Playing in the rain

This week has been a challenging one for this mama.  Overall it's been good, I've just been feeling extra worn out lately.  I haven't been picking up the camera as frequently as I normally do, but that does not seem to equal a lack of pictures for the week.  It just means that there are a lot from the same few days/events.  

I know I've said it before, but Jayce is becoming such an amazing big brother.  He loves his sissy more than I ever imagined he would at this point in their lives together.  His favorite thing is reading with her. At bedtime he almost always asks for Ashlynn to sit next to him on the bean bag, and will occasionally get upset if she doesn't want to.  And he always gives her at least one good night kiss and "knuckles", though it is frequently more.

Speaking of "knuckles".  Justin has started the habit of having Jayce give "knuckles" to everything in Jayce's room.  They start with O (the beta fish that lives in Jayce's room), then the canvas print of one of my maternity pictures that hangs in his room, followed by every single animal decal that is on the wall mural in his room.  The process takes a few minutes, and on nights when I'm putting them to bed, it can be a challenge trying to get all the "knuckles" distributed while Ashlynn is screaming for food/attention.  Fun times.

Wednesday we went back to the Zoo.  This time we hit up the "Arizona Trail" that we didn't cover the last time we were there.  It was good timing as Jayce's interest in bird and snakes has increased.  This mama is not a fan of snakes, and took that time to feed Ashlynn while Jayce and daddy looked at all the slithering beasts that the zoo had on display.

dont' fool yourself, he's pointing to an airplane

After nap time, Jayce got to play out back with his truck.  I don't remember if I've shared it here yet, but he is always asking for "sissy" to sit next to him while he drives his truck.  While I have, on rare occasion, set her on the seat next to him, it is while the battery has been removed, or Jayce's foot is nowhere near the pedal, we usually try to substitute sissy with his dog.  So now, when he brings his truck into the backyard, he parks it next to the patio, runs inside, and grabs his dog.  The two of them then proceed to drive around the grass.  Jayce loves driving the truck up and over the paver perimeter, and getting it stuck in the rocks.

Saturday was a rare rainy day here in the valley. According to a neighbor's rain gauge, our neighborhood got close to 2 inches of rain throughout the day.  That morning was Jayce's first tumbling class at the local rec center.  It was great in that he got to be super active and burn some energy without having to deal with the rain, but he also had a blast.  It took him a bit to warm up to all the new people (adults and kids) in the room, but once he did, he loved bouncing around.  His favorite activities included jumping on the mini trampoline, crawling up and rolling down the wedge cushion, and hanging from the bar.  He's tall enough to "hang" without getting his feet off the ground, but he loved swinging and kicking his feet up like the other kids.  He did all this while making monkey noises, of course. (and yes, I'm well aware that both pics are blurry, the second one more so...have you ever tried to take a picture of a swinging kid with a phone?  not easy)

That afternoon while Ashlynn napped, Jayce and I went outside to play in the rain and splash in the puddles.  He wasn't quite sure what to make of the rain, and thought mama was crazy the first time I ran out into the rain making a fool of myself, but when I came back and took Jayce with me, he realized how fun it was.  The bit of thunder we had did scare him a little though, but not enough to stop the fun.

Today has been a lazy overcast day.  Been playing around the house most of the day, trying to keep all activities to the floor, on the kids level as my back's been bothering me quite a bit lately.  

Ashlynn is still working on her crawling.  She's great at scooting around and moving in the direction she desires, so long as she isn't on her hands and knees.  When she's up on her hands and knees, prime crawling position, the only direct she can move is backwards.  How this came to be with her, I have no idea, but the harder she tries to crawl forward, the faster she moves backwards.  Needless to say it has gotten her into some tight spots...and deep into Jayce's closet a time or two.

Wishing you all a wonderful Sunday, and a fabulous week.

Love you

-Us