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Month: July 2011

31 Jul

Welcome Grant Walker

I got to meet my newest next door neighbor today. Amber and Nick welcomed Grant on 7/31 at 2:42 AM (I think). He’s a little peanut at just over 5 lbs. and so precious to hold!


31 Jul

July 31, 2011


Per Alex’s request….

30 Jul

July 30, 2011


Eating cupcakes in your underwear. Does life get any better?
(Photograph courtesy of Gram)

30 Jul

He’s Back!

I had a great, productive week, but I missed my little guy. Welcome home Alex!

29 Jul

July 29, 2011


Liza and Alex take a break after playing in the lake.
(Photograph courtesy of Gram)

29 Jul

Restaurant Review

I have basically been home alone all week. Wade was in town Monday morning and flew out Monday evening. He flew in this afternoon just in time for our Shawn Mullins and Marc Cohn concert. In the little time we had together we managed to try some new restarurants.
Broken Yolk – I loved the name and couldn’t wait to try it for breakfast. They are located near Marquette and appear to be a college place. My bacon, egg, and cheese biscuit was delicious. The hashbrowns weren’t crispy enough, but they rarely are. I’d definitely go back!
Crazy Water – Wade and I love this place! We have actually been several times and couldn’t wait to go again. I highly recommend the sea scallops.
Butch’s Old Casino Steak House – Thank goodness for Yelp or I would never have set foot inside the door. They give new meaning to hole-in-the-wall. However, the inside was fun and quirky. The waitress was wonderful. Our steaks were excellent! Wade and I both ordered the steer filet with a seafood side (scallops for me and shrimp for Wade). Neither of us would bother with the seafood again. It wasn’t impressive at all and we ended up just eating the steak. It’s also very casual, which is nice when I want a good steak and don’t want to dress up. (Reminded me of Coerper’s 5 O’Clock Steakhouse, but I liked Butch’s better.)

28 Jul

July 28, 2011


I have no idea what he was up to – washing dishes?
(Photograph courtesy of Gram)

28 Jul

Update From Alex

Mom and Alex seem to be having a great week. I hear they have been to the pool, two movies, to feed the ducks, and to the lake. They’ve made cookies and cupcakes and painted “garages” for the trucks. I think overall it is a definite success!

27 Jul

July 27, 2011


Alex saw his first movie today – Winnie the Pooh.
(Photograph courtesy of Gram)

27 Jul

Working Hard

My project while Alex is in Paducah is to strip and sand our storm windows and doors. The plan is to convert them from screens to glass and repair all the damaged wood. It may take every piece of sandpaper and sander in the house, but I’m determined to get it all done!

26 Jul

July 26, 2011


Alex loved feeding the ducks at Noble Park.
(Picture courtesy of Gram)

25 Jul

July 25, 2011


Gram bought snacks especially for Alex – a gallon of chocolate milk and ding-dongs.
(Picture courtesy of Gram)

24 Jul

Paducah – Day Three

As soon as Alex woke up we went searching for Aunt Lissy and Harper. We found them taking a quiet morning swim.


We all got dressed for church and Harper played peek-a-boo while she waited:


Dad’s church is very small so Alex actually got to sit through part of the service. He was pretty good for Leo’s christening, except when he was rolling on the floor looking up at everyone. At least he was quiet…


Alex is spending the week with my Mom. I dropped him (and all of his stuff) at her house and then drove to Milwaukee to see Wade before he leaves town tomorrow. What a crazy, hectic schedule we always have!
24 Jul

July 24, 2011


Taking Harper for a spin.

23 Jul

July 23, 2011

Cousins.

23 Jul

Paducah – Day Two

Harper and Alex are the two early birds so we let them have a little bonding time while everyone else slept:


Harper’s Sip ‘N See was this afternoon so we left the boys at home by the pool. Harper was an angel and was content to let anyone hold her. She fell asleep at one point and took a short nap on the floor in another room.


My Dad kept Alex entertained all day. He was really excited to show him the new car for the grandkids. Being the oldest grandchild definitely has some perks. Alex will probably have this toy to himself when visiting until everyone else gets a little bigger.


Then Alex wanted to ride the pony. It was extremely hot, but of course B just saddled him up and they went for a walk.

22 Jul

Paducah – Day One

Alex and I spent the day at my Dad’s house. Dad and Laura had to work in the morning so we played in the pool. Leo even joined us for a little while.


Dad’s latest venture is a rock quarry. He was excited to show it off to Alex – who loved the big machines! We were all required to wear hard hats and safety vests. I was afraid Alex would take off his hat and must have stressed that he needed to leave it on a little too much. He held it with both hands the entire time we were there – even when getting up in the 70 ton dump truck for a ride.


Alex took an incredibly long nap and woke up just in time for dinner. Laura and Dad treated us all to Hibachi! The dinner ended up being two hours long, but Alex was content to sit in B’s lap.
22 Jul

July 22, 2011


Exploring the quarry with B.
(We told Alex he had to wear a hard hat and he kept both hands on it the entire time.)

21 Jul

Place of Firsts

Paducah has always been a place of firsts for Alex – first time sleeping through the night, first swim, first tea, etc. When we got to my Mom’s house she had a new tricycle for Alex. He hopped on and started pedaling like he had been doing it all along (but it was definitely a first).

21 Jul

July 21, 2011


Look who figured out pedals (and got a new tricycle).

20 Jul

Aftermath Of A Play Date

And this was only one room…..

20 Jul

July 20, 2011


Morning playtime with Abram.

19 Jul

Bay Beach Amusement

Amber and I loaded up the boys for a car trip! We arrived at Bay Beach Amusement Park just as they were opening. It was hot. We were sweaty. Everybody had a great time!


The last shot of the day. Two worn out boys:
19 Jul

July 19, 2011

Practicing to be like B.

18 Jul

July 18, 2011


A sudden rain shower provided great puddles for jumping.

18 Jul

Puddle Jumper

Alex and I decided to take Madison for a walk after dinner. We had a sudden storm while we were eating and decided to add rain boots to our plan. In the end, I think Madison took Alex for a walk:

Alex also found a few puddles along the way. (The slight haze occurs when you take my camera from the air conditioned indoors to the muggy, humid outdoors.)

17 Jul

July 17, 2011


Alex was playing with his Legos and I was trying to get him to glance at the camera. I started singing “Do Your Ears Hang Low” to interest him. The next thing I knew he was trying to put Legos on his ears.

17 Jul

Backyard Convenience

I am so grateful for whoever planted raspberries in our backyard. We are getting even more than last year. This is our second picking:

16 Jul

July 16, 2011


Alex testing out his outdoor bunk bed.
(To see what he is really napping on click here).

16 Jul

Finished!

This project was 90% complete all week (see Alex playing on it here). Today Wade finally got the necessary bolts to complete it. It looks to me (and Alex) like mini bunk beds so we let him try it out:

After that we put it to its intended use and stacked up all the wood:

15 Jul

July 15, 2011


Riley brought a water gun to the pool and Alex didn’t want to put it down.

15 Jul

Pool Time

Yup, we spent the morning at the pool. We love this place!

14 Jul

July 14, 2011


Alex is into hide-n-seek. He requests to play by hiding himself and saying, “I don’t see me”.

14 Jul

Where Is Me?

Alex has rediscovered peek-a-boo. I get the biggest kick out of his “hiding”. He covers his face and really thinks we can’t see the rest of him.

13 Jul

July 13, 2011


Abram is fascinated with Alex’s new Buzz. He happily let’s Alex play with his while he checks out Alex’s.

13 Jul

What A Day!

We started the day with a trip to the dentist. I tried to prep Alex by telling him Dr. Rick would clean his teeth. In the hour before we got there, Alex went from saying Dr. Rick will “clean my toys” to “clean my teeth” to “brush my hair”. We have been going to Small World Dentistry for a year and I have always loved them (see first trip here). Today they were outstanding. This was Alex’s first teeth cleaning (the others were examinations and brushings). The woman was fantastic about explaining all of her tools and showing Alex how it would feel on his fingers. Alex was also a champ. He patiently followed all of her instructions throughout the cleaning. Dr. Rick had had a rough morning with unhappy 3 year olds and was glad Alex calmly opened his mouth and let him count his teeth.


The rest of the day we spent with Abram – before and after nap. The boys have discovered computer games and Amber and I decided to let them both play a little (great social activity, right?):

After nap it was all about the backyard and Buzz Lightyear!


12 Jul

Growing Up

This has been a great bike, but I think Alex is almost ready for one with pedals.

12 Jul

July 12, 2011


Neighborhood fun!

11 Jul

The Visit Continues

Gram not only helps Alex play games on the iPad, but she plays pinball too. Who knew?

11 Jul

July 11, 2011


Sneaking some of Gram’s Diet Coke.

10 Jul

July 10, 2011


I completely blame Alex’s latest interest (Buzz Lightyear) on our neighbor, Abram.
(I am sure it won’t be the last!)

10 Jul

Gram Visits

My Mom called me last week and asked if we’d like company for a day or two. She had a weekend trip to Chicago and wanted to come see us afterwards. We definitely told her “YES”. Alex was excited and kept asking for Gram all day. We picked her up from the train station and he was in her lap the minute we got inside:

09 Jul

Choo Choo

Wade has been working on this project for a LONG time, but Alex’s train whistle is finally finished!

09 Jul

July 9, 2011


We tried out Yo Mama Frozen Yogurt tonight. Alex loved it!

08 Jul

Those Boys

Abram, Alex, and Phoenix got together in the front yard after nap.

Then Amber brought out the popsicles!

08 Jul

July 8, 2011


I pulled out the 12-piece puzzle not expecting Alex to understand. He worked it almost completely by himself!

07 Jul

July 7, 2011


Legos. Legos. Legos.

06 Jul

July 6, 2011


Elise and Alex spent most of their time in the pool like this.

06 Jul

Water Park Please

Alex and I have both wanted to spend most mornings at the pool. When Maren suggested the pool for our playdate, I was excited to go again. Alex had a blast playing with Elise and wanted to be with her constantly.


Mariel was happy to be in the water, but only in Maren’s arms.


Alex has learned to jump this summer. He has spent most of the summer holding my hands and jumping into the pool. In the last few weeks he has experimented with jumping in on his own. He walks to the most shallow part of the pool and then works his way deeper.

05 Jul

July 5, 2011


Alex has been choosing showers over baths at night.

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