Jack has a new haircut

I do realize that all of my posts have been about Jackson lately, but he really did get a new haircut that he wants to show off. He was so cute this morning when I woke him up to get ready for preschool. I told him that it was time to take a shower, and he told me that he needed to put gel in his hair first! The hairdresser yesterday styled his hair with gel after his "Andrew cut"/crew cut, and he was determined that it look just as cool today. Four year olds are too cute! I did explain that the gel would come after the shower, so he was okay with that. We borrowed some of dad's so that Jack could have "poky" hair again, just like yesterday. He calls it an Andrew cut because he wanted it cut just like his big brother Andrew.

The rest of the story of these pictures is that we went for a walk to the creek that's across the street from our house. Caroline wanted to leave from our house, and to bring Sam (our dog), and Jack wanted to find water, so this satisfied everyone, to Jack's surprise. He had forgotten about this creek. It's probably at least a half mile from our house, so they did a good job hiking there and back, especially with their wet shoes and clothes on the uphill track that is the way home. They both got in the water, which is a perfect 4-6 inches deep where we were, yet with a few deeper holes so that Sam could swim. Fun was had by everyone!

I'll close with a video of each of them wading in/across the creek. They're not great videos, but they do show how much fun they were both having, and they want to share them. Don't you love the sound of running water?

Water Video

I took this video a few weeks ago, but I never got around to posting it. I just re-watched it and laughed aloud, so I thought I'd share. I was inside washing dishes when all this began, so here's the story as I got it from Trace, who was outside. Jack went to get something out of his kiddie pool (which is currently full of water and dirt, just the way they like it), and fell in. Trace said he could keep playing, since he was already wet. Apparently Trace encouraged Caroline to go in. They were having a lot of fun, fully clothed, in their pool. The evening ended with a bath, of course, and two happy kiddos. Enjoy!

I also took a few pictures of the two of them playing. The last picture is of Jack before he came in for his bath. I'm not sure exactly how his face got so dirty, but I think he looked like a raccoon, albeit a tired one!

Keeping Busy on Hot Summer Days

That's what we've been doing lately. Going nonstop, as evidenced by my lack of blog posts. We've been doing things like going to Chuck and Caroline's to swim, and sitting inside and reading books. Picking our wild strawberries outside, working late, celebrating Ted and Trace's birthdays with a joint party at Chuck and Caroline's. Trace last week was both roaster and chef, since Andrew was out of town, and that kept us all busy. These pictures are a quick synopsis of our activities the last week or so.

Caroline has been practicing going on the potty. Last Saturday she woke up and the first thing she said was: "I want to go poop on the potty mom." And indeed she did. In fact all day last Saturday she used her own potty, and we even took it with us to Grandma and Grandpa's. No accidents. However since then it's been hit or miss, so to speak. But we're working on it.

We've definitely spent some time in the swimming pool in the last two weeks. Caroline loves the water, and will "swim" and float with anyone. Jackson, on the other hand, is willing to put his feet in the water. He'll play in the hot tub all day, or even his kiddie pool, but the big pool is scary. Next week we're going to start basic swim lessons for him, so we'll see if that helps his fear.Isn't this a cute picture of Becky and Dave? They came over to Chuck and Caroline's to go swimming with us one day, and we all cooled off in the pool.

Other than that, we've been reading our favorite book. Caroline especially likes the page with the birthday party: she even reads it herself to her baby dolls. Yes, this is the book Aunt Katie and Uncle Mitch made for us, and we read it a lot.

Jack took a picture of Caroline's favorite page and told me to show everyone.

Finally we finish with a video of Caroline swimming with Trace. She truly loves the water. Jack loves the toys that float, including the life vest. We've been having a great summer!

Oh, and as a postscript, thanks to Katie for the Orange Julius recipe(http://www.laughterintheclementhouse.blogspot.com). We've been enjoying it!

KinderKonzert

On Thursday of this week I took Jackson and Caroline to the annual Music in the Mountains KinderKonzert, an hour long performance of classical music geared toward children. We went with my friend Betsy, her daughter Elizabeth, her five month old son Andrew, and her mom. The kids loved it!

We sat at a table in the very front row, so the kids could really see the instruments. Jackson and Elizabeth were especially enthralled, while Caroline was equally interested in the music and in the people around her. She wandered around a little, but she always stopped to clap when each piece ended.

Afterwards we found a shady spot on the grass at the fairgrounds, and Jackson and Caroline and I had a picnic. It was our treat while Trace, Andrew, and Will had a day fishing. I think we all enjoyed our days!

The little kids spent the end of the day running through the sprinklers in the front yard, while I tried to figure out why some of my flowers weren't getting watered. Jack wore goggles (no glass in them--it was just for fun) and got soaked, while Caroline was much more timid and was barely damp after a half hour of playing. I took a few pictures, and a short video:

Jackson with his goggles on.

Caroline is actually very carefully standing just on the other side of the sprinklers reach.

I included this picture, even though Caroline is in the shadow, because just behind her is the set of three aspen trees we gave Trace for father's day. So that's where we planted them, for those who asked.

Miss Caroline

Miss Caroline, or Carolina, or Carolulu, or lovey, or dada's baby, or love bug or little love . . . whatever you call her (and we're a family of nicknames, so she has a lot), Caroline wanted a video of her posted on our blog. She saw the videos of Jackson riding his bike, and wanted me to take one of her. I can't say there's much to this video--she's just splashing in the pool--but she was excited to see it and to share it with you. The picture following the video was taken after our foray to the farmer's market on Saturday morning, where we bought cherries. I had forgotten since last cherry season how messy cherries are. We really haven't had them in a while, since when I asked Jackson if he liked cherries he said "I don't know what they are Mom." They both loved them.

The funny thing about this picture is that with her purple face she doesn't even look like herself. I look at it and think it's someone else's kid. They both ate a lot of fresh cherries and strawberries, with no apparent ill effects. I sort of expected something to happen--it was three baskets of strawberries that were gone by the end of the day!

"Kitty" Pool

This is what I think that Jackson thinks it is called anyway, a "kitty" pool. Actually we were at the hardware store on Saturday and we picked up a kiddie pool. They loved it, in case there was any doubt. We ended up going out to dinner on Saturday, after a long day of working on store projects, and didn't play in the new pool until Sunday. It entirely occupied their playtime on Sunday and Monday, as the photos demonstrate:

The dry run, and showing Sam the new pool. They're pretty sure he'll like it too.

Changing into swimsuits and filling it with water. As much as they like the new pool, it's pretty much water that they love, unconditionally. Taking bucketfuls of water from your new pool and making a mud puddle is really just as fun to play in. In case you're wondering just how much they love the new pool, this picture was taken after dark on Monday night, when Jackson and Caroline decided to put their swimming suits back on and play in the pool again. It's quite cold out, but they're in the water again. Dave, a friend of Becky's who joins us regularly for Monday Night Dinner, was kind enough to watch them splash outside. Note that he had jeans and a sweatshirt on. The kiddie pool has certainly been a success at our home. It's is a reminder of my own childhood to watch the joy they get out of playing in the water. Kids are amazing.

Water Play

Today Jack came up with a new idea for playing in the water: emptying his toy bucket and filling it with water to play in. It's another cloudy day here, not particularly warm, but that didn't stop Jackson and Caroline from splashing and pouring in the water, barefoot. It was very serious business, as you can see, and they were very intent on what they were doing. I took a video of them as they played: Jack is refilling the bucket, and Caroline is busy pouring bucketfuls on the ground. Perhaps counterproductive, but they were both pleased with the results.

This is how the play time ended, with a bath for both kiddos, who got stripped of their muddy clothes at the door and ran giggling down the hall to the bath, another favorite activity (as evidenced by all the bath toys lining our tub).