Victoria Gardens Shopping Splash Pad

 We have found a smaller and less intimidating splash pad. The kids loved it. It was a very hot day. Sam would play with Jackson and then when they had separated, Sam would scream, "Jaaaaah--suuuun! Jaaah-ssuunn!" Sam even came over to me and held his hands up at his sides, palms upwards, saying, "Wheah?" They loved it and loved playing with each other. Frequently, I have to take Jackson out of Sam's crib at bedtime. It's really funny. Sam can't climb in and Jackson has a hard time climbing out. Perfect match. Actually, sometimes Sam is in Jackson's bed and Jackson is in the crib. Anyway, here are the pictures. We had so much fun!

 Sam's silly laugh face.

 Sam saying, "One moe time!"

 Here is our day at the library last week. Sam, who had just woken up from a nap, was less than joyous about it. Here he is above, hating every second of his conscious state.

Jackson and I had a great time kicking and rolling the ball down the hill, running around the concrete and walking between the trees.

 Remember Sam's disgusting Pooh blanket that he shoved in his mouth all night every night? The one so stained and smelly that no amount of washes could keep it clean? The blanket was tolerably clean after soaking and washings, but the instant it was put into his mouth it smelled. Like turning on a light switch. Well, around one year we took it away from him and I thought within a week, he'll have figured this out. Well, it actually took him about 9 months longer than expected, but he found a substitute:

 Great. Yeah, I try to pull it out of his mouth while sleeping but he actually shoves it back in his mouth the instant it leaves. Gross. His shirt is soaking in the morning. The entire front. At first I thought his shirt had gotten tucked in his diaper somehow and he'd peed. Nope. Just slobber. I think in the summer I'll actually have him run around shirtless.



Here's Jackson walking the line.

 The castle. Thanks, Nana and Grandad.

 Piglet loves to keep a clean castle.

 Tigger's the daredevil.

 Cheese for the camera.

 More of cranky Sam. His poor tummy even got a mild rash the first couple of nights of wet shirt, but it seems to have developed an immunity.

 What a happy day at the library!

Flipped for Flipped

How have I never seen this movie before?!? IT's the cutest, sweetest movie I've ever seen!

Scary Books for Kids, Summer Reading Part III

 The Graveyard Book and Coraline by Neil Gaiman
I love these two books. They are some of my all time fav children's books. I read Coraline out loud to my 8th grade class and they loved it. The illustrations are sooo creepy and actually the movie Coraline best depicts the tone and feel of the book.

The Graveyard Book

The Graveyard Book is very similar to Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling.  Both are more like a collection of short stories that fit together to form one whole story, a young boy is lost from his family and taken in by not his kind, and they both learn skills to help them survive. This is the story of Nobody Owens, Bod for short, who is taken in by the residents of the graveyard after his family is killed. Bod learns all sorts of new things, becomes friends with ghosts and has to navigate the dangers of the graveyard and supernatural perils. I listened to this book which is incidentally read by Neil Gaiman, who gives a great performance. What I wouldn't give to spin a tale like Neil Gaiman.

Coraline

Coraline is bored. Her parents ignore her, her neighbors mispronounce her name and she's left to her own devices most of the time. One rainy day, she discovers another door to another world. Her neighbors are better and fanciful, her Other Mother and her Other Father are attentive and doting. It seems to be great on the Other Side of the door. Until her Other Mother wants Coraline to stay forever. The summary really doesn't do it justice. The author in the teacher's guide in one of the books says that Coraline is one of the most interesting book he's ever written-- that kids who read it, relate to Coraline and see the wonder and adventure, but for the adults, it's downright scary.

Wait Till Helen Comes by Mary Downing Hahn
Some of you may recognize this cover. I always thought the young girl looked had an awful haircut and looked like a boy. Yes, this book is written for grades 4-7. So it'll be fast read and take you down memory lane (if you read this in school). Molly dislikes her young stepsister Heather and the new house with the graveyard at the bottom. Heather seems drawn to the graveyard and Molly discovers the spirit of Helen trying to lure Heather to her doom. It's fast-paced and it was scary when I read it last. A while ago, I'll admit.

Witches by Roald Dahl
Maybe the BFG is more your style with frobscotch and whizzpoppers, but The Witches is also a great read. Really anything by Roald Dahl is fun. Also one of those funny as a kid and slightly disturbing as an adult books. Read it if you haven't. It's about witches who want to rid the world of children and how one small boy tries to stop them.

Cirque du Freak by Darren Shan
Became a movie called the Vampire's Assistant, which flopped. This is a book for boys who don't like to read. I read 1-5 (?) and was fine until I got grossed out for the last couple of books. It's dark. Too much blood and gore, but it does get reluctant boy readers reading.  Not really recommending this book for summer reading, just keep it in mind for your boys down the road.

Abhorsen Trilogy by Garth Nix
No, there aren't that many books but there are many different covers. I read the ones in the middle and I think that covers speak volumes about the book. It matters. I look at the cover all the time when I'm reading. By the way, "Across the Wall" is a collection of short stories so I'm not really counting it. By the way, you can't tell from the cover, but Sabriel is a girl. This series follows strong female protagonists as they take on the heavy responsibility of being the Abhorsen, the person who keeps dead things dead in the kingdom of Ancelstierre. the concept could also be founded on Neil Gaiman's "Stardust" or the other way around. These books were actually the inspiration for the book I'm writing. I highly recommend listening to these books as they are read by Tim Curry. No one does a better "bad guy" than Tim Curry. Fantastic performance. Garth Nix weaves a wonderful world with a system of magic that is complete and whole. I wish he would write more from this series. It's just wonderful!

Sam's Second Birthday

We ate at Souplantation (Sam's favorite) and then went back to our house for cake and ice cream. Colby brought out his helicopter and the kids really enjoyed it. Sam got a giant castle, a doctor's kit, and t ball set. Loved it all.And a pennant set of Winnie the Pooh colors (not pictured) but it's darn cute. 

Some things about Sam: On Sunday, he made a sneaky escape and raced to the back of the chapel (we were in the 3rd row), and slammed into the back wall and was heading back to the front, but then I caught him at the main intersection earning us a chuckle and a lot of "Wow, your kid is fast" comments.

Sam loves chocolate, yogurt, and is currently on a junk food only diet. He refuses anything I put in front of him except for junk food. So he usually ends up skipping a meal or two. He also likes to spontaneously head butt (had one yesterday and the bruise today), climbs out of his crib like it's an Olympic sport.

He still won't sit for a full book. You're lucky if you get to the title page. He does like Barnyard Dance book and following Jackson around. He watches Jackson like a hawk. If he is put in his crib for any reason and for some reason hasn't hopped out, he'll say, "Be nice. Yes." He sometimes gets put in there for timeouts and I ask him if he's going to be nice.

Sam will get into anything. He loves exploring and opening things and he'll get into anything: pencil cases, backpacks, change purses, etc. He loves iPod touches and iPhones and iPads. What a geek!