Superman

Rhys is very interested in super heroes these days. Tonight, right before bed, Avery helped Rhys dress up as Superman - or, as Rhys says it, "Sooserman." He wore his magician's cape, and Avery shoved a bunch of balls inside his shirt to look like muscles. Then Rhys did his best impression of a muscle man. "Grrrr!" he would yell, while he did his best to make a muscle.

Sooser-Rhys!

Take me out to the ball game!

We went to our first Express game of the season this weekend. It was overcast and not too hot, so even Griffin got to go. We sat upstairs in the shaded area, instead of on the grass where we usually sit. The kids had fun, and I'm pretty sure the highlight for them was eating ice cream out of little plastic baseball helmets. Avery and Rhys watched for a while, then spent a good portion of the game playing baseball with an imaginary ball. I'm not sure Griffin got much out of the game - he napped the whole time!

Our first Express game of the season.

Mmm, ice cream!

Griffin enjoying his first game.

Bike Parade

At our last co-op of the year, the kids had a bike parade. They brought their bikes, trikes, and scooters, and decorated them with streamers. The kids rode all around the parking lot and had a blast! The moms and babies had less fun - it was way too hot to be out in the sun!

Rhys is ready to start the parade!

And they're off!

The big kids took a big lead.

Rhys abandoned his scooter and ran!

And they all scatter!

Avery's first purchase

Avery has been saving her allowance and birthday money for ages. She never wants to spend it; she plans to save it all so she'll have lots of money when she's a grown up. She says that then it won't be a big deal that she's not making money from the restaurant she plans to open - since everything there will be free. Aaaah, my dream restaurant....

So she did finally decide to spend a little bit of the money she has socked away. She wanted a new scooter since she's outgrown her old one. We took her to Toys R Us, and she picked out a brand new Razor scooter with purple wheels. She loves zipping up and down the street on it, and she's so proud that she bought it with her own money.

Avery's new scooter

Recent Rhys-isms

Today Rhys sat down with his guitar in front of Bill and me. He picked it up and said, "How is everybody tonight? Are you ready to have some FUN?" A performer already....

Rhys said, "Thomas told Percy he was going to sing on American Idol. Percy said, 'WHAAAAAT??!!'" Keep in mind that Thomas and Percy are trains from Thomas the Tank Engine.

While watching one of his favorite tv shows, 30 Minute Meals, Rhys said, "That's Rachael Ray. She likes me. She talks to me."

Avery and Griffin (7 weeks old)

Avery and Rhys fell asleep watching Extreme Home Makeover tonight.

Finally!

After weeks and weeks of being super wiggly, Avery's front tooth finally fell out! She was so excited! She left a whole bag of stuff under her pillow for the tooth fairy. She'd been working on filling it with notes, letters, stickers, and other small trinkets ever since the tooth has been loose - so it's quite full! She's eagerly waiting to see what the tooth fairy leaves her in return....

Toothless Avery

Gymnastics - take two!

Rhys had his second try at a gymnastics class on Tuesday. This time it was a roaring success! (For those who don't know, we tried a class in September that was a total nightmare. It was pretty much one continuous, 45 minute long tantrum.) Now that he's almost three, he understands about waiting his turn and following instruction. He did so well, and he absolutely loved it!

6 weeks old!

Griffin is now six weeks old! How did that happen?! He has changed so much in the past six weeks, and he's amazingly alert and aware of what's going on. He "talks" to us a lot now and seems to enjoy being talked to. His favorite pasttime is staring at the letters that spell his name over his changing table. We think he's trying to learn to read - clearly he's a genius already!

Griffin, 6 weeks old

Co-op party!

Today we had our end of the year celebration for our homeschool co-op. We still have one meeting left, but we decided to celebrate early. We all brought fun snacks for the kids to eat, and we even took a "class" picture! We all really love our co-op - it's such a fabulous group of kids and moms.

Co-op group picture

Their true personalities!

Avery and her best friend, Sara.

Baseball boys

While we were waiting for Avery to finish rehearsing at Zach Scott, Rhys and Daddy had a good time playing baseball on the field nearby. Rhys has quite the arm!

Pitcher Rhys

Playing catch

Drama performance

Avery's Creative Drama class at Zach Scott had a performance yesterday. The kids showed us what they've done all semester. They acted out stories, danced, and did a puppet show. Avery did so well! She really loved the class and can't wait to start back up again in the fall. It was the perfect outlet for our little drama queen!

Puppet show at drama class

First smile!

Griffin smiled his first real smile today! Bill was holding him and talking to him, and Griffin gave him several big, toothless grins. It was so adorable!

Band practice

Yesterday Avery and Rhys set up a stage in the living room. Rhys got out his Tinker Toys, and he and Avery set up a "drum set" and made microphones. Avery cranked up her Dixie Chicks "Fly" CD, and the two of them jammed all afternoon.

Little drummer boy

"If I fall...."