Splash Pad at the Zoo

Fisherman

Rockstar :)

Turtle Racing!

Giggle

Just cuz the way he laughs makes me smile :)

Pssst, Kitty

I was trying to get him to say "Psssst, kitty..." but I guess the kitties are gone.

Feeding Fish

I love that he winds up to throw the bread hard at one point and then just sets it down in the lake, instead of throwing it. :)

Vacation Recap: Minnesota Zoo

We were super excited to take Jaxon back to the Minnesota Zoo after last year's experience with their splash pad. We had planned to let him run through the water when we got there and again before we left, but as you can see from the picture below, that didn't happen. Our visit started with almost an hour of watching him run around and laugh in the water (that time went FAST!), which apparently wore him out. This year, the dolphin stadium was done so we got to see the dolphin show too. About 3/4 of the way through the zoo, Jax fell asleep. So we finished off the farm area and the Northern trail while he napped.

Last year, he had his picture taken sitting on this pig ~ I figured we probably shouldn't wake him up to torture him like that this year. Sleepin

M&M face from snacking before the dolphin show ~ we had to use something to keep him from wiggling around!

The pictures from the splash pad are my favorite from our zoo visit. Once he realized it was ok to play in the water, he was off and running (and screaming). There was a little girl pretty close in age that followed Jax around for a bit before he showed her how to rev up and race off.

Checking out the fish in Discovery Bay

Vacation Recap: Hot Sam's

Since Jaxon is a HUGE fan of the movie Cars, we went to Hot Sam's Antiques to see the Doc Hudson car that they have out there. I thought his eyes were going to pop out of his head when he saw it. After he'd recovered, though, he goes, "Where's Mater?" ;)

Josh's parents have a picture of him when he was little, sitting on a yard chicken like this and so it made sense that we made Jax do the same thing. You can tell by how he's clenching his fists how glad he is to have taken part in this part of the adventure.
Checking things out with Grandpa

"Yook!"

Vacation Recap: Minnesota Children's Museum, part 2

These refused to upload with the other post for some reason, and so I guess again I have to do a 2nd post. Darn Blogger.

Driving bus ~ he was soooo excited to finally get a chance after waiting for a bunch of other kids to let him have a turn

Boat racing

This was taken about 2 minutes after we had strapped him into his carseat. When we were strapping him in, he asked for some cookies. I handed him the box and apparently he was too tired to even eat any.

We had SUCH a great time at the Children's Museum, I think we're all looking forward to going back next year on vacation. Maybe we'll have to venture there again before then...

Vacation Recap: Minnesota Children's Museum

My own tiny rockstar! The videos that I took in this room are soooo funny. Painting his face

Fishing

Building with Daddy :)

This unbelievable castle was made by a 13 year old! My brother and I used to play with Legos a lot, but never anything like this!

As you can tell, he was super excited we made him sit on this turtle shell!

Vacation Recap: Lakeville

We spent the last weekend of our vacation in Lakeville, visting Grandpa Jim and Grandma Linda. Jax had a great time "fwimming" and playing with his cousins and grandparents.

Playing cars with GrandpaJosh and Joe :)

Jaxon and Braeden

Please note, he is swimming with no one holding onto him. He's getting braver, though it takes some getting used to before he will just float on his own.

"Mom! I happy!"

Jax and LaNora thought they were playing video games....really, they were watching a movie. Whatever works!

LaNora

Melvin and Raiden rode down to Lakeville with us ~ it didn't take long for everyone to fall asleep!

Vacation Recap: Picnic At Phelps Mill, Turtle Racing in Perham

This year's turtle racing adventure went better than last year. Racing was a little more interesting to Jaxon, though he still wouldn't touch the turtle. When it came time to return to the turtle, however, he freaked out and was SO mad at us. I have video also that I will post sometime, too.

Watching the races from Daddy's shoulders

This year's picnic at Phelps Mill was a little more interesting (and a LOT hotter) than last year. Last year, Jax was just learning to walk and was still pretty unsteady. This year, he would take off running ... or rev his engine and then run off.

After lunch, we tried feeding ducks and fish. There were no ducks to be seen, but we did see a few fish. Jax would yell for the ducks as he threw crumbs into the river, but none ever showed up.

Revving his engine before running a lap ~ the only time he'd pause from his racing was to push his lawn mower around a little. Mostly, he raced.