Happy 4th of July!

We didn't do anything for the 4th today.....we will tomorrow. Today the kids played outside all day and Daddy took advantage of the free day off by catching up on some home projects.

Patrick was quite helpful today. He had a really hard time understanding why he couldn't help Daddy finish staining the decks. He had to be threatened with a time-out to get him to stop picking up the paint brush and coming up with really cute reasons why he could stain. Later in the day we went to Grandpa's to help set up a tent and clean clams for tomorrow's 4th of July clambake. Patrick was very enthusiastic about cleaning clams with Daddy and Aunt Ann.

Patrick played really nicely with Elizabeth today, truly being a big brother.

On our ride home from Grandpa's Patrick was enjoying feeling the wind in the car! Notice the hair......

What a big girl!

In the first week and a half of summer break Elizabeth has all of a sudden become a little girl. It is kind of depressing, although it is really nice to have her being more independent. Since I have been home she is sitting in a big girl chair which she climbs into herself, using a spoon, has learned to do a straw and drink from a drink box, pulls down her own pants and lays down right away for a diaper change, and follows somewhat complex directions. All we need to do is get her to use words that the rest of us can understand.

I LOVE THIS PICTURE FROM THE ZOO!

Elizabeth has moved on from her highchair! It is going into the garage sale pile after a thorough cleaning. Sissy now has a booster seat in a chair at the family table. And, she has been working really hard at using a spoon all by herself. She does the best with yogurt. When she nears the bottom she very cutely tilts the container, gives me a pleading look, and says "gjkslkfjke adifnsfin MAMA shdkwo shdijig!" (the random letters represent "Sissy Talk") All this means that she wants me to load her spoon. I can't help her get it to her mouth.....she yells at me for that!

Happy Birthday Leah!

Happy 2nd Birthday Leah! Glad to see Patrick using a fork. When we were getting ready to sing Leah Happy Birthday, Patrick was showing her how to steal frosting with your finger, and tried, not sneakily enough, to just run his tongue right across the side of the cake.

If you need help opening presents, lessons if you will, please call the Louer kids. If you don't need guidance opening presents, but there are presents involved, please just step aside and accept their guidance. They will have it no other way. It is easier just to go with it rather than fight the ways of the universe.

After cake and opening presents, we all went outside to swim, run in the sprinkler and jump on the trampoline. It took Elizabeth a couple of minutes to get her footing, but after that she was bouncing like a pro!

Jump, Jump, Jump.....Think this will make up sleep tonight?!?

We were pooped at the end of the day. So much so that we missed Jazz Fest and the fireworks. That's what happens when you are having tons of fun.....and a lot of sugar!

End of the Year Picnic at Westside!

For all of you who don't know, Patrick went to Nursery School this year. He was in a two year old class two days a week. Since his birthday is after December 1, Patrick was the first to turn three in his class. Going to school was great for him. He learned so much and gained a lot of independence. He loved going and loved his teachers, Dorothy and Jackie. After school every day, Patrick was eager to tell us all about his day. Some of his favorite things to do at school were playing dinosaurs (a given), play in the "muscle room", play with the water table and sensory table, and here stories. This year he learned all about vacation, families, cooking, animals and dinosaurs, and growing plants.
On the last day of school there was a family picnic at school. It so happened that Sara couldn't watch the kids that day, so Brian took the day off. I took the afternoon off too, and we all went to the picnic together. It was soooo much fun. There were all kinds of fun things for the kids to do. It was incredible to see Patrick with his friends and have him show us all the things he does in a day at school. It also made me feel a little sad that I don't get to bring him to school everyday and learn about these things as he experiences them.
Some of the fun included running up and down the big hill with buddies. Spiderman is Patrick's buddy Reese.
Then there was the water table and the sand table to play with. Patrick and Sissy both enjoyed them. Sissy was nearly soaked to the bone at one point.Other fun activities were tunnels to crawl through, a "tattoo" parlor - with a HUGE selection of dinosaur tattoos, a ring toss and bean bag toss, bubbles, and a sing along. Oh yeah, there was a great picnic lunch too!
The sing along was great. Brian and I tried to get Patrick to sit down and sing, and he did for a moment or two, but Elizabeth stole the show. She had no fear! She stood right in the middle of the whole group. She clapped, she babble-sang, she even tried to help lead Old MacDonald! It was absolutely adorable to watch.Saying good-bye to everyone, and even school itself, was hard at the end of the picnic. Patrick summed it all up when we got in the car to leave by saying, "This was a GREAT day!"See you in the fall PAL.....

Bubbles, Bubbles, Bubbles!

Patrick and Elizabeth are really into bubbles this summer. Could be because I bought all kinds of cool bubble paraphernalia, like a giant bubble wand. These pictures are a random evening when Brian was working on grilling dinner and entertaining the kiddies.
As you can imagine, Patrick's favorite thing to do is to run after the bubbles and pop them. Sometimes he claps them, sometimes he stomps them, or just bites them.
Sissy has a different approach. She seems to enjoy the aesthetics of the bubbles, usually finding a comfy spot and watching them float by.
So far this summer we have already used up a large bottle of bubbles. Yes, Uncle John, we have managed to blow a Gadzillion bubbles. We are on to our second Gadzillion!!

Polka! Polka! Polka!

What a great night in Syracuse....we love summer festivals.

Tonight Patrick and Mommy celebrated our Slavic heritage at Polish Fest. It's the closest that we Czechs, 1/2 or 1/4, can get to a festival in our honor in Syracuse. We spent our time in Columbus Circle with Ciochi (a true Polock), Mark, Sarah Jane, and Will. The kids had a a great time running around, playing games, and getting their faces painted. Pat was a shark and Sarah a butterfly.Of course Patrick and Sarah danced the Polka!

The kids ran around the steps of some building, made friends with passing preschoolers, SCREAMED a lot, and got filthy! What more could kids ask for?!?

POPSICLES!!

Patrick recently suggested that we make Popsicles. I am really not sure where he got the idea, but we had to go with it......it is part of summer! They were absolutely delicious! We were quite creative with our "original" method and recipe. We used our favorite animal Dixie cups and popsicle sticks. Our secret recipe is to mix together vanilla yogurt and frozen fruit (we used peaches) in the blender. Pour in the cups and freeze over night. Mmm Mmm.
Patrick shared his first homemade popsicle with Sissy. She LOVED it and ended up with the whole popsickle so that Patrick could play his own version of leap frog off a chair.
I know it is a fuzzy picture. Sometimes it is hard to get in focus shot of the crazy daredevil that we call Patman.

Yum, Yum, Yum

Elizabeth is getting pretty close to totally giving up her highchair. She really does eat much better when she isn't in it. Whatever we can do to get her to eat, especially foods outside her signature bland colors, is a benefit. So, Thursday night Sissy sat in a big girl chair. Mommy's chair actually, which meant Daddy didn't sit.
The pictures speak for themselves....she is in need of some lift. But she was content to barely see over the top of her bowl, eating her tortellini. Notice she even ate it with tomato sauce......progress with Progresso! As usually Rusty was waiting to catch any scraps, spills, or food from wandering hands.
And then we can't forget about Patrick. He wanted us to take pictures of him eating like a big boy, just like Sissy eating like a big girl!

More Summer

Sissy is giving her signature 'Hi' with a wave to her good friend Leah. Sissy is a fan of the backpack, often wearing her Zoe backpack (Zoe is a character from Sesame Street) all day long.

Summer So Far

Our summer has begun. We tried to get some relief from 90+ days by swimming in Aunt Di and Uncle Dan's pool. The water was cold and the kids had little interest in being in the water. Nonetheless, we had fun, especially PAL who gained a blow up palm tree from the visit, dragged Timbo on "safari" and had his poor cousin crawling under the deck and behind fences to retrieve toys in need of "saving". Sissy had fun hitting a golf ball, laughing at the boys, and loading up on cheese and crackers.

Sissy is learning her way about the park. She likes to climb and is quite a dare devil, going down tubes slides on her belly. Her big brother wont do the tube slides.

We have already been at the park and play ground a lot this late spring and start of summer. PAL prefers "the purple park" and the "green park". He loves to hang on the bar before going down the slide.

Our Blogged Summer

Friends of ours have a blog for their little girl, so that all their family and friends can see her grow and change. I find myself checking out the blog all the time, even though I see this little girl practically everyday. So, we are going to use this as a means to let the world know about PAL and Sissy. I may keep 500+ pictures on my camera for months at a time, but I can atleast get a couple on the computer to post to the blog.

PAL and Sissy are doing great. Patrick is approaching 3 1/2 and Sissy just turned 18 months. Sissy had to have tubes put into her ears due to frequent ear infections. She came through the surgery like a champ and recovered quickly. She loves to play and is pretty much easy going. Sissy loves to dance, sometimes making up her own songs to bop to. She is very friendly, greeting almost everyone we see out and about, and then saying good-bye once they begin to leave our field of vision. PAL is definately a big brother, buggy Sissy whenever he can, but also becoming protective and caring when he needs to. Patrick is very into animals and dinosaurs, still. He and Dad just went to see Kung Fu Panda so our toy of choice has been a Panda we got from a Happy Meal. We got the Happy Meal just for the stinking toy. I think PAL drank the milk and Bri ate the cheeseburger and fries. PAL is playing baseball....he goes for an hour every Saturday and has progressed fairly well. He can hit a ball off the tee and even hit a pitched ball pretty well. However, his main concern during baseball is the slides next to the baseball field and the chocolate cone usually awaiting him after baseball. He and Bri are having fun together.

I can't wait for school to end. Pop-pop built the kids an awesome playset that the kids are already loving. Lazy days of playing in the pool and hanging in the yard will be nice.