15 Months

George is 15 months old today!

We went to Scarborough over the August Bank Holiday weekend

It was George's second visit to Scarborough but his first time playing on the beach (last time it was 9C/48F and he spent most of the time sleeping in the Ergo!)

George had a great time on the beach! The weather turned, unfortunately, so we went to the Sea Life Centre in North Bay

He was scared of the rays but he loved the jellyfish!

After church, we went to Kirkstall Abbey and let George crawl around in the cloisters

On the 6th, we celebrated our fourth wedding anniversary with cards & presents, lasagna & tiramisu

The next weekend, I had a girls' trip to Las Vegas with my clustermates from UW--celebrating Alyssa's bachelorette and eleven years of friendship!

Las Vegas looks crazy from the air--beyond the city limits, there's nothing but desert

I found an Elvis slot machine!

Watching the volcano light show at the Mirage--There's a lot to see just walking around on the Strip

It was so wonderful to see my friends again! It felt a little surreal to be together again at first, but it also just seemed like old times right away. It was definitely worth doing that crazy whirlwind weekend--2 nights in Vegas, sandwiched between 15 hours of travel on each side!

Back to my normal routine the next morning--picking out books to read together!

George tasting fresh pineapple--he pulls a face, but he likes it and keeps going back for more!

Enjoying pumpkin spice latte season at Starbucks

We finally had to replace the Cath Kidston nappy bag, sadly--the shoulder strap hardware had come apart a few months back and we'd repaired it twice, but it finally broke a third time, so we decided to call it a day and get a new bag. This one is Summer Infant--it took me ages to find one that was just the right size/style with a shoulder strap and bottle pockets on the ends (for us to put our water bottles in, not for George, haha!).

We're still trying to resist screen exposure, but while we were watching Rio Olympics coverage, George started doing this--sitting up on the couch and watching TV like a tiny little grown person! So cute!

He still loves the swings at the park

He still adores Biscuit and he just gets faster & better at chasing her every day. Despite her annoyed look, she's very patient with him and tolerates his affection more than anyone could expect her to.

Richard found these brilliant classic wooden toys on eBay when he was looking for a Royal Mail van like he'd seen last week at Saturdads, a local playgroup for dads.

George loved the trucks at Saturdads, and he loves them now at home, too!

George is very close to walking independently, but for now he's just pulling up on everything and walking with the help of his trolley, or the nappy pail, or chairs...

He also loves the dustpan and brush more than most of his toys...

Last weekend George attended his first friend's birthday party--our friend from church Noah turned three!

It was so cute to see him sit at the table with the other kids

He had a great time--mostly practising his walking skills, playing with cars and watching the big kids

He also discovered the joy of balloons

George is not a morning person

On Saturday we went to Lotherton Hall

They had a hay maze set up out by the deer park and George enjoyed crawling around on the bales

We went around the bird garden, too

I'd never seen the white peacock there before--it was just roaming around loose!

George is fifteen months old--1 and 1/4! He's been through a growth spurt this month, we can tell. His sleep patterns suddenly improved and he finally outgrew his 9-12 month clothes. This week he seems to be teething again, too--fingers in his mouth, drooling, aversions to some foods and favoring chewy stuff like toast and oat bars. He's sooo close to walking independently--we're expecting him to take off any day now. 

Today is the first day of teaching at the University. It's so strange to see Headingley and the campus all crowded and full of students again. Next week my seminars start so I'll be teaching on Mondays and Fridays and attending the lectures on Thursdays--so George is going to start going to daycare 3 days a week, starting next week. It's going to be a big change for us, but I think it'll be good. George loves his daycare and I'll enjoy teaching again.

Firsts this month:

First time playing on the beach
First weekend apart from Mommy
First time at Saturdads
First friend's birthday party