A mom usually has two places in the house that she can have time to herself; the shower and the toilet. That is if she locks the door. Samuel loves to follow me around. Whenever I go into the bathroom he just cries and cries, reaches for the knob, bangs on the door and cries some more.
Yesterday I went into the bathroom and Samuel cried, reached for the door knob and he turned the handle and opened the door! I smiled big and said excitedly, “Samuel! You opened the door!” He smiled big too, and shut it, then opened it about 5 times, giggling every time. He was so pleased with himself!
This was a lot better of a 1st time opening a door than Anthony’s experience. The 1st time Anthony had learned how to open a door was when I lay down to take a quick cat nap (think I was pregnant with Benjamin). Anthony had been playing in his room so I figured he would be fine for 1/2 hour. Not too much later after closing my eyes (it seemed) I heard my doorbell ring. A neighbor that lives next to our church (just a block away) had heard him in her front yard looking and talking at her flowers. It was fortunate his guardian angel(s) didn’t let him get too far! To this day my neighbor (who is now my Visiting Teacher) said, “He just seemed so happy to be outside enjoying life!”
That’s my Anthony and Samuel – they LOVE to be outside.
Time to get those child-proof door knob locks back on.
Samuel playing in the water fountainsSamuel and Benjamin practice drivingand practice boatingJulles and James ridingLaReita, cousin Jessica, aunt Julles prepare to swing from the skiesThe apparatusSwinging by the moonSwinging in the darkJessica, Julles and Benjamin battle it outFireworks show
James, Benjamin and mom participate in the bunny-hopThe worlds’ longest bunny-hop attempt in Delta, UT in 2007Post hopMissing man formation fly-overAir refueler fly-overGathering candy during the paradeJames shows off his effortsSamuel samples some
James and Samuel pumping waterAnthony and Samuel playing in the waterJames learns how to ring out the washAnthony’s turnBenjamin’s turnPlaying in the sand
Anthony, Samuel, BenjaminMom, Samuel and Sachmo (Meika’s dog)Benjamin (needs a bath)Anthony relaxingCousin Jessica B (Skittles diet)Anthony, James, JullesMeika (Julles’ friend)Sachmo (Meika’s dog) and Ruxpin (Julles dog)Benjamin and mom
Rub a dub-dub, three boys in a tub – after decorating themselves with markers (June 2nd)Anthony’s primary class (? Maciel, Anthony, Bryson E, Stockton M – June 3rd)Samuel grinning after a good meal (June 11th)Mom discovers Samuel “reading” a book (June 14th)James and friend in a community playJames and fellow officer (June 15th)James and Meika – piano recital (June 16th)Samuel, Benjamin, Anthony, James – future computer nerds (June 23rd)That must have been a goooood, ice-cream (June 26th)No, Benjamin, I don’t think he wants to share
For these next 2 weeks the boys are doing the Youth Arts Festival. Anthony and Benjamin are doing KinderArts M-F. Benjamin is so excited about it and asks in the morning, “Mom, when can I go to my class?!?” Anthony likes it too. He’s really getting good with the art stuff. Their art teacher is one of the Kindergarten teachers at Larsen that I’m hoping Anthony will get next year. So hopefully she’ll see what a smart and creative kid he is and want to have him in her class!
I wanted to get James signed up for an art class too, since that is his favorite subject in school (next to recess of course). But the class I wanted him in filled up within 1 hour! So in place of that he is doing a Fiddling Class (on cello). It wasn’t very organized on Monday. We didn’t go to it today because Samuel was taking a nap after a nasty fall. Tomorrow I’m going to stay with him to hopefully make it more fun for him.
Then after the Fiddling Class is over he does the “Youth Theater” for 2 hours. The director put him on a part with a few other kids that their lines are singing parts. He was disappointed that he didn’t get a bigger part – Like the main character. I smiled and told him that when you first start acting, everyone starts small. He was also a bit disappointed that his lines were singing lines, and not spoken lines. He was trying to show me how long the song was they have to learn. It’s only the 2nd day and he was complaining that the other kids aren’t learning the song fast enough. 🙂
Jennie, you’ll have to talk to James about acting and theater stuff when you come and do his cello lessons. I keep asking, and he still says he wants to do cello. I’m not pushing, just checking if that’s what he really wants to do. I keep telling him he doesn’t have to do it – but he says he want to. So I guess we’ll have him do it. But I’m not going to be his teacher. It just doesn’t work!
I just love the summer time with all the fun different activities there are for the kids to do! The rest of the afternoon was spent playing in the water and mud. I changed Ben’s and Aysha’s outfits 4 times (seriously). Samuel’s 3 times. Anthony twice. James kept himself dry thankfully.
Oh, and Samuel has learned how to crawl up the slide. He just can’t figure out how to get back down. Smart kid. He is saying “mom” sometimes now. “Da” he has mastered along with the sign for it. He sometimes does the “milk” sign. He knows what they all are. He just doesn’t do them…a little obstinate like Anthony was at that age. (Though not as bad.)
