Tastes like Summer

My new favorite treat:
Watermelon popsicles

Super easy!
cut up a watermelon (we used about 3/4 of a personal size watermelon. use your best guess)


Puree to about 3 cups in a food processor or blender. Find a good three year old to poke the watermelon down between pulses.



When you have your three cups of watermelon puree, add 1/2 cup of orange juice and 1/4 cup sugar. Mix.


Pour into popsicle molds, freeze and enjoy on a warm summer day. These are super refreshing, dairy and gluten free, and delish...

Diagnosis: He's three, alright...

Probably the most unexciting part of Parker's birthday over the last couple of weeks is the annual visit to the pediatrician. I've had the appointment on the calendar for some time but hadn't said much to P about it until the day before, so that we could make it sound as fun and exciting as we could.

We took his doctor's kit with him: stethoscope, ear looker, bandaid, syringe, thermometer, blood pressure cuff. We had "practiced" most of the things on blue bear beforehand so he'd know what to expect, and it appeared we were good and ready.

He did great for the nurse. Let her take his weight, height, blood pressure (no kidding!) and pulse. Then we went to an exam room and the kid. fell. apart. The pediatrician was awesome--I give her total credit because she was amazing and so patient with our, um, patient--and did the once-over while I held him in his moment of fear. Fortunately there weren't any shots involved either, I fear the thought of how that would have gone over.

I still don't know what caused him to be so scared, and there likely isn't a great explanation other than her diagnosis: "Yup, he's three, alright..." And maybe that's all it was. Just a case of the threes.

In any case, we got some excellent news that he's finally starting to catch up weight- and height-wise to other kids his age, after spending nearly his whole life at the bottom of the growth charts. It was music to my ears considering his steady toddler diet of dairy and carbohydrates.

And as we left, he dried his eyes, smiled and waved at the nurses, and said cheerfully, "We all done? I go now? I saw the doctor, momma, just like my doctor kit! That was fuuuuunn."

Stinker.

Parker the Photographer

Parker was excited to get a (kid-proof) digital camera of his very own for his birthday. A big shout out and thanks to P&J&J for the awesome gift! He opened it and was tickled that he could take pictures just like momma. Um, oops, does he think of me as the paparazzi?

I can only imagine how the photos are going to turn out:

Birthday remix 2

We spent the weekend on the western edge of our favorite state with G&G. Parker was so excited to see everyone...and of course, was really excited about a 'prise. :)

He had a couple to open when we arrived on Friday--




Then we spent the day on Saturday doing fun things together—hanging out at the park, the pool, and outside playing football. The boys even hit a few balls:





On Sunday we went to a fly-in breakfast and Parker was thrilled to see all the airplanes. The bigger, and louder, the cooler they were.

Birthday remix

I'm still catching up from this past weekend--so much fun! Thanks for all the well wishes and birthday greetings for Parker...he was so excited to hear everyone sing "Happy Birthday" to him.

We'd been contemplating the addition of a sandbox to our backyard for some time—every little boy needs one, by our account. :) It seemed like the perfect three-year-old gift, and a good project for daddy, too—with help from P and momma, and we managed to accomplish it on what was probably the last comfortable day of the summer. (Now it's just disgustingly hot.)

We found a nice spot in the backyard and went to work. The railroad ties are part of our critter/water control, in case you're wondering...



We had to dig down to put our first layer of 4x4 cedar posts and level them out. This was probably the hardest/most tedious part, aside from putting the sand into the box. This box is 8x8'; I suppose we could have made it smaller, but it's a good size for lots of little boy adventures.



Then we added couple more levels of 4x4's and we were about ready to line the box with landscaping fabric. And then it's time for sand!


Sand arrived the next day and we had to use LOTS of muscle to get it from the driveway to the backyard. We'll post a finished product shot soon--maybe once it's cool enough to go out and play in it!

HAPPY 3rd BIRTHDAY PARKER!

How do you spell H-O-T?

Ohmygawd it can't get any hotter. Well, it can...but hopefully not anytime soon. We ever so gracefully went from a nice, mild spring to oppressive heat and humidity with no end in sight. (Have I mentioned how HAPPY I am to be back in the Midwest? Just checking.)

We've been spending gobs of time at the pool lately. Parker of course is thrilled by this, since he can wear "gobbles" and con us into all sorts of high-calorie trouble (like ice cream and other various treats). He has figured out he's getting to be the king of the baby pool and has to be careful around the much-smaller tots. But it doesn't seem to deter the splashing much:



He's also figured out he can touch the shallow end of the big pool which has been a major confidence boost this summer. And... in the big pool is the basketball hoop, the holy grail of summertime pool enjoyment. Parker thinks it helps to get a little boost to the rim, which we're usually happy to oblige until our arms wear out. Did I mention he weighs almost thirty pounds now? We'll get official numbers next week at his -gasp- three year checkup.

He and daddy had a good time shooting hoops the other night:


And then what the hey, a little hang time for good measure. Don't let those lifeguards catch ya!

Oh to be little again...

As the Little P man comes closer to his 3rd birthday this weekend, C & I spent this past weekend doing a little work on his present. (more to come about that later)

This work was being done outside almost all day on Saturday. We got all of P's tool out that he got from G&G M for x-mas. We put them away until this weekend and he thought that was pretty cool. He got to help mom and dad build stuff!

Well when you are outside all day in the hot sun, you tend to drink a lot of water. Well since P is 99.9% potty trained, he told us that he needed to go. Well we were all dirty and did not want to go inside and get the clean house all dirty, so we told P that he could go outside. He did not know what to think! Go potty outside? Where do I flush? Where do I sit?

You see...so far, P just sits when he has to go potty. No matter what he has to do, he sits. Easy to "train" him that way. Well trying to get him to stand and go outside was an adventure! He did not know what to do or to think! Mom is trying to explain it to him and he was just not getting it. So dad thought that maybe if he watched dad (stop laughing), he would understand. That did not take.

He ended up standing up but had his knees bent and then he "pushed" his "business", as he calls it, down so far that he looked like he was peeing out of his butt! It was by far the funniest thing that he has done in a long time! I wish that I had that on video! Oh to be little again!

Lobsterfest!

Lobsterfest was a great time last weekend--many thanks to our awesome co-hosts for pulling another awesome event together. We've decided that while it's super fun to host this for friends and colleagues, it's sure become a lot of WORK, too. :)

A few highlights from the day:
Parker and his friend, the divine Miss M.


Thirty lobsters to the tank!


Lobsters in, everyone's hungry.


Wine, lobster, and lots of great conversation.


Daddy and J eating--what's that--a hot dog?! Those are supposed to be for the kids!

All-Star in the making!

It is so much fun to see your son grow up! Since dad is always around sports, it is no wonder that P has taken a liking to them as well. It does not matter what it is, he wants to do it!

Football - check
Basketball - check
Golf - check
Baseball - check
Soccer - check
Swimming - check
Gymnastics - check (serious!)

We were outside Monday night as the weather was great. We took this little video of P doing some of his favorite things. We missed out on the golf, which was too bad, as he hit one pretty good with his little 3 wood!

Enjoy our little All-Star!

Lobsterfest is two days away!

We head to our SIXTH (can you believe it!?!) year of Lobsterfest. Every year is more and more fun! This year we're ordering 27 lobsters--our largest yet! With over 60 people planning to attend, we're definitely in for a good time with lots of fun and laughter.

We'll definitely share the highlights of this year's festivities upon our return. Here's a peek at highlights from the last couple of years:

Father-Son Time

As the little man gets closer to his third b-day I have been thinking back to when he was just a baby and how he has changed. We sat with another mom last night at gymnastics class and talked about our kids. She has three, one of which is in the same group as P for gymnastics class. This class is the first "big kids" class. No parents! Fun to see P take directions from someone else. He does pretty good.

Anyways...this other mom was holding their third child, a little boy that eight months old. He just sat on her lap and smiled. He would play with a toy for a bit, but for the most part just sat. I tried to remember when P was like that. It was not that long ago, but it seems like forever. He started walking and a day later he was running. And he has not stopped!

We got home after class and had a hamburger from the "hamburger store", aka McDonalds. P wanted to go outside and see our neighbor Jeff because he is the coolest neighbor a little boy could have. Jeff is great with P, he will play with him, talk to him etc. P loves seeing Jeff and all of his big boy toys. Well Jeff was mowing, so I thought that I should mow too. I asked P if he wanted to help. He was all for it.

As I started the mower, P would do the same motions that I would with his little bubble mower. If I pulled the cord to start it, P would act like he was starting his the same way. He followed me around the front yard. If I stopped to pick a weed, P would do the same. I stopped and turned the mower over to check the blade and get a rock out from underneath, P stopped and turned his mower over. What ever dad did, P did. At that moment, I realized that these "father-son" moments are just the best.

I am lucky to have a great son. P is just a joy to be around. We are able to have some great father-son moments. Every Saturday when we are in town, we go and get donuts together. It is something that I think I look forward to more than he does! We have so much fun.

For any dads out there, I encourage you to have your own father-son time. You will never forget it. And as a kid, you will always remember those times. I still remember the time that I got to spend with my dad. I think that Saturday mornings and donuts must run within our family. I used to go to the office on Saturday mornings with my dad to help him "work". I would watch cartoons or go play in the back room while he worked, I was just waiting to go and get the sugar donut and hot chocolate at the coffee shop. Those were the times as a kid. I hope that P will think the same thing when he is older! Thanks to my dad for the great memories.

More from the water house

Was organizing a few photos from the last couple of weeks and found this one of Parker as we were getting ready to go for the season's first boat ride. So cool, and yet so excited...

Playing catchup

May went way too fast with traveling, holidays, and the like. So we've been laying a little lower than usual around here, trying to catch up and get ready for the weeks ahead. Which is fun, because it means catching up on projects and things I've been putting off, like wrapping presents for babies and weddings:



And my skirt project.

Nice to have a little time to catch up...