Daddy's Little Helper

These pictures are also from May. Owen is such a huge fan of his daddy.
He wants to do everything his daddy is doing. It's precious to watch.
He is so in love with Coop.
and Coop is so in love with him. LOVE it.

Back in WI in May

It still wasn't very warm here on May 9th, but apparently it was warm enough for the grass to grow and need mowing. It was also a bit wet outside, and the fresh-cut grass turned Callie into a leprechaun.
Seriously.
Check out that vivid shade of green.
But it's ok, Callie. O-boy still loves you.
Green feet can't come between a boy and his dog.

Purina Farm and Picnic with Moots

On the Friday of our week in St. Louis we got to spend the day at Purina Farms and the park with Moots. It was such a great outing! Moots is an avid dog lover, and we all enjoyed the dog's agility demonstration and the lesson on how to milk a cow. Moo.
Ava loves her moots. They were taking a tour of the barn and checking out the animals.
This is the little kiddos watching the baby pigs. I realize I did not post a picture of said pigs...but I wasn't super interested in them. Just my babies. Sorry.
Afterward we stopped at a park to picnic and play. They're both changing so much. This was really the first week we spent at parks since last fall, so I had in my mind a clear memory from 6 months earlier with which to compare these moments.
Ava is much more daring and is now the "organizer" of the other little ones she meets on the playground.
Owen is walking, running, and climbing all over the equipment.
Instead of, you know, just cruising the perimeter. Love those cutie pies!

Leader Picnic in the Park

We were lucky enough to be able to attend the volunteer appreciation picnic for the efree youth leaders while we were in St. Louis in May. It was kind of crazy to show up, seeing as how we did not volunteer over the last 2 years, but the organizers were super gracious and told us to join the get-together. I'm so glad we got to do so! I have such a love for our friends and fellow youth workers from our church in St. Louis! It was such a treat to see everyone! Here are a few pics of the kiddos at the picnic.

Play dates in the park!

During that same trip to St. Louis in early May we had a lot of different play dates scheduled with different friends in different parks. First up, Carol and Bree in Kirkwood.
I love those girls!
Owen loved Bree spinning him around. Those 2 kids!
The next day we met up with the Hartkes in Des Peres.
Ava was so proud of herself after climbing this tree! She was "taller than mommy!"
We squeezed in a group shot before leaving. Here's the whole gang! Except for Dan...he took the photo.
But here he is with Ava. She's a big fan of his work.
The next day we got to see Miss Susan in Wildwood.
My kids love Susan. I love Susan.
It was perfect outside. Ava liked it.
Owen liked it.
We ended up walking along the trails there. I had never gone the length of the trail. It was beautiful. We played with dandelions and met a box turtle. Ava and Susan worked out at the designated spots along the trail. After time at the play ground and a walk, we went back to Susan's to hang out some more and she fed us lunch. It was such a delightful day.
Later that night my sister-in-law and her hubby came out to Papa's for dinner. It was fun to see them! Owen loves his uncle. Can you tell?
It was so good to see everyone. Owen is at a pretty high-maintenance life stage when at parks due to his lightening-fast mobility, so conversing long enough to complete a thought was challenging, but it's still so good to see everyone. There are no friends like old friends.

Papa's porch

August was a wonderful, busy month! Now that the school year is back in session, we're all settling into our weekly routines and taking a breather! So, picking up on my effort to update the blog, these are some shots of the kiddos playing outside at Papa's Cooper's house during our trip there in May.
O-man loved the swing.
He also loved the stairs. Peek-a-boo!
Driving that afternoon I noticed that Ava had placed her doll into her car seat with her, you know, for safety. Very thoughtful.
I'm planning to toss some more posts up to try to bring this blog up to date! So check back, loved ones!

Finally to May!

The first week of May we all went to St. Louis for a week because Steve needed to work down there. While he went to work, the kids and I had a different adventure every day. The first day there we spent the morning with the mommies and kids from the Larson family and the Shaver family. It was such a great opportunity to see them, catch up, receive encouragement, and just have some laughs. That evening the kids and I went to Faust Park where we played in the park, took a long walk, and had a picnic dinner.

patio use

This is the last retroactive update from April! I've ended up drawing this process out a bit, but that's ok with me, and I'm guessing our grandmas are enjoying the extra pictures anyway. These little munchkins were excited to eat lunch outside on April 30th, so that's what we did. Notice the puny little leaves trying to grow on the hedge in the background. It seemed to take forever for them to arrive!


Other highlights of that week included me getting knocked out by a 24-hour stomach bug. ugh! We were supposed to host a neighborhood Bible Study that Thursday morning, but instead I fell ill about 10 pm the night before. Steve had to take that day off to watch the kiddos while I slept it off. He's definitely the hero in this house!

Parents get to visit!

The last weekend of April my parents came up from Oklahoma to visit. It's so great when they come up to see us! We love their visits! This trip was also close to my dad's birthday, so we got to celebrate that while he was here.
Here's the welcome hug from Ava. She literally shrieked with joy and jumped down the stairs when they arrived.
The next day we went to Discovery World to see the Tesla interactive presentation. Due to loud noises and scary portions of the show, it was advised that the kids not attend. So they got to explore the aquarium while the grown ups went to the show.
We also went through the technology displays while we waited. Owen must have opened and closed the retractable roof on the model of the Brewers Stadium about 300 times.
Ava played tic-tac-toe with a computer,
jumped onto a scale,
and laid on a bed of nails! Brave girl!
There was also a really cool exhibit about lightening and thunder that we played with for a while. Here are Pebbles and Bamm Bamm listening to the thunder.
...and just being cute...
Their favorite was meeting back up with Grandma and Grandpa after their show!
Back home we got out the train set that Papa Cooper got the kids last year and set it all up.
Then Owen tackled his Papa.
And ate his Grandma's necklace.
After some time with the train, Ava was ready for cake!
We decided to go for the glory and put the numerically correct amount of candles on Papa's cake. He (eventually) blew out all the candles!