What a day...

For those "Jack's Big Music Show" fans, the title is an ode to Jack's "best friend, Mary" who is super swell and who loves to ponder the day. Our day at the Botanic Gardens was wonderful. The kids were already tired from their morning with Daddy and the heat that they arent used to yet. A little running around did the trick to liven them up. We met a few nice ducks and swans, one of which followed us around which was super cute for the kids. The flowers were gorgeous and I am so glad that Danny thought to bring the camera without a reminder call from me. I hope the rest of the summer is as much fun as today was.

Pretzels and Sesame Street - what else does one need?

Ari was over for a bit this afternoon and, as a way to keep them quiet(er), I put them in the office to play on Amelia's computer. Leo joined them soon after as they helped Grover and the rest of the gang with their problems.

What a handsome devil...

What a beauty...

Amelia and Leo's Big Adventure

For several weeks now, I have been trying to create a spice rack for my backsplash from parts at IKEA. I finally gave up on the IKEA close by to have everything I needed and decided to go to the far far and away IKEA in Bolingbrook (where the heck is Bolingbrook???). I have also been wanting to go and buy myself new spice containers - scoopable, of course - from Penzey's Spices (not a friendly staff - at all), which is almost as far away as IKEA. No big adventure can be complete without a trip to the local children's museum for Amelia and Leo, so I decided to throw everyone in the car at 8:00am and get everything done all at once. I have said this before, my kids are such troopers and enjoy every situation they are thrown in - as long as there is ice cream at the end, of course.

Cycle Mania

We got a Barbie bike from our neighbors last week and Amelia fell in love with it right away. We held it as small bribe from her to get her to sleep better and it worked - kind of. More to do with us putting her down a little later, Amelia was so proud of herself that she "slept good for two nights", but knew that she needed to do one more night to get the bike. Amelia was so sweet with her friends and wasn't even asking about her own bike, so we decided to let her ride it today. The look in her eyes and the excitement in her face was priceless. There may be some therapy involved in future years - Amelia now thinks that everyone who is riding a bike "slept good." Someone else who "slept good" was Danny. We got Danny a bike today for his birthday and he is enjoying his new hobby already. Suburban life at it's best.

What is becoming a normal occurence in our house...

Before Leo came along, I had a dainty little girl living in my house. This is what I have now...

Long Mornings

I "tin-foiled" Leo's window the other day and he has been sleeping until 8am ever since (Thanks Mr. Reynolds!). I plan to do Amelia's window this evening, but I wont be holding my breath. Even if we are lucky enough to not be woken up before the clock says "7", there is till plenty of time for reading and fun before heading out for the day. Of course, no matter how much extra time we have in the morning, we always seemed to be rushing out the door.