The Great Outdoors

We have been spending a lot of time outdoors lately. If you know me at all, you know that outside is not my favorite place to be in the summer. BUT, now that Lawson is our world, I have made a conscious effort to tough it out and spend time outside more than I normally would. Our boy is ALL boy, and he LOVES to play outside!!! Sometimes I think he's going to explode if he has to stay in the house for more than 30 minutes if it's not nap time or meal time. Here are some pictures to show how we spend our time outside.

I'm sure this is not appropriate attire for riding a four wheeler, but he REALLY wanted to wear his boots and he wouldn't stand still long enough to put his swim trunks on.

Look at that sweet smile. Don't let him fool you. He's a mess!!!

Swimming in the big pool at Aunt Kristin's house. This was really Lawson's first time in a "big" pool (basically one where he can't touch the bottom or get in and out anytime he wants.) He loves the water, but really wanted to do it himself. When we were in the water, he kept saying, "get out" or "all done". Then once we were out and wrapped in our towel, he would say, "get in waddy (water)" or "in, in, in waddy". What a mess.

We have reached a point where Lawson wants to do things himself. As I tried to put water in his little pool, he pushed my hands away and said, "I do it. Get, Momma." Such a big boy.

One of the highlights of any time in the back yard is, of course, the dogs. He loves on all of them, but he seems to really love "Eeese" (Ellie). As you can tell by his snug hug and the way Ellie's head is turned, she loves it too. Haha. Really though, she does tend to follow him around just waiting for some attention. I think these two will be best buddies.

And, of course, we love helping Daddy do pretty much anything. I'm sure someday getting him to work in the yard will be a bit more difficult, but for now, he loves to be a helper. He saw Jason shoveling dirt and ran to get his little "shobel" too.

I also have a helper when it comes to watering the "pants" in the front yard. He doesn't like when I try to point the water in a different direction than he wants, but sometimes he does actually get water on the plants instead of the mulch in between the plants. Sometimes he just wants to hold his hand in the spray.

So, it's July, and we live in Arkansas. It's hot and humid and pretty darn miserable outside. BUT, my little boy loves to play outside, so this indoor, air conditioner loving Momma will suck it up and sweat with my boys. (And, shortly thereafter, run to the shower. :-)).

4th of July

Lawson's first Fourth of July was last year, and we played it pretty low-key. We spent the day around the house and then drove all over Fort Smith trying to find a good burger (we wanted Dairy Freeze, but they were closed), but ended up at Hardee's. Last summer Lawson was in his "in bed asleep by 7:30p or all heck break lose phase), so he was asleep long before he had the chance to see any fireworks for sure. The burger fiasco is a long story, but the point is that this year was WAY different.

This kid has started smiling for the camera (err...phone) these days. He's way too cute for words. 

We spent the Fourth at my mom's down on the farm land. Jason had helpers while he set off a few smoke bombs and such. Lawson was pretty entertained by the little black snakes and the popper things (that you throw and the snap...not sure what the actual name is). 

I just love this picture. I'm not sure what they were even doing, but could they look more alike?

And, this is pretty typical around our house. Lawson watching Daddy. This kid is Daddy's little buddy for sure. He loves hanging out with his Daddy. 

As you can see, Lawson has taken to wearing his hat. Until just a couple of weeks ago, he wouldn't keep a hat on for more than five seconds. Now, any time he wants to go bye-bye, he wants his hat. He will find his shoes (and Daddy or Momma's shoes), and once shoes are on, he heads for the hats. He points and will say, "Daddy hat" or "Momma hat" then, "my hat." He thinks we should all wear our hats when we go places. Haha. I think he looks much more grown up with his hat on, which is bittersweet. 

Addison and I were watching Jason and Lawson when she said, "we should both make fish faces and take our picture." This girl cracks me up. We have done the fish face together since she was little bitty. She now has it perfected and will even tell her Momma (my sister Stephanie) that "only me and Auntie Mandy can do it right." She's a mess! I just love this little Angel Fish. 

And, Lawson loves her too (as does Jevin). He follows her around everywhere she goes! And, she's super good to help out with him. If she was 12 instead of 6, she'd be our babysitter for sure. As it is though, she helps Nanna babysit a lot. 

He fell asleep on the two minute drive from Nanna's house to where we sat to watch the fireworks, but as soon as I stopped the car, he opened his eyes and started squealing. He doesn't look very awake in this picture, but I assure you he was.

Did I mention that this little boy loves his cousin Addison? She was sitting with her arm around him when he just reached over and wrapped both arms around her neck. So sweet.

I kept trying to take pictures, but the flash on my phone was so bright this is what a lot of them looked like. Both kids with either their eyes closed or their hands in front of their faces. Oh well.

And this is my favorite picture of the night. This little boy LOVES his Daddy!!!! He's just as content as can be sitting there. What you can't see is that he's patting Jason's head under his hat. Sweet boy! A funny thing happend just before this though. My mom and sister and Addison and I were saying, "Jason!" while trying to get his attention to come sit in a better spot than where he had his chair. Apparently Lawson thought we needed some help, so he started shouting (very loudly and with much enthusiasum), "JASON!!!!! JASON!!!! JASON!!!" I don't think he had the slightest idea who Jason was, but it sure was funny!

No doubt the best part of the fireworks show was watching Lawson watch the "stars!!!" (this is what he shouted when the fireworks would go off in the sky). We had a great Fourth of July this year. And, we had a good burger (that my mom made and Jason grilled) this year too. :-)

Fun Packed Day

We had a busy Saturday! It was Miss Addison Grace's 6th birthday party. Isn't she the cutest thing. She lost her first tooth last week AND she got a new haircut too. She actually donated more than 10 inches of her hair to Locks of Love.

The birthday party was at Wheels N Motion in Van Buren. They have skating and a ball pit and all kinds of fun stuff. I was a litte worried about Lawson not having a good time. I was afraid it would be too wild with bigger kids and he wouldn't be able to play on any of the fun stuff. Boy was I wrong!!! This kid had a blast!!

Just came down the big, curvy slide with Daddy. You can't really see his face, but he had the biggest smile and was jabbering and screaming with excitement.

Climbing up to the slide.He LOVES, "big steps."

Playing in the ball pit with cousin Jaxx.

 

 

 

 

 

This boy LOVED the ball pit. Even when the bigger kids got in and starting playing and jumping around he still had fun. At first he wanted to throw the balls out, but then he just playing and threw them inside. I have some super cute videos too!

After the party, Lawson went home with Auntie Tina and Jevin.

We have been working recently on helping Lawson get more comfortable with people besides me and Jason and Nana. Last weekend he stayed an afternoon with Aunt Carla and this weekend it was Auntie Tina's turn. As you can see they had fun. I'm so glad he's getting more comfortable with this. He's even stayed in the nursery at church by himself the last two weeks. He cries when I leave but the ladies in the nursery assure me that after a few minutes he's fine. Such a relief.

 

While Lawson was with Auntie Tina and Jevin, Jason and I took the kayaks out to Booneville Lake. I've never gone out on the kayaks, but have wanted to for a while. It was so much fun. The weather was beautiful and there was even a great (sort of) cool breeze. We will be doing this more often.

Sunday we went to church (where Lawson stayed in the nursery by  himself like a big boy...did I already mention that...so proud of his transition), did nap time and then lunch and then Lawson and I headed out to find him some bigger shoes. As you can see it was a fun ride in the car apparently.