And as such, the summer drew to a close

Funny, I'm talking about summer in November.  That's what happens when one gets behind on photos.

Another trip to the museum.  Liam, Robin's friend, and Robin in infrared

Aww, looking at rockets together

Our necessary photo so see how tall they are by the dinosaurs

And just for a matter of comparison:

Digging for dino bones

Dean creating an eyepatch out of a spoon at the museum a few days later

Robin doing the same

Dean decided to fill up the kiddie pool to take advantage of one of the last hot days of August.  Liam didn't like being put into it, though

Robin had no qualms

Bringing our giant Hoberman sphere to our playdate at the park

I drew a maze on the driveway for Robin to run through.  He really loved figuring it out, and wanted to run it over and over

We got a book from the library, where a boy sent a hug through the mail to his grandmother.  Each page had the next mail carrier passing on the hug, until it reached Granny.  Then the final page showed the boy holding an envelope with a lipstick kiss on his cheek--implying that Granny sent a kiss right back.  Robin was enthralled by this lipstick kiss (probably because I almost never wear makeup) and asked a lot of questions about it.  He asked my mom if she ever wore "lipkiss," as he's been pronouncing it.  After discussing this several times, she went out and bought a cheap, bright red stick of lipstick and brought it over so she could leave a lipstick kiss on his cheek.

He loved this!

Liam got smooched too.  I love the way his face scrunches in this picture

Hee hee

Next, Robin wanted to try it

So Mom got a "lipkiss" kiss too

We went to Dean's parents house for the day, and took a visit to their local library.  There's an airplane cockpit smack in the middle of the children's section!

Then, while Liam napped, Grammy stayed nearby, and Mama, Dada, and Aunt Kat looked at nearby model homes, Robin and Grandpa went on a bike ride!

We rounded out the night with a trip to the Taste of Colorado.  We've decided that this is a bit of a pain with two active, easily-bored, overtired children.  Next time will either be in a few years, or earlier in the day if we go next year.

Mmm, ice cream!

In good company

To conclude summer, we had a Labor Day BBQ with some friends.  It was warm enough that we set up the kiddie pool again, and one of my friends brought a slip-n-slide. 

The kiddos had fun

Dean had a go, too

It didn't cease to be hot after Labor Day, but it did  cool down fairly soon after.  Watch for the next exciting installment to see our next exploits!

Dum dee doo

From a recent trip to the museum, playing on the wolf statues outside

Robin and his friends flying the spaceship

He decided to put on the astronaut costume

In early August we went to Cherry Creek Reservior for free because of Colorado Day, when state parks were free.

First, we did a nature walk.

It was hot and both boys protested walking, so both ended up like this

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Finally we had a picnic and then made our way to the water!

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This was a great beach for little kids, as the slope was INCREDIBLY gradual

Liam:  What's going on with my feet?
Robin:  I'm either hanging on for dear life or am trying to pull you down into the water

I'm in the water!!!!!

Dean built a sand castle with Robin's help

Jump!

Jump!

Jump!!!!!

Time to come in.  It's cloudy, cooling off, and naptime

Hello!

Sidewalk chalk belongs on the sidewalk, not your faces, Silly!

You too, Liam!  And by the way, chalk isn't for eating either

Who's that cutie?  He's wearing a pair of overalls that Dean's cousin wore to Dean's parents' wedding some 41 plus years ago

Robin helped me wash my car

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I went to a baby shower for an old friend who always had skulls and crossbones on her clothing.  An activity she wanted at her shower was for people to decorate baby clothing.  She's having a girl, so I drew a skull and crossbones with pigtails and a bow
I would add other updates, but I've been having a hard time concentrating today, so rather than sweat out a few updates, I'll just try to put some in the next post.

Back at home, and how time flies

Where has the time gone?  I was going to post this a month ago.  Back at home after our trip, Robin was very eager to talk about Disney World.  A lot.  The day after we returned home, Robin announced that he wanted to make a map of where Mickey lives, so we did just that.  Here is Robin, I mean Mickey, talking about it.

Liam made a big step after we got home.  It was time to move him into his big boy carseat.

We could've done it before Disney, but we determined that his infant seat was easier to travel with (hoo boy, it's lighter) so we saved the transition until after we got home.  His final time sitting in the old seat.

Forward facing now!  He wasn't too sure about it for a while.  It was naptime when we finished this up, so he definitely wasn't sure of it on this day (the smile was tickled out of him, but he fussed a lot otherwise.)  After a few car rides, though, he got used to it and would probably protest if we spun him around again.  And the biggest bonus is that my passenger seat has leg room again!

Yeah, I don't think Dean will be able to ride between the boys anymore, not even for short rides

Robin made an elephant out of play dough

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I posted the video a month ago, but here's a still shot of one of Liam's first forays across the open floor

Hi!  (He likes to smile for the camera now)

A couple random photos that Robin took again

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Liam got his first real haircut at the end of July.

This was much sooner than Robin got his (at something like 20 months), but hey, I had the clippers out...

We bought a bike trailer at the end of July, so now I (or Dean) can tow Liam and let Robin ride much faster than when we had to walk with Liam in a stroller

It took a little getting used to, but now it's a nice way to ride around.

Of course, once Target finally had the trailer in stock, they were out of infant helmets.  It took a few weeks before we finally got one for Liam.  He didn't seem to mind.

Robin, of course, wasn't content with riding beside.  He wanted a ride in the trailer too.  (I think Liam liked it better when he had the trailer to himself)

I haven't reported much on kiddo progress that isn't documented on camera, so I'll mention a few things here.  Firstly, Liam is talking!  He says "Mama" and "Dada" of course, and sometimes he refers to me as "MoMEEE!" instead of "Mama."  I find it amusing that I've never referred to myself as such to him, yet he came up with Mommy on his own.  I may be known by a different name to each kid.  Go figure.  Liam also says "uh oh," "ball," "hi," and "bye" distinctly.  He also seems to say "this" and "that" while pointing, and even says something that sounds like a slurred "do you see it?" while pointing at things.  In fact, he does a lot of things that sound like slurred-together complete phrases.  We respond as though he said what it sounds like, though I'm not sure if that is his full intent or not.  I like to imagine that he's already trying to use complete sentences though!

In less happy news, I believe that Liam probably has asthma.  He started coughing a lot in the last two months, and I started to realize that it was worst on days that I was having asthma problems due to wildfire haze in the air.  We took him to see our allergy and asthma center, and he's too young to really diagnose yet, but they gave him albuterol and it helped.  They prescribed some for home too, and we've used it a good deal, first to clear up his lungs during that episode, and then with every cold since.  He may end up on a daily med to keep him level.  We don't know yet, but I'm starting to suspect that it'll happen.

I could add more things, but I'm ready for bed.  I'll just give more updates with the next post.  Enjoy!