Dear Max & Jake,
Time is moving quickly and the weather is turning cool. While we have had a fun summer full of lots of swimming, I am ready for the fall. At the beginning of the month we hosted the Labor Day meeting in Grapevine. A lot of people were able to come and Max was so excited to see Ronny Wade and Barney Owens, and only mildly disappointed that Don King wasn’t there. I made sure to get a picture of Max and his buddy.
The cooler weather has afforded us lots of opportunities to go to the park. We are regularly going and feeding the ducks and you and Jake are both honing your duck/goose feeding skills. I can give Jake a whole piece of bread and he will tear it into little pieces and throw it, and sometimes eat it. Max tends to think that the bigger the animal the bigger the piece of bread needed. Therefore, if Max sees a big goose he will throw half a piece of bread to it, despite the fact that I have told him over and over that his bread will quickly be gone if he throws such big pieces. The neatest thing about feeding the ducks is that when no ducks are around we can throw bread in the water and watch as the fish jump and try to get it. We have actually seen a few turtles poke their heads out of the water too, but we have learned to throw the bread right to them because they can’t swim fast enough to outrun the ducks.
One thing that really stinks about Max turning 3 is that now he gets charged for everything. Most places we go have the policy of children 2 and under are free, including the zoo. So a few weeks ago when we went to the zoo we had to get Max his own zoo pass. Max, you thought you were big stuff when you got your picture taken to get your own zoo pass, it was so cute. Speaking of the zoo, I think this was definitely Jake’s funnest trip yet. Jake, you are a little parrot and try to repeat everything you hear. As we walked around the zoo you would point at the animals and wait for me to tell you its name and then try to repeat after me. You are talking so much and I love the way you say fish as “ish.” So our first stop at the zoo is almost always the monkeys, they are always entertaining and they are one of the first exhibits as you walk into the zoo. So we got to the zoo right as it opened and we walked over to see the chimpanzees as they were eating their breakfast of lettuce and carrots. Both of you boys were standing right at the glass watching as one of the chimps was sitting up high on one of the poles eating. Suddenly, the chimp jumped right at the glass where the two of you were standing and it nearly scared you both to death. Max hopped down and started trying to run yelling, “He’s gonna get me!” and Jake just looked shocked. There were a few older people standing nearby that tried to reassure Max, but after that he was very cautious and didn’t get too close to the glass when we were looking at the gorillas.
(Max and his buddy Creighton making faces)
One weekend Dada took Friday off and we planned a fun day. We went to Incredible Pizza and ate and played games. We had a lot of fun ridding some of the little rides in the toddler area and spent the rest of the time winning tickets so that you two could get some cheap, useless junk. Jake ended up choosing a ball, big surprise, and Max choose a plastic skeleton of all things. We’ve seen a lot of skeletons lately and you are interested in learning about bones and stuff. So after our trip to Incredible Pizza it was nap time. After nap time we took you guys to the Omni at the Fort Worth Museum and saw a documentary about animals that lived under the sea. It was about 45 minutes long, the perfect length, and you and Jake absolutely loved it. You got to see all types of neat fish and sea creatures, and when Max saw a shark he said, “It’s gonna get me!” The surround screen is so amazing that it looks like you could just reach out and touch the animals. It was such a neat experience and you both loved it. As we were leaving we looked through the windows and saw the dinosaur exhibit and I told you that we would come back and go to the museum another time since it was closed already. From what I can tell they have a pretty neat children’s museum and I’m hoping to take you boys to it sometime this fall.
I have been really busy with my class stuff and I can’t believe that I’m going to graduate with my Master in less than a month! In the meantime my nights and weekends are busy with reading and assignments and I haven’t had much time to write. It’s just temporary though and I’m excited to see what other opportunities present themselves once I have my degree. Max, you have started being able to nap in your underwear and you’ve even kept your pullup dry a few nights. Jake, you are talking so much and just repeat everything. You have started to answer questions when we ask by saying “yes” or “no”, even though you sometimes say the opposite of what you want. When I ask you what your name is you will say, “Jake” and if I ask you, “Who is your brother?” you will say, “Max!” You like to point out trucks, and you will say, “truck” as well as “jeep.” You know all your body parts, but you like to point them out on other people rather than yourself. You also squeeze your nose and say, “honk! honk!” You like to tell me “juice”, “water”, or “milk” when you are thirsty and like any kid you always say “cookies!” even though you don’t get them that often. You are at such a fun age and you seem to say 5 new words a day. When you want to know the name of something you will point and go, “ehhhh!” until I acknowledge you and tell you the word, then you will try to repeat it. You don’t usually make the k or hard c sound, instead it usually sounds like a b. Like when you try to say “bucky” for Uncle Bucky it usually comes out “bubby.” You also have a little lisp and it is so stinking cute.
I love how much you two boys play together and how you are both learning to take turns and get along whenever there is something that you both want. Jake, you have started squealing when you want something and Max won’t give it to you. Max, you sometimes get frustrated when Jake tries to take something away from you, but you also tease Jake by taking his blanket (which he still drags around) and running around with it. Jake usually starts squealing and chasing you around the house while Max laughs. The thing is, Jake has a little temper though and he will get really mad and if he gets a hold of Max there’s a good chance that he will wack him upside the head, I don’t blame him though. Max can be really irritating. The thing is, if you two fight over stuff and can’t figure out how to share or take turns then I take it away. I think this has worked well because you have both learned to share because if you don’t then no one gets to play with it. Jake is actually old enough to grasp the concept of taking turns and even though you have to take short turns, it seems to work.
I’ve started doing Spanish lessons with a group of home-schooled kids on the same days I teach. It has been really good and I’ve been trying to decide how I wanted to use the money. I started looking into different classes that I could do with you two during the day. We looked at a kids gym and I checked into different classes like art and music too. I finally decided to enroll you both into Kindermusik. It worked out really well because there is a class that is specifically for children ages 18 months to 3.5 years old and it also includes parents. I am so happy that I decided to do it because you both love it and we got a CD with all the songs and we practice them a lot at home. One day when we were at Sam’s we saw a little instrument set and I bought it for you both and we have fun “playing” all the instruments along with the songs. I think it’s very important for you boys to learn to sing, especially considering we sing acappella at church, and I hope some day you will both be song leaders! We now have a routine of going to the “net” park (they have this really neat web that Max loves to climb) and then going to music class every Monday. I’m so glad you are both enjoying music class and I think it’s great for you both. Not only are you learning music, but you are learning about how to act in a class with other children!
Max, you have been excited to go to the pumpkin patch for over a month. Every time we drive by you ask where the pumpkins are, so I have explained that the pumpkins won’t be ready until it gets cooler outside. So finally, last week, the pumpkin patch opened and I took you and Jake so that you could play and find yourself a pumpkin. You loved sitting on the big tractors, playing in the hay house and jumping on the bales of hay. We also went to see the goats, pigs, rabbits and chickens and Jake loved watching the animals and trying to say their names. I let both of you pick out a small pumpkin and then you both got a mini white pumpkin. I don’t really know what we are going to do with the pumpkins except look at them a carry them around. When we got home I got out my Sharpies and drew faces on them. Max named his pumpkin Barney Owens, in keeping with the preacher theme, and told me he wanted me to draw a mean face on it. I drew a smiley face on Jake’s pumpkin and then wrote both of your names on your pumpkins. I know that we will visit the pumpkin patch at least 3-4 more times in the next month. I actually heard about another pumpkin patch that is a little bit further away, but has lots more stuff to do. We are planning on going this weekend!
Love,
Mama
