Tuesday, August 27, 2013

tuesday tidbits

We had a busy weekend and we haven't slowed down yet.  Since it was such a nice day on Saturday, we decided to tackle a big project that's been hanging over our heads, Jason's garage.  I feel like we just threw stuff in there 3 years ago when we moved in because we had lots of room and lots of stuff.  Over time we acquired a boat, lots of kid toys, and lots of junk.  Everything always got shoved in and never really put away/organized.  This weekend we took most everything out and organized it all as we put it back in.  And of course, I don't have a before picture, but I do have an after!  Jason typically puts his truck up on the lift and his Miata under it.  It really looks organized then!
 
 
Jason had home communion on Sunday and Jason's mom took the kids after church so I headed home to tackle another project.  We are in the process of fixing up our front porch.  We have new porch posts on order so while I wait for them to come in, I decided to paint the porch floor.  The stain was fading and chipping and it just wasn't looking good anymore so we decided to use Deck Over.  I was really pleased with the color we chose and the way it turned out.  This was after one coat.  It looks even better after two!
 
 
MeMa took all four kids fishing BY HERSELF on Sunday afternoon.  Brave lady!

 
Since it's the last week of summer vacation, we're trying to pack it full of fun.  We met Chase and Taylor at Maymont for a walk around the park and a picnic lunch on Monday. 
 
 
Sweet girls.
 
 
Hoppin' rocks!

 
I don't have any pictures of the rest of our day, but Chase and Bryce hadn't had enough of each other yet so we met them at a friend's pool later in the day.  My kids went home with Kelly after the pool and I went grocery shopping.  By the time I picked them up after dinner, I think they had all had enough of each other! 
 
Today was a little more low key.  We ran some errands in the morning and then I took Bryce for his back to school haircut.  We have open house at his school tomorrow night and then he has his first day next Wednesday. 
 

What a handsome four and a half year old.  Bryce hit the four and a half milestone on Sunday and that was the first thing he told us when he got up that morning.  I'm so proud of the young man he is becoming.  He is so smart, kind, thoughtful and independent.  Here are some things he's up to these days.
 
We have been working on sight words and reading this summer and he is doing a fantastic job. He probably knows 25 sight words and he can read short a, i, o, and u words.  We started short e this week.
 
He loves Emmy and he's very kind to her.  Emmy does plenty of things that bother him, but he takes them all in stride.
 
He's very generous and always wants others to enjoy the things he's doing.
 
I'm pretty sure I could leave Bryce home alone all day (I would never do this) and he could take care of himself.  The most independent thing he's done recently that just cracked me up was one morning he was still downstairs after I let Macy out and come back up.  He let her in the house when she was ready and gave her the special dog food we give her in the morning.  I thought it was the cutest thing.
 
Bryce's bravery in the pool has really  improved this summer.  He was still hesitant to put his face in the water at the beginning of the summer, but now he spends his time jumping in, getting out, and jumping back in.  Now if we can work on his swimming form and how to take breaths, but I know it will come with time.
 
Bryce really loved t-ball last season so we signed him up for fall ball which will start in a few weeks.
 
I'm excited for Bryce to start a new year of school, but I'm really going to miss him.  Luckily it's only three hours, three days a week.  I'm excited for him to meet new friends and build his social skills.  He's such a shy, soft spoken kid and I jump at the opportunity for him to socialize.
 
I'm sure there are tons more things I could tell you, but at least we all stay updated with Bryce's development through my daily posts about him!

2 comments:

Silver Lining Decor said...

What sweet little ones you have! I love the deck paint/stain. We need to do some major work to our small front porch, and one of the things I've always wanted to do is to stain.

Shipley Mommy said...

Looks like a great weekend! Squeeze out every last minute of summer. Bryce's hair looks awesome, and we are looking forward to seeing you both this preschool year!