Phoenix in the Summer

Thanks to some help from Paw Paw, lots of water and a little luck we officially have grass in our backyard now. The yard has been a family project since we moved in and we are beginning to see the fruits of our labor.

Starting back in June we planted a garden and are growing tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers (the strawberries didn't survive the heat). Willem gets up with Mom most mornings and helps me weed the garden and make sure the plants are doing okay.

He especially loves moving the dirt around for me (and occasionally eating it).

Willem and Tia Julie and I went garage saling a few weeks ago and found some great toys for the yard. Willem loves playing house! There is even a phone in there for him to talk on.

One of Willem's favorite games to play with the house is to throw objects out the window then exit the house to collect them and start over again. He's very into organizing and repetitive games right now. When the grass first came up Willem wasn't too keen on walking in it but he has gotten over his shyness and practically takes off running.

I have to keep the shades closed until 4 pm or he'll be banging on the door all day to go out. He doesn't mind the 110 temperatures we've been having lately, he is happy as can be outside, so we've had a lot of fun playing with the hose and his toys in the afternoons while we wait for Daddy to get home.

One day we turned on the sprinklers and Willem would put the cup into the spraying water and it would fly out of his hands since the water was so powerful. Then he would debate whether to get wet in order to get the cup or to move on. It was so funny watching him trying to decide what to do, finally he waited until the sprinker had turned away from the cup and he'd go into the grass, grab the cup and run back out of the sprinkler's reach.

Willem's 1st Car!! By far one of our best garage sale finds... Willem loves this car. This is the first toy Willem runs to when we go outside. He loves to sit behind the wheel and honk(lucky for Mom it doesn't actually make any noise). He hasn't figured out how to move it with his feet yet so when we wants to change locations he gets out and pushes. But he loves it when Dad drives him all over the yard at a super fast speed!