July Recap

Jack came over to play on Thursday, and Friday we went to play with the Kruegers, Rabbitts, and Lunds. It has been a BUSY month, so there are way too many pictures on the link below. Sorry! Don't worry- I go back to work in a few weeks, so the pics and posts will slow down then. Sigh.

Click on this T-ball photo to see the whole month.

Here is a video of P working on his spoon moves. Getting better!

Here is what P does when eating:

broccoil- spit it out

carrot- throw it

corn- toss it

green bean- throw it

lima bean- chuck it

waffle- eat it all!

Let me tell you 'bout the birds and the bees...

OK, no birds today. And actually, no bees either. We thought they were bees, but they are YELLOW JACKETS. They have been invading our front porch for about a month, and had built a nice little home behind our siding.

I called a local bee guy this morning, and he wanted to know what color their legs were. "Excuse me, Mr. Yellow Jacket? Could you please show me your legs?" Riiight.

He advised me to kill one and look. Ummmmm...NOT an easy thing to do when you hate bees and all of their friends! Picture me with my gardening gloves on (like those would help protect me) and flailing around with a fly swatter. Swat, run. Swat, run. Swat, jump, squeal, run. I eventually got one, and his legs were yellow. That means KILL THEM! (Can't kill honeybees- they have black legs and are important.)

This is the one I managed to swat while frantically swinging my arms around like a mad woman.

So I called someone to come out and exterminate them.

Here is an action shot.If I had one of those hats, I could have done it myself. Took them about 6 minutes to "smoke 'em out" and cost us $250. Booo.

At least they shouldn't bee bugging us anymore. HA!
Anyone know any good recipes for yellow jacket stew? Looks like that's what we'll be eating this month due to depleted funds.

Cuncle Clint

He is the best horse EVER!

Pool, Park, and Oreos

We went to Uncle Rico and Auntie Tanya's house this weekend for birthday celebrations. Here is what we made for Papa Rod for his birthday. Isn't it cute?! (Erin, this is what I used a few pieces of your special paper for...)

Then we went swimming at their pool- Papa Rod gave Mommy a break and played with Preston for a bit. P loved it, but couldn't stay on his feet.
Monday we went to the Splash Park at Loose Park, but I forgot my camera. Oops!
Today we went to the new playgrounds at Roesland Elementary.

And the girls had their first dunk-your-Oreo-in-milk experience. How is it possible that nobody has done this with them yet?! That's what good aunts are for.

PS- Preston FINALLY ate some chicken, cheese, and a few bites of baby food green beans today, so the cracker battle is starting to pay off. THANK GOD because I couldn't handle another day of the heart-wrenching screams. Seriously. Could. Not. Handle. It.

Cracker Detox

Day two of cracker detox around here, and it isn't pretty. This is what every meal time looks like. I swear I'm not pulling out his toenails or anything. Just trying to get him to eat things that have nutrition (besides fruit) is quite the challenge!

Hopefully tomorrow will be better, or Mom might start to cry like this, too.

Speed Eating

Watch out, Kobyashi! Preston could steal your thunder in a few years...

Jack came over to paint this week.

Then we all went to the park and Preston made a new friend!

First swing all by myself!
Hot and sweaty...

What Did You Say??

Not sure what language this is...but it is cute nonetheless!

PS- Our AC died today. Sigh.

Happy Birthday, Brutha

A little birthday fun for Uncle Rico, or Daddy to Natalie and Julia.

I'm Talkin' Baseball...

Preston got to go to his first MLB game today. A BIG thanks to the Wilsons for letting us go with them on such a perfect day! Our seats were 7 rows up right behind home plate...VERY cool to get to sit that close to the action. Preston preferred running around, though, so we didn't get to stay in them long. It was great fun!

Ready to go into the park for the first time- it was glove day for kids, so P got a glove! These seats are OK, I guess...

With Mom and Courtney.

I like the fountain park in the back of the stadium!

Preston's view of the stadium.

One last picture before we go home...

Luuuuuuuuuuke

Preston's friend Luke came to visit today...or as we like to call him, Mini Claude. It was great to see him and his mommy! The boys really did play together pretty well. I'm amazed at how coordinated Luke is. I think he is going to be quite the athlete!

Mini Claude Preston trying to give Luke a kiss...uh-oh!
Pushing the walker together.

Chasing each other around.

HEY! It is MY turn to ride on 'Mater!

Hope Luke and Preston can get together again sometime soon!

A Cat and a Dog

Kevin is such a great reader!! Check this out!

Videos

Here is a video of Preston pushing his cousin Kevin around on 'Mater yesterday.

And one of a game of "Catch Me" from today.

And one of a new game Preston made up tonight. Notice the beginning of the video right after he stands up- he toots and then smiles. That's not the game, but it made me giggle.

Family Reunion!

We just returned from The Lake of the Ozarks for our family reunion and had a great time! Beautiful place, lots of fun activities for everyone, and some good laughs. As you can see, Preston had some jealousy issues when I held his cousin Marjorie. Click the sunset picture to see the whole album.

And here is a little highlight video.


See you all again in two years! Yahoo!

School

Here are some photos of "school" and Julia singing a little ABC song. Love her cute little voice!

Preston is also learning how to put his shapes in his cookie jar...and can take the top off with his mouth! So smart!!

Summa Time

Another fun fulled day with Preston's cousins. A little swimmin' in the TINY pool in our backyard. (The picture on the box was VERY misleading.) A walk to the fountain park, and then some video fun. Dance Party USA!!!

Proud Teacher

Preston's cousins came over today and we did LOTS of fun stuff. Manicures and pedicures, coloring with markers, gluing misc items to paper to make art, painting a canvas, and having school time with Aunt Marie. (Learning patterns, writing letters, tracing shapes, etc.) At the end of the day, I asked the girls what their favorite part of the day was. They both yelled, "SCHOOL!!" Ahhhh...I'm so proud of them!

Celebrations

We started the 4th at the Nelson pool with some friends...

Then had some friends over for burgers, dogs, beverages, and later we went to Miege to watch the fireworks. Preston enjoyed them, but really wanted to walk around and see all of the people that were there. Overall, a great 4th!

More interested in my cheerios than the fireworks at this point.

Experimenting with the camera settings...

Happy Fourth!

Have a safe and happy 4th!

June Photo Link

Click the photo to see all of the pics from Preston's June. Yes, 97 photos is what you get when Mom is home for the summer!!