Summer "Bucket" List

In the spirit of the first day of summer, I am sharing our summer bucket list.  Some of the items are a little vague, but we had a good time coming up with the list and creating the actual document.  Our version is modeled after this one (and actually it seems I took a few of her list items, too!), but instead of a canvas ours is a piece of cardboard that came packaged with a new mattress protector.  And I'm not a designer, so our isn't quite as cute.  But the point is we have a list of fun things to do to check off!


Summer Fun List
Be Silly
Find a new park
Visit Zoombezi Bay
Pack a picnic
Blow bubbles
Make a new friend
Pick berries
Play happy things
Ride a train
Splash in fountains

(Items in italics are Milo's suggestions)
(We've already checked off two items)

Water

Over Popsicles in the backyard one evening before bed a few weeks ago, Milo and I had the most amazing conversation.  The amazing part wasn't so much the content, but the give and take of actual ideas and facts.  We were talking about water - where it comes from, how it gets places, what we do with it.  After each tidbit of information I would add to the conversation, he would solemnly nod and say "that's right" and then contribute more information.  Water: it brings us together and causes us to reflect.

Reflecting back on our talk, I realized most of our facts came from this book which we had checked out of the library last year and read many times.  It must have made an impression. 

Barefoot child in the rain

With summer in full swing, we have already had many chances to explore the properties of water.  The water we use to give the garden a drink comes from either the house, the rain barrel or our backyard pump.  We play in several different fountains around town where the water shoots in inviting arcs.  Sometimes we even play barefoot in the front yard as water drops fall of out the sky.  Water: so fun, so basic and so precious.

Today Milo had a rough day.  In the span of 15 minutes at the park he fell and hit his head on the sidewalk and then a buddy bit him hard on his cheek.  It was difficult for me to see my sweet little guy so sad and hurt.  So this afternoon, the four of us visited a neighborhood ravine and splashed in the water together.  The now exuberant three-year-old was happily shouting "I'm hunting for minnows" as we explored the area.  And at the end of our night, his little hand found mine and he whispered "Mommy I like having water adventures with you" and my heart melted into a puddle of love right there on the banks of the ravine. Water: so healing.

Leo - 5 Months

Although we think Leo is more serious in nature, he still has the most amazing baby giggles.  Differences in height / space are sure to get the most laughs from him.  For some reason he finds it super funny to watch someone walk down the stairs.  If Milo is the one walking down, bonus laughs erupt.  Leo also likes playing airplane games on my knees and enjoys giving me an arm workout while I sing and lift him over my head during the Noble Duke of York song.

Speaking of workout, Leo is officially a worn baby.  While he will mostly be content in the carseat carrier on walks, he much prefers to be worn in the Boba and close to either me or Chris.  This is way easier than holding him, but it is still a workout carting around 16 extra pounds.

Leo likes tummy time while we play with him.  He only very rarely will roll from tummy to back and we have only seen him roll from back to tummy once.  However, he can cover some distance schooching along the floor on his back (he arches his back and presses his feet into the floor).  We sometimes find him stuck in a corner of his crib from all his moving around.  Favorite toys are a Very Hungry Caterpillar, floppy bunny and Captain Calamari.

Our little(ist) buddy slept through the night from about 8 weeks through 18 weeks and now mostly wakes to eat once per night.  Those were a nice 10 weeks of uninterrupted sleep, but it does seem he likes the nighttime nursing because he has started getting very distracted eating throughout the day.  


Leo has shy little smiles for people as we go about our day.   He is less gregarious than his brother was as a baby.  For this reason, I feel so lucky that I get the majority of his smiles, laughs and coos.  He's not giving out the baby cuteness for free, but when it comes it is so so sweet.

Lighting Up

This having boys thing can be weird.  Milo, after a few months of struggle, is now proficient at using the potty.  He can totally do it, but in this warmer weather, he has found peeing in the backyard to be just about the best thing ever.  Ugh.

Today it was time to buy new shoes for Milo.  His blue Crocs from last year are maybe getting a smidgen tight and have definitely seen better days.  At the shoe store, where he refused to have his feet measured, we picked out a pair of light up, white, Star Wars tennis shoes.  By adult standards they are hideous.  By a three-year-old boy standards they are the best things ever.  The shoes not only light up, but make him taller and runner faster too.  He wanted to sleep with them tonight.

Leo - 4 Months

This 15 pound, 25 inch little man is a joy to be around.  Unless he is super tired and then he's just cranky until bedtime.  For the most part though, he is a symphony of giggles and baby gurgles.  His smile is bright and big.  Leo has also started sucking on his thumb or sometimes his pinky.  He will take a binky just as he is falling asleep, but tends to spit it out the rest of the time.

Leo rocks tummy time and it is clear he would really like to move forward.  For the time being though, he just scoots backwards and turns (both from the tummy position and from his back).  Lately, he has preferred being on the floor rather than his bouncer.  He still likes to be worn and has graduated to the soft carrier (Boba) rather than the Moby Wrap.

While certainly a mommy's boy (he tried and refused a bottle once this month), he also loves to hang out with Daddy and watch Milo.   He makes the perfect addition to our family.

Up in the Air

For his birthday, Milo was gifted a beautiful and easy to fly kite. He had it up in the air for about 15 minutes of unadulterated joy and pride. And then he flew straight into a tree. Chris tried to get it down, but it was very high up and quite stuck. We had to leave the kite there and take home the crying boy who insisted the birds could help us get it down.

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Milo's favorite game to play these days is Mama bird / Baby bird. We play for at least an hour each day. Truthfully this game - where we pile all the blankets and pillows of our bed into a nest and fly around getting worms for one another - is mind numbingly dull. Still, I can tell he is working through a lot of things while we play this game. He gets the chance to be the adored baby again. We practice leaving one another and coming back. Until these topics - which are so trying to him right now - don't feel so up in the air, we will play Mama bird / Baby bird.

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I've been singing Three Little Birds to Milo since before he was born. On good days, but more usually on bad days, we sing the birdie song and lift our voices up in the air. After all that singing, he now sings it back to me. In the car the other day, I heard his sweet little voice singing about greeting the morning sun and promising me every little thing was going to be all right. Leo babbled right along and even tapped his musical bugs as accompaniment.

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There is a waxy leafed flowering shrub in our backyard. The slight drooping of the branches makes the perfect little hideout for a three-year-old. One day when Milo shook a branch we suddenly saw dozens of moths and butterflies fly up in the air. Just because we don't see something at first glance doesn't mean it isn't there.

Leo - Three Months

We have officially bypassed the "fourth trimester" and Leo is now 13 weeks old! He is no longer a newborn and is how an actual smiling, giggly, lovable baby boy. Just this week, he has been rocking tummy time and does a great job at holding his head up. And just yesterday he rolled over from front to back for the first time! We were so proud.

He's still a cuddle bug and clearly lets us know when he wants to be held. When we are out and about, he is usually held tight against me in the Moby wrap. He loves it! When he sees me tieing the wrap, he gets a huge smile on his face. For the most part, he's a content and happy baby. He's at his most fussy when he is super tired and just wants helped to sleep already.

Leo loves his big brother and I often notice him watching Milo as Milo goes about his day. Leo is also a big fan of me - I have the Mommy milk after all. He also smiles a lot at Chris and particularly likes to talk to him during dinner (if Leo isn't napping, we put him in his high chair at the table so he can be part of family dinners).

During diaper changes and first thing in the morning, Leo is constantly babbling. I forgot how much I love those baby noises. And the smiles, oh the smiles, this little Leo boy has are just amazing.