Slip and Slide Fun

It has been hot here.

Okay, that is an understatement.
It has been cook-an-egg on the sidewalk, don't-leave-the-ac, to-hot-to-breathe  here for the past couple of weeks.  Our outdoor temperature soared up into the 104 region for at least one day and has been hanging out in the 90s the rest of the time.

To beat the heat, we've all been spending time in our little kiddy wading pools in the backyard or go to the local water playgrounds.

Then last weekend I struck a major score at a local yard sale with a brand-new-in-box Slip 'N' Slide.  I paid a whole $1.50 for the device, thinking that if the boys hated it I wouldn't be out too much money.  When I was small, we had a generic slip-n-slide...which meant we had a sheet of plastic with the hose sending water down it.  I loved it, even if it meant quite a bit of grass burn from sliding off the end of the thing.

I got the box home and hyped it up to Tam while Judo was napping.  Tam was excited and couldn't wait to put on a suit and try it out (like the kids on the box).

I inflated the thing and rigged it up.  There is the slide bit, a mini-tunnel that looks like a car wash, and then the splash wading pool.  All of it has water spraying over it all the time from the hose hook up.

At first, Tam just crawled down the thing and through the tunnel.  He was a bit fascinated with the spraying water and splashing in the pool...and didn't really get that he was supposed to "slide."
So, being the awesome mom that I am, I got on the ol' bathing suit and showed him how its done.

Who-Who!  That thing was awesome! I forgot how much fun sliding on your belly through water could be. (I completely ignored the warning that said not to be used by those under 3 or over 12 years of age).

Tam got the hang of it and was soon walking down half of the slide before hurling himself through the tunnel.  If he didn't have enough momentum to carry him through...I helped him out with a little push.


Oh the giggling that ensued!  Tam was having a blast and I was laughing like a fool.

What about Jude?

Jude did NOT like seeing his brother and his momma (as he perceived) falling down on their faces in water. He would be laughing one minute, but as soon as we slid, he would start his worried cry.

I had to reassure him that we were ok and that he should check out the contraption too.

Jude investigated the hose connection...



He investigated the tunnel from the outside, but never went through it on his own.  He liked it when Tam was inside and would pop up out at him.  Jude also had fun stomping in the splash pool at  the end of the slide...



And then he investigated the spraying water.  He liked these quite a bit as he waved his hands through them.  He would play with them and then throw himself across them in a belly flop and squeal with laughter.


Silly little man.

No, I didn't slip Jude down the slide on his own :-)

And Brian?
When he came home, Tam convinced him to get on his suit and try it out too.
Hey, a family that plays together is silly, right?

Tam thinks the contraption is awesome...He does call it a Slippy Slide (like a native Pittsburgher).  We even had our friends over with their kids to play with us and beat the heat.

 Totally worth $1.50.

We've been busy

But I promise to post some notes on the latest excursions soon...

Here's a preview...

Jude cracks me up

 We have these foam letters that I got at some yard sale last year.  Last week when we were driven inside because of the heat, I got them out to play with... to make roads, squares, cubes, tubes, and learn letters.

I went ahead and made a series of cubes for Jude to stack and knock over.

Jude had fun stacking them.


And then he put one on his head!

 The "Q" was already removed so it became his peep hole through which to view the world.

He thought it was hilarious.

And, amazingly, he quite tolerated his new head-gear and proceeded to crawl around with it on, viewing the rooms in a Q-skewed way.

What a hoot!



Here's another instance of my loveable little guy.  He's a typical red-neck in this pictures with darts in one hand and a monster truck in the other :-)  Not to worry the darts are magnetic and non-harmful.  Another yard sale find that Tam wanted....however, Jude carries the darts around trying to see what they stick to, like the fridge, the washing machine, some cars, etc.  He's my little investigator.

A third funny thing that Jude's done lately is his latest attempt at thwarting the baby gate and trying to go up the stairs.  He has figured out that he can slip most of his body (not the head) through the rails on the lowest stairs.  This puts his body on the stairs behind the gate, but not his head.  He thinks he is making progress toward his goal of tranversing the stairs...until he realizes his big noggin' can't make it through the rails.   I have to admit, I watched him attempt this for the first time, just to see if he could figure it out by himself (he did).  I thought it was hilarious...Jude wasn't quite as amused to learn that he still couldn't go up the stairs.

My silly stubborn little man.

Wordless Wednesday - Magic Food Box

 Jude has discovered the magic food box = refrigerator

 Hmmmm...I wonder if I want to eat this?

Wait, what's over here?  Do I want to eat this?

Ohh....

 

Look...Beer...er, Momma's Drink!

Latest accomplishments?

Jude...
I am cautiously saying that Jude is sleeping straight through the night more often than he is waking at least once around 3:30am.  Yeah.

He's figured out how to go downstairs backwards, but only remembers about 60% of the time.  The rest of the time, he stays at the top and frets or he goes for broke by heading down face first.  However, stairs are one of his favorite thing to tackle when no one is looking at him.

Walking is going strong, as long as he is holding someone's hand.  Tamlin is being a great help at offering to help Jude with his walking along.

He's "attempting" a spoon...okay, he really is just holding the spoon and waving it around and toward his mouth with little actually getting food on it and into his pie-hole.  But it's a step in the right direction toward self feeding. He has figured out that food is easier to grab when it is in a bowl rather than spread all over his high-chair tray.  However, when he's done eating, all extra food in the bowl will be dropped over the side of the chair, piece by piece until someone notices he is done eating and wants to play.

He's realized that Popsicles are Awesome.  Messy, but awesome.


Tamlin...
Sharp wit that cracks me up multiple times a day!  I am amazed at what he comes up with to tell me...and I'm constantly amazed at what he finds interesting and funny.

His drawing of people is getting slightly more recognizable, though they are often sideways?  But, he would much rather play with play-dough than draw at the table.

He already knew that Popsicles are awesome.

Jude's Helicopter

 Jude:  I wonder what Brother Tamlin is up too...

I better go check it out, just in case he is doing fun things without me.

Jude:  Hey, Tam... watcha doing?

 

 

 

Tam:  Well, I'm playing with cars and this cool race track mom got me.  Look!  It's got a shark that eats the cars.  

Nom, Nom, Nom.  

It's so cool.

Jude:  Wow.  That is cool.  I've got his cool helicopter. 

Tam: Yeah, Hoptocopters are ok, but not as cool as cars.  

(Yes, that is how Tam pronounces helicopter)

Jude:  But...

My helicopter has this awesome propeller that I can spin, and spin, and spin

Jude:  And I can make sounds like a helicopter too...

 Jude: And I can make the helicopter FLY!

Zoom, Zoom, Zoom!

Jude:  Yeah, Helicopters are way cool...cooler than cars by a million percent.