Camping

Grady and Eric went camping in the backyard last weekend, in honor of the "Great American Backyard Campout". Lots of fun was had by all (I put Anson to bed and then went out back with the monitor to participate in the fun), though the night ended with Grady being unable to sleep outside and coming inside to sleep in the comfort of his own bed. What "my first camping trip" story would be complete without an ending like that? :)

Grady and Eric set up the tent early in the day



We built a crazy redneck campfire in our backyard. But how cute are they sitting there in the their camping chairs?



Eating a hotdog that was grilled over the fire



His first time roasting a marshmallow over a fire!





I don't think he realized how good the S'mores were going to be!





The boys by their tent



We look forward to lots more camping with Grady in the future!

Cooling Off

It has already been one heck of a hot summer here, so we have been finding lots of ways to cool off. One of our favorite ways is ice cream, of course. Here we are on Father's Day, enjoying some Rita's Italian Ice (since Ans still can't have dairy).










Sharing with his brother

Baby-Man

Anson is such a little guy's guy. He loves eating, already shows interest in cars and trucks, and loves to hang out in the garage. Here are some pictures of him playing in the garage the other day.

He loves Grady's butterfly net!




He also seems to have an affection for dirt



Oh joy - the Cozy Coupe!



He also loves this little flag that Grady stuck in the garden



American Baby



His cheeks are huge, and I adore them



Video of him playing in the Coupe

An Afternoon at the Park

After Grady's last day of zoo camp we decided to stay downtown for a bit and play at the really nice playground outside the zoo. One major benefit to it is that there are these large canopies up above the equipment, which offer some shade and keep it almost cool enough to want to play outside. The boys both had so much fun! Grady was being a spider and climbed to the top of his web for the very first time!




Anson loved this little area with a mirror and balls



A's hair is so long - curly and blonde. I know I need to cut it because it is beginning to look like girl hair!





G-Man!



Anson drove the fire engine!



His serious face




We hit Strossners on the way home for a lunch date (to celebrate G's first ever week of camp!). The boys were very good for the most part. Lots of good eating, anyway.



A cute video of Anson driving the fire engine...

Butterfly Garden

I recently took both boys to the butterfly garden at the science center on a not AS hot day. We had a great time - hiking on the trails, checking out the flowers and bugs, watching the turtles in the pond.

G at the entrance





Anson at the turtle pond



Grady on the little dock that was making me nervous



Mama and Anson self-portrait



Grady showing off some crazy flowers



We have been having lots of summery fun! G has had 2 camps this week - church camp and zoo camp. Next week he starts private swim lessons. We have been loving both Kindermusik classes (the sibling music class and Grady's pre-piano class). And we have been fitting in plenty of pool time and playground time too!

Ice Cream!

Grady and I made our own ice cream the other day - without an ice cream maker! It was amazing to see how well it actually worked and how yummy it was. It was more like a science experiment than anything else. You put cream, vanilla, and sugar into a zip-loc baggie, then you put that into a bigger bag filled with ice and rock salt. Shake for 5 minutes and you get ice cream!

He's so sensitive to the sun, but here are a few pictures of Grady making and enjoying his treat!

The Big Tub

Grady has been taking most of his tubs with Anson lately, and they have such fun together. But once in a while we let him have his tub in the big jetted one in Mama and Dada's bathroom. He loves the jets and the fact that they make the bubbles go crazy. I love how cute he looks with his little face sticking out of the bubbles.

Walking

It is high time I got around to posting this video which shows little Anson taking some of his first steps! This was a few days after he started, and just gets better by the day. He's been having a rough week with 3 molars all popping through within 2 days of one another, but he still practices his walking every chance he gets!

Memorial Day Weekend

I posted a few pictures of Grady from last weekend, but I thought I would post the rest and do a quick little recap of our holiday weekend. On Saturday we went to "Freedom Weekend Aloft", a huge festival in our town that includes hot air balloon rides (though we did not partake). They have lots of rides, some big names playing music, and lots of food. I did not remember my camera, but Eric took a few with his phone.

Grady wanted to do this so badly, and he had a blast - they roll around in this big ball in a pool of water. Crazy!




Me and the boys with the giant banana (mascot of a regional grocery store). Not sure if G is yawning or what.



Grady was SO excited about the live music - here we are enjoying it



It's cool because this is right at our local park, but we get a lot of big names - Willie Nelson is coming in a couple weeks!



On Sunday we had our neighborhood pool party, which was tons of fun. We love our neighbors!

Eric and Anson



Me and Ans









I posted the cute ones of G in the post about him being 4.5.

Monday morning we went out to breakfast, which I always love to do. Unfortunately, by Monday afternoon G had come down with a pretty high fever (103). It lasted about 48 hours, he didn't even really feel sick, and he never got any other symptoms. I have no idea what that was about!

This past week was a little tough. I wasn't feeling so great (though I think I am really starting to turn the corner), it was about a million degrees (OK, about 100), and we had no real plans. This week we already did the butterfly garden, and we have 2 Kindermusik classes starting (a sibling class and a pre-piano class for G). Next week we also have zoo camp and church camp for G. So we have lots coming up now!