Two picnics, two different rivers

 It has felt like we have spent every day celebrating Thomas' birthday for the last week. Well, I guess in some ways, we have... We did get to enjoy the rest of our holiday weekend and did some relaxing up at my parents' condo. Although most of the day Saturday was spent having Thomas' birthday party, Tom and I did help Dad steep the mast on his sailboat. (What that really means is that we helped control the planned fall of a very heavy piece of aluminum.) 

Dad needed to replace both sails and in order to do that, the mast had to come down. This was the first time that we had done this in the 10 years Dad has had the boat. Once the mast was down, the boys decided to become electricians. The lights on the boat have not worked since Dad got it, so he hasn't been able to go out past sunset. Since the mast was already down, this was a good time to get them fixed. On Sunday, we got the mast back up. If bringing it down was a control fall, I don't think you could say that getting it up was controlled. My words of wisdom- Working against gravity is not easy and should be avoided if at all possible. Bottom line- the mast is up, the sails are on and the lights work!

After church on Sunday, we took a picnic to Yorktown and ate at the Moore House. It was a wonderful picnic with gorgeous weather, a nice breeze, and watching the boats on the York River. Emelia had a great time exploring. She would have walked around all afternoon saying 'Whaas thaa?'

Thomas got a T-ball set from Ghee Ghee and Grandpa for his birthday, so we took that along to play with. He had a really good time trying to learn to play. As we are well aware of, Thomas' strong suit is not his athletic ability. He comes by it honestly. By the end, he was at least starting to understand what he was supposed to do, kind of... :)

On Monday, we took a picnic to the beach. Mom and Dad found this beach a few years ago, and it is the best beach around. It isn't a big beach. There are some trees so people who so choose can stay in the shade. There is a lot of boat traffic in the distance to watch, but not close enough to be a concern. It isn't easy to find, so unless you know it is there, you aren't going to find it. That means that it isn't too crowded. The water is shallow, sandy and calm. All of these things make for a perfect place to play with kids! It actually took a wagon to get all the stuff we 'needed' to the beach. This wagon was one of the best gifts Tom got for Christmas last year!!

 We thought (and still do) that Thomas was  a water baby... His sister might just give him a run for his money. She LOVED to splash, had no desire to be carried and showed no fear. She would watch Thomas blow bubbles and would stick her face in the water too. When the water got deep enough that she had to have her face in the water to stand from sitting down, she just did it, no problem!

I'm not sure who likes to dig more- the kids or Tom.... Wait. Yes, I am....

 I love sandy toes!

 Thomas spent a lot of time practicing his bubble blowing. He loves to swim and I would venture to guess that he could be following in his Daddy's lifeguarding shoes.

We couldn't have asked for a nicer weekend. It is so nice to be able to 'get away' for the weekend, and even better when that getting away means not really having to go far! 

Let the Birthday week continue!

 Somehow, Thomas has managed to have a birthday week. It all started on Tuesday. Since Thomas' birthday was on a Wednesday, we celebrated at preschool on Tuesday. Ghee Ghee, Emelia and I came in, shared a snack and I read a story to the class. They, of course, sang Happy Birthday to Thomas. This was the first of MANY, MANY times that he would be sung to. We couldn't bring in a sugary snack, so we made butterflies with colored goldfish and raisins. Thomas colored the clothespins. They had just finished watching caterpillars turn into butterflies at school, so this fit in nicely with what they had just studied. I had a little helper while I was trying to take the picture. She knew what was in there and wanted to eat them!

Thomas was also the calendar helper for the day. He likes to play with the pointer and pretend to be the teacher during free choice time.

On Thomas' birthday, we went to Bounce House for the morning. We did that last year too and he had a blast, so I thought we would do it again this year. His climbing skills have greatly improved and he didn't need much help. He loved getting to go on 'Spiderman' and we had fun sliding together down the tree house slide. Ghee Ghee came to watch Emelia. She would have been in to play in a heartbeat if we had let her. Next year, she will have a blast sliding with Thomas. Grandpa came over to watch for a little bit and then we had lunch at CiCi's Pizza. 

Although Thursday was not his birthday at school, it was 'Splash Day,' which made for a special day anyway. The spent most of the morning playing outside in little pools and sprinklers, shooting each other (and the teachers and parent helpers) with water cannons. The kids were soaked, as were most of the adults. They also had a popsicle treat, then a birthday treat of fruit to celebrate the Summer birthdays. While eating the second snack, they watched a movie of pictures that his teachers had taken over the year. Thomas loved the movie and I know that when he gets his copy, he will want to watch it everyday, at least once.


On Friday, we came up to the condo for the long weekend and to have Thomas' birthday party. It was a Dr. Seuss Birthday, since Thomas has been really into his Dr. Seuss books. Tom and Ghee Ghee made Truffula Trees as decorations and I made a Dr. Seuss hat birthday cake. 

The official photo in front of the chalkboard.

Thomas can now really pretend to do church with his new pitch pipe. Thanks to Mr. Bill, he doesn't have to use his train whistle before starting to sing his song.

Ghee Ghee and Grandpa gave him the Little People house, which is his favorite toy at school and at church. It has held his attention for long periods of time already.

Lunch was non other than green eggs and ham!

His 'big' gift from us was his own tablet. He was very patient learning to use his new tablet and figuring out the new games. Now, my Nook is a little safer! :)

I believe that all the official birthday celebrating is mostly over. He did get one more 'Happy Birthday' sung to him during Training for Worship at church today. He also has one more gift from Paw Paw Neumann, but we are having more difficulty than we should being able to find the gift.... More about that when we give him his last surprise! 


It has been a full and busy weekend and tomorrow is still another busy day! Since his birthday is so close to Memorial Day weekend, he tends to have a long birthday celebration, even if it isn't really birthday happenings. Tomorrow- off to the beach!

Quiet mornings

Every once in a while, I get lucky and have a quiet morning. Thomas used to routinely sleep in till 8-8:30. In the last few weeks, those times have no come often enough. Since we started making a real push for him to stay dry all night, he started waking up, I believe mostly to go to the bathroom. The last couple of days have been very busy and Thomas, of course, decided that he would much rather play in bed than take a nap. The only good to come from that is a quiet morning for me! Maybe the kids are starting to move into their Summer schedule, which is fine by me! 


Of course, I should be getting some work done with my quiet morning, but instead, I am writing this post. We are leaving to go to Mom and Dad's condo for the holiday weekend today. While we are up there, we will celebrate Thomas' birthday. This has been the birthday week for him. We celebrated with his friends at school on Tuesday, had a special outing to the Bounce House and lunch out on Wednesday and then cupcakes at church Wednesday night. Yesterday was a special 'Splash Day' at preschool, so that felt different to him too. I was talking to him yesterday and was trying to get him to guess what we might do that was special this wekend. I suggested that we hadn't yet opened any birthday gifts and that we would be having his 'party' this weekend and he would get to open gifts and have cake. His eyes got all big and he said, "Really? I get ANOTHER party??!?!" Sweet, sweet boy. He would have been perfectly content for his birthday to have just been this string of fun activities. He wasn't even worried about the gifts. I am going to enjoy that sweet spirit while it lasts because I'm pretty sure he will be ready for gifts right away next year....


Well, if we are going to have birthday cake this weekend, I should probably go make it and accomplish something in my quiet morning!

4 years already??!?!

It is hard to believe that this was us just 4 short years ago. We had no idea how much our lives were about to change. We knew that everything would be different, but until you hold that baby in your arms, you hear the little cries and noises that they make, you kiss that soft, sweet skin, you just have no clue how much your life will change. Everyday is something new. Everyday creates a new challenge. Everyday has ups and downs, but everyday has your sweet baby in it. 


Thomas- here is a little bit about what has been going on with you in the past year...

Shortly after your third birthday, we started potty training. This has been a long process, but we are well on our way to being fully potty trained. As with all things with you, when you decide you are ready to do something, you just do it. We have seen this with lots of areas in the past year and potty training was no different. We had a busy Summer last Summer. We went to Pennsylvania for the Church Retreat at Camp Manatawny in June, spent a week at the beach over the 4th of July with all of the Shy family to celebrate Ghee Ghee and Grandpa's 40th wedding anniversary, and went back to Pennsylvania for Camp in July. Aunt Leah and Uncle Frazer were in town over the Summer for a visit as well. You went back to Music Class in September and we enjoyed going together every Monday. 

The biggest change this year also came in September when you started in Preschool at Walnut Hills Learning Center. The coolest thing about your preschool has to do with who your teacher is. Ghee Ghee and I took you to Kidsburg to play one day and ran into my kindergarten teacher. I was her very first class out of college. It just so happened that she was teaching preschool and had openings in your class. We went and signed you up immediately. You love your teachers- Miss Trish and Miss Jeannie. If you could, you would go to preschool every day. 

This Winter, you also took your second train ride with Grandpa to Richmond. You are always excited to see the trains and getting to ride on one was a very special treat. This Spring, we took a quick trip to New York City for my cousin Eileen's wedding. We did some touring in New York and you were an exceptional little boy for the wedding. We also went to Charleston for my college roommate's wedding. We again did a little bit of touring. We got to take a boat ride out to Fort Sumter, which you really enjoyed.


Over the last year, there have been times where we wondered if you knew your colors or letters or things like that. Then, out of the blue, you give the right answer as if you have known it forever. With your progress report at school in January, we weren't sure you knew all your colors. The day I had a meeting with Miss Trish, we went to Ghee Ghee and Grandpa's for lunch. Ghee Ghee put M&M's out and made you tell her the right color and then you could eat that M&M. You got them all right. You knew your colors, but needed the motivation to show us what you know. This is the pattern that we see with your learning progress. Daddy says that he was the same way growing up. You are a very smart little boy, but save your knowledge for when you are ready to show it. 


You still love playing with your trains, and have quite a collection of Thomas Trains. You enjoy any kind of truck or construction equipment. One of your favorite things is for me to drive down Ironbound Road, where they are expanding the lanes. You love to see all the excavators, steam rollers, dump trucks and bulldozers. Of course, you still love your music. You don't spend as much time singing from your songbook, but you do still love it. At church, you like for Daddy to give you the mouse so you can click through the slideshow on Sunday nights after church. You frequently blow your train whistle as your pitch pipe before you start singing. You love to play with all of the Little People that we have. You spend lots of time playing in your playroom and most of that time is playing with the Little People. You also love to sing with your karaoke machine and mostly sing with your Veggie Tales CD. Ghee Ghee gave you a little computer that you spend a lot of time playing with. Watching you play with that was also how I realized that you know most of your letters. 

You love your little sister. You are always concerned with where she is, what she is doing and giving her hugs. You get a little too affectionate with her sometimes. You like to give her hugs, but are still learning that hugs around the neck aren't so comfortable for the other person. When she was a baby, we taught you to kiss the top of her head so that you weren't kissing her face. You still like to kiss her on the top of her head. Daddy and I think that on her wedding day, you will still give her kisses on the top of her head.  


If you had your way, you wouldn't spend much, if any time coloring/painting/cutting/glueing. You would much rather be playing with trucks or trains. You are starting to learn to write your name and can make a T. You recognize your name quickly and without problem, but, again, you aren't super interested in sitting still to work on writing it by yourself. You love the water and would stay in the pool or tub or your water table all day if I let you. I believe that by the end of this Summer, you will be a complete fish and swim without any problem. You get good practice blowing bubbles in the bath tub.


Your Daddy and I are very proud of how much you have grown up in the last year. You are starting to do lots of things independently. We are very proud of how much you are accomplishing. Just when we think that you aren't understanding something, you show us that you have mastered that topic and just don't care to show us anymore about it. This is just like your Daddy was growing up! You are a sweet and loving little boy and we love you very much! HAPPY 4TH BIRTHDAY THOMAS!

Camping out (or in...)

For Christmas, Thomas and Tom both got sleeping bags and a tent. They were too excited to wait till it was warm enough to camp out, so they did the next best thing:

They camped out inside!

They had a treat of graham crackers and hot chocolate with marshmallows. Almost as good as S'mores. This was a good trial run for trying to sleep outside. Thomas was not so interested in going right to sleep and it took some time to get him to settle down. 

Emelia wanted to sleep with them, but I don't think anyone was ready for that!

Everyone woke up in a good mood and Thomas was ready to sleep in the tent every night. They were able to camp inside a couple of times. The tent became a favorite place to play during the day, and stayed set up as long as I could stand to have it in my living room.


A couple of weeks ago, the weather was finally warm enough and not stormy. The boys jumped at the first chance they had to sleep outside!

Before going to sleep, they roasted marshmallows and had a little fire. From the bedroom, I could hear them talking in the tent right outside my window. What a sweet way for me to fall asleep, listening to the two of them talking about all kinds of things. Thomas slept like a log the whole night. Tom enjoyed hearing the owls, deer and other critters through the night. 

Again, the boys woke up in a good mood and are looking for the next available weekend to have another camp out!