Waterguns!

To keep the kids entertained during dinner clean up at Rudy's birthday party, we sent them outside with waterguns. There were actually very few tears (amazing, for three 3-year olds!) and a lot of laughs!

Train cake

Rudy was insistent that he wanted a train cake for his birthday party. I managed to pull this one off to his satisfaction!

Of course, he had to "help" make the cake as well:

Pool fun

After a few unsuccessful (but valiant!) efforts, Brady passed his swim test and is now allowed to go off the diving board! He loves it, and loves hanging with the big kids!

With his friend Drew

Popsie, Cooper, and Ru

We've also managed to finally convince Rudy that he can "swim by himself" (with a noodle). Until now, he's refused to let go of us when he's in the pool. Looks pretty proud of himself, no?

Don't they just look like trouble??

Tired!

One week at Camp OmaPapa + 1 night camping + 1 long morning at the pool = 2 tired boys!

Brady fell asleep while petting Charlie:
Rudy apparently fell asleep midway through his airplane book:

Camping weekend

We had our first camping trip of the season this weekend. The weather did not cooperate on Friday, so we cancelled that night and just headed up Saturday morning. The weather was perfect the rest of the time - sunny, but not too hot.

Our "helpers" setting up the tent:

We set up camp, had a quick lunch, and then set off to explore. We found a whole other side to the park that we hadn't visited before. We were anxious to start looking for shark teeth, though, so we headed down to fossil beach.


We didn't have much luck the first day - Kelly found 1 small tooth and one piece with three teeth in it. Rudy "found" two teeth (with a little set up from us!). He dropped the first one but managed to hold on to the second. Even without much treasure, the boys had fun searching and splashing around.


We weren't really planning for them to get soaking wet, so we had to improvise so Rudy didn't get too cold on the hike back:
Since we didn't camp on Friday, we had to choose between pie iron pizzas and hot dogs...tough choice. The boys went with hot dogs (which works out well because we have the makings for pizza tonight at home!). They both loved helping to make and maintain the fire, which can be rather nerveracking for James and me!

Rudy, enjoying his campfire e'clairs:

Brady, enjoying his s'mores:

Camping did a good job at wearing out the pup too!

Nervits

The latest addition to our little kid lexicon came from Rudy on Saturday night. We were camping out on the deck. After about an hour of him squirming around and NOT falling asleep, we were all started to get a little irritated with his antics. Brady was exhausted, but Rudy kept rolling on top of him, singing, hitting him in the head, etc.

We were all quiet, trying to ignore Rudy's behavior, when Rudy says, "MOMMY! I'm just being a nervit."

(Picture Rudy's new mannerisms, lately, where he holds his hands out to the side, kind of shrugs his shoulders, and raises his eyebrows in an expression like 'I just can't help it.')

K: You're being what?
R: I'm being a nervit.
K: Annoying?
R: A nervit. I can't remember the word. What's the word?
K: Are you being annoying?
R: Yes. But I can't remember the word. What's the word?
K: Obnoxious?
R: YES! I'm being a noxious!

I heart summer

So...since the last day of school on Friday, we've already:

-cooked hotdogs and s'mores over a backyard campfire
-gone fishing
-stayed up late several nights in a row
-played a rousing game of front yard hyperdash
-slept out on the deck - with no tent or mosquito net (not many bugs yet!)
-eaten lots of ice cream
-spent an afternoon at the pool
-taken a golf lesson (Brady has several scheduled this summer!)

It's going to be a busy summer, if you count "busy" as camps, trips, and pool time! I love summer. A lot. I'd be OK with about 7 months of summer (I'd take 2 of spring, 2 of fall, and 1 of Christmas).

Backyard campfire

We built a campfire in the backyard and cooked hotdogs and s'mores for dinner Friday night.

While we were watching Brady do this, I asked what it is about little boys and fire, but then revised my question to little kids and fire.

James thought it was specific to little boys, but I have plenty of similar memories from our camping trips when I was a kid.

Brady almost burnt himself several times; we had to keep reminding him to be careful. I commented that as much as I remember fiddling with the campfires, I never remembered getting burnt. James, on the other hand, has several memories of minor campfire burns, mostly suffered at summer camp, no doubt surrounded by other little boys.

He thinks therein lies the difference between girls and boys...girls will listen and use caution; boys have to learn by burning themselves. More than once, apparently.

Oh, the joys I have to anticipate with two little boys!!

Charlie, eyeing Rudy's hot dog:

Charlie, after stealing Rudy's hot dog:

"But I still 'wuv her, Mommy!"

Preschool casanova?

Side note from the preschool graduation...

Notice the blonde standing to the right of Brady? Her name is Rue. About mid-year, we heard from the school principal that she and Brady were holding hands and hugging on the playground.

The girl to the left, Tessa, we heard about from Brady quite a bit. She's a bit of a tomboy, I think, and was usually playing pirates and soccer with the boys.

Now, the girl in front of Rue, with the bobbed hair is Matilda. We heard bits and pieces about Matilda all year. As I was innocently getting punch at the reception, a dad approaches me with, "So...you're Brady's mom?" [Uh...yes...] "I hear he's going to be my son-in-law." Really? Apparently, Matilda talks about how she's going to marry Brady most nights at dinner.

Lily, who we carpooled with twice a week, also talked about how she was going to marry Brady.

One of his closest friends is a girl, Bella. Thankfully, he tells anyone who asks about her (or any other little girl) that he is too young to have a girlfriend.

Preschool Graduation

Yes...there actually is a such thing as preschool graduation! His school had a graduation celebration yesterday for the last day of school. Four songs, diplomas, and a small reception. Brady was lucky enough to have all of his grandparents in attendance. (Somehow we didn't get a picture...I must not have been thinking straight!)

We are the Pre-K...

Brady was the second kid in and the second-to-last to get his diploma. He behaved quite nicely and was very nonchalant about receiving his certificate.



I had already written his teachers a thank you note for all that they did this year, but I thanked them again for their wonderful classroom. Something about the way they managed the classroom and treated the kids really helped Brady this year. James and I will take some credit for it too, of course, but he is SO much happier and SO much more confident in himself right now than he was last summer. When I told this to his teachers, they said that he's the child in the classroom that they really miss when he's not there - he's a leader, he's helpful, he's a good friend to his classmates, and they understand why I kept him home for myself on Fridays!

It's so nice to hear these things...makes me feel that we must be doing something right :)

May there always be sunshine...

Rudy's contribution to the festivities? Mid-ceremony, he announces to James, "Take this [handing him a paper]. It has my booger in it." James thought that was really loud, but I didn't even hear it at the end of the row. What everyone in the church heard though was when Rudy said (loudly), "Berger? His name is Berger? Tha's pre'y silwy"

Make new friends

Learn my letters, ABC!

Gone fishing

Papa brought up his fishing poles and we took the boys fishing last week. The conditions were perfect - not too hot or humid and a TON of fish constantly biting. Granted, they were tiny fish - but the boys didn't care. They each got to reel in 2 or 3 fish.


Our first plan was to release them in our golf course lake. But, Brady had other ideas. He was determined that he was going to eat his fish for dinner. He stuck it out too, and even helped Papa clean them. Brady was so proud of himself for providing part of dinner. The rest of us managed to choke down a couple bits of the very tiny, bony fish pieces :)

Who knew we were raising such an outdoorsman?