It's A Zoo!

Our little monkeys: Ryan, Maddie, Julia and Mason enjoy our zoo picnic playdate!

Halloween Playdate

Today we had some friends over for a Halloween playdate. I fortunately snapped this picture of Buzz Lightyear and Woody (Jake and Andrew) before the costumes were stripped off! =)

Carrie, Karina, Julia, Holly, Andrew, Taran, Spencer, Ryan, Jake and Jack enjoy some lunch.

Holly helps the kids in a round of "pin the bat on the pumpkin" game.

Julia/Cinderella shows me her "don't mess with me I'm eating this cookie" face.

Surprise..she finished every last crumb!

Jack (Indiana Jones today!) and Jake enjoy a laugh.

A loud room full of chaos. =)

Julia and Tyler play on the "computers" post-party. Checking FB, perhaps? Hehe.

Lions and Tigers and Bears--Oh My!

I am in denial that preschool starts next week! Excited, but also sad this means summer is quickly coming to an end and my babies are getting older. This morning we decided to head to the zoo to get in a bit more "summer fun" with some friends before routine starts next week!

Julia has no fear. =)

Taran helps Julia, Jake and Ry check out the cool hippo that was swimming circles right past us. I can't believe I didn't get a photo as the hippo swam by right in front of us. It was very very awesome. (Awesome is also now Julia's new favorite word. She's still learning how to use it though. This morning I changed her diaper and she looked at me and said, "Awesome, Mommy!")

Old Mr. Turtle took a nap...something we were having too much fun to stop and do!

The train ride was Ryan's favorite part of the day - of course!

Happy 3rd Birthday, Jacob!

The birthday boy gets the "Most Spirited" award for excitement over icing!

Oh my...look at our cute babies!
They really could pass for twins lately, I think!

Julia really wants Ty to play with her...

Happy Birthday, Jake!
We had a great time at your party!

Perfect Day

Today is laundry day. And I have loads and loads. But a friend called to say she was headed to the park and that if we wanted to break away from our morning here...and, gasp! take off the jammies she knew we were all still wearing!...she'd be at the park with her kids...her kids that my kids love to play with!
I debated...and jumped on the internet to check out the temperature...ksdk.com actually said "perfect" under today's forecast...I figured that meant we must be outside for as much as possible for this day being deemed as "perfect." (And I have a feeling the laundry will still be around later...)

The boys had fun racing up the tall tower...

And Julia made me laugh with her expressions coming down the slide...

What a perfect outside morning!

In a moment of Christmas insanity..wait, I mean, LOVE, my sister Amy gave me a certificate (Advent Conspiracy) redeemable for a 1 night stay for Julia and Ryan @ Uncle Jeff's and Aunt Amy's house. I am sure the rope swing got some great usage during their stay!
We cashed in our certificate this weekend so we could have a fun date night Saturday and go to a Cardinal's baseball game Sunday afternoon with our small group. (Awesome seats, I might add...thank you Bash family! I didn't bring my camera for any photos of the event, but the Bash's say they'll send along a pic when they upload them..probably sometime in the next year. Don't hold your breath! =)).
Amy and Jeff scheduled a playdate with the Noyes family, to Ryan's DELIGHT. He absolutely ADORES these kids. Ok, and he has a not-so-secret crush on Mattie. Aren't they cute? McGrady, Julia, Morgan, Ryan and Mattie.

Julia's Playdate Party

We had some friends over to celebrate Julia's birthday this morning. Our little princess didn't leave a crumb of her cupcake. All the other kids had finished eating, and she was still sitting at the table enjoying her treat! She did a GREAT job blowing out her candles. In fact, we had to reenact for this photo (top right) because she blew them out faster than I could grab the camera! (Bottom left) Julia and her little friend Madeline enjoy their lunch, and looked so sweet sitting next to one another at the little table.

(Top left): Kelli, Jake, Emma and Julia all check out our "Pin the Tail on the Donkey" game. (This was going to be a "Pin the Candle on the Cupcake Game", but at about 1am last night Mommy was too tired to stay up and make this, so we went with the generic one I had...I don't think the kids minded a bit!!)
(Top middle): Ryan is super excited after we sing "Happy Birthday" that it is finally time to eat cupcakes!
(Top right): Tyler is excited to be hanging with his cousins! And probably even more excited that cupcakes are coming!
(Bottom left): Lucas and Andrew enjoy some sweet snuggle time.
(Bottom middle): Andrew, Ryan, Lexi and Nicolas help Julia open presents.
(Bottom right): The kids search for their names on edible heart paper.

Perfect Jammie Day

Today the kids preschool was canceled due to our latest snowstorm...I don't seem to remember school being closed when the snow doesn't even cover the grass when I was a kid, but I didn't mind having the extra-hang time with the kids (we've been super busy and on-the-go lately), and a great excuse to stay in comfy clothes all day! =)

A foo-foo drink...a great way to start the AM!

"I ant some!" demanded Julia, so I gave her a little squirt of whipped cream to top off her cereal.

Then we headed outside for some wagon rides....think Daddy will have to head up the sledding...that was a bit too much for me. I did shovel the driveway/front walk and the kids had fun playing in the snow.
Jeff hates to shovel. (Strangely, the past few years he has been out of town for every single one of our big snowstorms.) He has the "it's just going to melt in a few days anyhow!" attitude. I am the opposite. I think a shoveled driveway and walk are so cozy and welcoming! We have an ergonomic shovel that I LOVE. Jeff would like to sell this every spring in our neighborhood yard sale. So I make great effort to put it to good use when I can. Today was no exception. It really does make the job easy, and not tough on your back. A few years ago, 9 mos pregnant with Julia I was out there shoveling. One of my very kind neighbors sent her boys over to help me out afraid it would send me into labor...little did she know labor was exactly what I was going for!

Our neighbors are so kind to us! We were gifted this when they outgrew it, and Ryan loves to use it in the summertime to play in (mess up!) the landscaping, and it worked very well today in the snow!Later we came inside, had lunch, and had a playdate with Josie and Izzy O'Day. Their parents are busy at work trying to get their new restaurant (Wang Gang Asian) up and running, so the girls spent some fun play time here.

Icy Tuesday

Today preschool was canceled due to some [dumb!] ice storm. So we had one of my favorite "jammie mornings." Ry decided to put together his new glow in the dark Thomas puzzle for the zillionth time since getting it yesterday. (Thank you, Izzy and Josie!).

I (playing the role of mailman) come pay a visit to little Julia's home.

The proud mama insists on showing me her newest addition.

Later, Julia and I ran to the grocery store and Ryan went to play with his friend Nicolas. This afternoon, Nicolas is here playing while his mommy and sister run some errands of their own. Julia adores Nicolas, so I let her stay up a little late before putting her down for a nap.

Playdate Wednesday

Julia had a blast with our art project today: painting. We have this book that is a "paint with water" book, which she loves, and I love since it is a very "clean" way for the kids to paint. Also, a thumbs up that it is non-toxic...want to know how I know? I looked over and she was drinking from the water cup she was dipping her brush in. YIKES! So we checked that out..sure hope she wakes up from her nap okay today! =)
Oh...and yes, she is still in jammies at noon. It's one of those days! Gotta love it!

Izzy came over again today for some playtime. I think it's almost easier with her here to play with him...I can sure get some stuff done since he has a playmate (Hello, laundry!)! And I must play "referee" so much less than when he and Julia play together! A fun day for all of us!

They played dinosaurs, painted, house (a new one for Ry!), construction vehicles and of course, trains. Here they are building the "longest track ever"...I think they still have a little ways to go. =)

Bikes and Cookies

It actually feels like Florida here. (Ok, that is a big stretch..but compared to the Chicago temps we just came from, it is no exaggeration!). We took this opportunity to go outside and play with our neighbors, Nicolas and Lexi (and mom, Trina!) who rode their bikes down to our cul-de-sac.

After playing outdoors, we invited our friends in for some impromptu cookie baking. Julia mostly plays with the dough like it is playdough rather than cutting out cookies. (In between the bites she steals, of course!)

Ryan is making an "R" for his name.

"Cheese!"