Miscellaneous summer fun

Super-Boy on his bike at Riverwalk

More matrix

Sweetness

In the middle of Gigi and Mommy

Carousel ride GIF

Painting in the driveway

Doodling

Summer fun

We wrapped up summer with lots of fun. Found a cool park in Salisbury about an hour away and had a blast hanging with Gigi and Pops.

"Picnic with friends"

Carousel boy

Carousel buddies

How does it work?

Cutie.

Come on!

Animals.

Hi, rooster.

Hi dear. I mean, deer.

Donkey.

The Matrix.

July visits

We are just going to pretend that I didn't take a 7-month break from this blog, upload and back-date everything, and keep moving. Right? Right.

Uncle Harry and Aunt Suzi came to visit! And we had the weirdest wet and cold weather in JULY in SOUTH CAROLINA. Aunt Suzi had to wear a fleece the whole time. Just bizarre. But we tried to eek out a little fun anyway. I did a fairly poor job of getting a whole-group shot, so here are some highlights. We attempted a visit to the botanical garden, but were only able to view some sculptures and the indoor orchid house before the rain came again.

veggie tacos

CHEEEEESE!

They are now BFF's

Mommy attempted to take cool flower pictures. She mostly got pictures that resemble cool flower pictures.

Daddy made a snack run to the car for little man.

Pops in the rain.

Men on a mission. Uncle Harry is actually an undercover botanist.

Four. More four.

Statistics for the four-year-old:

HEALTHY! Praise God, we didn't go to the doctor between July 2013 and July 2014. And he's in full-time preschool. Miracles, y'all.

Height: 44.25" (98th percentile)

Weight: 39.2 lb. (72nd percentile)

So, long and lean. And yes, he has outgrown almost all of his summer shoes. We're in about an 11.5 now.
 

Discovering the simple beauty of a McD's sundae.

 

His eating has gotten pickier and pickier. He loves chicken and rice. He prefers raw veggies over cooked, and will eat broccoli, carrots, peas and anything with marinara sauce. He will also eat Thai curry and Mai Fun noodles like a champ, but will not touch a hamburger. His favorite is probably pizza or spaghetti or "cheesy noodles" (fettuccine alfredo). Loves chick-fil-A nuggets and any form of ice cream and chocolate.


Bedtime is a struggle. Astonishingly, when the lights go out, he is "STARVING!!!!!" (in a dramatic fashion)

Matching pajamas (same size, even) with cousin Micah.

"Mommy, my tummy is squishy. I'm STARVING."

"Ok, do you want a banana or applesauce?"

"Not that food, Mommy. I need cheese crackers..."

And on and on we go. He likes to have company when he falls asleep. Usually in the form of Mommy. No matter what we try, he says he scared of being in his room by himself. Extra lights, stories, special teddy bears, checking in every few minutes...sigh. It's been a long year or so with that. We're tired.

Google made a SWEET GIF of his candle-blowing at the party! (photos by mommy)

He recently began doing somersaults. Just flips right over. And climbing EVERYTHING. His favorite climbing apparatuses are sofas and dressers.

Shepard and cousin Madeleine enjoying the Fourth of July

His favorite toys are anything that he can involve someone else in. We've discovered the joys of a watergun recently. He likes all of his cars a lot. He really likes to paint or color or cut paper. He likes to build walls with his Gigi at the Lego table. He likes to play store, fashion show, light show (dancing around with glow sticks and light-up shoes), build-a-castle/house, and catch.

Squirtgun + tub o' water = happy

Favorite shows right now are "Sammy 2" (Turtle Tale 2), "How the Grinch Stole Christmas," and "The Reef/Reef 2."

Favorite books are "Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site," "Knuffle Bunny" (1 & 2), "The Foot Book," "The Lorax," and "Llama Llama, Red Pajama."

Climbing

A conversation we just had: We talk about putting all our questions for the day into a "question box" so our brain(s) can rest and go to sleep. This is his side of the conversation with my um-hums and return questions omitted.
"My question box is tight, Mommy...It's very full of questions. And it has lots of buttons...My 'whys' are fragile...when you say 'I don't know,' they break...my 'whys' are made of green glass...and they're fragile...there are lots of buttons on my question box, and they are automatic." 

Mommy shed a few tears thinking about the beauty of all of that. I get so worn out from answering the non-stop flow of questions. But they are so precious to him. We asked him recently why he asks so many questions. "Because I need to know things I don't know yet." Well, when you put it that way...

Love and hugs. I love to watch you grow and learn. ~Mommy & Daddy

Happy Birthday, Shepard!

Dear little guy,

You are growing in knowledge. So smart and inquisitive. I keep trying to get you to put your questions in the "question box" late at night when our brains are getting sleepy. You just want to know everything. You told us so. I love that you are curious.

Make a wish!

You are getting tall. I'm a little afraid at how much you grow and how fast. I'll have to double-check, but I'm pretty sure you've grown 4-5 inches since your birthday last year. And a full 3/4 of an inch in the last MONTH. I'm also fairly afraid that you outgrew all your summer shoes overnight, with July, Aug. and Sept. to go.

Creativity and focus.

Always in the middle of the good time.

You are vocal. This obviously goes both ways, but I love that you know what you want, how you want it and when. And you are learning to be gracious and kind each and every day. I see a strong mind and qualities of leadership. And I pray a lot for the Lord to help us direct you and teach you to be a gracious leader. From "incapacitated" to "deciduous" to "septic tank," the number of words you retain and use are astonishing. It's as if you can't wait to use all the words you haven't even learned yet.

the singing of the "Happy Birthday"-face

You love to laugh. You ask to be tickled instead of having "consequences." (and who can blame you for that, really?) But you are always ready to have some fun. And you've started telling us silly jokes that really don't make sense, except that you find them funny...so we do, too.

Overseeing the lighting technique.

 You are creative and expressive. Your imagination is so healthy, and you love to make up games and situations for us to play along with. Whether it's playing "restaurant" where you take orders and hand out chocolate milk, or setting up "K-Mart" in the sunroom; you always have a plan. I guess I've taught you that...but I do love it when you tell me what's up and then ask, "does that sound like a plan, Mommy?"

I have no idea what you're thinking here. Looking at the cake...

One of the most interesting things we've discovered about you lately is your keen sense of smell. You evaluate most of the world on whether "it smells right" to you. I surely am glad you like my smell, because you are definitely drawing lines on liking, eating, playing with and even entering places based on smell alone. Not sure where this is headed. Perhaps you'll be a "smellologist."  :)

Thinking about sidewalk chalk

Most of all, your Daddy and I love you to the moon and back. We love discovering each new day with you. We pray that you will meet the challenges that life sends to you with grace, truth and love; and send those things back into the world with a great ferocity. We love you the ocean.

~Mommy

(photos from our 4th birthday celebration with a few friends and family on 6/28 at the Harris Street Park)

Father's Day fun and fail

Lest you think life with our dear little fellow is all bliss and frolicking through fields of wildflowers...we had the oddest thing happen. Up 'til now, little man did not that the music truck that went by also doled out delightful ice creams. In our new neighborhood, we don't have a regular ride-by, as we have probably pulled the average age of the neighbors down to a sprightly 58 with our presence. We would hear one on the main road outside the neighborhood a lot, but I thought it would be cruel to tell him it was a truck full of treats that was not going to come to our house. So I just called it the music truck.

On Father's Day, we decided to take a trip over to Shepard's favorite local park, the "waterfall park." It's Glencairn Gardens about two miles away.

This kid really loves him some fountains.

It was a nice evening, and we had been strolling around the park for the better part of an hour when we heard the "music truck." Shepard was intrigued and trying to see where it was coming from. We made it up to the top deck of the balcony area and there it was!

We decided to let the cat out of the bag, so to speak, and spring for an ice cream for him. Thus, he'd know the secret of the music truck. It doles out magical, sugary goodness.

 We asked him several times what kind of ice cream he'd like. Fruity, chocolate, popsicle? He wouldn't answer...a common occurrence, frankly. He often pretends to ignore our questions as a means of control. Given his usual preferences, I opted for a chocolate-coated ice cream bar for him after explaining that Mommy was going to choose if he didn't. He still didn't.

 We unwrapped it and gave it to him. He nearly knocked it out of my hands. "NO! YUCKY! NO CHOCOLATE!"

What? When have you ever turned down chocolate? "I DON'T WANT ANY!"

Really? I explained that it would start to melt in the heat if he didn't eat it or at least try it. Then Daddy and I took a turn each at taking a bite and telling him how yummy it was. The thing was melting, y'all! We spent several minutes trying to convince our child TO EAT ICE CREAM.

He proceeded to melt too. Loudly. For a long time. Turns out he wanted fruity. When I threw the melty messy rest of it away, he really put on a show for the mosquitoes and park patrons.

Well, I don't read minds. I'm not sure how long it's going to take him to figure that out. His attempts at control and forced mind-reading are not going to end well. And I'm really thinking he's not getting any more ice cream truck surprises anytime soon either.

Just one of those nights, I guess. I didn't get pictures of the meltdown because my camera battery died (darn it!). But after all this fun and a delightful evening...yep. Meltdown. Ah, life with a preschooler. The mood changes on a dime. Or in this case, on a $2 ice cream. God love him.

Summertime!

We've pulled out the sprinklers, crashed our friends' and families' pools and are well on our way to having a summer of fun. Popsicles on the front porch are a near-nightly staple. And Shepard discovered fire flies this week.

We hit a milestone a few weeks ago. My little man stayed overnight with someone OTHER than a parent. He went to "Camp Giles" for a few days in Georgia. I thought if I started talking to him about it on Monday of that week that he would be prepared to be temporarily separated from the two human beings who love him most and have not stopped thinking of him since the moment they knew of his existence. I told him he was going to stay with Gigi and Pops for a few days in Georgia. What did he think of that?
"YES!" he said, excitedly.
When I picked him up from school later that day, he said, "Where my Gigi?"
Then, he talked about it the rest of the week. I guess he was ready.

 Mommy nearly didn't let him get down the driveway, but he was so excited waving "bye, Mommy!" that I had to let him go. I'm sure it's the first of many mini-goodbyes that will evoke tears. I'm so happy that he enjoys adventures and spending time with family. Here are a few pics of his trip to Georgia.

Pops and Shepard enjoy a crazy-ocean-horse.

Pay no attention to the finger in the upper left corner.

What's summer without a good picnic?

SLIDE!

We stay outside doing something most evenings. Sidewalk art is always fun.

Daddy is taking a porch-moment. I gotta say, the new porch is AWESOME.

Happy Summer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Now if we could just work on this whole humidity issue...