South of the Border

If you have traveled along the I-95 corridor between NC and SC, you are probably familiar with the infamous and somewhat-spooky complex known as South of the Border, which sits frozen in time at the state line. Despite regularly traveling this route for the past 16 years, we have successfully avoided any reason to ever stop there... until now, when the lure of a playground and open greenspace become compelling reasons to stop anywhere if it means that a cooped-up toddler can blow off some steam during a long road trip. Behold, photographic evidence of our stop at SOTB, which apparently was wildly popular in the 1960s and 1970s but is in a current state of decay. If there's a life-sized elephant or a miniature merry-go-round, count us in!

School Days

After a long, fun summer break, Court returned to his morning preschool program this month. He attends the program two mornings per week and he was very excited to put his new lunch pail to use on the first day. We dressed him up in his fancy outfit for photos, but then he changed into something that he could safely get messy for the actual day at school. We are fortunate to live just two blocks away and we enjoy walking to school together with our dog Edith in tow.

Raleigh Rose Garden with Grammy & Papa

Court is lucky to live within a day's drive of his Georgia grandparents, who came to visit him in August for a weekend of fun. He loved taking them to some of his favorite spots, including the Raleigh Rose Garden. In addition to sixty beds of roses, the garden has a small pond that is his very favorite spot for spotting fish and for splashing around. We had to convince him that the pond was not suitable for swimming; otherwise, we're pretty certain he would have jumped right in!

Retro Style

This week, Court received his second (and hopefully final!) crew cut as a part of our ongoing efforts to even out his lovely locks. Court *loves* to suck his left thumb and he picked up a fairly fierce hair-twirling habit in early June to keep his right hand busy while sucking his thumb. Hair twirling lead to hair pulling which lead to a bald spot that we addressed by chopping it all off. Two months later, we opted for a second haircut to even it out.

He was such a champ in the barber's chair that we decided to reward him with a delicious cup of ice cream. He also convinced his dad to share an Oreo milkshake. Our big boy now looks like he belongs at a sock hop in the 1950s!

Pool Play

We joined a lovely little neighborhood pool for the summer, where Court has spent many sunny mornings and late afternoons cooling off in the toy-strewn toddler pool. He also enjoys swimming with his mom and dad in the big pool, where he confidently wears his arm floaties and delights in watching the big kids jump off of the diving board.

Marbles

Court is fortunate to live just a few miles from the Marbles Kids Museum, which we recently visited to escape the summer heat. Court had a ball in the "Around Town" exhibit where he cruised around in the driver's seat of a classic car and a city bus and discovered the novelty of a pay phone (a near-relic!).

Music Time

Court joined some friends for an outdoor music class recently. He was entranced by the music and remarkably responsive to using the various instruments provided. It was such a treat to see him in his toddler element and such a surprise to see him sitting patiently awaiting direction from the instructor!