At 7 months....

Syd is on the move in her own fashion of crawling...somewhat army, somewhat inchworm. She has gotten WAY better at eating and can really shovel it in...cereal, fruit and veggies. She is doing some major spitting up....I am constantly cleaning up the carpet and its gross, real gross. I need her to grow out of that phase soon...as does our carpeting. She loves to be bounced around which is when she evokes the sweetest, cutest giggles. She loves kisses on her neck and belly. She likes her exersaucer/bouncer and has learned how to really move in it but she prefers to be on the ground moving around. She loves Mommy but Daddy will often get a big smile with an intake of breath like she's so excited it takes her breath away. Gavin gets the most smiles, giggles and "reason for travel" as she wants to be where he is. Lastly, she bounces. She bounces when she's happy which is pretty much all the time. She just sits and bounces away and it just makes you want to bounce right with her.

On the Move....

Sydney can officially get from point A to B in a pretty quick fashion. It's past rolling...but not yet crawling...its an army crawl that resembles the worm. I'm not kidding. She moves by using her arms or by pushing her butt up in the air and flopping forward.

This all began around mid-June.

(sorry there aren't any pics right now but this post has been sitting in my draft box for ages waiting for them, and I need to face the reality that they aren't getting uploaded right now.)

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

Homewood Disposal has recently installed a brand new state of the art recycling facility. It's phenomenal and something everyone is really excited about....especially my Grandpa. He arranged for all those in our family that were interested to go on a tour of the recycling plant a few weekends ago. Almost the whole family made it. It was a great chance for them to see what's been going on at HDS, to catch up with each other and most of all, spend some time with Grandpa while he was showing off our new equipment. Of course, no trip to HDS would be complete without a first had garbage truck experience! It may not be glamorous, but in our family its DEFNITELY exciting!

Pre-tour info and history.

It's always safety first with the Yonkers.....right.

While the cat is away....their little mice will play. We held down camp with all the little ones during the adult only tour.

Look for Gavin next summer in a front-loader on your block.

Gram & Gramp and the next generation.

Gavin and his Daddy...next stop, a pumper truck!

Hot Times at the Zoo

Last Friday, Amanda, Lisa and I took the kids to the zoo. It was a typical summer day in Chicago...hot, humid, sticky, sunny and did I mention hot, humid and sticky?

Actually, we had a really fun time. The kids loved being together and we were able to see lots of animals that caused shrieks of delight from the kids.

Gavin & Lauris learn about giraffes.

And later Gavin imitated this giraffe in the baby pool.

The ladies and our first babies...I swear there is not self-tanner on my legs, they just look a freakishly odd color for some reason.
Looking for wolves.
Syd's typical picture this summer on every outing.
It was a nice attempt!
Jack knew what we were going for.
As Gavin says, "cool dude."

I Heart Harry Connick Jr.

I heart Harry for lots of reasons....his music, he's cute, he's funny, he signs autographs, he's awesome, he gives me a reason to have a super fun date night with my hubby.

Last week we went on a much anticipated (on my part) date night to see the one and only Harry Connick Jr. As always, his show did NOT disappoint with great music (beginning with We Are In Love and even including a fav excerpt of mine from Star Turtle) and banter with the audience that not only keeps you guessing, but keeps you laughing.

Chad and I had a great night beginning our night at Fulton's on the River and ending the night with signed tickets from Harry.

A perfect night....what more could a girl ask for?

Big Boy Bed

Last week when Carrie came we were preparing for the sleeping arrangements and long story short, we had to move the crib out of the room for Gavin. Rather than have him sleep in the crib in our room, we thought this would be a good opportunity to FINALLY try out the big boy bed.

So...we talked it up....we got tucked in...we read books...we gave the disclaimer he was not to get out of bed only to call mommy and daddy if he needed us...we gave kisses and turned out the light. Then, we did what all parents in this day and age do - we watched on the video monitor. We watched him sit up...start talking...stand up....sit down...play. Hmmm. After about 15 minutes, I went in, re-tucked, re-kissed and left again.

He went to sleep. He stayed there until 7 am (with a minor interruption at 3 am where I heard him crying only to see him the complete wrong way in his bed to which we turned him around and re-tucked) when he sat up in bed yelling for Mommy and Daddy. Not unlike his crib...whew.

He was SO. CUTE. Since then, he's slept in his crib some nights and bed some nights. It isn't that he can't do it or can't handle it....I have to admit, the ONLY reason I don't want him switched is for nap time. As I've mentioned in a previous post, I treat the first "Mommy!" upon waking from a nap as a 20 minute warning. Now if he woke up and could just get out of bed, I wouldn't get that 20 minutes anymore would I? I really, really, don't want to lose that 20 minutes. :) But as he approaches 3 (yikes!) we'll see....it's all just one step closer to losing my baby.

A Best Friend's Visit

Earlier this week one of my best friends in the whole world came to visit with her kids. Why you ask...besides the fact that we love each other, wish we could see each other every day and find any excuse for a visit...4 words: Sex and the City. Yep, we strategically planned a visit so we could go see Sex and the City 2 together. It was kind of "our thing" during college so there was no one I could see it with but her. We did the same thing with the first movie but that was a few less kids ago. :)

Regardless, she came with the kids and it was a blast, as it always is. The kids had SO much fun together. In fact when Carrie rang the doorbell announcing her arrival with the kids in the car, Gavin ran to the door and started yelling "Oh No! Oh No!" Clearly panicking and wondering where Tay, Zach and Lauren were!!! We had a fun day and night with the kids and the next day we went to Calumet for lunch and swiming for a bit. It was a really fun visit.

The only disappointment....the movie!! Ha! We were convinced that no matter how the reviews were, that we'd love it....well, we left the theater let down after all, glad we saw it together but disappointed nonetheless.

Funny Lo-Lo with her beautiful mommy.

Girls Time.

I've been saying it about the boys for years ....and now with these two - Two Peas in a Pod!

There was an announcment "Mom, Aunt Jen, come look at us! We're cute!"

Lauren and Syd haning outside chewing on keys and buckles.

Sidewalk Chalk....

...and bubbles...

....and bikes...

.....and more! (like getting ready to roll down the hill!)

Here they roll...I mean, they're kinda going straight.

Seriously, I love these two boys together.

Happy Sydney!

Treat time.

How do these two get themselves in these positions?

Taylor the water bug.

The boys were creating and building and pouring and dumping.

More treats...messy, messy treats. We'd never dunk them in the pool after to clean them up, that would be really gross for other swimmers.

Happy Father's Day

The most exciting thing for us this Father's Day....Chad had the day off!!! YES!! This was on the heels of working 20+ days so it was well needed and well deserved. After spending some family time in the morning we went to church with some friends to see baby Carter Karavas baptized and then to Kyle and Heather's house for lunch. It was a nice relaxing day and the kids and I spoiled Chad with a few new presents.

Since last Father's Day, he's become a Dad to a little girl. It has been such a joy to watch him with another one of our children. I know she will always hold a very special place in his heart that only a little girl can have. It's a very special bond between Dad and daughter--and I think he's going to treasure it more than he can ever imagine. And on the flip side, as Gavin grows older, its amazing to see how he shadows Chad and wants to cut the grass like Dad, play basketball like Dad, work with tools like Dad, etc....and I can't think of anyone better for him to want to be just like.

6 Month Photos

For Syd's 6 month pictures, we had the same people come to our house that did her photos right after birth for Christmas and her announcement. We used a different photographer who I liked much better. I liked her & I liked WHAT she was trying to accomplish. However, she was an hour past when she was supposed to be here....and that hour really can make or break it when it comes to kids' pictures. In this instance, it kinda broke it. Syd would hardly crack a smile. Grrr. So, my super happy smiley baby just couldn't keep it together. Oh well. We got some cute family shots....here they are: