Bonus Grandparent Visit and Bradley Starts Preschool

My parents came out to visit again in August. Originally they were supposed to be helping me out while Nathan went on a work trip but then his work trip was pushed back a couple weeks and they came anyway. These kids are quite the draw these days and we somehow hadn't managed to go swimming with them when they visited in June! We remedied that error and did a lot of other fun stuff too.

Lots of reading time, a favorite activity for all

And Patrick on the swings is just a delight to behold

I call this next one: Grandpa has a heart attack. Eleanor is quite the climber these days.

No trip is complete without a horsie ride or two

Lucky Grandpa!

We went to a new sporting goods store called Scheels and had a blast one stormy afternoon.

The kids rode a ferris wheel for the first time and while they seemed excited about it at the time Eleanor started to request to get down about halfway through her second ride on the thing and Bradley has stated that he doesn't need to go on it again either. It is REALLY high when you're at the top, I'm surprised they did as well as they did. Especially little Eleanor who is very fortunate that she's a tall two year old because she exactly made the minimum height requirement of 36 inches. She's probably grown a little bit since her birthday two months ago but even so, they say the general rule of thumb is that the adult height of a person will be double whatever they are at two. So she should be close to six feet tall ... lucky girl!

We also thoroughly enjoyed mini bowling. Not as relaxing as one might think with two excited children trying to throw balls down the lane simultaneously.

But FUDGE may have been the big winner of the trip. Notice where Bradley's hand is in this picture ...

And we got to do some touch screen duckhunter on the way out. What a great time.

My parents also got to be here for Patrick's first time trying out solid foods. Bradley and Eleanor both took to solid foods immediately and Patrick is a fatty fat baby so I was pretty confident starting out. Turns out just because you're round doesn't mean you can't be picky.

No one ever hated peaches so much

 Patrick has gotten marginally better since our first few tries with the solids.

He'll eat a few bites but that doesn't mean he has to like it.

Mommy ... really??

The boy doesn't understand why we're so determined to get him to eat anything besides delicious Mommy milk. The boy has started waking up three times each night to nurse and Mommy thinks it's time to supplement a little. 

Foods that Patrick has tried and hated: applesauce, pearsauce, peach, sweet potato, and a tiny smidge of a muffin

Foods that Patrick has tried and liked: he happily gnawed on the side of a pork chop leftover from lunch and he just ate a bunch of little pieces of chicken during dinner. We might have a carnivore on our hands.

We were all sad to see grandparents leave, especially since Bradley has an adorable habit of begging people not to leave him when they have to go. This pulls on a grandparent's heartstrings.

Reading together on the last morning of the trip

Group photo

Grandparents tire people out

But we were busy and full of exciting activities the next week when Bradley started preschool at our church! Our babysitter's mother is Bradley's teacher and he adores her. Although he was less than enthused when I was trying to get a first day of school picture out of him before driving to school.

Once we got there he was so excited about what was going on we could barely get him to say goodbye. The only risk for tears at preschool is Eleanor when we make her leave.

When I picked Bradley up from preschool the only info I could get out of him was that he played with rhino, zebra, and hippo toys. The next day he told me he could criss cross his legs so I figured out he learned out how to cross his legs and this last day of school he informed me that he played with a blue ball. You learn all the important things from Bradley.

We have a pretty good time at home while Bradley is gone, I'm going to make sure that Eleanor and I get to do fun solo activities while Patrick is napping and it's just the two of us. Like baking!

And taking care of baby Patrick when he wakes up!

And playing superheroes with her new Wonder Woman costume.

Cute Eleanor smiles

The princess enjoys her new scooter

There's no shortage of fun things to do with these sweet kids.

So tired

Fashion adventure. She's my little Who in Whoville with this hair.

I've started taking Patrick and Eleanor for a mini park outing before getting Bradley. No such thing as too much park!

Yummy new ice cream Legos.

Spyglass block

Although things do get a little more exciting when you add Bradley back into the mix.

There's generally an excited gleam in Patrick's eyes when Bradley is around.

Buddies

I call this one: "Learning at the Feet of the Master"

I do try to keep things active but mellow at times. Turns out all you have to do is put your child in a box or a bucket and toss a few toys in! They LOVE it.

Beads are as close as I've been able to get us to art. Except we think it's silly when Mommy tries to place them on a string and eventually the game turns into "accidentally" dropping them on the floor and picking them up.

Group activity. So many cute kiddos!

Play doh remains a favorite but in a kind of smashing and growling kind of way. 

Nathan has had a few work trips so I've been trying to keep us busy in the evenings. Watching shows is not an option when I need a break because I've trained these guys to expect a certain amount of activity during the day and if they don't get it bedtime becomes much more difficult. 

Trains! Have I mentioned how much we enjoy Scheels? 

But nothing is quite as good as when Daddy gets home.

Here is Patrick working on his tummy roll and laughing at fun Daddy.

And a rare picture of me with all the kids! To quote a favorite show, The Goldbergs: "I made you with my BODY!" So many sweet little persons I have birthed. No one is embarrassed to be around Mommy yet, I know I'll look back on this phase fondly someday. A day when I have had a full night's sleep and don't remember how cute yet tiring this currently is. Patrick really needs to get on board with solid food.