More snow please

Much of our Chicago winter has been warm.  We did get a nice snowy treat on our visit to Wisconsin and are looking forward to some more snow again.

Merry Christmas!

Happy 3rd Birthday Liam!

 MMM, chocolate cake.  More please.

Science Lab

Liam attended his first science class this past weekend.  He LOVED the experiments and getting dirty (no surprise there).

Nature Museum

Liam and Killian love going to the nature museum.  A regular stop for us is the Riverworks, where they play with dams, locks, and river flows.  

Another regular stop is the Butterfly Haven, and on this weekend's visit there was a special exhibit to touch a reptile.  Liam pet the snake and turtles.

Happy Halloween

Our boys loved pumpkin picking and pumpkin decorating.  Killian was less interested in dress-up, so instead of 2 firemen we trick-or-treated with 1 fireman and 1 boy dressed for fall (intermittantly wearing a lion hat).

First Lollipop

"I like lollipop, try it Mama."

Carousel

Liam and Killian have the good fortune of living in a neighborhood of fun.  A short walk away finds the zoo, park, beach, and nature museum - all stops in their daily schedules.  Liam always seeks out the gorilla for a ride on the carousel.

First day of school

Liam started pre-school today.  First words out of his mouth this morning when he awoke were, "Liam go to school, Liam right big yellow school bus".  Unfortunately for his school bus ambitions, his school is only a short walk from home.

My baby

It's fair to say he's not really a baby anymore - he's walking, eating our meals, and babbling a storm.  But we do still have tender moments when he just wants to be picked up and held.

Family Fun

Killian on the trampoline

Lake Michigan

A Lake Break

We enjoyed a relaxing weekend at Pine Lake with dear friends the Winkels.  Liam and Killian went out on their first motor boat ride and both seemed to love it - Liam asking for more and Killian clapping.

July 2012 Update

Killian - 12 months

Our sweet baby is now officially a toddler!  He weighs 25lbs (85 percentile) and measures 32 1/2 inches long (> 95th percentile).  He's crawls at a race pace, walks along all furniture, and stands unassisted.  We've seem him take a few steps on his own, but he's figured out the fasted way forward right now is still assisted.  He climbs into and on top of everything... into the bathtub, on top of the coffee table, etc.  He loves music, will pull out his instruments whenever he has a chance to, and claps his hands in rhythm as soon as we play one of his cds.  He likes to play with all of Liam's toys, and has begun to match shapes in his shape sorter.  He still naps twice regularly and is a dream sleeper at night (except for the past few mornings of 4:30 starts which I'm attributing to his cold).

Liam - 31 months

Our toddler is quickly becoming a big boy.  He weighs 33 lbs (85 percentile) and measures 38 inches long (95 percentile).  He runs , jumps, climbs, kicks, throws whenever he can (although we prefer he do so outside); and started playing tee-ball this summer.  He is articulate, speaks in short sentences, has memorized many of his books and "reads" them back to us.  He sings his favorite songs completely, and like Killian loves music.  He loves to build train tracks, construct castles from his blocks, and play with his fire station.  His favorite phrases are "what's that" and "Liam do it".  Our big boy will start pre-school this September... we haven't broken the news to him that he will not ride a yellow school bus, as the school is just a short walk from home.

Happy Birthday Killian!

Happy birthday to our one year old!





 Killian wasn't sure if he liked the cake, but Liam liked it so much he asked me for "exactly the same cake" the following day.

Door County: A Few Favorite Moments



Harley rides





a pool in the woods



splashing



the playhouse




catching a breeze



throwing rocks into the lake



Another day at the beach

We're going on weeks of endless sunny weather; what a fantastic spring and summer it has been. On the weekends, we head to the beach around 7:00 before the day's heat sets in, and before the crowds arrive.

More T-ball

The toddlers and dads that make up our t-ball team.

Killian makes it to all the practices, watching from the sidelines and chasing down the stray wiffle balls.

Old Town Art Fair

Each June, our neighborhood closes down streets to all traffic for a weekend and sets up for the Old Town Art Fair.  Liam loves watching the tents get set up, seeing the stands, and checking out the musicians.  




A Hug

Hard at work

And I have a small landscaping project lined up for them next...

Tee ball

Liam started his first t-ball league this morning.  20 toddlers swinging bats.

Liam loved hitting.

And really loved refreshments.

May in Review

May flew by in a flash.  A quick catch up on much of our fun....

 A warm day at the beach...

 Celebrating cousin Molly's first communion...

First bounce on a trampoline...

Practicing for music class...

Home repairs... 

First parade... 

 Practicing standing at all opportunities, and showing off new teeth (7 in total now!).