we're going to the zoo...

On our way to the zoo this morning I noticed this lily pond just west of the entrance. We took a little walk over there and the boys loved it.

We even saw a frog on the lily pad.

I think this was Jackson's first time climbing through this structure at the Children's Zoo.

Yeah, Uncle Mike, Auntie Brooke and Adeline joined us!

The Chicago cousins.

I think this might be the first time they napped at the same time! They have always been an different schedules, but it was perfect for today.

He wore his John Deere shirt just for this tractor.

Uncle Mike took Jackson in to pet the goats.

playing in the mud

Uncle Scott was over the other day and had the boys digging in the dirt. Today it had turned into a mud puddle after some sprinkler time and the boys had fun!

And here's Emmett! He is keeping us busy these days with early mornings, climbing the stairs and getting into every cabinet and drawer imaginable. He is yet to take those first steps, but is getting better about standing on his own. We shall see!!

I went to lunch at Tre Kronor with Rachel and Karina for Karina's birthday. It was so much fun to catch up with these girls. Happy Birthday! You may also notice that I chopped my hair! It is a little more work than just throwing it in a ponytail everyday, but I like it.

Block Party

We had our first ever block party and I think it was a success. We have a very long street, most of our participation was from our end of the block. We started the morning with a craft.

My dad came and led the water games. This was always my favorite part of my parents block party and I am pretty sure this was the highlight of the day today as well! The kids were laughing and having so much fun and the parents were in love with my dad. They kept asking where we hired him and then when they found out he was my dad they would come and ask if he could come to their parties! He even was asked to do an "encore"presentation!

Mei's first block party and first time at the water games.

Limbo

Thanks to everyone who came out and made this day more fun!

Emmett had a follow up visit with the GI specialist today. He gained a pound! The doctor was very happy with that progress. We have another visit scheduled with our doctor mid August. We will check his weight again and talk about taking him off the Prevacid to see what happens. We are thankful that there is nothing serious going on with him and in the meantime we continue to try to increase his calories.

Fun at Nana and Papa's

The boys all slept over at Nana and Papa's on Monday night (Emmett's first night away from mom and dad!) I slept great, Nana on the other hand didn't sleep at all! Erik and I spent Tuesday at Great America with our students from church. We had a lot of fun, but I realized I am much older and my stomach can't really take all the ups and downs like it used to!

As you can see the boys had fun. Papa always creates something for them to play with. Apparently they played this game for 4 hours!

Another first...mini golf

Caleb and Jackson have been requesting mini golf for a while now and today we were finally able to go. They loved it and we even won a free game! Erik and I ended the morning with some swings at the batting cages.

Painting

Today we painted canvases using pantyhose, a ball and paint. As you can see the boys totally enjoyed themselves and I am so excited to hang these original pieces of artwork.

We often find Jackson and Emmett like this. Jackson always needs to be as close to Emmett as he can...Emmett is not usually too sure about all this affection from his big brother.