Pink Mama In A Blue World: parks

I've been busy planning Lucas' upcoming 2nd birthday party. It's a race car themed party at the park and I'm so excited! These first few birthday parties are definitely more for mama than they are for the birthday boy.=) Last week when I was shopping for supplies for his party, I found some crayons and a Bible coloring book at the dollar store. I knew I was setting my expectations high as Lucas has had many opportunities to color and he always chooses to do something else with the crayons-color the walls, throw them, eat them...yup, he's definitely a boy! But I'm always wanting a quiet activity to have on hand for those moments when I need a break. So I bought them, knowing the $2 might be a total waste or totally worth it. Here's what he chose to do with them:

He loves to stack the crayons...and then throw them all on the ground=)

I've also been working on getting Channing's birth announcements made and ordered. I really had nothing to do with the making of them, it was all my bestie Camie. She's amazingly talented in photography and just about anything creative. You should check out her work here. She's done many sessions for me and my family and she put together Channing's announcements, in two different versions so I could pick my favorite!

I've also had Halloween on my mind. Yes, it's still August, but September and October are very busy months so my mom and I start planning our family's costumes for our annual surprise costume party as early as possible. A few days ago we came up with an awesome idea for me, Josh and the boys and I'm excited to get started on them!

This past Saturday was the Kivley annual bbq. My grandparents used to throw this huge bbq potluck every summer when I was a kid. It was something my siblings and I looked forward to every year. When we were in our late teens, my grandparents stopping doing them. I think it was just getting to be too much for them. There were a LOT of people that would come so it was quite the task I'm sure to put it together. Well, about two years ago, my aunt and uncle, Tom & Cyndi started hosting them at their house. Last year it was rainy and cold (in August!) and there was hardly anyone there. This year, we arrived a few hours after the start time and it was packed! There were so many people I didn't recognize. My family had staked out a table and area, and so we spent the next few hours catching up and some people got to meet Channing for the first time and see how much Lucas had grown since they last saw him.

Yesterday Lucas had his first visit to the dentist. He had no idea what he was in for and I was a little nervous about how he would handle it all. The appointment was at 10am and he's been sleeping in until about 9:30am so I had to wake him up so we wouldn't be late.

It's rare to get a picture of him sleeping since he usually wakes up as soon as we open the door. I was happy to see he still sleeps like he did when he was a baby-butt up in the air.

Surprisingly, it was one of the easiest mornings I've had with both boys by myself. There was no yelling or tantrums (by mommy or Lucas=) and we left the house right on time! I wish all mornings could be that easy. Anyway, the dental office is specifically geared towards kids and decorated in a jungle theme. It was fun to walk around the waiting room and have Lucas point out the monkeys, frogs, rocks and water, all of which he knows by name.=) They put us in a private room and the assistant immediately started talking to Lucas to get him as comfortable as possible. He sat on my lap and she tried looking at his teeth with a mouth mirror. She was able to get a peek after a few minutes and with much refusal from Lucas. Then the dentist came in. They had me put Lucas on my lap but facing me and then lay back, into the dentist's lap. They expected him to cry and it's actually better because then they can see his teeth. He cried and it was so sad, tears running down to his ears and crying for dada. But then I told him he'd get a balloon as soon as we were done and he stopped immediately. They were able to remove the build-up from behind his lower front teeth and they said everything looked good. Next time they'll do a little bit more to get him used to even more instruments. As the dentist was leaving, Lucas yelled out "balloon" as if reminding the dentist that he promised him a balloon.=) It was precious!

Showing off his balloon and race car for being so good at the dentist!

After the dentist, we met some friends at the spray park. The kids didn't play in the water long, Lucas was too hungry and the other kids were too cold. It was slightly breezy and that didn't make it very warm, plus the water was already cold and it doesn't get hot out until late afternoon these days. So we spent the time playing on the slides or "swings" as Lucas calls them.=) I didn't get any pictures of Channing because he slept the entire time.

Lunch: Bagel (His most recent favorite) and fruit (always his favorite)

Heading up to the slide

So excited! He was playing with my friend's daughter Ava. She was helping him climb the stairs to the slide and then would "catch" him at the bottom.

After dinner we spent some family time outside in the shade, eating popsicles and letting Lucas burn off some more steam. Even after a busy day this kid can still run and run and run until we make him stop. Of course after the messy popsicle it was bath time and bedtime.