Custard

Finishing up his custard...and forgetting about the huge scoop on his spoon.

Pie

Our new neighbors across the street brought us a pie last week! Dad told them that we're supposed to bring them something, but they just wanted to say thanks for the nice welcome they've received. We're going to bring them some zucchini bread that Dad and I will bake once we grow a few more. Anyhow, the pie was delicious as evidenced by John:

3 years, 10 months & 1 year, 7 months

Monthly pictures this morning!

Keillor and John were distracted by two people on bikes riding by the house.

And this just got boring, Dad.

A month of excitement around our house!

The month started off with a visit from Grandma Linda. When she left a couple weeks ago, I just kept repeating the same question to Dad throughout the following few days, "Why did Grandma Linda have to go back to Minnesota?"

Johnny and I both received our first hair cuts this month. It was definitely a bigger deal for me. I had a choice in the matter and actually enjoyed the outing. John was held hostage by Dad and wasn't sure what was happening. I continue to wear my hair in a pony tail most days because that makes me fast! I demonstrate this nearly every morning before school by running laps between the front door and kitchen. And because John does everything I do, he also runs the laps. In fact, this morning I was about to get in the car when I said to Dad, "Dad, I forgot to do my running." So we all went back into the house so I could do my lap!

When John gets bored playing with me, he often heads for Keillor. If Keillor is standing, John will make a fuss and make it clear he'd either like to be lifted up or have Keillor lay down. Keillor is a good sport. None of us will be too surprised the day John actually rides Keillor across the house. John is talking quite a bit lately. We're not always sure what he's saying, but he doesn't mind repeating himself!

Our other updates from the month were chronicled here in the blog, so we won't retype the stories of my ear tubes and stuff like that. One exciting thing for the upcoming month: Gymnastics lessons for both kids!

Monthly questions from Dad:

1. What would you like to be when you grow up? Um...um...um...ummmm...a doctor.

2. What do you think John would want to be when he grows up? A real baker.

3. Who is your favorite character from Star Wars? Luke Skywalker

4. Who is your best friend? Mom

5. Who is John's best friend? Keillor

6. What is your favorite dessert? Cookies!

7. What kind of cookies? Fudge Stripes

8. What is your favorite desert? The Gobi

9. What was your favorite Summer Olympic event? Running and diving and gymnastics and running and swimming

Tubes

This past Monday was the day that I finally got my tubes in my ears! The procedure was originally scheduled a couple months ago, but I caught a cold before that appointment so we had to postpone it. Our hope is that having tubes will reduce the number of ear infections this coming winter.

Mom, Dad and I arrived at the clinic at 6:30 am! Erin came over to bring John to school. It was a super quick procedure and we were all home by 10:00 am. I still have some issues with anesthesia, but the doctors are optimistic that I'll grow out of those complications.  

The tubes they have now are less restrictive than when my Dad had them back in the late 70s. I can do just about anything except dive head first into a pool (the pressure change would cause some issues). During bath time, I'll just have to put some cotton balls in my ears to prevent soapy water from getting in there.

Checking in.

Waiting.

Dressing up.

Nebulizer treatment before anesthesia.

Mom also got to play dress up!
(in order to escort me into the operating room)

Post-op ice pop.

Post-post-op Frosty.

Hair cut

Our annoyance with John's long hair reached the breaking point last weekend!

At one point there were three stylists at Great Clips helping out. No crying, but a lot of confusion.

Johnny on Dad's lap with one lady cutting, one holding a phone which was playing a video, and another cheering.

Still not convinced.

The finished product.

Winter

It happened around this time last year, as well: I've started asking about winter.

When will it snow? When will there be enough to play in? When will I get to try my new (used) skis?

We have been practicing around the house with Dad pulling me on my skis made out of towels!

The "new" skis Dad found near an alley dumpster!

Zoo

Family trip to the zoo this past Sunday morning before it go too hot. And only one picture with any of us actually facing the camera!

Porcupines and mongoose.

Polar bear butt.

Hippo.

Jealously watching the carousel because his sister got to go on a free ride.

Peacock.

Unsupervised breakfast

1987 Topps

Good try

Dad asked us to put our socks and shoes on last week. John made a great attempt on his own!

Carnation Festival

This past Saturday was the annual Carnation Festival Parade over in Wheat Ridge. We took home more candy than at Halloween!

The best of the 20 group pictures on Dad's camera.

The point at which the boys decided they'd had enough.

Uninvited guest

No pictures today. Just something we need to document.

Mom and Dad went to a wedding on Saturday night and Grandma Linda stayed home to watch us. We had a blast. Our story starts from when I woke up on Sunday morning:

7:45 am: Dad came into my bedroom after I woke up and asked if we had fun the night before. He also asked, "Did anything exciting happen?"

I said, "Yep! There was a squirrel in the house!" Then I went on to explain that the squirrel was near the entertainment center right outside my bedroom door. Dad asked, "Really!?" And I said, "Yeah, really! I saw it when we came upstairs from the playroom last night."

At that point Dad thought it was strange that Grandma hadn't called, texted or even mentioned it when they got home the previous night. He chalked it up to a 3-year old imagination.

8:30 am: I told Mom the exact same story.

8:45 am: Grandma got up and Dad asked about any wildlife in the house. She was genuinely baffled. She came upstairs for breakfast and showed Mom and Dad that the "squirrel" was in fact a silver bowl that John and I were playing with the previous night.

12:45 pm: Dad decided to vacuum our bedrooms quickly before nap time. John was following him around and I was finishing lunch with Grandma. He turned on the vacuum in my room and immediately heard a very familiar sound that does not belong indoors. He calmly turned the vacuum off, grabbed John, left the room and closed the door. Mom saw this and her face conveyed her concern. Dad composed himself and answered, "Tess was right. There is a squirrel in the house and it's under her bed."

12:50 pm: Suited up in long pants, long sleeves, hats and gloves and armed with tennis racquets, Mom and Dad entered my bedroom and opened the three windows. The squirrel was in the corner under my bed. Dad moved my bed a bit and the squirrel scooted under the dresser. Dad moved the dresser a bit and the squirrel barked. At that point, Mom decided it was a better one-person job and left the room. The squirrel ran back to the corner under my bed and Dad approached it with the extended tennis racquets. Before he made contact, the squirrel darted across the room, took a single hop off the side of a pink toy bin, another hop off the bookshelf and out the window.

My one-night sleepover with the squirrel was over.

We have no idea how the squirrel got in the house. We have no idea why Keillor didn't raise an alarm. Grandma felt sick to her stomach most of the day after we discovered the furry creature. Thankfully, the squirrel didn't snore and didn't raise a ruckus during the night and all we have left from the adventure is a fun story!

Lounging

Crying penguin

Ok, this video clips is probably way funnier to us than it will be to you. Lately, I've enjoyed walking around the house with my crying penguin. The crying noise drives Mom absolutely nuts. So much so that Dad loves to try to get me to do the noise just to annoy Mom!

Summer break - day 8

John and I picked the Botanic Gardens for our last summer break adventure on Wednesday morning. Zoë and Grandma came, too. And as an extra special bonus, Mom was able to join us for a while!

Playing in the "river."

Working his way toward an outfit change.

 

It's back to school on Thursday!

Summer break - day 7

Last week Dad asked me what I wanted to do on summer break. The first thing: Science Museum. The second thing: Throw rocks in a river. We did the science museum last week and today (Tuesday) we found a river. Bonus: Zoe and Grandma Linda joined us!

Storytime and activities at the Golden Library.

One rock ready to be launched into Clear Creek.

The water was cold, but very refreshing.

Ready for a nap.

Rock climbing after our picnic lunch.

Summer break - day 6

No big museum outing for our Monday adventure, but Mom did stay home from work this morning to take me to a special appointment: My first haircut! We had a blast. John drew the short straw and was rewarded with a trip to the grocery store with Dad.