Tot School Letter S... and some more fun summer fun!

The hot summer heat has definitely hit Georgia!  I know a lot of you are experiencing temperatures close to 100 as well.  With this humidity in GA, it raises the heat index up to 115 or higher most days so we find ourselves doing a lot of things first thing in the morning or finding things indoors!  We went to the Children's Museum again and thankfully in the morning it's pretty well shaded.  It's interesting to watch Grayson and see how some of the "exhibits" he had no interest in the first time were now his favorite ones the second time. He loved the water table this time and sending seashells down the little stream.  He and Addie spent a lot of time drawing with chalk this time, as well as standing in the mist and reading books in the shade. :)  The museum is open 9-2, but the last couple weeks it has been closing by noon because of the heat index rising into the danger zone.  On this particular day it hadn't quite reached it yet, but we definitely got a later start than anticipated due to traffic on the way there.  I have determined that if I can't get to the museum by 9:30 at the latest during the summer, then we won't be going since it just gets so darn hot outside by noon.  

We're still working on trying to get Ryley to start eating solids.  He still gags and spits out the food every time I try to give it to him on a spoon.  I then decided to try giving him chunks of avocado to grab and maybe chew on himself.  He'd grab at it, but when he put it up to his mouth he did the same head jerk and gave me a look like "what the heck?!"  At his 6 month check up the doctor told me he needs to be eating 4-6 tablespoons of fruits and veggies a day.  I can barely get a teaspoon down him since he refuses to swallow it when it goes in his mouth.  While the doctor may be insistent on it, I'm not worried too much about it yet since he's a healthy little guy that seems to be getting plenty to eat from me!

Will had a hankering to make chocolate chip cookies one night after dinner so Grayson helped him out.  Daddy had to keep an eye on him though or else he may have cracked all the eggs in the carton!  

You'd think that the flour spilled on the floor was from Grayson, however that was all from Daddy!  He accidentally hit the canister with his elbow and it went flying to the floor.  Grayson learned right away that he could make footprints across the kitchen by stepping it in.  Then he tried to help sweep it up.  What a good little helper I have!  Of course it turned out that the cookies still needed a couple cups of flour so I took Grayson next door to ask the neighbors, but of course they didn't have any either.  I ended up running to the store to get some so Grayson could finish his cookies with Daddy and have one before bed.

We did a little Tot School the week before the 4th and worked on the Letter S. A new friend came with her 18 mth old, along with Addie and Gracie.  We had a full house with the kiddos and mommies!  

Ryley is chewing more and more on whatever he can get his hands on.... except food of course!  I keep checking to see when those little teeth will start popping out, but haven't seen any signs of them yet.  I think we may need to watch out once he's mobile about putting things in his mouth.  Grayson we never had to worry about because he never even chewed on his chew toys, but Ryley will be a different story I think.

I'm a little behind on pictures so next up will be pictures from the 4th of July things we did.  Hope to have those up in the next day or two!

Summer Fun

We had a busy week the other week (June 18)!  Grayson's friends, Shelby and Harley, spent 4 days with us while their regular babysitter was on vacation.  Grayson was excited to wake up each morning and see them there and being able to spend the whole day with them.  It was a busy week with 4 kiddos in tow, but they did well getting along.  By Thursday, Grayson and Shelby (who is 2 as well) were starting to pick on one another, but they all did a fairly good job of listening and following directions for me.  Will had that Monday off due to Father's Day so he put the kids to work washing the cars. :)  It was only a matter of time before they all were soaked!  

They soon became bored with washing the cars so we made up some sidewalk paint and they painted the driveway while Will and I finished up the cars.  I'm not too sure if Shelby did more painting on the driveway or herself though!  It was definitely bath time for them all before lunch!

Ryley hanging out in the shade while the big kids paint

 It was a sunny week so we had the pool set up outside and they kids played off and on in it.  I learned that week that Grayson and Shelby can't be left alone with water for more than a few minutes!  The first day they swam, I was getting lunch ready and next thing I hear is Harley telling me they were throwing flowers in the pool.  I look to find Grayson picking petals off my flowers, while Shelby grabbed a flower bunch by the stems and yanked them out of the pot.  Then another day I set Ryley out in the shade away from the pool.  I inform them all not to get Ryley wet.  While my back was turned watering the garden...once again I find Grayson and Shelby taking cups of water and dumping them all over Ryley.  Ryley didn't seem to care in the slightest!  I have learned that next time I babysit Shelby, Grayson and Shelby feed off one another so if one  person has a "brilliant idea" the other follows! :)

That Thursday we headed out to the blackberry patch with our friend Addison and her mommy, Ashley.  The kids did a great job of picking blackberries and most did well picking only the purple ones. :)  Even though they're little, having 3 kiddos picking berries with me, getting 6 lbs of berries picked went pretty fast! I had enough to make jam and then freeze the rest that afternoon!  Shelby and Harley got to take a jar of jam home along with a bag of berries as their payment.  :)

Ashley and Addie picking berries

Grayson showing Addie his purple blackberry

Harley had gotten her hair stuck on the thorns right before this so Grayson and Shelby thought it was funny and wanted to try it themselves.

 Ryley has been busy chewing on everything in sight and LOVES to wiggle and stand up.  He's still being stubborn about rolling though!  

He may love to chew on toys and anything he can get his hands on... but when it comes to putting actual food in his mouth he is not a fan!  Here are pics of his first time eating food.  We started with Rice cereal.  No matter the consistency... he hated it and gagged every time!  Then I tried avocado.  Both mashed and slices for him to grab and chew on.  Still no luck.  Tonight I tried banana..... same results!  Will likes to say this kid will be stubborn and only want breast milk till he's 10!  We'll keep trying different foods and ways of introducing them and hopefully by the time he's 1 he'll start eating solids!  :)

If our week wasn't busy enough.... that Saturday was Grayson's friend, Gracie's, 2nd birthday.  We went to her house for a small party.  She had a bouncy house set up that Grayson was not wanting to go in at first.  Every time he has seen one over the last 9 months he screams if I try to get him on it.  However, something changed in him that day!  He asked for Daddy to go with him at first.  Will jumped for a couple minutes then left and Grayson just kept playing away!  He now LOVES jump houses and inflatables!  Thank you Gracie for helping him get over his fear of them! :)  

Gracie

Ryley and his buddy Tanner (Gracie's brother)

It was funny to watch Grayson and Gracie eat their cakes.  Both only wanted the frosting and sprinkles... then they were done :)  

It was a busy week, but lots of fun!  While I thought that week was hot... I never imagined the heat we have gotten now!  It's now almost too hot to even play in his pool outside!  Good thing he likes the inflatables since there's an indoor jump place down the road that we may escape to during this hot summer!  More pictures from this last week are yet to be downloaded onto the computer so stay tuned for more pictures of our summer fun!