Dallas Zoo

We went to the Dallas Zoo last week with LM's Dallas cousins. He loved the "animals!" as he likes to say, and has been talking about them ever since, but I think he also really liked spending time with the other kids.

LM wanted to ride in Aunt Kim's wagon pretty much all day.

Our stroller was old news.

Kim bought some of the most expensive lettuce on the planet and the kids fed the giraffes.

This gorilla was so funny with his big toothy smile.

We rode the Monorail, too.

The kids really enjoyed the children's area, though, at the end of our visit.

Where they could get WET!

I brought LM another set of clothes, but when we got to the water, he insisted on taking off his sandals AND his shirt. So, I guess I could have just brought another pair of shorts. Ha.

Oh, that is SOOO his Daddy's silly face. 

Then on the way out, we hopped on the carousel.

As usual, LM looks thrilled.

This girl smiled a lot, though!

So did this one!

Let's check - nope, still no smile!

In his defense, he was crazy tired. He fell asleep in the parking lot before I ever got the vehicle into drive. He was worn out, big time. It was a good day.

No, seriously, it was good. 

See you soon.

Max

Well, dear friends, I have been a picture taking fool lately. I have TONS of photos to share with you. Why, you say, then, haven't you blogged every day? Well, dear friends, there are two reasons for this. At least two. Ahem. First, I am taking an online class to learn how to use Adobe Lightroom. At first, I wasn't so sure. But now I'm all in love and it's wonderful. And, remember when I told you I had waited for YEARS to try shooting in RAW? Yeah, well, I should have done it YEARS ago. It's amazing how much control you can have over the image in RAW. I LURVE it. I do! Anyway, I've been spending time on that class instead of blogging.

Second, my car has been in the shop for a week. It is 11 years old but hasn't even cracked the 100K mileage marker. And, suddenly, when it's over 80 degrees, about 20 minutes into your drive, the air conditioning stops working. They can't figure out why...so we have been with one car for a week and counting. This means I have not gotten my downtime in the mornings after S and LM leave for work and school and before I go to work. This is prime blogging time, people, and I miss it. It's also prime "momma keeps her sanity" time, and for that reason, we should all miss it. Ha. And, on the car, I want to keep driving it for a while longer. I HATE buying a hugely depreciating asset. I HATE car payments, and I don't like any of it one bit. But, sister, as my good friend Amanda pointed out, if there isn't air conditioning, you might as well not have wheels in Texas. So, if they can't fix it, I guess I'm a gonna have to face up to the fact that I might need a new vehicle. Groan. Sigh. Ugh. Yuck!

OK, so on to a little blog post - LM's best buddy these days is his friend Max. When I pick LM up from school each day, we recount his day. As in, I'll start mentioning things I know he did, and he repeats what I say, with a little embellishment along the way. One such embellishment that happens almost every day is when I ask him about going outside. He says, "Max!". He and Max love to play together. So, Max's Mummy (and she is a Mummy, from Ireland) and I arranged a Sunday play date for them to get together at the park. We met at a lovely park where I had never been and the boys had a blast. I didn't take many photos, as I was visiting with Max's Mummy the whole time, but here are a couple.

There they are, hot boys on the playground.

LM was skeptical of our request for a smile.

Max is clearly not so jaded.

Time for some water!

Max has an older sister, Eva

And then they were OFF!

And then...recognize this little girl?

We're standing there, talking, while the children played, and then our nephew Andrew walked by. I said, "Hi!" He said, "Hi!" and kept on walking. Randomly, Brooke and Michael had stopped by the exact same park! I also ran into a former work colleague, there with her family. It was old home week! After the play date, we went to a nearby restaurant with Brooke and Michael, where Kim and Mark met us and we all had lunch.It was a fun morning all around.

See you soon!

Hanging Out

Last weekend we had an impromptu "pool party" with Brooke and Michael's family. The boys had a blast playing in the pool. That Andrew is quite a ham these days - some cute photos to follow:

LM didn't much seem to care that the water was COLD!

You can see Katherine got into the act briefly. But, she didn't like the cold water, and didn't seem to see why anyone would want to splash in it. So she left them to their own devices. Most of their "devices" included Andrew doing something and Little Man repeating it. 

 

Even Katherine imitated a bit, before she was done with them completely. 

 

 

Outside the pool, where it was warmer.

Smart girl.

 

 

 

But then, there is THIS photo.

 

When I saw that photo come across my screen, I gasped. I thought, oh my goodness, that is my boy, as a teenager! No really, seriously, when I look at that photo, I can see him into the future. Scary, crazy. And amazing. I love it. 

 

See you soon.

Last Little Gym, For Now

Last Saturday was our last Little Gym class for now. We had signed LM up for three months, and now those three months have passed. We are not signing up for the summer because we  aren't here enough to warrant it, and because I think it's high time for a little break too. Three months is a long time to do something like this with a toddler. It's been fun though, and for the last class, I took some photos:

Each class starts with a bell ringing song. 

LM knows the routine after three months - get the bells, sing and shake, return the bells.

Then there are class activities, but this is also where LM usually runs off to play on the equipment.

However, the big parachute activity brought him back into the fold.

This is Mr. Joe, LM's teacher.

Running under the parachute is fun!

LM loves to help clean up.

Then, its actually time to explore the gym.

Mr. Joe always puts on good music, which makes the boy dance.

And occasionally, contemplation is apparently in order.

Here, Mr. Joe and LM had a little convo on the uneven bars...

OK, on to the circle. 

I don't know what else to call it...

They would jump in the circle, then climb out and run down the wedge mat. 

That was the "skill" we practiced over and over and over.

This was not a "sanctioned" activity.

Next up, jump four times and then somersault down the wedge.

It's still a two man task...

Not that he doesn't try to do it HIMSELF!

Then, everyone's favorite - ball time!

(And unsanctioned hoop time, brought on by another kid and captured by our boy)

Then we moved on to hoarding the orange balls.

No, I'm serious - hoarding.

He tries to get all the orange balls over into this corner of the gym.

And keep them. 

Soon enough, it's time to put the balls away, balls away, balls away.

One last swing, and then circle time for the end of class.

Then it's goodbyes and hug time for Mr. Joe

And hugs for Daddy.

Love this one.

So, we had fun at Little Gym over the past three months - it definitely grew on him, and he learned a few things. We will most likely return in the future for other things. But, I have to say I'm looking forward to a Saturday free of an obligation. We'll have those soon enough when he's older, so for now, it's summer and time for a break.

See you soon.