What we've been up to lately . . .

. . . is a whole lot of time spent in pools staying cool! Matthew likes playing in his little pool or walking around the big pool in his floatie. Joshua just can't get enough of swimming. I think the kid has turned part fish in the last few weeks since we got the bigger pool! He spends hours in the pool playing with his friends, doing tricks, making up games and just plain swimming around. Can't believe how much one week of swimming lessons have paid off for this kid!

Playing in the little pool.

Can't get him to stop drinking the pool water, ewwww!

Who me? I didn't drink the pool water!

Joshua swimming across the pool. Seriously this kid spends much of his time under the water when in the pool - never thought we'd see the day he didn't mind getting his eyes wet!

Ready, set, dive!

SPLASH!!

Chillin' in the pool!


Videos below of the boys in action . . .

Little Piggies

Finally I found the boys banks that were cute yet functional. Joshua had received a really nice ceramic piggy bank when he was born, but it didn't stand the test of time or the torture of a preschooler. Joshua is a kid who likes to count and sort his coins from time to time and with the ceramic bank I just didn't trust him to open it on his own as I thought he'd drop it and that would be the piggy's demise. However, it was one fatal fall off the dresser onto the carpeted floor that did the poor pig in. Since then I've been on the lookout for a good replacement without much luck. Poor Matthew, being the second child, just never got a bank and we thought nothing of it until he had coins from Saint Nicholas Day and I had no where to put them (any money they get usually goes straight into their bank accounts unless it's coins or dollar bills). Thanks to a great find at Pooh's Corner the boys now have adorable, non-ceramic (read non-breakable) piggy banks to keep their money in and they both love their little piggies!

What a hoot . . .

. . . to watch your first born child "walk" your second born child! I was reminded by a friend's post to pull out and use the child leash, uh I mean safety harness, so that I could keep Matthew closer at hand while out and about. Tonight we tried out the lovely puppy harness (it's actually kind of cute) on Matthew while on a trip to the Home Depot. Immediately upon seeing how the harness was used Joshua asked if he could "walk" Matthew. He likes to hold on to Stella's (Shawn and Erin's puppy) leash, but Stella is a strong little girl and becomes quite a trick for a 42 pound kid to hold onto. Joshua found that holding Matthew's "leash" was quite a bit easier. While "walking" Matthew, Joshua kept saying, "You're walking so good buddy!" Joshua was very proud of himself for being a good big brother "walking" his little brother through the store tonight! I think Joshua was secretly thrilled he had his brother leashed and under his control!

15 Months

Matthew turned 15 months old this week and man is this kid a ton of work! I seriously can't take my eyes off him for more than a minute because who knows what he'll into or doing! He now weighs 24 pounds (43%), is 31.5 " tall (63%) and his head circumference measured in at 46.5 cm (31% - the pediatrician thinks either the nurse measured his head too tightly or his head is growing taller instead of wider right now, hmmm you think he takes after his dad?). He is still following the pattern of being bigger than his brother in both weight and height, but has a smaller noggin. For my own comparison, at 15 months Joshua was 22 pounds 10 oz., 30" and had a head circumference of 47.6 cm - odd thing is these were Matthew's exact weight and height measurements at 12 months!

Too say Matthew is a handful is putting it nicely, but really the kid is very curious about everything! Trying to keep up with a big brother and do what he does is a hard job for 15 month old. Here's some tidbits in list form about Matthew at 15 months old :
~Matthew LOVES to be on the go and outside - staying in the house all day just seems to drive him nutty (and me too sometimes).
~Matthew loves to play in water which is a great thing during this hot, humid summer we've been having!
~Is saying 7 words: hi, mama, dada, da (Josh), dee dee (kitty), uck (duck), ya (yes). He's even said "hi dada" and "hi mama". I'm still keeping an eye on his language development though given my experience with son #1!
~He sleeps 12-13 hours at night and takes one 2-3 hour nap a day. Putting him down for a nap or nighttime is a breeze as we simply lay him down in the crib with his blanket and pacifier and he hardly ever even makes a noise.
~The child is walking everywhere now; not always steady on his feet, but he walks everywhere and man is he fast! Needless to say, the stroller, car seat and carts in stores are not his favorite places to be anymore.
~Trouble, as we like to call him, LOVES to climb on anything and everything. He's been climbing ladders since 11 months old but now he can easily climb up onto couches, chairs, tables, picnic tables, into the Expedition, and just recently up onto the bar stools at our kitchen island. Like I said, this kid can't be left alone for even a minute!
~Not only can Matthew climb on or into things, but he's also a very talented at climbing out ofthings. He easily stands up in his highchair or seat for the picnic table; even when tightly buckled he somehow manages to wiggle free. Today when buckled in the grocery cart he completely turned himself around. This kid could have a gig as an escape artist!
~Matthew has become the typical toddler who is a picky eater. The child won't eat a vegetable, just spits them out the moment the enter his mouth. He also is rejecting cheese and most meat. Sure makes meal time fun, not. He does however devour any kind of fruit, grains and his milk.
~Matthew has taken a liking to playing with cars, trucks and planes. Many days he stands in his bedroom window watching the garbage trucks in the neighborhood and he's always the first one to hear and spot the planes in the sky.
~He wants so badly to play with Joshua, but it's hard when there is a 4 year gap. Most of the time there is fighting, but on rare occasions they enjoy each others company.
~This little guy makes us laugh so much as he likes to copy things others are doing or just plain be silly. His latest trick is to click his tongue and mimic people chewing.
~When it comes to discipline we are going to need an extra dose of patience with this child. When told no Matthew likes to smile, sometimes laugh and simply do whatever he did again. Little stinker can be naughty!

Can't wait to see what he learns in the next few months, the crazy kid!

Fantastic Weekend of Camping

This past weekend we camped at Yankee Springs Park on Gun Lake with Cory's parents and his sister and her family. It was so HOT that we were in the lake a great deal of our time there and since I wanted to play with my kids instead of stand there and take pictures I have very few pictures of the weekend (hopefully my sister in law got a few good shots the one time she had her camera at the lake). We were able to celebrate Allison's birthday Friday night and it was fun to see the little birthday princess get so many fun girly items, including a Polly Pocket Roller Coaster Resort that we, along with Shawn and Erin, gave her. I asked the birthday girl if we could put it together and play with it since it looked like fun and I rarely get the chance to play with any kind of girl toys; even the boys had a blast playing with the Polly Pockets and I have a picture to prove it so when they all deny it as teenagers I have proof to show them! Shawn and Owen visited Friday and Saturday (Erin and Aiden were in Traverse City for the weekend with her family) and they took the boat along which meant boat rides and tube rides! Joshua chose not to tube this weekend, but enjoyed riding in the boat the majority of time it was out. Before this weekend Joshua had claimed to be "pool swimmer, not a lake swimmer", but boy did he come around this weekend to be a little fish in the lake water. The kid spent a great deal of time swimming underwater and thought he was so cool "swimming"! The money spent on swimming lessons this summer was the best money ever spent because this kid is totally different in the water than in years past - can't tell Miss Anne thanks enough for all she did that week! It was a fabulous weekend!

Matthew stole a seat in Uncle Paul's new chair and then played peekaboo with him.

The birthday princess opens her Polly Pocket Roller Coaster Resort from the aunts, uncles and cousins.

Matthew peeking out from Allison's new princess tent.

Chowing down on pizza for Allison's birthday part.

Gabrielle, Owen, Nicholas and Joshua playing with Allison's Polly Pockets.

A little morning wrestling match in the trailer.

Somehow all the cousins (minus Aiden who wasn't there) found their way into Matthew's "cage" to play together!

Joshua and Matthew riding back to the campsites in Shawn's boat!

Curious Toddler

It's been 4 years since Joshua was the age Matthew is now so with that much time having passed I forget just how curious and observant an almost 15 month old is. I believe it's partly Matthew's personality and partly being second born and having an older sibling to learn from that has him doing things at a speedier rate than Joshua did. Today I was cleaning the house and Matthew was essentially following me in each room, we'd play for a few minutes and when I could break away I'd let him play and I'd clean. Mister curious discovered he could turn the lamp on the nightstand in our room on and off today and looked at me with a face beaming with pride and joy after making this discovery. This was a good 10 minutes of entertainment! Notice how he has figured out how to gain some height when needed?!?! This time he used our alarm clock to give him the extra inches needed to reach the pulls on the lamp.

A bit of an upgrade. . .

Ever since swimming lessons Joshua has been begging to swim every day. Our rectangular blow up pool is a royal pain and a bit trashy as we put it in our driveway for a few days at a time, plus it had a hole in it the last time I blew it up. Joshua played in Owen's pool at Aiden's birthday party Saturday and LOVED it, so we finally broke down and bought one of those Intex easy set pools (aka condom pool). Not exactly the lawn ornament I was looking for, but we''ll deal (the grass wasn't growing well in that area anyway and I finally got Cory's approval to kill it via a pool). We bought the pool yesterday and upon arriving home we began the set up. Joshua was BEYOND excited and had to put his bathing suit on and swim in the pool while it was being filled with freezing cold water! Even Matthew wanted to get in on the action, but after falling on his behind a couple times in the rising cold water he came to his senses and played outside of the pool! It was so cold that Joshua's lips were turning blue so we made him get out and dry off. So glad Joshua can now continue his swimming skills and enjoy a pool (not that's it's very big but it works) in his own backyard! Bring on the heat now as we are more prepared to beat it!

Beating the Heat

Upon arriving home from our long weekend of camping we couldn't believe how HOT it was in town! After unloading the trailer, putting everything away, cleaning the trailer and bringing it back to storage we were in need of some cooling down so Cory turned on the sprinklers and the boys had some fun. You'll notice that Matthew is donning his clothes this night due to the fact that in the past he didn't want anything to do with the sprinklers, so we didn't bother to put him in his bathing suit. Matthew apparently enjoys the sprinklers now and screeches in joy at them! Joshua was beyond silly filling up pails and flinging water everywhere, but especially at daddy! I'm sure our neighbors think we are nuts, but we're having too much fun to notice!

The Holiday Weekend

Friday afternoon through Monday morning we were at Mitchell State Park in Cadillac, MI camping with Cory's family. The weather could not have been more perfect (perhaps a bit less toasty Sunday and Monday, but I'm not complaining)! We had a great time playing in the water, on the beach, fishing, tubing, riding in Uncle Shawn's boat and just plain enjoying the company of one another. The campground was really nice and positioned in between two nice-size lakes. We didn't do a whole lot to celebrate the 4th besides taking the kids to a "Glow Dance Party" the park put on Saturday night and then going to watch the fireworks over the lake. Sunday Joshua and I, along with his cousins and his aunts and uncle, visited the Fishing and Hunting center/visitor's center right outside the park; the place was packed with lots of taxidermy animals for the kids to look at which was pretty interesting. All in all a wonderful time was had and the video below captures the many memories made.

Slow progress

We were onto day 4 of swimming lessons today. Day 2 was somewhat of a wash as Joshua's attitude and effort was lacking which definitely showed in his ability to even try to swim (again as we've seen many times before, his stubborn personality reared it's ugly head and he didn't feel like swimming so he simply didn't try hard). The night before day 3 we talked about his attitude and I told him he really needed to put effort into swimming or he wasn't going to learn and he would simply sink to the bottom and drown (scare tactics never hurt once in a while). Day 3 I saw HUGE improvement as he really gave it his all, tried hard and succeeded with no tears, but unfortunately I forgot the camera. Today I made sure to grab the camera so I could document how much he has progressed. Smiles and excitement could be seen on his face today during lessons and he told me afterwards that he really likes swimming lessons and he loves Miss Anne! So love that caring and loving, but firm stance she takes with kids when working with them and teaching them. Joshua is excited for tomorrow when he gets to show Cory what he has learned. Miss Anne said he could take whatever he uses to normally swim (life jacket or floaty arm bands) and when I asked him what he wanted to take he said, "just my goggles". Hmm, a little fish he is in the sense that he enjoys being in the water, but he is going to really have to work at learning to swim as he obviously has inherited our lack of any athletic ability - sorry buddy!

Sniffle, cry, snuffle, cry . . .

. . . was the sound that Joshua emitted after receiving his first instruction that he was going under water as swimming lessons began this morning. Many tears flowed, but through the tears Joshua actually listened and followed directions and was able to do what Miss Anne wanted him to do. Miss Anne is gentle, kind and yet firm with these kids so they can learn how to swim and be safe, which I am all about. He has 4 more 45 min. lessons this week. Our hope is that by Friday morning he will be beaming with pride as he shows Cory how he swims across the pool.

Vacation to Mackinac Island

Saturday morning we packed the car up and loaded the kids in for a 3 day, 2 night vacation on Mackinac Island. We had booked this back in January, but I hadn't told Joshua about it until about a month ago. He was beyond excited on Friday and bounced out of his room Saturday morning dressed and ready to go! We met Shawn, Erin, Owen and Aiden in Mackinac City and took the ferry over to the island. The boys enjoyed the ferry, just as we anticipated they would. It was then off on foot to check into our room at Mission Point Resort. We had a to wait a bit to get into our room, but that gave Matthew a chance to start walking (the little sinker refused to walk at home, but apparently Mackinac Island was more suitable to him). After settling into our rooms, and coming to the realization that there was no AC, we explored the shops along main street and ate dinner at a restaurant on the shore. Matthew and Aiden were pretty much done for the day so Erin and I went back to the rooms to put them to bed while Shawn and Cory took Joshua and Owen "Glow Golfing" (the course his lit areas and the golf balls are lit from the inside so they glow). Sunday morning we rented bikes and bike trailers for the boys and set out to ride around the island. We climbed to the top of Arch Rock and explored along the shores of the island. A picnic lunch on the front lawn of the resort followed. We spotted a 1000 foot freighter while sitting there and saw a total of 7 freighters during our time on the island. While the little kids and parents took naps those of us non-napping folk (Joshua and me) took a leisurely walk around the resort and along the shore playing in the water and soaking up the sun with a trip to the candy store added in of course. Since it was the end of the Lilac Festival there a Grand Finale Parade took place starting right in front of the resort so we plopped the kids down and enjoyed. Monday morning, after checking out of the hotel we visited Fort Mackinac. The boys enjoyed the cannon firing and the rifle firing as well as the kids area in the fort the most. We hopped a ferry back over to the city and bid a fond farewell to the island. Joshua has asked every day since if we can go back to the island, so I'm guessing there will be another visit in our future. The video below is mostly for Joshua, but feel free to watch.

FINALLY!!!

So we arrive on Mackinac Island after a 4+ hour trip in the car, ferry boat ride and a long walk to our hotel and our room isn't quite ready, so what to do? Feed the kids snacks in the lobby while waiting. We got Matthew out of the stroller, stood him up and he walked across the lobby like it was nothing new! Crazy munchkin walked all over the hotel room and in various places where we could get him out of the stroller throughout the weekend. Just days before this trip he was taking more and more solo steps, but not regularly and not nearly as frequently as this weekend. The stinker still likes to crawl as he is no pro at walking and finds crawling much speedier at this point, but at least the stubborn little kid is making process. Finally at 14 months, old the stubborn little guy figured out he can walk!! Joshua didn't walk until 15 months so at least Matthew wasn't that late! Below are a couple videos of his first wobbly steps on the front lawn at Mission Point Resort, on Mackinac Island and in a kids area inside Fort Mackinac.

A splashing good time

Seeing as though the sun decided to grace us with it's presence today my friend and I thought it would be a perfect beach day. We met up at Millennium Park so the kids could swim and splash in the water, play in the sand and play at the splash pad. I'm pretty sure the kids loved every minute of the beach and the water even though the sand was really wet and not so pleasant to sit in. So glad we have places such as these to enjoy and friends to enjoy them with!

Joshua and Hunter hauling water.

Filling up the dump truck.

Corrinne and Joshua racing out of the water.

The monkey decided it was more fun to climb my chair at one point than play in the sand.

Fill 'er up . . .

. . . and dump 'er out!

Mixing water with a little sand.

Our little beach boy!

Summer visit to the zoo

This morning we headed over to the zoo with the free admission pass that my friend/neighbor graciously gave us and met up with them there. When we arrived the people were pouring in, but it wasn't terribly crowded yet thank-goodness. For Matthew this is the first time he was at the zoo and really realized there were animals there - before when we'd gone he was too young to notice much. Both boys seemed to enjoy looking at the animals and Joshua especially liked touching the sting rays and feeding the budgie birds. Good times and more memories made.

Looking at the Wallabies.

A Wallaby with a little Joey in her pouch.

At the petting zoo - Christy is helping Matthew.

Feeding the budgie birds.

Matthew looks on as the bird eats.

Reaching to feed the more birds.

Touching the sting rays.

Lazy lions.

Watching the chimpanzees.

Taking a peek at "Mighty Mike".

Joshua wanted his picture taken with "Nessy" in the background.

Jet Ski Rides!

Yesterday, after strawberry picking, we went out to the cottage to help my aunt and uncle get the last few items out of a storage unit and into their newly completed cottage (or perhaps it should now be called a summer home). It's absolutely beautiful! Along with the new cottage came a new jet ski that my cousin Rachel finally talked her dad into buying! After the work was done we enjoyed some time in the water and trying out the jet ski. Rachel had to be the first to try it out, but was willing to let the rest of us try it out too. We weren't sure what Joshua would think of the jet ski, but much to our surprise he LOVED it and couldn't get enough rides on it! Once Matthew was up from his nap Uncle Phil just had to take him for a ride too. Oh the fun that will be had for many summer to come!