The End of Summer

So not only has school started but the weather has also turned and I have finally accepted the end of summer. Fall is hear and I enjoy the crisp, cool autumn air as long as it isn't wet. Oh wait, I live in Utah...so the autumn is brief or rushed. Just as soon as you begin to see the leaves change colors it snows, as if it is winter already. Then the weather realizes its ahead of itself and will revert back to autumn for a couple weeks. I think Utah does have four seasons, but fall and spring are really confused so there isn't a smooth transition, but a jumbled mess in between winter and summer. It makes for some fun wardrobe choices for sure :) TJ and I have had to miss a couple football games with the cold weather. Especially with the rain we've had this week, no good for an infant outdoors so we've been having some quality time together indoors. Kai has enjoyed going to games with David. He loves his football and seems impervious to the cold. TJ still finds time to bond time with his dad. David is a loving and caring father. He can be really good at cuddling, especially when it's nap time.

I am still able to find some fun things for the boys and I to do during the day, even with less outside time. The mall nearby has a nice little play area that Kai loves, so we took TJ there with us last week and enjoyed ourselves. 

This would be the backbone of the dinosaur. Kai counts the different parts as different dinosaurs. I think he just likes the idea of being surrounded by these ancient animals. He thinks dinosaurs are pretty cool, we currently have 3 or 4 books about dinosaurs from the library.

He has gotten really good at climbing just about anything. Although in this picture he's doing more than climbing, we had to rush into the bathroom soon after this was snapped.

After we finished in the bathroom TJ and I found somewhere to sit while we watched Kai run around and play. He had just woken up from a nap so he was happy and his outfit went well with the color of the fake log bench so I couldn't resist some pictures of my "big boy" sitting up all by himself.

He looks around at the other folks sitting close by as he practices his leaning skills, using the back of the bench for support so he doesn't topple over.

The happier he gets, the more unstable his seat, so he props himself up with his arm, but his smile is priceless in this shot.

I love when he grabs his little toes, this is one of his favorite poses, whether he's sitting or laying down he loves to grab on to his "little piggies" and show off his baby flexibility. 

 Kai was testing his boundaries by going over to this rotating marble globe suspended in water. He likes to play in the fountain, but it's away from the play area so I don't like it when he just leaves without telling me where he's going because it's hard to see from where we sit due to tall potted plants.

Back to the cycle of coming up the stairs (the ones in the tree are so much cooler than the ones in plain view, just ask him) and this time he is first in line.

 He pauses at the top of the slide before sitting down to slide. I take opportunity of his 

hesitation to introduce TJ to the slide.

TJ doesn't look to sure about this. Kai is pretty confident about his sliding abilities.

TJ face seems to ask, "Mom, what are you thinking?"

Down they go! I don't know if you can tell from this angle, but TJ was not impressed.

It wasn't the best introductory slide, we will try again somewhere else.

Kai was so excited to go again he went the wrong way. After snapping the picture I told him to come back down and use the stairs.

Instead he came over to comfort his little brother. "I know Jimmer. I know. I know."

TJ looks pretty good next to the dinosaur.

I love this shot of Kai's wide open mouth in front of the tyrannosaurus rex's wide open mouth.

I don't know if he was doing a kung fu move or a dance move here...

Next he tried to scare the t-rex with his mighty growl.

TJ and I back on the bench, exploring his other developing skill of standing while holding on to stuff.

Kai wanted to join in on the fun, but I was worried about him pushing TJ over. Kai does this quite a bit unfortunately, sometimes inadvertently and sometimes on purpose.

This time he does a good job of supporting TJ by standing behind him.

Then he decides he wants to try something cooler, like climbing over the back of the bench. This ended our outing, because he might have inadvertently fell on another kid who just happened to be behind the bench at the time. No one was seriously injured, but Kai was so distraught I decided it was time to go.