What a summer!

I can't believe summer is over already!  AND that Jax started a Children's Day Out (CDO) program two days a week at a local preschool this year!  Holy moly they grow up fast!  He found his voice loud and proud this summer and talks so much.  He just cracks me up with some of the funny things he says. He counts (30 is our latest high) and knows all of his alphabet (he doesn't sing the song, but he does fill in the blanks when I stop singing the song).  He has really started to enjoy dancing and participating in dances or exercises.  He stretches with me after my run (although he stretches like a morning stretch and tells me we're done), he does lunges and squats with me and counts my push-ups while laughing at me (I can't blame him).   He loves cars and trains (and building tracks) and fire engines right now... and pretty much anything else with wheels.  He saw a show featuring the 3 little pigs and the Big Bad Wolf one day and then later picked out a stuffed wolf at Kohl's and since then he talks all day and all night about it: "Oh no!  The Bad Wolf blow down the house down!" (I don't know when or why he put the double "down" in there - but it stuck)  and "...have to build a BIG STRONG HOUSE!"  We build houses with legos and mega blocks and dominos and anything else he can stack.  We build a lot of houses.  He also loves to line up his animals.  Last Christmas he got a Little People Zoo and a whole bunch of animals - he loves them!  Especially the sets.  Everything has a Mama, Daddy, and baby.  The animals, the legos, his dinner... everything.  We've been using that opener to talk about some separation anxiety he's had at CDO.  Numerous times a day he says "Oh no!  Where'd the Mama go!"  and brings me an item that he's referring to as the baby.  I try to reply to the effect that Mama is running some errands and will be back but that baby should play with friends and see if there is anything fun going on until she comes back to pick him up.  He's at least coming to terms with talking about it.  He even talks about wanting to go back to school - so long as it's not actually a day that he has to go.   Last week was the first week, so hopefully next week gets smoother.  It's so hard on Mama to leave him so upset!  But the director calls me to tell me he's calmed down and when he comes back out he's happy and has had fun. 

Jax still loves balls and playing catch.  He's got a good arm and some darned good aim (better than mine)!  He's started catching pretty well too.  He can use his glove (video below), but prefers bare hands - he thinks he has to throw with the glove and that's hard!

We've started talking about potty training.  He has a toilet book he loves - he even "reads" (or has memorized) parts of it.  He loves the Nina Needs To Go Disney short on TV.  He knows how to go potty and poo on the toilet and what to do.  He just has little to no interest in doing it.  Sooo...  we are just waiting for him to show some interest.  He's not motivated by very much and the few things he is motivated by don't seem to be worth using the toilet, so we're just giving him a little more time.  They work on it at school, so hopefully before the school year is over he'll be well on the way. 

Ok, enough talk.  Pictures!

The dads had golf league Sunday nights, so we had dinner parties!

The Disney Store is a great place to explore when it's too hot outside to play!

Plush Buzz & Woody were favorite finds!

In June Brian's sister Laura got married.  Jax loved looking down at all of the cars from our hotel room.

During pictures he enjoyed playing keep away while running around and through the church pews

Notice him trying to sneak in there next to Dad... He decided he wanted to be part of the wedding party after all - so long as nothing was expected of him.  But he wanted to be in the pictures!

Such a champ smiling for all of the pics!

MMMMMmmmm... Good call on the cupcakes Aunt Laura (thanks, Aunt Bre, for sneaking one to him before dinner)

He was really interested in that first dance... he wanted to join in!

Mmm... Aunt Laura provided suckers!

He set up camp at the reception

Very rarely do we nap together - but it's oh, so sweet when we do!

The monster truck needed a tune up

At the Smokey Hill River Festival - Festival Jam waiting for Papa to play the drums! (Sadly he hadn't taken a nap that day and barely made it through Papa's first song before he melted into tired tears - found out the next day that he had a bad ear infection - poor bug!)

Fun with Katie, Woody and Buzz (I don't know why but they wanted to play in the crib)

He loved the carousel at the zoo.  He's not showing it so much, though.

While I was getting his big boy room ready he decided to help.  He's got a screw driver in the right hand ready to go.

He also had fun playing hide & seek in spaces he doesn't really fit into anymore!

We finally moved him into a big boy bed - he's only fallen out once!

Helping Mama pull out a shrub

These are the flowers we planted where we pulled out the shrub.  He helped me take care of them all summer.

Jax spent a night with Grandma & Grandpa in Iowa while Brian and I went to spend some time with friends.  He loved running and playing with Grandma & Grandpa!

 

 

That was just June... July was a BUSY month, too!  Jax and I spent a week in Colorado with Tara, Scott, Austin, Nana & Papa.  What a trip!

That's quite a crew!

Posing with Nana's mountain

Dancing at the concert in the park!

aren't they precious!

Hiking up Mt. Royal with Papa

"I'm superman!"

He was so taken with the stream we watched it while everyone else marched on - we picked up with them when they got back.

Looks like about 2 minutes before trouble...

Too tired to walk home - and didn't want to ride in the stroller...

Mandatory pic on the rock

Frisco has such a great parade that starts about a block from the house.  It's so much fun with these boys!

Before bed snuggles with Nana

lil charmer

He stole all of the bags at the Marina.  Good thing no one else wanted to play!

Morning cartoons.

moments before the wrestling started.

Yikes!  A BEAR!

Look!  A waterfall!

His "big boy bed" set up in the mountains.

Cheesin at the Parade

Nana bought him a Bullseye - so Woody had to learn to ride

Playing keep away from Mama at the Marina... talk about a heart attack!  "what's the big deal, Mom!?"

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test run with a backpack.  He needed a bigger one for school, but this one is great to hoard toys in!

He is the bag...

We also had lots of fun at the pool this summer

First ice cream cone (Mama is kind of a clean freak - so it took 2 1/2 years)

The demise of said ice cream cone.

He came running in like this and said he wanted to go to the swimming pool.  Could have fooled me!

Snack break!

Love these boys.

Touring the big cat sanctuary in Louisburg - it was great.  If you haven't been, go! http://www.saveoursiberians.org/

One morning he asked for his spyglass, map & pixie dust... I had to improvise!

showing me how to wear the engineers hat at Fritz's

Hmmm, think they like trains?

Touring the fire engine at safety day at Deanna Rose

He was far less interested in the helicopter. 

He loved the baby goats (and later the mama goats).  But kept wagging a finger at them saying "no bite!"

after almost 2 years of successful haircuts Jax decided he would not go to a salon anymore - so one brave night Brian and I attempted the impossible...

Whether it was a good cut or not he let us cut it - the next day I invested in some shears and some thinning shears.  If we work as a team we can keep him from being too shaggy - but I'll never be as good as Taran.

Workin with Papa

Playing some hoops.

Busy day: helping Papa sweep the pool, pick tomato's, and then testing out a new do after bathtime

Mama got a new hat - but Jax adopted it pretty quickly.  Watching the tractor in the field.

Safety first in the sun!

Daddy is much more fun in the pool than Mama... she's such a nervous nelly!

Dinner at T-Rex.  Such a fun kids restaurant with good food to boot!

Right before he jumped in the fountain

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Right before he went into the room - saying our "see you's"

"Mama will go bye bye - but then she'll come back and get you"

Happy to see me at least!

First day of school was a bit rough, so we perked it up a bit with Fritz's for lunch.

 

Jax decided to help me make cookies... he loved testing the chocolate chips.

We love the fall weather

From the back seat I heard "Ow!  It's hurting me!" when I turned around this is what I saw... Watch where you point that thing, buddy!  (BTW, it was a hangnail)