it's a summer time thing

one of the greatest perks about being a teacher is having my summers free. before we had children, I cherished my mornings: sleep in, make some coffee, toast up an english muffin, and plop down on the couch for some today show and golden girls reruns on lifetime. I'm not sure how I managed to stay busy during those child-free years, but somehow my days seemed full. sorry self, if those days were considered "full" - then clearly we are overflowing nowadays.
**********
LIBRARY: miles is a total bookworm. he begs to take at least five books into his bed at night to read. it isn't unusual to find him plopped on the couch with a pile of books. this makes my heart swell with happiness because I LOVE BOOKS! I can't make it out of a garage sale or used kids store without at least a couple dozen new kids books. I try to keep the kids' toy collection widdled down to a manageable size, but we can never have too many books. it's should come as no surprise then that we frequently visit our local library to check out a slew of new books. waving to nemo (the fish) and trying out the cool toys are an added bonus.

this year miles participated in the library's summer reading program. he had to track how many minutes he read (or was read to) each day. as soon as he filled in twelve clocks, he could turn in his calendar for a prize. said prize is hanging from his back. the little pack was full of freebies. you know how I love a good freebie!

**********
THE MOVIES: in addition to books, miles is developing quite a passion for timeless cinematography. case in point = the first full length film he watched was the sound of music. ahh LOVE HIM! armed with this information, we took him to see the latest disney/pixar masterpiece, cars 2. while I'm aware that this is a far cry from the classics, we know that we are dealing with a three year old here. just as we were about to exit the theater, I caught a glimpse of the "summer kid flicks" flier. I was tickled pink when I saw that they would be showing the little mermaid the following week for just $2/ticket. our amazing (soon-to-be former...more on that another time) daycare provider, GoGo, was able to join us for the morning. I dropped the bug off with a sitter and we embarked on our city bus/movie theater adventure. this was miles' 2nd ride on the city bus in as many weeks. that's 200% more than I've ever ridden the city bus. sad. the kiddos were angels and waited patiently in the rain for our bus to come pick us up.

they sat up a little taller. looked a little more grown up. after all, they were the three year olds and you must be three to ride the bus (according to go-go).

disney movies and I go way back. I loved the little mermaid from the moment I laid my eyes on ariel, flounder, and sebastian. I belted those songs out all the way to california and back. just ask my parents. I marched up to the ticket counter and proclaimed, "two for the little mermaid please!" to which the woman replied, "we aren't showing the little mermaid this morning." oh really, because I'm pretty sure that's what's on the flier and I'm pretty sure that's the book I've been reading to my son all week in anticipation of this morning. she rambled off some excuse that included something about "the disney vault" and "I couldn't find a copy." seriously. perhaps finding a copy would be a critical step when planning and advertising your show schedule. argh. luckily, they made up for it with an adorable new disney movie, tinkerbell. if you haven't seen it, rent it. it's adorable and perfectly G. cars 2 was adorable, but clearly written for adults. can you say spies, weapons, and killing cars?  yeah, it wasn't what we expected.

the movie ended just in time for us to walk across the parking lot to grab some lunch at a local pizza joint before catching the bus back home. it was fun to watch my big boy play with his friends. he's really growing up fast.

**********
THE PARK: I should know by now that the answer to the question, "what should we do today?" will almost certainly be, "let's go to the park!" or "the powk" if you're name is henry. oh how we love the park. we love that there are at least two parks within walking distance from our house. it's not unusual for us to pack a quick picnic and set up our blanket under the comforting shade of one of the giant trees that line the park.

peanut butter & jelly is our favorite. hands down. henry even has a little dance he does while chanting, "peanut butta jelly!"

my first born is getting braver and more social. this particular day he joined in with some of the big kids. but he's still a quiet, cautious little guy at heart and, when they began squealing and screeching, he loudly proclaimed, "guys, don't get so funny!" and then ran away.

it's so interesting to witness him observing others around him and trying to figure out how to fit in. my mommy instinct kicks in and I want to facilitate this for him, but my teacher instinct tells me to be quiet. let him try it by himself. I know he's got the skills and needs to put them into action. but I'm certain that a little part of me will always see them as my babies. and I'm ok with that.

little brother knows he's funny.

we often stop half-way home to linger at the end of a lovely tree-lined dead end street. I lay in the grass and the boys run around collecting leaves and sticks.

today' mission: tickle everyone with his leaf.

he looks just like his baby pictures here. crazy.
staying true to summers past, this summer is flying by. I always wish I could do the impossible and slow the clock down. instead, I'll savor each moment a little longer. be ok that there are days we stay in our pjs all day, spend three hours playing with little people, and cuddle on couch after naps. and why not? it's a summer time thing.