Morton Arboretum

We spent Sunday exploring Morton Arboretum (we had so much fun that we bought an annual pass!).  Jack loved playing with the water pump...

...and so did Julia!  They have a fantastic children's garden and walking trails (bike trails too, but we are not ready for that just yet!).

Jack looks so sweet and innocent here, but we know better!

They had a fun art exhibit involving trees and this was our favorite...we call it the sweater tree (but I am sure there is a more official name for it!).  I want to know how long it took someone to do this!

Later in the afternoon we played in the backyard while Daddy mowed the lawn and Jack assisted (with his bubble mower :)

Julia likes to lift up her arms for a tickle!

Gartner Park

We've been to the playground at the school a few times, but we thought we would check out some of the local parks after naps today!  They were both moving to fast to get a picture from the front ;)

Miss Julia - 23 Months

Only one more month until your 2nd Birthday!  I have to be honest...I have been preoccupied and didn't take any 23 month pictures.  I just happened to take this picture on 8/22.  You are eating your second breakfast of the morning with Pa and you had just taken your swimsuit cover up out of the laundry and insisted on wearing it!

You are such a happy little gal and have done a great job transitioning during the move.  

You think that you can do whatever your big brother is doing.  We had to buy you a bike helmet because you insist on riding Jack's bike (not that you can reach the peddles!).  

You love going to the park, climbing and going down the slide - you scare me at times because you are much more fearless than your brother ever was.  You love to ride Daddy like a pony (pontee) and must be reminded that Mommy is NOT a pony!

You have become very opinionated on what you would like to wear, including hair accessories.  Sometimes your favorite clothes just happen to be in the laundry (your Elmo and Mickey t-shirts).

You are quite the little talker...your favorite things to say are "what's that noise?" and "I want some too" (usually regarding food).  You are doing great with your colors - orange is definitely your favorite.  I heard you counting at breakfast the other morning...5, 6, 7, 8, 9 (why start with one?!).  

You are in love with Elmo and Mickey Mouse.  You sleep with Mickey and baby and sometimes your pink monkey who you have named "Cheeky".  You love to "borrow" Jack's Georges.

Happy 23 months Miss Julia!

Downtown Naperville

Ma & Pa have been "visiting" (which really means Pa has been doing tons of projects and Ma has been helping with Jack & Julia).  Friday night we headed to Downtown Naperville for dinner and to check out the river walk!

School Playground

We finally took a break from unpacking and ventured to the elementary school in our neighborhood!

Boxes and more boxes...

My little helper loved the moving boxes, here he was actually being helpful and packing down the paper.  I don't believe I didn't get a picture of Jack and Julia playing the the boxes!  Jack loved the wardrobe boxes and he was pretending that they were rocket ships and then they turned into slides!

Road Trip!

Loaded and ready to go!  The movers left for IL yesterday and they were almost done unloading the boxes by the time we arrived (Jason was in charge of the unloading...only seems fair since I had the previous three days!).  On a good traffic day it's about a 5 hour drive from Lansing to Naperville (with a stop for lunch).

The Adventures of Moving!

Let's just say that moving is an adventure with two small children and we did whatever we could to keep out of the mover's way until Ma & Pa came over in the mornings.  Today we had a breakfast picnic on the front porch (which consisted of eating Raisin Bran out of the box...there wasn't much food left in the house ;) and then more fun on the ramp until they hooked it up to the truck!

On the way to an empty house...

Some of our moving highlights - the ramp from the moving truck that was in our front yard...

Running WILD in an empty basement and 

playing amongst the boxes in the bedrooms!

Today is the day...

The moving truck is here!

Island Craft Fair

Our last Grand Ledge event before "the big crazy move" was the Island Craft Fair.  Jack and Daddy went on a river cruise while Julia and I looked at all of the fun stuff.  Jack loved the river cruise and enjoyed playing instruments with the band!

Since we parked the car next to the playground equipment we had to check it out before heading home!

Tomorrow the moving chaos begins (not that it isn't always chaos around here)!

Pickled Turnips

Julia took a liking to pickled turnips at lunch today...that was after she tried falafel and lentil soup and loved them both!

Wish I had gotten a picture of Jack dipping his french fries in hummus!

Impression 5...one more time!

We made one more visit to Impression 5 this morning with Valerie and Isaac...

Isaac and Julia were sharing and trading snacks, but it's all fun and games until you leave your snack track unattended...Julia proceeded to empty both Jack & Isaac's snack traps and carefully filled hers up!

The boys surrounded by a huge bubble!

Preschool Olympics

We had a great time at the preschool olympics! 

Julia & Pa golfing

Jack loves his medal! His medal from last year went missing (I threw it away, it had seen better days) and he was so excited to have a new one!

Playing on the playground after the big events...

Don't Look at Me!

I get so excited when they both look at the camera at the same time (a near impossible feat!) and I took this picture after telling them "don't look at me"!

We had a super fun morning playing and lunching at Jumpin' Jax!  Yeah for afternoon naps!