yummy

What a happy guy! Who doesn't love a post-nap snack!

Park & Yard photos

There is a park behind our house that we try to visit each night after dinner. There are swings, slides, climbing stuff and a basketball hoop. For some reason, Kevin is now afraid of the slide. At our favorite park in Chicago he really got into it, now he is afraid to go at it alone. It took some coaxing, but he finally slid with Nate.

We disovered 3 large apple trees in our backyard. I am trying to figure out the best way to pick the really good high-up-there apples. I am thinking of sending Nate into the yard with a ladder this weekend. That might not go so well. Any suggestions?

Playroom!

Kevin loves his new playroom!

Moving Day - Part I

We were thrilled with the movers. They were so considerate and even let Kevin climb into the giant semi-truck and honk the horn. He sure loved that! More photos of the house to come (as soon as we find the camera!)

The movers met us in Clive yesterday to unload everything. If there is such as thing as a smooth move, we sure had one. Despite the rainy weather, the entire move went perfectly. We are busy unpacking and trying to get out house into shape. Nate is anxiously awating the DirectTV guy, the internet & phone was setup yesterday. He is able to listen to the Iowa game on the radio (better than nothing!)

Moving!

Update - the movers came yesterday to pack and moved everything out today. So far, so good. Everything is going as planned and we look forward to being in our new house this Friday.

Kevin has been handling the chaos remarkably well. We know that he will never remember our nomadic summer, or living in the City, but we still feel guilty about all the transition for him this summer. So, while in Chicago for the past week we went to all our familiar places. We went to the park (a lot!) and to several playdates. He slept so well in his crib, we think he was grateful to be out of the cramped pack&play.

**Photos of the new house to come soon :)

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!