Brother's Keeper

Matt has taken a great interest in protecting his little brother lately. He loves to help Nolan in all sorts of ways (including ways of getting into trouble). He loved helping Nolan get down the slide in our little wading pool.

Nolan loves this brotherly attention- most of the time. Despite the best of intentions, sometimes big brothers lose their grip!

Oops. This won't be pretty.

I'm outta here!

Races Down the Driveway

The boys love "racing" down the driveway. They don't have any clue that a race results in a winner, and spend the majority of the time "getting ready" and "getting set." Once "GO!" is announced, all energies are spent to get back to the starting line again.

Doing a little unplanned "off-roading."

Getting Ready.

The little guy.

Getting a little help from Dad.

Mr. Mischievous

He looks so innocent

Nolan likes to "escape" through the sliding glass door. He gets a mischievous look in his eyes, smiles at me, then proceeds to make his grand escape.

He thinks he is getting away with something. He is quite proud of himself. The only problem is that pesky screen, which he can't open yet!

Rats, foiled again!

Fun With Letters

Matthew called Dennis upstairs last night because he couldn't get his "G" to work. We weren't quite sure what he was talking about. Turns out he was writing "GO" with his train tracks- he had the G and the O, but couldn't permanently affix the cross-bar of the /G/ and was getting frustrated. We reassured him the /G/ was fine exactly as it was, and he begrudgingly accepted the fact that there was no way to truly hook it all together.

We still have over two years until kindergarten. Think he'll be ready?

I Must Really Love to Vacuum

Nolan plays on the wet deck

It has been raining lately. By raining, I don't mean the light drizzle that triggers a "storm watch" in California. I mean a constant deluge of water sufficient to make me think about buying plans to build an ark. The boys have been trapped inside or confined to the relative "dry" area of our back deck. Which needs to be re-stained in a rather desperate way.

It might rain a lot here, but at least it is GREEN!

Pretending to surf

I love this little boy!

I decided that the three of us needed to get out of the house, so I took the boys shopping. You can guess how much two little boys enjoy "shopping." I won't go into details, but let's say it ended with lots of whining and pleading (mine). While trolling the aisles at Big Lots for some "race car" bedding, I ran across a little sandbox for $30. Since all boys love dirt, I picked it up and headed home with some sand toys and 2 bags of play sand.

Matt really "digs" the sandbox. Please forgive the pun.

Sand is the best toy EVER!

Nolan isn't a big fan of gritty hands and feet

Sand has the amazing ability to expand and scatter once out of the original packaging. Everything seems gritty- the back deck, the tile inside the house, my shoes... EVERYTHING! The boys truly love the sandbox, though, so it is definitely a winner.

I just need to find a way to hoover the boys prior to them coming inside the house!

Hatch Day!

The baby wrens have finally hatched. I feel sorry for the mama bird, because there are a lot of mouths to feed!

Nostalgia

My dad made Matthew a very cool cradle when he was born. It is a rocking boat, and Matt slept in this for quite some time. Now it is in the playroom, as a spot to sit and read books. When I went to check on the boys last night, I couldn't find Matthew in his bed. I found him in the playroom, snuggled into the cradle that had been his first bed!

My sweet boy still fits into his cradle, and obviously loves it as much as he did when he was a tiny baby.

Jamestown FMC Picnic

We were invited to the Jamestown Free Methodist Church picnic at Falconer Park last Sunday, and had a great time socializing, eating, playing, and eating. Then eating some more. Can you tell I like food?

Everyone brought their own hot dogs, hamburgers, and brats to cook on the park grills.

The boys played soccer together on the grass, and it was nice to see all the children playing together so nicely!

After eating and playing on dry land, we allowed the boys to get wet and muddy in the creek. This creek isn't quite as big as the one at the hundred acre lot, but is good enough for two little ones!

We dragged two muddy little boys home and enjoyed some quiet time since all that sun and water wore them out!

New Bike

There is nothing better than a new bike.

Boy rides bike. Boy gets tired. Boy takes nap!

Vacation Bible School

I had a great time volunteering and Matt had a great time learning at Vacation Bible School this year. Among many other songs, Matt started singing "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands." The traditional verses include "mothers and fathers," "little bitty babies," "the wind and the rain" in His hands. Other things in His hands, according to Matthew:

Stop Signs
Garbage Cans
That Plant Over There
Big Trucks
Race Cars

Perhaps the boy will grow up to become a song writer!

Nolan spent time in the nursery, but the nursery children were also brought up for the puppet show/music time and outside to play. He quite enjoyed his time there, and by the end of the week didn't even cry when I dropped him off in his classroom!

Matt was in an official class, though he couldn't recall what any of the stories were about. Except for Daniel in the Lions Den. Apparently, the threat of getting eaten by lions struck a cord with my boy! He was quite sad when the week was over.

Lions and Tigers and Tractors!

I saw a notification on the Erie Zoo website that caught my attention: "Equipment Day at the Zoo!" What could be better than tigers and giraffes... tigers and giraffes and TRACTORS, of course!

Tractors + zoo = best day ever!

Checking out a mini bulldozer

Operating an excavator

Matt takes his tractor driving seriously!

Matthew was interested in the trucks and tractors. Only the trucks and tractors. A lion roaring in the habitat next door was of absolutely no interest. He has always been this way- the only animal worth viewing (in his opinion) is the polar bear. He usually pays far more attention to the zoo train than anything else, which is why I though "Equipment Day" would be right up his alley. We struck gold with this visit.

Polar bears: the only animal Matt finds interesting

Perhaps rhinos are also acceptable animals for viewing

Nolan is the polar opposite. Trucks and tractors have some appeal, though I think most of his interest is from imitating Matthew. For Nolan, the animals reign supreme. He loves all of them, and squeals with delight when we come upon a new exhibit. The tiger is his favorite, and he has loved this exhibit since he was a baby.

Viewing the wild dogs.

The tiger! Nolan cries when we drag him away.

Both boys can agree on the best part of the zoo. The Erie Zoo has an excellent children's section, which is both interactive and educational. They have brushes available in the goat's pen and allow the kids to groom the goats. Keepers are stationed throughout this area to answer questions and often have exhibits like a tiger's skull and tooth to show the kids some basic animal anatomy. There are also a lot of interactive playground areas, which both of my kids love.

Crossing the lily pads

Getting some help from Dad

Playing a turtle-xylophone

Pumping water into a barrel


Playing with the water Matt pumped