Beating the Heat at the County Fair

Today it rained, Hallelujah!!! We've had days of record breaking heat and have been praying for relief and it finally came. We spent the weekend desperately trying to stay cool. Friday I decided to surprise the kids with a trip to our county fair. It had been years since I had taken Chloe and Aidan has never gone to the fair. So after Chloe's speech we lathered on the sunscreen, grabbed a bunch of bottled water, loaded into the Suburban and headed out. Even though the kids had no idea where we were going they were up for an adventure.

This little photo op was way too cute to pass up! Chloe wanted to be the lamb but Aidan was too short to peek through the farmer's face.


Aidan was so excited to see all of the animals. He kept making clucking sounds to all the chickens which was hilarious. Chloe loved the rabbits and laughed at all the coke cans in the rabbit cages. (Cold soda cans keep the rabbits cool in the heat). Chloe also loved looking at all the dogs. We saw cows and horses as well. We took time out from our busy day and watched the barrel races. Aidan had a blast cheering on the horses even though he had no idea why he was cheering.


Here is Chloe getting fingerprinted for a child i.d. kit. She thought it was fun getting ink all over her fingers. She looked like Mom does when she gets done stamping. LOL! She climbed on the fire truck after she got her finger prints taken. Aidan looked on, he refused to put his shoes back on so he could go on the fire truck. Did I mention it was hot? I didn't blame him for not wanting his shoes on.



Every once in a while there would be a great breeze that blew through the fairgrounds long enough to cool all of us down. It was a great day of looking around, trying new things! One of the new things we tried were snow cones! Aidan has never had one (at least to my knowledge) and it's been a long time since Chloe has had one. Aidan did fairly well with his at first but by the time we made it to the car he was covered in sticky flavoring and little bits of ice. Oh well, at least he was nice and cool!


In case you are wondering where Brenna was...she was in my front carrier for most of the day just kind of "hanging" out. She loves the carrier and gets so excited when it is time to get into it. She took the day in stride and enjoyed looking around underneath her wide-brim sunhat.

Brenna Playing

Brenna is now three months old! She is still as adorable as ever! She is doing better with her stomach and is getting more alert every day. She is smiling more at strangers, although she still has to be coaxed to give a smile. Brenna is definitely a "Momma's Girl" and doesn't like to be passed around. She is never happier than when she is in Mom's arms (thank goodness for my new baby carrier)!!! She loves to watch her brother and sister while they are playing (as long as they aren't screaming or in her face). She has recently discovered toys. She loves to lay under her play gym and look at all the toys hanging off the bars. Here are some pictures of her playing with some toys before bedtime one night.

Never Seperate a Boy from His Blankie!!!

Here is Aidan with his favorite "Blankie". This blanket gets dragged throughout the house constantly. It is a constant battle to even get the darn thing washed. Washing it sparks a tragic bought of alligator tears as I shut the washing machine. I had just pulled it out of the dryer and it was nice and warm and snuggly. Aidan immediately wrapped up into it and climbed into the rocking chair. Now keep in mind that the house was like a sauna as we have been going through a heat wave. (It was in the mid-80s outside and not much better in the house). That didn't stop a happy reunion however. He sat like that for about thirty minutes. :-)

Big Boy Bed!

After night after night of Aidan climbing out of his crib and sleeping on the floor of his room, it was time for my baby boy to graduate to "Big Boy" status. Today he got a toddler bed. Which was a nightmare to put together I might add. It didn't help matters much that there was a very excited little boy in our way. The bed was finally built correctly and made (with Spider-Man sheets). Aidan was thrilled. I think he thought it was more of a toy than a bed though. His crib will stay in his room for a few weeks until he is used to the transition.

PS--The sibling rivalry has already begun...that's Brenna's bear in his bed. He swiped it from her dresser!!

Pillowcases for Daddy

The kids are coloring pillow cases for Daddy. They had a blast. Chloe drew a picture of our family that was very sweet. Although I don't think I have purple hair... Aidan was so excited to be allowed to scribble away. I am trying to teach him his colors. He can say blue, red, yellow and green although he can't put the words together with the colors yet. They had a great time and enjoyed packing Daddy's box with goodies!!

Big Brother!

This morning was so cute. Aidan crawled into bed with Brenna and made sure she didn't lose her pacifier. She was a bit fussy and clingy this morning. Aidan took such good care of her that I was able to get dressed and sort laundry.

On a separate note: Matt did arrive safely and is doing well!!!

Aidan's 2 Year Check-up

Aidan's Check-up went so smoothly everyone was impressed. Aidan completely cooperated and sat still while the doctor and nurses examined him, did vitals, etc. He is 26lbs, 10oz--so he really hasn't gained much weight since his 18 month check-up. He is 34+inches tall so he is almost at the three foot mark. The doctor was very impressed with how healthy he is and laughed when he saw Aidan's scraped knees. He commented on how Aidan is definitely a boy. Aidan had to get a Hepatitis A shot and he was a trooper. He didn't even cry and held perfectly still.

Sidewalk Masterpieces

Aidan received lots of sidewalk chalk for his birthday. Both children were blissfully happy as they used our back patio as a canvas.

Aidan's 2nd Birthday Party

Today we had a small Birthday party for Aidan. Nothing too serious just a few close friends over for playtime, cake and ice cream. I don't think Aidan had a clue what was going on but he took it in stride. I think he was excited to have a bunch of friends over to play with. He had five friends over to play. They took over the playset, crammed into the playhouse, blew bubbles, practiced batting with the tee ball set and had a blast.

When it was time for cake Aidan knew exactly what to do. He couldn't wait for me to light the number 2 candle so he could blow it out. I had to hold him back so we could sing "Happy birthday" to him. He dug into his marble cake with gusto. He was so excited to get to his presents but he wanted to make sure that all of his friends were ready to watch. He got so many great presents--clothes, toy jackhammer, flashlights, hot wheels race track, camp chair, sidewalk chalk, a bug catching kit and more. He will be a busy boy over the next few days playing with all his new toys.

A Day At the Zoo

Today was a wonderful day at the zoo, enjoying family, all the animals and Aidan's second birthday. Going to the zoo for his birthday is becoming quite a tradition. This year we drove down to Woodland Park Zoo with Nana and Poppa. We met Uncle Randy and Aunt Kim there. It was so much fun to see them. We didn't tell the kids that their aunt and uncle would be there so it was quite a surprise for them. It was a gorgeous, hot summer day and not that crowded at the zoo which is unusual for a summer Saturday.




We saw so many animals--2 Lions, a tiger, bears, salmon, flamingos, giraffes, zebras, monkeys, and so much more!! Aidan was in heaven and was on the move constantly. He didn't quite understand what looking at all the animals was about but he was very excited to see them. He really liked the brown bears as they moved around their mountain home and sat in the water to cool off. Chloe wanted to see it all we had to keep telling her to slow down that she wouldn't miss anything. She even got to pet a huge centipede. She also enjoyed having a bunch of adults around to spoil her rotten. Both of them had a great time and wore themselves completely out by the time we left.




Poor Brenna was still fighting the effects of her vaccinations from Friday. She slept through most of the day although she did perk up a bit in the early evening. She had a slight fever and her cold was making her miserable (I think the vaccinations made her cold worse). Her stomach was also giving her fits and causing her to spit up quite a bit after eating. So her first trip to the zoo was less than exciting but there is always next year.





On our way home we stopped at Red Robin and had delicious hambugers. Aidan got a special birthday sundae which he graciously shared with his sister (I think he was too tired to care about sharing his ice cream). It was a long day full of too much sun, lots of memories and fun but we are all ready for bed.