Horsey!

Little Ben loves animals.  He always has to have a stuffed animal in his hand, especially his horsey that he sleeps with and a new little puppy dog that I found in my old stuffed animals.  So, when we headed to a new mall that had a carousel, he was entranced by the horseys going around and around.  We knew we had to take Benny on his first carousel ride. 

The whole family hopped on the ride.  Evan was a bit nervous, as he is with all rides, so he chose one of the chariots to ride in.  We picked a nice pretty horse for Ben.  As soon as the ride started, he was entranced.  He loved the horse going up and down, he loved watching the world around him spin, and I think he's definitely going to be a ride sort of guy.

Can't wait to take him on another ride!

Under the Sea

After Ian's scuba diving adventure, the boys and I were out on the porch and we noticed all of Ian's scuba gear drying.  Evan was very excited about the snorkel and wanted to play with it.  However, I knew Daddy wouldn't approve of us making a toy out of his nice equipment. 

So, we improvised.  I found some plastic pipes that became our snorkels.  Then, it sort of spiraled out of control from there.  We found every blue blanket and towel that we had and created an ocean in the living room.  We pulled out every sea creature toy we could find and spent the morning swimming, getting attacked by sharks, and playing around in the "ocean".  The boys loved it!  It reminded me how fun pretending and playing can be. 

(Ben, Evan, and the other sea creatures of the ocean)

It was fun, but boy was it exhausting!  This was Evan later on in the afternoon enjoying the peace and quiet of the ocean.

Separate Adventures

Last Saturday, I got in the car to head out somewhere and I looked around the car--it was just Benny and I.  That's right, we were only half of our little family of four.  For the first time in our family's short history we had all split up to go on separate adventures.

Gram had kindly invited Evan to head down to Charlotte for a weekend with the grandparents and a ride on the Charlotte light rail.  He was thrilled and couldn't wait to head out.  He loved every minute and I don't think he missed mommy one little bit.  He rode the train, explored Charlotte, and even enjoyed some treats at Chick-Fil-A.  It was so strange to talk to him on the phone-his little voice didn't sound like him from that distance.  I missed my little boy, but I'm so glad he had a good time and his Gram and Gramps took great care of him. 

(Gram, Gramps, and Evan enjoy their ride on he light rail.)

(Evan is clearly having a great time!)

Meanwhile, Ian was off having an adventure of his own.  Saturday, he headed down to the coast and took a boat out to sea for a little scuba diving.  He had a great time swimming with the fishies, jellyfish, sting rays, and countless other creatures. 

Ben and I were left at home.  While we missed the other boys, it was nice to have some time to spend, just the two of us.  We headed over to the NC Museum of Life and Science, one of our favorite places-only this time, we got to explore it from Benny's point of view.  He found a piece of coral in the dinosaur fossil dig and couldn't let it go.  He also loved the butterfly pavilion, especially the benches.  He had to sit on every one.

(Ben rides a dinosaur at the museum.)

(Ben and the bench)

On Sunday, we met up with Gram at the zoo-the halfway point between Durham and Charlotte-to retrieve Evan from his big adventures.  The zoo was great fun as always, but our little boys were clearly worn out when we hopped in the car to head home.  Our family all had great adventures on their own, but I'm certainly glad to have everyone back together!

 (Ben practices his walking around the zoo.)

 (The turtles-Benny's favorite)

(Evan had a great time, but I think he's tired.)

Don't Leave the Room

So, Evan and I have had the opportunity to do quite a few fun things over the past few weeks since he's given up naps.  We have a couple-hour chunk in the middle of the day when Ben is napping to do some creative, big boy activities. 

Today, since we had just been to the planetarium, we were focused on space.  So, we decided to do a watercolor painting of space.  We put on in his painting shirt and got out the watercolors.  He was doing a lovely black piece and having a great time. 

It was at that moment that I decided it would be a good idea to head upstairs to change into my swim suit for the afternoon's adventure. 

Well, when I got back downstairs it could have been worse, but there are definitely reasons not to leave a toddler downstairs with paint alone...

Beating the Heat

Nearing the end of July, the heat is really cranking up here in North Carolina.  Today we had a heat index of around 105 degrees and it's just getting started.  The next few days are only supposed to get hotter.  So, the question arises--what do you do with two small children to keep them busy and get all of their energy out when it is so hot outside.

A few days ago, we found one solution--we drug out the mini pool in the backyard again along with the water table, but this time we had a new innovation, the sprinkler pad.  Ian and I got this for Evan's birthday and this was the first time we had tried it out.  It was so much fun.  Evan and Ben are both a little intimidated by our regular sprinkler.  This was calmer and so they felt they could run though it and play with it more.  Between that and the addition of the slide to the baby pool, the boys and their friends Quinn and Jonas had a great time.

I only hope it's cool enough the rest of the week that it's at least bearable outside in the water. Keep your fingers crossed for more summer fun for the rest of this hot week!

 (All four boys play in the water.)

 (They discover the water jets.)

 (Evan must be thirsty.)

 (Ben is just having fun!)

Boys will be Boys

This summer, my boys have loved getting together with all of their buddies.  They certainly have a wild time and have their moms on their toes.  Last week, we headed out for a day of fun with Evan and Ben's buddies-Quinn, Jonas, and Nathaniel.    We started out at the splash park where everyone got wet and grubby and stayed cool.  Then, they changed into some dry clothes and went indoors to the museum next door for some cleaner play.  We finished off the morning with a lovely picnic lunch outside in the picnic shelter.  No matter where the boys were, they were always goofy and having a ball.  Everyone needed a rest at the end of the morning, especially the moms.

 

 (Evan and Nathaniel examining the fountains)

 (You really need to study these things closely.)

 

(This display in the museum takes a crowd to examine.)

 

 (All that research makes some boys hungry!)

My Three Year Old

So Evan has been three for a couple weeks now.  He's been enjoying being a big boy, and Ian and I will catch ourselves frequently repeating "Evan, you can do this, you're a big boy now, you're 3!"  And he is a big boy.  He can say anything you want him to say and will talk to anyone about anything.  He can read several small words like his name, mommy, daddy, go, and just about any car symbol that you put in front of him.  Evan absolutely loves to read and has an amazing attention span.  I don't think I've ever outlasted him in a story reading session.  His current favorite is "Don't Call Me Pruneface!"  which we checked out from the library.  He loved learning all of the names that the kids called each other in the book and repeats them to us, much to our dismay.  Gotta love three year old sense of humor!  He's also starting to enjoy movies.  He went to see Cars 2 in the theater at the beach, but I think most movies still scare him a little bit because after we'll watch one he'll really enjoy watching it but will have some bad dreams that night.  He certainly has quite the imagination.

When Evan plays, he's beginning to enjoy some imaginary play where his cars and his little plastic animals go places and do things.  He's finally starting to get into building with blocks although it frustrates him when his visions are beyond his current capabilities.  A few days ago he wanted to build a tunnel that he could fit through with the blocks.  I am happy to say that with a little help from mommy we were actually able to pull that one off!

Outside, Evan loves to ride both of his bikes-the one with pedals and his strider bike that he just pushes with his feet.  He's just starting to really run, and he'll get in moods where he just runs around in circles.  At playgrounds, swings are still popular as well as digging in the mulch and sticking things in the fence, but he's starting to enjoy the play structures a little more and will even go down a slide or two if you're not watching!

Evan definitely inherited his mother's stubborn streak.  When we want him to try a new food, it usually comes down to a battle involving a time out and lots of pouting.  I think this determination will serve him well in life though.  He's not going to let anyone push him around.  He also has a big heart.  He frequently says, "You know what mommy, I love you!"  A couple of times recently, he's noticed that I was upset and has told me that it will be okay and that I should feel better.  He also loves playing with his little brother, especially holding Ben's arms and walking him around the house.  I guess, love is a strong word, because I am often having to go break up fights where Ben has taken a toy that Evan wants and he's not too happy.  I can't wait to see what they are like together as they get bigger.

Evan went to his three year checkup a few weeks ago.  They pronounced him in excellent health.  He got to stand on the big boy scale, get his height measured standing up, have his blood pressure taken, and even get his hearing and vision checked for the first time.  He loved this part of the appointment but wasn't so fond of the shot that came at the end.  When I filled out his developmental questionnaire, I looked at the verbal skills they were asking about and could easily check off that he could do everyone of them and then some.  I didn't know about some of his fine motor skills because he never has all that much of a desire to draw, but he could draw a circle and some lines, but he still just wanted to grab that pencil in his fist.  We talked to Dr. Picken's about potty training and he said we're right on track.  Just have to get that diaper away from him when he's sitting on the potty going #2, but that's a very small thing.  He even wears big boy underpants all night long!

Our main discussion at this appointment, as always, was growth.  Fortunately for us, since our last appointment a year ago he's gained a couple pounds and grown 3.5 inches.  The doctor wanted us to go ahead and get a scan to check for delayed bone age to see if his bones thought they were younger than they were.  The test came back normal which is good, but still has me wondering if he'll get a growth spurt when he's older or not.  I just keep having to remember, as my pediatrician said when my mom was concerned about me..."you know, there are worse things in this world than being short!" 

Evan is the best little boy a mom could ask for, and I'm loving every minute with him!   Here are his traditional birthday statistics:

Height: 34.5 inches (3rd percentile)

Weight: 27.12 lbs (10th percentile)

Boys in a Boat

Over Fourth of July weekend we decided to have some outdoor fun besides fireworks.  We headed over to a nearby town, Cary, to check out a new park.  It was great!  We started off with the question that starts off all of our outings "Do they have a potty?"  Once Evan had established that, yes, there was a potty somewhere in the park, we started exploring.  We brought the stroller so Benny could ride as well as the walker for a little baby strolling.  We strolled, hiked, and explored.  Evan and Daddy discovered some great fitness station where they could practice their hanging and push up skills. 

(Evan hangs.)

 (Who will win the push up contest?)

(Benny the walker treks through the wilderness.)

It was a great hike, however, as is the way with these sorts of outings, Evan had to potty about 3/4 of the way through the mile hike, so we hurried back to the nearest restroom at the lakehouse.  It was a fortunate stop in several ways.  Evan, of course, noticed the boats.  He wanted to take a ride.  However, I didn't know if we were crazy enough to put two small children and a dog in a row boat in the middle of the lake.  However,  Ian was crazy enough.  So, we paid our money, put life jackets on, and hopped in a row boat.  Good idea?  Probably not, but oh well.  The Davis Family does like their adventures.

Daddy rowed out into the middle of the lake while I held on to all of our various charges.  The dog leash was under one foot, Evan was pretty firmly rooted to his spot in the middle of the boat, and Ben was sitting on my lap squirming with all of his might, completely dismayed about the life jacket that was confining him.  We pointed out wildlife, looked at the other boats going by, tried to drift into the shallows, and even had Evan try his hand at rowing.  After all that fun we headed back to the dock.  We were all worn out...boy it was an exciting 15 minutes!

(Daddy rows.)

(Don't we look like a happy group?  Really...everyone except Ben thought it was a lovely ride.)

After our exciting boat outing we ate a lovely picnic lunch and headed over the playground for a few minutes and got any remaining energy out!  These summer days are certainly tiring!

Fathers and Fireworks

So, one of our favorite summer time activities has been to head to downtown Durham where they have great concerts on the lawn.  They also have some baseball games, and for 4th of July they have lovely fireworks.

We headed downtown on Father's Day for some "Pops for Pops".  Even though it was a little hot, we had our picnic on the lawn, listened to some music, and watched the boys run (or crawl) like crazy.  It is always great to see Ian spending quality time with his boys.  He's a great father, and the boys look up to him and love every minute they get to spend with him--especially the wrestling.

(Daddy and his boys)

(They love their Daddy!)

(Enjoying the summer!)

(Lying on the grass at the same time about a year ago.)

Our family had also planned to head back downtown for fireworks over the fourth of July.  However, the night before, we set off some little fireworks on our driveway.  Evan was scared by the loud pops, and Ben was petrified by just the flashy lights alone.  Needless to say, we would not be seeing the fireworks by the ballpark.  However, we still had a great fourth.  Evan even gathered up enough courage to hold the sparklers by the end of the 4th.  Ben was safely watching from inside the house.

Looking forward to more summer fun!

(Smoke bombs--Evan's favorite fireworks)

 (Oh, but he likes sparklers too!)

(Ooooh...pretty)

What Else we Did at the Beach

While most of our time at the beach was spent lounging on the sand was also had some other fun.  When the sand, surf, we were still having fun.  We relaxed in the condo, ate some delicious food, and of course, when the wind got to be too much for the little guys, we retreated to the pool.  They absolutely loved the baby pools because they don't have one at their neighborhood pool at home.  While Evan liked all of the baby pools, Ben was especially partial to the one with a step because he likes nothing better than climbing in and out of anything.  So he would hang out in the pool for a few minutes then start crawling around the patio and chairs.  Evan, on the other hand, could hang out in the little baby pool all day playing shark or just swimming around.  However, there was one way to get Evan in the big pool, and that was "Claude" the big green floaty alligator.  He loved to ride Claude back and forth across the pool.

The other big excitement off of the beach was Evan's first movie in a theater.  Evan is a big fan of the movie Cars featuring Lightning McQueen.  Well, it just so happened that Cars 2 came out just as we left for the beach.  We knew we had to take Evan.  He has such a LONG attention span for books and movies, we figured he would like it, but we didn't know how he would react to the big loud theater.  Turns out, he loved every minute of it.  From the M&M's and the popcorn to the fast cars and bright colors on the screen, he was thrilled the whole time.  I was a little worried because some of the concepts in the movie were a bit scary, but fortunately, I don't think he picked up on any of the more serious concepts.  He just had a good time watching the fancy cars.  I can't wait until we can take him back and I can't wait till we can take our whole family.

What a great week at the beach!

 (Our little family in the kiddie pool)

 (Gramps and the boys have a little fun in the condo.)

 (On our dinner out, Evan decides that he's what's for dinner.)

 (Gramps and Ben watch a sunrise.)

 (Gram and Gramps show the boys around on Claude.)

 (Benny hangs out under the table at the pool.)

When you need to sleep...

We interrupt the stories of our beach trip adventures for this special report and extra dose of cuteness...

Upon our return from the beach, we decided that Ben was going to move to only one nap a day.  Hopefully this will eventually cause him to sleep a little later than the pre-dawn wake up call we have been getting from him recently.  While he's adjusted very well to his new schedule, he's occasionally had moments where he's been a bit sleepy or drowsy.

Take a look at this picture.  I've never actually seen sleep-chewing until a few seconds before these photos were snapped.  Needless to say, Benny went down for his one remaining nap a little earlier the next day...

Now back to your regularly scheduled beach trip reporting...

Sand and Surf

During our week at Litchfield Beach we spent a lot of time playing in the sand.  We would head down as soon as we could get mobilized in the morning which was normally around 9.  We would head downstairs, across the boardwalk, and into the soft sand. (Evan often had to be carried over the sand because it was too hot.)  Then, the guys would put up the tent for the day.  The beach tent was a must have for the little kids and sun wimps like me.  Whenever we wanted we could retreat into the shade, eat a snack, read a book, or hang out on the chairs. 

(The tent setup)

(A view down the beach)

(How Benny relaxes in the chair)

However, most of the time was spent out adventuring on the beach.  Evan was the naturalist.  He wanted to find every living creature on the beach and in the ocean.  The played with seaweed, dug for digger crabs and sand fleas, watched the seagulls, collected sea shells, and corralled little shrimp in a daddy-made lagoon. 

 (Look...a digger crab!)

 (...lots of digger crabs)

 (The shrimp-catching lagoon)

 (Evan and I search for crabs.)

(Caught one!)

While Gramps and Daddy loved building the castles and created some masterpieces that received accolades from passers-by, the boys really haven't gotten to the age where they appreciate that yet.  Benny was the Godzilla of sand castles, crawling up them and crushing them whenever he could get near.  Evan was a little more refined in his approach-waiting till the castle was built and then stomping or whacking it to the ground.  Don't despair Daddy and Gramps-they will be older before you know it and building the drip castles themselves.

 (Gram and Ben start digging a castle.)

 (Daddy and Evan build a wall.)

 (Gramps shows Evan and Ben how the castle building is done!)

(Gramps and Evan stand behind one of their masterpieces.)

While Evan was a naturalist on the beach, Ben was more of the adventurer.  He just wanted to crawl around and get himself as sandy as he could.  When he saw the surf, he just wanted to crawl right in.  To try to keep most of the beach from going in his mouth we brought his walker down to the beach.  However, it didn't really help.  He would keep driving the walker, first, past all of the beach bunnies so they could fawn over him, then into the hot sand where he couldn't walk or right into the waves so he could fall over and drink the ocean.  Oh Benny, what a mess you are!

 (Strutting on the beach)

 (Sand!)

 (A little beach yoga)

 (Love my sand baby)

(Rolling in it!)

The water was a bit intimidating for both boys.  At first, Evan wouldn't even touch it.  By the end of the week he would "surf" on the boogie board while someone held it in the shallows.  Both boys would stand in the surf while we held onto their hands and jumped them over the waves.  Still no boys jumping out into the ocean and swimming...yet.  And for that I'm happy.

(the waves)

 We had a great time out on the beach...the adults managed to escape to float in the waves every once and a while and I even managed to wake up early and run a little on the sand...

(Ian's shot from the balcony of me running on the beach)

Stay tuned for what else we did in South Carolina...