Kaboom

Simon thinks thunder is pretty cool!

Kaboom from Anne Reynolds on Vimeo.

Swinging

We stopped at the halfway point on our drive to Princeton this past weekend, to let Simon run around on this great playground. We may have to make this a regular stop on our drives to Illinois. Simon figured out how to swing by himself on the "big" swings!

Swinging from Anne Reynolds on Vimeo.

Weekend in Princeton

We went to Princeton, IL to visit the Blockis for Father's Day weekend, and wow did we have fun! Sonnie had a fantastic idea and we visited the fire station. Big vehicles are a favorite of Simon's, and he had a blast seeing all of the "fi-dee een-deens" (fire engines). Fireman Corey even let Simon sit in them and pretend to drive!



He also let Simon ride on my lap while we drove in one engine for a few feet. Simon wasn't quite as sure what to think of that.


He also got to try on gear, which was pretty cool.

And at the end, he got a fireman's hat and a slap bracelet!


That evening Simon took a wagon ride to DQ, where he got some ice cream!



Then on Sunday, Grandma Barb, Grandpa Jim and Great-Grandma Minnie came over, and they brought water balloons! Simon had a blast playing with them, along with Elise, Allison and their friend Hallie.



He also got very, very wet.




Thanks to Sonnie and Barb for most of these photos. There are many great ones, but that last one is one of my new favorites!

Port Washington

Last Sunday we took a trip to Port Washington. It's not far from here, but is right on Lake Michigan. Simon really liked seeing the "big water."



We walked along the harbor area and saw lots of boats, and several fishermen cleaning fish they'd caught. Boston friends - pretend the water has salt in it, and it doesn't look much different from the New England coast, does it? :)

One big difference though - rather than fried clams and clam chowder, you get sausage shops and cheese curds. We went in to a shop to get ourselves some freshly made bratwurst for dinner that night (sun-dried tomato and basil for me, jalapeno and cheddar for Troy), and Simon spotted the bags of cheese curds. For you non-Wisconsinites, no, cheese curds do not only come in the deep-fried variety. We gave in and bought Simon a bag of curds, which he devoured on the drive home!

Jumping and Dancing

I know I've posted videos of Simon dancing around to music from this toy before, but this was too cute in my opinion. In the beginning he was really catching some air on his jumps!

Jumping and Dancing from Anne Reynolds on Vimeo.

Pictures for Mommy

While Troy is the one who usually travels for work, this past week I left town from Monday through Wednesday for a work-related trip. It was a good one, but I missed Simon terribly. Thankfully Troy, who knows what it's like to be gone, sent me lots of pictures!

Waving hi to me:


Outside on Tuesday morning, in his jammies and his rain boots. Some mornings it is very important to get "ow-dat" right away. And he really loves his rain boots and sometimes insists on wearing them. In this picture he is checking out his play table, which often gets filled with water for splashing!


Eating one of the dinners I prepared for him before leaving (black beans and rice):


And eating animal crackers while out with Daddy getting the oil changed.


It was very good to come back home to my adorably little guy!

At the Lake

Here are some photos from Memorial Day weekend at Gilbert Lake. I don't know what I was thinking, but I didn't pack Simon's swimsuit for the trip. The lake is still very cold and I thought for sure we wouldn't be in it. But of course he cared little about the temperature and more about making a mess and having fun on the shore! Thankfully we made do, and I didn't have to get in further than my knees to retrieve stray toys. Simon also insisted on wearing "Papa's hat" instead of his own.

Photos and video from the weekend below! (Boat ride photo courtesy of Elisabeth - thanks!)

At the Lake from Anne Reynolds on Vimeo.