A Little Chalk Art

The kids were busy doing chalk art with Daddy one morning...

 I said, "Jack, did you draw a mushroom?" Jack replies, "Nope, it's an umbrella." -Duh Mommy!

Malynn's P for Papa and T for Teigen!

Jack's grass. 

Daddy drew Daddy and Mommy's coffee cups. (Mommy's is a travel mug, which I've been using for a while instead of a regular cup since my coffee was always getting cold before I could finish a cup.) Malynn colored in the cups!

These drawings exemplify one of the awesome things about having 2 year olds: there is so much that they amaze you with because they figure out more and more on their own. I haven't taught them how to draw letters (other than their own), or umbrellas, or grass, or how to color something in. Those are things they've just seen modeled and figured out how to make it happen for themselves. My career in education has been focused on helping students who often need instruction that is broken down, repeated, reviewed, retaught, and repeated one more time before they "get it." So seeing my children take just the littlest bit of something and run with it is extra fascinating to me. I'm so thankful to have such inquisitive, risk-takers, and I'm so lucky I get to watch them turn into such interesting and capable people!

Sometimes...

...yogurt is just more yummy when eaten in a box!

Tractors, Bikes, & Gators..Oh, my!

A visit to Samma & Papa's house brought:

• Bounce House time!
• Fascination with a Little People TOWN!
• Play time with Teigen and Rourke!
• Birthday cake for Samma!
• Dinner out with ALL of us (that is, 4 toddlers), yep, we were feeling brave. :)
• But, maybe best of all, a morning of non-stop tractor, bike, and gator fun!

 

Papa started out on the tractor and didn't mow one inch without a helper...

 ...or two.

Just because your ears don't flap in the wind (courtesy of an encounter with a pit bull), doesn't mean a guy doesn't still enjoy sticking his head out of the car window.

 

Thanks for taking care of sunscreen duty Uncle Nate.

Yea, way to go Dad!

GATOR TIME!

 

Jack: Okay, Rourke, I think I've got this figured out. Here's the key, press the pedal, and we're off.

 Pure joy!

 

A turn on the trike is pretty great, too!

"Whereeeee's Softie???"

TT was busy on his new big boy bike, complete with bell.

This pedaling work is no joke!

 Dad's are always especially busy on afternoons like these...

with their son, their other son, and their nephew. (Watch out! Comin' in hot!)

 Uncle Nate wasn't the only one on an adult bike! Samma & Papa had to give Samma's birthday present a spin!

If TT can do it...

...So...Can...I.

 Me TOO! (Thanks for the helping hand Aunt Missy.)

The Gator always gets a good workout. I wasn't sure what was going to happen when Teigen picked up Malynn's Softie, but she watched him lay it out nicely on his lap and assure her that it would "sit right there," and she was fine. Sometimes kids just "get" each other. :)

 Malynn had to show off her driving skills, too!

 Then it was time for one more spin on the tractor.

 First Uncle Nate lost Malynn.

 And Mr. Jack wasn't far behind.

 This is one of those pictures that speaks for itself. :)

Puppets!

This is just a foretaste of what's to come! At a recent playdate, Dylan's mom shared a copy of a bee paper bag puppet that his grandma brought and made with him. So Malynn and Jack got to make their own bee puppets. (Thanks Dylan!)

 

 I say this is a foretaste, because puppets have been slowly creeping into their lives and I anticipate a greater significance on the horizon. First they had some puppy puppets that they've LOVED. But those puppets only cuddle, bark, sniff, pant, and nuzzle at them. Then it took a couple tries before they got into the frog and duck puppets they have for the bathtub, because those guys talked to them! Now every few baths they insist on frog and duck coming to "play" with them. Recently we started acting out Humpty Dumpty, first with Legos and then with stuffed animals using an old baby gate as the wall, and that has been a HIT! They just want to do it over and over and keep switching who controls Humpty Dumpty and who controls the king's horses/men. Today when we went in the basement, Malynn rushed over to the stuffed animals and gate and sang out, "Puppet Show!" I'm hoping they will be independent enough with it soon for me to get video to share. Stay tuned!

For those of you wondering...

For those of you wondering why there's been such a gap in posts lately, I have three words for you...


...TWO YEAR MOLARS!

Legos -August 2012

 August was a creative month!

I love these smiles for the camera. I feel like they are hints of what future school pictures will look like.

 

There are always some vehicles that are a team effort with Daddy.

And here are some Jack and Malynn originals!

Jack continues to go for length and inclusion of special features like "dumpers."

When he mounted a guy on a set of wheels and Daddy said he made a segway, it prompted the making of many segways!

  

Malynn continues to enjoy making "castles" with and without Mommy and Daddy's help.

The special feature on here is the ramp pieces that Jack thought to add for the cars as this garage was being constructed.

Jack is all about the special features -like combining a boat and a house and adding hoses to connect cars.

Malynn wanted to do a special reveal for her window castle!

This was Jack's special "worker" vehicle that could lift a car on the fork lift and had a special "helper" car, too. AND he showed us how the helper car could fit ON the worker vehicle!!

I wasn't sure what Malynn was up to when she got her hands on Jack's vehicles, so I asked, and she explained that they were "parking in the shade." Awesome.

Just a couple extra cutie pie pix!

Our happy Lego kids!