Mason, Rylan, and Elle Belle,
July was a fun month full of summer things. For the second year in a row, Mommy did the Clickin Moms scavenger hunt, so we were on the lookout for a whole list of summer things during the month. Mason, you started to use Mommy's old camera a lot more, and you got a bunch of things on the list too! We have read lots of books this summer- we've gotten chapter books at the library for the past few times, and you boys are enjoying them a lot. (So am I!)
The month started with 4th of July fun. We went to the parade at Gypsy Hill, where we all turned into puddles of sweat, even in the shade. Then we ate at a cute restaurant in Staunton that we'd never been to before. Later in the day we went to Nonni and Poppy's for a cookout and watched some fireworks from their yard/driveway.
We had another round of swimming lessons this month, and both of you boys were in the same Jellyfish class! Daddy wasn't able to come to any of the lessons this time, but Nonni and Poppy came one day, and that was really fun. Poppy even worked on learning how to dive! Mason, you made huge progress in swimming this time. You learned how to float all on your own, and you also did a few REAL dives!! Rylan, you seemed to be intimidated by being the youngest in your class, so you ended up doing less this time than you did in Drylander. The two of you were excited that the Erdmans were there most of the days that we swam this time too.
You also got to have some special dates this month. Early in the month, Nonni watched Elli so I got to take you boys to swimming lessons alone, then to the dentist (Mason you did great! Rylan, you sat in the chair for a minute at the end, so that seems like a good start), then to McDonalds for Happy Meals, and finally to 7-11 for free slurpees!
Mason, you got to have a date with Nonni and Poppy to see your first in-theater movie: Incredibles 2. You came home with some popcorn to share and it seemed like you had a lot of fun.
All 3 of you got to have an all day adventure with Nonni and Poppy one Saturday so that Mommy and Daddy could have an overnight date celebrating our 10th anniversary! You boys got to go on your yearly tradition to the monster truck show, which is one of your highlights of the summer. And Elli you got to spend some more special time with Nonni. Mommy and Daddy had fun going to the lawn party in Bridgewater, finding fun things to do in Harrisonburg/Dayton area, and staying at a bed and breakfast in Dayton. We missed all 3 of you, but it was nice for us to spend time alone too.
This month also included some of my favorite summer traditions, like the fireworks in Waynesboro at the park and the Stuarts Draft parades and carnival. I ventured out alone with the 3 of you for the old car parade, which was pretty fun until you (Mason) got very upset with me for something and then said the parade was way too short (it was) and how you wished we would have never even gone to it. The next day was much better....except Rylan, you weren't allowed to eat any of the candy from the parade since you refused to eat your food 2 meals in a row. But riding some fun things at the carnival made it better. In Waynesboro the next day, the fireworks show seemed better than ever this year. And Elli, you loved the fireworks! Mason, you found a creative place to sit during the show, and Daddy and Rylan joined you at the end.
At the end of the month, we had a fun day with Grandma and Pap in Woodstock at a park. Aunt Hilary and Carson came at the last minute too. We played at the park (which had a lot of cool things in it), Grandma packed us a picnic lunch that we ate on the stage of the ampitheater place, and then we swam in the pool.
We had a fun hangout night with friends one Friday, when we hit baseballs (tennis balls...with a t-ball bat), ate summery food, and played a game of capture the flag.
Rylan,
your biggest accomplishment this month was learning how to ride your bike; and you taught yourself! Nichole gave you one of Waylon's old bikes on a Monday, and on Saturday, Mason ran inside to tell us that you were riding all by yourself! He told us that he didn't teach you...you just started doing it on your own! You were even trying to do wheelies one day after learning!
You have been giving me and Daddy "surprises" almost every day where you give us a sweet kiss on the cheek. You warn us saying, "you can't know the surprise when I do..." and then you make a kissy face. You also give lots of spontaneous hugs that we love.
Elli,
You still aren't saying real words (do I say this every month?), but you've still been exercising your "no!!" very strongly every day. You like to stomp your foot or try to hit us when you're mad too. I think us not understanding what you want to say is getting a little more frustrating for you than it has been before this.
You are still sleeping in your swaddle, but both arms are out now...so it's basically just for comfort. When you slept at Nonni and Poppy's that night, I was sure you would wake up crying at least 3 times, and I was shocked to find out that you didn't wake up at all! Maybe I need to get some tips to find out how to get you to sleep through the night at home. In good news, there are no ear infections to report this month! You had 2 days of a fever, which turned out to be that virus where you have a fever and then have red spots on your belly and back afterwards. It wasn't too traumatic though.
I think your favorite people are Daddy, Poppy, and Nonni. Your face lights up, and you run to them laughing and smiling whenever you see them. I like to think that I would be on the favorite list if you weren't constantly with me... we just don't get enough separation for you to get excited to you see me. Ha. Another new thing you're doing is smiling reeeaaally big when you're doing something wrong. Like a huge, squinty eyed smile.
Mason,
You're in the middle of seeming like a big kid and still seeming very small. Sometimes you are a huge helper with all different things. You help with picking out Rylan's clothes, giving Elli something that she needs, cleaning up messes, encouraging Rylan to do good things, and doing jobs with Daddy.
You love riding your bike outside; that's become your main go-to thing this summer. You sometimes ride your bigger bike, but often you still ride the smaller one, since you can get on it yourself. You're incredibly fast, and you can even do little wheelies, ride while waving, and ride with your feet up. You like to do bike shows for us, and we like to watch.
I've tried to get you to read this summer, but you usually resist it. I'm scared reading is going to frustrate you in first grade, but you love books so much that I don't want to make you hate it now either. You've practiced writing your numbers a little this month too. We'll try to practice that more before school starts though.
Here are the quotes I wrote down that made me laugh this month:
“The gigantic beetle pictures gave me a fever. :( ”
“Look at those porridge potties!!”
“I would CREP up behind them and scare them!”
“Mommy, speaking of “we’re having frozen pizza,” frozen pizza is my favorite food in the Whole. Wide. World.”
Well, my cutenesses, that's all I have this month.