Saturday, April 30, 2011

A Bouncing Birthday

My cousin's daughter was born just 10 days after Sam was born, and we were so excited to get to attend her birthday party!  They held it at a really cool place called Pump It Up, and we had such a great time!  There were many different inflatable structures to jump in, climb on and/or slide down, and I am seriously thinking of having our next party in a place like that!!!

I even got to go down the slides with Jack a few times since my mom was there to hold Sam for me!
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And my dad loved playing with Jack as an excuse for acting like a kid!

I even managed to convince my mom to go down the slide!  Okay, it might not have been me that persuaded her... it may have been the irresistible pleadings of her almost-4-year-old grandson... but who's to say?  Either way, it was pretty obvious that she enjoyed it!
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I took Sam down the smallest slide... he enjoyed it, but still wasn't quite sure what to make of it.  I am pretty sure that at point he was focused on the fact that there were other people there, and he has a pretty deep social-paranoia and wasn't quite able to relax just yet.
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The birthday girl seemed to be having a great time bouncing around in there!  She is such a happy little girl and has such a sweet smile :)
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It wasn't until the crowd left the 5 of us to ourselves in the basketball-court-bounce-house and Sam was able to watch Jack enjoying himself until Sam relaxed enough to allow himself to have fun


Once he finally relaxed he had a great time!  He loved crawling and cruising around in there, and he even learned to jump from his seated position!!!
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Here is a video of Sam's bouncing!  He's already so much more coordinated than Jack, was... or still is!


As much fun as they were having, they didn't mind too terribly when it was time to get out to go to the party room for pizza and cake!
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Wasn't the cake so cute?  I just had to get a picture of it... I loved the butterflies and especially the ladybugs!
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The birthday girl really enjoyed her cake, too!


We had such a great time, it was such a fun party!


Friday, April 29, 2011

When Kids Get Quiet...

When kids get quiet...  it's not always because they're getting into trouble.



Sometimes, it's because they're trying to figure out how to get themselves out of trouble!
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Thursday, April 28, 2011

Revisiting The Marsh

Near the end of February we were driving by the marsh when Jack said "Hey, remember?  We went in there!  Can we go in there again?"  So I checked the city calendar and found that the next Tyke Hike was scheduled for the first Thursday in March- just a week away!  He was so excited to get to go again, and this time we invited Austin and McKenna!  Thursdays also happen to be Ang's mom's day off, so all four of them were able to join us!  It had rained the day before, so Jack wore his rainboots... and also insisted that I wear mine as well.  Probably not the best choice in footwear, but it was nice not to have to clean all of the mud off of our tennis shoes!

To start off, each kid got to pick an animal to search for... Austin got a bee, and Jack got a specific-type-of-duck-whose-name-escapes-me. 
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(that second photo is from Ang... thanks, Ang!)

First they found a type-of-beetle-whose-name-also-escapes-me, and Jack thought that was pretty rad

Last time Jack was very into the animals, this time, he was very into the water!  There was a lot more water this time and he was interested in every pond we came to.  It cracked me up that he'd get so excited!  And every single time he looked for a big white stick in the middle and he'd tell me "Mom!  That pole is so we know how deep the water is!" and then he'd proceed to tell me what he imagined the depth-reader would say if he were close enough to read it.  

We learned an interesting tidbit of info that we hadn't learned last time... they have chicken coops in the middle of the marsh!  Apparently the presence of chicken is helpful in detecting and/or tracking the presence of West Nile Virus.  Who knew?

Another thing that Jack was really excited about, was finding his duck-whose-name-I-can't-remember!  We spotted it and he said "I have a duck on my sign!"  The leaders said that it was indeed his duck, and he was so proud, and I was proud that he was proud!

Oh, and since I know you're curious about the babies, Sam slept through all but the first 5 minutes of our marsh experience... again... but I hadn't been able to wear him while he slept in a long while, so I was okay with that!  McKenna was having a great time chilling on her mommy's back, enjoying the scenery!
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(First pic shared by Ang, again, to prove that Sam and I were there, too!)

And then... it was frog finding time!!!
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Hey, there is McKenna again!  (I love this picture- it cracks me up the way she's just chilling there!)

More beauty
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These two boys sure had a great time!  They both found their animals, and enjoyed frog hunting and skunk-trail-finding!
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But I think their favorite part was being together... what do you think?

Oh, and by the way after our hike we went into the nature center, where Sam woke up... just in time to touch a snake!!!  Jack wanted nothing to do with it, but Sam didn't even hesitate!  He didn't even give me a chance to unwrap his arms from the Moby wrap!
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(photo again shared by Ang!)

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

My Little Stinkers

Sam wanted my phone.  Sam is not allowed to play with my phone.  I put it on the couch, pushed back against the cushions and well out of his reach.  Then I walked out of the room.  When I came back, it seemed that Sam had given up trying to get my phone and instead was playing with his beloved school bus. 

He put one knee on and scooted the bus sideways...
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Once he got it to the couch he turned and stood up on it (staring at me with an Oh yeah, mom? Watch this! look on his face)...
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And he leaned...

And came down successful. 

Sam has proven time and time again that he is new territory.  I mean, you see this kid?  This awesome big brother of Sam's?
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He did NOT prepare me for stuff like this... Jack never climbed, always understood that no means no, and just generally was a Yes, ma'am whatever you say kind of kid... you know, after her outgrew that horrible colic.  But now?  The little stinker totally eggs Sam on... I think he gets quite a kick out of Sam being brave enough to defy me, since Jack certainly isn't!

One thing is for certain, though... I love both of those boys so stinkin' much! Even if they are a couple of stinkers!!!