Park Day with Grandma

Grandma came down to visit and have a picnic today so we spent the afternoon at one of the parks. The older boys were both having a great time climbing and exploring everything.

Little Bear was all about exercising and building his muscles. He wanted Daddy to help him learn how to do pull-ups.

He also made it across a few of the monkey bars for the first time! He was so proud of himself and we are so proud of him!

Pequeño had fun in the baby swing, cruising around the bottoms of the playsets, and playing in the grass. We also took some pictures in his 1 year shirt! Look who can stand for a few seconds at a time!

We had brought the kids police car along for the kids to ride so we went on a walk while Little Bear and Pudge drove ahead of us.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cousins and a Bounce House

Some of our relatives were visiting their parents recently and hosted a joint birthday party for some of the cousins who live out of town. The boys and I drove up to Aunt D's in the afternoon for the party and brought along what was left of the wheat free, soy free, oat free, dairy free cake that we had made for Pequeño's birthday for  our kids to eat.

When we got there, the kids were a little shy at first because they had not seen these cousins in a few mints (I think the last time was at Thanksgiving?). Then one of the adults mentioned that they were going to blow up a bounce house and the kids all ran to watch it get set up. Once it was ready, they all hopped in and were instantly having fun together.

Pequeño was too little to go in the bounce house but he still had a lot of fun visiting with relatives, watching an laughing at the other kids, and playing in the grass.

The kids took a short break from bouncing to eat and have cake and then went right back to jumping around.

We had originally planned to go home that night but after an issue with the van, we ended up spending the night at Abuelo and Abuela's (who were away in Puerto Rico). The next morning, while Papa Bear worked on the van, the kids and I went back to Aunt D's to visit with the relatives again. Since they didn't have to return the bounce house until later that day, the kids were all able to play in it some more! They also played on the swingset for a little bit before we had to leave as well. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pequeño is ONE!

How is it possible that our little baby has gone from 

To

in one tiny year? 

Happy Birthday Pequeño! 

Dorney and Dinosaurs

Grandma came to visit for a few days again so we decided to go to the water park for the day. We stayed there for a few hours and checked out most of the things that the kids were old enough to do. They had a lot of fun although the water was pretty cold. Pequeño decided not to float down the lazy river with Papa, Grandma, and Little Bear at the last moment and ended up whining about it the entire rime that they were gone instead. Then we decided to spend the rest of the afternoon at the dry side. So, we went on a few rides, ate various foods, saw the bike, gymnast, and tricks show that we saw before, and went to the dinosaur exhibit. Pudge fell asleep on the walk over to where the dinosaurs were and wouldn't wake up to see them. He ended up waking up after we were done with the walk and was very excited about the dinosaurs that he was able to see from there so we have decided that we'll have to go for him again next time. Little Bear had a lot of fun seeing all of the dinosaurs and finding out which time periods they were from. However, he didn't want to wait for the rest of us to look at them or read the signs and had to be slowed down  a few times. He was ecstatic to find that there was an "archeological dig site" for the kids at the end of the walk and went to work trying to make a discovery. Neither of the older two kids wanted to be done for the day when it was time to leave but they were pretty easily bribed with ham &turkey hoagies. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Parfaits for breakfast

The kids asked for parfaits this morning so we through some together for them. Since Little Bear can't have dairy (or soy), we used his coconut yogurt and then added some vanilla granola and blueberries. Little Bear and Pudge both asked for more!

 

 

Who broke Laundry Bear's toe?

It's a mystery, I suppose...

This is Laundry Bear:

Laundry Bear is a bank that Mema (my grandmother) gave to me while I was pregnant with Little Bear. Originally, Laundry Bear was his bank. Then he received a crayon bank and Laundry Bear was given a new duty. She sits ontop of the washer/dryer and eats any loose change that the family forgets to remove from their pockets before throwing their clothes into the hampers (or various places on the floor to be picked up by Mama Bear... Looking at YOU Papa Bear...). Every once in a while, Laundry Bear gets emptied out and Mama uses the money for random things (split between the kids banks, picking out quarters for tolls, spending money for trips to the zoo, or getting Mama an iced coffee...) 

This afternoon, as I picked up Laundry Bear to put in a few pennies , the top of her foot fell off. 

Now regardless of what Little Bear would like me to believe ("Maybe it just fell off because it's old?"), I think that someone in this house broke my poor Laundry Bear, balance the broken part back on, and left her there to sit with a broken foot.

So far I've ruled out Pequeño. He's quick and destructive but not quite tall enough (or skilled enough) to scale a dryer. Pudge is a climber and has a history of breaking my valuables (Santa figurine, trolls) but I don't think that it was him unless he had an accomplice. That leaves me with Little Bear or Papa Bear. Both are good suspects but neither will admit to the crime. 

 

 

Bedtime Sweetness

If you ask Little Bear if he likes sharing a room with his brothers, his answer will depend on how bedtime went on the night before. Most nights are easy- We read one or two stories, sing each child a song that they pick (or someone else picks for Pequeño) while they are tucked into bed, and off to sleep they go. Other nights, much MUCH few nights, there is whining and "But I have to...*insert random thing that doesn't need to be done but now seems REALLY important to them ("put my shoes in the closet" anyone?)"'s or escape attempts made by Pudge which then result in his whining. 

Even with the few rough nights (remember the first night of the shared room?), the kids love having the same room.

Tonight, the kids went to sleep with no issues. A little while later, I heard Little Bear "reading" an animal story out loud (presumably) to Pudge. And when I checked on them they had set up their pillows and blankets in the floor space between their beds so they could sleep by each other. 

Even Pequeño was sleeping in the corner of his crib closest to where the boys were sleeping.