A boy at the fair

Here are a few pictures of our trip to the Illinois State Fair last weekend...these are the ones Gma Cathy took - quite frankly I haven't been able to find my camera since we returned from our trip so once I do, I'll post some more. Fingers crossed that it is not lying in some straw heap in Springfield!

Griff got to pet a fish!

And a crawdaddy!

And he saw lots of hogs (BIG BIG pigs)! This one was almost getting his feet

This is very standard now: LOOK!!!!

Auntie Kayla's Shower

Saturday we went to Auntie Kayla's baby shower; Baby Mason is due in October and we're very excited! Auntie Kayla got a lot of good stuff, and Griff behaved himself for the most part. He even fell asleep on Gma Cathy toward the end of the festivities.

Me, Mom, and Kayla

Griffin attacking Grandma Cathy!!!

I tried to take some pictures of Griff and I with the timer...with the camera setting on the shelf by the mirror (one of the only ways Griff will look at the camera is if he can look at himself in the mirror). This one caught me by surprise, hence my scary-looking eyes.


A little better.





Climbing the stairs

Pushing his stroller around...into walls, people, feet, doors and chairs. And thinking every bit of it was hilarious.

Nigh Nigh on Grandma Cathy

After Grandma Cathy's arms fell asleep, he was transferred to his stroller.

Reading a book with Lisa

Much to Griff's delight, we had to stop for a train on the way there!!

Way to Start the Day

Griff and I made it last night down to my parents...we drove through some pretty severe storms, but he was a trooper and after watching a DVD, he slept through most of the rain.

When he woke up this morning he got some special treats after breakfast: lots of tractors and trucks. AND, mommy got quite a surprise when I looked out the window and saw Griff ON THE TRACTOR with Grandpa Bill. I was a little nervous but he was definitely in his element.

Checking out the tractors in the shed with Grandpa Bill. These ones aren't used for work, only for tractor pulls. That's why they're so clean!

RIDING!More, Grandpa, MORE!

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Lovin' It!

There's still a lot going on in our house this week! Floor update: the dining room is complete, the living room is complete except for the quarter-round. It took a LOT of difficult cuts to get it done, but Ben hammered it out. I'm amazed at how awesome it looks -- he did such a great job. Maybe he's got a new career. :) Playroom update: Griff (and Ty, too) are really liking the new space. I bought some foam playmats and once I get around to a cute window treatment it will be complete. Nanny update: this is Griff's first week out of school and at home with his new nanny. And let me tell you, he is LOVING it. And quite frankly, so am I! She is amazing with the boys and each and every time I see Griff he is on cloud nine. And I'm not gonna lie, it's a ton easier on me, too. Just knowing that he is home with her during the day, and knowing how great she is with both boys, gives me such a sense of peace that I just didn't have before. She took the picture above of him singing during art time, and the look on his face cracks me up. I swear he is the most entertaining child on the planet.

Let's see how entertaining he is tomorrow when he and I venture down to my parents' house for my sister's baby shower...over 4 hours in the car. I've got snacks and DVDs lined up, and I'm hoping those plus a little nigh-nigh time get us through. We're also planning on taking him to the Illinois State Fair on Sunday before we head back up, and I know he's going to love that, as well. Taking in new things is at the top of his list right now. Updates to follow!

Family, Animals, Baseball and Sledgehammers

What a combination!

Kris and Tom celebrated their 40th anniversary this summer, and to commemerate the occasion we spent this past weekend in the City with the two of them and Pat, Deanna and Connor. We headed in Saturday morning (that's right, we planned this weekend in conjunction with the Air & Water show, as we realized just last week...but quite honestly we weren't inconvenienced with traffic or much else as a result) and checked into the hotel, had some breakfast and then met up with Pat, D & Connor and headed to the zoo. We checked out a lot of animals, who were out despite the heat, and then later that evening went out for some great pizza & drinks. The next day we all had breakfast together and then went to the White Sox game (yes, a bunch of Cubs fans took in a Sox game because they are Gma Kris' favorite team). We had really good seats and had some yummy ballpark snacks & drinks and even got to see some home runs!

Griffin LOVED the entire weekend...since he's into trucks he really enjoyed seeing some big ones, and a lot of them up close, on the packed City streets. He couldn't stop pointing at everything...he took in all of the animals...and he was SO good at the baseball game. He fell asleep on me for a bit of the game (after the sun was off of our seats and it cooled off a bit) and I think he was pretty amazingly well-behaved for a 16-month old without good naps in the heat. We are very, very lucky. :)

THEN, after the tiring, hot weekend...and the drive home after the game...Ben decided to finish the dining room by renting a nail gun and nailing in the quarter-round. Then somehow, and I'm still not exactly sure, the rest of the evening progressed a little something like this: "look how AWESOME the dining room floors look! I can't WAIT to finish the living room this week! You know, babe, these baskets that hold Griff's toys are going to definitely scratch these new floors... You know, we really don't need an office... Man, this office furniture is BIG. [Tom]: You know, Ben, that was my stuff that I got for free a long time ago... [Ben] It's so BIG...I don't know that we'll be able to get it to the basement. Where's my drill? Let's take it apart [insert a lot of drilling, unscrewing, hammering, and driving wood apart with a wedge, some cursing]... [Julia] Don't we have a sledgehammer? [the furniture is taken to the yard]... This is FUN! This really sounds like gunfire! It's after 10pm, I think our neighbors may call the cops. Quick, let's get these pieces in the garage and close the doors!!! Now, just how many garbage stickers do we need for this stuff?!?!"

And tonight after some more organizing, voila! Griff has a playroom. Curtains, some artwork, and a bulletin board will complete the space soon...but it looks so nice, and though we may be down an office, we gained a ton of great play space for G-man. It was a great decision. A lot of great decisions are made by exhausted family members after a very tiring (but fun) weekend. :)

We had an awesome time with Tom, Kris and the Murphys over the weekend and Griff wants to give Connor a quick shout-out for being SO good with him, for sharing, and for being someone he loves to look up to. And thanks, also, especially to Tom for hanging so late last night and helping us destroy a lot of stuff to create something great.

I took some pictures over the weekend, and have posted a few here...but once I get some more pics from Kris I'll post those, too.

Hanging out on the corner with Grandpa taking it all in

LOOK!

His first couple of cab rides!


Showing Daddy the LIONS...I'd say those were his favorites.



Daddy's inappropriateness.

Heat + too much to see = necessary napping.

Being silly with Connor

Cute pic of the two (I think Griff is howling)

Checking out the mascots at the game

The destruction begins...

We all took turns...even me!!!

I think if all activities involved sledgehammers, life would be way more fun! :)

Lots of Birthdays

We spent much of last weekend celebrating birthdays and just hanging out. First, I turned the big 3-0 last week...Ben and I went out for dinner to celebrate on the actual day...and I thought we were going to hang out with some friends on Saturday night and have some drinks to further celebrate. So, when I answered the door on FRIDAY night (wearing a Cubs t-shirt and Adidas pants with my hair braided to the side from the pool, still a bit wet, holding Griffin who happened to be wearing no pants at all) I was quite surprised to find friends at the door who informed me that they were ready to "party." And Ben had cleaned the house, purchased lots of drinks, and even made apps that day without me knowing. After a quick 10-minute spruce-up, I enjoyed a great evening and it was so sweet and thoughtful of Ben to put together the surprise. :)

Ben took a weekend hiatus from golf, so we were also able to go, pick out, and purchase new hardwood (mahogany) floors that we are (read: BEN is) going to install in our living room and dining room. We also had dinner at the Atkinson's to celebrate Liz's birthday (three days after mine) and Hannah's sweet sixteen (four days after mine). Lots of getting older going around!

The pictures I took over the weekend were COMPLETELY random, but here are a few:

The girls subjected poor Griff to some dress-up...here he is modeling the latest (Hannah's) furry boots

Enjoying some apps while still rocking the boots

Showing Mommy his toothy grin: at least two more teeth came in this week, on the bottom this time, so it evens out his little smile a bit more

We got to log a LOT of daddy time, which we both loved, and we even had a park date

Who says Griff gets all the fun?

Late on Friday night (likely early Saturday morning)

My M&M vase that the Atkinson family made me...they sorted the entire giant bag of M&Ms and layered the colors in a vase for me as they know I love my M&Ms!

The beginning of the PROJECT (why does it seem like we are never without one?!?!?). Somehow on Sunday Liz & Dave stopped by to say hi while they were out running errands...Ben had started his project....and in the span of a few minutes while the girls were out of the room he and Dave ripped up the carpet and the padding and both were rolled up in the garage waiting for garbage day. We then had no choice but to march on with the prep. Ben spent the rest of the day pulling up staples, nails, and other un-fun things that held the carpet in place. So far this week we've bleached the subfloor, sealed it, and as I type this I hear the saw going downstairs and I'd estimate that 1/4 of the dining room is hardwood right now. I can't wait to see the end result!

Beach Baby

We headed to the Crystal Lake beach one evening last week with the Castros and Atkinsons. Griff had a great time (as did the rest of us) but I think he especially loved the sand and the boat ride...after his bath that night, I honestly think we could have filled an entire sandbox!