Summer 2012

Before our summer really began we headed to Texas at the end of April to say "goodbye" to Gigi.  We miss her very much but we are forever grateful that we had such a wonderful visit with her back in February.  We were also thankful that this time brought us all together and that the kids got to enjoy their cousins!

Our list of activities has kept us busy this summer!  So far we have seen Forts & Fairyhouses exhibit at Powell Gardens, as well as a Rapunzel puppet show!  We have been to Worlds of Fun, Oceans of Fun, T-bones game, Science City & the Planetarium, The Nelson Atkins museum, the sprayground, had water balloon fights, gone fishing, caught fireflies, been on lots of picnics, gone to numerous story/craft times at the local bookstore, and lots of summer camps at church (Mini Chef, Fantastic Fairytales, Aloha over to the island of Hawaii, and Lego Camp!).  We have also had friends over to play and many evenings playing with our neighbor friends at the fountain! In other words we have been busy! And summer has gone by waaay too fast!
Here are some photos from our adventures below...

Gramsey & Clayton

Sam, me, and Auntie M

Cousins!

 

Having fun being silly!

Picnic!

All the cousins!

 Feeding the baby!

"Forts & Fairyhouses"

We never pass up a sample opportunity :)  These were all things grown in the garden at Powell Gardens

Then we waited for "Rapunzel" before viewing the rest of the forts and fairyhouses!

Sam was all smiles!

The "evil witch" (check out her scooter)

Picnic time!

More forts!

Then it was time to cool off!

We had a fun visit from our friend Mark from London!

Sam loves to paint!

Playing before the movie starts at the drive-in

Showing off his creative "rhino" costume

First night in his big boy bed!

We love to be outside!

Fun at the fountain!

Swinging at the fountain!

Clayton's latest artwork

Visiting an old friend :)

First day of "summer school"

CLAYTON:
- Clayton is very good at using his imagination in everyday play and amazes us with the contraptions he comes up with using just paper and a crayon
- He saw his first "drive-in" movie at the Boulevard Drive-In - Madagascar 3.  When we pulled in after having dinner at his favorite restaurant he declared it was "the best day ever!"
- His favorite show is "The Wild Kratts"
- He is enjoying his summer camps and Kids Day Out programs at church
- He enjoys playing soccer and baseball with daddy in the front yard
- He really likes to go off the high-dive at the pool, he is also tall enough this year to do the slides
- He likes playing on the playset in the backyard and using the swings as "vines" to get to the other side
- He is really liking baseball

SAM:
- Sleeping in a big boy bed now! (May 26, 2012)
- He is potty trained!(June 2012)
- Saw his first "drive-in" movie at the Boulevard Drive-In - Madagascar 3.
- Sam started Montessori school this summer and we have heard from the teachers he is "very eager to learn!"
- He loves to use sound effects when running through the house.  He will back himself up a couple of steps before "taking off"
- He likes to help in the kitchen
- He likes to play in the water, and LOVES the pool!
- His favorite show is Curious George.  Often his first words in the morning are "MONKEY!?"
- His favorite food is "yo-yo!", another first in the morning (referring to yogurt)
- He is putting 2-3 words together at a time, much improved over the last couple of months
- I close my eyes and say "where's mommy?" and he says "knock knock!"
- Really likes Worlds of Fun, talks about going to the "big boat!"
- Tells me to "GO!!" when the light turns green

Fall is here!

Fall is here (whether we like it or not)! We have been enjoying the mild weather because we know what happens in the months ahead. We have been outside as much as possible.
I realized that I forgot to do a back to school post, so I'm going to take care of the photos from that at the bottom of this post. Today we went to the pumpkin patch, it was a very windy and dusty day but we had a great time!

The pumpkin patch!


He found one he liked






Sam took a break from collecting rocks to pose for this picture





Happy Fall!

Sam loves to swing on his tummy


Sometimes they get along :)


Clayton is learning to play soccer!


He is #11 (one of my favorite numbers)


Sam is the goalie (actually he can dribble the ball very well!)


All ready for church


One of Clayton's many towers


This has been a popular playing spot lately (it is a great place to collect rocks!)


Sam got this for his birthday from us, forgot to post a picture :)


He loves trying on everyone's shoes!


Clayton was sick here and they were snuggling to watch a show, so sweet.


We discovered 11 Swallowtail caterpillars on this plant




Some of Clayton's drawings...


"Pirate Ship"


Cat in the Hat with friends, Sally & Nick


"Butterfly"


"Our house"


"Building with lots of windows"


"Shark"


Sample coloring, age 4.5

First day of Preschool

Sam's first day of "school" (KDO)


He loved carrying his own backpack




This was how I found him when I came to get him from school

CLAYTON
* Likes to point out all the "no parking" signs and "no trucks" signs as we are driving
* He is asking how to spell words and reading letters then asking "what does that spell?"
* He loves his brother. Oftentimes we will be looking at pictures and he will point out "Look at Sam, he is so cute, I LOVE my baby brother".
* Once when he heard Sam cry he remarked "Mommy, I don't think Sam likes himself!"

SAM
* Loves to try on everyone's shoes. We went to a birthday party with a giant bounce house (it even had a slide!). All he did was sit outside the bounce house and try on everyone's shoes! :)
* He is slowly beginning to talk (we think). New words include: binky, thank you
* He loves trains! Everytime he sees the train table at church (which he loves) or any other train he screams CHOO CHOO!!
* His favorite show is "Classical Baby" and when he wants to watch it he will sit on the couch, point and grunt at the tv, and do a little dance (it has music)
* His new found foods are mandarin oranges and chocolate covered sunflower seeds (they are colorful!) - he likes them both
* Likes to try on all of his pajamas - everything goes on over the feet
* He likes to call daddy at work, when daddy answers he will say "Hiiiiii!"
* He likes to pretend to blow his nose into a tissue (he only blows out of his mouth)
* Still loves collecting rocks