Alex was so excited for our outing to Chuck E. Cheese. We had a few Father’s Day things to do around the house, but he was rushing through them as fast as possible. We were almost ready to go and I was finishing a few last things in the kitchen when I realized the boys were running around outside. Alex knows how to put his shoes on by himself but Teague normally sits on the stairs and waits for me to do it. Alex has offered to help him a few times and he vehemently opposes this idea. Evidently today Alex’s enthusiasm was contagious and Teague was excited to get going. I got outside to see that both boys did indeed have shoes on. (This is the year of easy summer shoes – both boys are wearing the same size Crocs – we have 2 pairs of 8/9 navy blue and they just live in a pile at the back door!)
Then we were off and met up with Amy, Abby, and Asher for a morning of games and pizza.
Month: June 2013
Alex’s library books – chosen completely by himself.
(He wanted four because that’s how old he is.)
Teague’s library book – chosen from a preselected few with cars. I tried to encourage him to take more than one but this is all he wanted.
We took swim lessons last summer and I meant to sign Alex up for some during the fall and then during the winter and then during the spring, but it just never happened. He got in the pool this summer and is at an entirely new level. (Maybe not with swimming exactly but with his comfort in the water.) He wants to wear goggles constantly and I thought it was just a phase. Then he starts telling me that the floor of the pool looks like our garage floor because it has speckles with little dots. It blew me away that he was actually using the goggles to look around! He loves to move around with his head under water. Last year in swim lessons he learned to “bob” and it was a huge accomplishment when both his nose and mouth went in the water at the same time. Now I have gotten used to only seeing the top of his head.
Swim lessons start in a few weeks and I’ll be curious what he thinks.
Alex is finding our summer schedule a little more challenging in regards to earning stars. He jumps at a chance to “help”. I told him he could help me unload the dishwasher and left him in charge of the silverware as I took Teague to the bathroom. When I left the kitchen the counter shown in the picture above was empty. When I came back he had every single item out of the dishwasher and on the counter. Overachiever!
Evidently it’s cool to drink the water in the shower.
This Christmas present from Aunt Lissy just made it to Milwaukee from Paducah during our last trip. Tonight was the first time we blew it up. Both boys loved watching Wade. Alex loved being rolled around the yard. I think he would have stayed in there all night (darn dinner and soccer practice). Teague got in once and then quickly got out, but he was quite happy to roll Alex around the yard. What a fun gift!
Another session of soccer completed. (And this time he loved it!)
Teague had a lot of fun “washing” his car with a squirt gun.
Poor Wade. About five minutes before we were ready to sit down for dinner, I realized the dishwasher was leaking water. This might not have caused an immediate major ordeal except that I am married to Wade who can and will fix anything and we had to be at a meeting at 6 (it was 5:05). First Wade verified that the dishwasher was in fact leaking – hah! Then boys both wanted to help and Wade was pretty good about letting them watch. Thankfully I could distract them with dinner while Wade did most of the fixing. Wade got it fixed and ran a cycle and was only a couple of minutes late to our meeting. My husband is definitely quite amazing!
I bought Alex’s flip flops on sale at the end of last year. They have been in the bottom of his closet ever since and he will occasionally pull them out and want to wear them. He gets them on his feet and then can’t figure out how to walk in them. Tonight he wanted to try again. Teague saw them and wanted flip flops too. (Thankfully we had some hand-me-downs in his closet too.) The funny part is we got Teague’s on his feet and he had no problem walking in them and wore them all night. Alex switched shoes as soon as we took the picture.
Alex was so excited to see his friend Tristan at the pool today!
Teague took a spill yesterday on the concrete and his poor nose is showing it today.
We got the sad news that the Children’s Play Gallery is closing for good next Saturday. We probably only go three or four times a year, but it’s still a favorite. We decided to make a Saturday trip – something we have never done before. I’m so glad we did. Who knew we would be one of three families there? Teague had the Playmobil cars to himself and Alex bounced from activity to activity. At one point Alex did go missing (and this is not a large room). I looked and looked. I eventually found him in a reading nook (a new addition since our last visit). I should have known my boy would find the books!
After nap we headed to the pool and ran into the Massey family – thank goodness! I think it would have been a short, cold trip to the pool otherwise. Teague spent the entire time sitting in the chair eating snacks and the adults were happy to stay out of the water too. Alex and Tristan didn’t seem to notice the cool breeze (or lack of sun) and just had fun.
Pool afternoon!
As we were putting on sunscreen for the pool, Teague held out his hands. He often puts on his own lotion after a bath so I put some in his hands. He immediately tried to rub it in his hair…
Then we had a talk about sunscreen vs. shampoo.
Someone loves brushing his teeth.
Just a little doctoring.
On a whim I decided to try to potty train Teague. It was about this age that I gave it a go with Alex and he was pretty easy. We started yesterday after nap. Teague was about 50-50 for the potty versus the floor. (My method of potty training involves a long t-shirt and an otherwise naked boy.) By the time Wade got home Teague needed to be taken to the bathroom about every 10 minutes. My thinking at this point was no way this was going to work. I decided to give it a few more days before giving up and waiting till he was older (or at least somewhat interested).
Then we woke up today. Between 8 am and noon, Teague only went to the bathroom twice, but both times in the potty. He would tell me when he needed to go. (Something that took Alex weeks and weeks to master.) Things were definitely looking up. I had to run out for a few errands after nap and decided to put Teague back in a diaper. We talked about it and I tried to take him to the bathroom while we were out but he refused to go. We got home an hour and a half later and he had a dry diaper. The rest of the day at home he used the potty when needed. He went the entire day with no accidents! Go Teague!
I am not naive enough to think there won’t be accidents along the way, but this is awesome. I am going to hope we really might be done with diapers (at least during waking hours). Fingers crossed.
Stick ’em up.
Cautiously optimistic. Teague went the entire day without an accident – including an hour and a half outing.
It was definitely too cold for the pool today, but Alex was begging to go. We did wait till after nap, but the boys’ lips were blue by the time they closed at 4:30.
We’re going to give this a try and see what happens…
First day at the pool – and it was probably a little too cold to be there.
Because Alex and Teague spent last week in Memphis, this feels like the first week of our summer vacation. Alex has been asking for months when we can plant our flowers. I bought them on Saturday and today we put them in the pots. Note that both boys are enthusiastic about helping but Teague’s aiming with the water needs a little work.
After naps we decided to try the pool. I warned the boys it would be a little on the cool side, but Alex was excited to go. I was shocked to see how easily he can turn on the water in the sand area – it only took two years of having to hold it on for him! Teague also gave me a nice surprise. He attached himself to the truck and at one point looked up at me and said clearly, “Dump truck”. He loves anything with wheels but normally calls them all cars.
The TV stare.
There are bubbles in the air, in the air. (Sung to the tune of that song.)
I fought it since Christmas, but Alex has talked about “Sharky” consistently and when I accidentally made it back to Milwaukee with him (instead of leaving him at Gram’s house like I intended) Alex got a new lovey in his bed. This is one happy little boy.
We have recently learned the best way to wash Teague’s hair is to let him do it by himself. We give him directions and remind him to “rub his eyes” to keep the soap out and he seems happy with the arrangement. He also loves the cheers he gets at the end for not crying. (This boy is crazy independent compared to Alex at 2.)