Summer!!

I am very late in getting to this post as fall is well underway, but i guess that is what happens with 2 little boys and  busy (and fun filled) days! We had a ton of fun this summer with a lot of family fun on the weekends and lots of summer travel.  We had a few trips to Wisconsin to visit the farm, celebrate Great-Grandpa's (half) birthday and celebrate the 4th of July. We also made a few trips to Iowa and made it to St. Louis to visit family/friends. We were also able to enjoy more of the summer days as mom is now only working part time, which allows for 2 extra days off during the week. Our summer was filled with trips to the parks, picnics, swim time or time in the fountains. We had several trips to the beach with both boys loved. We also got in a few bike rides down the lake front in the new bike trailer which included stops at the zoo and Millennium/Maggie Daley park. We had lots of play dates with friends and were able to check out some cool things the city has to offer (libraries, story time, sing-a-longs and classes). We are still fortunately enjoying some sunny days, but will of course are already looking forward to next summer!

Trip to St. Louis to visit uncle Josh and aunt Christi also involved a fun afternoon meeting up with friends at the zoo. 

The boys enjoyed a day trip to the River Museum with Grandma and Grandpa 

The farm is a great place to visit and we got to see the animals and check out the river 

Our city boy getting a chance to experience the country! (although this is the easy way to climb a fence!) 

a quick picture with Great Grandpa during the 4th of July parade with cousins 

Our whole family gathered to celebrate Great-Grandpas (almost) 90th Birthday! The kids had tons of fun playing with water and water balloons. 

A free weekend in the city allowed us to check out the arboretum, although there was so much to check out, we can't wait to go back and see more! 

We loved taking care of our garden again this year and Zander helped plant, water and pick veggies all summer long (Zaiden "helped" too on occasion!) 

On hot days, we were able to cool off in our back yard pool, play in the water table to turn on the sprinklers

Zeb spent a lot of time at Cubs games and loved being a season ticket holder for the first time - he took Zander to one of the games and we also were able to go to family day which involved bounce houses at Wrigley! 

We spent a lot of time at the parks this year. It was fun to watch how both of the boys skills developed over the summer. Zander is a great climber and can hang with the "big boys" and Zaiden has mastered going up steps and can go down a slide with only a little help

The bike trailer was a fun addition and we were able to take some trips on the lake front

We love to stop at Lincoln Park zoo and were able to go several times this summer 

Making a picnic stop on the lake 

The fountains were a favorite spot this summer (and ice cream!)

Zaiden loves the water and we had a lot of fun on a weekend trip with Aunt Boo in Milwaukee 

We all loved spending time at the beach this summer and were able to go several times

Hanging out at the Bean after a Wiggle Worms Class at Millennium Park 

Zander mastering his climbing skills 

"GO!"

"GO!" this pretty much sums up Zaiden's personality and it is so fitting this is what we consider his first true word. He has always been a babbler and has had a lot of sounds. He had a few things that we though maybe sounded like words, but "GO" is for sure a purposeful word. He says it all the time when he is walking to the door or when he picks up a ball (or really his cup or any toy he has) and is going to throw it. He knows what the word meads and uses it at appropriate toys. He is still saying other things that sound like they are words for "dog" "bubble" "buba" for Zander "dada" and makes some sound I can't really describe for "cup" (maybe the P sound??). Our little buddy is sure growing fast now that he is WALKING  and TALKING!!

Just had to add a cute picture of this cool man!

Zaiden's first hair cut

Before the 4th of July, we decided to take Zaiden for his first haircut. His hair was getting a bit out of control with the water activities of the summer. He wasn't sure what to think at first, but then quickly decided it was horrible. He cried hysterically throughout most of the cut. It was really cute and kind of funny (sorry little buddy!). Big brother, Zander was there too and tried to show him it wasn't so bad, but Zaiden did not believe him and brought the drama! He looked so handsome after and recovered pretty quickly!

Zaiden is walking

Zaiden has been on the move for a while, but he took his time walking on his own. He has been standing for several months and walking with push toys, but he liked crawling. He was a very fast crawler which was nicknamed "speed crawl" in our house. You could always tell when Zaiden was on a mission with his crawl (following his brother, trying to get his brother's toys, or going to the stairs). He has finally decided it is time to walk and he now is able to walk most places. He can walk across the floor and has walked down the street with us. He is still working on his balance, but is getting pretty good. It has been exciting to watch his latest milestone achievement!

Happy Birthday, Zaiden!

We celebrated Zaiden's first birthday over this past Memorial Day weekend. We had a big party planned to celebrate his amazing year. He is a big fan of Mickey Mouse (by having a big brother who loves it too!) and we had a Mickey themed party. We were fortunate to host his godparents and their children over the weekend to celebrate with us. We started the weekend with a trip to the beach (just playing  and having a picnic by the lake due to a cloudy/windy day) followed by a party at our place. We had several other children to play with and to help him open presents. Grandma and Grandpa as well as 2 of his aunts also joined the celebration. He was certainly the star of the show when it was his turn to smash his cake. He only needed one lick with a little help from mom to figure out what was happening and realized how much fun (and how yummy the frosting is) when digging in to your own cake!

Our happy, Mickey loving 1 year old 

getting ready for his cake

Zander was excited to "help" blow out the candle

not too sure at first 

He loved it! 

Time to clean up!

Beautiful Boy! 

Zaiden 12 months

Wow! Zaiden is 1 year old! He is a curious, funny, energetic and adorable little boy. It has been so much fun for us to watch him grow! He shows us a lot of his personality and loves to be silly and loves to be inn on the action with the big boys. It is so much fun to see him grow and to watch him and his brother play and actually are beginning to act like brothers (laugh, play, fight, etc). We really though Zaiden would be walking by 12 months, but he has decided he really enjoys crawling and has an amazing speed crawl and has decided walking is too slow for him. He moves around really well, walks with toys, and can walk holding onto someone's hand (often with only one finger for support). He is also able to crawl up stairs....which also allows us to see his mischievous side as he will often sneak over to the stairs then alert us when he has made it up a few and greet us with a proud smile! He still likes to throw and bang toys (making noise is one of his favorite things to do), but he is now starting to play with toys (nesting cups, ring stack and putting cars on the race track). Although we really have not decided if he truly has used an "official" first word, he has several word approximations he uses consistently such as "dog" "bubble" "all done" and "hi." He will inconsistently wave "hi" and "bye" and is now blowing kisses. Putting his hands up for "so big" is also a favorite (which can be viewed in some of the pictures below). He is also getting his 2 top teeth (he already has his 2 bottom) and is eating a lot more foods. It is nice to have him eat dinner with us without having to plan any baby food. He has also been drinking from a straw cup more in preparation for his birthday and NO MORE bottles!!!! He also enjoys going to the playground now that it is nice and can crawl, cruise around the equipment and likes going down slides with a little help. His new favorite is the water table for summer.... he LOVES to splash! He is a fun little guy and of course can't wait to see what the next year brings!

Zaiden 11 months

We can't even believe that Zaiden is 11 months old already and am in shock we are preparing for his first birthday! He has made a lot of gains over this past month. He is standing by himself without holding on and is taking some steps and walking with push toys, although he is in no hurry to walk as he has found he can keep up with his brother and all the other kids by crawling (he has a speed crawl that is pretty great!). He likes to bang and throw toys, but is starting to hand you something when you ask and is starting to put toys in containers....or his favorite, to put a car on a race track. He remembers where his favorite toys are and for sure remembers where the things are that he is not supposed to have (chords, the dog food). He is beginning to wave and is doing more imitating ("so big" and clapping are his favorites). He has said "dog" a few times, but we are not so sure how purposeful, so are still hesitating saying it is his first true word. He has 2 bottom front teeth, which is helping him to eat more foods and some of his favorites so far have been pasta and french fries. The biggest accomplishment for this month, and the one we have been waiting for is.....sleeping through the night!!!! He is a sweet little boy who loves to laugh. Can't wait for next month and celebrating his birthday!

So handsome! Checking out the fountains at the zoo

Big brother, Zander is his favorite, and knows how to get the big smiles and laughs