Picture Dump

I'm a wee bit behind on the blog, and it's stressing me out. So at least here are some pictures to tide over the three people who actually read this!

Ethan's "rollerskates"
My friend Susie moved closer, so we've been having more playdates. This is Andrew, Eleanor's birthday buddy.

Memorial Day - we went to my mom's for a bbq.

Will and Ethan made this super cute Captain America shield. I love this picture of my grandma.

Here's Eleanor (aka piggy) eating watermelon.

Love this pic.

HEr's Ethan at his last school program.

Here's Ethan after the program. He was still eating after all his classmates had left. Only my kid.

Gram and Pop Pop came to the program, too.

Mini molten lava cake I made for Will's last day of school.

Ethan and Derek at the LG pet parade.

BBQ at the Quinn's (neighbors) later that night. The kids have a blast together.

Great friends - Tamera and Catherine

Cookie making day!

Some of the fruits of our (my) labor.

Eleanor loves to push this stroller.

Another playdate with Andrew.

Ethan at my parent's for Malia's birthday.

My parent's backyard - so pretty.

Happy Birthday, Aunt Moe!

Matthew's birthday party (and Father's Day) at Lisa's house.

Right after we gave dad his present: a driving lesson experience at a race track. He was pretty pumped.

Brian and the boys.

Got this great pic of Will with the kids.

My dad with his girls.

Best pic we got with dad and his kids and grandkids.

Ethan had summer camp right before his birthday, so we brought a cake in. Here he is beforehand. What a good student he is - so attentive!

Annie and Lainey - my friend Annie's daughter. Love this pic we got.

We borrowed a jumpy from my friend for Ethan's birthday. Eleanor liked it. :)

My four year old!

Ethan's party was Spiderman themed. Will made a city scape and I added the web.

Opening his tent set - a big winner.

Check out excited Eleanor in the background.

Love Jakey's pj's.

Pop Pop read to Ethan, who was very hyper/overtired and hung on a loooong time before going to sleep. Then we took this funny picture.

Popsicles on the porch.

Will got his old skateboard from his parent's house.

We stayed in Winnetka a couple of weeks ago when Will and I went to see Maroon 5 at Ravinia. Worked out great - the kids had fun with Gram and Pop Pop and we had a great night out!

Spent the third of July with great friends - Sarah and Jason, Marty and Debbie, Annie and Luke, Susie and Kevin (the hosts), and Paul. Marty and Debbie live in Bloomington and were in town for a wedding. Luckily, we were all available to get together. It was a lot of fun to see everyone.

Love this kid's blue eyes!

My BFF - she's moving to Salt Lake with her family next month. Her husband will start a new job with the FBI. I look forward to an excuse to visit her but will miss having her around.

We had my sister's family over on the fourth for a bbq. The boys ate on a picnic blanket and when they were done, Eleanor went and finished what they hadn't. It was hilarious. Here, she's eating applesauce and a pickle.

Eleanor's favorite seat on our house - standing on the mini rocking chair. She loves to look out the window.

And there went May...

April, with all its rain, dragged. May, in constrast, was gone in seconds. With significantly nicer weather to enjoy, we have been busy having fun, fun, fun around here. Here's the family update:

Will: He's currently in his last week of school. Next week is finals, and then he's done until August. Hooray. He's busy now, but I keep telling him: one more week. One more week until he can mess up the house full time, ignore all the organizational projects I have for him, and attempt to cover all surfaces of our home with Tribunes and Times. Just kidding...well, not really, but we're still excited to have him around full time.

Me: I had my first session of Structural Integration (rolfing) early in the month. It was...different, to say the least. The guy doing it is a little too into the emotional component he feels is behind my pain, but all the physical stuff he's doing (and will do in subsequent sessions) makes a lot of sense. I'm not cured after one session, but I could see how it will help me feel better. I really hope it works! The good news is my mood has been improved by the nice weather we've been having. Lots of picnics and walking to pick up Ethan from school. It's been fabulous.

Ethan: The kid really is a trip. He is constantly talking to himself, making submarines (or cars) out of our treadmill, painting his house with water, pretending to camp out under a blanket, making forts, and torturing his sister. He does really well at school, and his teacher recently told me that there are a few boys who fight over who gets to sit with him at snack time. Too funny. Yesterday, he wore some Adidas running shoes we got as hand-me-downs. He was SO excited about them that he wanted to go outside immediately to run. Then he said to me, "I'm never walking again." When he fell and scraped his knees later on, he changed his mind. He's done with school June 10th and then starts summer camp on the 13th. Not much of a break, but I know he's going to love his camp because his best bud is in it with him. He asks every day, "Is today the day Derek comes to school with me?" He can't wait.

Eleanor: She had a major milestone in May - her first steps. On May 4th, my grandma's birthday, she finally took a couple of steps. Since then, she's been gaining confidence and has built up to around 10 steps or so. Hopefully, within a few weeks, she'll be walking full time. She's ruining her pants and shoes by crawling around on the sidewalk and driveway. And, with the weather nice, we're at parks all the time, and woodchips and crawling don't mesh well. Friday, she has her 15 month appointment, and I'm looking forward to seeing how she's grown. I think she's had a growth spurt and might not be such a peanut anymore. We'll see. She's not talking too much, but she says "Uh oh" about 50 times a day and will say "woof" every time she sees a dog. She can also say "mama," "dadda," and "Hi." She's a great eater, like her brother, and her favorite things include avocados, any fruit, and hot dogs. The girl can take down a hot dog. In the past month or so, she's also developed an attitude. You do not want to take her away from something if she's having fun - that's for sure. The other day, when she let out a big scream during dinner when I took something away from her, I said to Will, "I'm seeing the future here, and I'm scared."

A rare moment of the kids playing well together.

Ethan playing the "piano." He LOVES to sing. Another nice play moment. Cousins Ethan and Jake playing together on Mother's Day.Love this pic of cousins Emme and Eleanor. Tried to get a pic of me with both my kids on Mother's Day, but Ethan couldn't be bothered. My climber.My cutie.

Took the kids to the Morton Arboretum last week - great day!

She even took some steps in the woodchips.

Ethan loves the pumps.

I love that Ethan is all of a sudden ham for the camera.

Spidey

His favorite is the rope bridge section.

Ethan with his best bud, eating popsicles.

Had a sneak in a picture of my porch. I put up the window boxes again this year (took last year off), and they make me happy.