I keep promising myself that I am going to update sooner, but we have been SO busy that there is never time! Anyway, here is the latest in Shane's awesome summer!
We celebrated the beginning of August with a pool party at Splash Station water park. It was to celebrate the end of the summer reading program at the library. Shane had so much fun! Dan also had a blast! He loved the water park as much as Shane and had a great time watching Shane explore in the water.
Everything was great until daredevil Shane came out! Here he is trying to imitate another (much older) boy who jumped into the water! I was taking a standing picture, and before I knew it, he was diving in! Don't worry, Dan was right next to him!
After that, Shane decided to walk into deeper water, with Dan right next to him! Look how deep the water is! He actually got to chin deep before we picked him up, but after I took this picture I was on Shane's other side and too freaked out by his lack of fear of the water.
After that scare, it was back to shallow water for some play with his buddy Alex, and his mom Cathy.
Next, it was time to put on a life jacket (we did not take it off for the rest of the night) and go for a ride down the lazy river with daddy!
The next day was a chance for us to hang out a bit and for Shane to show off his affection for Thunder and some new tricks. Note the videos!
That evening we decided to head out to Shorewood's Crossroads festival in hopes that they would have a lot of activities for Shane. Cathy, Dan & Alex met us there. It was OK, but most rides required the children to be older and they did not have any jumpers. Both Dans took the boys on the train ride.
Cathy and I took the boys on the carousel which was the fastest carousel I have ever been on. We were both holding on to the boys and the horses for dear life!
Sunday, August 8th was the Greenfield Family picnic. It was a great time!!!! Dan's uncle Jack and aunt Tina came in from Naples and his Uncle George and cousin Jeanne came in from Phoenix and California. It was also great to see all of the family who live here, but who we never see enough of!
We got to the picnic early and Shane helped Grandma Carolyn get everything set up! He also posed for a picture with his dad - note the matching outfits! Uncle Jerry and Grandpa Bob relaxed and chatted before everyone arrived & Aunt Tina & Uncle Jack posed for a picture!
Once Shane's cousin Mickey arrived - the real party started for Shane! He loves having bigger kids to play with! Dan loved hanging out with Jack and his Dad. Grandma Carolyn and Aunt Tina were ready to party! I am sure that was water in their cups, after all, it was before noon!
Once everyone started arriving, the picnic really got fun! Danny and Liam played soccer, Grandma Carolyn and Margie chatted, Joey, Danny, & Travis hung out, John and Grandpa Bob caught up, and Uncle John solved the world's problems!
Liam relaxed after lunch, Aunt Geri looked at all of the great pictures she took, and Shane learned what a water balloon was and tried to convince Grandma Carolyn to give him one of hers. Grandma refused because she needed her balloon for the water balloon toss! Unfortunately, her and Amy did not win that game, but they had fun playing!
Shane learned what happens when a water balloon gets squeezed too much! No tears - just shock that the balloon disappeared and he was all wet! Unfortunately, all of the water balloons had been used and there were no more to give him.
Dan had a great time catching up with his cousin Jeanne, Colleen chatted with Margie, and Uncle George took everything in!
Shane has a cousin named Antonius who is the same age as him, but is much taller. Anyway, Antonius was hoping to share toys with Shane, but Shane had no interest in sharing... I sure hope he is not going to be a bully! Eventually we had to put his toys in the car. That is when the real fun started. Antonius's sister, Lilly, decided she would like to lead Shane around the picnic - it was adorable! Sometimes she had her brother and Shane and sometimes it was only Shane - too cute!
Dan decided to go golfing with his Uncle George so he dusted off his golf clubs and brought them downstairs. Shane instantly spotted the dog golf club head cover and insisted I give it to him. He ran around hugging it and was so sad when Dan took it away. I love how much Shane adores animals - stuffed and real! Notice I caught him in mid pucker in the one shot with the dog head cover.
I just love this next picture - no special reason why - I just do! Yes, that is a clean diaper on the floor next to him. That was the day he decided to take out all of the diapers from his diaper caddy and throw them all over the house. He is smiling at his good work!
We headed to Grandma Carolyn's pool for a day of swimming later that week.
After swimming we headed back to Grandma and Grandpas for dinner and a visit from cousin Jeanne. Jeanne was in town for a week after the picnic and we were so happy to spend some time with her! Note that Shane is wearing the USC jersey that Jeanne and Frances sent him right after he was born! Jeanne brought him some bubbles and an awesome ball which he had a great time playing with!
Dinner was enjoyed by all!
After dinner, Grandma Carolyn showed Jeanne and Shane the picture of the house she grew up in!
After that, it was time to relax and unwind! Shane had a great time playing with everyone! He loves his family!
Next, we were off to spend time at Grandma Judy & Grandpa Irwin's house where we celebrated Grandma Judy's birthday! Cousin Andrea came by to see Shane and he LOVED playing with her!
Aunt Joan and Cy were there, too! Shane made them chase him around! They brought him a very cute stuffed animal that he loves!
Dan had a great time chatting with his future brother in law, Jason while Bertha and Ken caught up & Lisa, Pam, & Grandpa Irwin waited for cake!
Here Shane is playing with Aunt Jorie!
After plenty of play time - it was time for cake! Grandma Judy blew out the candles & we all enjoyed cake - especially Shane! Thanks to Bertha for feeding him so I had a little break!
After cake, it was time for some play with Grandma Judy - Shane loves to look at himself in their closet mirrors!
Finally, Shane decided it was time to clean up his toys and go home. No joke, he stacked these up himself!
I purchased some sidewalk chalk and Shane and I tried it out - can you tell who had more fun?
Next it was time to celebrate my birthday, on August 21st - almost a week early. Shane helped me blow the candles out on the chocolate peanut butter brownies that Dan made! They were delicious. No worries, Shane just had ice cream, no peanuts until next year.
I love this picture of Shane and Jorie - too cute!
Everyone relaxed while Shane ran around like a crazy boy - nothing new there! The only time Shane stops is during naps!
Here are the best pictures we could get of Shane with his grandparents - He does not like to pose for pictures any more.
Shane and I had a snuggle after everyone left. I love my little boy more than anything in the world!!!!
On the 22nd of August Danny baby sat for Shane and we went to a movie! It was AWESOME. Danny did such an outstanding job with Shane and we will be using him more often! Here is a picture before we left!
On August 24th we headed out to Lamb's Farm with Shane and Liam. I have the best memories of going there as a child and I love the fact that it employs people with developmental disabilities. Both boys had a blast! Here they are at the entrance - I love that giant statue. Liam was in a hurry to get inside - so only one picture with him in it.
Our first stop was the farmyard.
Both boys loved petting/hugging the lambs and goats, but Shane had a greater tolerance for it. You will see a stretch of pictures without Liam because he wanted out of there for a little while so Dan took him to the bouncy. Shane never tires of the animals and probably could have spent the whole day in there running from the sheep to the goats. Liam loved them too, but after 20 minutes, he was ready for a change. Dan and him left for 15 minutes and then came back for another 15-20 minutes and we all moved on. Here are the pictures from the animal encounters! I love the one of Liam and the goat in conversation!
Here are some of Shane alone. Look at the look on his face in the first picture!
And more animal pictures...
Here are the last of the animal pictures! These are some of my favorites! I love the hugging!
After a long hour of animals - everyone was hot and hungry so we washed our hands and headed off to the picnic tables for some lunch. I did not get the camera out until dessert, which Shane enjoys a lot! Daddy taught him what an Oreo is this summer and he LOVES them!
After lunch we headed to the playground area and then Dan and Liam got some ice cream from the store. After that, we walked back to the main area and Shane fell asleep. Liam and Dan took advantage of Shane's down time and played some mini golf. Liam was quite good!
After mini golf, Shane was still asleep so Dan and Liam took the train ride around the farm on their own.
The whistle from the returning train woke Shane so everyone hopped on the carousel for a ride around.
There was time for one quick bounce in the bouncer and we headed out!
After that our week continued to be busy - we headed out with John and Garret, Kristine and Connor, and Debbie, but I forgot the camera each time... Thanks to all who made my birthday so special! Happy birthday again to Grandma Judy!
One final cute Shane update - he learned a new word a few weeks back - turtle. He still can't say milk or ball, but he says turtle. It was so funny - we were in Petco and Shane was calling all of the small animals (guinea pigs, hamsters, rabbits, etc) dogs like he always does. We walk up and he says "dog!!!!" and I say, No honey, that is a guinea pig, hamster, rabbit, etc. Shane thinks anything with fur is a dog - even Elmo... Anyway, I then walked him to the turtle tank and he looked at the turtles, but did not yell out dog like he always does. I could actually see him thinking. I said, "That is a turtle." and he looked at me and said, "turtle." In the cutest voice ever. He can identify turtles every time now. So cute! I think turtle is a hard word to say, but he said it so easy.
OK, final pictures - Shane and Dan cuddling in bed this morning!
Thanks for reading!
