Tour de Brooklyn

In an effort to burn off some of Bryce's excess energy, I proposed a walk/ride to the Brooklyn Museum of Art's fountain and entry stairs. Bryce put up a good fight not to go, but as soon as we were outside, I couldn't convince him to go back in! Bryce pedaled the whole way there and back (though, I am doing most of the pushing). He had a blast going up and down the stairs at the Museum and running around in the grass in front.

All of the exercise certainly made Bryce tired (though he didn't want to nap) and he eventually fell asleep without 'Paco' (his pacifier). We are on Day 2 of no more 'Paco'. Bryce definitely has his doubts about being a big kid now...

Boing!

Bryce was really hyper this afternoon (thanks, in part to having taken no nap) and so was jumping off the chair onto the cushions. He has a great time doing this and I would mind so much if he always managed to hit the cushions. Thankfully, there were no major injuries!

Helmet Head

Bryce tried out his new 'big kid' helmet today (thanks, Nikki & Freecycle!) Jeremy took Bryce for a ride in the rain. They went to the playground and had it all to themselves. It was a much needed escape for Bryce - he had been bouncing off the walls all morning!

Berry Busy

Bryce was playing with his cars and truck this evening and I came over with the camera to capture a bit of the activity. Bryce turned toward me and smiled, which is the picture you see above. I then shifted to take another picture and Bryce said, "No, Mommy. Don't do that. I very (berry) busy. I am working very (berry) hard."

As you can see, I didn't listen...

Sculpture Garden at MoMA

Jackie sent over the pictures that she had taken yesterday in the sculpture garden at MoMA. Bryce and Julien were really making me laugh as we talked about the different sculptures. There was one sculpture of a woman that looked as though she was about to fall in the water. I asked the guys if they thought she might be about to fall in and Bryce said, "Yes, I think she might go in the water." Julien said, "No! No, go in the water!" I tried to explain that she wasn't really going to go in the water - it was just made to look like she was going to, but apparently Jackie made it very clear to Julien that no one was going in the water. Period.

MoMA

Jackie and Julien shared free passes to MoMA with Bryce, Audrey and me today. The museum was PACKED! Jackie gave Bryce and Julien a guided tour while Audrey and I tried to run over all of the tourists with the stroller! We then went out to the sculpture garden and had a snack. Bryce said this evening, "Let's go back to that museum someday with Jackie and Julien!"

(Oh, and for those of you who are worried that Bryce is being forced to wear his socks pulled up to his knees...rest easy. I try to fold his socks down, but Bryce insists on pulling them all the way up...even in 90 degree heat!)

Oh, and a VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Great-Grandma Mac!

Bookworm

It is official... Bryce is a bookworm! He spent most of his day "reading" and even decided that he would rather read than eat dinner. (Thank goodness we have adjustable waist pants for him!) It is wonderful to watch Bryce be so absorbed in a book (and I don't have pictures because I don't want to ruin the moment). He really focuses on the pictures and then when you read the book to him later, he points out all of the things he found when he was reading by himself.

Swing, Swing, Swing!

Bryce tried out his new toddler swing on the play set this morning. It worked perfectly. He really wants to learn how to swing himself, but definitely does not have the rhythm figured out yet.

Danny was staying with us today and really enjoyed watching Bryce swing and was especially giggly when Bryce would try to reach him as he was swinging. Bryce also said the funniest thing after Nikki dropped Danny off in the morning. He asked, "Where did Nikki go?" I said, "She had to go to work today." Bryce then asked, "Can we keep Danny?"

These are supposed be a sand table... not a sand box... to prevent exactly this from happening!

A picnic snack in the backyard.

Pool Party!

One of Andy’s (Danny's Dad) customers offered use of his pool and playground while he was away on vacation with his family. So, we all hopped on the train out to Maplewood for a weekend mini-break! We arrived on Friday evening and Bryce and Audrey spent some time exploring all of Danny's cool toys and furniture. Of course, Bryce thinks these are all his toys, but we just keep them at Aunt Nikki's house...

On Saturday, the weather looked like it was going to be nothing but storms, but it cleared up just as we arrived at the pool and didn’t start raining again until we’d decided to call it a day. And it was absolutely perfect! Bryce was a bit skiddish about getting in the water at first and was much more interested in directing everyone else to get in or to go down the slide. Eventually, we managed to convince him to try the warm jacuzzi. After that, he was willing to get in the bigger pool...even though it wasn't quite as warm.

Don't these guys look like twins?

Andy found this great pool toy and Bryce had a blast floating around in the pool...without getting wet and being tossed back and forth between Daddy and Andy.

Eventually, I was directed to get back in the pool by Bryce. I had finally gotten all dry, so I wasn't too keen on the demand. I tried just hanging out in the "cube."

That got a little boring, so I went down the slide and then dove from the rocks a few times. I was a little nervous at first because it has been a long time since I have jumped in a pool from that height and I couldn't quite remember what I should do!

After all my sliding and diving, Bryce joined me again in the warm whirlpool.

We blew lots of bubbles in the water, which Bryce has continued to do at every bath time since we came back from the pool...

I also tried to get Bryce to float on his back. His reaction... "NO THANK YOU!"

After a late lunch and getting dried off, we went up to the playground. Bryce tried out the trampoline with Jeremy. It would have been perfect except that the recent storms had blown up a bunch of little rocks onto the trampoline that didn't feel great on your feet.

Then Bryce found a bunch of BIG trucks. He pushed them all into a line in the yard, which is his signature move!

Then Bryce and I climbed up on the play set and Bryce tried out the spiral slide!

As it was time to go, Bryce helped Andy return the golf cart to the pool house and lock everything up. It was a fantastic day!

Comedy Central

Perhaps Bryce is destined for a career in the entertainment field. He certainly knows how to make Danny and now Audrey really laugh! Jeremy and I spend a fair amount of time laughing at him, too...but not necessary when is trying to be funny!

Truck Twister

Bryce is showing off his super long truck that he created (with his Daddy's help), but it looks more like a crazy game of twister. After I took this picture, Bryce wanted to pose again and then look at the photo on the camera.

After looking at this photo, he was very concerned about not being able to see me in the photograph, so we took one together!

I Look Silly?

This afternoon, Bryce refused to nap. Even if he doesn't sleep, he is supposed to "rest" in his room for 2 hours. This is the time that Mommy needs in order to survive the day! Bryce rested today by completely stripping everything off his bed and then climbing on the window sills and probably the dresser. When it was time to "wake up", I went in and removed Bryce from the window sill. I told him we could go in the living room as soon as he cleaned up his room. He said, "Okay! Mommy, you help me? This is hard work!" Bryce then picked up his cowboy hat and said, "I wear this?" Sure. "I look silly?" No, you look cute. After cleaning everything up, we went in the living room and I asked Bryce if I could take his picture. He posed and then said, "Yes, please!"

Tonight before bedtime, Bryce wouldn't let me start reading until Audrey was ready for the story, too. I couldn't get him to understand that she really wouldn't be bothered if she missed the first few pages...