Snapshot...

A crawls and climbs on everything...even his sister!

If I could only get both of them looking at the camera and smiling at the same time...

We have been having so much fun this summer.  Lately we've been picking blueberries and sweet corn.  While picking blueberries, A kept himself occupied by eating anything that he could reach.  He was quite content.  We've ventured out to the parks with our new stroller and have gone swimming at the "beach".  E had her first taste of VBS this week.  She LOVED it!  She was sad that it was over.  Next week. a trip to a big beach awaits!  We'll see how A likes Lake Michigan.

Fun Day at the Park

We started out our very fun outing with a picnic lunch.  E loves picnics and was ecstatic to eat her lunch outside.  However, after seeing the play-scape, she didn't eat much because she was too excited to go play.  It was brand new this spring and it was wonderful!  E made me a bit nervous because she scaled everything that was climbable and it was a very tall structure.  I don't have pictures of the tallest ladders that she climbed, but she had a lot of fun.

Then we went swimming.  The water was the perfect temperature.  One thing that we thought was funny was that we were the only parents that brought beach toys...buckets, shovels, watering can, etc.  So, kids came flocking to us and taking E's toys.  She shared wonderfully well.  I was very impressed.  She enjoyed playing with all the kids and helping them build castles and dig holes, etc.  A had fun sitting in the water and splashing.  He didn't try to move much, though.  We think that the sand moving under him made him nervous because he stayed pretty still and he just doesn't do that much anymore.

Rain cut our afternoon short but that was okay because it was time for A's nap anyway.  We had a great time and thoroughly enjoyed our day at Reeds Park!

Look at my new skill...

Can you guess A's new skill? 

He pulled himself up for the first time at the library on the cushions in the kids' area 2 weeks ago on July 6th.  He didn't repeat the feat until last week at camp and he did it a couple of times while holding on to the air mattress, but he really got proficient at it the last two days.  E is upset because her 'safe place' to put things (aka the couch) is no longer safe from A's grasp.

He pulled himself up 3 times on the step stool in the kitchen today only to fall and clunk his head each time, but everywhere else, he had great success.  Bathtime is a nightmare because he won't stay seated.  Oh the joys of new tricks learned!  Thankfully, the crib mattress got lowered last night.  Just in time, I think!

Things I love Thursday

We are a one car family.  We have been for 2.5+ years.  Its not a big deal.  Jut works close to home and in the summer he rides his bike.  In the winter if I need/want the car, I take him to work.  Mainly the kids and I walk wherever we want to go.  Our house is in the perfect location to do it.  My Britax stroller has logged many, many, many miles, and I've loved it as a stroller.  It has been the perfect stroller for us until now.


A is getting to big to wear anymore.  I can still put him in my Moby wrap but he's almost 20 lbs and its hot to wear him in the summer.  So, I did some research and finally broke down and purchased a double stroller.  I opted for a Joovy Caboose Ultra Light.  It arrived via FedEx this afternoon. 


Jut put it together this evening and we took it for a test drive...or stroll rather.  It was great.  E loved sitting in the back "jump" seat.  I think she loved looking at us so that we could hear her while she was jabbering about everything.  A sat very comfortably in the front seat enjoying the ride.  I pushed it up and down a couple of hills without problem.  It has some suspension in the wheels....seemed like a fairly smooth ride.  It wasn't huge...not much bigger than the single Britax actually.  That was nice...and it was the 'ultra light' model and so it didn't feel hard to push.  I think I'm really going to like this upgrade.


It will make trips to the local parks much more feasible now that A can ride along with E.  I'm excited to take it out for longer excursions.  I hope I'll be as happy with it in 3+ years as I am with my Britax.

Walking the Babies...and how E has changed

Last summer, E loved taking the babies for a walk. This summer E loves taking the babies for a walk. However this summer, she is quite the little mommy. She likes to feed them and change them and take care of them...she's not content not just walking the babies anymore. She's even named the babies. She has "Baby Cinderelly", "Betsy", "Bonnie" and the "Waterbaby". I'm not sure why "Waterbaby" doesn't have a more 'traditional' name but that's what she calls it.

Last summer, I ended up carrying the babies home in the stroller...this summer we walk longer distances and she pushes them the entire time. E is getting so big! It is fun to watch her grow and change. She's really sprouted up in the past year...she's so much taller than the stroller now. She's so articulate. Listening to video of her from last year is funny. Its crazy to think that she wasn't hardly talking in full sentences with more than 4-5 words at this time last year...and she wasn't potty trained. Plus, she hadn't had a haircut yet...and now she's had 3.  Wow! What a year!

A Day at the Zoo

A day...or maybe a couple of hours. I think about 2 hours at the zoo is about our limit. However, Potter Park Zoo is the perfect 2 hour zoo. We saw all the exhibits. Enjoyed them all and then got to leave.

E enjoyed feeding the goats again this year and LOVED the otters. She 'swam' (or ran) with the otters while they swam back and forth. The penguins were busy swimming too and she enjoyed that, too. She loved the 'Nemo' fish and mercats.

A enjoyed the ride. He's a little trooper and just goes along with the flow. He got a bit hungry and so he ate a few blueberries and was good to go.

A at 8 months...

My little guy is 8 months old today!  In 4 short months, he'll be a year old.  I think time is passing more quickly with A than it did with E.

A is still army crawling.  He will get up into the 'traditional' crawling stance but doesn't  make forward motion yet.  However, he has perfected the army crawl and can get where he wants without trouble.  Its hillarious to watch his eyes light up as he sees the cat and then he takes off like a shot after her.  Poor kitty.  But, it is pretty funny.  He discovered her food bowl this month and loves to try and play/eat it.  Crazy boy.

Feeding himself is his new favorite activity.  I forgot how messy this stage of life is.  He feeds himself mostly avocado and banana.  He'll even get a bit upset if he sees a banana and you aren't sharing it with him.  A is definitely getting a mind of his own and he knows what he wants.

No new teeth this month but I believe that his top ones are going to pop any day now.

"So big!" is A's newest trick.  He loves getting a reaction from people.  So, he puts his hands in the air and grins as you say, "So big!".  He's all ready for football season and "Touchdown!"

Sleeping all night isn't happening regularly but it is happening more frequently.  So, that's nice.  Mostly he gets up 4:30ish to eat and then will typically sleep until 7-7:30ish.  However, this morning he slept until 8:30.  It was heaven!!

A took his first trip out of state this month.  Cousin Caleb get married in Indiana.  We packed up headed south.  We stopped in Battle Creek at the Binder Park Zoo and then continued down to Aunt Evie's for the wedding.  We had a great weekend and A had fun meeting all the Indy cousins.  He got to swim in a pool for the first time and he loved it.  He rode tolerably well...Saturday morning was a bit tough...he just wanted to play and not be stuck in the car seat, but overall it was okay.