Snapshots of Life: Food and Family: 4th of July, Mama B, 8 Month Old, and Lots of Field Trips

Hey there! Here's yet another picture catch up. I have some really tasty recipes that I'll post in my next one. I promise!! I've got about two more posts worth of pictures to be completely caught up and current. Patience, my friends. ;)

In the month of June, Alexander's preschool was teaching the kids about community helpers. They were introduced to policemen, firemen, doctors, dentists, and teachers.

"Look Mommy! I'm a policeman!"
(He had stuffed a bunch of little tools in his pants.)

Alexander, displaying his paintbrushes that he called his
"policeman tools."

He was very proud of this.

"Happy birthday, America!"
On the 4th of July, we had a little celebration at home (it was blessed hot).
My mom brought some drop pops, black snakes, and sparklers
for the celebration.

Here's Alexander, throwing a little drop pop and waiting for them
to pop. He had a blast laying these on the ground and stomping them.

We lit some "magic snakes" and watched them grow. Here's
Kristen and Alexander watching the magic.

He was excited about the snakes, but he was also very excited about
the fire. He kept shouting out loud, "Fire! Fire!!" (Okay, Beavis.) :)

"The snake is growing!"

Joseph handing Alexander a sparkler. He was mesmerized by it.

Alexander, holding the sparkler.

"Happy birthday, America!" (That's what he kept saying that day
because his preschool talked about the 4th of July being America's birthday.)

This was very short-lived, unfortunately. Even after many reminders,
he ended up touching the hot part of the stick and got a tiny burn.
We'll save the rest of them for next year. :-/

Pete, Kristen, and Mom playing with sparklers.

Joseph joined in on the fun.

Joseph, Kristen, Mom, and Pete, popping the little champagne bottles.

Joseph, helping Alexander pop his little champagne bottle.

On one of our little adventures, we chose to visit Stone Zoo. We had never been to this zoo before, so it was a lot of fun seeing all of the different types of animals that Franklin Park Zoo didn't have. Lots of fun with Mama B and the boys!

Alexander with the big bears.

Alexander enjoyed looking at the otter

He had a blast petting the snake at the zoo, too.

At the end of the zoo trip, Alexander wanted to
ride the "Zoo Choo." He loves trains.

Our happy little 8 month old! On July 5, William turned 8 months old. I remember taking this picture of him and looking through the lens and saying, "Wow! He's not an infant anymore. He's a big boy!" *sniff sniff*

8 Month Statistics:
Weight: 22 lbs 1 oz
Abilities:
He's army crawling, but not quite crawling yet. He says, "Mum, mum, mum-mah!"
Another sound he's beginning to say is "B-b-b-b-b." He changed into size 4 diapers,
started daycare three mornings a week (so Mommy can finally get a break after having
this little guy attached to her for 8 months).

Once William turned 8 months we gave him his first puffs
and baby mum mums (rice husks). Here's William, chewing
a baby mum mum. He was totally into it.

nom nom nom nom :)

Mama B's last day! Here's my mom, hanging out with Alexander
and William on the last day of her visit.

Alexander and Mom enjoying some froyo from our
favorite local froyo place called "Yo Fresh."

Mommy and Alex selfies :)

We like to make silly faces in this house. :)

Joseph and William playing around

My guys, goofing around. :)

On one of our family outings, it was a beautiful day, so we decided to visit Frog Pond in Boston Common. I absolutely love, love, LOVE going here during the summer! It's a really fun and free way to splash around with the kids and cool off in the summer.

Joseph, helping Alexander get ready to splash in Frog Pond
while holding William at the same time. You have to be ambidextrous
once you have more than one kid. :)

Joseph, walking William around (this kid always wants to be
standing on his tippy toes), while Alexander trotted through the water.

Our chunkalicious little panda

Joseph and William

Alexander finally got into it.

There he goes!

William, Joseph, and Alexander having fun at Frog Pond.

The water was incredibly warm that day.

After having a blast, splashing around in the water, we decided to dry off on the lawn in Boston Common.

Joseph laid down first, and the Alexander followed suit. He's such a ham!

We really got a kick out of Alexander, chilling out.

My beautiful men :)

William was totally into digging up the grass.

"Oh, hi mom!"

Alexander and Mommy snuggle time.

Alexander had fun, exploring the different types of little plants in
the grass area.

Our beautiful guy up close...yes, as you can tell, I'm a proud mama.

"Cheeeeeese!" The classic Alexander smile.

It was a beautiful day. :)

In Alexander's preschool classroom, the month of July was all about the beach, ocean, and camping. All fun things to do outdoors! Since both William and Alexander started going to school three days a week for just the morning, I figured that I could do some supplemental teaching on their days off. I decided to take the boys to the beach!

To make my first visit to the beach by myself with both boys a little more manageable, I chose to take them to Hopkinton State Park. It's not as far away as the actual beach, but it still has sand and water. (The only things that matter to a kid anyways.)

As soon as we hit the sand, Alexander got busy digging and playing
around. This was William's first exposure to the sand, and he was
absolutely mesmerized by it.

William, making a hilarious face as he was lying in the sand.

William really liked playing in the sand.

Alexander loved it, too!

We had a really great visit and my first trip by myself with both
boys was a success!

Time to experiment! Now that William is older, we're having a lot of fun experimenting with giving him new foods and seeing what he likes. One evening as I was preparing dinner, I gave Alexander some red bell pepper sticks to snack on. Then, William rolled over to me in his walker and looked up at me, longingly. So, I decided to give him one to chew on as well!

William's first experience with red bell pepper.

He LOVED it!

One happy and proud little guy.

What a ham!

My friend Suzie and her darling son, Coda joined us for a fun field trip to the Ecotarium, located in Worcester, MA. It was a little bit of a drive for us, but it was well worth it! Plus, we got to spend the morning with some great friends! Alexander and Coda had a lot of fun exploring the museum, visiting the animals, and most importantly, riding their train (the highlight of the trip according to Alexander).

Alexander, Coda, and Suzie checking out the Ecotarium.

The boys were so cute together.

Suzie did a great job showing the boys what to do with each exhibit
since my hands were pretty full with William.

Alexander, playing around with the pinwheels.

Climbing time! Coda was absolutely fearless! He scaled
the rock wall like a little spider monkey!

Boys and dinosaurs....enough said. :)

Alexander, Coda, and Suzie, checking out the turtle exhibit.

They had a new Alice in Wonderland exhibit for the summer.
Here's Coda and Alexander exploring the hallway.

Alexander and Coda watching Alice's head get bigger and smaller.

Alexander on the train ride.

Me, William, and Alexander on the train.
Thanks for the pic, Suzie!

This train ride went super fast and it was really long!

Alexander and Coda looking at the fish and turtles in the water.
Aren't they adorable??

Alexander in the woods.

Another dinosaur!! The boys loved seeing the dinosaurs.

And now a few randoms....enjoy!

Alexander, playing with William while he was
taking his bath.

Me and the boys :)

Water table fun!

Alexander on another hot, summer day at the water table.

We broke out the baby pool and both of the boys
squeezed in.

Oscar decided to sniff around as well. He's very
protective of the boys.

They loved splashing around together.

In our new neighborhood, we're really lucky that
there are a lot of awesome playgrounds and splash parks!
Here's one that we found in Waltham. The boys loved it!

The boys, splashing around.

What's that I hear?? :)