Uncle Fred's Motorcycle

Uncle Fred (one of Jeff's many nicknames for those who don't know, but Alstan calls him Fred) got out his motorcycle last weekend when we were up at the farm.
Alstan and the rest of the farm heard him start it and went out to take a look. He was very fascinated with the motorcycle (as he is with any vehicle - motorcycle, bicycle, tractor, truck, big truck, car, airplane and bus are all now in his vocabulary). He does says motorcycle, even if only a few people would be able to decipher it.

You can see Jessie is smiling when Alstan is sitting on the motorcycle, but you can be sure that that smile will be turned upside down someday when Alstan says he wants his own motorcycle. She'll be so worried about it being dangerous.

Musician

Alstan already has more musical talent than his mom and dad combined. Here he is playing his xylophone, which is something he's become very interested in the last couple of weeks.

Tickle, Tickle, Tickle

Dying Horse

Alstan is trying anything he can to get the dying horse up and moving again. Bouncing, slapping, pulling, loving, and stepping! Nothing worked though. He needs to learn how to say "Centipede!" and she'd get off the floor in a hurry!

Mine, Mine, Mine

Dad always says mine, mine, mine when Alstan grabbed his drink or remote control so now that is what he does when he gets a hold of those things.

More Help...

...and here he is helping his Aunt Amie pull her luggage out the door (he's not sending you a message though Amie:). Amie just stopped in for an overnight visit before going to Milwaukee to visit friends. Alstan was asleep before Amie arrived, but in the morning he knew that Amie's shoes were in the hallway. He kept bringing over her scandals and saying Amie.

Big Help

Alstan loves to help push anything he can. Here he's pushing his stroller. At the grocery store he loves to help push the cart too.

South Dakota Rest Stop

We would have made it all the way to Grandpa and Grandma Van's if Dad didn't have to go the bathroom (again). Since we stopped though it was a good chance to run around. Who needs a playground set when we've got grass and a whole bunch of concrete. When I was a kid going out to Rapid City I always remember stopping at the rest stops in South Dakota with the concrete tee-pees.

Posts, Posts, Posts

I have been slacking this summer. I only made five posts in all of July so I'm going to do some catching up today. The first is some pictures of Alstan helping Dad do dishes. He loves to help with the dish washer and every time he hears it open he comes running. Of course when he's old enough to load the dishwasher himself he'll run too... in the other direction.

The Pool

Here are the last pictures of Alstan from our trip to Sioux Falls. Amie took us to a local pool that Alstan really enjoyed!

Vermillion Lake Monster

Once again, Jessie and I didn't get our camera out so we had to rely on others. In this case it's Grandma Van's camera phone. Since it's with a picture phone from distance it's not the best quality, but here's Alstan in the water on his first boat ride. He was a little unsure of getting all the way in the water, but he did great for his first try!

The Zoo

Thanks to Aunt Amie we have a few pictures from vacation to put up. Once again we either forgot the camera or just didn't pull it out while we were in Sioux Falls.

Last Saturday Alstan went on his first trip to the Zoo. He was excited about the animals, went on a carousel, and got to ride on a train too.

Bumps and Bruises

Here are some pictures of Alstan after getting knocked around yesterday. The fat, bruised lip is from falling off a kitchen chair. Somehow his foot got tangled and he landed face first. The other is his scraped nose and forehead, which he got when he fell while walking on the sidewalk.

Sitting at the Table

Alstan has really enjoyed climbing up on the kitchen chairs to play with the computer or eat. We've got to make sure the chairs are always pushed in so he isn't climbing when we aren't in there. Even when we are in the room there are accidents though. This morning he fell face first while getting off the chair and now has a fat lip, so there may be a photo of Alstan's new fat lip on the next entry (if the swelling doesn't go down while he naps).

Petting Zoo

Mom and Alstan went on a play date in Fond du Lac. They had a picnic at the park, went to the petting zoo, and rode on the carousel. He is very curious about animals right now, but still a bit cautious when he's around them. He went on his first carousel, which is in the background. There are no pictures of that, but Mom said he liked it once it got moving.