Morning with JT

     This weekend, we had jam packed fun and activities for the Apedaile 6 household. Saturday started out with Coach John, Lindsay, and Courtney headed out for double header volleyball matches(which they won both!). Since John and I were going to be headed up to Campbellsville for Sarah's bowling banquet later on, JT and I had some grocery shopping to do.

 We started off by waving bye-bye to John and the girls.

 If you noticed in the photo above, JT had his hand up and it kinda looks like he's throwing some gang signs around. Nope- no gangsta here. That is JT's version of "I Love You" sign. We still have a ways to go to mastering his finger dexterity ;) We know what he means though.

 Off to shop at Super Wal-Mart. Benefits of going early- lots of samples in the bakery! Donut and cake. Lucky for JT, I brought along some milk to drink.

 After Wal-Mart, we headed to Kroger to get a few items that I needed there. JT scored some Curious George fruit snacks here.

JT had been so well behaved and in the best mood, I decided to splurge and let him choose a Matchbox car as a reward :) He chose this truck.

     We then came home, unpacked and put away the food. It was so beautiful outside, I asked JT if he wanted to play outside. Not really a question I need to ask, as JT is always ready to go outside. So we changed into play clothes so he could run outside, dig in the dirt, and play with his cars.

After a bit of playing, JT pulled out his Lowe's ride along car and asked for me to take him on a walk. We ended our wonderful morning with a nice stroll around the neighborhood with JT beeping his horn and driving his car. It was a wonderful morning with JT!

Magnetix

 What on Earth are these things? They are Magnetix, a popular toy several years ago. Lindsay, our ever creative and building girl, got several sets when she was in elementary school. JT is now having a blast playing with these various magnetic shapes and balls.

 Though you can just build something with just the pieces, JT and Finn decided to play with them on the side of the fridge.

 Tall and short "sticks", squarish pieces, and metal balls made for some creative play time.

 It looks like the boys are in a discussion about what and how to build something.

 Reviewing their work.

I love that these 2 boys are such good friends! It's a joy being able to see them grow up together.

Rainbow

     I thought it would be fun to make a rainbow craft with the boys, so I set up the table for some colorful fun.

 First step- I colored each boy a basic rainbow. This served as their template. After that, I cut up square pieces of construction paper of the matching colors.

 Finally, it was time for artwork! To help the boys understand the layering effect of the rainbow, we glued one color at a time.

 This activity really captured JT's attention and focus.

 Finn hard at work.

 We continued through each of the colors. I skipped some of the ROY G BIV spectrum to keep things simple.

 Finn preferred to take a small pile of color squares and place them on his paper and pull from his stash.

 This is the reaction I get these days when I ask JT to look at Mommy or the camera and smile. A very loud and expressive "CHEESE!!!"

 Finn happy to be doing artwork.

 The finished results! Wonderful! When I showed John what the boys made, he didn't believe me at first that they made these. This is now hanging in John's office at work.

 Finn shining over his rainbow.

Double rainbow!

Sunset

Sometimes all we need is to take a moment to enjoy the view.

Sharpie

     JT loves spending time with his sisters. He will often ask to go upstairs and hang out in their rooms. A few days ago, he was hanging with both Lindsay and Courtney. Courtney was getting ready for a sleepover and Lindsay was cleaning her room. Perhaps a bit distracted to notice what JT was up to.
 
     This is what can happen when JT is not closely supervised in his sisters room which is not "JT proof"....

 JT got his hands on a Sharpie pen in Courtney's room and took it to the walls! Nice "A" JT ;)

 and over to the adjoining wall....

 Just a bit on Courtney's One Direction poster. Thankfully not too much on it.

     I tried using the Magic Eraser and it was taking more pink paint off than Sharpie, so I went with the easier solution. Painting over the scribbles. Thankfully we had a bit left over from when we painted. I discovered black Sharpie takes several coats to cover fully with pink paint. At least 3 or 4, but it did the trick.

All back to normal and just pink. I think the girls, at least Courtney, learned their lesson to know where and what JT is doing at all times when in their bedroom. Hope to not repeat this lesson with JT any time soon.

Quack!

     A few days ago we had some unexpected visitors stop by our house. We were playing outside when all of a sudden I saw something that I knew JT would love. I got his attention to what I saw and he was thrilled!

 JT pointing out our special visitors.

 A small group of ducks were waddling in the street in front of the house!

 I quickly ran inside and grabbed some bread. Lindsay and JT started feeding our guests.

 JT tried to hold out a hunk of bread, hoping that a duck would approach him. No such luck.

 The wind up...

 The set up....

The pitch! JT had a great time tossing a ton of bread pieces to the ducks. As you can see, the street was dotted with white bread :) The ducks stayed for a while, enjoyed their snack and went about their business. It was a great end to a fun time outside.

Daddy buy dat one!

     JT has a love, no maybe an obsession with trucks. Whenever he is outside, in the van , or anywhere a moving vehicle is, he is always looking for trucks. Big,small, or even SUV's that resemble a truck are what gets his attention.

     As he points them out to us, it usually is followed by, "Daddy buy dat one." Meaning John is going to buy that truck for JT. Just to keep him happy and play along, we always agree and tell him, "Yes, Daddy is going to buy that one JT." It's quite amusing at times. At this rate, John will never retire out of the sheer number of trucks he will one day buy JT.

 Here is JT on the lookout for some trucks on the way to dropping off Courtney and Lindsay. * Yes, I do now see that JT's chest clip was too high. I think one of the girls strapped him in and I didn't double check(bad Mommy)

 Found one! Pointing out his latest truck.

     There is 1 truck that has a special place in JT's heart. It's a "Big Monster Truck" as he calls it. On a dirt lot on the way to school/church is an older truck that has been lifted up and has larger tires on it. It's for sale and been for quite some time. So every time we pass this lot, JT gets to see his favorite Monster Truck and declare how John is going to buy it. Well, yesterday morning on the way to school we approached the lot and JT is looking in anticipation for his truck only to find it was GONE! You should have heard him- "Oh no! Where is the Monster Truck Mommy? It's all gone!" I must admit, I was a bit sad too because it brings JT such pleasure in seeing this truck. He held it together and we pointed out other trucks.

     Then last night, JT and I went to pick the girls up from Wednesday night church for middle school, the truck has returned! Oh the excitement when we saw the Monster Truck back in it's spot! JT was a happy boy and told John about it when we got home. Just to make sure we have a memory of his truck, I had the girls snap a photo of it when we came back home. 

Just a wonderful tacky, old Monster Truck that my boy loves!

Finger Painting

     I decided to be brave and allow the boys to have some serious fun- with Finger Painting. It had been a stormy week with little outside activity, so I figured this would brighten their day. I was right and they each had a great time painting.

 First step was to get JT and Finn ready by spreading out newspaper and getting 1 color(their choice) on their paper. I figured it would also be wise to paint without shirts to minimize any messes on their clothing. They were so patient waiting for me to take a few photos- impressive.

 They quickly started on their creations using their fingers and whole hands to smack, dab, and swirl their paint.

 JT even managed to work his arm into the paint.

 You can sense the excitement Finn is having while painting.

 Final color- green.

 Finn's beautiful creation.

JT's masterpiece.

A brief video of the boys having fun. JT also discusses stormy weather and the arrival of the mail truck that he saw out the window while painting. I'm sure this will be something we do again soon. It wasn't horribly messy- baby wipes helped to clean up arms, tummies, and hands.

Easter Baskets

Getting ready to make this post, I realized that I was quite awful at taking photos this Easter. I'd like to blame it on the fact that JT wasn't feeling well that whole weekend, so I must have been tired. I managed to get a few cute shots to share with you all .

 My beadhead family heading down the stairs. 

 JT immediately knew which basket was his- truck and ambulance sitting beside his basket.

 JT was thrilled to see his vehicles made noises, lights that work, and moved when he pushed the buttons.

 Easter basket staple- Peeps!

 JT's other little suprise- Curious George DVD! He recently discovered this show and it literally makes JT laugh out loud.

 Courtney and her basket.

 Some cute sandals for spring and summer fashions.

 Lindsay and her basket.

 Our little hidden red neck girl- she LOVES Swamp People. Not sure why, but found season one for really cheap and just had to get it for her.

Sarah and her basket. For her little extra something special, she received a combo pack of 4 "girly movies". I have the photo, but Sarah will be appreciative of it not being posted ;)