Finally ... more Camp Cilca!

Almost two months ago, I did a post on Matt's family reunion at Camp Cilca. I mentioned having lost the CD of pictures from others' cameras. My dear sister sent me her CD just a few days after I asked for it, but I'm just now getting around to posting a few more pics! Enjoy!

Second cousins (and Uncle Jason) gathered around the Wii

Sweet Ryan!

Play time

Sorry it's sideways ... too cute to not include!

Great Grandma with all of the kids

Great Uncle Doug helping Ian with his balloon rocket

the littlest cousins swinging together!

our silly family picture

playing late-night Stone Age!

Sisters!

more late-night games!

the whole CILCA crew!

our immediate family

one, two, three ... launch!

Splashpad

At the end of the summer, our small group had a party at a local neighborhood splashpad. This was the third or fourth time we've gone but the first time I remembered to bring a camera. Both boys LOVE spending time in the water!

Ian with buddies Caleb & Christopher

Ian and Caleb enjoyed spinning each other on the bumblebee fountain

Ryan loved climbing up on this rock!

Our First Garage Sale

Most years, we sort through our clothes and glance through our closets and make a donation to Goodwill or our church or Purple Heart. About a year ago, though, we decided that we should just start collecting stuff in our attic and have our own garage sale! It was a lot of work (especially in the two weeks before the sale -- sorting, pricing, and organizing). But it was definitely worth it! It felt GREAT to pare down,"deep clean," and get rid of stuff we haven't used in ages. Best of all, we made lots of people happy and are $500 richer! :) While it definitely won't become an annual tradition, we may try to have another sale in a few more years.

Ian was VERY excited about the prospect of having his own "food stand" during the sale. He helped with every step of making the banana bread muffins, the brownies, and the lemonade, and he decorated his own signs.

Ian got lots of customers! For the first half of the sale (7-9:30ish), he sold muffins and apple juice for 50 cents each. It was hard for people to turn him down, I think! He was pretty adorable at his stand. He thought of the idea of dinging a bell after he made a sale, which made everyone chuckle ... and more people notice him!

Ryan helped to supervise once we moved the food stand into the shade..

For the second half of the sale (9:30-noon), Ian sold brownies and lemonade. He ended up making $25. He was excited to put some money in the offering plate, use part of it to buy a toy excavator he's been eyeing at Costo, and to save the rest in his piggy bank. We were proud of our little entrepreneur!

Some new (and not-so-new) things for Ian

 Ian has been LOVING going to preschool three days a week (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday) for half a day! He seems to be in the routine and doesn't seem nearly as tired when getting home as he did the first week or two. He really gets into the theme days that Mrs. Miller plans. A few weeks ago, they had "Red Day." Ian was excited to wear a red shirt and pair of shorts and bring a red airplane to show-and-tell. We decided to add a few drops of red food coloring to his cereal milk, too, just for fun!

Ian comes home singing new songs and talking about friends, recess, and center time (usually the building center). He still doesn't share as many details as Momma would like (after about two questions in the car, he'll say, "Let's talk about preschool LATER!"), but everything that he DOES share seems to indicate that he loves it. We are very thankful for Mrs. Miller and the wonderful other 13 students in the class.


Kim likes still having Ian home two mornings a week and all five afternoons. That leaves plenty of time to do fun things together! One day, Ian had fun helping to add water to glasses to make a musical scale.

He was able to play some of his xylophone songs on the glasses!

 One morning, Kim, Ian, and Ryan headed to the Children's Museum together. Like everywhere we go, Ian is quick to make friends with other children. Ian and a new friend worked for a long time at their "building site" in the rubber mulch pit.

 Ian (and Ryan) both enjoyed the new section ... oversized foam Tinkertoy building pieces. (Ryan just wasn't still long enough to get a picture of him!)

 One day, we decided to make homemade pizza together. Ian had fun kneading and rolling the dough and making the tomato sauce. Kim was reminded that, although it tasted great, it's just not worth making pizza from scratch very often. :)

 We just HAD to try a Pinterest idea for making homemade sidewalk paint with water, corn starch, and food coloring.

 Both Ian and Ryan loved trying to paint the sidewalk.

 The texture of the paint was really neat, and it looked so bright and colorful on the sidewalk! Very fun!

Ian is still happy to help with ANY baking projects that Kim undertakes. Here, Ian helps with making Brownie Mallow Bars (our family's favorite dessert!).

 Ian still continues to love playing outside ... here, a new favorite activity -- adding water to the dirt to make MUD!

We feel like we keep saying this, but it seems like life with Ian keeps getting better and better. Four is a very fun age! He cracks us up with some of the things he says and the connections he makes. One morning last week, Ian was looking at the child-resistant lid on Kim's vitamin bottle. He (unsuccessfully) tried to turn it and wondered aloud, "How does this know that I'm a kid?" Ha ha!
What a blessing to be parents! :)

16 months!

 Another month has come and gone ... time passes so quickly! Ryan keeps getting more fun (and more active and more communicative) by the day!

PHYSICAL/DEVELOPMENTAL:
*got 4 new teeth (3 molars and one on bottom front). Teeth grand total = 11
*thinks it is SO fun to walk backwards
*can finally come down the stairs on his own on his belly
*LOVES climbing ... on stools, couches, chairs, picnic tables, steps, anything!

*was diagnosed as having an osteochondroma (benign bone tumor) on his shoulder blade this month ... we were a little concerned when noticing the bump, but the doctors have assured us it's nothing to be worried about after multiple doctor's appointments and an x-ray
*always on the go!
*loves to scribble (and/or eat the markers)

   



SOCIAL:
*loves noticing babies
*says "airplane" or "bus" anytime he hears or sees one
*seems to learn at least one new word a day, though many of his "words" are only recognizable to us (not many others would know that Goldfish is consistently "babo")
*often seems to focus on the ends of words ... like "uppp" (up with a loud P sound), "dzzz" (keys), and "pss" (grapes)
*some of his favorite words are "tach" (wants Momma or Daddy to attach two toys/train tracks/etc together), "uh-stuh" (upstairs), "muhmuh" (mailman), "duhduh" (dump truck), "ah-muh" (wants us to open the cabinet/fridge/cheese container/etc.), "Bi-buh" (while pointing to remind us to read our Baby Bible after breakfast)
*loves saying no "doh" and shaking his head
*likes to participate in church by saying "Amen" loudly right after he hears the pastor or the congregation say it -- usually gets chuckles from those around us (also likes to say "Amen" loudly and repeatedly RIGHT after we start the prayer before mealtime ... especially if he's very hungry!)
*can point out more of his body parts when asked

EATING:
*continues to eat well
*definitely has a sweet tooth (loves popsicles or ANY desserts!)

*likes finding snack foods in our pantry or cupboard (He finds the Craisins and Cheetos at least once a day, usually right as Momma is preparing a meal and wants to eat them RIGHT away!)
*tried lollipops for the first time ... loved 'em!

SLEEPING:
*still wakes up between 5:00 and 5:30 most mornings
*sometimes catches a morning catnap after dropping Ian off at preschool but generally takes just one nap right after lunch
*can fall asleep without nursing at bedtime between 7-7:30 ... next project: naptime without nursing to sleep!


DISLIKES:
*leaving Ian's classroom after dropping him off in the mornings ... Most mornings, he'll arch way back to try to get out of Momma's arms, turn himself into a limp noodle, and/or scream hysterically as we leave
*when "the other" parent leaves -- whoever is leaving is the one that Ryan wants! Ha!
*going to the church nursery during Bible class hour
*getting toenails, fingernails, or hair trimmed ... You would think we were hurting him!

FAVORITES:
*picking up Ian after preschool! He'll shriek "E!! E!!" (his name for Ian) when Ian comes out of the classroom door.
*playing with Ian's favorite toys while Ian is away at preschool!
*remote controls

*pushing toy cars

*getting "up" on anything (especially loves to crawl around on top of beds or sit on the couch)
*balls, Cozy Coupe, push mower or ANYTHING outside!

*going upstairs to our toy room!
*dump trucks!
*play beads (loves to wear necklaces)
*looking at books upside down
*putting his head on the floor and looking through his legs
*DOGS!
*Momma's t-shirt drawer ... He loves to pull them all out and especially likes carrying Momma's orange and pink t-shirts all around the house!
*baby pool part of our neighborhood pool
*putting t-shirts or towels over his face and walking around
*the vacuum ... always wants Momma to get it out!
*any electronic button or switch (garage door opener, TV or DVD buttons, light switches)
*water of any sort

*giving hugs (squeezes our necks really hard!) and kisses (often makes a "mmmah" sound with it)
*testing the limits (Do Momma and Daddy REALLY mean that I need to drink my milk in the kitchen or could I just walk backwards slowly and then sprint into another room?)
*seeing Daddy come home and pointing out Daddy in any photograph in our home
*KEYS!