Run the Bases!

Today we ventured down to see a St. Louis Cardinals win over the Braves. We had excellent seats - 8 rows behind home plate, and the temperature was perfect. We actually made it through the entire game without a single incident, which was a first with the kids in tow.

Joe and Ethan eating a sno-cone together. This kept Ethan occupied for at least 2 innings, although left Joe sticky at the end.


Olivia's souvenier of the game - the big foam hand. Who didn't have one of these growing up? She showed interest in the game today - clapping and cheering and booing and jumping up and down, all at the appropriate times. We have a true fan in the making! However, she really didn't understand why Fredbird was not allowed on the field while the game was in play.

After the game was the real treat for the kids as it was "Run the Bases Day" at Busch Stadium. We waited in line after the game and everyone had a turn to run around the infield. Fredbird greeted the runners at first base, much to Olivia's delight. She ran right up to him and gave him a huge hug and he replied by putting his beak on her head in typical Fredbird fashion. Both kids and Joe had a blast running and jumping on the "pillows" (we need to work on Olivia's baseball terminology). It was very difficult to get pictures of this event and this seems to be the best shot I took. For those of you with kids, I highly recommend attending a game with this promo!

After the game we let the kids blow off some energy at Kiener Plaza. The water fountain is great for kids to play in!

The classic St. Louis shot from Kiener Plaza.

Fancy Nancy

Olivia received 2 "Fancy Nancy" books for her birthday, her first experience with this series. Well, kudos to Jer and Steph and family and to Matt and Lauren for purchasing these books for her since you hit the nail on the head. Olivia spent all $50 of her birthday money on more Fancy Nancy books, and I think that that has only touched on what is to come. She now dresses like Fancy Nancy on a regular basis and begs to go out of the house in her outfits.

Here she is in full Fancy Nancy dress. She was thrilled when I allowed her to play outside in this ensemble so that she could show our neighbor Katie.


If it is something that Olivia enjoys, then you know that Ethan is right there with her. Here he is with her headband on. This was 100% his idea.

Playing dress up together, Fancy Nancy style. Olivia's dress up collection is very large (thank you post-Halloween sales), so when she does this it can become a marathon session.

Again, this was all 100% Ethan picking out these accessories. Later he grabbed a purse and carried it around for awhile.

The State Fair

We headed to the Illinois State Fair on a gorgeous Sunday afternoon. We missed the fair last year, so we were really hungry for fair food. And the Butter Cow. But mainly the food. Let's be honest, why else do you attend the fair? If it is fried and on a stick, you can bet that there is a long line waiting to purchase one (or two).

First off, the cotton candy. It is best to find freshly made cotton candy, and it is even better to find a VERY generous vendor. Maybe next year we will specify to keep the ball of candy smaller than Olivia's head. And, yes, she ate every last bit.

The Butter Cow! A tradition that has to be viewed no matter how silly it is. This year there were also butter skunks on display.

Oh, yes, there are also animal exhibits at the fair. We made our way to those while walking to more food vendors. This is Ethan in the FFA petting zoo. He loved the lambs and the bunnies, but he was pecked at by a baby chick and didn't really like that too much.

The Milk a Cow exhibit was a first for us this year. Olivia was old enough for us to justify spending a buck so that she could milk the poor cow (as a mother who breastfed 2 kids, I had sympathy for the cow). She thought that it was great, but she was really confused about where the milk came from - I don't know that she had ever paid much attention to a cow's udders before.

Maybe next year Ethan will joing the milking fun. For now, he had a great time mooing at the cows from a distance.

Who is that celebrity dad pushing his celebrity baby????

What seems funny at the time of the fair now means that we have a carved coconut pirate head sitting in our house waiting for us to do something with it.

Olivia sharing her ice cream with Ethan. Olivia enjoyed a corn dog, cotton candy, lemon shake ups, ice cream, and some mini donuts. And was still asking for more. She is a natural at the State Fair! While the adults munched on fried oreos, fried Do Si Dos, fried Key lime pie, corn dogs, pork burgers, pork chop on a stick, lemon shake ups, vinegar fries, taffy, donuts, and fried cheese curds. I told you that we eat our way through the fair! However, with my mom along to watch the kids while Joe and I attended a concert at night, that food was (sort of) split 3 ways.

Dancing to an Irish jig at the Ethnic Village.

Another first for Olivia...carnival rides. Previously, she was too hesitant to ride any. This year she enjoyed the train and these cars. She was begging to ride on more, but it was getting close to 8pm and time for the kiddies to head home.

I had intended to post a nice picture of Joe and I with good friends Curt and Kelly, but the picture turned out horribly (Kelly and I had our eyes closed) so I decided to not post it. We joined them for the Joan Jett/Huey Lewis concert and had a great time. Huey sang all of his big hits (except for Hip to Be Square, darn it) and Joan Jett was really good, too. It was a nice end to our day at the fair.

A Busy Saturday

Guess where we went today?

To the St. Louis City Museum! Our friends Nicola and Kellan (frequent Museum visitors) were heading there for the day, so we tagged along for half of the day. I had been meaning to take the kids there for awhile, even though I feared that they were still a bit too young to fully appreciate the full craziness that is the Museum. Think Tim Burton for kids. Seriously. Olivia did very well in some areas of the museum, and was terrified by other parts. In another 2-3 years it will all be fun for her.

A group pose of Ethan, me, Kellan, and Olivia, on a mosaic. The City Museum is full of little and big surprises everywhere as no detail was left out. There is something interesting and different around every corner. And there are a lot of corners (as well as random holes in the floor - it was a nightmare keeping Ethan safe)!

I'm not sure what is going on in this picture, but Olivia and Kellan look like they are having fun!

The ball pit is a kid favorite, and a germ haven I am sure. I just try not to think about that.

Joe and Ethan in the ball pit. Again, I try not to think about the germ haven while Ethan has his tongue on the ball! How do they clean these ball pits??? And I am not a clean freak with a bottle of Lysol in my hand by any means.

Studying the rocks in the cave. We brought along a flashlight as recommended by friends of ours, and we are glad that we did. They had fun using them in the caves, plus we were better able to see all of the steps and holes!

I put this picture in the blog for the look on Kellan's face. Click on the picture to get a better look of their impact! And no one was hurt! Olivia loved this room - the indoor skate park but with no skateboards. Just lots and lots of running and sliding and jumping.

Who doesn't need a picture in front of a giant pair of undies?

Olivia and Kellan riding the train. Next to the magic show that Olivia was absolutely mesmerized by, the train was her favorite part.

After about 4 hours at the Museum, we stopped off at my parent's home for dinner and swimming. Olivia and grandpa always have a very wild time together in the pool. I cannot remember the name that Olivia called this game, but it involved a piggyback race across the pool, over and over. I think that she was doing her own version of the Olympics.

Joe, Ethan, and I relaxing after a swim.

Olivia and Ethan drying off before dinner. It was a long and busy day, so we are hoping for a good night of sleep from them! We are heading to the State Fair tomorrow so they will need their rest!

Who's Ready to Party Like a 4 Year Old?

Olivia's birthday party was this past Sunday, and we could not have asked for a better afternoon. The humidity disappeared, the temperature was in the low 80s, and the sun was out. We had an afternoon of water fun (pools, sprinklers, water guns, water balloons, etc.) with 10 kids and around 25 adults. I don't believe in small parties, I guess. As in the past, all but one other kid were boys (the other girl present was not even 1 year old yet). We are hoping that more girlfriends are found in preschool.

Olivia's friend Jack spraying her with the elephant sprinkler.


The water balloons turned out to be a big hit, and lasted for a grand total of 5 minutes. It took poor Joe close to 40 minutes to fill and tie all of the balloons. He didn't remember it being so difficult as a child.

Present opening time. Olivia received so many presents that we are considering opening our own toy store in the near future. Thank you to everyone who gave her a gift. She has yet to decide on a favorite toy, but has played with all of them for at least 2 minutes each!

Ethan and Griffin playing together.

Olivia's theme was Minnie and Mickey Mouse (boy is she going to love our trip to Disney next fall!), with a Ratatouille cake (her favorite movie at the time that she picked out the cake; now her favorite is The Incredibles). Here are Dominic and Olivia showing off their ears.

And Ethan showing off his ears. By the time the party was done (6pm) I realized that I had yet to feed Ethan any dinner other than cake. However, I was told that he consumed about 15 crackers and slices of cheese, so I figured he was good for the evening.

The family with the cake.

Happy Birthday Miss Munchkin!

Mmmm, cake.

Back on the beach with Grandma.

Happy 4th Birthday to Olivia!

Olivia turned 4 years old on August 1! Olivia was so excited to turn 4, as for the past few months if an activity made her nervous, she would always say "I'll do it when I'm 4". Now that she is 4, she is actually excited to try these activities again (learn to swim, watch Sleeping Beauty, ride a bike, etc). We'll see how we do with these events this time around...

Olivia shyly showing how old she is now.


Cake time! Her birthday party is being held on August 3, so I just baked a small cake for this day. We eat a lot of cake the first week in August with Olivia's birthday on the 1st, and Joe's on the 7th (32 years old this year!).

YUM!

Olivia opening her gifts with her friend Caden. We had Caden, his brother Cole and mom Kelly over for dinner and playtime on Olivia's birthday for a special treat. Olivia received flowers (her first flowers from a boy other than daddy) and a balloon and a puzzle from Caden, a Backyardigans bubble blower from Ethan, a 4 year old birthday statue, and a....

bike with training wheels. Olivia sat on the bike for this picture, and then promptly jumped off to play with her bubble blower. She has yet to look at the bike again. I think it may take her a month or so to transition to the "big girl bike".

Give Ethan a ball and a chair and he is a happy boy. He loves to climb up into "big people" chairs and just sit looking so proud of himself.

Playing with the bubble machine. I had thought she might be a bit too old for this toy (one she specifically picked out for her birthday), but I guess you never outgrow bubbles.

Breastfeeding Support Walk at the Zoo

This past Saturday was a nation wide day for supporting breastfeeding. In Springfield, this walk is held at the Henson Robinson Zoo and is sponsored by St. John's Children's Hospital. Olivia and Ethan had a great time playing with their friends and running around the zoo looking at the animals. There were many prizes to win, guest speakers, and lots of free goodies to snag.

Olivia has always loved the giant tortoises at the zoo. On this particular day, the pair at the zoo were active with climbing (who knew turtles did that?) and wallowing in their mud hole.

Olivia with friends Caden and Dominic. We actually met Dominic when he was 3 months old at a breastfeeding support group through St. John's Hospital, and they have been playmates ever since.

Olivia, Ethan, and Caden on yet another statue.

Playground time!

Ethan climbing through the hippo.

Ethan is making new friends at the zoo.