Horses

Last Saturday Guthrie and I headed to Freedom Park, here in Charlotte, for the Festival in the Park. It's one of those family events that has art, music, rides, food, etc. Bri and I had gone once before several years ago, but only checked out the art area. Now that G is around, I of course decided to venture into the "family area.". Boy, were we in for a treat.

Unfortunately, I had to park far away and had mistakenly left my wallet in the car. So, by the time I realized this, we were well into the thick of the rides and such. Guthrie had such a great time just looking at the colors and little cars going in circles and watching the other kids that I don't think he cared much that he wasn't actually on the rides- they were probably too big for him anyway.

By far his favorite feature was the ponies. A local farm had a little pen set up for pony rides. G was in his glory. He loves all kinds of animals and has never seen a horse or pony in person. As soon as he caught sight of them he started kicking, reaching and shouting.

I got him out of the stroller and held him up to touch one of the pony's head. It was magical for little G. He even laughed when the horse tried to eat his arm. I wasn't able to get a very good picture of this experience because both hands were occupied with holding my little guy and trying to make sure the pony didn't eat one of his little appendages (a third arm would've come in handy).
Checking out the ponies with a little friend.
Pure joy!
Trying to climb into the pen once the ponies were hooked for "walks." They were much too far away for Guthrie...
Man! Too bad I didn't have the $5 with me for a pony ride- it would've made the day perfect for him. Another time...

Sidewalk Chalk

G-Piles

One of Guthrie's favorite activities lately is to have blankets, pillows, and animals piled on top of him. We'll create huge mounds, practically over his head- but the little guy's not satisfied until all soft things in sight are on in the pile. He'll work his arms out and point to the lone blanket in the corner.

Once the mountain is complete, G will smile and giggle contently, and rock back in forth babbling. Then, in an explosion of energy, he'll pop out and the game starts again.
New day, new pile.
Where's Gus? (ET moment)
Oh, even a pile of clean diapers will do...


Pile-up on the couch.

Escape!
And............then wanting back in again!

Tales of the Crazy Man IV

This guy was just crackin' us up tonight. All these videos took place in a matter of 10 or 15 minutes- G was busy working off all his pre-bedtime energy...

Tales of the Crazy Man III

Tales of the Crazy Man II

Tales of the Crazy Man I

Labor Day fun

The weather in Charlotte has been gorgeous for the past couple weeks, so we decided to take advantage of this and visit Latta park this past Monday. It's a great little park just outside of downtown, fully equipped with a splashground, playground, and trails.

We're so happy for Guthrie now that he's fully walking- it's opened up so many opportunities of play and fun for him that weren't as possible earlier. G and I had visited this same park with some friends about a month before, but he basically just stood on the outside of the water area watching the other kids play (although, I shouldn't downplay the fun of this for him- he was squealing the entire time at the water and kids playing). This time, big Mr. G was in his glory: timid at first and then all out attacking the water and playing in the puddles.

Not to sure at first...

Dad is always good to help get G acclimated.

Guthrie kept running into the water, back to us, into the water, back, etc.

So much fun!

The water was pretty cold and it wasn't too hot outside, so G played until his little lips turned purple! We took a break, dried off and had a picnic lunch. Then, it was back into the water! The second time the purple lips returned a bit more quickly...what a fun day for our little guy (mom and dad too).

Plaza Pres Weekday School

Yesterday Mr. G had his first day of school at a great local preschool in the area. We had checked it out together on Tuesday to met some teachers, parents and fellow students. It seems like an incredible community and the teachers are very invested in the program (most have been there 10 or more years!). We're so excited for Guthrie to have a chance to be around other children and adults in an environment that is friendly and encouraging. We're looking forward to seeing him thrive in a more social situation!

Heading inside (time to start looking into wearing some maternity shirts mom!)
Whoa!
Heading into the classroom
G already has a friend in the class as Colin will be attending on the same days: Wednesdays and Fridays. Here we are in the classroom, Guthrie already reaching for the toys before I've even had a chance to drop off his stuff in his cubbie.
Checking out some fun musical toys
"Ooo, there's those rocking horses I remember from yesterday.".....
Ok- this picture was my downfall- I had already said bye to Guthrie, but he looked so darn cute rockin' away that I had to get another picture. It was at this moment that he realized (to his horror) that I was leaving him there. This picture was snapped as he started to slink toward me, but the 2nd horse slowed him down enough for me to slip out. Poor guy- they said he was fine about 30 seconds later....
Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of G when I came to pick him up but it was such a classic image: he was sitting in a kiddie soft armchair "reading" a giant book while all the other kids around him were playing. Too cute. This guy's an old pro at school already.

The only downfall to this really great school situation is that I miss him a lot while he's gone. It's the best feeling in the world to have my little guy squeeze me super hard (and grunt) when I come to pick him up (I think I may just start grunting a little too- it makes the hug bigger!).

Groomin' Gus