Post overload!

I know, I know!  3 new posts in one day :) 

 I am behind, but now I'm caught up.  I hope you enjoy them!

A fun day outside!

A few days ago, LJ and I spent the entire day outside.  We woke up and biked to the playground.  Nearby, there is a gravel road, and LJ liked that more than any slide.  He ran from one side with a rock, to the other to drop it in the gutter.  After that, we went from pond to pond, looking for an alligator.  We didn't see one, but we sat down and watched some herons.  The one pictured actually took a stab at a fish, picked it up and ate it right in front of us.  I was shocked because the fish was twice as big as his head!  That night, we ate outside, and LJ had his first taste of corn on the cob...enjoy the pictures!  P.S.  He picked out his own outfit - we tend to change from one sports uniform to another here :)

mmmm...blue eyes, yellow corn :)

Here is our hungry heron - LJ actually took this picture.  When we stopped, he said, "Mom, can we sit?"  How could I say no?

Here he is on one side of the gravel road...

...back to the other to drop the rock in!

Man, I'm exhausted!

I'll just sit on the playground and drink mom's propel :)

I love the mornings - who knew?

OK, so there's a catch to this -- I love mornings here!  I wake up, and there is a family of 5 otters outside on my water hazard, (one of them a baby), a beautiful white bird, a heron and 2 black duck-like birds "fishing".  When I took Rookie out, there were 2 squirrels and a bunny.  LJ is actually sleeping well at the moment, so when Lance leaves at 7 something, these are the things I see as I wake up.  I get a kiss from him, a cup of coffee and a morning with LJ/Rookie/wildlife watching some curious George.  It's great!  Moving to downtown will be a shock, but it'll be fun to enjoy the "other side of the coin", so to speak.

I took some random pictures because these are things LJ does all the time.  He won't smile or pose for the camera, so I caught him doing things I see him do all day.  I hope you enjoy.

This is his face when he thinks about something I just said or asked.  For example, I think I asked him, "Who's your favorite character in Dora?" ...He said "Boots", of course :)  A monkey named after shoes.

As he waits for his breakfast, this is him talking to a picture of Lance.  He does this a lot, as if he's really there.  Today, as we drove up to the field, he says, "I see you, Daddy!", then as he's pitching he says, "Hey, Daddy, I brought my glove!" His dialogue with him is neverending, despite whether he's present or not :)

These are some of my wonderful "morning friends".

LJ goes and gets his bathroom stool and "pitches" to me from it, like it's his mound.

This is him talking to me.  He talks incessantly, and he's just sharing a tidbit of something, I forget what, with me here.  

The Old Ball Game :)

LJ loves to sing "Take me out to the ball game", and after he finishes singing, for a little while, he calls a baseball game, "the old ball game", (i.e. "I want to go back and watch the old ball game, mom".)  Today, we went to the ball game and watched Lance pitch. Our only time in the stands was the inning he was throwing, and the rest of the time, we were at the playground.  It is a great idea to have a playground at a ballpark!  This one is baseball-themed, (as you can see in the pictures from the other day), and he loves it.  There are always other kids around to play with, too, so LJ has a blast.

After the game, we went to the mall.  We were going to let LJ play on the playground, get a snack and maybe eat dinner at the food court.  LJ played HARD, running laps like Rookie with the other kids.  We ate dinner at the food court then headed home to play a few holes of golf.  Keep in mind it was about 6:30 p.m., and LJ was already exhausted.  We only played two, but LJ and I walked them while Lance played, so he was DONE by then.  We came home, had an icecream cone and a bath before putting him to bed.  I wonder how he'll sleep tonight.  

I hope you had a wonderful day, too!

This is him, late into playtime, exhausted and resting.

The taller kid, (around 5), organized a game with LJ and the other kid, (about 4 or 5?)  They kept repeating themselves, not understanding why LJ wasn't obeying their instructions, (he's 2, guys :) ).  Eventually, LJ understood that the game was to stand in a line and throw the ball on the count of 3 then run and get it...over and over :)

Taking a rest on the Rays spinning thing :)

Do you really want a peace of this? 

Brave boy -- standing on top of the ambulance in the mall...making me nervous :)

after all that, running after Lance in the golf cart

Poor Rookie has to stay in the cart, but at least he got to come!

A fun day at the ballpark!

We had the opportunity to enjoy a ballgame with some friends from home today.  Kenny and Angeline Burns joined us.  They own and operate the wonderful Baseball Country Camp we are so crazy about.  After the game, they came over, and we ate too much red beans and rice with graham cracker brownies.  It was yummy and fun!  Enjoy our pictures from today - it was an absolutely beautiful one!!

P.S.  LJ will not go to the ballpark unless he's in FULL uniform  - I think he really believes he just might get in the game!

Lance and LJ  after the game - Lance was actually about to take him and Kenny back to the locker room for a little visit.  That's why he's not smiling - he's ready for me to be done with the picture so he can go!

This is LJ playing on the playground.  He has his hat on backwards, so it's out of his way.  I thought it was so cute.

The playground is baseball-themed, and it's on the first-base side of the stadium.  Needless to say, we don't spend a lot of time in our seats :)

A good picture of Lance pitching :)

Angeline, Lance, LJ & Kenny

Me and LJ at the game 

Too cute!  LJ has no idea that putting his head through that little hole makes him look like a player!

The other kids are playing on the playground, LJ is playing with...the bat- what else?  :)  He LOVES, (all caps, bold) baseball!

Fishing for memories, (not a single bite!)

Here are a few pictures from our last few days.  We have been fishing (with hot dogs), kite-flying, you name it!  The weather cooled down for a few days, so we've been creative.  It's back up to 80 degrees tomorrow, so we'll jump into our YMCA / pool routine again :).  We hope you are well!!  

P.S.  I added some new songs to my playlist since I keep it in the background while I'm cleaning.  Some of the new songs are "heavy" - feel free to bypass them by hitting next if you are on the blog.  They are all Christian songs, but it might not be your cup of tea - :)  Enjoy some of the new, "softer" ones instead!

Well, he's growing up!  He brushes his own teeth, (with a little help), will be going potty all alone once he gets his "aim" down, and he sleeps like a little man most nights - till 7 a.m. (Thank you, Lord!)

Fishing like a big boy in our back yard - we got his spiderman fishing pole from wal-mart, and we fished all afternoon with hot dogs.  I don't think the fish were impressed.

This is the most still he's been in a while - he's "waiting" for a fish.

A great father-son moment :)

I got one!  No, not really - I think the hook was caught on a blade of grass :)

The cutest little fisherman

We didn't catch anything either, but we tried!

We tried out our Buzz Lightyear kite - it cost about 2 dollars and stayed up for about 2 minutes.  Lance says, if it's a dollar a minute, he'd like to go find a 20 dollar kite :)  Look how windy it is - I look like I'm about to take flight in my parachute pants - hehe!

Full Sunday

I wish I could adequately convey the chaos that was the mall playground this afternoon.  If there was a soundtrack, those with low blood pressure could use it to raise theirs.  Picture it:  about 25 kids, (ages 2 - 8 or 9) running around, full throttle, into each other, jumping, chasing, racing.  Going up the slide the wrong way while other little ones are trying to go down.  Jumping barefoot off of tall rubber ambulances while others run below, all the while yelling at the top of their lungs.  Most of the parents turn a blind eye - they are exhausted and this gives them a moment, so anything goes.  I'm amazed that the younger ones, including LJ, aren't intimidated by the atmosphere, but they just play along.  I told LJ, he's braver than I am.

This morning, LJ and I headed to church - followed the directions of the Garmin and showed up to an empty building.  Bummer.  So, then we followed directions to "Port Charlotte Church"...it seems that ..."of Christ" was missing from the title. No offense WHATSOEVER, (please no comments of offense on the blog), but we aren't church of Christ.  I was looking for more non-denominational, so the Books-A-Million ended our church-search for the morning.  Lord, we tried.  LJ was even singing "big big house" in the car. While in Books-a-Million, LJ threw a tantrum, (and a train, barely missing another child), so it could have been better.  C'est La Vie, though, right?  Especially with a two-year-old.    I am so glad to find a train set and book place, though.  Port Charlotte is a small town, so our  church options are kind of limited.  I think we'll try First Baptist next week.  Enjoy the pics from our crazy mall playtime.  Hope your Sunday was blessed!!

I pretty much made this post for this picture because I laughed out loud thinking, "Hope you don't CATCH anything at the mall playground"...(he's acting like a catcher and standing on a play thermometer...I crack me up!)

The thermometer :)

Now how do I get down?  LJ's not much of a "jumper", but he does like to climb :)