Grammie and Pa

Ian got a visit from Grammie and Pa in late July (yes, I'm that far behind in posting pictures!). They last saw him at Christmastime, so he got to show off all his new skills (notably: talking in sentences). He got some extra attention and special trips to the parks and museum while they were here. But, apparently what he remembers most was the time he and Grammie waited in the car while Pa went into the store to pick up a pizza. He talks about it every time we pass Domino's!

Unfortunately we didn't get a lot of great photos during this visit (Doug and I were at work or out on a date for much of the time Ian spent with them). Here are the best ones we have.

First, while waiting for Grammie and Pa, Ian opened his birthday presents from Aunt Julie. Opening presents seems to be very serious business for Ian -- you will notice his look of concentration in these photos. But he loves all of his new toys. Here he is pictured opening a wooden build-a-train set (combination of block and train concepts) from Aunt Julie:



He likes this train, but likes even more her other present -- wooden food stuck together with velcro that allows him to cut it with a wooden knife and cutting board. I know it sounds weird, but he thinks it's a great idea. He can now cut the food up much faster than I can put it back together!

Hermit Thrush was visiting earlier in the day, and was still around to take some group photos when Grammie and Pa arrived. Despite her photographic skill, we had a hard time getting a good photo. This is the one with most of us looking at the camera:



It was tricky due to distractions like this:



Pa helping Ian check out his first jigsaw puzzle (a big floor puzzle with 24 pieces and almost as many different modes of transportation represented). We thought this would be too old for him, but he can actually put sets of pieces together on his own if we narrow it down to a few at a time. He hasn't touched his non-jigsaw puzzles since:



And here he is with Grammie opening wax crayons for drawing on his new placemats:



Ian really enjoyed getting to see both sets of grandparents this summer -- should be seeing them again next month!