Summertime, and the Livin' is Easy

Oh summertime, how we loved you this year. It is firmly fall now but we are still getting some nice warm days. Recently, one such day necessitated a balloon fight where Jamisen tried to take out Grandpa Faiola in one shot. He did hit Grandpa Faiola but alas, the balloon bounced off him.

Baby Alise continues to be a welcome playmate and is growing daily. It is so much fun to see her learn to walk and continue to see her sweet and happy personality shine. She is so easy-going (!) when it comes to everything but food.

Lucky Lily got a big bite of Licorice ice cream, Grandma Faiola's favorite. We went on the Whatcom County (self-guided) Farm tour and it was epic. We ended up in Lynden at this little sandwich and ice cream place. The kids were so happy about the ice cream that they didn't want to eat their grilled cheese sandwiches.

Baby Lily was very pleased with her Licorice ice cream and rewarded us with quite a full diaper. So, Grandma Faiola and I figured out how to change Lily in a public restroom, with Lily standing up (no changing table). And of course, we didn't have any wet wipes either so it was quite the comedy of errors as we tried to wipe Lily properly while she was standing on the sink without anyone falling or getting an errant finger into the poop. We laughed so hard!

Jamisen's latest thing is to use his words when he's mad (good; progress!) but the things he says, with fully clenched fists, his little leg thrust forward and face all scrunched up and red... well, the things he says range something along the lines of, "No! You cannot touch my toys. And if you do that again, I am going to hit you in the face. And if you do it again, I am going to hit you in the face again!" So, yay for progress (words are better than actual hitting) but now we need to work on toning it down a notch with the intensity of messaging.

In school, the teacher says that Jamisen LOVES to clean and is constantly cleaning the windows and does such a great job putting away all the kid's towels after they eat. Teacher Yuki says Jamisen is an excellent example to the younger kids. Awwww ....