Lex had his first day of preschool on Thursday.  I’m having trouble accepting the fact that my tiny three pound premature baby is now going to school!  But I feel very good about the little preschool that we’ve picked.  Lex’s teacher even came to visit us at our home on Wednesday.  She stayed for about twenty minutes and he got to show her many of his toy trucks and cars.  (He fell in love with her quickly.)  On Thursday he was so excited to go see Teacher Theresa again.

It was a shorter day for the kids (only lasted an hour and a half instead of the usual two and a half hours), and only half of the class came in at a time.  Tim stayed for about ten minutes to get Lex settled before he left to go to work.  I, like other parents, just stayed the whole time.

Digging for seashells at the sand table:

Playing at the train table:

Exploring the playhouse loft:

Storytime!

As Lex played outside with the other kids during recess, he shouted over to me, “Mom, when are you going to leave?”  (so much for any separation anxiety…)  I assured him that he’ll get to play at school all on his own next Tuesday.

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Tim’s parents and sister Julie came to visit us recently, and after they left I realized we didn’t take one picture while they were here.  Bad Laura!  Slacking off on my blog duties…

But here’s Lex enjoying his new spray hose shaped like a fireman’s backpack:

We went berry picking at Sauvie Island the other day, only to find out that the blackberries weren’t quite ripe yet.  But on a positive note, it was a gorgeous day and the flowers in the field were lovely.

Then on Sunday we went to yet another birthday party.  August is a popular month for birthdays in our play group!  This one was held at Pump it Up Jr, with inflatable slides galore.

The group photo:

Lex sitting in Tristan’s “birthday throne,” surrounded by his harem of ladies.

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Here’s a brief glimpse of all the fun things we’ve been doing over the past few weeks.

Swimming in wading pools:

Going to a free outdoor concert at the park:

Playing at the playground:

Splashing at the water park:

Eating blue bubble gum ice cream:

Pooping in the potty for the first time and getting a prize from the toy store:

Posing with dad:

Exploring the Enchanted Forest with good friends (and driving a bumper boat while there):

Riding the train at Enchanted Forest:

Surviving and enjoying a roller coaster ride (my boys are in the first car):

Touring the local fire station:

Going to a carnival-themed birthday party with face painting:  (Yeah, there’s a nose, a dinosaur, and a pink lion on Lex’s cheek.  Don’t ask me why…my son got to choose what he wanted!)

Riding the motorcycle at Oaks Amusement Park:

Going on a roller coaster with Gabby:

Flying an airplane at Oaks Park:

And finally, hugging a good friend goodbye:

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So I had this blog entry nearly completed about a week ago.  And somehow, all my commentary was deleted before I got a chance to post the thing.  Then I was too frustrated to type it all over again.  But here we go for a second try!

My dad and his fiancee Nancy recently came to town.  Dad was invited to sing in the 30th anniversary of the Little Ole Opry show in Coos Bay, and while in the northwest, he took some time to tour the Oregon coast with Nancy. (Dad’s the tall one in the middle wearing a cowboy hat.)

Afterwards the two came to spend a couple nights with us at our house.

The weather was gorgeous, so we took them on a tour of the zoo on Monday morning.  A definite highlight was riding the zoo train through the forest and over to Washington Park and back.

Then later that night, Dad and Nancy and I went to happy hour at the Portland City Grill.  We met up with the Phays, who have been friends of our family for many years.

The view was incredible.  (The restaurant is located on the 30th floor of the US Bank Tower building.)

And finally, here’s just a few funny pictures of Lex.  I accidentally tipped over a bag of fertilizer in our front yard recently, and the pile of pellets started burning the grass after a few days.  So Lex and his dad brought out the shop vac and took care of the pellets for me.  Lex thought the process was so fun that he spent almost an hour vacuuming up other twigs and loose debris in the grass.  Our yard’s never been cleaner!

Then this picture was taken after nap one day.  Lex called us up to his room because he was ready to go downstairs, and by the time we got up to him, he had fallen back asleep on the floor.  Too cute.  We just opened the gate and left him there until he got up on his own a little later.

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Tim’s parents were actually able to make the drive over here recently, and it was very nice to see them again. Chemo has been hard on Wendell, but he’s doing remarkably well.

Meanwhile Lex has become quite the little daredevil on his scooter.  He’s now doing “tricks” like going as fast as he can down a hill while holding one leg high up in the air.  I’m amazed we haven’t had an ER visit yet…(oh, and clothing is apparently optional, as long as a helmet is worn)

The other day I babysat Lex’s friend Clara while her parents went to the new Harry Potter movie.  Lex had a great time driving her to the park in his new Gator (a larger two-seat version of his John Deere tractor, courtesy of grandma and grandpa).

Then yesterday Lex and I went to the Washington county fair.  There were tons of tractors and construction trucks sitting out for the kids to crawl over.  As you can imagine, the area was a big hit with Lex.

Riding this fake horse was the closest Lex was able to come to an actual pony ride at the fair.  Some of his other friends got to ride the real thing, but since Tim is so deathly allergic to horses, I didn’t dare let Lex near the live ponies.  Luckily Lex didn’t know what he was missing.

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