Friends

Today we went to visit my friend, Nicole. Kyle loves playing with her boys, Josh (5) and Philip (3). And hopefully soon her 10 month old, Elise, and Max will be good friends as well. It was great to visit with her and catch up. They're in the process of packing to move to a new house in Potomac, so they'll be a bit further away, but hopefully we'll still get to see them just as often as we do now. We had lunch (well Nicole and I did and the boys managed a few bites in between playing). Kyle, Josh, and Philip had fun playing outside in their yard on the swingset and blowing bubbles, playing cars video games, and playing Thomas trains. Nicole's sister and her two kids were there as well. It was a fun day!

Ladybug Snack

It's so cute the things that get a 3 year old excited! Ever since I mentioned to Kyle that one of the activities on our library coloring sheet was to make a ladybug snack he has been super excited to make it, but we've been missing one key ingredient: raisins. So, we finally got raisins at the store and decided to make his ladybug snack today. He had so much fun and loved eating it!

Adventure Playground

Today I took the boys to Adventure Playground. We haven't been there in awhile so Kyle was a bit timid at first, but soon was quite adventurous as he explored the castle and pirate ship with all its slides and climbing structures. He even told me at one point, as he was holding onto some ropes and climbing up the pirate ship, that he was "heave hoing" and "swashbuckling." Max enjoyed his first time on the swing at the playground. Kyle thought it was so fun that they were swinging together. It was a fun morning!

Art Day

Kyle was feeling very creative yesterday. He spent almost 2 hours painting, glueing, and stamping. Here he is hard at work!

Birthday Weekend

On Saturday we went to Lucas's birthday party. He's a new friend of Kyle's that just turned 3. It was at My Gym in the Kentlands. It was the first time we'd ever been there and it was LOTS of fun - it completely wore Kyle out! They have lots of cool equipment. Unfortunately I forgot my camera, but some of the afternoon's events including jumping in a ball pool, jumping on a trampoline, playing the hokey pokey, dancing, popping bubbles, and hanging on (and falling off) the uneven bars. And of course there was a yummy cake! The theme of the party was Curious George so Kyle got a nice Curious George goody bag to take home. It was lots of fun!

Today we went to Carmen's 2nd birthday party. She is the daughter of our good friends, Dave and Lana. They also have another daughter, Lauren (age 4), who is a good friend of Kyle's. They adopted Carmen from Guatemala and she came to live with them when she was 6 months old. Several months later they discovered that she has Tay Sachs, a fatal genetic disease. Here is their story http://www.beautifulcanvas.org/welcome.htm. They have handled this whole experience, as difficult as it is, with such grace and strength. They are an inspiration and such amazing parents. Today was truly a celebration of Carmen's life and all the lives she has touched as family and friends gathered together. Happy Birthday Carmen!

Little Sprouts

Before Max was born, Kyle and I used to frequent Little Sprouts (an indoor play center) about twice a month. We haven't been in such a long time so we decided to go today and Kyle was very excited! Both boys had a great time playing with new toys and making new friends. Kyle always seems to meet new friends wherever we go and is getting so much better about interacting with kids that he doesn't already know. And most everyone loves to meet a baby!

Playdate

Today we went to my friend Valerie's house to see her and her kids Owen and Addison. She's expecting number 3 on August 1, yet she was gracious enough to have us and Kara and her kids Woody and Cooper over for a playdate and lunch. She moved to Frederick awhile back and we've missed having her and her kids nearby ever since, but still try to keep in touch as often as we can. Kyle LOVES playing with Owen. They have very similar personalities/sense of humor so they get along great and love to be silly together. Addison seems really ready to be a big sister. She was great at sharing with Max and making him smile! I forgot my camera, so no pictures, but it was a fun day and really great to catch up!