Visiting the Zoo

My sister Alisa and her kids sent us this great list of things to do over the summer.  We have been working on it and one of the items is to visit the zoo.  It is so much fun!

This spring I was able to go to the Oregon Zoo with Sydney's class. We had a great time, but I wasn't able to get any pictures because it was so crazy busy with hundreds of school kids.  I was in charge of three girls and they loved the zoo.

Since the boys weren't able to go with me, I decided to take them a couple weeks later.  It wasn't the best weather - overcast and a little cool.  But I heard that means the animals are more active.  The favorite animal was the polar bears.  The boys LOVED the polar bears.  They were playing with their toys and trying to get carrots out of them.  Brady especially  loved seeing them move around.  They also liked seeing the black bears.  They were wrestling around and trying to climb trees.  Tyler said that was is most favorite.  We were able to feed some birds.  It is fun to see the animals through little boys eyes.  My favorite is always the hippos.  They are fat and lazy and amaze me every time I see them. With both trips we were able to see all the animals and had so much fun.  

Sydney's Piano Recital

 Sydney had her 2nd piano recital. I was able to do a joint recital with her teacher again. It was a great experience for her. She played 2 songs.  Ode to Joy and My Canoe. She did a fabulous job and I was so proud of her!!

Sydney with Candace - her piano teacher.

Tyler's Preschool Graduation

Tyler has graduated from preschool and is ready for Kindergarten.  To celebrate - we had a class party/graduation that family was able to attend. So Brady, Grammy and I went and had a party with Tyler.  His school had a different station to build or play with.  He loved playing with the sand and building with the legos. Tyler has had a great year.  He loved going to preschool and loved going to see his teachers and friends.  He got an award for, "being everybody's friend." I'm glad Tyler is so nice to everyone.  He is such a sweetheart. He is eager to learn and ready to read.  He knows all his letters and their sounds.  He can count to 100. He loves building with legos. He loves superheros and is ALWAYS laughing about something.  It's fun as Brady gets older to see them play together.   

This is Tyler's favorite teacher (and I think first crush) Skylene.  We were in the car dropping him off and I had Sydney with me and Tyler told her which teacher was Skylene.  Sydney said, "she's cute Tyler." And Tyler said, "I told you she was pretty.  I couldn't stop laughing.  So funny!

Brady loved building the ramps to push the cars down.

This is Tyler with his teacher Ms. Ackerman.  

Sydney's End of Year Open House

 This year Sydney joined a Polynesian Dancing club after school on Wednesdays from 3 - 4. She loves to dance, so of course she loves Polynesian Dancing.  She would even teach Tyler how to do the moves. For the open house she was able to show us her art and school assignments she has been working on.  Part of her butterfly fell off, which she was sad about.  But she did a great job!! She is definitely ready for 2nd grade!  On the paper plate she wrote about what she is most excited to do this summer.  She wrote, "This summer break is going to be busy.  My family is going on a big trip to my grandmas house. I will see my cousins new house. I haven't seen his house before. My summer break will be awesome."  I am so excited for summer break and having all the kids home!

This is Sydney's "I'm tired of smiling for a picture" smile.  She's still cute!

This is Sydney's 1st grade teacher Miss Woods.  Sydney loved her as a teacher.  

Bradys 2nd Birthday

Brady turned 2 on May 31. We decided to celebrate on Memorial Day.  Since he was born on Memorial Day it seemed appropriate. Grammy and Papa came up and helped us party.  Brady LOVES Mickey Mouse.  He won't sit down and watch movies, but he loves Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.  He also has a Mickey book that he loves to read in bed at night.  He thinks he is actually reading it. Then we went to the park and let him play on his favorite playground.  He loves going down the slide and swinging.  He always says, "Wheeee."  For dinner we had Pizza, his favorite.  Then we opened presents. Brady is a very meticulous present opener.  He would open one piece and then hand it to me to put in the garbage.  It was so funny! Sydney and Tyler made cards and gave it to him.  They also went around the playroom and gave him their old toys that they don't want anymore.  I'm glad they love their little brother so much.

It's a good thing we celebrated early because Brady's actual birthday was super busy.  And he was SUPER cranky! We always start birthdays with donuts for breakfast.  Brady got a little upset because he didn't get 2 donuts.  :)  Then we took Sydney and Tyler to school and I sat down with him and held him while we watched Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and read his Mickey book.  I had to run some errands after we picked Tyler up from school and I decided to go and pick up McDonalds Happy Meals up and take it to Sydney's school for lunch. The boys LOVED having lunch with Sydney.  After lunch the boys were able to go out and play with Sydney at recess.  Then it was nap time! I think that was his favorite part of the day.  That night Sydney had an open house and Polynesian performance at school. Afterwards he opened cards.  He loved opening all the cards and did it just like the presents. One piece at a time.

Some things I want to remember about Brady at 2 is:

He is a very happy child.
He thinks he is hilarious. There are many days he will wake up laughing and laughing.

He loves Tyler and Sydney.  He loves playing with them, sitting by them, and generally just being around them.

He loves to run around and play.  He does not like to hold hands when we are going for walks.  He also doesn't like the stroller. He wants to be out running around like his siblings.

Brady also loves his naps.  He doesn't like to be woken up and if he doesn't get his full nap, he gets a little cranky!

He LOVES food.  He likes to have something in both hands for him to eat.  He is a good eater, but he likes breads and sweets the most.  He likes to drink chocolate milk.  His favorite food is Pizza.  Whenever we go to Costco he yells, "pizza pizza." Even if we don't get pizza, he yells it.

Brady loves nursery, but doesn't like Sacrament meeting.  We are usually out in the hall with him for most of the first hour.