Pumpkin time

It's pumpkin time again! I love taking the kids to the pumpkin patch to take pictures of them. They love being outside...especially Aubrey, so she can run around. We made our first trip to Johansen's Farm today. When we finished, we ran into my friend and old coworker, Kristin and her daughter, Charlotte. It was so great to see her. Hopefully we can schedule a play date soon!

Proud of my fishie

We made some huge improvements in the swimming pool today. I wasn't sure what to because since on the way there, Aubrey already started telling me "I'm not going under water, Mommy." After three classes of submerges, she knows she does not like it. We discussed it though and talked about how much fun it looked when the teacher's son did it and I think I almost convinced it would be fun for her, too.

When we got to class, she wanted in the water right away. This is no different than any other day, but I was expecting her to bring up the under water part again. She followed all of the substitute teachers commands...back float (with little neck and lower back support), kicking, and sang along with most of the songs (Ring around the Rosie, Itsy Bitsy Spider, I Hear Thunder). She really seemed to be enjoying it today. But, then came the time for submerges. Ugh. As soon as the teacher repeated what we are to say to the kids, she told me "I'm not going under Mommy...Go home, Mommy..." We did our three submerges, she cried, but she recovered very quickly and did very well. She even forgot about it quick enough to sing the Tick Tock song and The Kids in the Pool..."

As soon as we got out of the pool, she ran straight for her Dora towel. Then she told me "I had fun today, Mommy." She repeated this again when we got to the locker room. I was so proud of the big strides she made today. She is really improving and is participating in song, too. Maybe she'll stop crying during submersion time before the class ends in a week and a half?? :)

Busy weekend

What a busy weekend! Friday was Jeff's birthday. We celebrated by staying in, eating pizza and waiting for Jeff's Luau teammates to arrive from Minnesota.

Saturday morning, we woke bright and early (as did Jeff's parents, the babysitters) and went to play in the Luau. It was so nice to get out, play some volleyball and spend time with our friends. I need to do that more often!

Sunday, we were off to Kohl's to shop and home again for naps. After nap time, we went to celebrate Carson's second birthday. The kids had a great time and loved the snow cone machine!

Sitting pretty

Tyler can now sit up all by himself. He is doing so well with it, too. He rarely falls down anymore. Thank goodness! The downside is whenever he wakes in his crib, all he wants to do is sit up. Therefore, someone is not sleeping very well. Maybe two someones... Hopefully the novelty of this new trick will pass soon, too!

Fishy, fishy...

Aubrey had her first swimming lesson today at the BRAC (Bolingbrook Park District). We were both excited to go. She wants to be in the pool and I want to wear her out. :) The whole way there she kept saying "swimming" and "pool?" Aubrey is the second oldest in her class of 8. Her instructor, Miss Kerry, is very nice and the kids love her. We started with an introduction to blowing bubbles in the water, splashing, floating and kicking our legs. Aubrey didn't want anything to do with blowing bubbles but had fun with the other tasks. Each activity was done to song..."Twinkle, Twinkle," "Ring Around the Rosie," and "The Babies in the Pool" (same as the "Wheels on the Bus"). All of these are songs that Aubrey knows and loves to sing. We look forward to more classes.

Keepataw Days/Labor Day

We decided to cap off our busy, yet relaxing, weekend by spending the day with Jeff's family. We met in Lemont to watch the Keepataw Days parade. This was the first parade for the kids to watch. Although they've both been in a parade, they've never actually seen one. The parade started with a fire truck from each local station. Aubrey loved it...Tyler hated it. The sirens were way too loud for his liking. The parade lasted about 90 minutes and there was lots of candy to collect. Aubrey sat back in the beginning watching her cousins, Natalie and Caitlin, do all of the collecting before she began grabbing some herself. By the end, she seemed to be having a ton of fun. The parade lasted through Aubrey's nap time so we were a little nervous as to how she would be. Much to our surprise, she was doing great until we reached the car. Ugh.

After the parade, we headed back to Jinger and Gus' house for a cookout. The kids had a ball playing on their swing set. Tyler was able to swing for the first time in the Bumble Bee swing while Aubrey went up and down the slide over and over. She also played in the sandbox for quite a while making piles of sand and filling the buckets. Around 8pm, we decided the long day must end and it was time to head home. The kids were pooped and so were we! Aubrey crashed and burned on the ride home repeating "I want my bed" until she fell asleep and Tyler dozed off mid bottle. Once we got them to bed, each only woke once between 9pm and 7am. What a great night!

The circus comes to town!

It's Friday and Jeff took a half day. So, we decided to go to Glendale Heights to see the Kelly Miller Circus. Being the first time to the circus for everyone but me, we were in for a treat! It was only a one ring circus but it was enjoyable nonetheless. We saw trained tigers perform, a juggler, horses with riders, a balancing act, clowns, elephants, etc. Aubrey seemed to like it even though she wouldn't sit still. Tyler talked the whole time and was glued to until he fell asleep 3/4 the way through. We had fun and hope to go and see a bigger circus someday!

Leg update

It's only been a week since the fall and Tyler is already using his leg again. The doctor wasn't kidding when he said it'd heal quickly and he'd be pain-free by week's end. Tyler is a trooper! He has begun army crawling and is moving everywhere. He can get from the family room to the kitchen in no time. Hope it takes a little longer for him to learn how to walk. :)

We love the giraffes!

After yesterday's failed attempt at going to the zoo, we tried again today. (Aubrey got sick 5 minutes away from the zoo). It was such a beautiful day that we needed to get out. This is the first time that I have taken the kids and not met another friend there. It gave me such a different perspective on the day and it was wonderful. Aubrey really enjoyed looking at all of the animals and Tyler is such a good baby. We saw the giraffes, hippos, elephants, rhino, penguins, camels, etc. Aubrey is able to identify the majority of the animals she sees and just stares at them. She loves the animals just like her Mommy!