Touch a Truck

Today we headed out to the annual Touch a Truck in Channahon. This is the 4th year that Riley and I have gone. This trip was even more special for her because not only did we meet the Ensign gang there, we were also joined by the Andrews gang and Grammy! The weather was a little overcast and drizzly, but we still made the best of it. Payton got her first tattoo and Nick enjoyed sitting in ALL the trucks. Riley was really only interested in the school bus and the ambulance, but I think she still had fun. Payton...well she enjoyed the free cookie from the Milano bakery:) All in all, we all had a great morning! After we left, it was off to Culver's for a final lunch with Kris, Kelsey, and Nick and some silly cousin fun. At lunch Payton really discovered sticking out her tongue and the big kids had a blast getting her to show off her talent! (There are some fun pictures of this in Kris' pictures that are linked to our Wisconsin trip...)

First Beach Trip

Today we headed to West Beach with the "Ukockis" gang...even if it really is the Ukockis, Warren, and Andrews families. When we got to the beach...which it was insisted that we get there bright and early to beat the heat and the crowds....it was 73 and cloudy. The kids waisted no time in getting in the sand and the water though. I have to admit, I was a little chilly though. Riley loved jumping around in the waves and feeling the sand. Payton also enjoyed these things although not as much jumping in the waves going on. Oh...did I forget to mention that it was the first beach trip for both girls?! Riley enjoyed burying Kelsey in the sand and then they joined Nick for some major sand digging. When they stopped digging their hole, it was up to Riley's shoulder when she stood in it! Payton took a little nap on Kris and was pretty clingy to mommy, but she still enjoyed playing in the sand. The only downside to the day was that there were huge waves and a possible rip current, so the kids could not really go way out in the water and the "grouchy" lifeguard ended up closing the water completely because he was tired of people not listening and testing the limits. Oh and the weather turned out to be very nice....warm and sunny. The grownups enjoyed soaking up some sun...maybe too much! Riley is looking forward to her next beach trip:) (And maybe it won't be as long of a wait.)

Happy Birthday!!

Today we celebrated the girls' birthdays with a combined family party. Sure Riley's birthday was a month ago and you are supposed to have a big first birthday party but who cares:) Riley is never able to celebrate her birthday with her New Jersey family, so since they were in town, it was the perfect opportunity. The weather was cooperative, albeit super hot and it turned into a fabulous day. We borrowed a big water slide and jumpy house from the neighbor for the "big" kids and put out the baby pool for the little ones and all the kids had a blast. It was so great to have our families together to celebrate the girls and get to spend time together. Thank you to all that came to party with us and thanks for another year to Grammy for making the wonderful birthday cakes! At Riley's request this year she had a pig and Payton had a giraffe. Maybe one year, Riley will just want a plain old sheet cake from Grammy....probably not though:) (The previous 2 years Mom made a monkey and an elephant for Riley....)

(In the pictures you can see Payton standing all by herself after "pushing" off of me....makes her SO darn proud of herself!!)

Wisconsin Trip 2011 (July 15th-July 20th)

We were fortunate enough to get invited back again to Aunt MaryJo and Uncle Denny's Lake house. We were also able to go for a little longer this year too. The girls were both great on the rides there and back, although not much napping happened. On the way, we woke them both up at about 5 am and would you believe neither slept a wink on the way?! Papa Dan lent us a minivan from his work and Riley loved the TV with her own personal headphones:) She wore them pretty much everywhere that we went!!

In Wisconsin, we had a very restful time. The kids spent a TON of time swimming and playing in the lake. Their favorite was swimming out to the swimming dock and jumping in:) And for as whiny as Riley is at swim lessons, she had no fears swimming in the lake back and forth (well, with her life jacket on of course...). By the end of our trip, she was even getting out of the boat and swimming in the middle of the lake! Mike and Kelsey enjoyed tubing and wakeboarding. I even got on the tube once, although not for long, but they refused to let me back in the boat without getting wet:( I think it is safe to say that we all enjoyed the boat rides and our time in Manitowish Waters! Oh and what would vacation be without pigging out, so of course we had to eat too much food as well! There are so many great places to eat Up North and we sampled many of them:) The girls were such great travelers. Not much complaining or whining, they went with the flow, and slept pretty good too. Check out all the fun things we did in Wisconsin. Oh and we were able to celebrate Riley's birthday there...and mine too! Auny MaryJo and Uncle Denny secretly love telling the waitresses it is someones birthday:) I got the dessert surprise the first night and Payton on the last night! Thank you to Aunt MaryJo and Uncle Denny for being such great hosts and thanks to the Andrews family for wanting to travel with our family!!!!

I am also going to attach ALL the photos that Kris took! She took a ton by the way and some of these are not from Wisconsin, but from all her travels in Illinois and Wisconsin. Thanks for sharing Kris:)

Happy 1st Birthday Payton!

It is hard to believe that a year has passed and we are already celebrating Payton's 1st birthday! What a great year it has been! Payton brings so much joy and love to our family and has such an infectious smile. It has been wonderful watching her grow this past year and grow into the little person that she is. It is also amazing to see the bond forming between Payton and Riley. Since the beginning, they have both loved each other so much and each day it continues to grow. (Now I know there will be moments in the near future that they drive each other nuts.....)

At 1, Payton is crawling and getting into everything. She finally mastered pulling up, which was a little more challenging due to her size:) She cruises along furniture and switches off from things...sometimes scaring us. Payton is able to walk fairly well if she is holding onto your fingers, but is not brave enough to try alone. She has just recently started to stand up against us (laying down) and let go, so that she is standing all on her own for a bit. (And you should see how happy this makes her!!) Stairs have also been mastered...well only the going up part. And finally...she has 4 teeth that are pretty much all the way through...we call these her buttery bucks, and 2 more have popped through on the top and are beginning to make their desent. All food is eaten by her and she continues to love large portions:) Formula is a thing of the past (yay!) and now the challenge is moving to all sippee cups. Payton can also say a few words and is working on more everyday. Her favorites are dada, mama, baba, and dog-dog. What a great little girl we have!

For Payton's birthday, we were actually in Wisconsin at Aunt MaryJo and Uncle Denny's. Payton got to celebrate with breakfast at Paul Bunyon's, lots of fresh air, and dinner at Golden Pines. At dinner, she even got sung to and got a special sundae. Here are a few of her on her special day....and two from last year. Happy 1st Birthday to Payton!!!! We love you!!!!!
Here she is at approximately 12:32 AM last July 19th
On the day she went home
Look how happy she woke up on her birthday!
Enjoying her first breakfast at Paul Bunyon's:)

Riley's 5 year stats

On Monday, Riley had her 5 year checkup/kindergarten physical. There was much discussion and anticipation of the visit for her as she knew she would be getting "shots". She did a very good job overall at the visit. She was SUPER cooperative for the nurse and doctor and did everything they asked of her. Well....except for "peeing in the cup" she refused to go....said she couldn't even make any. She is too funny! They were ok with her not providing this sample thankfully. She did cry, as to be expected, during her shots and had her legs as tense as can be, which I am sure did not help. Riley was sad afterwards, but I made sure to tell her that she is now done until middle school. A McDonald's dinner was just what the doctor ordered after and made her feel almost back to normal! Another big milestone behind us....the first school physical! All we have left is the eye doctor visit and then she will be all set!

Here is how she measured up at her visit:
Height 41 1/2 inches (31st %tile)
Weight 36.2 pounds (25th %tile)

She continues to grow along at her slow pace.....and hold onto much lower percentiles that her sister:) But like the doctor said, they are just 2 different kids. Oh, not to mention that on a daily basis that Payton out eats Riley!!

Happy 4th of July!!

We hope that everyone had a great holiday!! We ended up having a jam packed weekend of fun, water, and family!!! On Sunday, we ended up joining Shannon and Mike for their block party. Jadyn and Riley had a ball together. They were so cute walking around holding hands all night. Payton was a great girl as usual and hung in until about 11 at night. After enjoying great food and a great fireworks show put on by Uncle Mike and some of the other neighbors, we headed back to their house for some night swimming and a sleepover. The big kids were up until about midnight and loving all their time together.

On the 4th we were invited to join them at the Homewood parade. Jadyn and Shannon were going to march in the parade with her friend who volunteers for the Humane Society. They invited Riley to also join them. The girls got extra festive and did a great job throwing out the candy! They made it the whole way without any complaining Auntie Shannon said. Payton and Eli enjoyed watching the parade and Eli especially loved all the candy! He did so much bending over for candy that he started to lose his pants:) This entertained us grown ups WAY too much and I couldn't help snapping a picture...hehe. When the parade was over we joined them at the end and enjoyed a little of the family festival. Then Riley "twisted" our arms to go back to do a little more swimming. This time Payton got to join us. She LOVES the water and was loving going down the water slide! At first we tried in her little "boat" but it kept getting stuck so then Mike started taking her. She was ALL smiles. A great big thanks to Shannon and Mike for inviting us over to their house to join in on ALL these fun activities!!! We all had a GREAT 4th of July!!! (And thanks to Grammy, Papa, and Bika for Diesel sitting so that we could have this sleepover!)