Decatur Blue Sky Concert

Every Wednesday in May and September, Decatur has a free concert on the square at noon. We've been packing a picnic lunch, hopping on the MARTA train, and meeting Jess (his office is just across the street) for some lunchtime tunes. All packed and ready to walk up to the MARTA station.

Waiting on the platform at the station, waving good-bye to the passing train.

Enjoying a picnic lunch.

Wrestling with Daddy

Thanks, Daddy, I can see much better up here.

Mmmm ... lollipop!

We've actually been coming to these concerts for a while ... 3-month-old Ben at a Blue Sky Concert - September 2005

From the Mouth of a 2-Year-Old

While somewhat shy and quiet in new situations, Ben is a major chatterbox most of the time. We get running commentary from the moment he wakes up until he puts his head down at night, as only a 2-year-old could tell it. Here are a few snippets:

Lying in bed at naptime: I’ll hold you, Mommy … Are you really heavy to carry around?

About random passersby on the street: What’s his/her middle name?

Watching me put on eyeliner: Are you coloring your head?

At breakfast one morning: Look, it’s a ladybug! Actually, it’s a MANbug.

To a lady sitting in his way at the park, after we had practiced politely approaching her and saying “excuse me”: Open sesame. (This is also said to any automated door - elevators, grocery stores, garages, etc.)

Ben is in full “Why?” mode. (I’ve read that this can last for years … God, grant me patience.) After rounds and rounds of questioning, I sometimes have to finally just answer, “Because that’s how God made him/her/it.” The other day in the car we were talking about traffic lights, a new fascination: Why is that wire up there? So power can get to the lights. Why? So the light can turn colors. Why? So we know when to go. Why? So we don’t crash. Why are there two wires on that one? I’m not sure. Cuz that’s how God made it, Mommy.

Our Sweet Noah

Noah is 9 months old now. He is our sweet, sweet baby boy. He has a great sense of humor, loves to be held and cuddled, and laughs and laughs at his brother's silly antics (until they involve knocking him over). He is up on all fours rocking, but not quite crawling yet. (This reminds me of Ben not crawling at this age and the pediatrician telling us that he just "wasn't motivated." We thought, "Great. It starts this early?")

Noah loves to click his tongue. Ask him a question, he'll click in response. In fact, for a while he wasn't doing much babbling, just clicking, and we thought he might speak in one of those indigenous African click languages before English.

Actually, he's perfect, and we love seeing more and more of his little personality shining through.

Noah has definitely started the separation anxiety phase of infancy. Thus, this is often the face I get when I set him down to attempt to do something with both hands. (How dare I?)

Hmmmm ... only 16 more years until this is real?

Ben is Pottytrained!

Ben is pottytrained. With the help of Elmo underwear and many, many ... many jelly beans as potty rewards (they're only baby teeth, right?), he is finally out of diapers. It's a new day in the Davis household - there are far less diapers to change and Huggies is now getting only a slightly smaller portion of our paycheck. At the risk of offending anyone, I must admit that I have the urge to open our front door and shout, "Pottytrained at last! Pottytrained at last! Thank God Almighty. He is pottytrained at last!"

(I realize this picture has nothing to do with pottytraining, but I thought it was pretty funny and I also didn't really want to post a picture of my kid on the toilet.)

Fernbank Science Center

One of Ben's favorite places these days is the Fernbank Science Center. Jess and I like it because it's nearby, free, and educational. Ben likes it because inside there are animal exhibits (albeit mainly the stuffed variety), a dinosaur replica, and, as he calls it, "The Money Game" (which is actually one of those cyclone things that you drop money into - we can't go without Ben sending a small fortune's worth of coins spinning into that black abyss). And outside there are gardens, a pond, roosters, and Fernbank Forest with walking trails and a big quarry.

Noah likes the Science Center too!

Hiking in Fernbank Forest April 2008

A look back ...

Hiking in Fernbank Forest October 2006

Fernbank Forest October 2006