Camp Mommy: Weeks 5-6

We are well into summer at this point of mid-July, and I can't believe how quickly it has passed. I worried it would drag and be boring, which is the whole reason I decided to implement such a structured summer - so I'm pleased that it's actually going "swimmingly!" Since my last Camp Mommy post, we have enjoyed so many more fun-filled activities. One morning, we were invited to come hang out at my cousin's - who offered us tons of new hand-me-down toys, and Banner has been in toy heaven since that morning! We have new fun things to play with thanks to Jordan and Keaton who donated their no-longer-played-with toys to their little cousin, Banner! Firetrucks, garbage trucks, more Hot Wheels, a big doctor's kit, a large tool bench with electronic tools, an entire train track and trains, a set of instruments, a scooter, a lacing kit, a gas station/garage... the list goes on! (And so does the storage problem we've always had with how to organize and store toys, but I keep repeating to myself that a child-friendly, messy home shows that we are creating memories!) So, most of our "down-time" in the past couple weeks has been simply enjoying the new-to-us toys we have sprinkled all over the house. Banner is awesome at independent play, so there's never a dull moment for him even if we aren't out in the heat. (Thank you, Kevin, Robin, Jordan, & Keaton!)

We also ventured to the Children's Aquarium downtown, had some excellent water play in the backyard, tried another Barnes & Noble story time (not a huge fan for B's age), had a swim date at Emily's house, spent the day with cousins while waiting to hear the great news that Nami was out of his first surgery, had another visit to the indoor play park, visited Nami at home and played with Brycen, went to the library for Toddler Time and to check out new books, visited with Uncle Marc and Natalie the day before had Bubbie's unveiling (and then spent more time with family afterward), enjoyed a movie and popcorn date when the rain forced us to stay inside, went grocery shopping (and Banner got to be the shopper!), met Lindsay, Myka, Shauna, and Brayden at a bounce house venue (which was a little too advanced for our little ones, but I'm still glad we tried it out), enjoyed an amazing trip to the zoo (so fun that it deserved its own post!), celebrated Aunt Mischelle's birthday, explored and loved another Jump venue (twice!) which has special Toddler Jump times, and visited another farmstead museum.  Check it out. . .

Aquarium

Stingrays

Ready for water play!

painting the porch

Hanging out with Emily

Celebrating a successful first surgery!

Playing with Shayna

Wagon ride with Brycen

 

These two crack me up!

Shopping

Enjoying popcorn and watching The Lion King after nap

Climbing into a bounce house obstacle course

Myka on left

These two sweet sisters helped Banner up to the slide

And then they helped him down! He loved them, and they were a big help to me! :)

 

Love the action shot

Cousins after Aunt Mischelle's birthday dinner

Jump Mania

I love watching his pretend play - this video cut off but he was quite the little chef at this facility:

Farmstead Museum

Chickens

"Bak bak bak"

Turkey

Banner getting a good look at the cows

Donkey

Sheep

"Tractors!"

Playing with Brayden

And here's a little video we sent to Daddy this afternoon while playing with Play Doh. Again, the video cut off but he was very imaginative with the Play Doh and all the things he was going to make for Daddy.

In the next couple weeks, we'll be going to a movie for the first time(!), trying out a couple new gyms, spending more time at the pool, enjoying more library story time, going to another workshop with Daddy, and trying our best to beat the heat with lots of fun activities and friends!