This afternoon I took Wesley to the Parade of Homes. The very last house we visited had fresh baked chocolate chip cookies. When Wes saw me eating one he made his “more” sign, indicating he wanted some too. I was surprised since I’ve offered him cookies before to no avail. Now I know he really likes chocolate chip cookies. I was lucky to get much of that cookie, and when he was done I had to wash his chocolatey hands in the home’s kitchen sink. I guess he has a sweet tooth after all.

We (I mean, I) got lost while driving at one point, but it had a nice ending when we stumbled upon the LDS Mt. Timpanogos Temple. I haven’t been there since its open house years ago, before its dedication. Handily enough, the stake center next to the temple had an event happening, so its doors were open and we (I mean, I) could use the bathroom. Then we (and I do mean we) went for a walk around the temple grounds.

Wes surprised me by wanting to hold my finger as we walked.

He was amazed by the size of the temple.

A video of Wesley on temple grounds.

After we circled the temple we sat on a bench out front. Wes is teething.

Wesley’s really good at smooches. Here he’s planting one on my cheek.

When I asked him if he wanted Mom to take more pictures he made his “more” sign.

He is a happy fellow.

This is what can happen when Wesley discovers a bathroom door is left open.

So here are some scintillating happenings in our household of late.

1. Wesley is getting his second tooth. And he turned 21 months old today.

2. John was laid off last month. He’s writing a novel.

3. I’m trying to save money but don’t feel successful yet.

4. I teach Zumba four days a week and can’t live without it. I love teaching but sometimes I like to drop in to other Zumba classes to relax a little in the back, unnoticed.

5. When I teach Zumba I’m a walking billboard for Zumba. I saw one of my students today outside of class and she was like, “Wow, it’s funny to see you in normal clothes.” I.e., she was shocked to see me A) not dripping wet with sweat, B) not sporting a sexy headband to absorb the sweat, and C) not wearing clothes trumpeting the Zumba logo all over.

6. I signed up for the Freedom Run on July 4th. This week my goal was to run three times a week (instead of just once like I have been) to get ready. There’s one day left in the week and I still have to run two more times. Hmmmm.

7. Walk into our house and you’ll notice the trash cans are on counters and bathroom doors are closed. This is because Wesley cannot, canNOT resist the temptation to take the lids off trashcans and root through their contents. Ditto with bathrooms and toilets. Yesterday I got home from getting groceries, set Wesley up in the kitchen with some toys, went back out to the car to bring in more groceries, and came in to find Wesley had disappeared. I wondered where he was–and then I heard the water pipes from upstairs. In the minute it had taken me to go outside and come in again he had abandoned his toys, gone upstairs and beelined for the master bathroom (door was open), popped open the seat cover, and flushed away. I’ve also seen him using the bowl-like protective cover for the toilet brush like a drinking cup.

8. I have five hanging baskets (mostly petunias) outside the front door. One of them has already apparently died, but I keep feeding it water in hopes it will miraculously spring back to life again. Seeing flowers die depresses me greatly.

9. I’m reading The Host by Stephenie Meyer, and John is anticipating the release of Brandon Sanderson’s new novel. Wesley likes books, too, mostly to turn the pages and to stack them on top of each other.

Something I don’t understand about Wesley: I’ll spend fifteen minutes trying to feed him food in his booster seat. The majority of it, he picks up, peers at, and drops over the side onto the floor. So in frustration I let him down.

And the first thing he does? Picks up the food scraps and starts eating them off the floor.

Maybe we should scrap the booster seat altogether?

A dear friend, neighbor, and blog stalker read my post recounting my frustrations finding playsets on the online classifieds, and she came to the rescue by lending us their indoor slide for the summer.

Allow me to introduce you to Wesley’s new favorite activity and my new full-time job:

Video of Wesley on slide.

Another activity he enjoys is playing hide and seek. This is how you play: You sit on the floor, Wesley stands behind you, and you pretend not to know where he is. Then you turn around, discover him, and much giggling ensues. Check out his Sunday suit.

Video of Wesley playing hide and seek.

Wesley is also quite the Romeo. If you ask for a hug he’ll come over with his arms outstretched. If you ask for a kiss he’ll plant one right on you, wherever’s convenient for him–your cheek, mouth, nose, ear, hair, whatever.

Video of Wesley giving Mom a kiss.

I’m always trying to get Wes to eat good food. He’s a die-hard milkman (still drinks six 4 oz. bottles a day), which is fine, but I try to balance it out with “big boy food.” The problem is, now that he’s all, “I’m a big boy and independent and you can’t boss me around, Mom,” a lot of the food I give him ends up on the floor. If he doesn’t want it he’ll throw it, but lately I’ve been saying, “Give it to Mom,” and he’ll hand the unwanted bits back to me and smile like he’s doing this really great thing. Sometimes I get frustrated, trying to offer him a variety of good food when he won’t eat any of it.

Yesterday was one of those days; he wouldn’t eat much of anything I wanted him to, and by the time we left to go bowling with family I was DONE trying give him big boy food. While we were sitting around by the lanes I had Wes on my lap as I munched on some M&Ms. He took one look at those colorful gems and smiled really big while giving me his “more!” sign. I was skeptical, but I broke off a small piece and put it in his mouth. Instant success. He did another “more!” sign and smiled up at me pleadingly.

So I can’t get him to eat sensible stuff, but M&Ms? Bring it on.