Last Couple of Days

We went to Planet Fun with my friend Tish and her family!!! It was so freaking fun. . .until she got lost and I had to go crawling after her. Although I then got great pictures I was all banged up! Bruises head to toe! It was worth it! What a blast!

The Grady Kids and Loren

Hanging. . .of course!

When she was "lost" this is where I found her. It was scary!

These big things swing and they run through them! She was laughing so hard she fell down. It was awesome!

Crawling through the tubes!

She played this car arcade game for a long time!

Crawling through the tubes! She was having such a blast!

Today it was finally a nice day and we were able to clean out the garage! The neighborhood kids were all out! There are like 4 or 5 little girls that just ADORE Loren. They spent the entire 3 hours making Loren be their "baby." They would put her in the stroller and cart her up and down the driveway! It was a blast! Loren just giggled and giggled! She loved it! These little girls just carried her everywhere! We are so blessed to have such sweet girls living on our street! Also one girl has her babysitting "degree" from Barnes Jewish Hospital and she is so excited to watch Loren sometime. She brought over her packet and her certificates. It was very cute! I think we will "hire" her to watch Loren for us a couple of times so we can do things around the house (like clean the basement or build the stairs, etc.) We will be home. Once we feel comfortable, we may hire her so we can go out to dinner (of course I think Z is still too little to leave with an 11 year old!) But as she and Z get older it'll be great!

the amazing poop/puke machine!

Just so you know, if your kid is constipated, just stick them in the Jumparoo (no size doesn't matter ;) )!! It always makes Zach spit up and poop! CLASSIC!

Tired little man fell asleep in his Johnny-Jump-Up! He fell asleep with the toy in his mouth! Ohhh!

My sweet beautiful girl!

Loren's beloved strawberry shortcake babies!

Making a salad for Granddad! Granddad was coming over for dinner that night so I made the salad early in the morning. I opened the bags and Loren dumped them into the bowl. She was beyond proud of herself!

Zachary Dean 4 Months

Big boy in his exerscaucer!

My sweet boy!

A Day at City Museum

Today we had a family day going to the St. Louis City Museum. It was A*W*E*S*O*M*E! We had just a blast. That being said, it was not appropriate for a 2 year old and an infant in a stroller! This place was just the coolest! It had a room of caves that were just like a real cavern that you could crawl through. The bad thing is that with it being realistic, there were TINY spaces that a 2 year old can fit but mommy and daddy can't fit through. We did a lot of snagging Lorén just in the nick-of-time before she fell down holes or crawled into a room we couldn't get to! Of course, that ticked her little stubborn-2-year-old-heart off! She wanted her way and she wanted it NOW! Also, it was not the place for anyone who is claustrophobic (AKA ME!) For example, at one point you can climb 5 stories and then go down a slide. It looks like a coal shoot and is that dark and scary too! Well I had no idea the slide was there until my daughter is about to go down it! Thank God I dressed her in over-alls! I grabbed her strap and pulled her back up! I thought, "It's a slide, how far down can it go?" Well, it went all 5 stories down. Not only that, I had to lay flat with her between my legs laying flat so that we would fit. The whole time I was praying to God that I wouldn't get stuck and have the firemen come with the jaws-of-life! Finally, the slide was over and it dumped us into a room where Lorén couldn't even stand up. The floor was made of rails to climb and stainless steel ON A SLANT! WHAT THE HECK! I finally had to climb out myself reach into the room and drag Lorén up. She was scared of that one! After that episode, we left the cave area and went elsewhere to explore. Yeah, I ended up in a hollowed out tree trunk again praying that I wouldn't get stuck (see picture below). Oh man! For those of you who know our daughter, you know that we would Mike and I voted that next time we go the kids will be old enough to do that stuff on their own and Mommy and daddy can watch from a safe distance! Enjoy the pictures!

Daddy and Lorén on their way!

Lorén spots the bus on the roof! "Mommy wheels on the bus!" Daddy was fascinated with the planes!

You can see the bus hanging off the side of the roof and the planes here!

One of the narrow passageways where Lorén fit but Mommy couldn't until she crawled through (By the way, 2 months later and I still have a massive bruise on my tibial tuberosity from the accident. Crawling on it did NOT feel good!)

Daddy's turn for some "adventure" time with Lorén!

In the jaws of a fossilized T-Rex!

Climbing up. . .and up. . .and up. . .

Daddy and Lorén on a slide. Daddy realized here that there was a hole that Lorén could fit through (and would probably try to fit through). He drug her back up the slide! I could hear her wails 3 stories down!

Here Daddy and Lorén are 4 stories up. That slide I was talking about was 1 more story above this!

Zach chilling! He liked watching the color changing lights. This is what he did for the hour while Lorén climbed. . .and climbed. . .and climbed.

Yeah, you try to give a 4 month old a bottle in such a busy place!!
Zach really had a good time watching himself in the mirror! We did this for 30 minutes while daddy romped with Lorén.

Now, do you see how small this space is! My 2 year old barely fits!

You can now see my face and forgive me for giving Mike the look of death. I think he actually saw a little birdie flying around too! I was so ticked off that he sent me on this!

Behind these barrels were tables for dining! You could Peep in the peep holes! It was funny seeing these little little fingers poking out trying to get you as you walked by!

Heaven forbid we make her stop playing and make her eat 1/2 a peanut butter and jelly sandwich!!! So I couldn't find a spot to change Zach. How could a place like this NOT have a bathroom with a changing table. I was like, "Fine, you don't accommodate me, I'm changing him here!" I set him on the lunch tables and changed his poopie diaper! He felt a lot better after that!

Lorén and I had a great time with this! She thought she was so funny!

An old time bumper car to play in! It was pretty cool!

Daddy making Zach laugh! He did awesome for being in a stroller all day! He didn't sleep the whole time we were there! (10:20 - 1:30). He was so happy! I was impressed!

Lorén, Daddy, and Zach watching the circus!

Lorén in the giant ball pit! This was probably the highlight of her day!

Fearless. . .Oh gosh, does she have a tetanus shot???

This was another giant slide that was 3 stories long! It was neat! All of those "peg" things on the side were painted by inner city kids. You can twirl them as you go down the slide! It makes such a racket.

As we walked out of the door, Zach ZONKED!

Lorén drinking a well-deserved "SODA" (for all of you northerners, that would be "pop" pronounced correctly!).

Happy 4 Month Birthday Zach!

Yipee! We made it to four months! Yesterday was a big day for us! Zach slept in his crib for the first time!!!! Yes, it's late but Mommy was having separation issues following the accident :) I took Zach to the Pediatrician yesterday. My baby is 27.75 inches long and 19.5 pounds! Once again, my children do not register on the scale for height or weight! Unreal! Granddad said he's on track to be 6'8"! F*A*N*T*A*S*T*I*C! He can join the NBA and support his momma! Anyway. . . he got 4 shots and an oral vaccine yesterday. I actually cried this time. He was so sad! Last night we pulled out the high-chair and let him sit in it while we ate dinner. He really enjoyed it! This morning was our first try with Rice Cereal! He liked it a lot. He ended up spitting all of it out but he thought he was big stuff eating!

In other news: I'm hoping the stomach flu hasn't hit our house! Mike is home today as I have spent most of the morning in the bathroom puking! Ugh! Most of our church family just finished with it. I guess I should have expected it to hit our house. I was just hoping I was lucky. Alas! I just will continue to pray that I'M the only one who gets sick.

Please pray for our church plant Mercy Road as we are entering our next phase of growth! I am part of a 4 person team heading up the children's ministry (ages 6 weeks - 6th/8th grade). If anyone has been part of a church plant and can give me some ideas, I would be grateful for some advice, encouragement or ideas! This is so exciting and so wonderful!

For all of my WCA alum and friends, I don't know how I feel about this. I am really happy that the school is growing to such a degree but I'm just so SAD that they will be moving! I mean WCA has been part of my life for 23 years! TWENTY THREE! I was five and swinging across the stage like Tarzan on the curtains. . .remember dad? It's like a death to me. . .Can I buy the school and live there? Of course, I would knock out everything, put back in the breeze-way. . .ugh. Change sometimes is really hard!

Okay enough rambling from me! Here are the pictures!

Mike can be so mean to the kids :)! He was actually very proud of himself for creating "Our Big Cheese!"

Does anything melt a Mommy's heart more than this? Lorén just ADORES Zach. She will comfort him when he is crying. She will hug and kiss him! She will sing to him and try to teach him the songs. She will bring him things and say (for instance) "Zach this is a Giraffe. Giraffe starts with G. G-G-Giraffe" She has no idea what she is saying, she is mimicking me but it's sweet!A girl has got to love her ice-cream! If you are going to eat it, you might as well eat it BIG! Last night after Little Gym we stopped by McDonalds to get her an ice-cream! Her friend at Little Gym always goes to DQ afterwards for an ice-cream. Lorén overheard her talk about it and asked us if we could get her an ice-cream at McDonalds (where Grandma J. always gets them for her). We thought, "Why not!" Look at the big boy here in his highchair! He is so sweet! He just loves being a "part" of what's going on! The big first taste. . .look at that face, "WHAT IS THIS MOM?"

I can just hear Barry White. . ."Ooooh Yeah. . ."

This is so good mommy! Do you see how he had to "Help" me with every bite!

Just got to learn to get my tongue out of the way!

Let's keep practicing!