The Summer of Wes

There is a classic Seinfeld episode where George Costanza receives a severance package from the New York Yankees at the beginning of the summer.  George vows to fill the next 3 months with as many awesome things as he can, so he deems it "The Summer of George."

I'm pretty sure we can designate this summer as "The Summer of Wes."  With Sean home and wrapping up his graduate degree, we have had more time to relish in the new adventures and freedom that summer brings.

One of my most favorite things to do with Wes is go exploring in the forest.  We are lucky to have a few great wooded areas (among acres of cornfields) to explore.  For a kiddo who is reserved and cautious in social situations, he certainly has no fear when traipsing through the undergrowth.  He likes to pretend to be my tour guide and often veers to the paths less traveled.  The best adventures are when we find water, and more than once we've had to empty muck from our boots before heading home.

Each sunny day this spring, as soon as I opened Wes' curtains in the morning, he would ask if it was warm enough to go swimming.  For a long while it was not, but Wes decided to practice anyway.

At long last, we dug out our swimsuits and headed to the pool.  It took our shy guy about a half hour of testing the waters (literally) before he let loose.  He hasn't looked back since.

One rather unexpected development this summer is Wes' interest in baseball.  I'm not quite sure how it started, but recently he's been watching more baseball than water towers on the iPad.

We decided to take Wes to his first baseball game to see our local team, the Normal Cornbelters.  Although he was excited to go, the "big" stadium feel was a little much for him.  He was not a fan of the random fireworks, loud music, and too many peoples.  We decided it was best to walk around instead, and he found his comfort zone while playing in the grass, batting (ridiculously well) at an inflatable kid's game, and visiting Corny the mascot.

The next night we happened to stumble upon a high school baseball game while going for a walk on Illinois Wesleyan's campus.  We stopped to watch, and Wes was enthralled.  We could sit close to the dugout, retrieve foul balls, and most importantly, it was all baseball with no (loud) extras.  We found the perfect fit for our shy guy.

Most every day the past few weeks has brought afternoon thunderstorms.  During our time indoors, Wes continues to enjoy tinkering with things around the house more than playing with his toys.  Most recently, he has become very interested in putting different things in the freezer as well as playing with a science kit I found at a garage sale.  

Who wakes up early because he's excited about the water balloons
he put in the freezer?  This guy.

I asked him to smile and say something science-y and he said "Test Tuuuubes"

Once the storms pass, we all go outside and act like kids, regardless of our age.

On days when it doesn't rain, we make sure to find something to splash in anyway.

With Sean home every day, Wes has found his favorite playmate and best friend.

And by the end of the day, our limbs are tired but our hearts are full.  Just ask the dogs.