July Fun

Our second month of summer vacation has been the perfect combination of relaxing and busy.  The boys have really enjoyed their time away from school to just play and be kids.

July was all about:

getting super excited after finding Angry Birds crackers at the store,

watching cardinals and other birds in our yard,

eating (always eating!),

reading, reading, reading (Will read these 10 books in one week and has read over 50 books this summer!),

celebrating Mommy's birthday with cupcakes from Crave,

grilling,

visiting the zoo, despite the heat,

and watching the otters play in the water,

 wearing a Spiderman mask after a camp at The Little Gym,

going to art class and wearing the art,

finally seeing the new Ice Age movie,

more swim lessons,

and getting to go to a Star Wars birthday party at Laser Tag.  

One more month of summer and we are planning to enjoy every last minute until school starts!

Growing Up

My little boys are growing up so fast this summer. Bath time has given way to shower time. The boys read to us more than we read to them. Lightsaber battles have replaced marching parades. Pink is "ewww!" They prefer active computer games (Bloons Tower Defense is a fave) to passive TV watching. And Will has discovered the joys of "Car Talk" on Saturday mornings.

Fortunately, there are times when they still act like little boys instead of great big big-boys. Like on Friday, when Henry covered himself from head to toe in pirate stickers.

Slow down, boys!  You are growing up too fast for your mama.

My Readers

My little boys have been reading like crazy this summer. Will goes through chapter books almost faster than I can check them out from the library.  He's a fan of Junie B. Jones, Heidi Heckelbeck, Scooby Doo, Calendar Mysteries, Beverly Cleary, Magic Treehouse, Clementine, Star Wars, poetry, and nonfiction (especially space, the body, and machines).  I am constantly searching for new books for this voracious reader!

And then there's Henry, who has made huge progress this summer. We still do Hooked on Phonics and he just finished the first Kindergarten set. But mostly he's been reading level 1 early readers and he's reading much more fluently now. Will's teacher had her kindergartners read one book over and over again until they could read it completely fluently, so that's what we've been doing with Henry and it has really helped him learn new words, reinforce sight words, and build confidence. Henry's favorite books are the Mercer Mayer Little Critter early readers and early readers by Melinda Melton Crow (all about trucks!).  

I am so proud of my little readers and I am so excited that they both love to read!

The Fourth of July

Our Fourth of July was full of parades, flags, cookouts, special treats, water fun and lots and lots of family time.

It was the perfect way to celebrate America's birthday!

Bikes and Figs

It rained off and on all day Sunday, but by the evening, the storms had moved out and we Houstonians were left with some unseasonably mild and breezy weather (no humidity!). Henry stepped outside and immediately decided we need to go for a bike ride. So after dinner, the boys got their gear on and we went for a bike-walk (they biked, I walked!).

We made it all of one block, down to the park!  All the play equipment was dry, so the boys played. They are both working so hard to pump their legs on the swing.  After the park, we bike-walked a bit more before heading home and crashing hard.

Yesterday morning, we headed up to Kingwood and took another bike ride, read books (Will's obsession yesterday was Dr. Seuss; he read seven Dr. Seuss books!),

and picked figs.

Lots and lots of figs.

Even though the three of us have summer colds, we are having a blast and using up lots and lots of little-boy energy.  Good thing we have plenty of figs to fuel us when we get tired!