In the time that it took me to run back inside with Roman after weeding in the garden to find my phone and call Tom to thank him for adding on to our garden space soon and grab a few Gogurts for snacks, Jonas and Xander had turned our baby pool into this…
What, might you ask, is it? Well…a baby pool full of mud soup, of course.
The boys and I had fun playing train this morning…we took turns conducting and taking tickets…we stopped at Ah-Ah Land, Friend Land, and Candy Land…and we picked up friends and pretend sweet treats along the way…fun times just hanging out at home.
I did the Glo Run (a fun night run through the city where everyone is decked out in glow in the dark gear) last night with two of my good neighborhood friends, Honora and Kim. My favorite part was seeing all of the creative ways people dressed themselves up just for the fun of it (wild glow paint, bright neon knee-high socks and tutus and capes, and unique hand-made glow stick accessories).
The boys had a BLAST at the NVFD this afternoon with a load of other kids from our moms’ group…checking out the fire trucks and playing in the water from the fire hose. It was so fun (and hot) in fact that several of the moms and dads joined in as well (including Tom and I). Here’s a picture of the boys with Daddy on the fire truck.
Xander helped me pick another round of fresh ripe vegetables from our garden this afternoon!
We’re getting pretty good at the hanging out thing this summer. Ha! When we got home from dropping Jonas off at camp this morning, Xander and Roman amused themselves for a while with the water table, baby pool, water guns, garden hose, and paint bucket in the driveway. It’s amazing the things that become toys and games with the boys in general…but especially when there’s time to just hang out.
We had a super laid back Fourth of July which is just what the doctor ordered…an impromptu backyard water play date and a picnic lunch with our precious next door neighbors and a restful afternoon of naps and indoor play. Then, Jonas and Xander and I hung out with neighborhood friends and watched the fireworks from our across the street neighbor’s yard while Roman slept cozily and peacefully in his bed all the while on the monitor. (We missed Daddy a lot…he was on firefighter duty at the 4th of July celebration at the park.) The boys really had so much more fun staying up super late and playing with their friends than they did watching the fireworks but it was still fun and festive.
The boys and I went blueberry picking this morning with our moms’ group. Most of the ripe ones were up a little high, so I took turns lifting each of the boys up so they could pick their own blueberries and picking handfuls myself and dropping them into their buckets. Either way, a lot of blueberry picking (and eating) was done…the best parts were that it was just down the road from our house and that we shared it with friends.
At twenty-eight months, Roman is: having a blast playing in the pool (in the front yard, in the backyard, and at the rec center with Mommy and Daddy while Jonas and Xander take swim lessons); enjoying a bit of gardening; getting excited to help out with driveway lemonade stands; and loving a visit with Audrey and his first visit to the beach.
Xander had so much fun at his birthday party…playing in the back yard with his brothers, one of his best friends from preschool, and two of his best neighborhood friends…they loved the water slide and the party blowouts were a big hit. It’s hard to believe that my sweet little Xander is four years old!!! He continues to bless us with his gentle and deep spirit, servant’s heart, ever-observing eyes, and solid individuality. Happy birthday, Xan-Man!!!
We were SO blessed this summer to have Tom’s niece, Audrey, fly down from Connecticut to stay with us a few days in Tennessee before and after our road trip together to a beach house in Florida for a week!!!
Before we left and amidst the packing (and my shaky mental and emotional state…poor Audrey and the boys), we went to Centennial Park in Nashville to feed the ducks and to the Smyrna Splash Pad.
We really loved our time in Florida…playing in the ocean, splashing in the pool, and kayaking and snorkeling in the bay…and there is NO way we could have done it or enjoyed it without Audrey. Her sweet and calm spirit was SUCH a welcome addition to the loud and wild chaos of our family life.
For more pictures from Audrey’s visit, click on the “Audrey’s Visit 2014” picture page to the right.
Here’s another round of wacky things that I’m amazed at having said to my children…
“Why are you eating with a key?”
“Let’s not eat our juice box, buddy.”
“Please don’t poke my couch with a colored pencil.”
“Stop hitting your brother with your shirt.”
“Take the hanger out of your mouth, honey.”
“I don’t want you putting the chair down the water slide.”
It was so hot this morning that I filled up the baby pools in our backyard early… I thought the boys might enjoy cooling off while working out some of their boundless energy.
As we struggled with our dynamic like we have been this summer, I was having a moment of despair about the boys…how incessantly loud they are, how they don’t listen and follow directions, how much they use mean words and sassy words and potty words (the bane of my existence), how often they hit and push and kick and bite each other, and how quickly they can unclean a house and how destructive they can be…and more than anything…thinking what kind of a mother am I that they’re like this and I can’t seem to do anything about it…then I looked over and saw this sweetness happening and had to capture the moment to remind myself to stop and be thankful for what I have…wildness and all.
Jonas, Xander, and I went to the Lego Club at the library this morning (while Daddy spent some one on one time with Roman). It was really cool to see so many boys and so many Legos all in one place. The boys created and built to their hearts’ content and had fun doing it…we will definitely be going back!
Jonas, Xander, and Daddy ran a Gatorade Stand this afternoon in our driveway (while Roman helped Mommy make some “basagna”). The beautiful sunny day, super low price, and contagious waves and smiles from three cute boys made it a success!!!
I ran my first 5K in years (like since way before marriage and children) this morning!!! Here’s a picture of: Jonas, Xander, and I bright and early before the race (Roman was still sleeping); Kim and I gearing up to head to the starting line (we have been training partners and have kept each other accountable and motivated for the past few months…yay, Kim!); and Jonas, Xander, Roman, and I celebrating after the race. My favorite part was seeing Tom and the boys at the crest of the last hill, cheering for and running with us.
After dropping Jonas off at camp this morning, Xander and Roman and I headed out to the Lane Agricultural Center for Dairy Day. The boys sampled cubes of cheese, crackers with fresh butter, ice cream sandwiches, and chocolate milk. The latter two, of course, were their favorites. Xander enjoyed playing a few milk bottle games (bowling and ring tossing); and Roman joined in just in time to have fun in the preschool area…picking fruits and vegetables, gathering eggs, grabbing handfuls of grain, and milking a cow…they even got to exchange it all for money (all pretend but such a great idea) to buy an educational coloring book about agriculture. Our last stop was a quick ride on the tractor. Yay for Dairy Day and for two little boys to share it with!
It’s been a rough couple of days emotionally for me, so it was really sweet to see the boys have fun playing in the rain this morning like I did when I was a little girl. They grabbed their umbrellas, rain boots, and swim suits and went exploring…and then the sun came out. It was a good lesson for mommy…and refreshing for all of our souls.
The boys and I stopped into the garden center this afternoon to pick up a few perennials for our front flower bed (I think I’m finally realizing that swapping out annuals twice a year is not worth the time or the money). We grabbed some tomato cages while we were at it for a few of the tomato plants in our garden that have started getting big. And I cracked up when I looked over and saw this…they said they were “growing themselves”.
This afternoon, while Tom took Jonas and Xander to swim lessons, Roman and I enjoyed some one on one time. He is the most beautiful thing when he first wakes up from his nap, and I loved just being able to sit with him in the playroom, watching him and talking with him while he ate his snack on a picnic blanket…he is seriously cuteness personified. He was SUPER excited when I busted out the baby pool for him to play in on the patio in the backyard…his face says it all. Thank God for the simple things in life.
