Reliving our Summer - Part 1 (of many!)

Wow, we've had so much going on around here that when I do have free time these days, the last thing I want to do is sit down at the computer to write.  BUT, as this is supposed to take place of scrapbooks for Boo, I need to start getting some backlogged pictures up and discussed so that we remember all the fun stuff we've done already this summer before too many more adventures start blurring memories of the old ones!

Beginning of June, we went to St. Louis and spent a little time at The Magic House, a children's museum.

our mechanic

spraying mommy with the water gun!

this boy loves to watch the sand make the wheels spin!

he was also obsessed with this thing...

the tennis ball rolls down and rings all the bells along the way...

...then you get the ball from the bottom and put it back at the top, to start all over again.

I could have read a book for the amount of time he stayed at this one place.

Great attention span!

daddy trying to make a bubble around Boo.

except it doesn't work well when your son keeps kicking the bubble as it's being pulled past his feet!!

 We also got to go to two Cardinals games against the Cleveland Indians (so it was a win-win for me!).

on the train ride from our hotel to the stadium

awe-some seats!!!!!

at the end of the game, the owner of the team came down and was sitting in the front row seats you can see over Boo's shoulders.  :)

We got these great seats thanks to a childhood friend of Chris' and had a blast the entire weekend.  Boo did really well at the games and we couldn't be more proud of our boy.  He continually impresses us with how he acts in public (at home, he can be another child altogether!).  We met up with some friends who live there and the boys spent some time playing at the (very hot) playground.

Boo's mobile office!
my cell phone in one hand, talking to Grandma (I think), and either playing Angry Birds or watching Curious George on the Kindle Fire.  kids sure do grow up fast these days!!!

Movie Monday - Blueberries

Brave

Yesterday, I dropped Boo off at the new daycare/preschool that he will be starting in a little over a week.  His current babysitter is going to be moving away, so we decided to go with a traditional daycare at this point rather than a home setting so that he is exposed to more children and more of a school setting.  We are so sad to be saying goodbye to his wonderful babysitter; she has taken care of him for two years, ever since I went back to work after he came home!!  To say it's going to be a transition for him is an understatement.

So, back to the new daycare...

They allow kids to have a Discovery Day, which is a free day for the child to be dropped off and "try out" the school, to see how they like it.  When we turned into the parking lot and I announced where we were, Boo cheered loudly and got very excited.  That excitement lasted while we waited in the lobby for his teacher, while we walked down the hall to his classroom, and until we crossed the threshold into the room.  There were about 8 kids in the room at the time and most of them came over to see "the new kid" and say hi.  They were all very friendly, but I think it was a bit overwhelming for Boo all at once.  As I was talking with the teachers, I felt him turn into me and wrap his arms around my leg.  When I crouched down to him, he had tears in his eyes, which he kept trying to wipe away to keep them from falling.  Oh, my mama's heart just about broke to see my little boy being so brave.  I gave him a hug and kiss, told him I loved him and that mommy was going to be back to pick him up later.  When he replied, "okay", in a little wobbly voice, it was all I could do not to start crying in front of him, which I knew would have completely set him off!  I told him he was going to have a lot of fun checking out all the new toys and meeting new friends, to which he again replied "okay" in that same little voice.  We gave each other another kiss and hug and then I left before he really started crying.  When I called the school later to check up on him, they told me he was doing very well and that all the other children really liked him.  I was so happy to hear that and even more happy to see him surrounded by the other kids during "library time" when I went to pick him up.  He was very excited to see me when I walked in, but also looked slightly reluctant to leave the circle of children.

I think my brave boy is going to be okay.

Which makes my mama's heart happy.

Together

today is another anniversary day.

our anniversary.

the day our family officially started.

when you and I became we.

the beginning of our journey through life.

together.

we've had our ups and downs.

we've laughed together.

we've cried together.

we've been through numerous losses.

but we've also been given a miracle.

we've grown stronger.

we've become parents.

here's to us.

happy 8th anniversary, honey.

it's been amazing.

i love you.

Boys and their Toys

the weekend after our Gotcha Day, we went to a local park where they were having touch-a-truck day. both my boys had such a great time and i loved watching them as they enjoyed the various-sized tractors.

we went from big...

to bigger...

to biggest!!

look how tiny he is in that wheelwell!

close-up to see how happy he was...look at that grin!

in the driver's seat.

daddy was really wanting to try it out too!

very cool dude

this park also has a small animal farm/petting zoo area which was open for the kids.

watching the fish in the pond

this big tom turkey was strutting his stuff...no fingers near the cage, Boo!

pretty coloring

heading back to the car, there is a hill that the kids sled down during the winter.

it was perfect at this time of year, though, to walk up and run down with daddy!

our Picasso.

have you ever used chalk after it's been rained on?

it's a gunky mess, but oh so much fun!!

Gotcha Day anniversary weekend

two years.  wow.  wow.

on may 27, we celebrated 2 years of being a family of three.

the time has flown.

but when we look back at all the pictures and video we took from our 5 days in korea, it feels like it hasn't been all that long ago.

we celebrated this year by doing some things that are very near and dear to Boo's heart...

riding a train and watching race cars!

we went to a nearby town where we took a ride on a diesel train (the "steamie" wasn't running that day).

someone was in 7th heaven!!!

here's my ticket! let's go!

found the exact seat he wanted...

look at that grin.  love.  love.  love.

so excited for the train to start

the train went downtown and dropped us off. we ate lunch and walked around for a while before heading back to the train depot to catch the return train.

here comes the train!

i love the way Boo waves, just moving his fingers.

so sweet.  just like my boy.

on the way back, we rode in the cupola (the roof look-out) in the caboose.

the whistle was also at the caboose and got a little loud for our boy.

but he still had a great time.  whee!!

one of the few naps he's taken since the transition to the big boy bed.

full morning of train riding will do that to a boy.

had a few people over for celebratory dinner and dessert that night.

trying on his cousin's sunglasses.

cool, dude.

just thought this was a cute picture.

haha!  this is how mommy wears her sunglasses a lot.

on that sunday, we Boo watched the indy 500.
(okay, so mommy and daddy were sitting there too, but not glued to the TV like he was!)
daddy was able to catch a picture of one of the spin-outs.
Boo was enthralled.
this kid loves race cars.
guess the only thing that could have made the weekend better for him would have been actually going to the race!!
someday, my sweet boy.

what a great weekend we had.

we have come so far in two years.

looking forward to many more years of watching this little guy as he grows up.

we are so very lucky to have him as our son.

mwah!!  love you, Boo, forever and ever and always.

Gardening Jockey

A few weeks ago, Boo and I took an overnight trip to visit my parents.  Other than the chance to visit with them, the impetus for this visit was a reptile exhibit at my dad's Rotary meeting.  Boo had a good time and was interested in most of the animals the guys brought out.  Didn't get too many pictures because I was sitting with him, but here is one of the small snake he had:

The guy also had a large snake that he allowed the kids to touch and Boo was a brave boy with both of these snakes...one finger, one touch.

Doing some balance work with Grandma's help.

Grandma bought this horse last year at a garage sale when she was visiting us.  This is the first time they've been able to bring it out for one of their grandchildren and Boo had a great time on it!

I think Boo is really going to like gardening, which he gets from both of his grandmothers!  His mom, well, she has a hard time keeping many plants alive.  He has actually reminded me, on occasion, that we need to water the grass seed Daddy planted!  What a kid.

This is from our house a couple months ago.  I was waiting for him to turn the hose on Chris!

Helping Grandma sweep the sidewalk.

Going to refill the watering can.

"I can do it myself!"

On his own...doin' good, son!

Supervising Grandma's watering technique.

Thanks for a good time, Grandma and Grandpa!