heat wave

The past week has been extremely hot! Even so, we'd rather not be inside all the time because we do enough of that during the winter months. So that means it's time to find water, no matter what the source :)

Playing with the hose and buckets in the backyard:

Beating the heat is serious business!

Stop taking my picture!

Playing at Millennium Park

dare devil

My little Sylvia has become quite the dare devil lately, though somehow taking a few steps on her own seems to be a risk she is not willing to take :)

more holiday fun

Oh, how I wish Ryan could have a four day weekend every week. We have had so much fun 'family time' these past few days. Here's more of what we have been up to:

How fortunate are we that Ryan has family who have a cottage on Lake Michigan.  It's a holiday, the weather is good, time to head to the Lake.  

Yet another new adventure for our boy:  Go carts!  He was a little unsure about the whole thing but he did it with no tears.  Success!

July 4, 2013 : Part II

So the second part of our day involved going to Grandma and Grandpa VK's house to light off fireworks. This was the first time that either one of my children had seen fireworks. Like earlier today, Andrew had a blast (look at his facial expressions on the pictures below), but dear Sylvia was unsure and a bit afraid. All in all, it was a fun time and a beautiful evening to spend time with family.

July 4, 2013 : Part I

We like to start our July 4 out right, by going to our neighborhood Hollyhock Parade. It's become a favorite for Andrew but Sylvia is still a little unsure.

Happy birthday, America!

A favorite of this parade is all the candy they throw to the kids (though the cars were a close second for Andrew).

Sylvia was not sure what to think, though she found comfort in Dada's arms.

Growing so fast

                                           I just love this sweet face

Andrew looks SO big in this picture!  It just hit me how fast he is growing.  And yes, he's showing me his favorite cars

Sylvia loves to share, even her beloved food

Sylvie still doesn't quite understand the concept of me reading her books, but she loves to look through books on her own

Andrew enjoying a free ice cream cone (and a free book) at Sweet Mellisa's