Tomatoes, Strawberries and maybe Pumpkins

We planted some organic Cherry Tomatoes and Strawberries over the weekend. These are 2 of the kids favorite foods so we chose them for that reason and because they hold up well in pots. I would LOVE to have a nice big organic garden one day that we can all work in. But we need to be settled first and have the time.

Rowen was a big helper at the nursery pulling the wagon. We got tomato and strawberry rootstock. I didn't have the time or stuff to start them inside first.

Getting soil ready for the strawberries

Boys planting strawberries

Rowen saw some pumpkins seeds and really wanted them so we decided to plant some. It will be nice if they do grow, then we'll have them for Halloween

Putting soil in pots for the tomatoes

These are our plants! I really hope they grow some yummy food. Its nice for them to see how we actually get our food (not just from the store).

Lily saying Grandpa & Grandma

This is the best I can do for now, but she is saying Grandpa and Grandma. They were here for a visit a month ago and she wasn't very fond of Grandpa but now she walks around randomly saying Grandpa and Grandma multiple times.

Milk poop

So we were playing outside and when Rowen went to play on the slide he saw something. So I went over to see. It was bird poop. I explained to him what it was and how it got there. He then replied, "yeah it pooped milk" ha ha. And well, yeah, bird poop does look like milk. I love when say such funny things.

A SWEET treat!

The boys and I made some yummy M&M cookies the other day! They love to help when I cook or bake. I figured we all could use a special treat. I really like that they enjoy helping (when its the appropriate time). It is a good way to learn. And kids who help in the preparation of the food are more likely to have a broader range of foods they will eat (though they do eat a very good variety). Once they are older it will help with math skills too. With 3 kids who always want to eat, I'm always in the kitchen. It is nice if I can include them as much as possible. I really need to invest in one the these stools for them, it is much safer than chairs.

They were quite amazed by the egg

Pouring and stirring also helps with motor control

Perfection to make sure they all get a good amount of M&M's

Are they done yet???

Lily got to enjoy some, and was very happy

Hard work is delicious!

Lilykins!

Lily is now 15 months old and growing and talking like crazy! She is 26lbs 12oz & 32inches. She is 95th% tile for both. Now that she's been walking for a few months she thinning out and looking longer.

She has been quite the shoe fanatic lately. She loves to wear them and carry them around. Her Aunt Tracey will be proud.

We've given her a doll to play with but she'd much rather use diggers, cars, and trains (no brother influence here at all ;). She even tips over monster trucks like the boys, pretending its a tractor tipping like in the movie, Cars.




Daddy is playing with her here on a beautiful day!
She loves to go outside not only because she likes to play out there, she gets to put on her shoes too!

Anytime she sees birds flying by she gets super excited. Its very funny to see.

She discovered that there are steps on the slide/climber, just like ones she goes up on inside when its bath time. She also likes the sandbox, though its not as much as the stairs. She uses chalk pretty well. She also rides the big wheel an her little car. Of course we can't forget the picking up of super tiny things she finds like, pieces of driveway, or some bark mulch, little rocks. But she so kindly hands them to me and says "Thank you". A few times I catch her sampling bark mulch. Though I'm thinking its not a food that gets better with age, like cheese;) She'll figure it out one day.

Don't you just want to eat those cheeks!

Only 1yr old and riding a Harley already! She's happy she was able to get to it in time and snag it before her brother noticed she got it.

Her hair is getting pretty long now and needs to put to the side so its not in her eyes all time. I can't wait to be able to put it up in cute pig tails!

She's sporting some super cute jammys here.

Lily is a happy, silly and great baby girl to be around. She'll make you smile and laugh and even if your having a bad day.

I love you Lily!

Rowen's first swim lesson!

Rowen had his first swimming lesson on Saturday. He was so excited all day that it was finally his turn. He had SO much fun! In his class they allow to be in the class for the first couple but recommend you to let them do it with just the instructors. If your child is really having a hard time they will just let you stay with them since you want them to be comfortable.

I am a nervous parent when comes to things like this, so I was in there with him but he did everything himself or with the instructor when it was time. He hasn't been in an actual pool like this on his own so I was near him for the first few minutes but then stayed off to the side and let him be.

This is before class

They did all sorts of fun things with them. Here they are crawling like alligators.

Part of the class was in the deep pool for them to learn to jump in and float assisted. He jumped in just fine the first time but realized that it was much deeper than the first pool. He was a little scared to go back in so I went in and he saw that it was OK, so he decided he would come in with me then after a few minutes he let the instructors take him again and he had fun as you see.

They were playing red light, green light here to learn to kick fast, slow and when to stop.

He was lucky because his class got to play in the fountains and on the water slide. Corbin's class is too young to.

He was so happy he got to go down the slide! When we walked in and he saw it he kept asking to on. I'm so glad it was part of the class. I was surprised at how well he did all by himself. I told the instructor to catch him because he had never been on one before but he didn't need it.

They also did a ring toss where each kid was given a color and then the instructor would throw them for the kids to grab them. They would make it a little deeper each time. When it got to his neck while bending to get it he was a bit scared but did well.

There are 2 other boys in the class his age and 2 instructors so I think that works out well for him. He gets to socialize and have a ton of fun! And learn water safety of course.

Corbin's first swim lesson!

Corbin had his first swim lesson last night. He had a blast! I wasn't sure about how he was going to do. He loves baths, but essentially being in a big bath with lots of other people, I was wondering about that. This was after we had checked in and was getting ready to swim!

We started out the class in the water with the play structure you see behind him, with the teacher dumping two baskets of balls in for the kids to throw back in the basket. Then we went over to a bigger pool that was no less than 3ft 5in and no deeper than 4ft 2in. Of course me being short I some how ended up being in the deeper part. The class was us holding them the whole time while singing songs and moving them to swim on their backs, belly's, and side. And having them pop out of the water during certain parts of the song, like- the people on the bus go up and down; for the wheels on the bus. We also did a lesson for them to learn when its ok to go into the water. I would stand him on the outside of the pool and do some counting, then clap and say ok, then he would jump into my arms.

He wanted to test out the water before hand and decided to start walking in, at which point when he got to his shins he fell as he discovered it was getting deeper and was a bit scared. But after a few reassuring words and distracting him, he was fine when it came to swim, thankfully.

After class he was all pumped up. He had so much fun and was surprised himself I think at how much fun he had. He is excited for his next class.

Rowen's first class is on Saturday. He was very unhappy that it wasn't his turn. But he knows that in a few days he gets to go and Corbin doesn't. We had originally decided that we were definitely going to have Rowen take swimming lessons, but realized that Corbin needed to do an activity too and get out of the house and know that there are other people in the world.

Brandon and I will be switching off taking them so they get to have some one on one time with us both. They are taking the lessons at the health club that recently opened up down the road. Its the same place I go to for yoga.