Rainy Day Activities

Well it's quite wet already, and we are having to be creative with things to do during the day that are cheap and entertain a 16 month old (like that's hard! he plays with rocks). Last week we went to Chuck E Cheese and discovered the magic of Bob the Builder. John rode that silly tractor toy about 8 times before I had to pry him out of it to let other kids ride. He discovered "money" there also; he still has a Chuck E Cheese token and some foreign change that we dug out of our money jar, which he carries around all day. He loves putting it in a cup and jingling it. So far, he calls it "mummy"! He has also discovered coloring with crayons! My industrious littly boy will sit in his high chair for 2 hours straight coloring on blank pieces of paper. It's a nice break for me during the day, yet I worry about him getting enough energy out if I let him sit still for so long. I guess he's doing what he wants though! Two mornings ago I found John standing on the kitchen table. I went into the bedroom to fold laundry, came out to check (eerie silence in the house) and there he was, standing in the middle of the table grinning at me. I just about had a heart attack and needless to say, now we always push the chairs in.

We are also very into playing in the rain. John looks so adorable in his little rain boots and long rain jacket! He LOVES stomping in puddles! Last week while we were outside he fell into a 4" deep puddle and just laid there smiling until I picked him up. He was so wet that I had to dump water out of his boots!

We all drove the other day just to take pictures for my mom of the new Tacoma Narrows Bridge which was built right next to the old one. Here's some awesome pictures...can you believe we live 2 minutes from this?! Very pretty scenery up here in Washington! Oh yeah...and that's "our" mountain from the highway right by our house, Mount Rainier.

We did have an excellent Thanksgiving with Isaac's family. John had a blast running around the Stegman house chasing and being chased by Aunty Abby and Grandpa Stegman, and the food was to die for! We're still working on getting rid of the yummy leftovers that Kathy sent home with us...this afternoon was turkey Sandwiches and tonight is turkey soup with veggies, yum! John, unfortunately, finally succumbed to his oncoming cold and is quite sick. He has had a little bit of a cough and cold for about a week; now, after an exciting Thanksgiving and very unrestful night of sleep in a different place (we stayed at the Stegmans), he has Croup and a terrible cold and fever. Hopefully we dont' have to take him to the doctor, but Croup has gotten the better of John several times now, so we probably will. I don't have any of my own pictures of Thanksgiving, but as soon as I borrow some we'll post them here. See most of you soon, we're visiting CA early December!