Summer Fun

It's summer, so, quite naturally, we HAD to get to the Glen Ellyn splash park. Today was our first chance to get there, and it didn't disappoint. It's absolutely perfect for Riley now (even though she does still freak out, at times, when she gets splashed in the face). She mostly stayed by the low "splashy-things," and that seemed to work out just fine.

Plus, we got to go with our buddies, Becky and Gracie. Riley helped show Gracie the ropes...



... but she also made sure she did some big-girl exploring, as well.



Gracie wasn't overly thrilled about the chilly water, so she and Becky hung out on the train for a while. Noelle was middling to not thrilled about the situation, but since I have to hold her, she didn't get into any shots. Promise she was there, though! :)

After playing in the water, it's important to don your shades... you know, to impress all the other kids out there.

I'll be honest, this is from a couple days ago, but I wanted Noelle to make an appearance, so I thought some "nakie" pics would be fitting. :)
What's next on our summer to-do list?... Maybe the REAL pool! :)

Fun with the Girls

Riley and I are hanging out in the basement because it's a COOKER out, and we needed a little break in the cool basement climate. I did just flip the air on, but until it really kicks in, we'll hang here.

But what I really want to write about is our super-fun day yesterday with the Wheaton girls. We headed over to Becky's around noon, and the fun started immediately.

Gracie practiced with her sippy cup, and Noelle tried to keep up with the "big girls."

Gracie showed that she is, indeed, one tough cookie as Riley loved on her.


Such a cutie!!

Noelle was a little tuckered out.

But when she woke up, she got some quality Swank (and Baby Shuffle!) time. :)

Riley and Gracie were ready to chow!

... and Riley was glad she did. She was rewarded with a strawberry pie!!

Riley and Noelle share a little sister time.

These are two GORGEOUS ladies, obviously.

This is one of my favorites. Noelle, sadly, was sleeping, but I got a cute shot of Riley, Gracie and new baby Zion! He's about 2-months-old, but he's bigger than Noelle!!

At home, I continued to chase the girls with the camera. :)

Fun-tastic Weekend

I'm actually groaning at the title of this post, but I'm not going to change it... I'm not! And I'll tell you why: because it WAS a SUPER fun-tastic weekend. Ha, I've said it twice now! Believe me, though; once you see these adorable pictures, all will be forgiven.

The weekend started on Friday with a trip to Grandma and Papa's house. It had been a little while, so Riley was very excited to see them, and of course Ben, Hannah and Sarah, too. Riley didn't know this when she woke up, but she was also going to get a brand new summer 'do. I knew of the upcoming event, though, so I snapped a few "before" shots of her scraggly hair...

No Noelles were injured in this photo shoot... maybe just a little freaked out. :)

At 11:30, we headed to Kidsnips, an example of brilliant business and cruelty to parents. The place is more of a toy store than a hair place. I mean, seriously, every square inch is packed with treasures. Fortunately, Riley was most interested in the car chairs.

Cousin Ben joined us, too, which was an adventure in itself. :)

And then, the haircut began. Not only did Riley get to sit in a cop car (which, as Chris-- Riley's stylist-- pointed out, matched Riley's skirt), but she got to choose a movie. For those of you who know Riley's movie preferences (Nana and Granddad), I'll give you one guess which movie she chose...

That's right... Wall-E!

I loved Chris. If we go back to Kidsnips, I'm asking for her again. :)

Another bonus (for Riley) of going to Kidsnips-- free sucker! :)

Then it was back to Grandma's to hang out with Riley's favorite cousin!

Friday also happened to be Michael's birthday (woohoo!), and due to poor planning (oops), he got to have pizza for dinner. It wasn't all that bad, though. He got Lou's, and Riley got to have her first Lou's experience, which, of course, we recorded in pictures...

I think she likes it. :)

Speaking of firsts, Noelle had a first of her own: first rice cereal!

You have to swish it around in your mouth to really get the full flavor.

Ever Mommy's helper, Riley stays close by.

On Saturday morning, Riley got to spend a little time on her favorite activities. Reading...

... and playing peek-a-boo...


...and just being all-around cute!

Then off to Grandma and Grandpa's again!

Choo-choos, an absolute favorite

We even got out a little in between the rain. Ben was demonstrating his baggo technique.

Riley mostly relied on distracting her competition with her cute antics.

Riley is one lucky girl to have such a great uncle!

And in case you've forgotten, we also have another child. :) Don't worry; even though this post is a little Riley-heavy, Noelle, despite being the second child, gets her share of picture time.

I love this cute little face!!

Just look at those cheeks!!

Not to be forgotten is Michael, who, after all, was the one we were celebrating! Jeff, Hannah and Ben were getting excited for the birthday cake. :)

... and here it comes!

Yeah, baby! 31!!

And if you're still with me, well done. To make it worth the wait, here's one of the absolute cutest pics of Noelle to date. Thanks for reading! :)