Impromptu Baby Shower

This afternoon we decided to throw Dani and Danny a baby shower.  If you look closely at the windows in the background you will see some decorations I hung up.  The boys, Derek, and I had made the (roughly) two-hour trek to Target the day before.  It was not the 5 minute car ride we are used to at home but involved a walk to the subway and much more walking afterwards.  

Boy, were they surprised.  They are expecting their first child, a boy, due in mid-December.

The boys had fun picking out things for the baby, and we got them many things.  We tried to pick out some of our favorites and some things we knew they would need.

Congratulations Dani!  Can't wait to see that baby boy :)

Shedd Aquarium

Today we visited the Shedd Aquarium.  This was by far the nicest aquarium we have ever been to.  We didn't get to see it all and could have spent much more time there, but afternoon naps were calling!

I thought this was a neat picture of us.

We paid the extra $4 and saw the aquatic show.  I guess it was worth the $4, but I was hoping to see something more "seaworld" and this was more educational and less dazzlement than I had hoped for.  The beluga whales (above) were fun to watch though.

The whole family

Chicago # 1

We are finally back from our trip to Chicago.  We had a wonderful time.  There are too many pictures to post them all so I'm going to try and post a few from each couple of days to share.

We arrived in Chicago after an early morning flight about 9:30 a.m. and my pen-pal Dani, and her husband, Danny had a wonderful spread of breakfast/brunch prepared for us.  The boys (and I) ate like we had never seen food before and tried a little of everything and then some.

We decided to head down to Navy Pier for a little while before trying to have Maverick take a nap.  For $5 each we rode the carousel and there wasn't even any music.  I was not impressed.  Pullen Park at $1 each is much nicer.  That's Chicago for you....everything is $$$

On Monday we headed to the Children's Museum at Navy Pier and I thought the museum was great.  I did not like the fact that they were "phasing out" reciprocal memberships and we had to pay full price to get in.  It's like the museum thinks it's better than other children's museums and doesn't need to accept other memberships.  Oh well.  We still had a great time.

Brighton tries out stilts.

Maverick loved the baby area equipped with light switches.  Always a favorite.  

Meeting Dr. Kornstein and the Tooth Fairy

Today was Maverick's first visit to the dentist.  He actually did okay, but had been crying just before this picture.  It was taking too long for big brothers to get in the picture with him and he was done with it all.  All three boys had a great check-up.  Chandler has two of his adult teeth already coming through and no baby teeth out, so the dentist plans to pull all 4 bottom baby teeth out tomorrow.  Just in time for our trip to Chicago.

Derek decided one of the bottom teeth was loose enough and he was able to pull it out that night.  Now we only had 3 for the dentist to pull out and a visit from the tooth fairy.

Chandler lucked out and got $10 for his first tooth and $2 for each tooth after that 

or a total payout of $16.  Not bad!

House Update

Our house is coming along.  Can't wait till they are finished.  The siding is almost complete and they will be coming inside to paint and finish up soon.  We hope to get a lot done while we are gone to Chicago in a week or so.

Here is Todd Jr (TJ) cutting out the hole for our new back-door.  Yeah!  We are so happy to not have to have to walk through our master bedroom to get outside.

Enjoying our Pool

Here's a few pictures of us enjoying the pool.  We have been in our pool, by far, much more than in the past summers.  The heater we added was a great investment.  The boys no longer complain of being cold, and the afternoons are fairly shady so I don't have to worry about sunscreen as much!

Daddy was able to take a few quick shots before jumping in to join us.  I never seem to be able to take pictures on my own, or when we have playdates, so I wanted proof that we use our pool :)

Happy Summer!

Happy Birthday Grandma!

We celebrated Grandma's Birthday with a trip to Pullen Park.  It sure was a HOT day!  We first started out on the paddle boats.  Grandma, Nanny, & Maverick walked around the lake while the rest of us took a little boat cruise.  I'm glad we did that first.  It got very hot, very fast out there!

Next, it was off to ride the train.  Maverick (and everybody else) enjoyed the nice breeze.

We had stopped at Cafe Carolina and picked up sandwiches and cupcakes for a picnic.  We somehow managed to find a table that wasn't already reserved.  The flies and a few yellow jackets caused quite a ruckus for our picnic.  I won't name names Chandler but some people would freak out about the bees and not eat.  Finally we trapped the pesky things under a cup, and were somewhat able to resume our eating.  After lunch, we headed to the carousel.

Before heading home, Maverick took a turn on the boats since he didn't get to try out the paddle boats.  He did great.  Especially since another little boy let him sit next to him.  He rang the bell and drove the wheel the whole time.

Luckily, Pullen has installed some water misters for those hot days.  These were especially appreciated today.  Maverick and Daddy cooled off, and then we headed home.  What a fun Birthday, Grandma!

Say "Moo!"

The boys and I couldn't pass up a free meal at Chick-Fil-A, so we celebrated Cow Day and dressed up like cows for our free meal.  

My 3 little calves

Mom even got in on the action!  I had TJ (who is building our house) snap this picture before we headed out the door.  TJ and Aaron didn't want to feel left out, so I made them costumes too.

We met some friends and had a great time.  Yum Yum!

House Update

Construction seems to be dragging it's feet.  At least that's how it feels.  We are nearing the end of week two trying to get all the siding up.  There have been a few delays with rain and also doing some interior work, but this part seems like it is taking FOREVER!

Here's the back of the house showing the door into the master bathroom.

Here's an interior view showing the tray ceiling of the master bedroom.  All the walls are up, mudded, and sanded.  I've already replaced the air filters once, and have been vacuuming and dusting like crazy.
I'll be so glad when things can start to get back to normal and Maverick quits crawling around on the unfinished, dirty floors!

Visiting Great Aunt Edith

Tonight we went over for a quick visit to my parent's house for dessert and to visit Aunt Edith.  It has been quite a while since the boys have seen Edith (my grandmother's older sister).  My Dad had picked Edith up for the afternoon to make her dinner and to have a visit with our boys.  We all had a great time.  The highlight of the night was when I wanted a picture of the boys with Edith and when I tried to back out of the picture, leaving Maverick next to Aunt Edith, he cried out for me and said, "ma ma".  This was his first time saying it and hasn't said it since.

I guess he only says that out of desperation!  Probably also while I'm smiling the biggest in the picture too!

Happy 4th?

What a weird 4th of July!  We are normally at the beach, but this year, we are at home and things are going on like normal.  Maverick is starting to brush his teeth nightly now that he's 15 months old.  He's done it some before, but being the 3rd we are quite the slackers in that department.  He has his first check-up/visit with the dentist later this month, so I figured we better start making it more of a priority.

In other teeth news, Chandler is already getting his first big boy tooth!!  It's coming in behind his baby teeth on the bottom and the bottom right tooth is loose.  Tooth Fairy, get ready!

The 4th of July was not a holiday for our workers.  They were here all day working hard.  The rest of the walls on the remodeling part of the house went in and the hole for the pocket door was cut.  Our house sure is starting to take shape!

I found a great deal on another set of bunk-beds for the boys and decided to go to Durham to get them today.  It was a great deal that I couldn't pass up for a "This End Up" set that matches our current set.  Maverick thinks they smell good :)

We lit a few fireworks at 7 p.m. and hurried the boys (who are ALL sharing a room) to bed.  Everybody is still super tired from everything we have going on around here.  

Happy 4th of July!

First Sleepover

Chandler (and Derek) had Chandler's first sleepover today.  Here's a few pictures Derek was able to capture with his phone.  I think they had fun!

Sparklers with neighbors

Happy 4th of July

Charlie & Chandler at the breakfast table after a fun night!

I think the original plan was for the guys to "camp" outside, but with it being so hot and a few thunderstorms popping up, they set up the tent inside.  I'm glad Chandler's first time having a sleepover went so well.  I know this will be the first of many.

Beach Fun!

Today was another fun morning on the beach.  The boys love to dig in the sand and play in the waves. Maverick was happy as a clam when we dug him his own "pool" that he could climb in and out of and splash and have fun.  

I really enjoyed our trip to the beach this year.  I actually got to go swimming this time (unlike last year where I just held a sleeping baby all the time).  Chandler really liked swimming in the waves and would go out as far as we'd let him.  Brighton wanted you to be holding onto him very tightly, but did go out in the ocean.  I'm proud of him!

This will probably be our only beach trip this year, so I was glad we all had so much fun.  Can't wait till next year!  Maybe we'll rent right on the beach and stay for a week?

Eggs & Animals

Today was all about eggs and animals.  It started out by Mimi & Granddaddy Bob finding some eggs on the beach.  We decided to take them home and blow out the insides to keep the shells.  Unfortunately there were (dead) baby birds inside.  It was kinda gross and interesting at the same time.

After playing on the beach this morning we came back to the condo for naptime and wanted some more fun this afternoon.  We headed to a local farm where we explored and saw more animals.  They had free-roaming chickens and Mimi was quick to find another egg on the ground.  We left this one alone.

Here was the second of two lizards we saw.  The first was a blue-tailed skink.

Mr. Smelly.  They had one pig (not pictured) that was bigger than Derek.  He or She was HUGE!

The goats were probably the biggest hit for Chandler.  He would pick up the grass from the ground and they'd love to eat it right out of his hand.

There were also geese, a donkey or mule, turkeys, roosters, rabbits, and sheep.  We bought some blueberries and watermelon to take home.  What a fun adventure!