Nothing better on a HOT summer afternoon

To keep cool on HOT summer afternoons in Iowa, we got Kevin a new baby pool. Kevin loves the spray fountain on the front of it. Can you believe we inflated it on Monday, and it still hasn't popped? Tomorrow is going to be extra hot and we are headed to a friend's lake house for some boating & beach time :)

BUBBLES

What kid doesn't LOVE bubbles? We were laughing so hard.

Enjoy!

Happy 4th of July

We LOVE summer

We are in Chicago this week! With Nate hard at work in Iowa until Thursday, Kevin and are keeping busy with our friends, family & lots of swimming. On Sunday & Monday Kevin played with one of his birthday presents - a baby pool. Grandpop setup the pool for Kevin to enjoy. His favorite part was crawling in and out of it. Over. and. over. again. and. again. Today we went swimming at Shari's pool and tomorrow we have an invitation to another friend's pool :) Don't worry, we will load up on the sunscreen!

For some reason this picture is so small (I don't know why!) We wanted to show you that Kevin loves to climb into and onto ANYTHING.

Local zoo

Today Kevin & I checked out the Des Moines Zoo. The best part about it was that it wasn't too big, and very kid friendly. I didn't like the petting zoo/farm, but luckily Kevin is still too young to beg me to feed all the animals. He watched from his stroller as older kids fed the donkeys, sheep & ducks. That is not my thing (to say the very least, Daddy will definitely have to come along for that adventure!)

Kevin seemed to like the giraffes the best!

The big news at the zoo is the momma & new baby elephant

Toy overload at Brenda's house

My good friend Brenda is on vacation this week so she offered to let our nomadic family stay there this week. It's been a great way for us to check out our potentially new neighborhood (the house we like is just around the corner!!!) Aside from me scoping out the neighbors, Kevin has had a ball with all the new toys & books. Check him out:

Nate would much prefer Kevin to be playing with a tool set or dinosaurs, but he loves Eliana's kitchen set. To be fair, I did set it up with all the toy foods & dishes to lure Kevin in. Hey, if he will be home with me all day, he might as well enjoy cooking! There is nothing wrong with a boy in the kitchen, he could be a star chef some day!

Garrison has funny sunglasses from "A Bug's Life" movie.

Last night we went to a picnic with Nate's new co-workers. Kevin did not wear his chef's hat or funny glasses, but helped us to make new friends nonetheless. I had him dressed in my favorite Chicago Cubs outfit, so that was a natural way to make conversation. Iowa folks LOVE the Cubs too.

6.18.08 Baby's first steps

FINALLY, last night Kevin took his first real steps, alone. He stood up alone and walked back & forth between us. He was pretty rocky, but I know he will get better in no time!

With all the excitement, we forgot to grab the camera. Please forgive us!

Yesterday I spent the day with Kevin watching Brenda's two kids who are 4 and 8. Maybe all the activity amongst the older kids finally gave Kevin some motivation.

Weekend at home in CHICAGO :)

Despite the road closures and detours due to flooding, we were determined to make to Chicago for the weekend. Kevin was an all-star in the car, we could not have asked for a better kid! We arrived home around 1:30 Saturday morning. A trip that should take us about 5 or so hours took 7 and a half! Kevin was so thrilled to see his bed (so were we!) and the rest of his toys. Saturday night we ordered sushi from our favorite spot in the City and enjoyed it on our deck with a few bottles of wine with Aunt Nicole & Uncle Joe.

Here are some photos from Father's Day:

Our drive back to Iowa last night was fine. It takes much longer when you can't drive on the interstate roads. Nate made it to his desk on-time this morning, but one sleepy actuary. Is that dangerous?

Yes, the condo is still on the market. We have now lowered the price, hopefully that will do the trick! Good news here, many more houses on the market so we can take our pick.