Staycation

I took off Monday and Tuesday this week so we decided to have a little staycation fun. We left Geep and Pop's Monday morning and headed to...

 ...Natural Bridge Caverns. We did a tour that lasted a little over an hour and descended 180 feet below ground. Spencer was a trooper and handled the walk very well. It must've taken a lot out of him because afterwards he ate two hotdogs in the snack bar!

It was a fun little outing. We had thought about going to Schlitterbahn the next day, but decided to just take it easy at home. It was a nice break from work for Mommy!

Diving into Summer

We went to Geep and Pop's on Sunday and had a great time visiting with them. And there was a major bonus - Hyelom was there, too! Spencer couldn't wait to play with his cousin. They played outside, did some fun iPad stuff and watched the Olympics.

We headed to the neighborhood pool that afternoon. Spencer decided he wanted to jump off the diving board. Of course I had my initial standard "mommy nervousness" about this, but man, he just climbed right up and dove off into Daddy's arms. That boy is getting fearless in his old age! Here's a video of his very first dive. At the end he's wondering why the board didn't bounce up and down. Love him.

And here's a little bit better quality video of a subsequent jump trying a different technique.

And a couple of pictures, of course.

A Major Award

Without going into too much detail - this is a personal matter after all - I wanted to mention that Spencer received the equivalent of a "major award" (for you Christmas Story fans out there) for his achievements in the bathroom of late. We implemented a chart and prize system to encourage his potty training. He met certain criteria this evening that meant he could receive his BIG prize, this neat Home Depot toolkit that he and Dave picked out several weeks ago.

Dave and I were hesitant to use an award/bribery system, but there comes a point when ya just do whatcha gotta do. And Spencer really responded to being in control of his chart and picking out little treats from his prize shelf along the way. We are super proud of you, Spence! You're well on your way to being diaper-free.

Hanging with the Scholeseses

We had a wonderful Saturday evening with our friends the Scholes (or as we like to call them, the Scholeseses). They have 3 awesome boys, 2 awesome dogs and 1 awesome water slide with a crazy free fall section. Summertime fun at its finest!

Those animated GIFs crack me up (not sure why the second one looks weird), but here's an actual video as well.

After we got home, Dave and I were talking about how we both had the impulse to discourage Spencer from doing the free fall - we were so surprised he wanted to do it. In fact, he waited until we were almost ready to go home before deciding to take part in the water slide at all. But that's just his M.O. He has to get acclimated and once he does, he's golden.

Independence Day in Video (Short)

4th of July Recap

Daddy left for California early on the 4th, kicking off a 5-day Spencer and Mommy hangout. It's rare for us to have so much one-on-one time, so I've really been enjoying it.

We had such a busy 4th of July. We went to our neighborhood parade in the morning. Spencer wore the crown he made at school and his Super Spencer cape. He alternated between riding in the stroller and walking, but either way he waved to the crowd and waved his little flag the whole time. The parade ended at Barton Hills Elementary, where there was a party with watermelon, cookies and ice cream. Unfortunately, the ice cream was gone before we tried to get some, so we went to Central Market for gelato afterward (at 10:30 AM - oh my!).

We rested at home for a few hours, then went to the "sometimes annual" Trahan-Hill 4th of July bash. Spencer had fun running around with Sarah and getting tattoos.

There was a HUGE waterslide. I was proud of Spencer - he really wanted to try it but wasn't so sure about going all the way to the top. The big boys were flying down that thing and slamming into the wall so that was a little intimidating. So Spencer climbed half-way up and Elliott lifted him over the side. It was a good way to experience it the first time. He did that twice then was ready to get out of his wet swimsuit.

We got home from the party around 7:30 PM. Spencer had been talking about going to the fireworks show for several days. I was dog-tired, but he said he wanted to go so I gave him a quick bath then we headed to Zilker Park. I missed the memo that the fireworks extravaganza is no longer held at Zilker - it's over by the Long Center...but we could still see the fireworks fine, just no symphony. We cuddled on a blanket and ooohed and ahhhhed at the show and had fun getting surprised by all the "pretend fireworks," which is what Spencer called the Roman candles and firecrackers that people were setting off around us in the park.

Spencer was asleep before we got out of the parking lot. A big day for our little guy.

The Shape Game

Spencer and Daddy were playing the "shape game" the other day when they were driving around town. Spencer identifies the different shapes of signs - squares, diamonds, rectangles, triangles, etc.

Daddy asked, "What shape is that wooden light pole?" He paused and said, "a big stack of circles." Well, that just about blew Daddy's mind.

He must get the geometric skills from Mommy (not!).