A Fun Summer

 What a great summer the kids are having so far! The unseasonably warm spring seems to have extended summer and we are definitely taking advantage. This summer has been so different in that both kids are walking, or running, wherever they want to go. Last summer both kids were learning how to walk so we tended to stay closer to home. We've already spent time at Deanna Rose Children's Farm, the neighborhood pool, local trails on our bikes, and the playground. It has been so much fun and exciting to see both kids really taking off physically. Henry basically runs everywhere he goes and he is getting so fast that I have to jog to keep up. Josie has developed a love for her trike and she wants to ride it all the time. She's still a little short to pedal, but it has a great handle for us to push and both kids like to go for bike rides. The kids are also really enjoying the garden this year. Josie likes to help me plant seeds and pull weeds. She learned a lot about gardening during the last few weeks of school so she has many of the signs down. This year we extended our garden areas, so we have room for potatoes, peas, tomatoes, lots of different kinds of peppers, squash, cucumbers, and a new herb garden. Henry's main focus is to eat all of my peas:) It can be eight o'clock on the morning and he wants to get in the garden and eat peas if we are in the backyard. I have yet to harvest enough to get them inside without him eating them all. Both kids have become obsessed with finding bugs in the garden, too. Josie can finger spell "ants" and Henry can sign "bugs". I don't know why, but it seems like once the kids want to see bugs I can't find any:) They both just follow me around signing "bug" endlessly until I find something interesting. I'm sure it looks funny to anyone who drives by:)

 Henry loves the bubble gun:)

We've spent some time down south visiting both sets of grandparents lately. Nana and Papa Scott moved into their new house on campus and the kids love being so close to the campus lake. Henry chases the geese every chance he gets and Josie loves walking around to visit all the gorilla statues. Last weekend there was a jazz concert outside on campus and the kids loved listening to the music and dancing, of course. It is a very cool place for kids to visit. The kids have also enjoyed Papa and Grammy Stewart's lake cabin. Henry is obsessed with the boat and says "Papa" and then signs "boat". He threw a pretty good fit this weekend when he had to wait to get on the boat. I think he would ride on it for hours if we let him. Josie is in heaven at the lake because cousin Lane lives there now, so we get to see him anytime we go down. He is so good with Josie and reads books and plays with his train sets with her. He also can transition into wrestling pretty fast when Henry is around:)

Both kids seemed to be acting older lately and we have definitely moved into the toddler phase with Henry. He hasn't had a lot to say verbally and mainly just signs, but the last week he started talking a lot. I think he is going to be a talker for sure. He has a lot to say and is becoming a goofball. He makes us laugh all the time. Josie is becoming more and more independent and as you can see from the picture below can walk up and down the stairs now. Chad put in lower stair rails in the house and to the outside doors, so that she can do it independently. She makes sure we know that she doesn't want any help:) It is good to see her wanting to be so independent. She is still learning new signs quickly and they are giving her a sense of freedom. Last weekend she told Chad "later" when he said it was time for a nap. It's been interesting explaining to her that just because she signs something doesn't necessarily mean that is what is going to happen.

Josie had a few weeks off from school before starting summer school this week. She was ready to go back and see her friends. She has a new teacher for summer and she is a little concerned about where Nancy and Robin, her regular teachers are. She is signing their names to me each morning and I feel a little bad when I have to tell her they are not going to be there today. I think she is beginning to like the new teacher and it helps that the same kids are there. She will go to school in the mornings for the rest of the month and then be off for the remainder of the summer.

We had some good news medically last week. Josie has been struggling with chronic congestion for really the last year. Our ENT suggested we have her tested for cystic fibrosis, which was something we definitely didn't want to face. We did the testing and it came back negative! We still need to find some better solutions for the congestion, but are ecstatic that it is not CF. She also had an uneventful surgery for new ear tubes. This was the first surgery that we got to go home on the same day, so that was nice. Chad took the morning off and stayed home with Henry while I took Josie to Children's Mercy. We are hoping that this is the last surgery for a long time. Josie has also begun to show more interest in eating which is exciting and scary. Chad was out of town for work part of last week and Josie chose that time to swallow and choke on play dough. I had to do the heimlich maneuver on her and fortunately it popped out. It scared me to death and we've had to warn everyone at church and school to really watch her when she is around food. It is a fine line between letting her experiment with food and being safe, without discouraging her to eat.

This weekend we are looking forward to quiet weekend at home to celebrate Father's Day! Hope everyone has a great Father's Day weekend! I'll try to update the blog sooner next time. To be honest we have just been enjoying life and I haven't been on the computer much lately. I think that is probably a good sign:)