Summer Experiences

Before you get amazed at the amount of chocolate Roo got on himself, let me inform you that it is not chocolate.

It's dirt.

And drool. He is, after all, only 1 and a half, and teething.

And a really cute little ham. The above pose is his instant response to hearing me turn the camera on.

He is loving this summer. Loving exploring. Loving the outdoors, and the siblings, and the family times, and the dirt.

I confess I had almost forgotten what it was like to take a kid to the bath and discover that their sandy colored hair is a perfect disguise for a head full of dry dirt. Which, once you put it in the water, is no longer dry, it is now mud. Mud that you wish you had known about before so you could have used the hose instead of the newly cleaned shower....

Roo is not the only one enjoying summer. Bear has learned to ride a "big" bike. And it is all he wants to do all day long.

Which is pretty great because it wears him out and he sleeps really well; and it's not nearly as dirty as pouring dustpans full of dirt on his head. Which is a nice change, really, because it was only last summer that he was the one filling my clean shower with mud hidden in his abundant thatch of hair.

Now he's the one with massively bruised shins, scraped arms and the occasional scrape on the back. And the perma-grin. Can't forget that, that's the best part.

Buddy and Sweetheart are enjoying their summer too. No school! And, we have started chore charts- with "allowances". It's amazing how a goal motivates a kid. I haven't had to mention that the laundry needs done for the last 4 days; I just have to remember to put mine away before bedtime.

In between the chores and the dirt and the bikes, we read. The kids are signed up for the summer reading program at the library yet again (they love it!), and I get quiet afternoons at least once a week if I'm able to get them to the library. I think it's hilarious that we have 4 double-stacked bookshelves in our house, but it's after a trip to the library that they sit down and read....

Oh, and we found out how to get Roo to stay still long enough so that we can read a book to him:

It has to be done somewhat differently than normal....quite appropriate for us.