Adventures of Tate: Trip to Oklahoma

Tractors, fire trucks, durable medical equipment and some good old fashioned fun on the living room floor filled Tate’s Labor Day weekend.
Chuck, Tate and I hitched a ride with my mom and step-dad to Oklahoma to see the Sadler family (my mom’s family, which includes grandma, two aunts, two uncles and a handful of cousins).
Tate had the privilege of climbing all over the trucks at the Altus Fire Department. He climbed in the cab of one truck and latched on to the steering wheel. Then he played the role of captain, sitting contently on the passenger side while Uncle Tommy drove him around (not literally). Of course, he had to examine the equipment. He climbed all over it, taking a break every now and then to report his findings to Chuck or myself.
There was also the trip to the farm. Anyone who knows a firefighter knows that they all have two jobs. When Uncle Tommy isn’t fighting fires, he helps out on his cousin’s farm. At the farm Tate took a ride on a great big John Deere tractor. He liked it so much he didn’t want to get out. Eventually Chuck and I were able to coax him out of the tractor’s cab. After the tractor ride Tate and Chuck took a spin on the 4-wheeler. It was reported that Tate let out a few squeals of “wee!!!” while on the 4-wheeler.
At Plantation Village, where Gigi (great-grandma) Sadler lives, Tate found yet another something to ride. His gigi has a power wheelchair. My little guy had great fun climbing on and taking a ride with whoever would drive him around the halls of the assisted living complex. There was also a walker, which Tate had a blast climbing on. Crazy kid!
On Saturday night the family gathered for dinner. Afterwards we all piled in Uncle Tommy’s living room. There Tate played with his cousins’ cell phones and they played with his toys.
A good time was had by all. Tate had an absolute blast! The little guy was plum tuckered out. Let’s just say he slept GOOD that night!

Visit to the Altus Fire Department

Trip to the farm

DME fun

Living room fun

Exhausted

Week 74.5: Tate's new shoes!

As other children were heading out for the first day of school, Tate was preparing for another day at daycare. In the spirit of "back to school" Chuck and I put Tate in his new shoes, a pair of Nike "Shocks." Because I am a parent and am no longer hip and up on fashion, I didn't realize it, but apparently these shoes are all the rage. Well, Tate thought so. Normally after the little guy gets his shoes on in the morning he toddles off to find a little mischief before I scoop him up and loaded him up for another riveting day at daycare. On this particular day Tate grabbed the sassy bag (which contained his overnight diaper) and headed for the door. He was ready to go and he was going to lend a helping hand so that we could get out the door and on to daycare! Tate was really strutting around and you couldn't wipe the grin off of his face. What a silly kid! This is Tate's first pair of "performance" tennis shoes. If they make you feel that good, maybe I should get a pair! Let me just add that along with the shoes came some new found speed. Tate's running further and faster than ever. Thanks Nana!

Week 74: Cleaning House

As long as Tate has been mobile I've noticed a rather peculiar "like" of my little man. He likes, let me rephrase, LOVES cleaning! I'm not sure where he developed this. Maybe because when I was home on maternity leave I cleaned house everyday. I'm not nearly as vigilant now, but when I do clean I try to run the boys off so I can clean in peace and quiet. Apparently the damage has already been done. Tate will run around the house for an hour playing with the broom and he REALLY loves it when you turn the vacuum on and let him push it around. Regardless I can't wait until he's a little older and can actually be productive while playing with the vacuum or broom. Tate doesn't know it yet, but he's definitely going to be "mommy's little helper" in a few years!

Week 73: PBJ Birthday

Tate's social calendar keeps me so busy these days! On Saturday we went to a birthday celebration. This one was quite different from the standard birthday party Tate has attended in recent months. There weren't a million toddlers running around with the traditional pointy party hats, there wasn't a mountain of presents piled on a table and there was no cake. Instead, we headed to Blytheville to celebrate Tate's great-grandpa Johnson's birthday. The family met at Sharecropper's, a quaint downtown eatery known for their ribs and huge meringue pies (my personal favorite is chocolate). Tate, on the other hand, was rather fond of the double-decker peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Of course he had to have an appetizer of Cheerios before digging in to the main course. After lunch, Tate had plenty of energy to burn off anddiscovered the bar stools at the restaurant's lunch counter. I think he was mimicking our waitress. He's quite a sponge these days!

Week 73: Aunt Moe and Oreos

Chuck and I took a couple of days off last week and headed up to Mountain Home for a few days. Once there, Tate had the opportunity to play with cousins Marisa and Bill, who live in Texas. Since Chuck is an only child and has only four first cousins, Bill and Marisa have been dubbed Uncle Bill and Aunt Marisa (or Moe for short).
We left Wednesday after work. It didn't take long for Tate start being spoiled by the Texas kin.
Following a day on the lake Aunt Moe and Tate indulged in a helping of milk and cookies.
It made for cute pictures, but let's just say Tate didn't eat much dinner that night.
Oh well! We only see the Texas kin once, maybe twice a year. He can be a member of the clean plate club some other day!

Tate would like to play

A week or so ago Chuck, Tate and I were up at the lake visiting with Chuck's mom and dad, who recently got a Wii Fit. Everyone was playing the various games and exercises all weekend. Finally Tate had had enough. He wanted to play too! Tate had been watching and knew you had to turn the foot pad deal on to begin. Next he knew that in order to play you have to step on to the foot pad deal and to move your cartoon character you have to lean. I think he's going to be a pro in no time flat!

Cheerio Bandit

The other day Chuck and I had landed on the couch after a long day of work followed by household chores. Tate was doing his normal thing... running from one room to the next playing with toys and random objects in the house. All of a sudden it got quiet. All you parents out there know that when it's quiet someone is getting into mischief. I turned to Chuck and asked "where's Tate?" About that time we heard a noise from the kitchen. We both scrambled to our feet and hurried into the next room. There we found him. He was caught red-handed! Tate managed to open the cabinet door, pull the Cheerio's out of the cabinet, pull the bag out of the box and help himself to an "all-you-eat" serving of Cheerio's.

Week 72

Last week our church held Vacation Bible School. Though Tate is still in the nursery he attended VBS. He had a blast... running, swinging, singing. He even made a new girlfriend! They shared a glider and looked a lot like an old married couple. Keeping the nursery all week with Tate and the other kids reminded me: kids really are a gift from God!