Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Monday, July 29, 2013

Cousin Time

Stephanie and little Brynlee came over last Friday, and the boys were so excited to play with their new cousin!  We brought the old play yard and some baby toys upstairs, and the boys were so gentle when playing with her...so cute!

Repair Men

The boys love running through sprinklers, and were excited when my Dad showed them a box full of spare sprinkler heads.  They had a fun time playing sprinkler repair shop!

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Trains & Fountains

We took a trip to Union Station and Crown Center this morning.  The boys had a choice of the following exhibits: Curious George, Real Pirates, Kaleidoscope, Trains...of course, they chose the train exhibit with no hesitation!  The nice train conductor man followed us around...he explained a lot about the trains as well as provided insight to train activities we can do at home.  It was obvious that he really loved his job there!  The boys were mesmerized by the trains, and then the conductor asked if they wanted to go behind the tracks where they could have a close-up view without the protective glass...they loved it!  He even let them touch some tracks and trains.  Then, we went back across the Link and watched the fountains for awhile.  They had so much fun and Matty is already asking when he can go back!
The conductor explains the route.




Hanging out on the bridge, watching for trains.
Zach enjoying Union Station.
Throwing pennies in the Westin waterfall.
Nothing beats the fountains!






Cool Cut

Matty got a nice summer haircut yesterday.  Zach still refused to take a turn, so it looks like I'll have to be his barber for a little while longer.  He did enjoy all of the suckers at the salon while he waited for his brother!

Monday, July 22, 2013

Butterfly Garden

We visited the Farm early this morning.  One of the boys' favorite things to do is to walk on the alphabet stones in the butterfly garden, and sing the ABC song at the same time!

Thursday, July 18, 2013

5 Year Check-up

Matty had his 5 year check-up this morning with Dr S.  He did great!  He was actually excited to go this time...one of his favorite shows right now is Doc McStuffins, so he thought it would be as much fun as the show.  He got 2 more of the 5 kindergarten shots today (chicken pox booster & DTP booster), and he didn't even flinch!  What a brave boy.  When we were walking out through the waiting room, he said, 'those shots were awesome!'  I heard a few chuckles as we left.

Here are his 5 year stats:

weight: 42 lbs, 2 oz (55%)...he gained 10 lbs, 4 oz this year!  Unbelievable!  Last year, he was only in the 11% for weight!

height: 44.2 inches (68%)...he grew 3.2 inches this year.  Last year, he was in the 59% for height.

I remember all of the infant appointments where Matty was in the 0% for both weight and height, and I wondered when he would actually get on the curves.  Every ounce that he gained was a huge victory.  Today was so great to see his awesome progress!  The charts compare him to kids born in May'08 (instead of his Sep'08 due date), so he's doing great!

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Oak Hill Playground

We visited the playground at Oak Hill Elementary this morning.  The school opened when I was a 5th grader, so I went there for 1 year.  It was fun watching the boys run around the same area that I did about 25 years ago!

Monday, July 15, 2013

Diving Board!

We went to my parents' pool on Sunday night because ours was closed.  Matty kept asking if he could jump off of the low dive, so we finally let him try.  He had to take his flotation bubble off, but Jeremy was there to help him swim.  Once he realized that he didn't really need the bubble after all, he was swimming on his own!  He has come so far with his swimming skills...just last summer, he didn't like to put his face in the water or even jump in from the side of the pool.  We are so proud of him!  Hopefully, he will keep gaining more and more confidence to swim on his own this summer.
Starting his approach...
...gaining confidence...
...and off he goes! 

Sunday Blessings

We attended my new niece, Brynlee's baptism on Sunday.  I was honored to be one of her god sponsors!  The boys love her so much already, and Matty calls her 'Sweet Baby'.

Friday, July 12, 2013

Stanley Playground

The boys like to stop at this nice playground on the way to the grocery store...the slides and swings are fun, plus, there is a little tunnel to crawl through along with a bulldozer!



Sunday, July 7, 2013

Antioch Park

We took the boys to a park that I had not visited since I was young, and they loved it!  There was a little town full of different buildings (jail, schoolhouse, hotel, bank, etc) plus, 2 playground areas.  I was glad that we were both there to watch them, because it would have been very hard to keep an eye on both of them at the same time.  They were having so much fun running in and out of the buildings, it was very hard to get decent pictures!
Z's expression just about sums up how much fun they had!

Exhausted at the end...they were ready for a yummy Panera lunch.