Pre Birthday Celebration

We are preparing to go to Utah for a family reunion. Since we will be gone over Darren's birthday, we decided to give him his presents this morning. Darren woke up to find his wrapped gifts waiting for him.Darren enjoyed all of his presents, but he was attached to one in particular - his first toothbrush. Notice the toothbrush still in his hand while he explores another new toy.

Zoo Inflatables

We went to the zoo today. It was a special zoo member day and they had several inflatable toys for the kids to play in. Mommy carefully selected an inflatable that seemed to be geared towards the younger kids. Adam had a great time jumping, but it wasn't long before he had his eye on one of the obstacle courses. Mommy didn't think Adam was old enough to go on it, since the end of the course had a very tall wall you had to climb. Adam pointed out that there were small kids in the line for it and he was sure he could do it. Mommy reluctantly let him go, fearing she would have to climb in after him if he got stuck. And she imagined what it would look like to everyone else if both Mommy and son were stuck in the obstacle course together. But to Mommy's amazement, Adam succeeded in climbing the tall wall and slid down the tall slide without any trouble.

Adam wasn't surprised at all with the accomplishment; he knew he could do it.

Ears!

Adam had a fascination with eyelashes and Darren has a fascination with ears. He loves feeling his own ears as well as ours. Needless to say, we frequently find him in this position.

Farm Animals

We went to a farm activity at the public library today. Adam had fun touching all of the animals.

The highlight of the day was feeding the pony.

Indoor Pool

Adam has been asking to get our kiddie pool out for awhile. Today's weather wasn't very good for swimming outside, so we made an indoor swimming pool. Adam had fun pretending to swim and Darren enjoyed the new play area.
Mommy thought the pool might work as a temporary "play pen" for Darren, but Darren didn't think that was a good idea.

Fountains

We had a Residency Spouse Association pizza party at a park tonight. The park has a few fountains for the kids to play in. Adam was very excited to run in the water, until we got to the park. He became very nervous and preferred watching everyone else play. After lots of coaxing, Adam finally gave it a try. He loved it and begged to play longer after the party came to an end.

Family Picture

Adam drew a picture of our family today. He was very proud of the pants he drew for Daddy, instead of the normal legs he puts on his people. He also made sure to draw himself holding Darren.

What a tease!

Darren is quite the tease! His latest trick is biting the spoon when we feed him. He thinks he is hilarious when he does it.

6 years!

Happy Anniversary to us!!! Paul had to work tonight so we decided to go out for breakfast. We found a fun restaurant known for their breakfasts and enjoyed spending the morning together. After breakfast, we had our traditional anniversary picture taken by the well known photographer, Adam.

Darren's Trick

Darren has recently learned how to shake his head "no." He thinks it is a game and loves to do it over and over again. We're not quite sure how he manages to do it without making himself dizzy.

The Royals

We went to an Omaha Royals baseball game tonight. Adam has been counting down the days leading up to the game. He is very much a sports enthusiast and the chance to see a game in person has been very exciting for him.

We didn't plan to stay for the whole game because we thought the boys would grow restless. To our surprise, they did great. Darren was awake and content to watch all of the people for a very long time, but he did eventually fall asleep in Mommy's arms. Adam never tired of watching the action on the field. And by the end of the night, he had even learned to cheer for our team. "Go Blue!"

Boats!

We went to the "Float Your Boat" activity today at the public library. First, the kids each made a boat to test in the water.

Darren didn't make a boat, but he sure had fun splashing the plastic boats around.

Then it was time to explore the larger boats on display.

The absolute favorite part of the day was playing on the Hobie Wave. Darren looked like a natural boater sitting back to enjoy the ride and Adam was content to play pretend on the boat for nearly a half hour. He would have kept "sailing," but the activity ended and we were the last ones to leave.

Stick Figures

Adam has learned how to draw stick figures. Today, he drew a picture of himself holding Darren.

Mahoney State Park

Paul had a day off, so we headed to Mahoney State Park.

First, we enjoyed a round of miniature golf. Adam was especially excited about his hole in one!

Then, Adam enjoyed his very first pony ride! There were three ponies to choose from. Adam looked at each one very carefully. When he approached Rusty, the pony neighed as if to say "hello" to Adam. That neigh won Adam over, and he selected Rusty as his pony.

We spent the rest of our time at the giant indoor playground. It was a bit of a tight squeeze at times,

but we all managed.Darren and Adam especially had a great time crawling, jumping, sliding and climbing through all of the obstacles.

Firework Cookies

We always have fun making a special Fourth of July treat. This year we made firework cookies. They were actually our own invention and turned out great! Adam loved using our cookie press to squeeze out the dough (Darren on the other hand hated it. He cried every time we pushed the button). But, we all had fun dipping the frosted cookies in the sprinkles. And the most enjoyable part was eating our creation!

Baby Food

We went grocery shopping today. Other shoppers are amazed at how many jars of baby food I buy. Today we bought 36. They always assume I am stocking up for the month. Boy would they be surprised if they knew this will only last us 6 days!!!
That's right, 6 days. The reason:

Yes, he is adorable. But he refuses to eat table food. Texture and lumps make him gag. Now that he is almost one, he eats and eats and eats! This was dinner tonight . . .

An 8 oz. bottle of formula, rice cereal and three containers of baby food. And yes, he ate it all!

Cushion Fun

The cushions to our couch are more often found on the floor than on the couch. Here the boys are playing in their "boat."

Drawing

Adam's drawing skills have greatly improved. Today he drew a hot air balloon on our dry-erase board.