Slides and Baby Big Head

On the Wednesday of our week in Ohio, we met up with Seth again, so that Claire and Kayli could get in some more playtime. Watching these two play together when we visit only serves to increase my desire to eventually move back to Ohio. They are the best of buddies and seem to pick up right where they left off, even though months have passed since their last meeting.

We decided to take the kids to BounceU, the local indoor bouncing arena. Claire and Kayli took off, and we hardly saw them for the rest of the time, as they raced through the mazes and slid down the slides. Ben, on the other hand, was not very excited about doing much of anything but gently bouncing. To his credit, the poor kid was just getting over his fever, but we knew that after sliding down once, he would want to do it again.

Problem with this philosophy was that one of us had to go with him to help him climb up the slide "steps." If you've even been to one of these places, you know that despite how quickly the little kids seem to shimmy through the obstacles and race up the mountains and down the slides, for adults it is akin to field day for fat people. No matter your size and shape, these things simply aren't made for adults, so squeezing my body through the tunnels, climbing up the walls and sliding down the slides left me sweating like a beast.

But I prevailed.

Here we are at the top of the smallest slide. After he did this a couple times, he was all for trying out the bigger one.

Now, I need to prep you for the next picture. It may be the most embarrassing picture of my life . . . or at least one of the most (if you've seen the one from my wedding when I'm throwing the bouquet, then you know why I hesitate here). I'm not altogether sure why I look as though I'm about to slide into a vat of boiling oil, or why, as my brother was quick to tell me later, that I screamed louder than all the little kids in the place. Let's just say the slide was much faster than I bargained for, and I don't relish "slide burns."

Now, get ready. Here it comes . . .

I know, it's ridiculous. I cannot describe my shame.

And just to emphasize how completely ridiculous my reaction to the slide was, Shawn then proceeded to demonstrate how a sane parent takes his child down the slide.

Showoff.

I finally recovered and managed to go down that slide several more times with no problems and even helped Claire go down one much larger. So there.

After leaving BounceU, we picked up lunch at Steak and Shake, Claire's second favorite restaurant after McDonald's (what can I say? She has refined tastes), and returned to Papa Bill's house.

Jesse brought Zeke over to be babysat while he went to one of his classes, and we finally got to see Zach for the first time since we arrived (try to keep up with the Z names. I know it's confusing). Zach also brought his little boy, Noah. I haven't seen Noah since Christmas when he was only about 3 months old. We all know how much babies change in just a few short months, so I was looking forward to seeing him again. I had cleaned out some of Ben's drawers and found an adorable Ohio State fitted ball cap that no longer fit Ben. Figuring that it would be perfect for Noah, I brought it with us.

Well . . . let's just say, the hat didn't fit.

He is one of the cutest little babies I've seen, but this kid has a serious noggin.

Actually, big heads seem to run in our family. Claire's is pretty big.

And so is Zeke's.

We are all quite sure that big head = big brain. And who's going to argue with us? You've seen how big my brothers are, right? Scary.

How cute is that picture anyway? I love how Noah is holding onto Zeke's arm like that.

And really, who cares about a big head when he is so darn cute? Sweet, sweet baby. Holding him and kissing that cute face almost made me wish for another one myself. I said, almost.

Noah and dad, Zach. I love this picture.

And you better love it too, or I'll scream my sliding down the freaky-fast-slide scream at you.

I've been told it's ear-piercing. :-)