Trike-a-Thon

Today at pre-school, Hayden participated in a "Trike-a-Thon" where he rode tricycles with his classmates to help raise money for new play equipment. He was sponsored with donations by us, Grammy, and Grandma (thank you!!). You can see by the pictures that he spent more time waiting to ride than he actually spent on the bike riding. It was cute to see him wait so patiently for his turn to come. Being a safety conscious kid, he waited with his buddy, helmet on , and was ready to ride. The boys' turn came, and quickly went, but they were so cute on those little red bikes, riding intently up and back on the school's sport court. As the class finished up, we all headed back inside, and with a shiny gold medal around his neck, Hayden led the way in line. After enjoying an Otter Pop inside the classroom with his friends, and even little brother enjoyed one too, we said our goodbyes and headed for home to begin our weekend.

The Park

This afternoon, after a slightly busy day of errands, including taking Grummy to the groomers, grocery shopping, our weekly visit to Costco, fitting in a nap somewhere for Noah, and baking friendship bread (thanks Nicole, I forgot how yummy it is!), the boys and I walked down to the park for some outdoor play time. Truthfully, I needed to get out of the house and do something that didn't require me to pack along my purse, bring along the diaper bag, or buckle the boys into their car seats. The weather, though still VERY warm, has started to "cool" down enough to be able to withstand time outside without the complete fear of total dehydration. The park was empty, an extra bonus, which gave the boys free run of the play structure and swings. Upon getting to the park, Hayden informed me that Noah is able to climb up this spiral ladder that leads to the top platform of the play area. After my heart nearly stopped watching him climb up, stand at the top while holding on with just one hand, and finally maneuvering himself over to the platform, I took a deep breath and cheered him on as he repeated over and over (and by this, I do mean over & over & over...) "watch me mommy" and "look at me mommy". So here you can see a my brave little boy climbing up, before he gets ready to slide down and do it all over again.


So as not to give little brother all the glory or spotlight, here you can see our big boy enjoying the park in his own way. Hayden has always loved the park, and the older he gets, he still seems to enjoy the same ol' thing. Climbing, sliding, hanging, jumping, swinging ... all of it keeps this active little boy of ours busy enough for the time we're there. He is really trying to get the hang of "pumping" his legs as he learns to swing on his own - let's just say he still needs a good push or two to get himself going. I guess it's still nice to be needed for the little things in life.

Swimming & Splashing

Our little boys have become such fish swimming and splashing around in Grammy & Grampy's pool this summer. Hayden has become quite the swimmer, using his arms together with his kicks, he wiggles and swims all around the pool. He's our own little Michael Phelps. Noah, who loves to do anything and everything "Haynen" does, has really amazed us, going from just being held in our arms in May to practically jumping in on his own. He loves to sit on the edge of the step while scooting himself closer and closer, and then says to whoever is nearby "go under." Before you know it, he lowers himself under the water, pops right back up ready for more, coming up with his big smile and watered-down runny nose. Amazingly, there is usually still water left in the pool after he manages to swallow and then sputter some out. So come the 2020 Olympics, wherever they might be held, keep your eyes peeled for the Robb Brothers ... they're sure to take on the world, one lap at a time!

Flight of Hayden

Preparing for take-off ...

... and he's up to altitude.

Beginning his descent ...

... for a safe, splashy landing.
He smiles, and says "Let's do it again, Dad!"

My Pretty Boy

Okay, so I couldn't resist posting these pictures. Every day, Noah continues to amaze us with the little things he learns to do. For as long as he's been mobile, it has been a fun game for him to put on shoes - usually just one, typically on the wrong foot and most of the time belonging to Hayden - and walk around totally happy. It was so cute to see him just toddle around the house like that. In recent weeks, he has actually been putting on his own shoes, not necessarily on the correct feet, but at least he's got them both on. Today however, he graduated into mommy's shoes. It is a fun game for him to go into our closet and completely unload it of shoes ... and he has had fun with this particular pair only because they are still stored in their box, which he loves to get into! So before we're heading out to run errands, we are looking for his shoes so we can leave. I find him in my closet, putting my shoes, and on the correct feet with the strap between his toes, with a big ol' grin on his face. He looks at me and says "look at me mama" ... then he gets up, with his school bus in hand kind of looking like he's carrying his own "handbag," and proceeds to walk and tap-dance around the house, all still while wearing my shoes. Needless to say, we didn't go run errands with Noah wearning my gold, strappy sandals ... but he was so adorable walking around showing off "his" shoes. Oh how I love this boy!

Wildlife World Zoo

This morning, I decided to take advantage of the "slightly" cooler morning weather and take the boys to the Wildlife World Zoo, which is just about 4 miles from our house. We are fortunate to have a annual membership, thanks to Grammy & Grampy, and truly enjoy spending time seeing all the different animals. We met our friends, Jen, Ellie, and baby Lia there too - which only added to the fun. It never ceases to amaze me how excited Hayden gets - he has been several times since we started visiting over two years ago, and each and every time it's as if it's his first visit. Noah has been several times as well, but each previous time he was still too young to really enjoy seeing the animals. He really had a great time, and was even trying to talk to the birds. "Bye-bye Birds" he said (in his little lispy voice). I think one of the best things I get to do as a parent is seeing and experiencing things through the eyes of my children. Watching Hayden and Noah today reminded me of the times I visited the zoo when I was a kid, and brought back fond memories of spending time with my family. I hope the boys will look back too, and remember watching the silly monkeys climb all over the fence, or checking out the rhino as it wandered around its open area, or feeding pellets to the hungry giraffe with the enormously long tongue. So, with words from my sweet little boy, "Mom, we had a really fun day at the zoo." Yep, Hayden, we sure did!

Mama's Helpers

So here you can see my two little helpers ... tonight Hayden decided he wanted to help me wash up the dinner dishes. He took his dish-washing "job" very seriously, and really spent time cleaning up what he could before turning the sponge back over to me. And though there was about a gallon of water on the counter after he was done, his kindness in wanting to help meant more to me than having a sparkling clean counter. On the other hand, I am not so sure Noah was quite as helpful, as anytime the dishwasher is open, his primary goal seems to be how quickly he can unload the silverware after it's been loaded. You'd be amazed at the places where we find spoons in this house! So at the end of the day, who really cares if Noah rearranged my strategically placed dishes in the dishwasher, he looked darn cute pretending to "help" ... and I couldn't resist the "cheesy" grin showing off his teeth. And next time, I'll be wiser and double check that the dishes Hayden washed are actually clean before putting them away - his intentions were sweet, just didn't quite get all the Parmesan cheese off the grater. Oh well ... there's plenty of time to train him. :)