Brookfield Zoo: Nate and Mommy edition

Nate touching the stingrays at Stingray bay
The spectacular ending of the dolphin show!
The happiest boy ever! We sat in the splash zone and one of the dolphins scored a direct hit!
Nate was one of 4 volunteers who got to help train the dolphins how to wave!
Yes that is only a thin piece of shatter proof glass between my boy and a polar bear!
LOVE!
My Eagle!
He got to ride the gigantic carousel! This is Nate's type of ride!

Nate and I got to spend the entire day together today! We left the house at 7:30 and drove to Children's Memorial Hospital to meet with the pediatric endocrinologist! She was an hour behind schedule so Nate was literally climbing the walls when she got to the room! He will have blood work and an x-ray of his arm bones (to determine growth hormone issues) in the next week.

We then headed out for the fun part of the day: The Brookfield Zoo! We have been before as a family and it is a definite Chicago favorite! We started with the giant carousel which Nate loved! They opened a brand new Bear area and it is amazing! Nate loved hanging out with the polar bear! He also loved the giraffes (of course!). We then headed over to see the Dolphin show and I am so glad he did. We got to sit right up front in the splash Zone and Nate was chosen as a volunteer to help "train" a dolphin how to clap and wave! That pretty much blew his mind! We got drenched by a two dolphins which made my little boys day! We finished up at stingray bay and he was able to touch and pet a ton of stingrays!

It was so special to be able to have Nate all to myself for the day! He is such a funny and sweet little boy!

Eli and Sam also got to spend the whole day together (watching star wars, building legos, riding bikes). Eli had to miss school as he has a stomach bug! Poor baby!

Homer Lake Hike: Wild Animals in the Forest Edition

There were Monarch butterflies all over the prairie! Gorgeous!
Wild animal sighting!
Feral cat stalking through the forest
The brothers!
All my boys!

We have been hiking nearly every weekend this summer and early fall! One of our favorite spots is Home Lake. It is a preserved prairie area and meanders along a gorgeous lake! It is such a treat to share our love of hiking with the boys! They can easily go 1.5-2.0 miles now and are good sports about it! We have also gone paddle boating, tubed down the river, and are probably going to canoe down the river in a week or two! We are already plotting out our grand adventures for next summer!

Swimming lessons: Fall 2011

Eli was moving way too fast to get a good picture! The boy is a fish!
Nate is a cork so the back float is a piece of cake for him!
Big arms for the big boy!

After spending the whole summer at Swim Camp the boys are back in group lessons. So, we have tried group lessons, private lessons, King Brother lessons, etc... but at the Urbana Indoor aquatic center. You never knew if their instructor was going to be 16 and silly or 29 and tattooed up! Neither type of instructor was ever any good so we switched to the lessons at the University Pool! Hooray! They are amazing. Nate is the 3-4 year old group and he loves it. He is the best little swimmer in the group and is totally comfortable in the water. Eli is now with the big kids and was originally in level 2. After the first lesson in which he refused to use a kick board because he could do everything without it, his instructor bumped him up to level 3 and he is doing great! Next summer Eli will be starting swim team and Nate will probably still be bobbing like a cork in the water because actually swimming might be too much work!

Rock Concert: Daddy Really Does Rock

See the super tall kid in the red with his hands in the air? That's my Eli

Sam lucked out (wink) and got to take the boys to a kids rock concert in town. Justin Roberts is a seriously fun and talented kids rock star and the boys were so excited! Mommy had Zumba so...Daddy got to do the honors. The boys loved it. Nate hung out with Sam and rocked out in his seat but Eli was up close and personal and groved right at the stage! Love how much my guys love music!