Summer Time!

We've been enjoying summer so much...I love having this time with the kids. We've been enjoying story time at the library and at the park, playing at the park, swim lessons and taking walks. Grace has been playing outside the majority of the time. Luckily, we have accumulated a lot of nice toys for outside. Her favorites are her tricycle, swing set, water table, hula hoop, and pushing any of the strollers around. It helps me out a ton because she'll keep herself busy while I mow the lawn or work in the flowerbeds. Sambam enjoys being outside as well...he loves the grass and will sit/roll in it and of course attempt to eat it. Mowing is also a sure-fire way of getting him to take a nap. I strap him to me in the carrier and usually within the first couple of rounds he's completely out. :)

For the past couple of months Grace has been very interested in puzzles. This is one of her favorites - it's a Melissa and Doug floor puzzle. I bought several cheap-o 25 piece puzzles at Wal-Mart and those are a huge hit as well. We take them to church and those keep her busy for the majority of the time. 

Grace's choice of comforting herself is not sucking her thumb or playing with her hair...it's playing with her belly button. A bit bizarre but what can you do besides tell her to put her shirt down about 400 times a day. :)

(I'm having trouble getting the video to load but will keep attempting.)This has been a common occurrence in our house in the past few weeks. Grace will stand or sit on her stool performing for Samuel. She stands when she sings (favorites being Father Abraham and If You're Happy and You Know It) and she sits when she reads (favorites being any book that she feels she "remembers" or has memorized). It's pretty cute and Samuel usually stares at her very intently the whole time although in the video he is very aware that I am sitting there with the camera instead. :)