Fall Fun

Fall is one of my favorite times of year and of course the Gilliam family was busy this year. We took advantage of some warmer temperatures well into November this year. My part time schedule allows for many more trips, outings to parks, and playdates. Zander and Zaiden are both growing up so fast. They are becoming the best of friends (of course spend just as much time bugging each other and fighting too). 

Early season Apple Picking

Zander was brave this year and decided he was ready to take a pony ride at the apple orchard this year!

Family Run: Bridge Run in Grand Rapids, MI

We took a long weekend to Michigan and had a beautiful an fun filled fall trip

Grand Rapids zoo

Zeb took Zander on a daddy/son work day followed by a family trip down town including Hershey world and Lego land

water park day at the end of our Grand Rapids trip

Rainy and Cold days at the library are a favorite for all of us

Pumpkin Fest and Zander went on his first roller coaster (he enjoyed it for about 2 minutes, then really wanted to get off!)

visiting Auntie Boo including a trip to China Lights at the Botanical Gardens

getting some last minutes sunshine in on the warm fall days

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!