Holiday Fun

This week was another busy one. On Monday I started swimming lessons. I'm having a great time!

I don't like to swim on my back but I love to swim on my tummy!

Nate is also taking swimming lessons. He's in the big kid class. That's right after my baby class. He's very brave. Look at him jumping into the pool. I'm going to swim like Nate someday.

The cousins and I decided since we like to play in the water so much we should fill up the pool in my backyard. It's a small pool but somehow Meggie and Nate find room for tricks like this one:

I had my very first trip to the library this week. Mommy got a little frazzled trying to keep track of me and pick out books for Nate and help Meggie pick out books. But I found this cool rocket ship and it occupied me for short spurts of time.

On Thursday, Mommy and Daddy took me to Stillwater. We found a really cool park called Teddy Bear Park. Grandma Jan has talked about taking us grandkids there, so I must disclaim for my parents that they did not intentionally take me to this park. They just happened to park in the right spot and when we got out of the car, there it was!

It's a pretty cool park, so if you're looking for a fun place to play in Stillwater, I give it two thumbs up.

After we played at the park for a bit, I loaded back up in the stroller and pointed Mom and Dad towards the main street. We checked out a couple shops and walked along the water. Mom and Dad showed me a place called PD Pappy's. They said they used to hang out there a lot in the summer before I came along. They sounded a bit nostalgic and sad about not hanging out there anymore. I think I'll see if Grandma Jan and Grandpa Bob can watch me sometime so they can go back there and listen to some music and relive their glory days. Daddy also showed me the place where he asked Mommy to marry him and the restaurant where they had dinner. How romantic!

We all got hungry during our exploring so we stopped at The Freighthouse for dinner. Just like last time, I loved the pickles!

I also loved me some ketchup. What a genius idea-squishing up tomatoes so you can lick them off of french fries!

Friday was the Fourth of July. Mommy and Daddy and I headed over to the big city of St. Paul where we had lunch at D'Amico & Sons and dessert at Izzy's. Mommy's friend from work, Ms. Jennifer, recommended Izzy's and it was also featured on Food Network. With two strong recommendations, we had to check it out.



Mommy and Daddy each got a Dizzy Izzy. That's five little scoops, each a different flavor. This is good for people like my parents who have a tough time with decisions. They also had a perfect choice for me, The Izzy. One little scoop + one little cone = one BIG yum.

Friday night we went over to Uncle Cooney's house. I had a fun time exploring his backyard and his house and eating baked beans. Sorry, but we didn't get any pictures at that particular outing.

And if a Freighhouse pickle, baked beans, and my first ice cream cone weren't enough for one weekend, Daddy brought home doughnuts when he went to the grocery store Saturday morning. Mine was really good but I shared a bite with Daddy. Gotta take care of my guy.

On Saturday, I had a much anticipated playdate with Quinn. Mom and Amy have been trying for many weeks (or even months?!) to get together and it finally happened! We went to lunch at Applebee's and then played at Lorraine Park. We had a great time but got good and tired and had to cut the fun short to go home for naps.



Saturday night we headed over to Brooklyn Park for yet another social engagement. This time it was off to visit Nate, Michelle, and Olivia. Nate is Daddy's coworker. He makes great fajitas. I wonder what his secret ingredient is...?


Dan and Kristy were also there with their little boy, Alex. He's just two weeks younger than me.

I got to bring my swimsuit along and play in Olivia's pool.

Olivia's pool has a water slide! Isn't that cool? Mommy helped me go down the slide. Then Daddy told her to let me go down all alone. Wow! Talk about full immersion baptism!! But to everyone's surprise, I popped up out of the water like nothing happened. I'm tough like that.


Today we rounded out the weekend with dinner at Outback Steakhouse with Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Jenni, Uncle John, Meggie and Nate. I'm getting to be more than a handful at restaurants, so Mommy says after Freighthouse, D'Amico & Sons, Applebee's and Outback, she's putting a moratorium on eating out. Sounds good to me. All that squirming around and standing up in my highchair, shouting "Mommy" at the top of my lungs, dropping and eating crayons and flirting with the waitstaff and other customers is getting a bit exhausting.

Well I best go get rested up. I've got another week of swim lessons and lots of playing with Meggie and Nate ahead of me.

Toodles!
Taylor "Itsy Bitsy Spider" Oster