A Merry Christmas

December has been a tough month after losing Ryan's father only 11 days before Christmas, but we did our best to have a nice Christmas together. Wade definitely helped put a smile on everyone's face. He doesn't understand Santa yet, but did help a little with the opening of gifts. He was anxious for his toys to be opened (and put together) and had fun playing with all of them. I think the biggest hits so far are his kitchen (and accessories), standing keyboard, and slide. He received several other great gifts, but some may stay to the side for a few months until he is older or until he gets bored with the other toys.

 

Great Wolf Lodge

 

We spent the weekend at Great Wolf Lodge in Kansas City, Kansas. Great Wolf Lodge has a 38,000 square foot indoor waterpark where the temperature is 84 degrees. We visited the waterpark on Friday, twice on Saturday, and again on Sunday before we left.  We also had a couple dinners out and visited the nearby outlet mall. It was a fun weekend and a place we hope to visit again in the future.

Wade had fun swimming in the big pool (so warm!), riding the lazy river, and most of all, going down the toddler-sized waterslide. I wish I could have caught the smile on his face as he went down the slide, but one of us was helping him get on the slide and the other had to catch him, so there was no chance to take a picture.

He climbed into a beach chair on Saturday night, obviously exhausted. It was time for bed for sure!

Swim Lessons

Wade has been taking swim lessons since early fall. He enjoyed the pool over the summer and we wanted to keep that going. Last night was the last lesson of this session, but he's actually signed up through April.

Class starts with practice jumps into the pool..."1, 2, 3...jump!"

Swim to the ducky!

swimming with noodles

 

 

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween from our cute little dragon!

Halloween Party

Last night we had friends over to celebrate Halloween. We were all excited to see the little cuties in their costumes. The kids enjoyed Halloween games and an outdoor viewing of It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. The adults enjoyed good food, good company, and a Cardinals win. It was a great night!

Chaquita Banana lady, dragon, Hamburglar (in case you couldn't tell)

Our Big News

As you can see from the shirt, Wade is going to be a big brother.  He is, of course, unaware that his life is going to change big time in the near future. In the short term, he'll soon have to deal with my expanding belly and not being able to pick him up and carry him as often. After that, he'll have to share all the attention (and toys) with a little brother or sister. And in the long term, he may never really have a birthday to himself again!

Wade was due 4/10/10 and our new baby's due date is 4/12/12. While we wanted a spring baby and liked the idea of them being two years apart, we never thought it would work out so exactly.

We're very excited about the news. I'm 12 weeks along and have been fortunate to feel fairly normal this whole time. Looking forward to April - but I just hope it doesn't get here too quickly. I feel like I need to get some things done before I officially become a mother of two.

Balloon Glow

We went to the Forest Park Balloon Glow last night. It was even more crowded than I expected but also a lot cooler than I remembered. We went down early and had a picnic dinner. Close to 7, we started walking towards the balloons. They were starting to raise all of them and we were able to get so close and walk around them while this was happening. You could even feel the heat of the fire.

Ryan and I may have been more impressed than Wade, but he did enjoy looking up and waving at the balloons.

It was so pretty when the actual 'glow' started. The area around the balloons got more crowded and it was time for us to head home. Someone had already stayed up past his bedtime.

Elephant Rocks State Park

Ryan and I went hiking at Elephant Rocks during our first month of dating. I have fond memories of that trip and we've always talked about going back. Well it took us 7 years, but we finally did it. It rained almost the entire way there, so we stopped at the Missouri Mines State Historic Site to wait out the rain. That was about as exciting as it sounds. Ryan had to actually listen to the mining veteran speak while I chased Wade around.

Such a boy...climbing on the heavy equipment was required.

Wade and Mom at Elephant Rocks

Obviously they are holding that rock up.

We had a picnic at Elephant Rocks and after our hike, we stopped by Johnson's Shut Ins. I couldn't tell too much difference since the dam break, but I definitely want to go back sometime with our swimming suits. This time we just walked the trail and looked at every one else having fun.

Summer Fun

Now that it's not so hot, we finally tried out our bike trailer. Wade was a little unsure (mostly because his helmet falls over his eyes) but didn't cry or get upset. Ryan had a flat tire, so he borrowed my bike here, but hopefully the three of us can go together soon.

 On Saturday we went to Suson Park for a picnic lunch and to Laumeier Sculpture Park after dinner.

Yes, that's walking, folks! I haven't mentioned it yet because while Wade has been taking steps for 2 months, he was usually choosing crawling as his preferred mode of transportation.

Our entire family had fun at Laumeier Sculpture Park's "Dog Days of Summer" exhibit/trail.

Wade loved his first popsicle.

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Our Trip to Southwestern Michigan

We've always liked getting away for a second vacation to a cooler climate before Ryan goes back to school. This year we headed to southwestern Michigan, specifically South Haven. We left home last Tuesday and stayed halfway in Pontiac, Illinois. On Wednesday we stopped along the way for a picnic lunch at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore and arrived at the Van Buren State Park campground mid-afternoon. We stayed there for two nights, exploring the town, playing at the beach, and picking blueberries. Ryan's college friend & roommate, Storm Huse, his wife, Katie, and their son, Owen met up with us at the South Haven/Covert KOA campground. We hit the beach again, went out for ice cream and walked around Saugatuck. The next day we visited Dutch Village, a family fun park, in Holland, Michigan. The Huses left after lunch and we went out to dinner for our final night. Sunday we had about a 7 hour drive home, made a little longer with a lunch stop at my sister's house in Indiana. It's always good to return home, but we'll miss the cooler weather and the vacation lifestyle as it's back to work time...for both of us. Ryan's first official day back is this Thursday, August 11.

U-Pick Blueberries, or in Wade's case, U-Eat Blueberries

Playing at Lake Michigan was very fun!

At Dutch Village in Holland, MI with the Huse Family

Our only family picture from the trip! Another shot at Dutch Village

As always, it was a great trip. We love to travel and were able to stick a new pin in our big US wall map with this vacation.

15 Months Old

Wade was 15 months old last week and yesterday he had his 15th month check-up at the doctor. He weighed in at 30 pounds, 9 ounces and is measuring 34 inches long. What really blows my mind is that he grew 4 inches in 3 months!
We've been doing our best to enjoy what's left of summer. Since Ryan's first day back is only a month away, it seems like it's slipping away quickly.

Our new baby pool - complete with slide and sprinkler!

The Woods joined us at the Brueckmanns' pool for an afternoon of fun.

And so did the Haarmanns. Here are Dylan and Jackson enjoying snow cones.

Sometimes it's nice to have a pool your own size.

A Great Family Vacation

Wade, Ryan, and I went to Wyoming for 10 days. We left on June 25 and spent 3 days in Jackson, WY. After exploring Jackson Hole and Grand Teton National Park, we (along with Grandpa and Grandma) headed to Yellowstone National Park. We met up with my sister's family and spent 6 nights in the park before returning to Jackson to fly home.


Signal Mountain, Grand Teton National Park



Hidden Falls, Grand Teton National Park

 

On top of the mountain after riding the Jackson Hole Gondola




Maybe I got too close on this one! 
Yellowstone National Park



One of 5 bears that we spotted (safely from the car) in Yellowstone



The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone




Beehive Geyser that we "accidentally" saw go off...the geyser nerds made us stop as we unknowingly tried to walk by (before the eruption)...It was taller and more powerful than Old Faithful but its eruption times are unpredictable. We felt lucky and excited to see, hear, and feel it.

 

Back at Grand Teton NP on the way to the airport





One big, happy family

We had a great trip! Wade was an amazing and easygoing traveler who adjusted well to whatever schedule we threw at him. He loved watching wildlife and waterfalls and playing with his cousins (and the rest of the family too).

I polled everyone to find out what their favorite part of the trip was.  Answers included: wildlife viewing at Lamar Valley, seeing bears up close, white water rafting on the Yellowstone River in Montana, the Beehive Geyser, the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, and spending time with the people I love the most (that was Grandma's, of course).

Thank you to my mom and dad for planning (and paying) for this amazing vacation! Thanks also to my wonderful sister, brother-in-law, and nephews for spending time with us.

A Trip to Rend Lake

We tentatively set a goal of camping once per month this summer and our June camping trip happened to also fall on my birthday. Not a bad way to spend a birthday, at least in my opinion. Our campsite was a revolving door of sorts...first we camped with Grandma and Grandpa Lesinger. They actually arrived on Thursday, while we showed up on Friday afternoon. On Saturday morning, the Seneczyns arrived to spend the day and Grandma and Grandpa left. The Seneczyns left once the kiddos were ready for naptime and when Wade woke up, the Haarmanns were setting up camp. There were lots of fun people to play with at all times!

Wade is a little bigger than last time we used this backpack.

He loved playing and splashing in the waves at the lake.

Wade's First Visit to Grant's Farm

We walked over to Grant's Farm today, something we like to do at least once a year. We didn't make it last summer (gee, did we have reason to be busy?) so we made sure to go early this year. It was fun so we'll have to go back before summer is over. Plus there's nothing better than free fun!

The goats were fun until they got too aggressive.

 

 

If only this lil' horse had a saddle.

It was a good day and a great weekend. We are glad summer is right around the corner.

May Camping

We chose a May camping weekend several months ago and thought - the weather should be great by then! How wrong were we! The weekend of May 13-15 was dreary, cold, and rainy. We persevered and had a good time nonetheless.

We camped with our friends, the Ferchens and the Ungers, in Thousand Hills State Park in Kirksville, Missouri. This made for a good meeting point, since the Ferchens live in Des Moines.

Wade did a great job. Sometimes I thought he should have been too chilly, but he kept his hood up and got to sleep inside the cozy 70 degree camper. We tried not to rub that in to our tent-camping friends too much.

"Potluck dinners are the best!"

Cards Game

Taking your kids to the baseball game may be overrated. Some of you are probably arguing - you have had great experiences with your kids at the game, no doubt. Well Wade's a trooper, but I can't say that our wonderful Mother's Day trip to the game was really worth it. It was a sunny, beautiful day - but in direct sunlight, that still translates to HOT. And Wade got bored fast. I think Ryan is now content that he has taken Wade to a game for this season and we probably won't need to do it again until next year.

So, what to do when you leave the game early?  Duh...