King of the Playground

This time of year, we have to take advantage of sunny days when we get them! Today Seleia and Elora wanted to go practice shooting some hoops, so we headed on over to the playground by our old house. Amarra basically grew up there because we used to walk there so often, but this was Dashiell's first trip. And he had so.much.fun. He went back and forth...going down the little slide by himself and the big slides with the girls, chasing the basketballs and running his heart out, swinging, climbing, running through the soccer fields while giggling maniacally. We all had a blast, but watching Dash dominate the playground with a smile from ear to ear was awesome. I know some kiddos who will sleep very well tonight!

Little Moments

Sometimes it's the little things that really warm my heart. Those moments you happen to see as you walk past a room, those conversations you hear off to the side while only half paying attention. I sometimes get caught up in the rigamarole of the day; the running around, the to-do list, the things that so easily steal my attention. Then, in the middle of doing 5 things at once, I walk by the living room and see a sleepy Dashiell, sitting on his sister's lap, snuggling up, and holding her hands as they watch a few minutes of Kipper until dinner is ready. Just a simple, sweet act of love that otherwise might go unnoticed. But it stopped me in my tracks, and as I heaved a little sigh I just had to take a picture. Because the simplest, smallest of moments...they really are the ones worth remembering. They're the ones that matter.

Dash Discovers Play Dough

Today at OMSI, Dashiell met the wonder that is play dough. After his big sis Amarra showed him the ropes he had so much fun squeezing it, mushing it, molding it, rolling it with pins, cutting it with a spatula, mushing it with a little potato masher, and using cookie cutters on it. (And he only tried to eat it once!) He played with the dough for over a half hour until I pulled it away from the table.  I think Mikey likes it.

Science Playground

While Seleia and Elora take their science classes at OMSI, Amarra, Dash and I usually head upstairs to play at the Science Playground, a space packed with sensory, motor skill and educational goodness specifically geared for kids aged 0-6. Amarra has a particular fondness for the pulley system and Dashiell, well, he loooves those bean bags! I'm just going to have to break down and make him some to play with at home. Simple pleasures, I find, are often the best, and in this case that definitely holds true! He will laugh, laugh, laugh while retrieving bean bags and placing them through slots of various shapes and sizes. Amarra, generally encouraging him from the other side of said slots, will then gather up the bean bag bounty, take them to the pulley, and deliver them back up to her brother.  Again.  And again. And them a few more times. I just get to sit back, make sure nobody (Dash) topples down the stairs, and enjoy the show. Everybody wins!

Baby Loves

I have to admit, there isn't a much better way to take time out from the hustle and bustle of the day than to snuggle with your little one. Miss Elora snapped these pictures while Dash and Mama were taking some time out, hanging out with Daddy.

More from the Beach

Okay, I am having way too much fun playing with the photo editing on my iPhone. So here are a couple of more pictures from the beach I was playing with. Dash was hilarious crawling through the sand laughing and making raspberry/motor noises as he flung sand while shooting down the beach at warp speed.  I'm having so much fun having a boy, can you tell?