VBS and other Summer Fun.

Dear Nathan, 

You survived your first go at Vacation Bible School (VBS). You were extremely sad when I told you on Friday that it was going to be the last day of VBS until next year. Since there were so many of your MOPS friends and school friends in your group, you had lots of fun playing and interacting with others. 

 Nathan, I'm proud to say that sometime last week, going pee pee on your own terms finally clicked. It's so nice not having to worry about reminding you to go. In fact, you've even woken up a couple of mornings with a completely dry diaper.

You are asking lots of "What if" questions. I think most of the time you know the answer because you ask questions like, "What if all the cars take up all the parking spots at the library?" which while is a legitimate concern, really shows your fear of uncertainty. I feel like my job these days are simply to reassure you that you will get your turn/fair share and that everything will turn out ok.

Dear Hannah,
You've been sick with a weird virus this week. Fever and loose stools, along with a weird rash on your chin, which I am suspecting is from a cherry sensitivity. You've been extra clingy, somewhat grumpy, and demanding. You are still changing your mind a lot, which is kind of frustrating and annoying, but I've come to expect that you'll change your mind and it doesn't bother me as much as it did last week. Going outside still calms you down and you love to go to the pool.  You call it "splashy."

 Nathan continues to eat veggies dipped in salt. Here you are eating some roasted cauliflower, which is Hannah's all time favorite.

 Hannah, you are working on your chopstick skills. Whenever you see us using them, especially Nathan, you must have a pair too. You are pretty persistent about it and will use it for a whole meal.

 Hannah can spot a pair of skates and will say "skates" when you see a pair, or anything that resembles a pair of skates. You two have gotten into playing roller derby upstairs on the carpet. Both of you like to knock into each other and at first, I was getting onto you two, but when I hear both of you errupt into laughter after being pushed down, I let down a bit and let you guys play "rough." You haven't hurt yourself yet. Below, you can see Nathan being the jammer, trying to get by the blockers on our makeshift track in the playroom.

Hannah still loves swinging and has gotten more creative with swings. You now more frequently will ride the swing like this:

 Along with swinging yourself in a circle. Nathan still likes to go down the tube slide backwards.

 We go swimming almost every day. Between swim lessons on Tuesday and Thursdays, we are at the pool most afternoons. One day, as we were getting home, you guys ran for the dandelions and just had a blast, blowing the seeds all over our lawn.

On Friday, I went to get a haircut, and you both sat so nicely, eating snacks. When the snacks were gone, you guys watched me for a bit and then shared a short episode of Daniel tiger. I was a bit nervous about having both of you there, but it ended up being just fine.

Yesterday, we visited a local bakery and toured the facilities.

 You guys learned how bread is made,

 and even got a chance to decorate your own loaf of Challah bread.  

While we waited for the bread to cook, we went with our friends to play on some stone sculptures nearby.

 After lunch, we received our bread and both of you dug in as we drove home.

 This morning, we went to Austin's annual Children's art park, put on by the Symphony. Joe McDermott was playing and you both had a blast, listening to the music and dancing along.

Alright, that's it for now. Until next week,
Love,
Mommy