This month felt SO LONG! It was an epic month and a whirlwind at the same time.

Is that because I have a toddler? I don’t know, but this is pretty much what the month from mid-August to mid-September looked like for me:

Not hanging out at IKEA, but with 14-month-old Ari toddling away from me!

We’ve also been enjoying the new food cart pod in our neighborhood:

And OMSI:

Ari continues to love the tomatoes from our garden:

My parents came for a visit – here is Ari watching his grandpa blow bubbles:

We went on a fun community bike ride called Sunday Parkways and for some reason the only picture I have of it is from the beer garden…this is Ari with his grandma:

At our friends’ baby shower Ari played with an older toddler at this water table:

He started using crayons!

We vacuumed together – he’s been imitating us a lot more recently:

I set up a little desk for him under our desk:

He finally got another haircut – his third! He was very good about it and kept his head very still!

Here he’s looking silly, playing with the dog’s leash:

We decided to get an electric-assist cargo bike for A. to take Ari to and from his new daycare because it’s kind of out of the way and in car traffic A. would have to leave work too early in order to pick him up on time. So we borrowed a couple of bikes from the shop to test them out. The one that Ari is shown in is the Bullitt, and the other one is the Xtracycle Edgerunner.

We were torn – the Bullitt seems better for piling in smaller kids (you can even put the seat flat for napping) and randomly sized stuff, and I fantasized about taking Andrew out with us in it too, because I hate leaving him behind when we go for bike rides. But we tried it and Andrew wasn’t having it. I’m sure he’d adjust if we habituated him slowly with lots of treats, though.

You can buy a rain shield for it and I like having Ari in front of me where I can see him. It was hard to ride at first, and once I finally got going I told A. I wasn’t going to be able to turn or stop, but I figured it out eventually. However, starting up from a stopped position was always scary because it would start turning in a circle and I would have trouble straightening out again. But pedaling it uphill at 19 mph with the e-assist was fantastic! And going downhill it was very steady.

I expected the Edgerunner to be easier to ride and feel more like a normal bike, but it was hard for me too, in pretty much the same way that riding with really heavy bags on a rear rack is hard. It felt kind of wobbly going downhill fast. But I liked the more upright riding position on it.

Ultimately we decided on the Edgerunner partly because it costs less and partly because it seems more versatile for carrying older kids and adults. It’s also a little easier to park and store.

Ari had fun when we took a break at this park with a fun splash pad:

We went to the coast one day with a friend and our dogs:

Andrew ran and ran and ran there and had a great time! Ari did great in the cold water and got to touch anemones in a tidepool.

Back at the food carts – it’s water in the bottle!

I keep this bin of rice in the kitchen to entertain Ari. I always have to sweep up rice afterward, though.

I was pretty proud of myself when I made this butternut squash and black bean mash that he enjoyed:

I also made playdough! We were stuck inside for the day and I was trying to do some cooking.

He actually imitated me when I showed him how to use the rolling pin:

We went to 1000 Acres off-leash park with my friend and her dog:

We actually got Andrew to swim! It was a good thing we went there because then I took my friend’s dog home with us to take care of him for a week! We got them nice and tired. Then we had some walks like this:

Ari and Andrew are buds:

Then another friend who was pregnant went into labor and had her baby! So I also took care of her dog while she was in the hospital, but he stayed at their house and I made visits there. Andrew didn’t mind at all:

Ari LOVES balls! He and Andrew share that passion and they play fetch together wonderfully.

I am so loved:

At the same time as all the dog sitting, a couple of stressful things were going on, I had some extra things to do for work (including my annual evaluations), A. went out of town for work, and my mom visited! It was a good thing I had my mom to help with everything. I was stressed out and EXHAUSTED from late nights and early mornings.

Fortunately, Ari also started daycare in September! Recently I’ve had a couple of days when he was there and I was home and off work and it was AMAZING. The first time I’ve had an entire day to myself since he was born, I think! I cleaned the house! Caught up on SO MANY loads of laundry! Made phone calls! Wooo-hoooo! I am way more productive with a day home alone (well, with the dog) than I ever was before I had Ari.

For his monthly photo, Ari kept throwing his stuffed animals off the couch:

 

I couldn’t decide between these: