Thomas the Tank Engine

What a special treat we had this weekend!

We saw this event online over the summer and thought it would be a fun outing.  We hesitated, thinking Oliver might enjoy it more in a year or so.  Boy, are we glad we went as a family.  Oliver's enthusiasm when he saw Thomas was priceless.  His little body was overtaken with excitement as he jumped up and down shouting and running to get a closer look at the big Thomas engine.

And Aiden had so much fun too! He was consumed with the train ride.  We sat in cars with windows open and Aiden loved sticking his head out enough to feel the breeze.

The whole event was more like a mini-festival.  They had a rock-climbing wall, pictures with Thomas and Sir Topham Hatt, an imagination station (arts and craft), a mini-golf station, storytelling, and a gift shop with any Thomas thing you could want.

And a surprise to us, was the Thomas engine's face is created to talk.  So, before he pulls away from the station, he says a few words.  The kids were mesmerized (and some of the parents were too!).

What an eventful day!

Painting

We've been painting recently, as Oliver has so much paint leftover from his construction birthday party.  Both boys LOVE to paint, glue, cut, whatever...

While painting, I ran to grab my camera because I noticed how different their little personalities are, even just in the way they express themselves in paint.

All the colors mixed, on his hands, elbows, face.

 Each color, still separate.  No paint on arms/elbows.

I love how unique each of our boys is!

First Day of School

Who doesn't love first day of school pictures?!

Oliver looks SO much bigger than he did last year.

This year has already been a struggle getting him to LEAVE preschool at the end of the morning (T/Th).  He has already had music and movement class, chapel, arts and crafts, and a lot of outdoor play time. We are thrilled he is enjoying it so much.  

Museum Field Trip

The only museums we have visited have been children's museums.  So, today, we had a fun outing with friends.  First, we rode the bus (a fun trip in and of itself).  Oliver really wanted to sit by his friends and show them how not to fall when the bus was moving.

Then, we visited the Blanton Museum's free summer storytime.  Our tour guide was thoroughly engaging, asking multiple questions of the kids and what they saw in the piece of art.  She was teaching them how to engage with art, in a way.  We walked to a piece of art, talked about it, then read a book that corresponded with that piece of art.  Even though Oliver was on the younger end of the suggested age spectrum (3-7), he was thoroughly entertained and focused (He loves books in general.), so it was a perfect adventure!

After the storytime, we were free to explore the museum.  The kids' favorite exhibit was probably this one:

It is literally a sea of pennies (600,000 to be exact).  And above, hangs 2,000 bones.  Oliver simply enjoyed playing in the pennies.

Increased Verbal Communication for Aiden

Aiden is talking more and more!  We traveled to Virginia, another week passed, and I started to notice a marked difference in his efforts at communicating verbally.

Expressed words include, up, more, please (mainly sign language only), truck, dump truck, dog, hot, plane, bye-bye, hi, help, no, hush (thanks to "Goodnight Moon"), Oliver, Mommy, Daddy, kitty kitty, and several more.  And of course, vrooooommmm is heard regularly all over the house.  He also makes the "eeeeeerrrrrrrrrr" sound as he pretends to blend things (yes, we still drink smoothies often!).

Opposite from Oliver, Aiden is not fearful of the loud noises various machines make, including my hair dryer.  He likes to carry it around and make his own vvvvvvuuuuhhhh sound.  One morning, I had finished using it and put it up.  He fussed and I asked him what he needed.  He rubbed the top of his head, pointed up, then did the sign for please.  He was telling me he wanted to play with the hair dryer.  He certainly communicates boldly in whatever way he knows how!