Lately.

Lately, we have not been taking pictures (gasp!) or blogging (obviously!).  We haven't been swimming either.  Since the multiple encounters with snakes I've been hesitant to take Fawn by myself to my grandparents' pool.  And, all my swimming buddies have abandoned me (my grandparents spent almost three weeks in Scandinavia, my mom and dad went to Marco Island before my mom returned back to work).  Now that my grandparents are back on this side of the Atlantic, we hope to squeeze in some more swimming time before the pool gets too cold. 

But, we've been having fun!

We've made multiple trips to the Botanical Gardens because frankly it has everything a little boy could want -- rocks, sticks and dirt.  Needless to say, Fawn makes the most out of nature's toys and we never get out of there in under two hours.  He loves that place. 

And, of course, we get our money out of our zoo membership -- going no less than two times a week for the last few weeks.  Insanity, I know.  But, Fawn always wants to go, and we have such a great zoo that is literally ten minutes from our house so we take advantage of it.  We definitely don't do the full zoo loop every time -- sometimes we just play on the playground or feed the fish or work on the tractor. 

We've been hitting up one of our favorite parks off our beaten path -- Triangle Park in Forest Park.  I am convinced it is 10 degrees cooler in Triangle Park than anywhere else in Birmingham.  I love the shade and the constant breeze, and Fawn is obsessed with all of the trucks they have to play with.  (So much so that I'm attempting to convince Buck that he needs to build us a mulch pit so we can recreate Triangle Park in our backyard.)  If you have a child who loves trucks and construction equipment, you've got to go to Triangle Park -- you won't be disappointed.

We've made another trip up to the Gardendale Splash Pad.  It was so calm and fun for the little ones now that the big kids are back in school.  I believe its open through September, and I hope to take Fawn back.

I promise to get my camera out again soon and capture what's left of summer.  Where has it gone?

Water Play.

Fawn was a little under the weather so I was attempting to keep him inside as much as possible, and out of this brutal, terrible, miserable August Alabama heat.  So, we brought the water play inside -- to our kitchen sink.  It was a huge hit!

I keep a toothbrush and toothpaste by the kitchen sink so I can brush Fawn's teeth without going upstairs to his bathroom.  He is generally opposed to teeth brushing, but when he had total control he was a brushing machine.

He used up the toothpaste (there wasn't much left, but still, who knew brushing teeth could be so much fun?  Especially when surrounded by some pretty cool water toys.).

I asked Fawn to smile and he made this face.  He then said, "That's all the smiling I can do for you."  Despite his refusal to smile, he loved playing in the sink and has asked to do it several times since.

Someone Had a Half Birthday.

Sweet Fawn.  And, we made cupcakes to celebrate.

He's definitely two, because the minute I rejected his request for a second cupcake, this happened:

But, when he realized that he received an awesome new fishing pole (Buck, handy man extraordinaire just couldn't salvage the beach-ravaged fishing pole) and his own tackle box all was right with the world.

Happy two-and-a-half years sweet boy!  We love every minute with you!

Pool Fun.

When I borrowed my mom's camera, I also found this cute picture from our swimming time this summer:

This is how we spend many a morning!

We have had a couple close encounters of the reptile kind as of late, though, which has made me a little skittish of swimming without another grown-up.  There was the monster turtle incident, of course.  Then, last week, I was swimming with Fawn without anyone else.  We were kicking and splashing up a storm and I reached out to push the floating chlorine dispenser away from us.  When I pushed, I felt something not quite right.  I looked at my hand and realized that I was touching a baby snake of some sort.  OMG, I hate snakes.  Hate. Hate. Hate.  As coolly and calmly as I could possibly muster, I informed Fawn of the snake and that we had to get out of the water right away.  Then, I proceeded to call my mom, gather a net and a hoe, and prepare myself for the snake removal and obliteration.  With mom's help, mission accomplished.  But, I'm still pretty freaked out.  

My mom encountered another baby snake this week and opined: "I guess that means there's a momma snake around here somewhere."  Great, thanks for the visual and the worries -- we will not be swimming alone!

As a footnote, Fawn has been seen with his plastic hoe chopping up sticks and proclaiming to be killing snakes, so apparently the incident made an impression.  Hope he forgets soon!

Finally, Beach Pictures.

Lounging on the porch after a long day of beach fun.

Wave jumping with my brother and me.  Check out the height of his jump!

Fawn's first ever soft drink out of a can (though second ever Sprite, as I was left with no other options at the pre-circus party this year).  He was obsessed and felt like such a big boy!

My brother (the giver of the Sprite) toasting my two-year old and proclaiming that he is drinking a "green cold beer."  I thought it was funny at the time, until the following occurred.  This Wednesday Fawn and I were sitting in Magic Muffins enjoying breakfast (weeks after the beach trip).  I go to the refrigerator case to get a Grapico and Fawn yells "Mommy, you found a purple cold beer."  Customers laugh, Mommy turns red.

Fawn, me and my brother after a long beach afternoon (someone is pooped out!).

Theology by Fawn.

Teaching Fawn about God and growing his heart to love Christ is by far the most daunting challenge set before me as a parent.  We're many prayers and lessons away from Fawn having any grasp of Christianity.  But, I think he's starting to understand the concept of God, even if his comments are pretty funny.

After we prayed a couple nights ago, Fawn said "But I don't see God."  So, at least he understands that God is invisible.

But then he said, "We better find God before He goes out of town.  Hmm... But God doesn't go out of town Mommy, only people go out of town."

I used the opening as an opportunity to discuss that God is always with us.  A very important lesson I hope he learns, and one I try to remember.

Gardendale Splash Pad.

Run, don't walk, to the Gardendale Splash Pad!  It's so much fun for the kiddos (and actually a pretty cool outing for the parents too).  It only took us about 20 minutes to get there (you take I-65 North to the Fieldstown Road exit, turn left off the ramp, and go about 2.5 miles -- park is on your right).  Check out the Gardendale website for hours of operation and schedule (I believe it's closed at least one day a week for maintenance).  Anyway, if you haven't been I highly encourage it. 

I will say that Fawn is still a bit young for this activity -- I think kids in the 4 to 8 year old range probably have even more fun.  But, it still brings a huge smile to his face and is a great way to beat the heat.  I took him last year, though, and he even enjoyed it then, so I don't think there's a "minimum" age for enjoyment -- I just think this is an activity that will get more and more fun in the summers to come.

 The water piano was a huge hit.

He's having fun (I promise!).

The closest I could get to eye contact with the camera!

I will say the Splash Pad is not the best photo capturing location -- unless you are on the perimeter of the pad, you can basically guarantee getting wet (really wet).  So, dress appropriately -- I wore workout clothes, but a bathing suit/cover-up combo will also work.  My mom went with us and the extra set of hands was greatly appreciated -- plus, she was feeling quite generous and grandmotherly and took the brunt of the water/wet experiences.  Thanks, Mom!

And, our visit to the Splash Pad was topped off with a yummy orange creamsicle courtesy of a visit from the ice cream man.  I also enjoyed a goodie, so I'm not complaining.  But, seriously, ice cream man at the Splash Pad has to be some sort of predatory sales practice violation (wow, I just sounded like a lawyer).