This Is What Father's Day Is All About

Kids need daddies for the love...

(goofballs!)

(hammin' it for the cam)

A helping hand...

And to encourage them to take those next steps in growing up.

Kids needs dads for a lot of things, and I don't think ours could ask for a better dad. Dan is patient with them and firm when he needs to be. He gets down on the playroom floor to wrestle, in the lake to administer on-the-spot swimming lessons, and even does a pretty mean jig when it's time for the Inouye family free-for-all dance competition. He's there to answer all manner of questions from "Where is heaven?" to "Why are boogies green?" And he still finds time to work a full-time-and-a-half job, do volunteer work and spend time with his lovely wife (did I say that out loud?) :-) I love to see all of the ways our kids look up to him and have adopted some of his qualities. I think that will serve them well as they grow up into manhood. We celebrated our dads and Dan this weekend with a cookout and movie at home with friends. The boys got Dan a gift certificate to Game Stop video gaming store--every daddy needs  a way to unwind.

As you can see from the photos, Jacob has begun potty training himself--I take no credit for this, he came to me and asked to use the potty. I think this follows the trend of wanting to do everything Micah does. So far, it's hit or miss, but I am glad he is getting the concept. We also took the side off of the crib and put up a safety rail so J could get used to the idea of a real bed. He has done well the past two nights, going right to sleep with a minimum of fuss.

Jacob is practicing for the free-for-all dance competition...

Jacob shows off his jumping skills...

Daddy's Back

Grammy and Pop Pop and the boys

Jacob gets some love-love from Grammy

Listening to his heart?

The first sunburn of summer

We are glad that Dan is back from his stage combat workshop! He passed muster in all weapons areas and they also honored him the Noble Blade Award for "Strength of Body, Sharpness of the Mind and Generosity of Spirit," and overall embodiment of the spirit of their craft. It was a really nice tribute, to his hard work. Of course, when I heard that I just thought, "that's my man" :-) This is a really good professional development step for him.

We miss having Grammy and Pop Pop with us. We had a good time during that last week with them and I was able to get a few more pictures before they left on Thursday. Since they got home, they've ironically suffered through storms, a power outage and a nearby tornado (EF0, but still, it was a tornado!).  That's Arkansas stuff! They are fine, though, and we look forward to seeing them at Christmas. When they dropped the boys off at school the morning they left, Dad was saying goodbye to Micah and had everyone in the office crying. It's hard, and probably will be more difficult for the boys as they get older, but for now, they accept it as just how our family is. We love to Skype and that helps. This week we got to Skype with Gramma Lynn and Papa Roger and see their new chickens in the backyard. Micah is already talking about what we are going to do when we get up there this summer!

Jacob had his two-year checkup at the Dr. and he is a healthy boy! He is still at the top of the charts for both height and weight and we are still stymied by this! The Dr. gave us a referral for a children's allergist where Jacob will have a skin test to determine what he is allergic to, so we can help alleviate those problems and possibly his asthma. We're not looking forward to that process, but we really do think this will help him in the long run. That appt. is July 18 in Little Rock.

Micah got a bit of a sunburn at the water park this week, but it didn't seem to bother him much, as you can see :-) He is a water-loving boy and always has been. Jacob, on the other hand, hates anything to do with the sprinkler and looks askance at the kiddie pool in the backyard as if to say,"for reals, mom?" when I try to put him in there. So far, I've only been able to submerge a single toe before screaming ensues. Tomorrow we are going to the lake in the morning so we'll see how that goes. He doesn't like water, but he does like sand and there is a beach there, so I think he will enjoy the trip all the same. For Father's Day we plan to grill and have some friends over for steaks and a movie (for the kids). That's how we roll these days. We are making a list of things we'd like to do this summer with the kids, like visit the Little Rock Zoo, and hopefully we'll get to do some of those. Hope you all are staying cool and enjoying your summer, too!

Kindergarten, Here We Come!

First day of Pre-K

Last day of Pre-K

"Wrastling" on the bed

Micah's Koalaty Kid trophy

Micah's AWANA book award

Grammy and the boys

We have enjoyed our visit with Grammy and Pop over the last few weeks. I am sure they will be taking some long naps after they return to Delaware this week, but we are sure glad they came! You wouldn't believe the list of tasks they have tackled for us. When you have two children, you have to let those little projects you've been meaning to get to slide an awful lot, and having them help us out means we can get some of them finally completed. I will post pictures of our new countertop and backsplash in the kitchen next time!

We have been busy, wrapping up Micah's Pre-K year and all of the other school year activities that let out for the summer. I can't believe we will have a kindergartner in the fall! The Koalaty Kid program at Micah's school encourages the kids to build character. They get points for doing homework, reading books, and doing kind things for their classmates and teachers. If they get to 1,000 pts, they get a t-shirt and a trophy, so Micah was very proud to accomplish that this year! He also finished his AWANA book and received his patch and certificate in a ceremony last night. This summer he will be attending Summer Prime Time, which is a continuation of the after-school program he normally attends, but for all day. After June ends, he will spend the last  weeks of summer with daddy, doing projects around the house/yard and taking swimming lessons at the water park. He loved it so much last year that we signed him up for two sessions this summer. This week is the start of Vacation Bible School at our church in the evenings, so the adventure keeps going!

Jacob is beginning to hold his own with big brother. Micah will have to watch out because lil' bro is getting wise to some of his tricks and beginning to dish them back to him. Just the other day, Micah pushed him in the tummy and Jacob whacked him on the head with his sippy cup. When Micah began to complain, I reminded him that he started the confrontation and would have to beware that Jacob was older now and wasn't going to take his licks without protest. Overall, they get along really well and love to play together so I guess we are blessed in that regard.

Dan has been enjoying the instruction he's getting at the stage combat workshop he's attending, and doesn't have too many bruises, but I think we are all ready for him to be home. Skype is great, but no substitute for having him home. He's been able to visit with some family in Illinois though, which has been a welcome respite from the dorm room he's staying in there. Here's hoping he passes his big test on Friday!