UPDATED!! Signs of Summer!

UPDATE: Here is the video I promised in this post, over a month ago. Yes, it took that long to get the said firewire. I ordered the wrong one first, had to make a trip to the post office (one of my least favorite places to conduct business) to return it, before I could order the right one. But, it finally arrived this week and I've been having a blast uploading and editing videos. So, be on the lookout for more, soon.

Be on the lookout for the most adorable blinking and winking at 1 minute and just after.



ORIGINAL POST: Today was our last day of Kindermusik for Layla until the fall. I took some fun pictures and wanted to share them with you. Bubbles are definitely one of her favorite activities, both at Kindermusik and at home! Here's also a shout out to the best Kindermusik teacher ever...Ms. Lorie! We love you, we'll miss you this summer and we'll be back next fall!

Last Thursday, Peyton had his spring musical performance. There are no words to describe it. It was hilarious, cute, special, funny, adorable, well done, tearful and did I say full of laughter. I still can't decide if I was crying because I was laughing so hard or because I just can't believe my little man actually made it up on stage already. BARELY!! He didn't want to go, told us he wasn't going to sing (he didn't) and thank God for Ms. Gump who was once again willing to carry him away from us and back to the "warm up" area.

When they finally brought the littlest ones out, the crowd AWWWED and we started voraciously looking to see if Peyton even made it up there. We spent the entire first song looking for him so I can't tell you anything about it except that Ms. Batesole started out running across the stage with a tambourine and the kids danced! It was incredibly cute, I just wish I could've seen Peyton dancing to that.

We finally found him smack in the middle of approximately 200 3, 4, and 5 year olds, not singing a word, but doing all of the actions to a song called "Music Makes Me..." Some of the lyrics were Music Makes Me blink, laugh, dance, wink. Oh, it's the cutest, funniest video you've ever seen. I just wish I'd gotten the firewire (part needed to transfer videos from our camera to the computer) before just now (it's on order) and I promise I'll update this post as soon as I get it! Until then, here's a still shot.

Can you see him?

Us either...

Oh wait, he's practically behind a boy with a bright yellow shirt on.

Between him and the microphone stand

Believe me, Daddy was able to zoom in much better with the video camera...it's coming soon!

And finally, here are some more random pictures I've been meaning to post, but haven't.

Chillin in the shade finishing lunch outside

Posing for the camera

The first time he wrote his name without copying the letters as Mommy wrote them somewhere else...pretty good, I think.

At Conferences, Ms. Gump told us to have Peyton work on his fine motor skills and that hole punching was great practice. He liked it for a little bit, it was easy for Mommy and something we'll definitely try again this summer.

This probably fit better as a sign of spring, but it's too cute, so here it is anyways. Check out those cool shades on my girl!

There are only 10 more days of school for Peyton this year! And one of those is field day this Thursday, which I get to help out with :-) I can hardly believe his first year of school is almost over! I'm pretty much ready for him to be home, for awhile. We'll see how long that lasts. I'm sure we'll be filling it up with lots of fun activities and friends so keep coming back!

Artists!

Happy Father's Day to Jeremy!

He wanted a whole artist set including an easel. We all went together Saturday night to pick it out. It sat on the desk Sunday morning and Jeremy finally gave in to Peyton's incessant pleas to paint with Daddy. The result was too cute to pass up the photo op. Jeremy uses the garage for his "studio", hence the dirty floor, tools on the wall and general mess in these photos.

I really do think Peyton is a budding artist. He won't draw anything but he is very meticulous about not mixing paints or only doing it when he wants a specific outcome and will paint anything. He is always begging to paint. And you can tell from the looks on all three faces they are serious about this work.

Race Across America!

I want to introduce you all to a good friend of ours from church - Beth Goldsmith. She is a breast-cancer survivor of just over one year and has been dealing with breast cancer in her family for the last ten years. She has lost her great-grandmother, grandmother and sister to the disease and her mother and aunt are also survivors.

She is an amazing woman for so many reasons, but today I'll take this opportunity just to highlight her determination to not only survive cancer but to thrive afterward and live the best life.

This Friday, Beth begins another amazing journey - the Race Across America. She along with a team of seven others will bike (pedal-push kind, not a motorcycle) 3,021 miles, non-stop, relay style from Oceanside, CA, to Annapolis, MD.

She is riding on a team sponsored by Vera Bradley Foundation who's sole purpose is to race money to fund further research for breast cancer. One of the shirts the Foundation presented to her at a Send-off party on Sunday said, "Me, My Bike, My Cause!" That pretty much says it all.

So far, the team has raised $80,000 for the foundation.
The goal is $100,000 by this Friday. I know they are going to make it - $5 at a time - with help from across the nation and people like you. Will you help? If so, click here. You can read more, track them throughout the next week...did I mention they plan to do those 3,000+ miles in 7 days...and make a donation. Whatever you're able, know it is greatly appreciated and together we can eliminate this disease that affects each one of us somehow. And if you can't give financially, will you please give just a little of your time by keeping everyone involved in your prayers next week - prayers for endurance, safety and thriving, not just surviving.

P.S. We'll be following the race very carefully with some fun reading and activities so check back next week to see what we're learning as we keep Beth, the rest of the team and their families in our thoughts and prayers.

A is for...

Alien

We are attempting to make a craft for each letter of the alphabet this summer, starting at the beginning. This does mean we have to do more than one each week, so it will be a challenge and we are already behind. We'll be making a "letter wall" out of the biggest, empty wall in the playroom. Here are the creations for the first week. Along with pictures of a special lunch to go with it.

 

 

Water Play

Peyton is done with school for the summer. He's been home for two full days now and one of his favorite ways to fill the time has been playing in water. Sprinklers really, as we haven't set the pool up yet this year. So, here are some pictures and a video of them playing in water.




I didn't want to post both of these videos but the second one is worth it for the Layla laughs you can hear about 30 seconds in and the great big cheesy smile she produces at the very end.

SplashPad at Memorial Park


turning the water on
and playing peek-a-boo
with Mommy around the pole









Peyton calls this rainbow the car wash,
but this is Layla running through it

Action shots of Peyton & Layla
having a blast in the water