Summer Fake Out

So, as I'm looking at the cold, rainy day outside right now I am feeling a bit like someone is snickering at me. Just a few days ago it was in the 90's as if summer had arrived, but it was just a fake out. Oh, how I love sunny, warm weather. And this last winter the wait for it felt extra long. At least I have pictures from the last week to get me by. Here are several to share with you...

Soccer!
Yes - Mark & I love soccer, but Noah's enthusiasm for it lately sprouted from us stumbling across a clip of a "soccer monster" episode from the Backyardigans on YouTube. I was searching for something fascinating for Noah to watch on my laptop to encourage him (aka distract him) to eat his dinner (yes, I used to say I that I'd never bribe my kids either...) and I found that clip of Pablo the soccer monster. Noah loved it and all of the sudden dinner was tasty & soccer was really cool too! No objections here, so we joined a little soccer club for 2-5 year olds that partners in medicine (for families of medical residents) sponsors. Here are the kids (Noah with the green ball) listening to the "rules"...which were basically just don't use your hands.

This is me explaining the soccer drill the kids are doing & trying to convince Noah that he'd really rather play soccer than go down the slide on the nearby playground.

Some of the other kids...

Yeah! His first gooooooaaaal! :)

I let Noah choose a Gatorade from the cooler at "halftime", so I couldn't tell him no when he pulled out a red one. Even though I already knew that it'd end up just like......this.

Warm evenings!
The other day Mark's parents came by with Diane, Ron, Sara & Tyler (visiting from Arizona) and we were able to visit outside in our backyard. The temperature was perfect, even after 8 pm. Here's a quick shot of Lincoln with Sara & "Grandma Luigi". She was newly dubbed so by Noah after she bestowed the gift of a new little race car, Luigi, (from Disney's Cars movie) on him.

Water!
An outdoor shopping mall in Salt Lake City boasts one of those great fountains that spurt water from the ground, sometimes to music. I put Noah in his swimsuit, brought a change of clothes, and headed off with the boys and my mom to see what Noah would think of things...

I was actually surprised at how not reserved he was. He did not shy away from the water at all! And, when music would play he would stomp his foot and wiggle his body to the beat :)
He would let the water hit him in the face and just run down his nose and chin.
When a blast would surprise him, he'd throw his hands up and just freeze in place while it finished spraying him - as opposed to pulling back or running away. It was quite entertaining.
I reveled in watching Noah explore something new and exerting independence. I was glad he was wearing all red (so I could watch him easily) as he'd run through groups of kids all around the fountain by himself.
He did not want to stop to pose for a picture.
Periodically he'd come back to grandma and me just to giggle or say "silly water!" and then he was off again.
Green grass, baseball caps, and chubby white legs (well, at least that last one is cute if you're a baby!)...bring on summer!!!