All Smiles

Just a quick post before we head to NC later this week.  I took Zach to the zoo yesterday while Gunnar and Rich hung back at home.  When we entered the zoo I asked Zach what animal he would like to see.  I thought he would respond with a giraffe, lion, or monkey.  Nope!  To my surprise he said, "how about a hippo?!"  Good thing I actually knew where the hippo lives at the zoo!

As for Gunnar, these days he is all smiles.  It makes it fun to hang out with him when he is so happy.

So Big!

Both of my boys are getting SO BIG!  Gunnar is 2 months old today.......

And Zach is sporting a stylish new haircut (spiked courtesy of Great Clips but not spiked anymore)  and has started wearing big boy underwear.  Yippee!!  We are just beginning the potty training process but so far so good.  Keep your fingers crossed!

Summer Holiday Fun

Happy 4th of July!  Ok....so maybe I should say Happy July!  Either way, over the past week and a half we have had some fun with the boys.  Zach has become much more comfortable with the loud noises, the splash park, swimming pool, and the sandy beach.  Gunnar of course has tagged along and done a great job either eating or napping through the events and festivities.

I'm slowly learning how to juggle both of the boys on my own.  I'm not great at it yet but I try to get them out of the house to play outside or go for an excursion when I can.  A rainy day lead us to the mall where Zach was entertained for quite a bit with this change funnel.  I don't have any pennies left!

Here are a couple of shots from my first time taking the boys to the pool on my own.  With a little handy work of rolling up the burp cloth, Gunnar was able to feed himself while Zach and I played in the water nearby.

Rich had the day off when the Blackhawks had the Stanley Cup parade so we went downtown to join in the madness.  Unfortunately, we missed the parade but we found other ways to have fun in the city.  This is a sculpture in one of the plazas.  Turns out this is a perfect spot to roll trucks back and forth!  And Zach was kind enough to inform all of us that this sculpture was "art".  I have no idea how he knew that.

On the 3rd we went down to the Wilmette beach for a picnic dinner and fireworks.  I didn't get any photos of the fireworks but Zach definitely enjoyed them.  I think he may have enjoyed playing in the sand even more.

On the 4th we headed to the Evanston parade.  It was great!  It wasn't too crowded and the parade was much longer than I had anticipated.  We were smart about our viewing location and ended up across the street from the ice cream shop.

My favorite part of the parade was when Zach decided to dance!

 Rich found his and Ed's old Hot Wheels towns and handed those down to Zach and his cousin Connor this weekend.  They were a big hit!

And here is our most recent venture to the pool.  Gunnar got decked out in his swim gear and sat in the water for a bit. 

And Zach enjoyed playing with his buddy Jack (he lives on our street).   Not sure if you can get an accurate size comparison of the boys in this photo but Jack is 4.  He is a little small for his age and Zach is a bit big for his age.