Evenings at the playground

The weather this afternoon was just delightful - not too humid or hot. Naturally, hubby and I had to take the little dude to a playground in a nearby park.

It's delightful to watch Jack climb over obstacles - reaching his goal and then screaming with glee "I do it!" He is becoming quite a little boy. His vocabulary is growing at an incredible pace, and he is starting to really communicate. With all that independence also comes defiance and stubbornness. We are working on nice touches and discouraging brute behavior. Twos are not easy, for sure. But they are also so much fun.

Highlights

Here are a few highlights from the past couple of weeks that I wanted to share:

1. Jack and his buddies at school. His teachers send me daily reports that include cute photos like this one.

2. My sisters and sister's significant other took me to a 10-course dinner at Proof for Mother's Day. It was majestic.

3. Speaking of Mother's Day, my little peanut painted the mason jar containing my flowers. :)

4. I adore my little boy. He had a pajama day at school and got to wear his Yo Gabba Gabba pajamas (only one pajama pair at a time - unlike that one night he had to wear both at the same time)

This season's first trip to Adventureland

Adventureland is now open, and so we took Jack for some afternoon fun after his nap.

Driving a truck with daddy

Jack riding a boat

This baby loves water

Infant Ocean is a favorite - only topped by the ride on the Raging River with mama and daddy

Heading to the train station for a train ride

We spent an hour there, right before closing. There weren't many people there, so we got on many rides in no time. The day was nice and Jack was in a good mood (at least until we headed towards the exit). We'll be coming back again. I think these season's passes were a good investment. Can't wait for the water park to open so we can spend more time in and around water this summer.

Jack attends a birthday party

Just when you thought the concert video was enough cuteness to last you a while, I bring you a birthday party attended by guests of that same age group.
On Saturday, Jack attended the birthday party of twin girls and his school pals.

Jack and the birthday girls

The kids played well, waiting for each other so they could slide down together. The party was attended with other kids from Jack's class. It was cute to see them recognize and run to each other, with expressions saying "Hey - what are you doing here? Why aren't you at school?"

Play and shenanigans were followed by birthday cake.

Jack also got to play with the girls' cat. He was enamored with the cat, but the cat was less so with him.

My son, always a tender, affectionate heart, made sure to give one of the birthday girls a kiss through the netting of the blow-up play pen (one that he was petrified of).

What a lovely day, a lovely party, and lovely people. So grateful Jack has such sweet friends.

Jack's First Concert

Low tide

This weekend's weather was phenomenal. So of course we had to go out exploring. We headed out to a nearby park. The tide was low so we got to walk on cracked clay that normally is covered by water.

Jack and his daddy

Hiking through the forest

Lake floor

Throwing rocks

"Look mama, rawk"

Skipping stones with daddy

 Afterwards, we took him to Fighting Burrito for a treat. This boy is such a joy.

Silly boy

Cookie monster

Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful... beautiful boy

I've finally got bathrooms in my house!!

I've been waiting so long to do this post. Three years, to be exact. We've known that the subfloors under both our bathrooms were rotting, so we had to start gutting and even were without bathrooms for a long time. It was embarrassing to have people over because of this. So we finally bit the bullet and got an awesome contractor to help us. Below are pictures of my two new favorite rooms in the house.

Looking into the master bathroom

I picked all the tiles to make sure they matched existing ones. Love them!

Contractor suggested a detail - glass tiles going down like water.

Custom shelves also have the glass edging

Got a new door, too. This view is from inside the shower.

Awesome custom shelves.

Tall shower head, tiled shower ceiling

Brushed nickel edging, kick-ass shower door

Towel hook

I'm in love

One more for the road

The new hallway bathroom

Reminds me of a Turkish bath

Put our old cool vanity back

Floor to wall tile

I'm so excited and happy with these bathrooms. They are my two favorite new rooms right now. I got bathrooms y'all!

Scrubbies

Made these babies for a friend. Basically, you buy tulle, cut it into 2-inch strips, tie ends together, and then knit them. I used garter stitch for most texture. And then I sewed the ends together to make them sturdier and easier to handle.

Knitting with tulle is rough - literally. My fingers never got this much exfoliation. But there is a reason I'm willing to go through this torture - these scrubbies are amazing for dishes (especially high maintenance pots and pans). They also do not stink after longer use like sponges tend to.

Neutrals

Brights

I will be making more of these for other friends and even for myself. I still have one I made a while ago - still works wonderfully. But the endless color possibilities make these a quick and fun job that instantly brightens your kitchen.