The Pirate and the Pirate Princess

Might Miles and Seadog Sophia were aboard the Sea Gypsy Pirate Adventure out of Annapolis, MD. If you are in the area, and you have kids, this is a great trip! The kids got their faces painted, and dressed in pirate attire. The kids got to shoot the 'bad' pirate, Pirate Pete with water guns. They LOVED shooting the pirate with the water guns.

Sophia the mermaid.

Last year, Sophia was afraid of the diving board. However, this year, she thinks it is great. She frequented the diving board multiple times each swim session. The weather was so good that we were able to swimming multiple times a day. It was GREAT!

After swimming for 4 hours, she fell asleep after dinner at only 6:30 p.m. She slept until 6:30 the next morning. That was great for mom, dad, G.G. and grandpa Herb.

So precious.

Miles and his boat license

On Monday night, we had rented a private boat to take us out into the bay. It was a beautiful night with calm water and lots of sun. The boat owners mentioned that "someone must have been smiling on us to give us that good of a day." They were right!

If you watch the horizon, you can see how much Miles is "driving" the boat. Yes, that is the Chesapeake Bay Bridge that we are under. (I took the picture to the side and could not figure out how to turn it).

For the entire drive to Maryland, Miles continued to talk about driving a boat now that he had his boat license. The owner of the boat was great and allowed both kids to drive. He just wanted to have a great time, and we did.

Sophia even made up a paper and pencil test to show that she had passed her boat test. She is also licensed.

Miles enjoyed watching the water as we were getting ready to pass under the Chesapeake Bay Bridge.

We passed very close to the cargo ships. The kids and the big people were impressed about the size.

Miles continued to watch as we approached the bridge.

Here is the view as we pass under the bridge.

dipping

Last night, after being out on a boat, we returned home to have a quick dinner and a swim. Miles had decided he was cold, and got out. I pulled his suit off of him because it was hold so much water that it just continued to keep him even colder.

The only problem was when Miles decided he wanted to get back in the water. He ran over to the edge of the pool and wanted his dad to help him in. I threw Justin his swimsuit and Miles took it from Justin and threw it far, far from the pools edge. Justin let the boy take a quick skinny dip..... and Miles loved it.

He only stayed in for a minute, but after warming back up in the towel again, he wanted to try one more time.

I think that we will have to worry about his nude tendencies in the future. But for now, we will let 2 1/2 year old boy skinny dip.

Swimming and pool fun

Sophia is a fish in the water. She really loves the water and does NOT care if the water is too cold. She has even gone off the diving board, many, many times!


The water was not quite warm enough to be able to Miles to swim. He still chills easily, but his lips no longer turn blue. However, we had decided that he should not go swimming on Friday afternoon. We had to offer something, so he was able to put his feet into the water.


Miles and Justin placed their feet in the water, unfortunately, Miles decided to sit in the pool. Not so good, but he managed just fine with a new pair of underwear and shorts.

We slowly added more and more people to the steps, keeping our feet cool.

The sun was very bright, but we have a pretty good family picture.

a visitor in the pool.

On Thursday night, we had a visitor in the pool. In the neighborhood, a mother duck and 10 baby ducklings wondered across the yard, and into the bay. Unfortunately, the water was pretty rough and 5 little duckling were lost on the rocks, others were just lost. We found 1 swimming in our pool. We were able to locate another one just under the dock. The little duck could not get out of the pool. Roger, our host, fished out the little duck with the pool scoop and carried him down to the bay.

The Pirates have arrived.

Grandpa Herb had packed hankerchiefs for pirate headbands. The kids loved the pirate wear and they looked GREAT! The kids were SO excited. Grandpa Herb did a great job!

Here are the angry pirate faces.

And below is what pirates look like in the morning after a good breakfast!

And the trip began...

Since we were going back to the same house that we had rented the year before, we knew what we needed to take and what we could leave at home. Luckily there is a washer and dryer on site, therefore, we did not need to bring too much in the way of clothing. However, that left more room for pillows and blankets, as seen below.

We drove on Wed. day to arrive in Baltimore to stay with Kevin and Margie overnight. This allows for us to get up on Thursday and drive over the Bay bridge without too much traffic. It was a beautiful day to drive and arrive on Kent Island. Roger was there to greet us and help get us settled in for the extended vacation. Below you can see the beautiful views of our house for the next 10 days.

Why poop on the potty when.....

We are continuing to try to potty train Miles. Some days are good, some are not, but they are getting much, much better.

On Saturday night, we went out to dinner with friends. He was in underwear the whole time and did good. When we got home, I should have taken him to the potty. However, I got busy getting Sophia ready for a shower. In that time, he striped off his pants, pulled off his diaper and jumped on my bed. While actually jumping, he peed all over the bed.

At that time, I stripped the bed and got Miles into a bath. His bath was a little quicker and while I was changing the sheets, he pooped on Sophia's carpet in her room.

He came to tell me that he pooped in Sophia's room and then he told Sophia. Sophia QUICKLY got out of the shower and went to check to see where Miles pooped in her room.

Therefore, why poop in the the potty when you can poop on your sisters carpet.

My climbers

Sophia has taken to climbing the crab apple tree in the front of our house. She is now strong enough to hoist herself up to the 1st limb and then begin to climb all the way up. She prefers to climb in bare feet and will climb in p.j.'s dresses, or skirts- it does not matter. She is getting pretty good at it and we think it will help her in gymnastics class that she is starting soon.

Miles insisted on trying to climb the tree as well. He is very strong and can get his legs up by his head, but luckily for us, his legs are too short to actually get up there. I expect by the end of the summer, he will be up there and someone will have a broken arm. I will not say who.

Summer photo shoot

Somehow on Sunday, both of our kids were dressed in similar colors, clean faces, and pretty happy, so we decided to try to get some pictures. This is how the photo shoot went:

1.) A little too far apart, but happy faces

2.) Miles wondering why is Sophia SO happy, maybe he could take some pointers.

3.) boogers on the Left...

4.) Boogers on the Right (This might just be our Christmas card this year)

5.) Yes, sitting close, pretty happy. Looks like a great shot.

6.)Laying down in the grass, a very sweet picture.
I thought they turned out pretty good. If you need some pictures done, please let me know, I would love to try and take them!

2009 Heart Walk

Miles' shirt read

I am a

heart survivor

Help me raise

$12,000 for the AHA.

This is a pretty big goal for such a little guy.

I hope that you will consider donating to the AHA on behalf of Miles.

Any and all donations are greatly appreciated. No donation is too small or too large.

I have noticed that many people are not comfortable giving in large amounts when the economy or jobs are uncertain. However, please consider asking family, friends, co-workers or church members for a small donation of $1-$5 towards this great cause and large goal.

Miles could use all the help he could get to reach this lofty goal.

Right now, we are at $3,100 raised.

If you are interested in donating on-line, you can donate at my donation site: http://centralohheartwalk.kintera.org/walkmiles4miles

The Columbus Heart Walk takes place on August 22, 2009, but I am hoping to reach my goal before the walk.

Thanks for helping!

From beginning to end.

Tomorrow is Sophia's last day of Kindergarten. How in the world is she already done with Kindergarten? Tomorrow, I will have a 1st grader on my hands with a 1st grade attitude. That is something that we will continue to work on over the summer, as well as reading, math, spelling and writing. Luckily, she loves books, enjoys drawing, and still thinks that homework is fun. Even though she is the youngest in her class, she is not the smallest, only next to the smallest. I have attached pictures from her 1st day of school (where her head is just at the door knob) and the last week of school (see the difference between her height in the 2 pictures.) She is wearing the same dress, Sophia only seems to get taller, not bigger anywhere therefore all the dresses still fit.

She is so excited to be off for the summer. In fact, we will all be off for the summer. We have taken Miles out of daycare since we will traveling a lot this summer and we are putting him in a pre-school program 2 days a week next fall. It should be a fun and exciting summer. I am so excited that I am NOT packing lunch again for a few months!

Check the tag.

If something does not feel right, check the tag. This is a good reminder, especially if you are 5 1/2.

Sophia continued to pick at her underwear that was causing a wedgie after her bath tonight. I continued to ask,
"Is it too small?"
"Do you need different underwear?"

The underwear actually seemed a little baggy. They continued to bother her, so I told her to change them before bed. This is when I discovered that she had her underwear on sideways. This means that her waist was through a leg hole, one leg was in the correct spot and the other leg was through the waist ---- where the tag was sticking out. I believe this can only happen to a 5 1/2 year old because her waist is so small it actually fit through the leg hole. (I do not recommend anyone trying to see if it would work for them. )

We switched the underwear into the right position and she was much happier.

So, make sure to check the tag.

Potty training progress

I have to admit that I have been working at this potty training thing half hearted. Miles pees every time that we put him on the potty, but does not always tell us that he needs to go potty. Therefore, there can be many messes to clean up. On Tuesday, we were in Meijer and he pooped while "looking" at a new bike. This was messy AND i did not have a diaper in my purse. So, we bought some new big boy underwear, wipes and headed to the potty after checking out with our purchases. He did a great job for the rest of the day and stayed dry. I was pretty impressed. However, something in me clicked tonight. I knew that he was trying to poop. Sorry, but it is really easy to tell with him. So I told him if he pooped on the potty, I would take him out to get ice cream to celebrate. (Yes, I bribed him,) AND IT WORKED. He did a great job, pooped quickly and we were off. I must have been a little too excited, put him in more big boy underwear and 5 minutes later he also pooped in them.

None the less, we are really excited. We had to make some phone calls to g.g. (who is in Denver, CO) and grandpa herb. Hopefully this will continue down a good path. He will be starting a new pre-school program in the fall and he must be potty trained. I think he can make it

faces

Some days, the kids actually like each other and enjoy sitting together. This particular day, I actually was able to take a picture to have proof that they love each other.

Miles was wearing the hat that came along with the $12.00 cotton candy. Sophia could not stop talking about having cotton candy, so that is the only thing we spent $$ on at the circus. Miles really enjoyed the hat, Sophia enjoyed the cotton candy.

Sophia made this hair clip at school and was very proud to wear it home.

She looks ready for the beach!

I love the look in Sophia's eyes. Her energy and excited. She also is starting to get her summer freckles. I just love them!

She was posing before going to a party. Each night, she take the time to dress for dinner in new, clean clothes and makes sure that her hair is brushed and hands clean. I think that she may actually be a princess

Spring Game 2009

This year we got tickets through my work to go to the spring game. They were reserved seats, which is good so that we did not have to come out too early. It was such a beautiful day, 80 degrees and sunny. Therefore, we were off to the Shoe so Miles could see where they play football. This was the 1st time for Miles to be at the Shoe. Surprisingly, no one was burned. This may only be that Justin was wearing 85SPF. Yes, I said 85.

Miles and Dad

Miles enjoying the sites of the football players.

Sophia keeping her eyes shaded, while the sun was out SO much!

Miles sat with my friend Karen for part of the game. He can always sweet talk a new girl everywhere he is at to get what he wants, i.e. a better seat.

Red in the face

This one is for you Mr. Dawson. I hope to be able to get some pictures up soon, but Miles has been sick for a little while and there is not much sleep happening at our house.

However, before Miles was sick, we ran to Kroger to try to pick up a few things. Unlike the rest of the members of my household, I rarely fart, toot, pass gas, (whatever you want to call it). I must have farted in the vitamin isle and Miles LOUDLY started to say

MOMMY, DID YOU FART, YOU FARTED. THAT WAS A LOUD FART.

I was laughing so hard that I began to cry. Luckily, i was able to distract him with some gum and I was able to escape the vitamin isle before anything else escaped me. I do not think anyone saw me laughing or actually heard Miles, but nevertheless, I was red in the face