Summertime hair cut

Tamlin before a hair cut
Tamlin after I took the clippers to his noggin. I trimmed a ton off the back and sides, then a bit off at the top. It is not straight or perfect, but the best I could do on a squirmy toddler while he watched "Kung Fu Panda" on the T.V.
He's much cooler now (in temperature and hipness status).

And I love this shirt...
Yes, it says "Wrecking Crew" on the front!

Doh!

Yesterday, the entire family had a great outing to downtown Grand Rapids to participate in the Festival of the Arts. (Check out the website linked) I was amazed that the entire family was dressed and packed into the car by 10:3o this morning. The weather was hot and sunny, so I had slathered everyone with sunblock and hats were worn by all. Right before leaving, Jude was fed, diapered and burped. Additionally, Tam was raring to go "outside!" We hauled out the stroller for the wee one, and figured Tam would just have to walk and burn off a bit of extra energy. We knew that Brian had work at 2pm, but figured a couple of hours was all we could handle out in the heat anyways (and we'll get out before too much crowd).

Once downtown, Brian found a great free parking space at a meter, though it was about 4 blocks away. We all didn't mind.

The festival was great! Lots of food to eat, bands to hear, and art work to gawk at. Tam seemed to have a good time just holding Brian's hand and watching all the cool sites and people. Our first stop was the watch belly dancers...which Tam tried to mimic. Next stop was an ambulance in which the crew was letting kids climb in and check out. This and seeing a helicopter flying low overhead made Tam's entire day, I'm sure. We later heard an excellent accordion band playing some rousing polkas. Again, we all couldn't help but dance a bit with everyone else. Food was good; we ended up with some citrus chicken, fresh cut fries, lemonade, and pretzels.

After eating a bit, we let Tam participate in the "Great Paint In." This was a large coral set up with a ton of easels and paint. Kids are escorted in (without the parents!), robed in a leather paint smoke, given a sheet of paper, and shown to an easel. Then they can have at it for as long as their attention holds. After hand washing, the kids are matched back up with parents and the artwork is hung out along the fence for all to see. Tam saw the kids painting and totally wanted in on the action "Draw too, mama?" It was hard for him to be patient enough to wait his turn. I had a moment when I released his hand where I worried about whether he would go off with a stranger...but the pull of paint and paper was too much, and he was fine. Being a little one, they placed him at an easel near the outer perimeter so he could still see and hear me. Tam, of course, painted cars :-) And told the little girl beside him all about it. Very cute!

After the painting excursion. we meandered back out of the festival and too our car. Everyone seemed a bit tired, and good naps were had by all once we got back home.

Baby Jude slept the entire time.

Yep...I was so proud to have remembered everything for this mini-expedition...
Except the memory card for the camera. Doh! So no photos :-0

Tam's day

Today both Brian and I were home together with the boys. The weather outside was beautiful so we gathered everyone up to head over to the college and the park. Ritual is that on the way out the door the guys all donned hats to protect heads from the sun. I had stopped at the hat bag on the back of the door to look for a small enough hat for Jude. While pawing through the bag, Tam noticed his red hood that attaches to his winter coat. "Red hat, mama!" Yep, he insisted on wearing this red hood. Goofy.

We first stopped at the school so that I could check in, pick up my mail, and show off baby Jude. Everyone loved the wee one and were so proud that Tam was adjusting so well.

We then went to the nearby park and playground. There were a handful of other moms and toddlers paying around already. Tam had a great time saying "hi" to everyone. He was even brave enough to climb up to the top of the big slide and slide down by himself! (It helped that a few other kids were sliding down too).

What a big boy!

The down side was that only after about 15minutes, the nearby school released their kids for recess. Unfortunately, the playground was then inundated with grade schoolers...way too many and most of them completely ignoring the little toddlers. So, time for us to head out.

Since Tam still was a bundle of energy, we headed back over to the school to run around the grounds. We settled in on the garden area since it is multi-leveled and has tons of flowers, shade, and a lily pond. Tam's been here before and has always managed to find something new to look at or explore.

This time, we noted that the pond had the mini-fountain turned on and . . . there were FROGS!

I immediately pointed out a big specimen to Tam.
Me: "See the frog, Tam?" Tam: "Frog!"

Tam then proceeds to hop around a bit to demonstrate a frog's means of locomotion. After a couple of abortive attempts, I managed to capture the frog in my hands. "See the frog, Tam?" Tam leans in but then the frog makes a leap to freedom, which scares the bejeesus out of him. Tears and loud cries appear. Sheesh.

Me: "It is just a frog, Tam. Do you want me to catch him again for you?"
Tam: "I don't want frog, mama."

Tam then runs around a bit, chased by Brian, while I take Jude. Moments later, Brian catches a frog for Tam. Kiddo, recalling the previous frightening experience, immediately runs behind my legs for protection. However, he was find looking at the amphibians from a distance.

The best part was when we talked about the frogs later before bedtime.
Me: "Did we see frogs today?"
Tam: "Yeah"
Me: "Did the frogs scare you?"
Tam: "No"
Brian : "What? Was that why you hid behind mama?"
Tam: "Frogs no scare"

Sheesh.


I love this picture because of the sweet little momma - baby moment...with Tam behind me playing in the plants.

First ride in the stroller

The weather here has ratcheted up into the 80s and 90s and sunny (and a bit muggy). To take advantage of this, I decided to take the boys out for a bit of a walk around the street.

It took a bit of wrestling to get the stroller unfolded after nearly a year in storage. But I wiggled it open and relaxed the seat to accommodate Jude laying down. Over the top, my home-made car seat cover was thrown to block out extra sun and provide a bit more shade.

Tam decided to ride his blue plasma car around.

I was surprised that Jude stayed awake for the little ride. Tam kept stopping what he was doing to check on Jude to make sure he was okay.

We didn't make it very far (distance wise). Tam decided that he only wanted to ride up and down the hill that is a block up from our house. Okay. Jude and I stopped and cheered him on as he wold gained speed on his downward glide.

Of course, after our little jaunt, there were Popsicles to munch on :-)

Wordless Wednesday : Outside shots

Baby Jude
2 weeks old and enjoying the outdoor weather

Family visits

This past weekend my mom and stepdad were out to visit us and for them to see their new grandson. It was great to have them here to help out with extra hands to hold the baby and to pay with Tamlin.

We again tried to get some family shots...
Here's our first attempt :

And here's our second attempt, in which I think we are all looking at the camera!

Sweet mother and daughter and grandson shot :-)