Ella's Deli

Rowan didn't want her photo taken and turned her head at the last minute. About 2 minutes later, she spilled all of her chocolate milk on the table, her shirt and pants.

Harvey got to sit between Grandma and Grandpa.
Yummy shells and cheese.

Ursula behaved herself very nicely.
She mostly played with her toy while we ate at Ella's.

After we ate, we went back to the car to
change Rowan's clothes
(milk accident).
Rowan and Harvey both got to ride on the carousel.

I was glad to see Harvey smile.
There was a chance that he could have screamed.

Back story: Rowan went to Grandma and Grandpa's house yesterday to have a sleepover. She did very well. Grandma has given her approval for future sleepovers.
This morning, I drove to Madison with Harvey and Ursula. We met up with my parents and Rowan and got to browse the Madison Trader Joe's store. It was a nice little store with lots of organic goodies.
After Trader Joes, we went to Ella's Deli for lunch. The kids were fairly good and they both did a good job on the carousel afterward.
Next, we went to a park so the kids could do a little play and exercise. This park had pea gravel under the structures. The kids found it fun to play in and even more fun to throw. Their hands got quite dirty from digging around in it.
When we were done with the park, we drove back down the road to Happy Bambino. It's a children's store that has lots of natural parenting stuff in it. They also hold many classes and support group meetings there. I visited the nursing mother's workshop (drop in). It's pretty much just a place to go to talk to their lactation consultant, weigh your baby, and generally relax.
The consultant was a little busy with some other moms that had tiny babies. My goal was just to find out how much milk Ursula was getting. The difference in her before and after weight was approximately 6 ounces. That's nice to know if Andy ever needs to feed her from our freezer stock....if I'm away.
Finally, when I was done, we all hopped back into our cars and went to a local ice cream shop. The kids were very happy to get some ice cream. I was happy about it too.
By the time we were done with our cones, it was obvious that the kids needed a nap. They stayed awake all of 10 minutes on the highway. It was nice to have a quiet van ride on the way back home. Too bad I didn't get to nap myself!

Thanks so much to Grandma and Grandpa for helping me with the kids
and for feeding us too!

A trip to the zoo!

Today, we decided to drive out to the Milwaukee County Zoo. We were surprised by all the cars that were inching their way into the zoo parking lot. Thought that maybe we would have to fight to see attractions, but there was actually a decent amount of space within the zoo and the kids got to see a lot of active animals. The small disappointments were the big cats exhibit (closed for remodel I think) and the silver back ape was sleeping with his back to us.
Hope you enjoy seeing some of the animals we saw!

Andy holds Rowan up to see some monkeys.

Harvey couldn't get in close enough with the stroller, but he was sure excited about my camera!

These monkeys were swinging all over the place.
I don't recall their exact species name, so I'll just refer to them all as monkeys.

Can you spot the prairie dog in the above photo?
This little guy kept going in and out of the holes.
It reminded me of the game "Whack-a-Mole".

The polar bear looked hot and kept pacing around the water.
But at least he was active.
The other brown bears just slept in their corners.

Seals were swimming.
Made me want to go swimming too. It was a little warm today.

Kids really behaved well in the stroller. Rowan got out a few times to see things. Harvey pretty much stayed in the stroller the whole time....as did Ursula.

The just started talking about the elephants and feeding them when we were there.
The elephant on the right is the dominant female and Ruth, on the left, was the submissive female. I watched as Ruth entered the feeding space walking backwards through the door. She does that as a sign of submission to the other female. I didn't know elephants did that. Rather neat to watch it happen.

Dall sheep. There were only two there. One was a ram with big horns (not pictured). They were kind of boring....just munching on their tree.

The kangaroos were eating.

We saw about 3 giraffes. We didn't pay the extra money to stand on the balcony to feed them. But that would have been pretty cool.....maybe some day.

Rowan and Harvey got to stretch their legs at the "Family Farm" area. They did really well with the other kids. At one point, Rowan "lost" her dad (who was 10 feet away putting Harvey in the stroller). He was within sight, she just didn't notice him. This was the first time that she had ever "lost her parent" and she kind of screamed and looked so worried. She was instantly back to her old self when I pointed out to her where dad was.

Rowan got to feed a goat. Harvey did great being perched up high. If we would have put him on the ground I bet he would have been scared.

Just after the goats, I snapped this pic.
I love the look on Harvey's face!

As was expected, Rowan and Harvey fell asleep quickly in the van afterwards.
Andy wanted to get them each a stuffed animal to commemorate the occasion.
Rowan picked out a dolphin (even though we did not see a single dolphin at the zoo) and Harvey picked out a Capuchin Monkey.

(zzzzzzz)

Ursula did not sleep on the way home. We could hear her making cute little cooing and raspberry sounds in the back. I couldn't see her, but I could reach around her carseat and snap this pick.
It's so cute how happy she is. I wonder what she was thinking about.

Princess Rowan

Little Miss Rowan is certainly going through a princess phase right now. She loves all the princesses from Disney.

Luckily, I have a lot of old Disney VHS cassettes that I can pop in for her to watch her favorite ladies in action.

On the day this pic was taken, she decided to dress herself. She was very proud to be wearing her princess dress and her new princess shoes. She wanted me to take a photo of her.

Any guesses as to what theme she will have for her birthday party?

Ursula - 3 Months

Our "little bear" Ursula is speeding through her 3rd month
and she's doing very well.
She weighs in at 14lbs 10 oz (85th percentile)
measures 23.5 inches (almost 60th percentile)
and her head is 41.5 cm (80th percentile)

She has learned to coo, grasp objects, bring her hands together, giggle softly, stand (supported) and if you follow the pics, you'll see her latest accomplishment.

Oh hi Mom!
(sorry for the potty in the shot)

I'm trying so hard to roll over....

and now I can do it!
In fact, I roll over frequently now.

Sometimes I really enjoy tummy time with my toys.
But sometimes....

I get upset because I feel stuck and helpless.
Quick! Come save me!

After being saved, she enjoyed a little time in the Bumbo.
She was tired of reclining and being horizontal on the floor.

This little girl wants so badly to do the same things her brother and sister do.
I am excited to see how fast she accomplishes other milestones!
Hugs and kisses to our little girl!

Happy 4th of July!

This summer, we spent our July 4th at Grandma and Grandpa's cabin up North.
We stayed 5 days and had a great time.
On our second day, Grandma asked Rowan and Harvey to help make some cookies. Rowan jumped right in - she loves baking.

Harvey wanted to test the light switches. On one occasion, he tested the basement light switch (upstairs) while Andy was in the basement.
Andy did not approve of this.

Harvey then decided to help himself to some pre-packaged cookies.

Mom said "no" and put the package on top of the fridge.

"But Mom! Now they're way up there and I can't reach them!"

(more screaming)

The crying lasted longer than I would have liked.

Now that his fit is over, he decides to help Grandma and Rowan with baking the cookies.

While this is going on, Maverick has been eye-ing the local chipmunk. That little vermin taunted our dog the entire stay.

The kids helped Grandma in their own special way.

Wait Rowan! Don't lick your finger yet!

Rowan followed the rules and pushed the M&Ms into the dough.
Harvey picked all the M&Ms off and ate them.

Ursula was very well behaved up at the cabin and slept very well at nights.
It helped that we brought a few of her favorite things
(swing and Leap Frog seat).

Rowan played Hi Ho Cherry-O with Grandma for the first time.
She really enjoyed the game and followed the rules.

Rowan wins!

Harvey was not old enough to understand board games, so he occupied himself by cleaning out his toes.

Some father/daughter time. Andy took Rowan out for a tour of the lake.

I know she looks mad in the photo, but she really wasn't.

Harvey didn't feel up to getting into the boat. He wore the life vest for a few minutes though and watched Rowan and Andy motor off.

The kids enjoyed Grandma reading to them before bed time.

This little boy got to stay up way past his bed time most nights.

Rowan and Andy took a quick 4-wheeler trip down the driveway and back.

Harvey preferred to stay up in Grandma's arms. If this vacation had a theme, it would be "Harvey is afraid of most everything."
He did not want to go in the boat. He didn't want to walk down to the water (although once he was there he was fine). He didn't like going outside after he heard some fire crackers making loud pops.
At times, he was afraid of Grandpa too.
Harvey was very clingy and cried a lot.

They're back now.
Harvey has just enough courage to look at the vehicle
and touch a few of it's buttons.

Rowan has lost her fear of the 4-wheeler. Yay!

Towards the end of our stay, we got a couple family shots in.
Don't you just love trying to get 3 little kids to all smile and sit still for a photo!

Happy 4th of July!