Wow, I can’t believe this summer is almost over. We had a long list of “to-dos,” and I am happy to say that we’ve accomplished a lot of things on our bucket list. Here’s a recap of the activities we wanted to do, lessons to learn and skills to master. As you can see, we’ve focused more on skills than activities, but we still have some time left to accomplish more tasks.

Pick fresh strawberries from a local patch. By the time we got ready to pick strawberries, they were out of season! I thought we might go pick peaches, but they’re almost gone now too. Maybe we’ll make it back to the pumpkin patch in the fall….
Visit the local Farmer’s Market. This one has just been difficult to make because of the hours it is open, which is right int he middle of nap time/lunch. Eventually….
Take swimming lessons. Check! We took three lessons with a wonderful instructor, and the babies are naturals. Lynley is already starting to actually propel in the water, and Corbin is learning how to kick both feet instead of just one. Ha! He has always just moved one foot, especially when he dances. It looks like a dog’s nervous tick. So cute!

Go to the splash pad at the park. Check! Okay, so it wasn’t the splash park that I intended to go to when I wrote this list, but we did go to our neighborhood pool a few times and play in the splash area. Lynley loves, Corbin hates. He’s a prima donna about getting water in his face.
Play in the rain. (if it’s not thundering!)
Play in our water table.
Fly a kite.
Go to the aquarium. We really want to do this one soon with friends that we miss dearly!
Go to the zoo and ride the zoo train. Check! We have been to the zoo a couple of times, but unfortunately we haven’t been able to ride the train. We’ve not timed our visits appropriately to be able to ride the train before mealtime or nap time, and it only runs once an hour. We will keep trying though because they absolutely love the zoo. We should probably purchase a membership.
Create a play garden in the back yard.
Bake cookies together as a family. Check! This one was super fun. I baked the cookies, but we all decorated them together. We did this for an adorable Tot School activity on If You Give A Mouse A Cookie.

Make an outdoor tee-pee and read books inside. We’ll be marking this one off in the coming week.
Have a picnic with friends. Check! This one happened back in June for the end of school bash at church.
Go to the library for story hour.
Have a puppet show.
Create finger paint artwork for our family members. Check! Sort of… our wonderful nanny has been working on arts and crafts when she visits, and Corbin and Lynley have made many beautiful finger paint pieces. In fact, I have so many that I don’t know what to do with them. I’m going to pick my favorites to display, and we’ll be sending some along to family.

Learn how to blow bubbles. This might be the only goal that we haven’t reached or gotten close to reaching. I forgot about it actually. But, they do know how to blow on their food to cool it off if it’s hot. That kinda counts! I just need to try the bubbles, and I bet they’d have it.
Learn to use the potty. Check! Two months in to teaching, and we are at about 50/50 potty/diaper. Over the next couple of weeks, I am going to really crack down on this. My approach has been very laid back, but I can see that Lynley is ready to be pushed a bit more. And Corbin has really come a long way. He pretty much does #2 on the potty all the time now unless he happens to go after a nap when I haven’t gotten them up in time. Read our early potty approach here and here. I’ll be posting another update soon.
Learn to eat better with utensils and dinnerware. Check! Lynley loves to be independent with everything, so it’s no surprise that she won’t let me help feed her anymore. She’s gotten pretty good at stabbing raviolis or mac & cheese with a fork and bringing the fork to her mouth without spilling. Corbin still needs a little help with guiding, and they both need help scooping with a spoon. They tend to fling peas, carrots, corn or small veggies behind them when they scoop.

Learn how to get dressed. In progress. Lynley can put her pants and shoes on by herself, and she likes to play dress up. Corbin can take off his pants and diaper, but need help pulling his pants all the up. He likes to play pretend in mine and Derrick’s shoes, but hasn’t mastered putting on his own. He can put on hats and sunglasses!
Learn to count to at least three. In progress. Lynley says, “two, two, two.” Corbin says,
“one, two.” 
Learn to identify a few colors and shapes. Check! Lynley can point out stars and hearts and the colors blue and yellow. She is working on learning pink. Corbin can point out stars, hearts and circles and the color red. He is working on learning green and blue.
Start napping later in the afternoon instead of the late morning. Check! Proud to report that they are now napping right around noon. We started the summer with them napping at 10:45 to 11:00  for about 1.5 to 2 hours and having an hour quiet time in the afternoon. Now, we’re down to one long nap of 2.5 to 3 hours and no more quiet time.

How’s your bucket list coming? Have you decided to wait on some of “to-dos” until Fall? Please share in the comments.

Be sure to follow us on our social media channels so you don’t miss any of the action! Icons in sidebar will take you there.