...and play inside (part 1)

It has been raining everyday here for the last year, okay couple months. It seems it is either the entire morning or the entire afternoon. So it takes much creativity on my part to come up with ways of entertaining these two curious little guys. I don't have pictures of many of the random things I come up with at that minute when I say to myself "think of something quick before they drive you crazy". Some of our favorites are "peek and hide" which is what Maddox calls it and I find very fitting because he peeks while I hide. I love when it is his turn because he only has two hiding spots, his closet or Harold's closet. Although we play this on a daily basis he still will answer me every time I say "where are you", which I guess is actually a good thing. Landon loves to tag along when I look for Maddy he gets a huge smile on whenever I open the door and we see Maddy standing there. Some other favorites are playing on my bed doing somersaults, playing in the sink with the water, and playing in he crib with all the stuffed animals. Below are some other rainy day activities that we have enjoyed. Hoping the rain will end soon. We are missing the beautiful sunny days of Miami!

Letting them help prepare meals is awesome. It helps me get something done I need to do and they have fun doing it. This is Maddox my professional meat grinding boy!

Playing with colored rice. 

We usually use this as a drum but works this way too!

Jumping on the bed is always a fun time!

Even Landon got in on the rice activity. 

This is Landon watching Maddy jumping on his bed trying to imitate him. 

Magnet fishing. I threw this together quickly one day and Maddy loves it! Im going to make a better set for him one day. 

...to a little chef's birthday party!

A couple weeks ago we went to a birthday party for a friend of Maddox. At this party they got to make their own pizza and cupcakes. They each got to wear a little apron but for some reason Maddox refused to put on. I was quite surprised he didn't want to wear it but it was nap time and he was tired so...it is what it is. No cutesy apron pictures. 

This is after they asked if he wanted to wear the apron. 

Very serious measuring going on.

Apparently his favorite color is YELLOW! :o)

Who wouldn't smile at this cupcake!

The best part....eating it! Can't you see the sugar kicking in already?! hehe

...to watch these two amazing boys!

I LOVE these boys with all my heart! They just make my heart so happy! Of course we have those rough times but at the end of the day when I get my goodnight kisses I forget all those low moments and and so thankful. I love how Maddox really cares for Landon. He tries to comfort him when he is crying. He tries to encourage him when he is trying to do something. And I love how Landon loves Maddox. He tries to imitate certain things that he does and he cracks up pretty much anytime that Maddox just walks towards him. I know that these two are going to be best friends one day. Watching them grow is amazing!
Here are some of my favorite moments of them lately.

Landon's first taste of a smoothie...and its from his brother! 

Poolside kisses!

Hehe....I love naked baby butts!

Fourth of July fun!

Landon bothering Maddy at dinner one night....hehe 

Now Maddy wants to share all of Landon's toys too. 

One of my favorite brother moments to date!

...to celebrate Independence Day!!

We had such a good time watching fireworks at a hotel/golf course about 5 minutes from our house. The fireworks started at 9pm so we weren't quite sure how it would go with 2 sleepy boys. It really couldn't have gone any better. Both boys were so well behaved and enjoyed the whole event. There was a live band playing some familiar music while waiting for it to get dark which we made sure to sing to. I love that Maddox isn't shy about singing out loud for all to hear. He really does enjoy music and dancing. He then walked with papa to check out all of the food trucks and came back with a tasty frozen fruit bar. Landon and I had stayed behind saving our spot on the grass. Then there was some cheap entertainment from a water bottle, Landon's car seat, and of course more snacks! The show lasted about 15 minutes and was awesome from start to finish. I love how Maddox asked me if there was balloons popping. I guess that was the only thing he could relate the loud bang of the fireworks to. We didn't hit too much traffic leaving and thus both boys managed to stay awake for the car ride home. We had bought some sparklers and decided to end the evening lighting some up on our patio. Maddox was scared at first but got over that quickly. Landon was drawn to the light like most babies I'm sure would be. We all had a great night! Hope you all enjoyed your Independence Day!

Walking to the golf course. Can you see a sleepy Landon. 

Banana flavored...yum!!

While Maddox ate his frozen fruit pop Landon had a water bottle...he was happy :o) 

I didn't realize he had it up his nose until I uploaded the pictures onto the computer. lol

He was so sad after the sparkler went out. :o( 

  

...and learn about clouds

Here is another little experiment I did with Maddox last week. I found this one online but had to improvise. It called for shaving cream but when I went to get some from my bathroom I realized that it was gel and wouldn't work. (I didn't even think twice about not having shaving cream.) So I thought quick on my feet and grabbed a paper towel later on I thought about trying cotton. For the experiment we filled a glass jar halfway with water then we added the "cloud" on top. I filled up different bowls with water and a couple of drops of food coloring and gave Maddox the dropper. The colored water was supposed to run through the cloud. The "clouds" that we tried didn't work as great but Maddox understood the point and had a blast playing with the dropper. He has asked to play with the colors about a dozen times since then. 

...and create a work of art

Continuing with our weather theme we have done a few more little activities this week. Maddox has been really drawn to lightening. I mean who doesn't think that it is one of God's amazing creations? So I thought we could create a piece of art highlighting lightening. I thought pipe cleaners would allow him to be creative and make his own lightening. Then we added some cotton ball clouds. After everything was glued on he took it outside and sprayed it with a water bottle to create rain. We had also gone to the library and taken out books about clouds and weather which we are both totally enjoying everyday. I also posted a couple of other pictures from the pool from the other day. There were pictures still on my phone and they were too good to not post. 

Drinking the "rain"...hehe

I love how they really interact with each other now!

Landon has really become so aware of the world around him and is so curious about everything!

He also has also started copying Maddox and learning how to do stuff for himself.  

...and blow bubbles by the pool

Last week sometime we had a little bit of down time and I was thinking about something to do that would get us out of the house. I decided to grab a little snack and a blanket along with some bubbles and head outside. Maddox loved the idea of having a little picnic and Landon loved the idea of bubbles. I was blowing all the bubbles and thus couldn't get a good shot of the actually bubbles..hehe. It worked out so well I will definitely have to pack up lunch and have a real picnic one day. It's these little moments that make both them and I oh so happy! 

Serious bubble blowing. 

Maddox sorting out the goldfish. He really does a good job sharing with Landon.