Playing baseball with Emerson

It was a beautiful day outside and Emerson and I played some baseball last weekend!

Oops, Emerson!  You know you need to keep those blue eyes on the ball!  I guess if you're as good as he is, you can hit the ball even with your eyes closed!

"Your turn, Mimi!"

When I hit the ball, he clapped for me...  "Yeah, Mimi!"

Now it was his turn again...

Once the ball was hit, we'd race to see who could get to the ball first.  My little guy ended up with cheeks the same color as his jersey!  It was pretty warm, in the 90's...and running for baseballs was making us both pretty warm!  Emerson didn't care... I was getting thirsty...

"Emerson, let's go inside and get a drink of water.  OK?" I asked.

"Here, Mimi... Mimi's turn!" he said as he handed me the ball.

 After I hit it this time, I said,  "Emerson, why don't you get the ball!"  and off he went...

 He had to think about it for a minute...

 I think he was trying to decide whether to keep playing or go inside for a drink of water...

 I'm not sure what this look was all about!

"Mimi's turn!"

I guess that meant he wasn't ready to go inside.

Filling the bucket

Benjamin is an outside-boy...that's where he wants to be.  He would tell me, "Mimi, I go in the front" or "...in the back"...

He headed out back, grabbed some of his equipment, and got busy...

He scooped up wood chips...

and put them in the bucket of his tractor...

He needed more...

 He was definitely too busy to wash his face!

You may notice he has a tomato in his hand... for energy while he 'works.'

Benjamin is definitely a busy little man...especially outside...and especially with his own tractor!

He loves tomatoes!

This little man LOVES his toe-matoes...

I went outside to get a few tomatoes for a salad I was making, and Benjamin 'helped' pick...only I failed to get any of those...

He consumed them as quick as he would pick them...

He picked and ate Roma tomatoes...

He ate the Roma tomatoes just like he would eat his apple, or his fig...

You can see the remains on his face of a variety of other foods he'd already consumed...

He also consumed the sungold tomatoes...  he would carefully pick off the stem and throw it down...

...throwing the stem on the ground...

 My little man enjoying his tomatoes!

Tractor Guys

 Benjamin on his tractor...

Emerson on his tractor...

This past weekend was wonderful!  I got to see both my little men.  I had a People to People meeting on Saturday... our Reunion Meeting, which was wonderful! ... so we went to Lindsey's Friday night and came to Gabe's on Sunday... 

A little preview of the photos!

Mastering the finer points

Benjamin hasn't mastered all aspects of potty training...

but he's certainly giving it his best shot!

Watch how he just drops his arms when he sits down!  And of course, getting that underwear up takes a bit of coordination!

What a little man!

Hanging out with Emerson

What a fun little place!

We headed to Sonoma so we could ride the train with Emerson... We had never been here before but Gabe had been told it was a fun place to take kids...so we met there.

My little guy, however, didn't want to ride the train.  "Emerson, do you want to ride the train with Mimi?"   "No!"

"Emerson, do you want to ride the train with Mimi and Papa?"  

"No."

That didn't matter...we had so much fun just hanging out with him... walking around...watching the train... trying to figure out where the petting zoo was.  (You have to ride the train to the petting zoo.) 

He was checking out his Papa's hurt thumb.  I can't remember if we told him the truth about what happened...that his cousin, Benjamin, SLAMMED the door on his Papa...the car door!  Ouch! 

Do kids come any cuter than 2 year olds? 

Emerson loved watching the ferris wheel...  "Do you want to ride the ferris wheel with Mimi?"

"No."

Papa was also loving hanging out with Emerson...

This Mimi melts around these little men and our not-so-little-but-gorgeous granddaughter!

I think these two were having a fairly serious talk...

Emerson wanted to look into his Papa's eyes while they talked...

Ok, enough of this visiting...let's run around some!  Gabe had the camera and was trying to snap photos of this little guy as he was running around!

Emerson saw all the "Thomas the Train" souvenirs... he didn't ask for them...but his Mimi pointed some things out and asked him if he wanted them...  The shirt I thought was the absolute cutest, only came in a size 10/12... a little big for a 2 year old.

When I showed this one to Emerson, he said, "Yes Mimi, I like it!"

We looked around in some old authentic train cars... great places for changing diapers!

 Emerson had a grand time...as did the rest of us!

Like I said, this Mimi melts around her little people!