Anyway, here is the remainder of the month of July...
Lucas has spent a lot of the summer at the library falling in love with a room full of children's books. I was really hesitant about taking him there because he hasn't quite got the concept of using an "inside voice" and I was afraid we would be asked to leave. Fortunately, our library has an entire wing devoted to children and I was put at ease immediately. I usually put some books on hold online and then I allow Lucas to explore and pick out a few more. I know him so well and he immediately found books all about trucks (like the ones I usually have on hold already.) He is such a big boy and helps me carry his new books to the check out counter and give the librarians there our library card. All the way home he looks through several books and just screams in excitement! It is such an awesome thing to see how much he loves books. I also usually check out a few videos of construction vehicles, which of course, he wants to watch all the time. He is so smart and can now name the following work trucks AND tell me their job: tractor and plow, excavator, bulldozer, steam roller, front-end loader, backhoe, backhoe loader, dump truck, cherry-picker truck, street sweeper, auger driller, mobile crane, tower crane, road paver, forklift and grader. I'm not kidding when I say he knows these, I do have witnesses!
This month we had Olivia's grandma, Ms. Linda, join us for mom's group at the pool while Mrs. Sam and Mr. Steve were on their anniversary cruise. Lucas and Olivia are becoming so independent and wanted to show off their swimming skills, so we mainly stayed on the pool steps. Ms. Linda was not sure about taking Olivia down the big slide, so I took her down a few times while she watched Lucas. Later, Lucas had enough of watching me with Olivia and he begged to go down too. So, I took both kids up the stairs to the slide and sent Lucas down first where Mrs. Linda caught him; and then, Olivia and I went down together. Lucas loved going down alone and Olivia loved the "vroom vroom" noises that I made on the way down.
Later that afternoon, Ms. Linda and Olivia joined some of us neighborhood moms and walked on Greenway. Olivia and Lucas really enjoyed riding next to each other and I really enjoyed catching up with Ms. Linda.
Lucas has become quite the bargain shopper with me and loves to go around to all of the stores. I think it's probably because at some places he gets a lollipop and others he gets to walk next to me. However, he also really likes to help me pick out the products now. He is not only choosing the fruits and vegetables for the week, but also picking out his breakfast and lunches. It is so much fun having a little buddy with me at all times. He even helps me pack the groceries when we leave Aldi and returns the cart with me so we can get our quarter back.
While Mrs. Linda was here, Lucas got to experience his very first Tea Party. When we arrived, Lucas and Olivia posed for the cameras before heading upstairs to the party. Ms. Linda and Olivia had prepared some tea (apple juice) in tea cups and made cut-out PBJ sandwiches along with chocolate Teddy Grahams. They sat at the table maybe 5 minutes before deciding that playing with the toys seemed like a better idea. Lucas was shockingly mean to Olivia when it came to taking turns and consequently ended with a few time outs. Olivia didn't mind much and even felt like she needed to be mean back to him so that she could have her turn in time out! After a few fights and a little playing together, Ms. Linda brought everyone an ice cream cone that the kids enjoyed at the table. When they had both eaten the entire cone, they made their way over to the window to watch the bulldozers and dump trucks before heading home for a nap. We had such a great time at the tea party Ms. Linda and really appreciate the invite. Mrs. Sam and Mr. Steve came home that day and I'm sure they were so ready to see their little "Liv Lee" as Lucas calls her.
***When you watch the slideshow below from slide.com, you need to click on the small "x" to close the 'Super Pokes' ad***
Since Lucas and I had such a busy week, we spent most of the day on Friday cleaning house and doing laundry. Later that night, while Lucas and I headed down to Gigi's for dinner, Ben went and hung out with Mr. Shawn. While at GiGi's house, Uncle Taylor surprised Lucas with a new remote control bulldozer that now goes wherever he goes in the house. Saturday night, I had a girls night out over at a friend's house for dinner and a movie, so Lucas spent the night up at MiMi and Poppie's house. The next day we met MiMi, Poppie and Lucas at O'Charley's for brunch. When we got home, Lucas was so tired from the sleepover yet somehow so hyper all at the same time. He just couldn't fall asleep in his room, so we brought him downstairs where he finally crashed right on the floor.
For a surprise variation to our weekly schedule, we went for a boat ride with Grandmama and Pop-Pop. They moved their boat from Lake Lanier to a dock on Lake Allatoona this past weekend; so, they both took off work on Monday so they could explore their new lake. Lucas LOVES going out on the boat and watching the water behind the boat as we are cruising around. This trip was not without excitement though...while we were attached to the dock getting ready to leave and Lucas was "pretend driving," he almost pushed down the gas and zoomed us off still attached to the dock! He recovered pretty well when we all yelled, but it was definitely a lesson learned. Lucas also got to wear his new Spider Man life jacket in the water, which he definitely did NOT like. He was trying to swim like he had on swimmies, and the life jacket kept flipping him over. After an exciting day on the lake, we headed back to Grandmama and Pop Pop's house for a nap and then some relaxing time on their front porch.
We braved the heat one Saturday this July and went down to Stone Mountain. In preparation for riding on the train around the mountain, Lucas and I went to the library and found several books and videos on trains. He talked about this unknown train event for a week before we actually got there! We missed the first train so we headed over to the sky lift that goes up and down the mountain. We were afraid that Lucas might freak out with the height, but even though it was 100 degrees and we were all stuffed into the skylift bucket, Lucas had a great time and would just squeal in excitement. Next, we headed over to wait again for the train in the horrible heat. Lucas really didn't seem to mind the heat at all, especially when there were so many people in line to charm. Once we were on the train, I don't think that Lucas said one word because he was so absorbed in the moment. He just sat there with his mouth open and occasionally would smile at us. After the train, we met our friends Mrs. Lindsi, Mr. Val and Jackson for a picnic dinner, some dancing, and the laser show. Lucas especially loved the fireworks before the laser show; and of course, the glowsticks all around him! The picture below with Lucas and Mrs. Lindsi dancing is not very clear, but you can see how much fun he is having dancing with Mrs. Lindsi!
This month, I have started watching a little boy Boris from the neighborhood. His mommy, Mrs. Olga is pregnant with TWIN boys and her husband had to move out of town during the week for work. Little Boris comes over to play with Lucas while his mommy goes to her doctor appointments and runs errands. Lucas and Boris are close in age so they have a great time doing art projects and playing with all of Lucas' trucks and tools.
To end the month, we had the Tyson Family (Poppie's side of the family) Reunion up at Unicoi State Park near Helen. We picked up Poppie in our car, which of course, made Lucas' day when he got to sit next to him all the way up there. Lucas had a great time looking out at the mountains and lake from the big deck and playing with Ben's cousin Shelby. After we finished eating the absolutely delicious food, we took Lucas for a walk next to the lake and up a walking trail where he could run and play. He was still so excited from the day that he almost wouldn't allow himself to fall asleep in the car; however, he finally gave up but only slept for less than an hour. We had a great time catching up with family we haven't seen in awhile!
Now on to the month of August.....see you there!
No comments:
Post a Comment