Night at the Pool

There was a Sunday night in June that our church rented out a pool in Ankeny and let members come to the pool for free. We hadn't been to an aquatic center so we thought it was the perfect opportunity.

You can't tell in the pictures, but it wasn't exactly 'hot' that day. In fact, I was quite cold! But Addison didn't seem to care much in the beginning.

She did good going down the baby slide that lands in the water. Again, this was our first time taking her to an aquatic center so we weren't sure how she would do. We talked that night about how we need to go more often so she likes the water. Guess what? We never went again that summer. Ha!

Her teeth were chattering but she managed a smile. She was pretty determined she needed to go do the activities for the big kids. No idea why she thought that as we know she would be scared once she got there. She refused to let go of our hands and even wanted carried most of the time. But she was pretty persistent! We are going to start swimming lessons soon, so maybe next summer she will be more adventurous in the pool!

Visit to the Dentist

We had Addison's another check-up at the dentist in June. She was in the big chair by herself, she did awesome!

Our dentist office is great with kiddos and very patient. 

It helps that they turn cartoons on the TV for Addison! Her check-up went great. No issues and she was pretty excited to pick out a toy at the end. 

Thought this was a fitting picture to end the post. One morning, Addison and I ran (literally) to Casey's to get donuts. Makes sense, right?? Our family loves their donuts. In fact, just this afternoon Addison says "Mom, we haven't gotten donuts in while, let's get donuts tonight" haha! 

Bondurant Summer Fest

Addison says "Hey Mom, look at me" Apparently it's something she learned at her new school while eating her apple. 

It was Bondurant's Summer Fest and they had a parade. So we walked up the block and waited for the parade. The term "parade" is loosely used in Bondurant. It's not much of a parade, but there are some entries that do throw candy. Addison is pretty excited about picking up candy but we have to convince her to step off the curb. Guess that's a good problem to have! 

Then next night of Summer Fest, we walked downtown to see what was going on. They have a bunch of carny rides and food booths. Funnel Cakes are my favorite and I never get them, so I told Ryan this year we were actually buying one :) We had told Addison we were getting one. She had no idea what it was, but she is pretty mad that she didn't get her own plate. We figured it would be easier to split it so we went back to the booth to get an extra plate and they wouldn't give us one! Little ridiculous but oh well.  

We finally got a half smile out of her. Once she started eating it with us, her mood improved (but doesn't a funnel cake make everyone happy??) We then walked around the carnival for a little while. Addison was completely freaked out by Cubbie Bear so we spent most of the time avoiding him - ha!

First Day at Bloom

At the beginning of June, Addison started her new school (Bloom Early Learning). I was looking forward to and dreading this day all at the same time. I never understood why moms were sad when a kid was growing up, becoming more independent, and starting new adventures. I mean, we want our kids to grow up and survive on their own someday, right?? Why is it sad when it happens? I get it now!! Starting at this center was way harder than I ever imagined...... (I'm tearing up just thinking about it now, 6 months later). 

We started on a Monday and that was the longest week ever. Each day got worse and worse. Addison was crying at drop off (which I did), saying "please don't leave me" and at night when Ryan would pick her up, she would say "I'm all done at that school, I'm going to Shannon's tomorrow". Talk about heart-breaking. On Friday that week, as we walked into school Addison had silent tears. I started crying in the classroom with her. Normally I got back to the car before the tears came, not that day! It was awful. I was heart-broken. I cried the whole way to work that day and told Ryan I couldn't do drop off anymore. 

On Wednesdays, Addison got to take her own sack lunch and they would take a walk outside and eat a picnic lunch. She was SO EXCITED. One of the hardest things for us at this new school was that we felt like we got no info. We picked her up and they would say "She had a good day!" Uh, yea right. She was crying when I dropped her off and she tells me she doesn't eat anything or drink any water. How is that a good day?! 

I was also struggling because she was the little fish in the big sea. I was worried she would get in trouble because she doesn't know the rules or she wouldn't eat anything because no one is telling her to. As an only child and going to a small daycare, she had a lot of attention before! At Shannon's we got a detailed sheet each day of what she ate and how much, when she napped and when she went potty. We got NOTHING from this new place. It was hard (and still is!). I called my mom almost every day for support. If I had any 'off' feelings about the teachers, I wouldn't have dropped her off, but I felt okay about the teachers. It took about a month before she told us that she liked her school. But it finally happened! And now, 6 months later, she does enjoy her school.....but she also looks forward to Friday and Saturday when we stay home with her :) 

This was her celebration after going down the slide by herself. 

We were watching a Nerf gun war at an event downtown. She loved running around and picking up the arrows but didn't want to give them back to the game. 

Sunday Funday

There was a Sunday in June that we met the Thraen's at the winery in Cambridge. They had a nice patio area to sit outside and the kids could run wild. We brought the red ball to play with and Caleb brought a bucket of dinosaurs. They ended up loading up the bucket rocks and then emptying the bucket. Cheap entertainment :) Oh, and they had good wine (always important). 

We had to leave the winery because the kiddos were tired so we both went home. We put Addison down for a nap and went out to the deck with a bottle of wine in an ice bucket. 

It was pretty nice out so Ryan put on his bro-tank. We had to send this picture to Jason, he introduced Ryan to the bro-tank. 

Addison woke up and we weren't ready to go inside, so we got the pool out. We got out the lawn chairs and turned on some music. In the picture on the right, she was pointing at the moon. She went through a phase (a long one) of being obsessed with moon. She would get so excited whenever she saw it.

She wanted to relax like Mom & Dad. 

Ryan needed to cool off too. Too bad I didn't get a video of him jumping in with her, it was quite humorous as he didn't realize how slippery the bottom was...... 

I assure you, neither of us sit like this in our lawn chairs! ha! 

Family photo - and yes Ryan and I have some very small classes with some clear liquid. As I said, it was Sunday Funday! Addison had grapes and chex mix :)

As I was cleaning up the yard, I walked by the basement door and saw Addison watching me. She might be laughing here but she wasn't real happy we made her go inside. 

While I was cleaning up outside, Ryan was inside making supper. Or so I thought. I came inside and found a football player in my kitchen - ha! We had gone to the ISU Athletics sale the day before and we were there towards the end of the sale so they started reducing prices. We bought some football and basketball jerseys for $25 (we were pretty proud of our buy). We bought jerseys for each of the boys for Christmas and then of course 2 for us as well. Ryan would probably argue the jersey looks better on him than hanging in the case - ha! 

Reiman Gardens

We used our Adventure Pass from the public library to get free admission to Reiman Gardens one day. Reiman Gardens typically would not be a top choice for entertainment for us, but we had free coupons and we went to Hickory Park while in Ames. So we made it worth it - ha!

Of course I needed her to take her picture next to the statue that looked like JJ :) 

Pumping water. I don't really understand the point of pumping water onto the cement, but we did it. ha! 

The theme in Reiman Gardens this summer was "games" so they had this pipe 'game'. You had to move the pieces through the pipes. Not really sure the point of the game, maybe you were supposed to race someone? Not sure but she enjoyed it.

We were at Reiman Gardens so I figured we should take some photos in front of some flowers. 

I think I forgot to mention that Addison picked out her outfit. She loved her basketball jersey and shorts. Back in the winter, she would wear her shorts over her leggings, like her cousins. It was a hot day, so she could wear the jersey as it was meant to be worn! 

She's smelling the flowers, then would crinkle her nose, back away and say "eeeewwww...... stinky...." 

Blank Park Zoo

We took a trip to the Blank Park Zoo with the Thraens and Noltings. It was good to catch up with friends, but a little harder with 4 kiddos running around :)

The kids had a blast on the playground (that's what you go to the zoo for, right?) and also the meerkat tunnels. In the picture on the left, they are checking out the giraffes from the lookout tower.

We managed to get all 4 kids to sit still for a second! Violet (1 1/2 years), Henry (4 years), Caleb (2 1/2 years) and Addison (3 years). 

Como Park - Part II

Boy these 3 sure do take good pictures! 

This one is one of my favorites of them. We were in front of the flamingo/duck exhibit at the zoo. 

We went to a diner for lunch after the zoo. They were supposed to have amazing milkshakes. They had onion rings as a side dish. We had to order them - Addison used to watch Bubble Guppies and there is an episode about birds/animals. The guppies tell each other what they have for lunch and Nonny has "onion wings". Addison cracked up - ha! 

Addison thought she could beat Parker at his hockey game. The board lights up and you need to put the puck where the light is. Addison thought she won but I'm pretty sure Parker did :)

We also got to go see Parker play baseball. It had been a really long time since we saw him play. Makena went with so her and Addison went to the park so we actually go to watch Parker play.

We left mid-morning the next day and Addison was exhausted. It was a fun weekend!