Instagram Love

Got an iPhone yesterday when Cory changed cellular services for his business. Having limited technological savvy, I was only a recent convert to an Android even though it seems everyone else has been using "smart" phones for ages. And I admit there was only one real reason that I was willing to yet again learn a new device, a little gem of an app that my many online scrapbook acquaintances have been raving about.  Instagram.

Instagram takes seemingly mundane, everyday camera phone photos and transforms them into little works of art with a few simple clicks. Just check out this picture I snapped of David at the mall today and you'll see what I mean. Sweet.

Here's another photo, taken by Dad while we were visiting in Perry County a few weeks back, transformed by one of Instagram's photo filters:



If you have an iPhone, download this free app and "follow" me. You'll see the pics I plan on uploading frequently now that I have the ability.

Technology continues to amaze me.

Lesson learned.

We had planned to head to Columbus, OH this weekend to peruse an antiques fair and explore the reknowned Columbus Zoo. We scrapped our plans after incurring an expensive car repair a few weeks back, so we found ourselves with a "free" weekend here at home. What to do, what to do?

Yesterday morning, after completing the typical morning routine, we sat around and debated the many possibilities before us. Fountain Square antiquing, Irish Fest, Country Fair at Connor Prairie, a jaunt about downtown Zionsville, a hike at Eagle Creek.... all of these came up as possibilities. What should we do to make our weekend great? Exhausted by our choices, we gave up and decided to simply take a walk, stopping at the little park behind the elementary school.

And the ideal thing-to-do pretty much fell into our laps. Who knew a seemingly mundane playground would provide us with such entertainment.

He absolutely loved the tunnel slide. Went down by himself many times, laughing all the way.

Cory even took him down a twisting tunnel slide on the bigger kids.  The above photo looks disturbing but trust me, they are both laughing. And VERY static-y.  Ha!

Who says a major outing is necessary to make a weekend great?  Lesson learned.

Using a spoon?

I caught David "using" a spoon the other morning. And whereas I'm sure you would enjoy this video thoroughly even without my annotation, there are a few interesting things to note:

• Please forgive the first few dizzying seconds. I use my Android to tape him now (so handy), so I have to approach him with stealth or else he will stop what he's doing. I start the taping out of his earshot (it beeps) and walk toward him acting like I'm using my phone for something else. It fools him. For now.
• He is eating cantaloupe. A current favorite.
• Note the bagel-sniffing. It was blueberry, and was rejected as you will see. Not sure what was so offensive about it. I'm afraid he's become somewhat of a picky eater.
• Even though the clip is quite short, this process went on for the entire meal.
• I have shown this to everyone who will watch it at work, so now it's your turn:

Hope you enjoyed this as much as I did. Bon appetit!

He's got wheels...

In recent weeks, I've watched David attempt, multiple times, to get behind the wheel of a plastic army Jeep he got from his Uncle Ian.  Mind you, this toy was designed for Barbie-sized GI Joe dolls, not 27ish pound toddler bodies.  Needless to say, the few times he was actually successful perching on the little thing it didn't last long (he inevitably always tipped over, oops!), and he wasn't able to really go anywhere.  Pretty funny to watch, though.

So when I saw the Cozy Coupe at Toys 'r' Us yesterday, I had to let him take it for a test drive.  He was instantly smitten.  He grinned as he climbed behind the wheel, honked the little horn, and scooted around the store, Fred Flintstone style.  This trial, however, was not well thought out by me.  Since actually leaving the store in the car was not an option, I had to remove an emotionally labile, tormented by teething, very grumpy 17-month-old from a coveted toy, and I had no way of explaining that we were buying the silly thing.  Nope.  So, he threw a giant fit, attracting the stares and craning necks of our fellow shoppers.  We got out of there pretty fast, red-faced, with our very own Cozy Coupe.  Before the giant fit we had already decided to buy it, I swear.

Once home, Cory slaved to assemble it as David (very impatiently) waited for him to finish. Once it was together, we took it outside for a test drive.  OK, as you can see by these pictures, he was not willing to wait until we got outside, but we eventually did make it out there as well.

I don't know what it is about this thing, but I think its about the cutest thing ever.  And the Cozy Coupe's pretty cute, too.  ;)

Trying something new...

I've been so busy living life lately, I haven't been blogging it.  And where that's not necessarily a bad thing, I'm sure I will come to regret it in the future, especially when life slows down a little. And it inevitably will.

So this marks my first Android-powered blog post.  We'll see how it turns out before I make any proclamations regarding more to come...

We'd planned on visiting the splash park today, but due to the heat (again), we thought an indoor pursuit might be more comfortable.  Plus, isn't it every 16 month old's dream to spend a Sunday afternoon antiquing?  At least it was the dream if this newly-minted 37 year old. So that's what we did.

We ventured to Noblesville, hoping for another find like my WWI nursing recruitment poster I got there several years ago.  No luck there, so we had root beer floats on the square. Deeee-liscious.

Then on to a children's store called The Wild, where we got David his first puzzle.  Had fun looking around there.  Love buying from independent merchants.  They are a dying breed.

Like a junkie, I just HAD to find a treasure, so we stopped at Westfield Antique Mall.  There, I hit the jackpot.  Got a glass citrus juicer, a Fire King measuring cup, a set of three flower frogs, and a coveted locker basket.  Found so many other treasures too but had to leave something behind for the next guy.

I can't believe how good of a sport David is on these types of excursions, we are truly lucky.

Broadripple Art Fair 2011

I guess it's old news now, but the three of us spent the day at the Broadripple Art Fair last Sunday and we had a fabulous time. Cory and I have been going for years, and always enjoy ourselves immensely.  At a mere two months old last year, David merely tolerated the event.  But this year, he seemed to really take it all in, and it was so heartwarming to see and feel him enjoying himself doing something already pretty special to Cory and me.

It was very warm, and waves of thunderstorms and rain showers rolled through.  We still managed to fit in some incredible shopping, eating, drinking, and people-watching.  And, as usual, I was incredibly inspired being surrounded by such creativity.

One of the first booths we hit was the Art Farm. The artists there construct utilitarian objects out of vintage finds, including clocks, lamps, jewelry, and other treasures. I bought a clock from them a few years ago, and was heartbroken that they were absent last year.  Talking to the artist, I discovered that they were actually not invited (shocking!), but boy was I glad to see they were back.  It was not a question of if, but what I would buy from them.  The clock on the far left was destined to come home with me at the end of the day.

David added another wooden truck to his collection from the same vendor we got his train from last year, as well as three smaller wheeled toys.  I just love the simplicity and beauty of their design, and they have already become David's go-to toys in the living room.  I love that out of the most intricate, technologically advanced playthings he has, he still picks the most simple as his favorite.

After this bit of shopping, we took a break in the shade to enjoy our lunch.  We also tried to pose for some pictures in the prime lighting.  This first picture cracks me up.  We both have the same slightly uncomfortable smirk on our faces as I try to force David to hold still.

Cory is always a bit  more successful than I am to get him to hold still for a picture.  Once again, David looks pretty uncomfortable, but more in the manner of a contortionist.

Lightening and thunder threatened right after lunch, so we headed inside the Art Center to wait it out, along with a few hundred (thousand?) other people.  We took that opportunity to try to get David to take a snooze.  Once the clouds cleared and we were back outside, I peeked into the top of the covered stroller, and this was what I saw.   Oops.  At least he was smiling.

Eventually he did succumb to the sandman, and took a nice nap while Cory and I shopped a little bit more.  Then, we took some more pictures, and David did some classic people-watching.

On the way out, we stopped by a booth that Cory has drooled over for years.  The artist creates prints from handmade etchings depicting classic ballparks.  This was the year to splurge.  We picked out one of Wrigleyville, our own personal Mecca.  The detail is incredible.  We both absolutely LOVE it.

We departed just in time to miss the next deluge that descended upon the Art Center grounds.  What a fabulous day.  Already looking forward to next year...

My second Mother's Day in pictures...

I had a fantastic second Mother's Day yesterday.  It started out with this smiling face.  That was really the only gift I needed.

I arrived at the breakfast table to be greeted by this lovely card from Cory David.

Next, I opened a package with two lovely coffee cups, one for travel and one for home. Since Cory's gift philosophy tends to be "go big or go home", of course there was more. This little beauty, for my coffee-drinking pleasure. Nothing like good coffee at my fingertips to make this mommy happy.  It was a wonderful surprise.



We spent the day relaxing around the house, made a quick trip to the garden center around the corner to look around, then hung out in the backyard. I wanted a nice picture of David and me to remember the day, but of course a 14-month-old has better things to do than pose for pictures.  These make me laugh.

We also played a little catch on the patio.

Finally, David chased bugs before retiring for the evening.

And Cory cooked me a delicious dinner of cedar-plank salmon with lemon and fennel, wild rice with tarragon, lemon, and pine nuts, and a yummy herb salad.  He has potential as a gourmet chef. It was delicious.

What a great day. Hope everyone else had a happy Mother's Day, too.