Bay Beach

Last weekend was a gorgeous weekend!  The weather finally cooled down some and the humidity went away.  We took full advantage Sunday's fantastic weather by going to Bay Beach with Grandma Mary, Jill, Claire and Nick.  This was Maddie's first trip to Bay Beach this year and she had so much fun!  She was so excited to ride the rides and she even got to go on the race cars - her first time as a single rider!  It was, of course, Nathan's first time and although he snoozed throughout the trip I know he had a blast too!

The crew in front of the Depot:

Maddie's favorite, the Merry-Go-Round!

The boats.  Mads loved this ride as well.  While Nick and Claire rode one of the bigger kid rides we told Mads that she could pick a ride to go on by herself.  She chose the boats.  Here she is with her cousins, poor Nick always gets stuck in the back!

Here's Mads having a blast driving the race car:

Riding the ponies.  Mads got on, rubbed the horse's mane and said "I love this pony!  He's nice!"  So precious!

A ride on the Bay Beach Express!

And Nathan's location for most of the day, the Bjorn:

It was a fantastic day!

Not much else has really happened this week.  Mads went to the sitter on Monday and Wednesday.  Yesterday was actually my last day at home with only Nathan, so we didn't get much accomplished other than snuggling.  I go back to work on Monday so my little man snuggles are limited.  Today we made a trip to the library, which made Mads super happy.

Here are a few extra pictures.  Have a good weekend and thanks for stopping by!

Put 'em up!

Maddie's bed is jam-packed with friends!

My kiddos!

Fair Fun!

We had a lot of fun the end of last week.  On Wednesday night we went to the Winnebago County Fair.  This is the only fair I've been to besides the Green County Fair it seemed to be lacking in a lot of the "fair experience."  I think Jen said it best when she said that the counties with more rural area are probably better at putting on fairs.  We walked through the barns where we saw horses, cows, goats, chickens, pigs, and rabbits.  Then we had to search for the area with the crafts and homemade goods.  It was odd because it seemed like everything had a particular area - there was a food area, a rides area, a games area.  I like it better when I can decide to pick up cotton candy as I get off a ride!  :)  Anyway, we did have a fun time and Mads really enjoyed her first fair!  Nathan, well, he napped!  :)

Mads meeting a goat:

Mads having a conversation with a chicken:

Trying a funnel cake with Dad:

She likes it!

Playing "Pick - A - Duck"

She won a snake!  (Which she picked out by herself)

Then she scored some cotton candy before we left!  It was a great day!

Thursday Mads spent the day at the sitter while Nathan and I ran some errands.  As she was getting ready to leave she told Andrew and I that she needed to get Nathan a cookie.  This is what we found!

Friday morning was a rush to clean the house and pack our suitcases for Nathan's first trip to Monroe.  We left shortly after Andrew got home from work and were in town by 4:00.

Loaded up and ready to hit the road!

Nathan is ready for the land of cheese!!

Saturday morning we did the customary coffee with Honey and the ladies.  Nathan was a hit!  (Of course!)

We spent Saturday afternoon at Grandpa Jeff & Grandma Marie's house.  We had lots of family come by to meet Nathan.  It was great to see everyone!!

Mads had fun playing with her cousin Gavin.  They were quite the duo on the piano!

Mads had a busy afternoon and ended up falling asleep on Grandpa Jeff's lap!

Later on Saturday night, after dinner, we went to the pool for a swim.  Mads swam in the big pool and then spent some time in the little pool, too.  She started out needing Andrew's help on the ducky slide, but by the end of the night she was doing it on her own!

Watch how excited she gets when she does the slide on her own!!

Sunday was a relaxing day at Gramma Jackie's house.  We had lunch with Honey and Mads had fun playing hide and seek!  Here are the kiddos watching some TV in their special chairs!

Tuesday we had Nathan's newborn pictures taken.  They were taken a little bit later than Maddie's were, but the sun wasn't out the original day the pictures were scheduled and the photographer only uses natural light.  I can't wait to see how they turn out!!  Here are Mads and Nathan goofing around before Donna came:

My happy little man later that night:

Yesterday was a big day.  It was Nathan's first day at the sitter!  I had a dental appointment in the morning, so both kiddos went to Jeanette's house for the morning.  I handled it pretty well.  It was easier to let Nathan go knowing how fantastic our sitter is as well as that he had his big sister to watch over him too!

Leaving for Miss Jeanette's:

Today was another day at home.  We did head up to Appleton with Jen and Isaac this morning for something to do.  It's been so hot and humid that its just uncomfortable to play outside and I've been going stir-crazy stuck in the house with this crazy active toddler of mine!!  Before we left, though, Mads took the time to show Nathan how to use the puppy play gym!

That is the recap of our weekend!  Hope everyone is staying as cool as they can!

Have a great rest of the week and thanks for stopping by!

First Smile!

My kids are so amazing!! With each day comes something new, not just for one of them, but for both of them!! Nathan started smiling last week. It started out as a little crooked smile, but now he has full blown smiles that take over his entire face. You can't help but be in a good mood when you see his handsome face light up! Mads is just as awesome. We were in the car on Sunday and she was talking about her right hand. I looked back and she was waving her right hand in the air. I asked her if she knew where her left hand was and she waved it. I tested her on her right and left foot and she knows those too!! The babysitter says that Mads is just absolutely a sponge and picks up everything they work on so quickly. Mads knows her letters, numbers, colors, shapes, animals and now left and right so all that's left is the Presidents! :)

Now on to our weekly recap!

Last Wednesday Nathan and I hung out at home while Maddie went to the sitter's to play with her friends. Nathan and I didn't do much, but I did take a picture of his "Oh!" face. I love when he makes this face like he's really taking in the things around him!

Thursday morning the three of us met up with Jen and Issac at the Menominee Park Zoo. We had a fun time walking around and Mads made friends with the turkey!

Discussing life:

Here's how Nathan took in the zoo:

Thursday was also Nathan's first smile. I love the crookedness! :)

Mads was giving it her best shot to get a smile for herself!

Friday night we went over the Jen and Karl's house for dinner and poker. Nathan took his turn showing off his poker face:

Saturday was a day at home. Mads, Nathan and I hung out around the house while Andrew was at work. Once Andrew got home he and Karl worked some more on pulling our bushes out. They're about half way done. These bushes are absolute beasts to get out, but the yard is looking so fantastic without the bushes!! I can't wait until the project is done, one more big item off of our to-do list!!
Nathan was pooped after watching his Dad work so hard... but he now likes his arms out of the swaddle, just like Mads did.

On Sunday we went up to Green Bay. Andrew helped build a deck off of Mary's back sliding door. While the guys were busy building Mads played with her cousins in the sprinkler!

You can't tell, but Mads is screaming "No Claire!!!" I don't know why, but Mads is still deathly afraid of sprinklers!

So Mads got out the squirt gun and held her cousins hostage!

On our way out of town Andrew wanted to swing by the Packer Pro Shop. Since it was the kids' first time to Lambeau Field (mine too, actually) we had to take the usual pictures. The kids with Lombardi:

and Mads with Curly Lambeau:

Monday was a bit different than the normal routine. I had a doctor's appointment in the morning so Andrew stayed with the kids while I went. So, he didn't leave for work until about 11 or so. Mads stayed home with Nathan and I and switched her sitter days to Tuesday and Thursday. We just hung out and stayed cool inside. We've found that Nathan loves his swing more and more now that he can see his friends above him and on his tray.

Yesterday Nathan and I were home alone so we started painting his bedroom. He was very excited to get rid of his white walls! :)

He was a good helper until he started eating the paint brush! (Don't worry, there wasn't any paint on it!)


That's it for my weekly recap. I do have to add this picture, though. I took it about an hour ago. Look how fantastic this smile is!!


Thanks for stopping by!