June 2011

Happy Independence Day everyone!! It seems like summer has snuck up on me and all of a sudden we're in the midst of 90 degree weather. After the initial shock and adjustment (waterpark/pool daily!), we're on board! We just got back from vacation and are feeling refreshed after some wonderful family time together. We traveled to Southern Missouri/Northern Arkansas and puddle jumped around several towns with some friends and had a blast. Lots of miles were traveled and even though he kept waking up in different beds each day, Henry was an absolute road trip trooper! We feel fortunate for the much needed family time.

We'll start reigning back in Henry's television watching soon, but over the course of the trip the DVD player came in handy. Good thing is Henry LOVES to "watch PBS". And who can argue against that?!? We loved curling up in bed together and watching the cartoons. Henry's favorite show right now is Super Readers, which is a pretty interactive cartoon and definitely feeds his letter addiction. We've broadened finding "super letters" in the show to real life- which helped out on the road trip. It was very reminiscent of "the alphabet game" as a child on our trips to Iowa! I'm not sure if my parents made that game up, but it sure did pass time!!

We're working on playing games with Henry in effort to help him learn to follow directions and stay focused on tasks for more than a minute or two (still a challenge at this point!). My favorite game right now is "Momma J says", a sort of Simon Says-ish game during which Momma J tells Henry to do different stuff. Henry patting his head with a huge smile on his face gets me everytime! It was Christmas in June with Papap Bridges who found Henry a used drum set! It melts my heart to see how happy Henry is banging away at his new toy, and I definitely see a musical future for our guy. Though I am investing in ear plugs in the meantime:)

When back in Kansas City we've spent a LOT of time at Loose Park as it includes a ton of Henry's favorite things... duck pond+water fountain, rose garden+water fountain and spray park (form of many water fountains all together- note the similarity:) And, of course, a huge playground! I'm talking multiple trips a day, folks! We are a walking advertisement and love that it's easy on the wallet (free!) and a 10 minute trip from home. My arms are even a little tan despite lathering w/ sunscreen- woohoo!!

Henry returned back to school this week after a month off (summer break) and though the transition back included a few tears, we know he's happy to be back amongst his peers and wonderful teachers. He has asked about "Henry's school" at least once a week and everytime we go near the Plaza (which is pretty often!). There are themed months at Henry's school for the summer months and they include: The Land Before Time (dinosaurs), Into the Deep Blue Sea (ocean) and Out of This World (space). I have a good feeling he'll be pretty into this stuff:) So stay tuned, and give us a call if you're up for a trip to the park with us!!!

Much love,

Kate, Julie and Henry