Lots of fun with water (when it's not storming), parties, and more!
Bubble Goatee
Bath time can be SO much fun!
Hot sunny summer days call for trips to the park (with a visit to the pool after)!
Swinging fun...
...for two!
Of course, sometimes we just need to stay inside and keep cool:
Dressed up in Josh's swaddle and Daddy's socks!
Learning the game of "twister!"
Josh has fun with his own set of toys!
Silly faces all around!
Josh is introduced to "puffs."
Putting the pincher grip to good use!
Joshua's Mommy and Me class is full of fun with friends and discovery of new textures, sounds, and tastes!
Taking a drum break to check out everyone else!
Interesting texture...
After much consideration, Josh decided he really liked the texture and sound of the foil blanket:
Moving on to another discovery....bottle tops!
Don't play with your food? No such thing in Mommy and Me!
Miss Karen holds Zac and Josh!
During Mommy and Me, there is a song called, "The Grand Old Duke of York." No matter what, Mommy can never remember the words....but, she tries her hardest (because both Josh and Derek love this one):
At the beginning of the video Mommy was concerned about a Blue Jay (because we had two baby doves hatch):
Unfortunately, on the first day of "flight," one fell down and didn't make it. We have seen both parents since, but not the other baby. :( (insert Circle of Life song here)
Scavenger
Mommy bird watches from the fence, while her baby is eaten. :(
Daddy is always making the boys "look good."
(Derek is trying to get Josh to look up at the camera)
Nothing like a little summer reading and fun with brothers:
Getting some summer reading done.
Eskimo kisses!
Derek is getting very good at sharing toys with Joshua.
He even shares his cars!
Derek called us over to show us his "Washington Mom-yu-lent"
We were in DC weeks ago, but he remembers!
Josh stares at his brother's building.
Derek will often take a toy away from Josh and move it across the room. Then he says, "Crawl for it Josh!"
On all 4's ready to go!
Making his way over to repossess his toy!
One night, at dinner, Derek decided to use his chicken drumstick as a microphone to interview Mommy. Here are a couple of cute "takes:"
Aunt Susie came over for some time with the boys (and to share a wonderful dessert)!
Trying to make Josh smile (can you tell he's tired?)
He is quite entertained by Aunt Susie!
Posing with Aunt Betty's Jello Mold!
Digging right in!
Kid Tested, Aunt Susie approved!
Aunt Betty's Jello Mold (that's Aunt Susie's Aunt) was so good, it made Derek do a little dance:
After dinner and dessert was story time:
snuggling up for a good read!
Aunt Susie stuck around for bath time and then read Derek some more!
We cannot wait for our next visit!
Finally, with summer comes lots of fun parties! This past weekend, we got to celebrate Chelsea's 3rd birthday! (Her Mommy, Jessica, and Mommy went to UF together -- they both teach HS Math)! Jessica has two girls right around the age of Derek and Josh. SO much fun! Here's the "Pump It Up" party pics:
Thru the obstacle course...
...and down a huge slide!
Josh had fun people watching.
Derek had fun playing with all of the kids.
Josh was glad to "bounce" too!
Mommy was impressed by Derek climbing such a huge wall!
Jessica's Great Aunt had fun with Josh!
Josh is one cool dude!
Who had more fun? Derek or Daddy?!
It was SO fun!
Derek considered the climbing wall...but decided not to give it a go.
In the end, a great time was had by all...but, summer sure is tiring!!!
After Derek's recording of John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt,we sent the song video to his camp counselors, only to get the response of, "that is hilarious and adorable---we do not sing that song in camp which
makes it even more hilarious!"
So, the next morning, we asked Derek where he learned John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt. His response: "Grandma's Car! On her CD!"
Ohhhhhhhh, well that makes sense!
The counselors suggested we ask Derek to sing his Camp Keshet Cabin Cheer (they are the Green Sea Turtles). So, before bed this evening, he sang the cheer for us (translation/lyrics below):
Cheer Lyrics:
Camp Keshet is the best,
better than all the
rest.
Sea turtles are big and green,
We're the cutest you've ever seen!
Gooooo
Green Sea Turtles!!!
For Father's Day we had the Papa and Zaide come over for a BBQ and swimming!
Josh tried sucking on a piece of watermelon.
But it was pretty hard to keep a hold of that slippery fruit!
Derek played with Bubby and Zaide in his tent:
They all fit in...
...sort of!
Derek and Josh helped Papa and Zaide and Daddy open their Father's Day presents:
Derek uses a tool to help Papa open his gift.
Josh listens closely to Zaide's card (while Daddy works on putting together Mommy's mother's day present).
Then it was time to cool off in the pool:
Derek showed Bubby his swimming skills.
Derek helps the whale to float, too!
Then it was time to "monkey crawl" all the way around the pool.
And tip toe across the steps!
After three attempts, Daddy finally got the float together (properly). This is what Derek had to say about it:
"This is the life!"
Josh took his first full body "dunk" into the pool, but the only shot we got was after a nice warm bath:
The next morning, Derek was hanging on the edge of the bed, waiting for Daddy to wake up:
Silently "checking his mail" on Daddy's cell phone.
On Monday, Josh was able to attend his very first Mommy and Me class (we joined a class with Zac and Shlomit...since Josh and Zac are only a week apart)! It was great fun, and we cannot wait for next week!!!
Happy to see you, again, friend!
Texture time - playing in applesauce
This week's class theme was "Wild in the Jungle!"
Josh was "Loud in the Jungle" as he loved drumming!
He also like the parachute -- on top...
...and below! He was really staring at the colors!
Then we splished and splashed at the water park!
He really enjoyed the water splashing up at him!
Even Zac joined in with his friend (look at their size difference, and Zac is only one week older)!!!
After camp, the boys enjoyed some time with one of Mommy's former students, Marquis! He currently is playing football at Georgetown!
Bonding time with Josh.
Marquis and the boys
This morning Derek was so loving and gentle with his little brother, Josh.
Derek helped Mom prop some pillows around Josh, so he could sit comfortably and not worry about falling.
Derek helped Mommy place pillows all around. Then, he sat behind Josh and propped his feet behind Josh's back and said, "I will not let him fall." Then, he got up to find a toy for him (of course, when he did this, Josh fell back on the blue pillow -- Derek's pillow). Derek went to get Mommy's pillow to replace his pillow (but he did this gently and waited until Mommy picked Josh up, and then he replaced the pillows). It was pretty sweet. Afterwords, he wanted to give his brother an Eskimo kiss:
Shortly after, Cherry arrived for the day:
Cherry gets some good morning hugs ("squeeze me til I pop!")
By the end of the day, the boys wore poor Cherry out!!!
As Mommy was putting Josh to sleep this evening, she heard Derek singing in the other room. When she walked in, she asked Derek if he would sing his song again. Guess he learned his first camp song!!! Beber Camp, get ready!!!
Lastly, here are a few shots from Papa Harvey and Cousin Lori from our trip last week...they're too great to pass up!!!
It was great spending time with everyone, and we cannot wait to do it again, soon!
Lastly, we'd like to make a special "shout-out" to Uncle Alex! Happy Birthday!!!!
