EdVenture Children’s Museum

We love this place! The EdVenture Children’s Museum is so much fun for people of all ages. This is our second time going with Jack, and now with Sam too.  My parents had to go to Columbia to watch Jack and Sam for the weekend so they came too.  There is so much to see and do.  I love the amount of interactive exhibits and so do the kids.

Don’t you just love our little Aussie’s? Sam was quite content to be in his car seat and take it all in.  What a cutie pie!   When we were at the car exhibit, I couldn’t help but imagine what things will be like in a few years when these sweet cousins are really driving.  Trouble? Nah!! They have a new magnet board that wasn’t there the last time we went and Kendall had a good time playing with the shapes, letters and numbers.Don’t you just love the kangaroos? We all had a good time in the Australian corner.

At the park with Jack

We usually go to Middleton Park when Jack is in town but today we decided to head to Wannamaker County Park.  It is a lot bigger and boy, was it packed.  Kendall didn’t know where do begin and almost had this, “wow, I’ve never seen so many people!” look on her face.She tried out any and everything she could, that was at her level.  She didn’t want much help from her mommy today.  How can that be? She’s just 14 1/2 months old, she’s supposed to need me to hold her hand still.  Well, she does, she just didn’t at the park.  She wanted to be a big girl!There are two sections of the park as well as a big hill that all the kids like to take a piece of cardboard to the top of and slide down.  Jack was all over the place and him and Grandpa even made it to the top of the hill a few times, only to look, not to slide.  When they were standing still long enough, these are the pictures I got of the sweet cousins.Look at these baby faces!  They are growing so fast and I could just kiss their cheeks all day.Jack found a big stick and in the blink of an eye it was a golf club, a sword and a gun.  Such an imagination on my sweet nephew.  He wasn’t happy when we had to say bye to the stick but Grandpa quickly saved the day with a visit to the climbing wall where Jack took a quick break.My sweet girl had so much fun at the park and even more so with this super size plastic cup.  She could fill it up with stones, dump it out and repeat a time or two before she got bored with it.  Jack was doing it first and of course Kendall followed behind, monkey see, monkey do!   We are so glad you could come to the park with us Jack! It was so much fun.

Jack turns TWO!

We buckled our seatbelts and made our way to Columbia for Jack’s second birthday party.  Michelle made this sign last year and it will be posted at each of his parties….love it! The party theme this year…airplanes. And boy, did everything come together perfectly.There was a gate number to welcome all of Jack’s guests, baggage tags…And of course lots of yummy, handmade goodies. The propeller pops were very tasty.I think Jack’s cake was one of the only things Michelle didn’t make.  She’s so talented and crafty.  Jack was ALL OVER the place and it was really hard to get a picture of him. I think I got two. Last year, Jack wasn’t too sure about the Happy Birthday song or his cake, but this year proved to be different.  He was so excited to hear everyone sing to him and was quite the pro at blowing out the candles.  He was even able to do blow them out twice for all of the pictures.Kendall had an absolute blast at the party.  She played in the wagon off and on and wanted to be in the swing for as long as we would let her. We had to remind her to give the other kids a turn.Daddy had a very proud moment at one point.  Kendall went to her first basketball game (her cousin, Sullivan) the night before the party. She played with a basketball during the game and watched the kids run up and down the court.  Ryan gave Kendall the ball at the party and told her to go put it in the basket.  Other than him pointing at the basket, which she clearly wasn’t even looking at, she knew right where to go with the ball.  It was a slam dunk!  She (and daddy) was so proud of making the basket and even dunked a few more times.Balloons kept a few of the kids occupied, until they let them go high in the sky.  At the end of the party, when all of the bigger kids were done jumping, I let Kendall try the jump castle. I hopped in to supervise. It took a little bit of warming up and then she didn’t want to get out. There were white beach balls inside the castle that Kendall enjoyed kicking around.Grandpa even stuck his head in, which she thought was pretty funny.  Proud grandpa! Love my girl!As we departed, we picked up our goodie from Jack, a wooden airplane. Thanks buddy!  We always have such a good time in Columbia and look forward to our next visit.  We hope you had a great birthday party, Jack. We sure did enjoy celebrating with you! We hope you have a fantastic day tomorrow when you really turn TWO!

Boat Ride

We celebrated Father’s Day one weekend late with my dad so it would work for Michelle and Adam to make it into town.  Dad wanted to go on a boat ride with everyone, although mom had to work.  We did miss her being there.  We headed out to the river for some fun in the sun!  Kendall loved being on the boat and was tucked away safe in everyone’s arms.  There was a life jacket on board for lil’ miss however she was so uncomfortable when she had it on, we just kept it close by.  Maybe next time, she will fit into it a little better.Jack is an experienced boat rider and loves to check out all of the buttons and especially the steering wheel.  Uncle Adam even showed Jack how to honk the horn.  In between exploring the boat and eating lunch, Jack posed for a few pictures.  Such a happy boy!I know these two dads sure enjoyed this belated celebration! It was such a nice day and we couldn’t have asked for better company.  Dad, you are so special and important to all of your kids and you mean so much to us!  Look at us all now!Kendall enjoyed her first boat ride without a doubt.  The wind blew against her little cheeks and she laughed and played until she was tuckered out.  Amazing what a little bit of fun in the sun can do for our little ones. Jack even fell asleep a few minutes before we docked. 

Too cute!

I couldn’t resist posting these! It is the only picture we took with Kendall and Jack in their matching outfits that Michelle made.  And Jack was just too sweet to his cousin!

Jack and the squeegee

One afternoon, while in Michigan, Jack and I went to play down at Expressions.  It is a big open space, on the lower level, where my grandparents live.  It has tables and chairs, a tv and plenty of games.  I gave Jack a few bean bags and a ping pong ball to play with.  He wanted nothing to do with either.  Low and behold there was a squeegee stick leaning against the wall and THAT is what he wanted.  He pushed that stick so fast across the floor and used it like a golf club, the ping pong ball came into play at that point.  He was so creative with that stick and turned and flipped it any which way it would turn.  He even figured out if he held it up tall and dropped it, it would make a funny noise.  Who knew a squeegee could be so fun? I had so much fun with Jack!  He made me smile and laugh so many times.  I wish I knew what he was thinking as he was pondering  ways to use the squeegee.  At one point, he managed to throw the ping pong ball and it settled under a chair.  He looked at me like, “what am I supposed to do now?” and then decided to use the squeegee to get the ball within his reach and pick it up.  Such a smart boy!  I can’t wait for Jack to teach Kendall some of the things he knows.  It’s amazing to see a tiny mind at work! Love it! On a side note, here is a sweet picture of Jack after a bath and one of him with Lisi and Sylvie, his first cousins once removed (as Kenzie would say).  This is the ONLY picture we managed to get of any of our family in Michigan other than Grandma and Grandpa.  Michelle and I weren’t very good with our camera this trip. 

Mother’s day weekend

This weekend was an extra special one for me! It was my very first Mother’s day.  I look at Kendall everyday and thank God for letting me be her mom.  I am so proud to be called her mother!  It is a title I have wanted to call myself for as long as I can remember.  She keeps my heart whole and a smile on my face every time I see her.  There are no words to explain the amount of love I have for her and it continues to grow every day.  I can only hope that I will be the mother to Kendall that my mom was to me.  I feel incredibly blessed in so many ways this Mother’s day!Michelle, Mark, Jack and Adam all came into town on Saturday. Together, with mom and dad, we all headed to Middleton Park for a picnic lunch.  The weather was beautiful and luckily the park wasn’t too crowded so we grabbed some picnic tables in the shade.  Jack was able to run around and play in the water and Kendall played on her blanket. I love that Kendall loves to be outdoors. She likes the camera too, especially Aunt Michelle’s! We hope you had a wonderful Mother’s day, Grandma! Glad we could all celebrate together!

 

On Sunday, we headed over to the Grant’s for a Mother’s day cookout.  A few brave souls decided to take a dip in the pool even though the water wasn’t quite warm enough.  Sullivan and Emory had fun being tossed into the air by Uncle Ryan, they kept coming back for more.Sullivan said this handstand was especially for Kendall! Good job, buddy!Kendall enjoyed some fun in the shade and watching everyone in the pool.  The water was a tad too chilly for her (and me) this time around.  Soon enough we will be in the pool playing too.We enjoyed each other’s company inside for a bit before heading home.

Squeaky Clean

What a fun way to end our beach day! PS~ the Bumbo can float when it is put in a tub, even with a three and a half month old sitting in it.  It was too cute to watch Kendall float.

Our first beach trip

Well, Mr. Weatherman wasn’t too accurate on his forecast for today but dad, Michelle, Jack, Kendall and I took a quick trip to the beach anyway.  Michelle and Jack were in town for the weekend so we had a whole day planned that was supposed to include sand and sun.  The sun didn’t show up!  We had fun anyway, even for the short time we were there. Jack was a little unsure about the sand at first but once he took a few steps with mommy’s help, he was all set.  He even found a few shells to play with. Jack held tight to Grandpa’s hand while he took his first steps into the ocean! Jack had a pretty good time on the beach and splashing in the water considering it was quite windy, drizzling and very overcast.  Next time we will make sandcastles…..in the sun!