Pool Time

Jeffrey has been having a great time at the pool this summer. Mike has been taking Jeffrey almost every weekend. Jeffrey likes to 'bounce' in the big pool, jumping up and down in the 3 foot deep water and feeling the floating sensation. Meredith and I have been a few times, she likes to look at everything going on.

Mike and Jeffrey enjoy the shallow end of the pool.


Meredith hangs out in the shade of the umbrella with her 'baby friends'.


'Jeffrey Burrito' dries off after a morning of swimming.

apple sauce

We have three apple trees in our backyard that, even though we haven't really tried very hard to maintain them, make a lot of fruit each year. Gwen and I both have got the bug to try and make them more productive .. next year! But, this year so far we were able to harvest some decent fruit. Although we both want to make cider, buying a press and grinder just isn't in the cards this season. So, Gwen and I made apple sauce last weekend! My job was to harvest, and I worked on some of the peeling and chopping. Gwen did the rest. We made a 4 qts. and a little extra. It is really good! Here are some pictures.

From August 2010

From August 2010

From August 2010

From August 2010

From August 2010

From August 2010

Strider Bike

Today Jeffrey and I went to Spring Creek Park for our weekly Happy Valley Moms playdate. Jeffrey said that 'Meredith can play with her baby friends and I can play with my big kid friends.' We brought Jeffrey's red Strider Balance Bike so that Jeffrey could ride on it with his friend Dylan. Jeffrey hasn't really ridden his bike very much, but today he had a wonderful time 'racing' all around the park with his friends Dylan and Poppy. Jeffrey and Dylan even went 'off road' into the dirt and mulch. He spent the whole time we were at the park riding around!

Then we went to the 'hamgumber store' (as Jeffrey calls the 'hamburger store' - burger king) for lunch. Jeffrey ate his whole kids meal (hamburger and apple fries) and really enjoyed watching all the people and kids in the restaurant.

Here is a picture of Meredith the happy baby wearing her new shirt from Aunt Paula:

Pumpkins!

Today we got to harvest the two pumpkins that were growing in the garden this summer. One pumpkin for each of our 'pumpkins'! The plant died off, but the pumpkins look wonderful! Our pumpkin plant started from a seed that was in our compost from last year's Halloween pumpkins. In fact there is another pumpkin plant growing behind the compost bin!

Jeffrey and our pumpkins!

Meredith has been studying her hands a lot lately. In just the past few days she has started reaching out to touch toys and now grabbing them! She has pulled the owl toy off her bouncy chair and put its wings in her mouth. She also grabbed her musical seahorse the other day.

Meredith dressed like her seahorse.

Here they are sharing a moment together.

Pictures of Meredith grabbing toys, comming soon!

Baseball

Hi all. Still a long hot summer down here.

On Sunday, I took Jeffrey to a baseball game - State College Spikes. Two other boys Jeffrey's age and their families also went. On the Sunday games they start a little earlier (6 instead of the normal 7), and they always have fireworks afterward. There wasn't a lot of baseball watching, especially in the early innings. After we got done eating our dinner (smuggled in Subway), Jeffrey and the others were dying to hit the 'Kids Zone'. The kids zone is basically four giant inflatable play structures: A bounce house, a pitching area, a batting area, and a big inflatable obstacle course where two kids have to race each other through. Jeffrey was over there getting sweaty for a long while, along with the other boys. Finally got him back to his seat, and the three kids managed to entertain each other until the fireworks. As for the game, well, it wasn't so great -- losing the whole time. Anyway, here are some pictures. High res. versions are at http://picasaweb.google.com/axtell.mj/August2010#

From August 2010

From August 2010

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From August 2010