The Great Wheel

The Wagner family headed to Seattle to take Grandma on the Great Wheel for a sunny view of  Seattle and the Sound. Luckily we didn't have anyone scared of heights! 

Long Beach July 2013

Grandma Wagner came to visit us this summer. We made a trip to Long Beach for a fun adventure. Our hotel was only a few short blocks from the beach. They had a play area just outside our door, which the kids loved playing in. This wagon was also lots of fun. 

I guess Tom was one of the only ones who knew I was taking a picture at this moment. This is a favorite Wagner family treat - ice cream!

 Gabe had fun sitting down in the puddles this day. He loved getting wet and running around!

 Kite flying on the beach is something that Tom and Charlie are building up lots of practice doing.

 Although the beach was very fun, it was extremely windy. Lucky for us they had these wind structures for us to hang out in. However, it was a rather cold day, so we weren't out for long.

 There are a couple places where you can rent horses for a ride out on the beach. Charlie really wanted to do this adventure. So, as Tom had rode the bumper cars with Charlie, it was my turn for an adventure with Charlie. I lucked out on this one! Charlie is feeding a horse a carrot as a thank you.

 It was a bit too windy to take a picture on the beach. However, our guide took this on our walk back to the shelter. This outing was a hit. He LOVED riding the horse. Trotting was his favorite. He liked the fast pace. I on the other hand was not as comfortable. It was a challenge trying to not squish him as we were sharing a saddle.

 One of the fun stops on this trip was Cape Disappointment. This is the furthest point of the state on the SouthWest corner. We looked across the river and could see Oregon. This picture is at the Lewis and Clark learning center. We didn't get to go in as we were there too early, but were able to see the view.

 We found a small beach that didn't have a strong riptide for some swimming. Grandma was a trooper watching the water swimming the whole time.

 On our way home we stopped at one of Tom's favorite BBQ restaurants. The food was yummy, but our wait way too long with two small kids.

Yum...Noodles

This summer, Gabriel became much more independent in his eating. He really has his preferences in eating, both with food and utensils. If it was up to him, he would eat everything with a fork or spoon. He doesn't enjoy his hands dirty. When they get food on them, he grunts until one of us notices and then he waves his hands for us to see the dirtiness. He is showing us where to wipe. As you can see from the photos below, he is certainly happy when he gets the tools to work for him. He still needs a little assistance with noodles, but other than that, he is pretty darn good. My thinking is it is a second child thing. He wants to be like Charlie in all ways!

Des Moines Marina and Beach

On one of the rare cool, cloudy days this summer, I took Gabriel down to our local marina/beach. This is something I used to do all the time with Charlie, but haven't done alone with Gabe much. So, it was special. He loved the water, especially throwing rocks. 

 The following photos remind me of a little Nordic boy waiting for his ship to come home.

Glasses

At Charlie's checkup after turning four, we learned that he had Amblyopia or more commonly called: "lazy eye". We were surprised to hear this as we hadn't noticed any issue for him in seeing. We were thankful his doctor sent him to get tested. His left eye is in need of some catching up to his right. From what we have been told, we are lucky this was caught at this point in his life. This being that he has a chance to have his eye catch up and be corrected. We will have to see if he will need to wear glasses the rest of his life, or if it will be short-lived. I guess it can go either way. 

As you can see below, he took to the glasses right away. He loved getting them and has been wonderful at wearing them every day. We've only had one mishap where he talked a teacher into letting him keep the glasses on his nap bed at school. He finally came clean in that he decided to pretend the glasses were a train. They didn't survive that play. However, they are back together and he learned a lesson that I hope he doesn't have to repeat!

Here are a few more pictures from this summer. Since getting these glasses, Tom and I have both been told on several occasions how we need to get him into commercials. He is darn cute with these glasses. Although socking away money for his college tuition sounds great, we aren't looking to put him through the paces of modeling (at least at this moment!)

Let's Play Ball!

To Tom's delight, Charlie has become a lover of playing sports. Possibly with a "small" bit of coaching from Tom, Charlie loves to play baseball and watch baseball on TV. One day Tom told me, with a giggle, "I finally have a baseball buddy". It is quite fun watching these two play sports together. As you can see from some photos below, Gabe also joins in on the sports fun.  

 This is a photo of Tom and Charlie at Charlie's first Mariners game. They are super happy!

Mother's Day Adventure to Bremerton

My one request was that we have a family adventure for Mother's Day. Tom decided on Bremerton with a fun ferry ride, yummy brunch and lots of laughter and fun. 

 Gabe was asleep on the ferry ride. So, I got to have some alone time with Charlie up inside the ferry. We enjoyed the winding path the ferry took. Charlie ate an entire bag of Cheetos on the ride. A special treat. That is what is in his mouth in this photo.

 Once in Bremerton we found a small park and beach that we played at for a while. The boys had lots of fun throwing rocks in the water and laughing with their parents.

 Charlie was an artist at Anthony's. He held up this drawing and informed us that we could keep it to hold up at the Thunderbirds Hockey game when he is a player. He did tell us we will need to sit up high, because he isn't going to be able to give us tickets down low. But, we can use this to cheer him on. Very adorable!

 Gabriel decided to play hide and seek with his napkin. All in all, this was a really fun brunch. You never know with this crew what you will get, but this one was enjoyable.

 This was a great park to wind up our time in Bremerton. Tom climbed to the top of this large rock with the boys. Aren't they all cute? I think so.

Charlie's 4th Birthday Party

Although this party took place back in May, its being posted in August. Yikes, this summer has flown by without me posting pictures on here. I'll try to catch up! Charlie had tons of fun having friends from school and friends/family from other parts of our lives join us to help him celebrate with an "Airport" theme. 

 Playing in the front yard with his new birthday gift from Nonnie & Boppa.

 These are two of his school friends - Dalton and Sebastian. Dalton and Charlie were best buds all year. It is sad as Dalton graduated and will be in kindergarten next year. He will be missed by Charlie.

 I had lots of great ideas when making the runway cake. However, Gabe needed an urgent bath right around cake decorating time. So, Charlie decorated the cake all by himself. Is is supposed to be a runway with grass down both sides. I do love the finished product though!

 We had a rocket piñata. Charlie took the first swing.

 Here is Gabe taking a turn at the "bat".

 I think Ella or Maddy broke it open. The kiddo dive for candy!

 Getting ready to sing Happy Birthday to the birthday boy.

Tom gets to hold him as everyone sings to him.