Playdate with Nana

Today we made a trip to visit Nana at her new place!  I have been wanting to go since she moved, but was waiting until my mom could come with us.  I like having reinforcements when taking the boys somewhere out of their norm as I never know what there might be for them to get in to.  We had such a great time and I think I have figured out where I get the desire to be the perfect hostess from.  As soon as we got there Nana had a small bag of toy horses ready for the boys to play with.   

 

I don't know how old they are and whether they are from when my dad was a little boy or from when us grandchildren were little, but apparently some toys are just classics and always enjoyable by the next generation.

 Jax has never had a toy horse before, but seemed to instantly be moving it along saying "Giddy up." 

Then Nana had platters ready with plenty of food for us and the boys.  She even had ice cream for Jax.  I am pretty sure if was the only time he sat still.  They were able to run, crawl and just played while we visited.  At one point as Jax was running circles around the table and Miles was destroying some crackers (and making a mess in the process), I just looked at Nana and laughed.  I said this pretty much sums up my daily life right now:  Jax running around like crazy and Miles eating. As a mom to three boys pretty close in age herself, and I sure she had many similar days and loved them just like I do.

Though being a Great Grandmother seems pretty awesome as well.

Water Day

Nice summer days lead to impromptu pool time.  It can be a pain to get together the swim diapers, swim trunks and rash guards, etc just to play in the baby pool.  So today the boys popped into the water in their pjs.  They didn't seem to mind at all.  

The backyard pool is a perfect place to have a little afternoon tea ...

Sunbathe in some awesome sunglasses...

And get a little bro time.

Of course, much of the pool time for me was spent making sure my boys didn't fall out.  Miles seemed to like to be half in and half out while Jax kept thinking it was fun to splash the water by jumping up and down in it. 

Best thing about enjoying the pool in your backyard: after getting done you can just strip the clothes off and leave them in the back yard to dry while you head in for nap time.   

Play Time

Afternoons are the best time of day around our house.  Jax tends to wake up ROUGH from his nap and the best thing I have found it to just get the kids out.  Doesn't necessarily matter what we are doing, we just need to be doing something.  Today after nap we headed over to the shopping center for some frozen yogurt and to play at their playground.  I love going to this one now that Miles is moving around so much because because it has a rubber mat rather than mulch so Miles and crawl all over the place and play.  

It also has water fountains which both boys love. 

Miles would have been content just standing next to the slide watching his big brother go down over and over again.  

Jax, however, seemed to just want to wrestle.

Jax is starting to become more adventurous and try more things out without needing us right next to him.  

Still a pretty cautious kid, more it is fun to see his independent side start to develop. 

It is fun just watching Miles start to discover all that is around him.  

This kid is on the move ALL THE TIME.

 

Wrestle-Mania

Lately, I have felt like I am watching WWE SmackDown every day in our house.  It is hard to teach Jax to be easy with his little brother when Miles is just as rough with him and LOVES when Jax tackles him.  

Just look at that grin.

Miles also seems to hold his own most of the time, though when Jax catches him while he is standing Miles falls pretty quickly.  I am sure it won't be long before they are pretty evenly matched.

I mean, what am I supposed to say to those faces, stop having fun?

Should make for an interesting next few years.