Breath of Fresh Air

I am really not a fan of hot weather. Or really cold weather. Let's just say I love the Fall and the beginnings of Spring. That being said I have been a complete failure at getting the children outside this Summer. With the start of another pregnancy and all that accompanies that, I just have not felt up to it.

But when the children start to gaze out at the backyard longingly.....I have to oblige.

So last week I was pretty proud of myself that I took them to the park/playground twice. I went in the morning and the weather was not yet unbearable. They had so much fun and I will say that the fresh air did us all some good.

And this boy got out all his 4-year old energy.....because he has a lot of it.

And this week the children's Gigi is visiting which meant we were able to get out even more. Yesterday the playground and today the arboretum. But we first had to make a stop along the way today to say hi to this horse. Everett's lack of fear of animals served him well and he even touched the horse's nose.

Hampton not so much. In his words, "No like neigh neigh." 

The arboretum delivered today as it always does-with beautiful weather and a place to just run. And I had to capture this classic nose-pickin' moment of Everett.

 

Hampton may be apprehensive toward animals, but he flocks toward people. He talked to these kids, however I'm sure they had no idea what he was saying. He makes friends wherever he goes though.

Hello brown eyes! And just ignore the food on his face. 

 

The best I could get with Gigi and the three.

And sweet Eleanor is always along for the ride.

 

 

So happy for opportunities to get out and enjoy the outside. 

Some Things to Remember

Everett

-You are so smart! You amaze me everyday with your ability to retain small details.

-I do believe you will be musically talented like your daddy. You can hear just a few notes of a song and be able to identify it. You love the Beatles. When daddy plays you a song you always ask for the title and then declare it is your favorite one.

-I have been teaching you a few sight words and you are really picking it up! We look for the words you know in books.

-You can put together a 25 piece jigsaw puzzle with little to no help. 

You have recently learned to love the game Candy Land. 

You have completely memorized the book Good Night Moon.

-We have just recently started to have you wear your big boy underwear throughout the night.

-You are playing very nicely (most of the time) with your brother.

-You and your sister have a special bond. Out of the blue the two of you love on each other. You can tell by the look in her eyes that she just adores you.

-You have figured out how to work the remote controls. If one of your videos end, you can easily start up another (even though you haven't asked permission!)

-You love art projects.

-You still tote around little "treasures" (i.e. a Lego block, a puzzle piece, a piece of pretend food, etc) in a small bag or backpack.

-You always seem hungry!

-You are incredibly agile and athletic.

-You are and always will be a great addition to our family!

Hampton

-You are our silly boy and the comic relief in our family.

-You are still very social and everyone is your friend.

-You have quite a stubborn streak and will shriek if something is not going your way.

-With your curly blonde hair and glasses, daddy often refers to you as a cartoon character.

-You play nicely (most of the time) with your brother.

-You are a bit rough in your play with your sister though!

-Your language continues to grow and grow. It is just that articulation that I have to work on!

-You love planes, trains, cars (anything that moves really) and will make the appropriate sound effects that go with each one.

-You love the train table at Barnes and Noble and have thrown plenty of fits about leaving.

-You are still unsure about your physical gross motor abilities. You are very cautious. You want to keep up with Everett, but have a hard time.

-You love to sing Yellow Submarine by the Beatles, but only start off the first part....."We all live in a yellow......."

-You have become a very picky eater at dinner time. You often say "no this" to what is presented and blow raspberries in protest. So, it is no dinner for you. You make up for it at breakfast though!

-You love big.

-You are and always will be a great addition to our family!

Eleanor

-I can't believe you are about to turn one!

-You are a very sweet girl. 

-You make a scrunchy face that allows you to live up to your nickname as "Sassy."

-You are in completely in love with your daddy. You light up when you see him.

-You are crawling and climbing everywhere! Your favorite is climbing stairs.

-You are the least picky eater in the family. You have literally eaten everything we have ever put in front of you-from mushrooms, peppers, olives, tofu......you haven't met a food you don't like.

-You love to snuggle, but just for a short time. You are too busy!

-Because you are the youngest to two boys, most of the toys you play with are boy toys. You don't seem to mind though. 

-Lately you have also wanted to wrestle.

-You have a fuzzy pink bunny you love to sleep with.

-You are slender, but tall! And you have the Williamson big head.

-You make a mmmmm sound when you want a kiss.

-You say the words- mama, dada, and no.

-You are and always will be a great addition to our family!

Peanut #4

-You were a very welcome surprise!

-Mommy was so in shock that I took at least 8 pregnancy tests just to make sure!

-You (just like your sister) have made me have a lot of nausea (well worth it!)

-I got to see you as a little kidney bean when you were just 6 weeks. I even got to see your little heart beating.

-You are due in February! Our first winter baby.

-Your brother Everett thinks you are a girl.

-Your family is very excited about you! We can't wait to meet you.

-You are and always will be a great addition to our family!

WNC Nature Center

My mom and aunt were here the past couple of days and so we decided to take a field trip to the WNC Nature Center. We have never been there before and it was so fun! I guess you could kind of compare it to a zoo, but it was all the animals that are in this region. The boys had a great time.

Everett sliding down the slide. Hampton said he wanted to slide too, but when I got up there with him he quickly changed his mind.

In front of the otter display. 

 

 

 

It was mostly shaded and did require a lot of walking, but both of the boys did so well. Everett was running all around and Hampton was taking his time and looking at everything. And I do mean everything. We kept calling him grandpa!

And then we found a shaded spot and had a picnic lunch of hummus sandwiches, cheese, fruit, and black olives. 

I think eating lunch was Eleanor's favorite part of the adventure.

 

Can you spot Everett!?!

Hampton was red-faced and tired by the end of the morning.

Everett got to pet a turtle! 

And a snake! Hampton said "no!" when I asked him if he wanted to pet the reptiles. I don't blame him. I am always surprised at how Everett shows no fear with these types of things.

We had so much fun! We'll have to return with Eric. A successful field trip with no meltdowns!

And this makes.......

Four!!! I was able to give Eric a very special gift this Father's Day.......


 

Saturday Morning at the Park

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Typical Day

Some of my favorite blog posts I like to look back and read are the ones just documenting a typical day. So here is another one! This is from Wednesday this week.

Everett and I got up early enough to run to Panera Bread and pick up some bagels for breakfast. We could not locate his Crocs so he decided to wear his rain boots. Rain boots and pajamas. He was a sight.
The babies and I then ate warm bagels at the breakfast table and then headed downstairs to get dress and to play.
Around 9 Eleanor went down for her morning nap and the boys watched Max and Ruby while I mopped upstairs and did some laundry.
After that I gave both boys a haircut. Everett loves getting his haircut because he knows he gets a lollipop.

The after shot. 

And Hampton had just a few wisps of hair that I had to cut, but he had to sit in the chair just like Everett.

 

The boys are such active television watchers. Whenever they are allowed to watch a video they usually stand or run about.

After the home haircuts they had a snack of applesauce and home made cheese crackers.

Once Eleanor woke up we went to the library for story time. 

The boys love playing with the scarves.

Hampton kept getting reprimanded by the story time teacher about running around. I tried to keep on top of that but he was all over the place. 

And Eleanor liked crawling around and saying hi to people.

After story time we went outside to the gazebo for some fresh air before we headed home.

 

And I caught the boys splashing in the bird bath. Boys.

When we got home we had lunch- home made sloppy joe sandwiches. Everett and Eleanor gobbled theirs up, but Hampton threw a huge fit over not wanting his. He went down without lunch and as soon as he got up later in the afternoon, the first word he said was "eat!"

Afternoon snack that day was graham crackers with peanut butter and for a special treat a juice box as well. We then played downstairs until Daddy got home. For dinner we had leftover pasta.
The days can be long and I am exhausted usually by 5:00, but they are rich!