Hanging out

Story time

We haven't been to story time as much as we'd like, but it's always fun when we go.

Catching bubbles with Miss Wendy.

Fruit snacks.

Crafts.

Alpenfest

While up north last weekend, we went to Gaylord to check out the Alpenfest.

Jack's first carnival ride, and he LOVED it!  He was turning the steering wheel like mad.

A glimpse into the future.

Sharing a snow cone with Papa.

Good to the last drop.

Just so happened that there was a pie eating contest, so the kids got to participate.

We got ourselves some Moomers ice cream,

and finished the day off with a polka with Grandma.

26 Months Old

Jack is becoming such a big boy.  Here's what he's been up to:

*He loves to sing.  I can't understand a single word, but he sings out at the top of his lungs.

*His favorite toys are cars, trucks, and tractors.

*He loves his hat and wears it EVERYWHERE, even to sleep at night.

*When he gets mad, he throws his hat on the ground.

*He loves his little cousin Oliver and smothers him with hugs and kisses.

*He tries to say his ABC's but they pretty much all sound the same.

*When asked either his age or his name, he always responds "2."

*He continues to climb on everything.  I recently took the kids to get ice cream where they also have a putt-putt golf.  As I was helping Hannah get cleaned up, Jack climbed the fence and fell into the putt-putt.  The kid is a monkey!

*He actually likes to eat salad and some veggies, particularly cucumbers and red peppers.

*He is staying in his bed for naps and bedtime much better, but we still have the cover on the handle just in case.

Another morning out

We had to do some errands last week, so we made a fun morning of it.

First stop was Sandy's for donuts.

(photo courtesy of Hannah)

After a couple of more stops, we ended up at the Fulton Street Farmers Market for some yummy veggies and beautiful flowers.  (I wanted Jack in this picture, too, but he wouldn't get his finger out of his nose.  Boys!!)

Jack (from Hannah's perspective)

(and of course, the photographer herself)

FMG Children's Garden

Another morning last week we made it over to the Children's Garden at Frederik Meijer Gardens.

My "nice" picture of the two of them.

As soon as we got into the garden, the kids immediately got wet.  Good thing I came prepared with a second set of clothes.

Jack getting as close as he possibly could without getting in (no swimming allowed!)

A successful trip!

Splash Pad

It's been HOT so far this July.  To help from getting cabin fever, I've been trying to take the kids out in the morning before the temps get too high.  Hannah had been asking to go to the beach, so we compromised on the Millennium Park splash pad instead.

Sick

Since this blog is basically my record of all things for the kids, I wanted to post this even though it's a bit in the past.  Before we left on vacation, Hannah came down with a fairly high fever and sore throat.  I feared it was strep throat, so we took her to the doctor to find out that she had a form of hand, foot, and mouth disease minus the traditional rash.  She was all right when she was on motrin and tylenol, but I could tell as soon as it wore off.  She actually laid down and took a nap 2 days in a row.  The second day, she woke up and couldn't breathe which led to a trip to the ER via ambulance.  Thankfully, she just had a severe sore throat and a fever of 104 which came down after more meds.  Her breathing cleared up after a steroid shot.  Very scary but she recovered quickly and was back to herself in no time.  A week later, Jack came down with the same illness but to a lesser degree thankfully. 

Mini-vacation

Jason had the entire week of 4th of July again this summer, but because he had a test and I had to work on Monday, we ended up getting a later than hoped for start to our vacation.  Regardless, though, it was nice to get away and spend time with family.

We spent the first couple of days at Higgins Lake with the Cramer family.

Hannah and Kara got some beach time in, and Hannah got to show off her new swimming skills (Jack, not so much).

For the last few days of our vacation, we spent our time in Lewiston.  Unfortunately, Jason's boat was giving him problems, so most of his time was spent working on the boat.  However, this gave the kids, Grandma, and I some time to spend at the beach!

Making new friends in the water.  It was incredibly warm, both the air and the water.

Of course, lots of playing in the sand.

Jack caught Hannah's bug from the week before, so we he was pretty worn out between the illness, heat, and activity.  Made for some great naps!

Cousins on the 4th of July

Fun at Gun Lake

25 Months Old

All boy, oh my!  Here's what Jack's up to:

*He quickly learned to play the game of jumping out of bed so that we could chase him and get him back into bed every night.  After too many nights of this, we got a door lock.  I think this has worked as we find him in bed fast asleep when we check on him every night.

*He is one determined little boy.  When he gets his mind set on something, there is no stopping him.

*He is talking quite a bit and starting to put words together.  When asked he will tell you his name is Jack and he is 2.

*He LOVES ice cream.

*When he gets excited about something, even the simplest things, he claps and yells "yay!"

*He is such a monkey.  He climbs on EVERYTHING!!  Most recently, it's been common to find him on top of the dining room table, hanging off the bathroom vanity to brush his teeth, or climbing the ladder to the top bunk.

*He has started to learn the fine art of bugging his sister.  Sibling fighting is hitting a new high.

*He really likes to scribble and color with pens and crayons.  He is very good at holding them correctly and leans over, focusing very intently on whatever he's coloring.  When he's done he likes to eat the crayons.

*He is not a big fan of being in the water, but the more we're around it the less terrified he becomes.

*He loves anything with a motor - choo choo, trucks, tractors, boats.  He's very quick to point these out especially when we're riding in the car.  He's also started making truck noises when he plays with his car.  He's picked this up all on his own.  Such a boy.

*He is all about Jason's boat.  He points out "Daddy's boat" whenever we're in the garage and has even thrown a fit or two when he couldn't take it out for a ride.  I think he's been brainwashed.

*His favorite shows are Curious George, Cat in the Hat, and Caillou.

*He is barely holding onto his afternoon nap.  Now that we have the door lock, he does stay in his room, but if he falls asleep we're limiting them to 1 1/2 hrs so that he will fall asleep at bedtime around 8:00.