Weather

It's been raining here this week, which has excited Will to no end. Nothing stops this kid. He's like the post office, outside no matter what.

He's learning so much at school, too. He knows most of the colors in Spanish (as heard in the song below), he can count to ten in Spanish, he sings so many new songs and is making some new buddies too. This week was "All About Fall" and Will's been singing and dancing to "Grey Squirrel". He wanted to make a video of his new songs, so here it is.

Fall is Coming

Finally! It's cooling off here. It's finally not in the upper 90s and it even rained today, so Kylie got to wear some pants and long sleeve shirts. She kept tugging on the pants all day, as if she was questioning what was around her ankles. She HATES socks and yells until she pulls them off, so winter clothing should be interesting.

Boys' Night Out

Will has been asking to go camping lately, and before a real camping adventure, we figured we'd give him a trial run in the backyard.

So, the boys packed their backpack and headed out back to find the perfect spot. They pitched the tent and dragged blankets, pillows and several favorite stuffed animals outside. We gave Will his new lantern we had hidden for Christmas and he was more than excited to camp outside with Daddy.

So, as Mommy sits here typing this she's feeling a little sentimental. It's the first night besides when Kylie was born that she hasn't been able to check on Will before bed. It's the first night Will has slept "away from home". Granted, it isn't far away. But really, when did he become such a little boy and not a baby?

Mr. Mischief

Will's napping days are coming to an end. {do you hear Mommy crying?} With another one who should need to nap, Mommy still needs some quiet time in the afternoon, so Will has been pretty good at having "rest time" where he plays in his room, reads books and sometimes, if we're lucky, he actually takes a nap. But then.

There are other days when he doesn't play nicely or nap. This was the scene on Wednesday afternoon after "rest time". Will removed every single item from his shelves and bins and deposited it on the floor of his room. Can you spot Kylie in the 2nd picture? It was totaly chaos. If Mommy didn't laugh at it, she would have cried. Will, in all fairness, said he had to do that because he was "dusting". That's what they all say.

On Friday afternoon, Will decided to investigate the contents of a beanbag stuffed animal. All the beans were scattered across the floor and his bed. The ShopVac was required for clean up. We're going to need a new plan for rest time.

Meanwhile, Gram and Gramps sent Kylie an outdoor swing. She really enjoyed swinging outside and Will liked pushing her. Thanks to Gram and Gramps!

Snead's Farm Playgroup Party

When we first moved here we found out about an online Mommy group that organizes playgroups and events. Mommy joined it, and we've been to a few of the playgroups at parks, learned about other things to do in the area, and met some nice moms and kids through the group. It's not as steady and consistent as Stroller Strides was, but that seems to work with our new preschool schedule anyway.

This weekend was the playgroup's third birthday party at Snead's Asparagus Farm. We went there before, remember? Daddy was golfing for the day, so Mom and the kids headed over to the party.

Snead's Farm is preparing for fall (even though it's 92 degrees out today). The kids had a blast visiting the animals (including two baby cows!), frolicking in the pumpkin patches and sunflower fields, playing in the creek, swinging on the swings, painting a pumpkin, digging in the dirt, jumping on hay bales, and going on a hay ride. There was free food and cake and plenty of kids to play with.

We know it was a good day because we could pour the sand out of Will's shoes when we got home and the bath water will need to be refreshed half way through bath time tonight.

Baby Blue Eyes

She...



She loves to chew on her own feet.
She's just started babbling "ma-ma" and "da-da"...but mostly "ma-ma".

She loves when someone else nibbles her and she giggles like crazy.

She requires very little sleep and yet, still smiles all the time.

She does not like to be left in a room alone.

She never takes her eyes off her brother. EVER.

She can pick Will out of a crowd of kids and track him with her eyes.

(she's in training to be a tattle tale)

Maryland

We spent the day today in Maryland visiting friends, family, and the fair. Our first step and initial destination was our friends' house. Cara, Matt, Gavin and Emma are friends from California who also moved here this past summer. Matt and Josh were deployed together on the ship and were both just chosen for promotion to Staff Sergeant! Congrats, guys!

Since Josh's Aunt Donna lives right down the street from our friends, we stopped by her house to say a quick hello and eat a Rice Krispie treat before heading to the Charles County Fair.

The kids had a blast at the fair. They rode the rides, ate the food, and took in all the sights.

Matt was a good sport taking the kids on the rides and supervising Will on some of the bigger kid rides.

We walked through all the vendor boots, too, and did a little preview shopping for next season.

Of course, no fair is complete without some tractor sitting, so we spent some time at the John Deere booth and tractor displays.

After a long, hot day at the fair, we headed back to Virginia.