and Beau would make Leopold, Lulu and Lexi feel very welcome we are certain! Thanks again guys for such a fun day!

Jameson's set-up

The Shoshone Falls, the Niagara of the West.

Our amazing hosts: David, Lisa and their Bassets Abby and Beau

On Monday we headed towards Kennewick, WA to visit my sister, Tracy, BIL, Jeff and our two nephews Zach and Jake, who were really excited to see "baby" Jameson.

Jameson fell in love with their cat Macy

...and their dog Emma, the toys, the balls

...and their awesome backyard

They had a big waterslide that Jake slid down

and Zach slid down

Jameson felt it was a good time to mow the lawn.

I convinced him to give it a try

He tried

Then went back to mowing the lawn in his speedo, which reminds me of Kevin's back tenant from San Diego who also used to garden in a speedo. Hee hee.

The boy cousins: Jameson, Zach and Jake

Gardening

Jameson is all about helping whether its cleaning, folding laundry or gardening.


The boy loves dirt, he was covered from head to toe when he was finished. If you look closely at this pic you can see his tongue sticking out in concentration as he digs. I love it.


Where did the baby in him go?

Mother's Day

Kevin, Jameson and I were really lucky on mother's day because Kev's mom was staying with us. I was lucky, because that meant I got to sleep in and Nana Carol watched, wait, chased after Jameson while Kevin made my favorite breakfast to bring to me. I got to wake up to my darling little man opening my door, and my adorable big man bringing me a tray of breakfast. Jameson wasn't exactly sure why I didn't get out of bed and apparently he was trying to make a break for it. He climbed up on the bed and put his arm around me for my whole breakfast. It made me ever so thankful that I have these incredible guys in my life. To be uber-cheesy, they complete me and I love 'em for it!


Later on we headed up to Longmont to have an early dinner with Scott, Erika, Elia, Eden and yet-to-be-baby # 3, Erika's mom, Momma Carol, and Grandpa Bailey. It was so much fun to see the cousins together again. Elia of course was wonderful with Jameson and he was in awe of everything she did. Eden wasn't too sure of another kid her size running around, and she sure wasn't happy about sharing her toys! (she's nearly 2, so of course this is perfectly normal!)

The best cousins picture I could manage

Grandpa Bailey (Kevin's grandpa) is very special to us and Grandpa loves Franklin Jefferson Jameson. Jameo thought Grandpa was so fun, and really loved sitting in his lap. I am so happy that Grandpa decided to come celebrate the day with us!



Auntie Erika (cute baby belly!!) and Jameson played trains for a long time, and when she walked to the other side of the room for something, he was following her handing her pieces of the track. It made me laugh. If you play with Jameson he remembers what it is you played with and that is your designated play thing, be it stuffed animals, books, or a ball.
Jameson got to have another birthday party since the fam missed his first birthday. He enjoyed hearing "Happy Birthday" this time around much more so than the last.

My little guy doesn't like to get his face and hands dirty when he eats.

He loved the chocolate and sprinkles!

Jameson even got to open presents! Nana and Papa got him an awesome slide that he has mastered and a lawnmower to push around after his daddy. Erika made him an awesome blanket that has quickly become his snuggle blanket when we come downstairs in the mornings.

His new slide

My daredevil prefers going face first!

Picture day

One of our last weekends in Europe we took a trip to Amsterdam with our student Siobhan. It was an incredibly beautiful city, I completely fell in love with the row houses on the canals. Everyone rode bikes everywhere, and those bikes had the coolest baby seats attached, I really wanted to buy one. It is a completely picturesque little city and I highly recommend it.

I bought Jameson some maracas to keep him occupied, and he sure loved them!

Our hotel was SO great. The hotel Estherea if anyone is interested. There was free coffee and hot chocolate around the clock, and it was awesome. Siobhan and I definitely indulged in that!

I love my boy!

These two photos we were just hanging out at the apartment.

Back Stateside

I feel so out of touch. My computer stopped charging sometime in early to mid-April, and it was the longest time I have gone without home internet since my fam got AOL back in the early 90's! Luckily, I had an awesome student who would lug her computer over every few days and watch Jameson while I caught up with emails (and everyone else's blogs). I learned a really good lesson though, and it was how time sucking the computer is for me. I knew that in theory, but to get it proven to me so bluntly was an eye-opener. Needless to say it was a blessing in disguise as I got so much accomplished I was almost composed getting out the door the morning of our flight.
Jameson and I managed to make lemonade out of lemons.

I will be attempting to catch everyone up to speed over the course of the week, but I gotta post this or else it will take me another two weeks to write something else.

We LOVE being outside!

I love this pic of him, he is such a cheeseball and it shows!

Just hanging out in the backyard feeling the grass between our toes

We went to Poetzleinsdorf park last weekend and had a blast. We got to play on the playground see the baby animals (lambs and goats) and then we went on a hike. While hiking we smelled the wild baerlauch (related to garlic) and saw a bunch of older women picking it. It smelled SO yummy!

Poetzleinsdorf where we got to play on the playground and look at the baby lambs

Sliding down the slide

Having fun on the swing

Loving the sandbox, just need some tools!

On Thursday we met some other mums at the zoo. It was a beautiful day and the animals were out and about. Jameson is really noticing all animals lately. So it was a very fun experience. We will definitely be going back there since we have an annual pass. It was a bit difficult to get pictures since he isn't really walking yet. I got a couple of pics the whole day, and that was it. Waiting for the penguins to be fed

Jameson and Sophia had fun playing in the dirt and rocks when they got bored watching the penguins.

I never realize how BIG Jameson is until I see him standing next to a kid. Granted Sophia is little, but she is almost a month older than him! Jame-o stood about a head taller than her!

The very cool basket swing at a nearby park. Jameson loves it! He crawls all around in it and says: "'ga" which I have interpreted to mean "again." I seem to be on the right track, because then he says "ja ja ja ja ja (ya ya ya ya ya)." Everyday we have gone and played outside since the weather has been in the 70's. Love it!

His very serious face. At this moment he was humming to himself and he takes his singing very seriously!