I am only updating in pairs lately...

Here is the most recent stuff... and stories.  Last Saturday Josh and I went to Toys R Us so that I could buy some hot wheels for Dresden to reward him with good behavior.  This kid is loves anything with wheels!  Anyway, he found hidden in the corner of a store a little push riding thingy (for this storied purposes, we will just call it "pushie".  Once he set eyes on this pushie he wouldn't let it go.  He took it everywhere with him in the store.  We tried to find one in a box, but upon asking a sales rep we found out it was discontinued.  Thankfully for us though, the manager allowed us to purchase the floor model at 50% off!  This pushie is now his latest appendage.  We even had to take it with us to the park on Sunday!  It is heavy.
Speaking of park on Sunday, we went to the Olympic Park in Atlanta since Josh hasn't been yet.  The weather was humid, but really nice.  On the paths of the park, there are huge engraved numbers.  Whenever we see numbers I always ask him to point ones out.  He usually is not consistent so I yet yet to see proof of his knowledge of them.  Maybe because it was a Sunday, but he pointed out each number correctly as we asked him!  We got a bit of it on video.  I have to say it was a proud moment for Josh and I.  Even today, we were coloring and I drew shapes on a piece of paper (diamond, square, oval, circle, star, rectangle, and triangle).  I asked him where each one was and he got every one of them right!  I always worry that he was behind because he was delayed in talking and walking, but this has put me at ease. Now if I can get him on the alphabet!  He knows his vowels, but has yet to show me he knows all the ABCs.
Enough of my rambling... You want to see pictures!  Here you go:
First off is a video of Dresden I took on my phone.  I was cooking dinner, look over and he had climbed up on the chair and pretended to read the CrockPot user manual.  I couldn't resist filming him.

 The "pushie"

 He never goes on the toddler jungle gyms. The higher he is the more fun he has I guess.

  Daddy!

 Video of Dresden at the park

And last but not least, the pirate patch he loves to wear, but not over his eye.

I know I am a slacker this summer...

Ok, yes we are still alive and kicking!  Sorry for all of you who depend upon our blog for updates, but I have been short of pictures and time.  I have recently discovered that taking pictures of Dresden has become a chore.  Not only do we have a huge and awkward camera, but it is so hard to get Dresden to ignore that I have a camera in his face.  Also I am very guilty of forgetting the camera while I am out.  No 4th of July pictures... Sorry!
Speaking of 4th of July, we had such a wonderful time at the Mounts!  We got to see fireworks, eat lots of good food, and see some questionable dance moves (j/k!).  I seriously have never heard of Lady Gaga's song "Born This Way", but after that weekend, I couldn't get Allan's version out of my head (I know I wasn't the only one).  It rained a little here and there all weekend on the lake, but at least Dresden got to swim in the toilet!  (Funny story...).
Here are some pictures from around that time...

Dresden loves to put Daddy's hats on

 And he also loves messing up my phone.  The other day he had sent and email, a text, and changed my background picture!  This kid is too smart for my own good. :)

I figured that after it had rained I could get some pictures of Dresden splashing around in the puddles... that only lasted a few seconds.  Then it was back and forth the wasp-infested gazebo... perfect.

 

18 Month Checkup

Dresden had his 18 month checkup today.  Here is how he measured up:

Weight - 27 lbs  50-55%
Height - 34 ins  85-90%
Head Circ - 49 cm

So he is still doing well and still growing!  As he has a few words he now says once says, "Hi", "up", "apple" and "purple", he still babbles and babbles away.  The doctor called this "advanced jargon".  It has a name!

Last week we went to the Childrens' Museum in downtown Atlanta.  They were running a half price special, but I still ended up paying $7.00 to watch Dresden going up and down stairs.  Since that is all he did, that is all I had pictures of.

Up the tractor steps

And down the tractor steps

Up the house stairs

And down the stairs

And stop to wash the dishes

I pulled the camera out today during Dresden's bath time as he was being very silly.  I finally got a picture of his goofy smile he gives off rarely.  

Olympic Park

Monday we went to Olympic Park.  I had the hardest time keeping Dresden at the playground.  He was more interested in the numbers etched on the sidewalks, than playing.  Who knew?
I also found out quickly that it is hard to take pictures of this kid when Josh isn't around.  I wasn't able to get pictures of him playing in the splash pad/fountain (partly because I had to be in it as well for him to stay), but I did get pictures of the "after".

Lately Dresden has been trying to use his dump truck as a skateboard.  I tried taking a picture of it, but as soon as the camera comes out he gets off.  Sorry I still have your pajamas Kattie. :)

I had to coax him through the tunnel

He was content with standing at the bottom of the slide while all the other boys had to dodge him coming down.

Dresden has a small obsession with stairs.

One of the few boys in our group who dared to get soaked.  With some coaxing of course... and swinging him in the path of the water...

He was being goofy for some reason whenever he stuck a handful of blueberries into his mouth.

Faces of Dresden: Part ?

Figured I would put these pictures in a different post.  Yeah!  This never gets old, though Josh and I probably look like we are super corny... wait, WE ARE!

Wait a second... wrong child...

There we go.  Much better.

Well, It Is About Dang Time!

So I feel bad and figured I would stay up tonight and update my blog.  I mean, what ELSE am I going to do?  Since coming here to Atlanta I have read through the books I had brought and then I read through the books that I bought.  My grand total is at 10 books, the 10th of which I finished just this afternoon.  So until I get a car, I am book-less.

Anyway, enough of my whining, onto what you all REALLY came to see.  Pictures of Dresden!  Josh and I recently had the chance to spend a day together (YES A WHOLE DAY) and so we went to this safari thing where you can feed animals.  We got our money's worth of course when we were able to extend our lovable series, Faces of Dresden.

For those of you going to the Safari thing in Atlanta in the future (aka Kattie), don't look at the pictures if you think it might ruin your experience. I don't want to be the party pooper! :)

Dresden's new thing lately is finding stuff to sit on.  His new sitting spot is the bookshelf (after he has relieved it of its books that is).

Oh yeah, and inside his toy box too.

 When we got to the Wildlife Safari place, the first thing we did was go around to the animals in the cages to feed them by hand.  Here is a Llama (or Alpaca) with some wicked teeth.  I was afraid this one was going to spit.

Next was the bear, who looked so depressed.

Goats (yawn)

Big-horned sheep (yawn)

 And a baby Giraffe.

 Then, we rented a van and went to the drive-thru animal feeding thing (I am a wiz at word-usage today!).

Other than a few instances, Dresden spent most of his time exploring the inside of the van, and playing with the visors, and the steering wheel...

This Bison was probably the most disgusting.  Watch OUT!  This:

Turns to this:

Zebras...aw!

Moose (or is it Meese?? ha ha)

And this Emu, who I affectionately call Satan's Minion!

Mean birds.  Scary birds.  I am serious.