Middle of July...

It's really hard to believe that summer is half over. I just purchased our State Fair tickets a couple days ago, which makes it seem like it's right around the corner, even if it's still over a month away. The kids have been keeping busy by running to and from neighbors' houses most days. We've been deemed "The Freezie House" as I have a huge stock of flavored ice treats in our freezer. Sometimes, neighbor kids will come over just to ask for one---not even to stay and play! I also get a lot of "Can we have a snack?" and then when I tell them no because it's too close to dinner, I hear, "Well, can Caleb and Hannah not have one but can you still give one to us?" I guess it's a good thing that we know the neighborhood kids so well now that they are like a part of the family! :)

 Connor has been trying to keep up with the big kids this summer but it's hard when he naps for most of the afternoon. His newest nap schedule has him sleeping from about 12:30-3:00 pm, and I end up sending the older kids outside during that time so they don't wake him up. He's usually a happy camper and has even been talking quite a bit more. He has been surprising me with his words and has picked up quite a few new sounds. Most of his words don't really sound like the word they are intended to be (for example: "Amen" is "Mee-mah", and he says it the same way every time so we know what he's trying to say).  However, some words come out perfectly (like "sucker" today at the grocery store or his new favorite thing to say to Hannah, "Hi, Sissy!"). Earlier today, I decided to teach him some more animal sounds after hearing him make an elephant sound unprompted when he saw an elephant on t.v. He knows what a dinosaur says, what sound a puppy makes and a monkey. He just learned how to "neigh" like a horse, and that's cute, so I thought I'd teach him how to "moo" like a cow.  I said, "Connor, a cow says 'moo'. Say 'moo'."
 "Noooo," he said and I thought he maybe got his 'm' confused with an 'n'.
 "Connor, it's 'moo'," I said again.
 "Noooo," he said. Turns out, he just wasn't in the mood to learn any more sounds so he was saying "no" to make me stop! Haha! To say that he is good at asserting his opinions would be an understatement. :)

Caleb just finished a week of "Mad Scientist" camp. He had it every morning this week and it was held at his elementary school. He made slime, putty, a volcano and a little bottle of stuff that is supposed to simulate the ocean. He's a smart cookie already but to have him come home and talk about all sorts of scientific stuff is fun to listen to. Let's just say, he knows more about the ocean and Mount Everest than I have ever been taught in my life! :)

Hannah had Vacation Bible School (VBS) two weeks ago (every morning, like Caleb's camp) and she went to her first pool party recently. I was a little nervous because it was at an inground full-sized pool, but it turns out, she's quite a cautious little lady, so that's good. (Bringing a life jacket with helped calm my nerves, but she didn't need to wear it the whole time.) Okay, I'll try to post more very soon although our days go from super busy and exciting to super boring and lazy. :)