Splash Park

Summer is almost over and we are trying to get the final fun things in before school starts.  Now that Tate is starting Kindergarten I will be ruled by the school schedule.  Ugh!  Cole and I can still go out and play though during the day without the mass of kids.

One place Tate really wanted to go was the Frisco Commons Splash Park.  We found a day when Tyler could come with us and they had a great time.   Cole just ran all through the water.  He would let the water spray him in the face and just stand there and laugh.  So different than Tate was at the same age.

Tate was a great big brother.  He made sure Cole got really wet!

Tyler had a great time putting a cup over a spray of water and watching it shoot off.  He was basically done after about 15 minutes and wanted to eat.  After snacks he just walked around with me watching Tate and Cole.  He was too cold and done.  It was fun talking to him and hearing about his summer.

(Don't worry Lisa, it was all good things! LOL )  

Hot in Austin!

We just had a great few days in Austin.  Scott invited us to tag along while he was at a convention and after seeing all the fun things we could do I said yes.  It was the first time we have joined him on a business trip (hopefully it went well for him so it isn't the last!) and the boys and I had a great time.

On Thursday I took the boys to the Children's Museum in downtown.  I pulled out my camera to start taking pictures only to find out that the battery was dead and of course it was the one time I left my phone in the car.  If it wasn't a 6 block walk in 100+ weather I would have gone to get it but alas, I made it a few hours without.

Friday we went to a really pretty park close to downtown called Zilker park.  We spent time at the playground (where Cole found a slide just his size) then went to Barton Springs Pool which is a 3 acre pool with water from a natural spring that runs at a year round temp of 68 degrees. It was quite cold but felt so good.  When I got back to the car it was registering at 107!  If I lived in Austin I would be at that pool all the time.  We made it to the hotel early enough for Cole to have a nap then we hit the pool before picking up Scott.

Saturday was quite the exciting trip to the Austin zoo.  After obeying the navigation in the car I found myself in the middle of nowhere on a dirt road.  A little different than Dallas or FW zoo.  The first thing we saw when getting out of the car were turkeys, chickens and peacocks walking around.  I soon found out the zoo was a refuge for sick or rescued animals.  It was small but very cute and fun to walk around.  There were tigers fighting with each other, coyotes running around and a petting zoo where you could feed the animals.  After seeing all the animals we sat down to have a quick lunch before getting back in the car.  We had more peanut butter and jelly! (I packed lunch items for every day to save a little $)  The chickens and peacocks came right up to us while we were eating which was cute, well until the rooster started hopping up to eat Tate's sandwich right out of his hands!  Cole decided this wasn't enough for me to handle at one time and started shoving his PB&J down onto his lap and out of the stroller.  This of course made a gooey mess that I started cleaning up while shooing the birds away from Tate with my feet.  It wasn't until my fingers were covered in goo that I realized it was NOT in fact PB&J goo.  I closed my eyes, shook my head and just laughed.  Of course that would happen right?!  At least it was the end of the day.  Cole was quite the sight for everyone leaving the park with only shoes and a diaper on!!  After naps pool time!

On Sunday we made a quick trip back to Zilker park to play at the playground and ride the train before putting the boys in the car for the ride home.  All in all it was a great trip and I'm glad we got to tag along with Scott!

Behavior

So we have had to tackle some behavior issues lately with Tate.  It seems like we have a plan that works for a little while then we have to readjust after a few months.  Today I blog our newest readjustment!  (Stay tuned for future updates lol)  We allow 1 hour of TV and 1 hour of screen time a day.  Screen time is any video game, ipad, computer...you get the idea.  Tate really likes to play on the ipad and Wii so we are now allowing him the opportunity to earn an additional 30 minutes of either TV or screen time.  To do this he has to successfully complete his behavioral chart each day.  Right now there are 4 spots that we fill in each week.  Once school starts I will add a few more to take into account homework and having a good folder day.  I found a good chart on a website called Free Printable Behavior Charts.  They have alot of different designs.  We chose Jake for this week.

I like that I can write in my own behaviors for him to work on so as he improves on them I can change it to something else.  I have been surprised how the last few days he has really taken to this change.  Yesterday he was able to earn the extra 30 minutes but today he missed the opportunity right at bed time.  It made me sad that he almost made it but I believe it is important he fail periodically so he can fully appreciate how good it feels when he succeeds.  Although he was sad he gave me a big hug and said he loved me.  Ahhh, sniff, sniff...  :)

Getting ready for School!

The time has finally come and I can't believe it!  Tate is starting Kindgergarten in less than 2 weeks.  It is exciting and scary that he is old enough for this but he is ready to start.  Last night we sat down as a family and discussed the changes that would be happening, ie. he would not just be waking up whenever and playing with toys until he was ready for breakfast.  We would be on a schedule so he would be able to get out the door on time.  I found a great Chore Chart site that had a morning checklist that he can look over while getting ready.

He was excited about having the reminders.  We started practicing today so he would be able to go through the motions before the first day.  We set out his clothes last night and to be honest I was quite surprised that he did in fact get dressed first thing this morning.  We made it through our first morning well and I am hoping this is a sign of good things to come!