Pink Pants

TJ has figured out how to climb up onto a shelf in the closet in the kid's room. He has also discovered that he can get into all sorts of stuff; clothes, shoes, soap, hangers and even M's crib. Sometimes he will join her for nap, other times he will play with her. Yesterday, he got into a lot of things, including a pair of pink velour pants that M will grow into this fall. It made me laugh.

Pink Bikes

Every time we go to the bike shop, the kids get very excited about the bikes, (Bike is one of M's words) and want to ride them. One trip, TJ figured out how to pedal and steer the bike. He rode it straight to the helmet display and picked out a "hat" so he could ride just like Mommy and Daddy.

We started making plans to get him a bike for Christmas. We went and looked at the bikes, and every time, TJ wanted the pink, frilly bike. As the search went on, we began to realize that TJ would enjoy the bike more now than at Christmas. So, one day, a friend called. She had a little bike, nearly new, that she needed to get rid of. She wanted to know if we would like it. The only catch was that it was a girl's bike. She said it was pink. I pictured a "Barbie" frilly pink bike. We could take the frills off for TJ, maybe paint it, but he would outgrow it so soon, that it would be good for M too. I gratefully took the bike. It was very pink, but not what I had pictured.

We decided that there was no need to paint it immediately, and surprised TJ with the bike after dinner. He was so excited. He rode all around our neighborhood and the schools nearby. Brent even took him "Mountain Biking" by dragging the bike up a small grassy hill and letting TJ pedal down. TJ learned to stop by riding into the grass, and fell over a few times, but had a ton of fun.

Finger Lickin' Good

This is M's first drumstick. There was nothing left on the bone when she finished with it.

M's and B's

It is so much fun to watch M make associations in the world around her. She started calling all animals "doggies," and then has been realizing that not all animals are "doggies."

A few days ago, I put her in her car seat and she started yelling "B! B! B!" and pointing out the back window of the car. I looked and sure enough, there was a bird perched on the roof of the garage. She was so excited about her "B(irdie)."

Stylin'

M found a bag of hair clips and brought it to me the other day. She demanded that I open the bag and then picked the clips out, one by one, and handed them to me. She wanted them all in her hair. This is what we came up with.

Swimming Lessons

TJ finished his first session of swimming lessons this morning. What fun watching him progress. It was his first experience in a teacher/class setting, and he did very well.

He started out completely unwilling to get in the pool, and tonight was blowing bubbles in the bathtub. He has fun, and his instructor is good about playing with the kids and making it a fun time, even when it started out scary.

He still needs to work on getting his face and head in the water, but it has been a great start for him. He can get in and out of the water all by himself. He can bob up and down while hanging onto the edge. He can do assisted back and front floats and roll over. We just need to work on blowing bubbles through his nose and retrieving objects from the water. I am so happy with the progress he has made. He likes being in the water now.

M has been rather jealous of her brother. She wants to get into the water too.

Fourth of July

We took the kids on a 9 mile hike on the Fourth of July. We hiked from Bear Lake to Fern Lake, and then on through to the Fern Lake Trailhead. It was a beautiful hike. Brent has wanted to get me on this trail for a long time. It was a trail that he and a friend did on a three day snow shoeing adventure. It was nice to finally see what he had been talking about for so long.

TJ and M loved it. They really enjoyed being in the backpacks. TJ would tell Brent to “keep going Daddy,” as we walked along. He also kept us entertained with renditions of “Let’s Go Fly a Kite,” and “A Spoonful of Sugar.” M loved the lakes and rivers. Whenever she saw one she would bounce up and down in the backpack and yell, “Bubble! Bubble! Bubble!”

We came back sore and tired and one pacifier short, but it was a good time.

As we have done the past few years, we stayed in Estes Park for the fireworks that evening. A storm rolled through late in the evening and threatened to cancel the show. It stopped raining around 9 pm, just in time for the celebration. We had to wake the kids up. They were a bit groggy at first, but they enjoyed the show. M called them "lights," and TJ was very excited about the fireworks. He wants to see them again.