Independence Day

On the 2nd my mom and I went to town to by some fireworks.  We stopped and got a very special gift for Tate.  My former co-workers made Tate a beautiful sock monkey quilt.  We all love it!

On the 4th my brother and his wife came to eat dinner and shoot off fireworks.  Tate pretty much cried after every single one and we left by 8:30.  My family always shot fireworks with my grandma and uncle for as long as I can remember.  Both have since passed away so it was just sad now to shoot fireworks, especially since they made Tate upset.  Hopefully in the years to come we can get the joy and excitement back in our holiday!!

New Stuff

Tate got some new stuff yesterday.  He got a set of blocks and a kid size table and chairs.  He liked them both and is fond of pushing his new chairs around the kitchen.

We got to hang out with my cousin, Beka, today.  Tate got to play on the tractor; play in the grass and rocks; and see the dog, cat, and bird.  He had a great time!

HOLY MOLARS!  Poor guy is miserable and is pretty crabby and needs his momma A LOT! 

P.S. - You might be a redneck if you play outside with your son in just your underwear and slippers! ;)

Tired and Busy

Today was a busy day!  We visited some twins that are just a month old.  It is hard to believe that Tate was that small.  We got a very special gift today.  It is a beautiful sock monkey quilt made by some of my old coworkers from the school.  Then we went and bought fireworks, ate yummy Mexican food, and got groceries.  The only nap Tate took today was in the car on the way home.  He has not been sleeping well again and keeps waking up earlier and earlier.  He was up at 4:00 this morning.  He was in bed by 7:00 tonight so hopefully that helps!

Happy Birthday to Brett's Grandma Maxine!!  Tate is her 25th great-grandchild.

Sprinkler

Tate got to "run" in the sprinkler for the first time.  He wasn't very crazy about it but sure did have fun chasing the animals around the yard!

We finished up cutting all of our wheat today and have a few hours worth of cutting to do for a neighbor and then we are officially finished with 2013 Harvest!!  We rode the combine for most of the afternoon today.  Tate fell asleep but his 30 minute nap in the combine was all he slept all day so he was a giant mess by bedtime!  He woke up at 4:50 and finally went back to sleep around 5:30 and slept in bed with me until 8:30.  I am starting a bad habit and I couldn't even fall back asleep.  YIKES!

Gardener

Tate helps me in the garden.  It is fenced in so I kind of just let him roam around.  I only have potatoes, tomatoes, cucumbers, and a pepper plant.  He likes to stand at the tomato cages and before I knew it my "helper" had a little green tomato in his hand.  He loved it and chewed on it for a while after we got inside.

Tate had a terrible morning.  He woke up early but was still tired so he was crabby!  He fought and fought his much needed nap and then only slept in his crib for 30 minutes before waking back up.  I was able to rock him for another hour.  He cut a bottom tooth today.

We rode the combine again this afternoon.  Our neighbors were cutting their wheat just up the hill with their red combines.  We had a green one that wasn't working properly.  Before long they showed up with their whole crew a makeshift cross.  It has been a long-standing joke that each one of us has better equipment and whenever the other one has a problem a cross always shows up.  (Crosses usually appear when KSU loses a big game too!)  By the end of the day we had both machines running again thanks to Brett!

I found a super awesome idea on Pinterest and whipped up this beauty last night.  You put ice packs in it and use it to keep your car seat cool.  I hope it works well!  My mom had the ice packs and I had the material in my stash so I'm not out a whole lot if it is a bust.  I am a bit worried about the condensation.

Here is the tutorial but I didn't really follow it.  I just made my own version based on the picture.  I got it done in about an hour and a half.  It is massive so I think I will usually only use 3 ice packs instead of the 5 I made it for.
http://withjoyinexpressible.blogspot.com/2012/07/carseat-cooler-tutorial.html

Idea

I had the idea to put shaving cream in Tate's pool for something different for him to do.  He was not impressed.

We were able to cut wheat again today.  Tate and I rode the combine with Brett for an hour today and then played in the truck and went to the elevator.  We had supper at Grandma's where Tate decided he was quite a fan of Kansas dirt cake.  Uncle Chris is home to help with harvest and learned that if you eat a cookie in front of Tate you have to give Tate one too!

Sucker

Tate's new thing is to suck air in his lips like he is drinking through a straw.  He does it ALL DAY LONG.  He thinks it is super funny when someone does it back.