Fun with a Toddler!

Ian is at such a fun age. Often, Matt remarks, "I think Ian is just getting more and more fun!" Kim couldn't agree more! Life with a toddler is an exciting adventure! No two days are the same!
One of Ian's newest fascinations is looking through pictures of himself. Almost every day, Ian will locate the scrapbook Momma has made of his first 16 months of life and will want to flip through it with Daddy or Momma. He mainly loves pointing out himself but will also identify some friends or family members when asked.
Last weekend, we explored Mercer Arboretum with our friend Caleb B. The boys were most interested in the water ...
... but did seem to like the flowers and plants we saw at the beginning of our trip.
We stopped for a break on a pretty garden swing.
"This is the BEST part," Caleb and Ian think.

Some of the pretty flowers we saw ...
... and even a lizard, or, as Ian would say, a "do-dud."

"This fountain is even cooler!" thinks Ian.
stopping to look at the fish

snack break!
on the way to the car!
We just so happened to go to Mercer Arboretum when they were hosting a "Garden Faire" across the street. (God works in such awesome ways!) The boys were super excited about their free "train ride" around the parking lot. Ian asked to go twice!
The conductor (seen in the background) LOVED his job and happily turned the train in circles for the kids.

We got to pet a constable's horse. It was a really friendly horse, even though it looks like Kim and Caleb almost lost their heads! :)
a much tamer picture :)
They had free activities for the kids, including planting their own seeds and learning about plants that attract butterflies.
They had free, though a bit random, music available.
We enjoyed the chance to sit in the shade while listening to the music. (It was a really hot day. Thankfully, life in Texas is MUCH cooler this week!)
enjoying a snack together after naps
We LOVE our new snow cone maker (garage sale purchase). We made apple juice snow cones on our first attempt.
Ian ate his whole bowl as well as some of Momma's bowl.
He's getting more confident about using a spoon, though it's still a little messy.
Of course, Ian was happy to help with hosing down the sticky table once we were done.
One of Ian's current favorite outside activities is using sidewalk chalk.
He'd like to use it on EVERYTHING, so we've had to do some talking about where chalk works best. :) Writing on the dark trash can is a big hit!


Here, Ian sings/does some actions for "Zaccheus."

So glad our family has a "Sarah"!

I've gotta say yet again how grateful I am that Sarah is in our family!! It is a true blessing to have a creative, computer-savvy, helpful, beautiful, silly, fun gal like her as my sister-in-law. Didn't she do a GREAT job on our new blog header?? I love it! Thanks, Sarah! :)

Songs of the week

Ian's favorite songs this week include the two songs below as well as "Zaccheus." :)

Some firsts ...

Ian used markers for the first time about a week ago. He was a big fan!
Here's his coloring contest entry. Do you think he's going to win?? :)
Here are some of our recent "picks" from the garden, including our first-ever watermelon. Unfortunately, none of the three watermelon we picked was good. Maybe we waited too long to pick them? Anyone know how to tell when a watermelon's ripe?
On Saturday, we went to a nearby neighborhood's garage sale. In addition to the picnic table (above), see all of the other stuff below that we found ... 50+ clothing items for Ian (including a wool winter coat, a "suit," and a snowsuit), 30+ clothing items for Kim, socks/shoes for Ian, diaper bag, 10 books, a snow cone maker, a "special plate," 5 games, 5 bibs, a digital photo keychain, and LOTS of toys. How much do you think we spent for all of this loot??
... only $76!! We LOVE garage sales!
Matt tackled his first-ever solo faucet repair. I'm so proud of him ... he did a GREAT job! Our faucet no longer leaks!! :)
After fixing the faucet, my hard-working husband then beautified our yard, too. Luckily, he had some weed whacking help from Ian!

The Woodlands Children's Museum

We had a playdate last Friday with Caleb B., Caleb L., Brooke, Eli, Micah, Allen, Isaac, Ava, and their mommies! We first went to the children's museum. Caleb B. was a "big brother" to Ian and led him into the museum courtyard.
Ian enjoyed splashing in the water table.

Brooke enjoyed it, too!
Ian chose to play at the tallest sand tables, even though he had to stand on his tip-toes some of the time! :)
"I wonder how these work?" Ian wondered.
The plastic food was a huge hit, as was pushing his own grocery cart.
The best part of the oven for Ian was the timer that buzzed after a few seconds.
But the absolute best part of the museum for Ian was the rubber mulch area where you could rake, shovel, and push trucks. Ian spent most of his time here!
King Ian didn't like sitting on his throne too much,
but he did enjoy getting the air from the fan directly on his face!
After the museum, we went to the park. We tried to get a picture of all 6 boys that were there, but only 4 made it into this picture!
"What a FUN day," thought Ian. "Let's do it again soon!"

"Singing"

Nursery Rhyme Time

Ian has started to "chime in" while we say some nursery rhymes. Here are two of his favorites ...

Devotions

This is a little snapshot into our family devotion time. :)

Grins & Giggles

Like most toddlers, Ian loves to be in the middle of the action -- no matter what the action is! A few days ago, Ian and Momma made Daddy some snickerdoodles. Ian liked rolling the dough in the cinnamon/sugar ... until he realized that it was much more fun to just eat the dough!

Ian will often point to the piano bench and say "on," hoping that Momma will pick him up and play a duet with him!
A few days ago, we invited Caleb over to play. The boys finger painted with vanilla pudding (and food coloring). Caleb made a pretty picture,
and Ian enjoyed eating the pretty pudding!
We made pizzas for lunch,
after the boys sampled all the toppings to make sure they were good! What a fun morning!
Ian recently learned just how much fun it is to have Daddy give him a ride in the cart!
Ian now fits into the cute Nikes that Uncle Jon gave him a few months ago! Here, Ian is also demonstrating his FAVORITE chore to help with ("weep"ing).
And, here he's modeling the cheesy smile that he gives us when we ask him to "smile."
Ian has taken a new interest in Momma and Daddy's shoes
and even tries to walk around with them on. "Fip fops" are hard, though.
Today, while folding laundry, Ian asked for help putting Daddy's socks on -- and really seemed to enjoy wearing them around the house! :) Life's simple pleasures, huh? (And, yes, all that wet stuff on his shirt is drool ... teething like crazy!)