Baseball

We were lucky enough to get some tickets for the NCSU baseball game today-- they played really well!

It was hot, but we enjoyed snow cones, lemonade, and an occasional breeze.

Weekend with cousins

One of my cousins moved down to Charlotte a year or two ago and we decided we'd go visit her and her lovely family for the weekend. It's nice to get to see family whenever you can. We had a great time going to see The Little Mermaid presented by The Charlotte Ballet and then getting to hang out and catch up while the kids played non-stop.

After church on Sunday we went out to eat and the kids got their very own table. They were so cute.
Here are my cousin's kids, who obviously know what to do when someone is taking their picture, and our kids, who look like they were to busy eating to bother.


Also, Goose had another baseball game tonight. He got to play catcher. His Uncle Todd would be proud!

The girl was too busy with crackers to pay attention.

First baseball game!!!!

The little guy had his first baseball game this past Saturday. It was so much fun to watch those 5 and 6 year olds get out on the field for their first game. I was really excited about it, but I didn't know that I would get so emotional about it. There were several times I had to fight back some happy tears.

Here is my little man ready to go with his cool little baseball backpack. He was sooo excited to play his first game.

This is probably my favorite picture from Saturday. He looks like a real baseball player, but yet, he's so little. The base looks huge!

And that's my view, behind the fence, being a dad. Doesn't seem that long ago that it was me out there  and my dad was the one watching me be a kid and a ballplayer, all at the same time. Where have the years gone?

(And by the way, he went 3 for 3 with 6 RBIs and 3 runs scored, with 2 putouts. Well on his way....)

Science Night!

We took the kids to a neuroscience celebration at the science museum. It was really cool! They got to look through a microscope at slices of fish brains that were stained purple.

They also played an m&m game about brain inhibitors and delayed gratification. The highlight of the evening, though, was that the little guy got to hold a real human brain in his hands.

He said it was heavy. The guy helping him with the brain is a PhD neuroscientist who took time to explain all kinds of things about it-- where your eyes go, what parts let you talk, what parts let you throw things. It was fascinating!

Holidays

As nice as it has been to have an extended break, I think we're all ready to get back to our routine tomorrow morning. We did start the year with a trip to the park. It had cooled to the low 50s, but still!

The little guy has mastered pumping his legs on the swing!!

They are both getting to be so big.

Art Project

Nana sent the baby the cutest art kit for her birthday. It's a set of instructions and supplies for handprint art. Each kid made one this evening (because the baby wanted to do homework like her brother, and then he wanted to do art like his sister).

A bunny and an alien.

How cute are those pictures! And Nana, if we remember, they'll be on their way to you this weekend.

Photogenic family

The kids and I took a couple of selfies tonight while Eric was at bible study. Aren't we a photogenic bunch?

Durham Bulls, Part I

On Saturday we went to the Durham Bulls fall fan-fest. It was AWESOME and we will definitely go again. The little dude got to pose with Wool E. Bull as soon as we arrived.

 And here's a picture of the baby enjoying her Nana while waiting in line for batting practice.

I'll post more photos from this tomorrow.

Pumpkin Carving

Pumpkins and carving kits were on sale at the grocery store this morning, so we bought three pumpkins and two kits. Nana and Pops spent the weekend with us and helped the kids carve this afternoon. It was really fun! The little guy cut the tops off and scooped, and the baby helped pick out the stencils. And we have pumpkin seeds in the oven right now.

 

Ice Cream!

We took dinner to some friends who just had an adorable little baby, and while we were out that way we stopped and got some delicious ice cream.

It's nice to kick back and let everyone have ice cream for dinner on occasion.

In the Kitchen

There's nothing better than making cookies on a cold, rainy day. All four of us helped out this afternoon.

The boys cracked eggs.

The girls dumped stuff into the mixer. (I don't know what the little guy is doing here.)

Everything was delicious!

We're back!

Last week was a pretty rough week, funeral-wise, but we're back and hoping that the rest of the summer goes smoothly. The kids and I have been playing hide and seek a lot lately. I count to 28 (for whatever reason, that is the number specified) and they hide...

... or she tries to hide, at least. Even when the little guy puts the baby in a hiding spot, she won't stay there. She always comes out to say hello and to help me look. It's hilarious and adorable.

Emotions!

The little one likes to tell us to express specific emotions:

      Her: Mommy! Be sad!
      Me: Fake crying
      Her: Aw, it's ok mommy. (She'll often pat my back at this point)

It's kind of sweet, but sometimes I worry that we're raising a little psychopath. Anyway, tonight Eric was running through feelings and I started taking pictures. It was amazing. The collage below (starting with the big picture, then moving clockwise) contains: happy, happy, mean, angry, surprised, and scary.

This one (same ordering) has: fish face, sad, surprised, confused, happy/confused/not sure, and surprised.

This was definitely one of our more entertaining dinners!

Picnic!

We had an indoor picnic last night-- meaning that we watched Robin Hood (the Disney version) while eating tacos on a blanket on the living room floor. It was fun!

I think we'll have to do this more often.

Fun Family Time

A couple weeks ago Emily's uncle and his family stopped by on their way to take their youngest back to a nearby college after visiting the other side of their family. It's always great to have visitors in our quaint little house and to talk about all the exciting things that are going on in the lives of those we care about. The college "boy" was around 10 when I started dating Emily and wasn't seemingly much bigger than my little guy back then. My how the time has flown. He was a good sport when Goose broke out Chutes and Ladders and then proceeded to pull out the victory from... oh, I don't know... 20 spaces back thanks to some "creative" counting. (Those ladders can do wonders when you are way behind and who says you have to go in order!)

The tiny tot got in on the action too with a snuggle on the couch and a book with her great uncle and cousin.

It was a wonderful, but too short, visit. It's nice to have been part of Emily's family for so long that they feel like my family too. I hope she feels the same way.

Cake!

The baby is not-quite-two, and since my parents have been in town we celebrated her birthday tonight! (We'll have another celebration this weekend with Eric's parents.) We got her a stuffed Daniel Tiger, and I have to say we hit it out of the park with this one.

Can you believe that two years ago I looked like this?

And now my baby is moving to the two-year-old room at school!

Marbles!

We went to Marbles Museum this morning with Grandma and Gramps. The kids had a BLAST. The adults did, too! Look Gramps and the kids built out of giant legos!

Early mornings and late evenings

As Emily has mentioned before, she's been dragging my sorry behind out of bed to work out with her in the mornings. Our wonderful son usually comes down and joins in on the "fun" by either doing some exercising or critiquing our form. The other day he had the camera out while we were working out and he snapped this awesome picture.

I really am just about as dead as I look. What you don't realize is that we were just doing crunches and we have to be off centered a little because I have stolen half of Em's yoga mat. Add the fact that you have a 5 year old aspiring paparazzo (singular of paparazzi?) flashing photos from very close range and it's a little crowded.

Last night the toddler (she's not a baby anymore, sigh) wanted to listen to some "Shake It Off" by Taylor Swift so we played it 5 times for her and the boy. They are so funny when they dance and sing!

That boy is such a goof!

Food, Fair, and Friends

This past weekend was the little guy's birthday as you've notice (and most likely already know since this is only read by like 5 family members) and we had some family in town (again, most of you were here). I think we will always have a nice time around his birthday because the NC State fair will be in full swing with all the fried foods and fair fare (he, he) that goes along with it.

We made a trip Saturday morning with 5 adults and 5 children so that was a nice ratio. We met a 100' Smokey Bear who talked to the kids, FOR REAL, then looked at some NC Forest Service fire fighting aircraft on display, then found some lunch, and plodded along with the herd for a while.

Then we found the fried food booth with this year's new delicacy; the Twinx. I don't know who dreamt this up but it probably came from a random food generator. BTW, if that's not a thing, it should be. Anyway, the Twinx is a Twix bar stuffed inside a Twinkie, wrapped in bacon, dipped in funnel cake batter, deep fried, and then covered in powdered sugar. I'm five pounds heavier for just writing that. Emily shared it with our sister-in-law and said it was amazing.

So after the "light" desert we hit the rides. The boy likes them so I took him on the Ferris Wheel just like last year and he loved it.

Then after The Dragon kiddie roller coaster we headed for the exit. On the way out I wanted to stop into the Wildlife Commission's tent to get this year's hunting regulations. While I was in there the kids found a firetruck parked next to the tent. My baby girl got to flirt with some firemen, whom I've learned all women adore. See how, um, happy?, she looks.

All in all it was a great weekend!

Dinner Helpers

Everyone has a job during dinner prep. The baby took the green beans out of the colander and put them on the cutting board. I chopped them. The little dude put the chopped pieces into a bowl.

Teamwork!