Everyday Life 8.12.14: photos and random thoughts

I don't have a lot of words today (not ones of general interest, anyway...I shall spare you my rant on the lack of good photo software in Windows 10 and my thoughts and concerns on how to prepare for and enjoy a road trip with toddlers) so I'm going to do a random photo post and just write whatever comes to me.  Here goes...

    

I think the weather is finally starting to cool down.  Last week we had a couple of days cool enough for jeans and a light sweater!  This was taken on a walk at a nearby lake.  Getting outside is soooo important for me.

    

I'm realizing that there are so many things that I can be teaching him, and he learns so fast; it's actually kind of overwhelming.  We stopped the other day to watch the bees and I told him a little bit about them.  Now it's part of visiting this particular park: stop and watch the bees get their nummies.

    

Emily adores the fridge.  She's often fussy in the evenings before dinner and wants to be with me right when I'm having to make dinner.  Measuring cups and plastic containers and lids keep her busy for a while, but the fridge is the big attraction.  She's also getting better and better at pulling herself up.

    

The sprinklers came on while we were walking the other day!  I showed James what to do with them.  So fun.

    

Little Miss Personality.  She's hilarious.  This morning she was practically falling asleep right before I put her down for a nap but she was still smiling and laughing.  Some evenings we've tried keeping her up to do Bible/singing time with James.  Sometimes it works but sometimes she's just too tired and fussy.  She is so cute in hats.  She does better with cool hats than her older brother did at this age...he wouldn't usually keep them on any longer than it took him to reach up and pull them off.



    

I love watching them.  They're just starting to get better at playing together and entertaining each other.  James has some rather funny strategies for keeping Emily out of his toys.  If she's getting too close to his stuff he'll say "Emmy need hugs?  Emmy need hugs?"  (The logic seems to be that if I give her hugs she won't be there to mess with his toys).  Earlier today I didn't come and pick her up when she "needed hugs" so he said "Emmy need books!" and got her some to play with.  So precious.  (If we're being honest, there was also the time when James got his head stuck under an upside-down box because Emily climbed up and sat on it.  The box had cutouts in the sides so it was kind of like a tunnel but still...  Poor James.  It was hilarious.)


    

He built this garage by himself!  My big boy.

Joe is such a great daddy.  It's good for me to see how he loves our kids and wants to give them good gifts.  He's been talking for weeks about getting heavy-duty metal sand toys for James and yesterday he finally tracked some down.  He and James took off after dinner to pick them up.  James is quite happy with his new toys.  So is Joe.  :D

In other news: Joe and I just finished watching Wives and Daughters.  That made for a few enjoyable evenings.  It's a good movie...relaxing enough to not be stressful when you're tired but meaningful enough to be well worth watching.  Besides, the costuming, locations and scenery are just gorgeous.  I love well-made period pieces.   Also, for the record, I am currently reading Introverts in the Church by Adam McHugh, Give Them Grace by Elyse Fitzpatrick, and The Lost Heiress by Roseanna White (re-read).  

All for now!  I just heard Emily and soon it'll be time to get James up.  I'm going to grab some coffee and a bit of ice cream--black walnut divinity is the latest flavor I tried.  I love it, but if you don't like walnuts you certainly wouldn't.  :)

Rachel