"I Had a GREAT Weekend"

We took advantage of the long weekend to visit Grandma and Grandpa in Chicago. It had been months since we'd been there, when M was just a newborn. 

 We visited some friends at the Brookfield Zoo.

 This hippo has been the subject of many conversations at our house since our last visit. In fact, he stars in many stories G asks us to tell.

 This was one of few happy moments for poor Miles this weekend. Two more teeth, plus too little sleep made this guy pretty fussy. But he usually has a smile for "da da."

I don't have any pictures, but it's safe to say that the highlight of G's weekend was riding the L train into the "big city." He ran most of the way to the station, but once we got on the train, he sat quietly and still, soaking up every minute. We could have easily taken the train downtown, turned around and gone back home. But instead we visited Millennium Park and had lunch.

Both boys enjoyed splashing in the fountains on a record hot day.

We took a rest under "the Bean."

We also spent a lot of time visiting neighborhood parks. This one, at the base of the L tracks, remains a favorite. It was one of my favorites, too.

Curls

Love that little curl over his ear. G had curls too when he was a baby, but they grew out with his baby hair.

9 Month Baby M

Miles weighs 16 pounds, 15 ounces (9th percentile) and is 27.75 inches (24th percentile). He's keeping us on our toes these days. New this past month, he:

• Cut his first FOUR teeth in the span of about three weeks. This made him pretty crabby.
• Crawls faster every day, but wants to do nothing more than stand up.
• Figured out how to climb the stairs. Oh boy.
• Babbles "da da," "ma ma" and I swear he said "Grant" the other day.
• Loves playing peekaboo.
• Waves bye-bye.
• Mimics our actions, like playing drums on the table.
• Is very interested in his brother's toys. Forget baby toys; he wants the big-boy stuff: trains, cars and Teddy Bear.

Earlier:

Happy Mother's Day

We couldn't raise these two boys without your help and wisdom.

Grandma Smith with Baby Miles, August 2011

Grandma Jerousek with Baby Grant, May 2009

Heard at the Dinner Table

Recently as Grant and I were arguing about whether he needed to eat his dinner in order to have dessert, Kent commented proudly, "G is becoming a good debater." G retorted, "I'm not a 'bader. I'm a big boy!"

First Anniversary

Our family blog turns 1 this week! Thanks for reading, Dad! :) Here are 10 favorites from the past year:

Puddle Jumping
Berry Picking
Remembering
Introducing...
Apple Picking
More Leaf Pictures
Winter Is Here
First Bites
Too Quiet
It's Official

And a bonus: Monthly Photos: Baby M

Happy Birthday G!

We celebrated the birthday boy with a weekend of parties, cupcakes, grandparents and cousins. The weekend started on Friday night with a special dinner at a favorite restaurant with his grandparents. On Saturday, we went to Tulip Time for the annual festival and family gathering, which involved lots of trampoline-bouncing and chasing his cousins. Sunday began with breakfast at Gateway Market, and included a backyard party with a few friends and a family dinner.

Our favorite waitress at Gateway gave him a special birthday cupcake to start the day.

Throughout the day on Saturday, he told us that he wanted a particular Thomas the Tank Engine train. This was news to us, so Kent made a quick trip to Target the night before his birthday to avoid a tantrum.

Playing with friends in the backyard

Building sand castles with his cousin

Blowing out candles and enjoying more cupcakes

Another year went by far too fast. And what a year it was: he became a big brother, started preschool, learned to use the potty and truly started to talk. His personality and interests came out in big ways this year, and it's been fun to watch him grow and change. If we could just slow down time a bit, all would be well.