Top 10 of the summer

We spent the summer in Ames, Iowa. Ames is a a great college town (the other school is here, ISU, not UI) and we had fun here. We are so grateful to Dan & Lana for letting us stay with them. Here is a Top 10 List of our summer in Ames:



10. Boating at Lake Panorama

9. Kevin finally learns to walk

8. Story time & great play area at the library

7. Iowa State Fair

6. Lazy summer afternoons spent at the pool

5. Late night euchre & spicy quesadillas with Dan & Lana

4. Kevin wins the Lincoln Highway Days baby contest

3. Storm tracking the entire month of June

2. Iowans are Cub fans too!

1. The "Great crib pooping incident of July 2008"



We spent Labor Day weekend in Chicago. Our movers come next week, then we can finally move to our new home! We are so excited to unpack and enjoy all the space.

Some hometown hokiness

There is nothing more hokey, or more fun than a hometown festival. This weekend was Nate's hometown parade & festival. As part of the festivities we took Kevin to the parade yesterday morning. He was really in shock at first, there was so much noise, so many people.... why was everyone sitting on the curb? Why were there so many sirens? And, let's not forget all the candy, marching bands & tractors!

-Enjoying the parade with Dana & Lana. This is his first piece of candy - a Dum Dum sucker-

The highlight of the festival came this morning when we entered Kevin the Baby Contest. Guess what... HE WON! Nate took Kevin on stage when his age group was called. I waited in the audience as a nervous stage mother trying to get Kevin to smile, do his butterfly or mosquito trick or at least wave. He did not do any of his normal charming stuff, but managed to capture the judge's eye anyway. We came home with a Thomas the Train toy that Kevin loves. Nate and I could not believe he won, considering a cutie-pie local kid next to Kevin who was dressed up in his best John Deere outfit.

-Before the contest, Kevin had fun in the golf cart-

-Admiring his prize-
I heard that photos of the winning babies will be printed in the local paper later this week. I'll post the link!

House update and just checking in on this most boring, quiet, rainy day

It's a boring, yucky, rainy day around here. Kevin is taking his normal 1-4PM nap (thanks Kelly for that awesome suggestion, it saves my sanity!)

We are getting really excited to move into our new house. Just wanted to post that everything is moving along fine. We had the home inspection earlier this week and the inspector told us that for a 19 year old house, it was immaculate. Great news! Our realtor & I were in the kitchen/family room for most of the time during the inspection "re-decorating" the place in our minds. Nate was in the basement & outside with the inspector dutifully taking notes on everything he said. I love Nate, he is such a responsible homeowner, already.

Yesterday I had a job interview (similar to my job in Chicago). I think it went well and am excited about the new opportunity. I should hear something next week!

Pots & Pan Band

Yesterday was a rainy day, so we passed the time with this toddler classic...
Nate & Uncle Dan were at work, so only Lana & I heard the "music".

New house, finally!

Finally, finally, finally, we found the perfect house! We are so excited to move in!!!! The closing of our condo in Chicago is set for Sept 11, so we have to wait until Sept 12. Please come and visit us!!!


My favorite part of the house is the big sun room in the back, which I think will make the most fun playroom for you-know-who! Meanwhile, Nate is most excited about the yard, but not so excited to start mowing it. (He is also relieved that I could not convince him to by an old-fashioned 100 year old house that I had fallen in love with a few months ago). This house has everything we will need and our family will be very happy here. Please come visit, we have tons of room!

Visit with Erin & Alexis

My college friend came back to Iowa to visit this week so it was the perfect chance for Kevin to meet her baby, Alexis. We met at the park, then went out for lunch. It was nice to see a familiar face :)

What fun we had at the beach

We are back from our week at the beach. We all had a great time, and Kevin was as terrific as a one year old can be to travel with. He did well on the plane rides and kept busy with tons of snacks, keys, smiling at strangers, playing with our cell phones & keys, and did I mention the tons of snacks!

We flew to Philadelphia last Friday night & stayed wit Lori & Kenny. Saturday morning the guys played golf and the rest of us headed to the beach. On the way we stopped at an awesome farm stand. We didn't even have to prompt Kevin, he walked right up to the bushel of tomatoes and took a sniff. Very cute.

We had great weather everyday. Sunday was Kevin's first day at the ocean. He was not scared at all. The water got warmer everyday, and by the end of the week it was perfect. We taught Kevin to jump when the waves came. This, combined with the fresh air made him very tired. Magically (with the help of Grandpop) Kevin actually took a nap on the beach. This phenomenon was not to be repeated for the rest of the tip. He played in the sand a bit, but really preferred the water instead. We made friends with other cute babies on the beach and shared sand toys with a few nice families.

Getting dressed for the beach is no easy task. Lots of slippery moments with all that sunscreen.

This is proof that he really took a nap on the beach!

It was a perfect week, and a perfect way to remember my 30th birthday. For my birthday, we had a great dinner at the house with everyone. The next night me, Nate, Kenny & Lori went to the Lobster House in Cape May. It was a very old fashioned, seashore restaurant and a perfect way to celebrate. Lori has photos of us with our lobster bibs, I will post those soon. While we were out, Grandmom & Grandpop and Aunt Susie & Uncle Dick took Kevin to the Boardwalk to see the sights.

We loved playing Baggo!

Kevin met Kenny for the first time on this trip. I think they had lots of fun together (especially when Kenny let Kevin help play Baggo!)

Brian, Dave & Tanya, we missed you on the trip. We hope to do it again next year!