Peyton and I had a wonderful time in Reno for Uncle Gordon & Aunt Jenny’s wedding, and James and Lauren had some great daddy-daughter time while we were away.  Here are our pics, and I’ll give you more updates later.  http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLanding.action?c=vv8ykdd.3ox341ll&x=0&y=-zgiw8&localeid=en_US

Really, Peyton?  Do you REALLY have to keep growing so fast?  You learned how to read and ride a bike, and you feel comfortable walking two doors down to see if the neighbor boy wants to hang out at in his backyard for an hour, and you insist on ordering things and paying by yourself and asking adults for help at the store; isn’t that enough?  No?  Now you’ve got to prove you’re growing up by getting rid of those baby teeth, too?  Seriously, boy, slow down!  That bottom middle tooth is loose, and the adult tooth is already popping through, but that does NOT mean that you are an adult.  Don’t touch that baby tooth.  Mama’s not ready for you to grow up yet.

Today was the Farmer’s Day Parade.  We don’t usually go to the parades in Lynden, but this time Peyton, as part of the YMCA soccer league, was part of the parade!  We dropped him off on his float at 9:30 and went to sit by Marlin, James’ coworker, and his wife Nelly and their kids and grandbaby.

Though Lauren didn’t want to smile for the camera, Marlin’s granddaughter Addison was more than happy to.  Lauren and Addison are 2 days apart in age! 

We had to wait about an hour for the parade to start – Mom and Dad shared a huge coffee while Lauren had a yogurt and some animal cookies.  Then we discovered the Krispy Kremes.  Camp Shiloh, a Christian camp for teens, was selling boxes of Krispy Kreme donuts, so Lauren got her first taste of those.

FINALLY the parade started at 10:30…it was fun, but we wanted to see brother.  Half-way through his float came …

(look for the gray jerseys)

As mentioned before, Peyton is riding a bike by himself! We’ve been practicing starting and stopping and turning in the parking lot of the school across the street. Here are a couple pics.

Here’s how we did it:

1.  Peyton wanted to learn

2.  We started out on the grass – that way if he fell, it wouldn’t hurt.  It was harder to pedal so I mostly ran and pushed him, but he did the balancing.

3.  I started him out on the cement in the parking lot, and he rode in circles.  When it was time to stop he coasted to me and I helped him to stop.

4.  I taught him to start on his own; though I still give him a bit of a push, every time I help less and less.

5.  I taught him to stop on his own; though I still make sure I’m there to catch him, I help less and less every time he stops.

Tonight he actually coasted into the driveway and stopped all by himself (without crashing).  A bit more practice and he’ll be street ready!  Oh, and Lauren thinks it’s great to ride in the wagon, dragged at sprint-speed to keep up with brother.  My next step: figure out how to tie the wagon to brother’s bike   I’m sure Lauren and I can both fit inside!

Time is going by so fast.  My little baby Peyton is going to kindergarten next year.  He knows how to ride a bike by himself (although stopping and starting need a bit more practice).  He can read…really read, not just explain pictures…to himself.  Last night he read me the entire book “10 apples up on top” by dr. Seuss.  He can write and sound out words.  He can help fold laundry and clean his own room!  We’re starting to think about piano lessons for him…wow.

He wanted to give his teachers flowers to thank them for teaching him.  He carefully picked out 3 different kinds, one for each teacher.  When we filled out the cards, he was very particular about what he wanted to write: “I’m sorry I have to go to a new class.  [heart] Peyton”  Yes, perhaps it sounds a bit arrogant, but he didn’t mean it that way…at least I don’t think he did.

And Lauren has discovered her self.  Instead of just “up,” “all done,”  ”juice,” “eat,” she now says “up me,” “all done me,” “juice me,” and “eat me.”  Nice.  But she’s hit a very interesting milestone, and it’s interesting to see how she combines ideas together.  Watching the development of language in Lauren and of reading in Peyton has just been amazing.