Satchmo Summerfest Day 1

We went to Satchmo Summerfest today. This is a a festival held in the French Quarter at this same time every year. We have gone every year we have lived here. Today was the festival kickoff in Armstrong Park. This is a great big park on the edge of the French Quarter, we haven't had many opportunities to explore this park because it has been closed for a long time after Katrina and actually the park has only been open consistently for about a month now. So, today in the park there was a presentation and a band playing as well as cake served to celebrate Louis Armstrong's birthday.

We had a lot of fun at the park we walked all around then we discovered that there was a wadding pool and even though it was early in the morning the sun was heating us up quickly so we took off our shoes and socks and went in. It is amazing how it will cool your body down just by putting your feet in cool water.

From the water we could just hear the band int he background, it was great. After walking and wading in the water Chance and Scott took a walk while I talked to Andrea, one of the Moms from our playgroup who was also there, during that walk Chance (with a little help) climbed a tree. In the video below Scott is pretending the chase Chance around and Chance runs right into my lap. We plan to go out and explore the festival more tomorrow and Sunday so there will be more updates on the festival soon.

Mr. Okra

There is a moving farmers market that goes by our house almost every day. It is a pickup truck driven by a man called Mr. Okra. He drives around the neighbourhood calling out his wares from a small PA system he has hooked up to his truck then if you want something he has just step outside your front door and purchase any fruits or vegetables you may need that he has that day. The prices are reasonable and he comes right to your door so that only thing you have to make sure you have is cash cause that's all he takes. Every day we hear " I have apples and oranges, okra and watermelon, I have cantaloupe and green peppers..." So after a while Chance started figuring it out and now that he is talking he is telling us all about it. In this video you can hear him talking about Mr. Okra (just okra) and him going by the house and making noise. Also, when he puts his hands up to his mouth that is him mocking the sound that Mr. Okra's voice makes when coming over the PA system.

He'll be 6 feet 3 inches

I was looking back and I can't believe I didn't post this but it looks like I didn't. Also, I could swear I took pictures of it but again I have checked my phone and camera and even had my Mom check her phone and camera but there aren't any pictures. So, this one is from the other day, see him putting those markers to good use (legs).
There is an old wives tale that if you measure a child when they are 2 1/2 years old then double it that is how tall your child will grow up to become. That being said my Mom did it with me and I was supposed to be 6'4'' and I am a solid 5'8'' so this might all be for fun but fun it is.
Well, when Chance was exactly 2 1/2 years old on June 21st we were at my Mom's house so we stood Chance against the wall to measure him. He was good standing still till we marked his height on the wall then helped hold the measuring tape up to get the right number. on June 21st 2009 Chance was 37 1/2 inches double that and you get approximately 6 feet and 3 inches. If he keeps growing the way he is I totally believe he will be that tall as an adult, I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

Scotts post

Today I am writing the post. Chance and Rayna are getting ready for nap time so i thougt I'd write a quick note. Today we went to city park and looked at the sculpture garden it was pretty cool, there were all kinds of cool art to look at. These two photos are of chance and rayna enjoying the art.

Mystery Box from Nana and Grandpa Von

We have been out sick for the last few days, actually we are still taking a sick day inside resting today but we are all feeling better and will probably be out and about tomorrow. Anyway, a few days ago we received a mystery package from Nana addressed to Chance. We had been told there was a box on it's way but none of us knew what was inside. As soon as we got the box in the house Chance asked us to open it. So, of course we did and what we found was very exciting. Inside was a new Batmobile, a lunch box and lots of cool art supplies. The first thing that caught Chance's eye was the Batmobile and he kept taking it to each of us asking us to open it while we inspected the rest of the contents of the box. Scott stepped in, freeing the Batmobile from its cardboard and plastic binding. Chance played with that Batmobile all day and even wanted to sleep with it at night but since it lights up and makes noise at the touch of a button he had to leave it on the shelf. After we let him know he could play with it in the morning he was ok with that though. There is no doubt that Chance really enjoys the Batmobile. yesterday we made some artwork with his new colored pencils and today we put the rest of the art supplies to good use making a thank you card for Nana and Grandpa Von and a Birthday card for Aunt Kristy (her birthday is 7/27). I am looking for an easy art project to use our new glue sticks, the first thing Chance did when he opened the first one was lick it. Which was funny but not really what they are meant for. Now we are enjoying the rest of our day resting and getting better. I can't wait till we all feel better, Since we have all been sick the last few days we have watched so much TV I can feel it rotting my brain. Can't wait to get back outdoors or to a store or anywhere really, hopefully tomorrow.

A full day

To start the day off we got up and out early to go to Gymrompers. We worked out a deal where we put their logo on our meetup group's homepage and they gave us a free class, its a win-win. Gymrompers is a room full of padding and things to climb on and jump off, there are slides and all kinds of cool little things to play on. The class was a lot of songs with puppets and bubbles and other things. The first half of the class Chance didn't really care at all about it, he was busy playing with all the new things then there was a 15 minute break of free play where everyone was playing, then we got back in a circle and played with a big parachute which was tons of fun and Chance really liked it, at first the kids sat on top and the parents pulled them around and then we all got underneath and sang a couple songs, Chance was a little more into it after that but the parachute was definitely his favorite part other than just playing. It was great to be able to take this class for free but it is a bit on the expensive side for what it is, especially if Chance isn't really into half of it. This picture is blurry but it is the only one of him I got since I forgot my camera at home. After Gymrompers we went shopping at Target, with a little faraway help from Nana and Grandpa Von we picked up some new socks for Chance and a kiddie pool (also mostly for Chance), then we came home for a nap. The first thing Chance asked about when he woke up was the pool so after an embarrassing amount of work to get the thing blown up* we headed outside for a swim. The Pool is pretty good size 5'3''x5'3'' square with a removable sun shade which works wonderfully. While the pool was filling up I gave Deedle a bath (not in the pool) and then I got in the pool with Chance. We were in the pool for over an hour just playing and having a good time. I forgot to bring out any tub toys so they are on my list for next time which will probably be in the next couple days. We dumped all the water out today because I want to lay some old towels down to make it a little softer underneath and so we don't put a hole in the bottom with anything sharp that might be on the ground so it will be even better next time.
Tomorrow we are cleaning then after nap Scott comes home!!
For those of you who check out my flickr photos I made a small change. You will still see all the photos on the first page starting with the newest at the top but now you will also see my sets at the right also listed most recent at the top. This way you can easily see the most recent additions grouped together. That should make it easier for finding the new stuff and knowing what was going on when the photos were taken. You can check that our here.

*so I opened the box and realized there was no way I was going to blow the whole pool up by hand or mouth as it were. So I pulled the air compressor that we carry in the car for flat tires out of the trunk and tried it but we have misplaced the adaptor kit so I couldn't get it to work. Then I pulled out my hair dryer set it to cool and using an adaptor (not the right one) proceeded to attempt blowing up the pool. It was working very very slowly. I continued to do this for about 10 minutes then whole time staring at a much bigger hole right next to the little one, this hole was intended to let the air out and so it took all that time to register that I could in fact put the air in that hole as well. Once I figured this out things went much faster and we were swimming in no time. this is just one of those things that make you feel slow to learn I always say that I am "slow not stupid" and this just proves it.

Chance Drive the Mini Car Too

So this one day we pulled up in front of the house and I was busy doing something probably talking on the phone so I couldn't hop out of the car right at that moment so after I fully stopped the car and we were parked I turned and let Chance out of his carseat. He immediately came up, sat in my lap and started driving the car. Now that he has so many words as soon as we pull up in front of the house he always says "Chance Drive the Mini Car Too" it has to be the cutest thing he says. He says it with such a little voice. Today I finally got him on camera saying it so here is that video. Again I am sorry that the video is turned the wrong way. I am sure there is a way to change that but I still don't know what that is (and don't anybody say hold the camera the other way when you take it, thank you) so turn your monitor or head to the side and enjoy.

Library Card

Guess who got his very own library card today?



You're right, it's Chance! Here he is showing it off in front of the library. On his first trip to the library with his own card he picked out Curious George and the Dump Truck, No More Dogs written by "Maria" from Sesame Street and the Disney movie Peter Pan. A very successful library trip, I think.

Forgot to add this

This photo is from the day we saw Thomas. Both Chance and Octavian were out cold within a few minutes after we left the show.

Thomas Live.

Do you know who this is?

This guy does

How about these trains, do you know them?

Again this little guy can help you with that.

For those of you who don't know the blue engine is Thomas and the green engine is Percy. Percy is Chance's favorite. Today we went to see Thomas the Tank Engine Live. I had received free tickets a while back in exchange for blogging about the show and we have been waiting for the show for months. Since Scott is in New York we took our playgroup friends Nancy and her son Octavian. We had great seats, the first row in the lower balcony just above the floor. Our four seats were separated from the other seats so we could pin the little guys in and they had seats/wall/railing and us blocking them in, it turns out though we didn't need all that protection, they were both angels. Since this is the first thing like this that we had taken either of the boys too we weren't sure how they would act but they were the best little boys we could have hoped for. Sitting in their seats and on our laps then occasionally standing at the rail they laughed and clapped and pointed whenever a new engine would come onto the stage. Chance was interested and totally engaged the whole time. As we left the building he asked to come back again. What he actually said was "in dark again Mommy?" During intermission (in a show for kids they should skip this part but oh well) I kept telling him we had to wait for it to get dark again (house lights down) then Thomas would come back which is why he kept asking for dark again. I told him he acted so nice that I would look to see what other kid shows were coming to town and maybe we could go, and I actually meant it, crazy.