T-ball Celebration

Mia's t-ball team had a little party at the rec center to celebrate the end of the season.  There was a bounce house on the basketball court for the kids.  Quinn found a basketball and tried so hard to dribble.  He's interested in all sports, and it will be fun to see which ones he decides to try as he gets older.  The coaches presented all of the kids with a trophy and certificate.  There was no scorekeeper at the games.  Nobody won/lost.  Obviously it's important for kids to learn that not everyone always wins, but these kids are 4-5 years old.  They don't have to learn that lesson just yet.  They just had fun playing the game.  Getting outside, being active, and learning to work together as a team are great things to do, too.  I couldn't take many pictures.  I was holding Quinn while I was taking them, and he was a little wiggle worm.

Big Boy

Quinn is talking non-stop now.  He is stringing several words together and sometimes speaks in full sentences.  He pronounces words well, but some of his baby words are adorable.  Until recently, he was calling a hamburger "haga-burga".  Cookies are "tookies".  Instead of peekaboo, he says, "teekaboo".

He has favorite toys, too.  His blue minky blanket is non-negotiable at bedtime.  He also loves his stuffed raccoon and teddy bear.  His favorite past-time is looking at books.  He constantly wants to be read to and looks at them on his own at naptime, bedtime, and in the car.

Quinn is interested in anything that goes as well.  Planes, trains, trucks, tractors, and everything else.  He's been trying to figure out his tricycle lately so that he can pedal like Mia does on her bike.  He hasn't worked it out yet, but I'm sure it won't be long.  Another fave is superheroes.  He knows Spiderman and Batman.  He likes the others as well, but he's still learning their names.

He loves to be a helper.  This is very helpful when I'm doing laundry.  He likes to help me sort the clothes, but we differ in opinion sometimes on which clothes go in each pile.  I have to pass each article of clothing to him from the washing machine so that he can put them in the dryer one at a time.  Sometimes laundry takes awhile.  It's funny to me that a pile of clean laundry attracts him like a magnet.  If I carry a load of clean clothes into the living room and put them on the couch, I have to fold/hang them up immediately.  I usually do that anyway, but if I don't hurry, he climbs on top of the pile and makes himself comfortable.  Haha!

Q likes to play with the iPad

The boy loves him some Mexican food.

 Wesley helped Mia and Quinn string together some of Q's riding toys so that they could have their very own train.

Father's Day

Since the huge Margaret Hunt Hill bridge has opened up connecting Oak Cliff with 75, the Continental bridge that runs alongside its replacement has just sat there.  It was decided to turn the Continental bridge into a walking bridge so that there's no foot traffic on the MHH bridge.  It opened today on Father's Day, so we went to the grand opening celebration to see it.  They really tricked it out.  There are awnings scattered along the bridge for shade.  There are also misters and a splash pad portion.  There is lots of seating as well as a play area for kids.  It was really neat (but it was also very hot).  For the occasion, there were several food trucks parked under the Margaret Hunt Hill bridge.  It looked massive from underneath.

Margaret Hunt Hill bridge

Continental bridge

Happy Father's Day!!

 

Last T-ball Game

Yesterday was Mia's last t-ball game of the season.  She has improved a lot since the beginning of the season a couple of months ago.  At that time, she didn't know any of the rules and mostly played in the dirt.  Now, she has a basic grasp of the game and actually tries to run after the ball.  It's definitely a marked improvement.  She has enjoyed playing on a team with old friends and making some new ones.  I must admit that I'm glad the season is ending because of the heat.  It's really warming up here in Dallas.  She had a great experience playing her first team sport.  We'll have our Saturdays free now.  Plus, she's not in ballet for the month of June.  However, swim lessons start soon, so we'll be staying busy.

Pearson (#13) and Mia (#15). Notice that they both had to have pink mitts.

Kids never seem to all look the same direction at once for a picture. :)

 

San Antonio Day Two

The next morning, we hit the pavement again.  I love historic places, so I wanted to see the Alamo.  It was a little smaller than I had envisioned, but it was still interesting.  I could have looked around it for much longer, but the kids' attention span didn't last that long.  We found our last name on a list of soldiers who had fought at the Alamo.  That's not too surprising considering how common our last name is, but it was still neat.  We also took Mia and Quinn to the San Antonio Children's Museum.  It was very close to our hotel, too.  It was an amazing museum.  There was probably twice as much to see and do there as we actually had time for.  The kids loved it.  We could easily go there again and find more things for the kids to do that they didn't even notice were there.  San Antonio was fun to visit.  We'll be going back sometime to experience Sea World and other San Antonio gems.  It was a fantastic vacation!

Back at the Alamo later that afternoon.

 

San Antonio Day One

We decided to break up the drive home with a stop in San Antonio for a couple of days.  We stayed in a hotel downtown that was right by the Alamo.  When we got there, we parked our car and walked everywhere for two days until we left town.  The area was very pedestrian friendly.  Our hotel was gorgeous.  It was a historic building, and I really could have just moved in there.  They had preserved many of the original details.  On our first evening in town, we strolled down to the Riverwalk for dinner.  That area is beautiful.  After dinner, we walked down the Riverwalk to explore a bit.  Mia danced to some mariachi music, and we ate some ice cream as we people-watched.

View of the Alamo from our hotel room.

 Dancing to mariachi music