June 2012, part two

The second half of June has been busy, too. 

We went to the beach with my daughter's family on a very hot Saturday before Father's Day.  I had worked all week and was looking forward to a great time with the family.  My oldest grandson spent the night with A. and I on Friday night.  A. was so excited to have him in the house (we really do lead a very low-key life) that she woke up close to 1:00 am asking if her cousin was awake, and never went back to sleep.  She ended up playing with her babies, her stuffed animals, reading books, and once when I went in there to tell her to go back to sleep, she had the stroller out and was taking babies for a walk in her room--in the dark!  And she did fall asleep on the way home from the beach, she couldn't help herself!

It is a long walk with all of our stuff to the perfect spot on the beach, and we all helped carrying stuff.  A. took bathtub baby with us and made sure she had a good time at the lake.

This little lake has a small channel that leads right into Lake Michigan. So we always take a walk through the warm sheltered channel water to the cooler, windier Lake Michigan.  It has fun waves to play in. A.'s body is long and thin, so she has trouble with balance sometimes.  She did end up face first in the water at one point. Thank goodness my daughter was right next to her and rescued her.

It was time for lunch and to get out of the sun for a few minutes.

Bathtub baby had more fun in the water, sometimes needing to be rescued by the cousins.......

.....and even got to go for a ride in the tube.

Looking at the path from the small lake to the big Lake Michigan.  It is getting a little cloudy......maybe it's time to go before the rain comes.  It's a long walk back to the car.

June 19 is an anniversary for A. and I.  On that day 5 years ago she came to live with me.  I didn't realize at the time that she would be here still.  But now I expect she will be here forever. She has become a part of me and I can't imagine my life without her now.

We celebrated this special anniversary with my daughter and her boys. After trying to decided what would be the best way to celebrate, we settled on going to the Children's Museum. It seemed like a good idea to buy a one-year membership for A. & I. We'll get our money's worth, for sure.

I was lucky enough to find all four kids together on the "boat."

They all love the water table.

As I was filling out the membership papers, A. found a friend.  They listened the the reading of "The Three Pigs" together. 

We went to Culver's for lunch and they enjoyed their ice cream treat after their lunch.

 

Later that day, we were at home and she was playing with her babies while I was working on the computer.  She was feeding Baby Kimmy and wanted me to take a picture of her.

One Sunday morning after a rainy night, I went out to get the paper.  Of course A. comes along so she can see what the cat is doing.  The flowering tree and flowers are looking good.

When we go shopping--to Target or grocery shopping to Meijers--A. always brings a baby to put in the "rocker seats."

It was a hot day and after shopping, I just wanted to stay inside.  I ran out of excuses, and so we went outside for a little while. A. was hot and sweaty, but happy to be outside.

Here is a picture of A. in her glasses.  She has far-sighted vision and needs these glasses when working on schoolwork--reading, coloring, writing, etc.

Our Monday morning visitor--Baby A.-- has 3 brothers. The oldest is taking driver's ed this summer and the youngest goes to summer camp.  The second brother needed somewhere to be when Baby A. came, so we invited him to come over, too.  He is a special needs boy, and loves my A.  I keep forgetting to mention that they have a nickname for A. They call her "Caker" which is a shortened version of Baby Cakes.  They took care of her a lot in her first 6 months and were hoping to be able to adopt her until they found out that I would be taking her.  They are special people in A.'s life.  The boy loves trains, as does A., and they watched a couple of Thomas episodes together.

And finally, I get these emails from Woot.com.  They have bargains and from time to time, I take advantage. Here is a picture of A. in her new tent that I bought for only $25.  I thought it was a good investment.  She put her pillow in there along with a baby or two and had a really good time.

She kept herself busy while I got ready for our trip to IN.  I'm there now and that will be the subject of my next blog.

June 2012: first half

I haven't been spending much time on my laptop lately.  I've been distracted by the beautiful summer weather and working by filling in for my former employer.  Being able to check Facebook and Instagram on my iPhone and iPad mean I don't have to go upstairs to the computer as much, so I don't.  My pictures will attest to that. We've been having a wonderful summer so far, and looking forward to more good times.

We start our pictures at the beginning of June.

I love looking at life through a 5-year old's eyes. Every morning we feed the cat, A. pets her and kisses her. She'll try to pick up the cat, but Babe is on to her and moves quickly enough to prevent that.

It was chilly the beginning of the month, and we helped celebrate the first birthday of the little girl I watch on Monday mornings. 

We all went to the local Adventure Park (the one A. and I walk to often on our walks) and this was the first time we were able to actually participate.  We rode the go carts, which she loved!

We found out she was tall enough to ride the bumper boats by herself. We decided I would stay back with the baby so the other Mommy could be with her 4-year old, and the others promised to stay close to A. I was nervous, but she stayed within 6 feet of the edge of the pool and mostly went around in circles. She had a hard time figuring out how to move the boat, but she was great at squirting everyone.  I laughed 'til my stomach hurt.  Birthday girl just enjoyed her bottle.

A. got to ride the kiddy go carts with the 4-year old.  It was hilarious to watch because A. had no clue what to do at first. They both kept getting stuck on the bend. She figured it out and had a great time.

We didn't miniature golf because there was not enough time and the attention span of the younger kids wouldn't allow it. The only other thing to do was the big water slide. It was too high for A. and cool enough that I didn't even bring her bathing suit. But the boys went  down the slide several times and loved it. Then it was time to go and we made sure the kids got their pirate hat and flag.

We were there only 2 hours, but had the best time!

One day we were outside and A. was telling me how her baby was inside sleeping and was going to get up at "ten firty."  She was so intent on her conversation and I thought I should take a few pictures. I took the first one when she wasn't aware, and the second one was when she realized I was taking a picture.

A few candid photos: changing Baby Kimmy's diaper,

and enjoying holding Babe. It's been a long time since she was able to catch the cat.

School ended the first week of June with a picnic on the playground with their families.  

A. became very close to this little boy in her class. His Mom and I exchanged phone numbers so they can get together over the summer. Both of them are too interested in their cookies to pose. His sister knew what to do.

This is the classroom aide who has been there each year since A. started. She is a very loving lady.

This is her teacher--the third one since A. started. But A. has learned more with her than the other two. It could be A. was just ready to absorb things, but I love how this teacher goes the extra mile when teaching.

The picnic was scheduled on the 2nd to last day of school. (This teacher doesn't take many chances!) So on the last day of school A. was pretty happy (actually she's almost always pretty happy) and excited to see the bus coming.

My oldest grandson turned 10 this year. How did the time go by so quickly???

He is a joy to me and a very loving boy. He has spent the night with us a couple of times and is always so helpful. He loves being in charge of A on the days my daughter watches her for me. 

One of the friends at his party went for a ride on the fire truck with A.  It was a warm day, the fire truck kept overheating and would stop in its tracks.  They would have to wait until it cooled off and then it would run again. The two of them started a game where they would kick the soccer ball around while waiting for the fire truck to cool down and then go back to the fire truck. It was fun to watch--they would jump out of the fire truck, run around kicking the ball, and then jump back into the fire truck.  Of course, she was the driver.  That's my girl.

In her party bag from the birthday party was a deck of cards. This is what she decided to do with them.  And notice the squirt gun from the bag in her hand.  She had a good time learning what to do with a squirt gun. :)

One Sunday morning we went outside to putz around in the yard before our shower/bath.  She caught the cat again, and kicked around the soccer ball while I weeded. She is still in her jammies.

That's the first half of June. I've got much more to share of this month so far.  See you soon.

Lots of pictures--it's a long one

I've been off for a few weeks, but still taking pictures.  Today I'll just post pictures and their discriptions.

We went for a walk down at the Marina on a very sunny windy day early in May. I want to continue to do this regularly this summer just for a change of scenery. Of course we have a stroller with a baby in it that A. pushes herself. She rotates her babies constantly. I think today was Pink Baby's turn.

We have a play structure just off the Trail, next to an ice cream shoppe.  We played for a little while on the structure and then enjoyed an ice cream cone.  A. loves to swing most of all.  Good shot of those new teeth coming in!!

A. loves to read books, even though she may not remember what the story is about. She makes up the story for herself. Sometimes she just looks for letters and  makes that the story. She can get very animated when "reading the stories" to her babies, or just to herself. Sometimes at night, before going to bed, she will pick out the book and then tell me she will read it to me. She really enjoys that and can get pretty silly with her stories.

Then there was the first really hot weekend in May and we took out the water table with all it's water toys. A. had a great time, and I put the water table on the back patio in the shade so she could play as long as she wanted without getting sunburned.  I discovered a few popsicles left over from last summer when I cleaned out the freezer. It was perfect on the hot day and she loved eating it, but she has to learn to eat it herself. She would be happy if I would hold it for her all the time. We lost a chunk of it while she was trying to push it up and she was sad. She'll get more practice this summer. The next day I cleaned off the table and chairs and let her do the rinsing. She got a little crazy with the hose, but no harm--she had fun.

Spring Concert was May 22. A. got dressed up, and, of course, took a baby in the car with her. There are 3 pre-school classes: A.'s ECP class, regular Pre-School and Ready 4's. You can find A. by looking for the one with the white ball on top of her head. It's a flower, but just looks like a puff ball. The only picture I took of the class turned out fuzzy--I hate that! The concert was adorable. You have the kids that are about 2 beats behind (which was what A. did), the ones who just stand there and do nothing, and the one who knows every word and sings as loud as her voice will carry. I videoed the concert with my phone and still get teary eyed when I watch it. I love watching kids perform.

A.'s teacher has really focused on teaching the letters to the children this year, and A. really soaked it up like a sponge. A. is proud that she can tell me what the letters are. When we are on our walk she points out and identifies the letters on the Stop sign. She is also excited to tell me the letters on the orange sign on the side of the trail.

After living in this house for almost 13 years, I have finally taken control of my front perrenial garden. It has a watering system, and I have been challenged to understand it. This is only because I haven't taken the time to try to understand it. Some of the sprinkler heads need to be replaced each year and it has confounded me as to how to do it. I finally took the time (because I have time now that I am not working) to figure out the heads, went to the local company that installs Toro sprinkler systems and bought the correct pieces. Home Depot did not have what I needed. I spent less than $10 and now have all my sprinkler heads working. As I was changing heads, I would turn on the system to check to see how they were working. A. loved this and loved putting her hands next to the heads and getting wet. She even stuck her head down so the water would go on her head. Then proudly showed me that her head was wet. Her skort was so wet that I had to change her when we went in for lunch.

I've been working hard at getting flowers planted, weeds pulled, and setting down patio blocks to clean up the front garden. Here are a few pictures of my hard work. The first picture is in the back patio. The plant stand was my Mother's, as were several of the pots, which she either gave to me or I inherited. The fountain has been working well this year, so far. The kids are having a good time walking around the garden on the patio blocks. I just set them down without cleaning the myrtle out from underneath yet. I have a couple of ground cover bushes that died, which I haven't dug out, and placed the blocks on top. I'll clean them up as the summer goes on. I'm happy with this configuration. Again, after 13 years, I finally feel I have control of this garden. Many of the plants have runners and the plants just pop up everywhere. I pull most of them out like weeds just to keep them in check. The last picture shows my front door and steps. The flower pot on the top step was a Mother's Day present from A. via my daughter in CA. Also, most of the rest of my flowers were thanks to my daughter here in TC. I'm a lucky Mom and Grandma.

That's all for now. I still have pictures of Grandparent's Day at my grandsons' school, and pictures of A.'s class visit to Moomer's farm, where they make the best ice cream in the states. I hope this is not too long, but I wanted to make sure to get all A.'s pictures out there.

Have a great weekend!