Guess Who's Four Years Old? LittleBear!!!!

Oh my goodness, I could hardly type that title...my little baby boy is four years old.  *SIGH*  I'll tell you what though, he is an amazing little guy and my favorite four year old LittleBear ever.  He loves helping Mommy and just this afternoon at lunch told me that LadyBear is his most favorite person in the whole world (I melted...).  Like any and all of us, he's still learning about self-control, obedience and things like that, but he is such a sweet little guy and truly a great little guy to share my day with.

Happy birthday, LittleBear!!!

 The last few months, I've been asking him what he wanted to do to celebrate his birthday and his answer was always the same...go back to tour the fire station.  At first he wanted to go back to our beloved #8 Fire Station, but then he decided he wanted to finish the tour that got cut short at the #1 station, so that's where we ended up.

 
It's hard to sum up our time there because we saw SO much in an hour!  The #1 Station is the biggest, newest station in town and was most impressive to see.  I lost count at exactly how many trucks/vehicles they had, but I think the list includes the pumper truck, hook & ladder truck, another ladder truck, a rescue squad truck, and a pickup with boat.  The firefighters showed us the ins and outs of each one and let the kids explore and ask any questions.  

 

One of the neatest parts of the tour was when they had a firefighter meet all the kids as they would normally see him.  Then he put on each piece of his gear, one at a time, until he was a fully dressed firefighter ready to fight a fire with no skin showing.  All the kids got to high five him and mom got her group shot of most of the kids together (thanks to several friends who were taking pictures!).

The firefighters were wonderful!!  We are so thankful we got to invade their station for an hour and learn so much about what their jobs are and how they do them.  We sang happy birthday with the firefighters, toured the station, got to explore all their trucks (they had so many!), see the lights, hear the sirens and see all the tools and equipment firefighters use to get their jobs done.  They even had dispatch call the station and wish LittleBear a happy birthday!  He loved it!   The kids were all given hats and some other fun fire safety related goodies and I think everyone really enjoyed their time there.

Even the younger ones seemed to be learning, despite the tour happening in the middle of nap-time.

We then came home and enjoyed an amazing cake/cupcakes made by a great friend.  It was a great day and we all had so much fun celebrating LittleBear!!!

Thank you, thank you, thank you again to the Waco Fire Department for making my son's birthday extra special...again!!

Guess Who's Nine Months Old? LadyBear!!!

Friday, LadyBear officially hit the nine month mark, which means we have had her "on the outside" for longer than we knew she was coming.  She has been an absolute delight and we are so blessed to have her in our family.   

This month was a milestone month for her in many ways in that she acquired her first three teeth (two on the bottom and one just broke through on the top) and she learned how to crawl.  She still likes to cruise around her in walker, but she's also really fast on the ground crawling army-style. 

Giggly little girl

She loves to be tickled, have songs sung to her and enjoys being wherever her people are. 

She eats really well and still likes most any kind of food.  She does get upset if everyone is eating and she is not.  Otherwise, she's pretty happy, unless she has a valid reason not to be. 

Here's a video of her in action:


We love you, LadyBear!!!!

LittleBear Started T-Ball!!!

Last night was LittleBear's first ever t-ball practice and boy, was he excited.  We chose the particular program we did because it has a reputation for being laid-back, fun and non-competitive.  We did not originally realize they practice two days a week, and games start in July, but I think it will work out ok.  I think only two of the boys and girls on his team (of 4 & 5 yr olds) has ever played on a team before, so it's a great way to introduce him to team sports.

getting some pointers from Daddy...

They asked the parents to get involved and obviously I deferred to the baseball expert in our family.  

They practiced catching...

fielding ground balls...

and throwing overhanded...

and ran to each base as a team plus a few younger siblings.  LittleBear felt the need to fall down at each one...sliding?

LadyBear and I found a nice shady spot, spread out a blanket and watched Daddy and LittleBear practice together, while chatting with a few of the other moms.  We're looking forward to next practice!

Hey Mom, when is it my turn?

Summer Bucket List: Picnic in the Park!

For a while now, LittleBear has been asking when we were going to have a picnic in the park.  We thought today was as good a day as any, and it was!  We had a great time eating lunch and playing :)

 "running the lines" with Daddy (there were lines painted on a track)

 Still enjoying her meal

 This playground is fire station themed!

 LadyBear's first time in a swing!!

 

LadyBear loved it even more when LittleBear came to help!

 LittleBear loved the splashpad!

 

 "Mommy, look how wet I am!"

The view from our picnic blanket...Momma sees a swan

LadyBear's reaction to the swing when LittleBear came to help push her (listen for the laughs):