August 17

Another Sunday, Another Park Morning and Festival Afternoon

Our Sundays have been following a pattern of hanging out in the park in the morning and going to one of the many local festivals in the afternoon. Tyler and Mia always want to do the same thing. "Go to Fox River." "Go to the carnival and ride the cars" This will be the summer that I will always remember as the summer we got our groove back. The kids are such a fun age and the weather has been so lovely. We can go almost anywhere (as long as we take a nap break) and the kids are well-behaved. One week until North Carolina!

August 16

A Day Out With Thomas
Today we met up with some friends of ours and took the kids to A Day Out With Thomas. We had to buy tickets a couple months in advance so I knew it was a big deal but was not prepared for the thousand or so people that all showed up for a 20 minute ride on Thomas the Tank Engine. Tyler is not super into trains but he definitely knows who Thomas is and this was his second time riding a train so he was pretty excited. The train ride itself was 10 minutes in one direction and then 10 minutes in reverse but there were so many old trains and street cars to tour and that was really the highlight for us. Mia was not so enthralled with the train ride. She couldn't understand why we were sitting in these seats moving at 2 miles an hour and sweating our tushies off. Wait until Tyler has to go to American Girl Place then she will have payback.

August 9 - Chicago

We took the kids to the city for the first time since we moved back - 2.5 years ago. I was a little nervous because we left early in the morning so no one was going to get a nap but the kids did beautifully. Tyler saw every moving thing a boy could want to see: airplanes (as we drove by O'Hare), a commuter train, a trolley, a helicopter, a rickshaw, boats, a Segway and the list probably goes on. Chicago is more beautiful than ever and so kid-friendly. We parked at Navy Pier and walked around for a little bit, then we took the kids on a water taxi to Michigan Avenue and walked to Millenium Park where the kids got to see Cloud Gate (aka The Bean) and play in the fountains. It was Tyler's first time on a boat and going up the Chicago River was such a treat for him. We had one almost awful moment, where my son who will do his business anywhere started to pull down his shorts in the fountain. You have never seen me move so fast. Children are God's way of showing you how little control you really have over your life. I just couldn't believe he would even think to do that in front of hundreds of people. After the kids were sufficiently drenched, tired and hungry we took the water taxi back to Navy Pier and had lunch before we headed home. Both kids were asleep in the car before we even left the parking garage.

Storytime with Spot

We went to another character visit story time. This time it was Spot and although we have never read a Spot book, I knew Tyler would just like any character in a costume. It was funny, at first Tyler went right up and gave Spot a hug and then when I had him pose with Spot he wouldn't get within ten feet. Mia wanted nothing to do with Spot.

Mia's Birthday - The Party

We had a wonderful day for Mia's party. Mia had a rough day though because she got tooth number 2. There are no pictures of anyone but me holding Mia because I was pretty much the only one allowed to. Oh well, as my mom said in her infinite wisdom, "That's how it goes when you are one." Mia loved the cake although she is not one to just dive in - that was Tyler who immediately pulled both antennae off the butterfly. Her favorite gift was a lollipop from Grammy Posch. She has her daddy's sweet tooth. The beautiful dress she is wearing was a present from my mom that we actually found in January when we were in Arizona.

Carly is so sweet with Mia. She is so good with her and worked so hard to make Mia laugh and giggle. We had a great day just hanging out with family, eating some good food and drinking some cool drinks and celebrating Mia's first 365 days here with us. We thank God each day for our two wonderful healthy happy kids and the joy they bring us every day. Even when Mike and I fell into bed exhausted that night, we wouldn't have changed anything - the craziness of the day, the sleepless nights of this past year. It's all so perfect and wonderful. If I could stop time I would but I can't so I just keep focued on making every day special and cherishing the chaos of having a one year old and a three year old. Let year two begin!

Mia's Birthday Party - The Stuff

Mia's birthday theme was butterflies. Tyler and I decorated the house with tissue paper butterflies we made. I strung the fishing line while Tyler stood below me and pointed out where the butterflies should go as he handed me the scissors, tape, nails and hammer and unfortunately not usually in the order I needed them.

I made a tutu for Mia and had a bib made for her from someone on Etsy.

We had Mia's cake made at a fabulous local bakery and gave the cake decorator a napkin that we were going to use and she made the cake to match. The cake actually tasted just as good as it looked.

For her birthday we got her a baby doll, purse, cd and book. Tyler went shopping with Mike and was very insistent that he wanted to get Mia a princess that would "swirl and spin". This was had to find so he ended up getting her a princess umbrella (very practical) and a pink pony with lots of fluffy fur. He wrapped the gifts by himself with Cars wrapping paper because that is what he thought Mia would like best and he was right. It was the only gift she was interested in opening.

Mia also got her first American Girl doll from Aunt Lori. This sounds crazy but the American Girl doll of the year is Mia and we couldn't resist getting this doll for her especially because Carly her cousin also got it. It's staying safely in a box on a high shelf until Mia gets older. Tyler can't understand this and is going to look for any opportunity to break into this box and see what the big deal is and why they can't play with it.

Happy First Birthday Mia!

I can't believe how fast this year has gone! Mia's party is tomorrow so in between cleaning and cooking, I decided to take the kids somewhere to celebrate Mia's special day. We decided to go to a local farm that has a butterfly house and wildlife museum. The butterflies were amazing. They would land on us and both kids would giggle with delight. And yes, that is a picture of Tyler with a turtle shell on his head. After we were sufficiently hot, tired and hungry, we went to a local resturant for salads (me and Mia) hot dogs (Tyler) and the yummiest strawberry shakes ever (all of us!).

July 31

I made my first batch of zucchini bread today to try and use up some of our zucchini surplus. I let Tyler lick the beaters. Mia watched the whole exchange intently and the moment she saw an opportunity she walked over the the dishwasher pulled the spoon out and licked the spoon until there was absolutely it was sparkling clean - her shirt and face were another matter but there was no way I could deprive her of this simple joy.

My Little Angels

How dare I complain about my children making a mess? Look how well I have them trained...