Category: pictures

Busy Busy

I haven’t posted in a while because we’ve been very busy over the last month. What have I been doing instead of writing blog posts?

This past weekend was SuburbanUncle’s wedding in Boston. There was a lot of planning and, as best man, I had to write a speech to deliver to 180 people.

I also published another article as a Pull-Ups Potty Training Expert.

We went to a couple of fall festivals. Thing 1 and Thing 2 love going down the hay slides. The bigger and faster the better.

Hay Slide

Fall Festival

Thing 3 also likes the hay slide.? But he does *not* like to wait in line to get to the slide.? So, he throws a tantrum in the line.? When he gets really mad he also kicks off his shoe, which you can see here when we come down the slide.? He cries the entire time we’re waiting in line, then turns to laughter as we go down the slide, then immediately wants to go again, then throws another tantrum when we have to wait in line.? Yes, it’s a lot of fun for me.? You should come with us some time.

On the slide with no shoe

Besides fall festivals, Thing 1 started kindergarten and had his first visit from the tooth fairy.? The going rate for a lost tooth seems to be $5, at least for the first one.

As you can see, a lot going on around here so blog posts have been sparse.? I did try to write one from my iPhone but the WordPress plugin isn’t working anymore.? With Halloween coming up, I’m sure to get lots of good material to write about here.? Before you head out trick or treating, you may want to look at this story again from last Halloween.

Comfort Object of the Month

Comfort objects are a curious stage. For a while it was a monkey stuffed animal, then a duck. I can understand being attached to those nice cuddly objects.

The last few weeks Thing 3 has become attached to a flashlight. He carries it around the house, takes it to school, keeps it with him when he eats, and takes it to bed.

Yes, the batteries will run out soon. Yes, this will cause Thing 3 to have a tantrum. No, I’m not going to keep putting in new batteries if he leaves it turned on 24/7.

Is This Fun?

What does a 5 year old consider to be fun? Sure, there are the typical activities you’d expect – tee ball, board games, puzzles – that Thing 1 enjoys.

But there is another one you probably wouldn’t guess. He likes to write numbers on a piece of paper. He starts with 1, 2, 3 and continues until there is no more room on the paper. It’s a game to see how high he can get.

numbers

In this one he counted by two’s and got to 417. Sometimes he’ll go by three’s or fives. If he doesn’t have time to finish he’ll save it and pick up where he left off.

He’ll also flip the page over and continue writing numbers. Here is the back of the one from above.? Final tally on this one was 669. Not what you would have guessed but he really likes it and has been doing it for years.

numbers1

Jonas Brothers Live In Person

I had a company picnic this week.? There were the usual kids activities – face painting, balloon animals, ice cream – and the featured attraction was a softball game where the company “all stars” played against a visiting team with “special guests”.? Turns out the guests were the the Jonas Brothers.

It was pretty cool even though I don’t have a clue about the Jonas Brothers, other than I’ve seen them on the Today show and know they are very popular with young girls.? I have three boys.? They care more about important stuff.? Like who gets the bigger balloon sword.? More on that later.

As I was walking out the building to pick up Thing 1 and Thing 2 for the picnic, I saw the entourage of SUV’s that was the Jonas Brothers.? I managed to snap these up close pictures with my iPhone.

Jonas brothers getting out of car
Jonas brothers getting out of car

Jonas Brothers play softball

Back to the balloon swords.? We waited in line, in the hot sun, for 45 minutes because Thing 2 really really wanted a balloon sword.? About 5 minutes later, all 4 swords were popped.? What a great use of time at a company picnic.

balloons

Reston Festival

We went to the Reston Festival this weekend. We got there before it opened, which was good for beating the crowds. But many of the rides weren’t ready yet and the Things grew restless.

By far the best ride/game was this giant inflatable slide. Kids had to climb through a series of levels (not easy) and then there was a big slide at the top. We saw lots of kids try but not make it, and they had to do the “climb of shame” while dozens of kids in line watched them.

I’m happy to say both Thing 1 and Thing 2 made it to the top. Thing 1 easily. Thing 2 struggled around level 3, cried a bit, but was motivated by his brother. What a proud moment for SuburbanDaddy.