A New Address...

Since this blog's address is stonesmommy it is time to have blog that will include this new little one as well... so the new address is www.theljs.com. Lj has set it up and he assures me that it is as easy as blogger! So head over there and check it out... Lj has even made a few posts!

10 Months...40 Weeks...280 days...

We are still waiting on this little bambino, baby Niko as we refer to it, to make its big entrance! One day last week I decided to do a maternity shoot with the tripod and camera timer... well 52 pictures later I had ONE picture that was useable! It is really hard to work with a curious and silly 5 year old, a 9 month pregnant momma, awkward positioning and the indoor lighting! Thankfully that evening and another evening Lj indulged me and took some more shots for us.

LOVE the Little One

This is the one shot I got... I liked it but decided I want to hang this picture over the baby's bed so it needs to be horizontal instead.

Lj to the rescue... It is much easier for him to shoot from above than it was for me to keep jumping up hitting the shutter button!

Sweet Big Brother- so excited to meet the little one! Stone gets to go to a big brother class tomorrow... I called around and was on a waiting list for the hospital I will deliver at but they cancelled all summer classes so after calling around I found one that was offering one on the 31st of July... I figured I would sign him up since Stone was late and I figured this one likely will be as well so why not schedule his class for the day after I am due?!

Hands- On Fun

A few weeks ago, Tyna and I packed up the boys and headed to the Jasmine Moran Museum in Seminole. I love this place, there is so much to do that it is nearly impossible to see it all on one trip.

Stone once again headed to the plane cockpit where he could have spent all day pushing the buttons and moving all the gears... Maybe he will take after his Grandpa Hall and aspire to be a pilot!

A little car maintenance is needed... the boys changed tires and replaced rusty mufflers!

Firefighter Stone

This was one of my favorite parts... getting inside of bubbles! So much fun!

Stone practicing some brain surgery- I think it kind of freaked him out a bit... he seemed a bit squeamish the whole time he was wearing the gloves!

Ready for the train ride... so much fun for a little man!

After the train ride the boys went through the crazy big maze- The mommy's stood at the top to direct them but the good thing about them being so small is they can crawl under the fence to get out!

Mommy and Stone

Tending to the flock...

This summer we had a family of baby ducks born in the pond in our backyard... Stone has taken it on as his responsibility to fed them whenever he sees them on the grass. They are pretty fearless and come right up to get the bread. We have enjoyed watching them grow this summer! It is definitely a blessing to have a pond right out our back door!

Zoo Fun

Stone and I have enjoyed a few mornings at the zoo this summer. One day a week they have a story time for kids and have all sorts of hands on things to see and touch throughout the zoo and especially in children's area. Stone also earned a few free books from the Junior League of Oklahoma by reading books at home! Stone loves to go to the zoo and now that we have a new Children's area it is even better!

Stone is learning all about turtles shells and how they shed their skin... very interesting!

After our little turtle lesson we went to look at some turtles! I love turtles and Stone enjoys spotting them as well!

Of course, no trip to the zoo is complete without some water play!

The Children's area also has a petting zoo area and the goats are always out! Stone and Joe enjoy naming them each and every trip!

Hopefully, soon the elephants will be back from Tulsa and they will be able to have their babies here in Oklahoma City... then a trip to the zoo will be that much more fun!

Leonardo's Discovery Warehouse

On Wednesday, my friend Jenni and I loaded up our 4 kids and headed north to Enid, Oklahoma. Our destination was Leonardo's Discovery Warehouse & Adventure Quest . When we finally arrived in Enid, we had some GPS issues and tantrums, we headed to McDonalds for lunch and with our full tummies we headed to the museum. The weather though hot was not too unbearable so we decided to start the day off playing outside. Stone enjoyed playing on the wooden structure and so unfortunately I got no good pictures of him playing outside... he was moving too fast!

Here is Stone in the giant sandbox!

After playing outside for a while we decided to head inside... they had quite a few fun exhibits set up. I am not sue what Stone enjoyed more- seeing all the fun hands-on stuff or getting a drink?!

Stone and Mommy AKA the Alien and Astronaut

Stone really enjoys planes everywhere we go- here he enjoyed hanging out in the real cockpit of a donated plnae! Everything still moved... So Fun!

Stone and Aedan decided they wanted to hit the carpenter shop... they allowed the kids to use real tooys and the "supervisor" was more inviolved in texting- thankfully the boys had pretty good control of the tools on their own.

Stone is working diligently on his plane!

Cutting one final peice!

Concentrating!

Eli, Aedan and Stone ready for firefighter training!

The kids all trying to catch a butterfly... it was a really neat activity that kept all the kids entertained for a good 15 minutes!

All in all it was great trip and the company was wonderful. Maybe we will head there next summer... my traveling days are getting limited and I would love to hit one more museum for kids!

Farewell to Caleb

Stone and Caleb were best buds at Sonshine School this year! Caleb moved back to Minnesota in June but not after a hot day play date at the park! These boys are so silly and always had fun together!

Money Well Spent...

SWIMMING LESSONS!

Stone lucked out and got private swimming lessons this year! He began the summer in a swimming vest and now he never wears it... he can swim the length of the pool unassisted and can even get a dive stick at 5 feet! It has definitely opened up his world of swimming and he loves the pool... it makes me even more thankful that God let the house we were looking to rent fall through. I guess next year we will work on ditching the googles... he hates getting water in his eyes!

Wacky Weather

Late spring/ early summer has brought some crazy weather... Hail, floods, lightening storms and crazy high temps!

At the end of May we had a crazy hail storm... it caused lots of damage just a few miles south of us! Lj was flying in from Africa that afternoon and thankfully we did not get any damage and Lj was not delayed!

This was the biggest piece we had and I think it is tiny compared to some other sizes reported in the area!

One morning as I was waiting for work to open we had an awesome light storm... my iPhone does not do it justice but it always is amazing and humbling to watch.

A peaceful reminder after a crazy storm!

Then one crazy morning we received about 10 inches of rain in just a few hours... Our pond was at the highest level it has even been at. I was at work and I think it had receded a bit by time I got home and took this picture!

Our pond on a normal day!

This is becoming a normal occurrence here this summer! Poor Stone has not been to the park in a while... just too stinkin' hot! We spend most outdoor time at the pool!