Reunion at the farm in Ohio

After spending a day in Chicago, we headed to Ohio for our family reunion. The last one to be had on the farm before it is sold. We've had a lot of fun memories on the farm and we are happy that our kids could enjoy the fun that is the farm. 

Aaron took his first long road trip. He hasn't been a huge fan of his car seat so we especially found his outfit amusing for the ride. All in all, he did a great job. Kyle and Emily were great in the car, as expected. 

Kyle moves in his sleep a lot. 

Roasting s'mores with Grandma

Aaron with Great-Grandma

 Aaron with Great-Grandpa

Hayride! 

 Pretty awesome action shot of Kyle throwing a frisbee with Mike

Kyle, Emily & Ike playing in the water

Passed out after a long, fun, active day on the farm. 

Passed out

Almost to Ohio and the boy who says he is NEVER tired is passed out. 

Super Dads

Two very awesome Dads: 

Tommy & Trevor with Jeff & Aaron at Tommy's house. Trevor & Aaron are nearly 4 weeks apart in age. 

Chicago

We made it to Chicago and Aaron did great on his first airplane ride. The white noise of the engines helped him sleep practically the entire way. Emily entertained herself very well with shows, games, coloring, writing and reading. Kyle played games the entire way. 

My baggage helpers while Jeff picked up the car. Those 3 giant bags are car seats. We had 2 suitcases for the 5 of us. 

Aaron plays toys

Aaron playing with his toys. Or random movements that look like playing with toys.

Monkey boys

Monkey sanctuary

What an awesome experience we had today! We went out to Ramona to a monkey sanctuary called Mostly Monkeys. This woman has taken in many different animals, but mostly monkeys, and has given them a home and cared for them. She has monkeys and animals from homes that didn't have the licenses to care for them or were mistreated, and animals who had been a part of a laboratory or in the entertainment industry and were retired. 

We were the only ones on our tour so we got very personal treatment and got to come very close to the animals. Kyle and Emily were mostly impressed with the monkeys, of course, and even got to feed some of them and pet others. It was a truly amazing experience being so up close with the animals. Kyle and Emily were especially in awe. 

The raccoons - Betty and Barney. 

Spider monkeys. Kyle couldn't stay away! 

We got to feed these little capuchin monkeys some raisins. 

Burp

Did I mention that Kyle likes to burp Aaron?

Saturday afternoon

Date morning with Kyle

Today I had a nice morning date with Kyle. We haven't had much of a chance to do something just the two of us so we made a date. It was much needed as we could tell Kyle was really feeling the effects of having a new baby brother. Earlier this week he told me that he wished he could be a baby. When I asked him why, he told me, "so I can be your Aaron." 

We started off at Einstein's for some breakfast. We then headed over to Barnes to play some tennis. Unfortunately, there was a huge tournament going on so there were no courts available. Not even the wall to hit on. But they told us about some courts nearby that we let ourselves on to. Thank goodness. On the way over to the other courts Kyle told me that we could just go home and play tennis, but that doesn't really count as a date since we are at home, that on a date you have to go out. Anyhow, we got some good tennis in. We played tennis PIG, sharks and minnows, and did tennis rallies. Kyle was very cognizant of having my undivided attention. He told me he liked it because we could just play and no one else was misbehaving or needing extra attention. After plenty of tennis, we went for some ice cream because what date is complete without ice cream? Even if it's only 11am. And we played some Flick Homerun while we ate our ice cream and chilled. It was a wonderful morning with my Kyle. 

Eye doctor

Kyle and I went to the eye doctor this week to get our eyes checked. Mine have stayed the same and Kyle does not need any glasses. But he had a good time at the eye doctor. 

They got a little bored while I finished up my eye exam so they raced spinning chairs. 

Dinner with friends

We got to hang out with our friends and their four kids again this weekend. The same friends who took care of Kyle and Emily when Aaron was born. The kids play wonderfully together and eat well together. Here they are enjoying a little ice cream dessert way past their bedtimes. They ultimately went to bed after 10pm!! Kyle and Emily are typically in bed by 7:30!

Roll over

Aaron's a strong little guy. He can roll from his tummy to his back when he's feeling like it. Today he sure was!

And now the other direction...

Burp

Kyle is a great big brother and super helpful. Even helping to burp Aaron.

Love

You can see just how much Emily loves Aaron and Aaron loves Emily here. We are so lucky. 

Dukey

Little Dukey

Big boy

This happy boy is about to get his 2 month check up. He's not going to be super happy about the 3 shots he has to get, but he is super happy about all the growing he's been doing! He's 13 pounds and 25 inches which equates to the size of an average (50th percentile) 4 month old. Kyle and Emily have been following the 50th percentile for length so this was their size at 4 months! For a 2 month old, he's off the charts for length and I think between 75 and 90th for weight. Dr. D was astonished and when she saw the numbers she thought for sure they were wrong. And then she saw Aaron and knew they were correct. Good growing Aaron! 

Bath time for Aaron

Kyle and Emily are wonderful big brother and big sister to Aaron. They absolutely adore him and are super helpful with him. They always love helping with his bath. They take turns on who is on soap duty and who is on keeping him warm duty. It really is sweet to see them just loving Aaron. 

Head, shoulders, knees and toes

Jeff playing Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes with Aaron.

My kids

Before heading out to Disneyland, the kids gave me some sweet gifts they made in school. They both painted a flower pot with some pretty flowers in them. Kyle made me a sweet handprint art work and a little thing in the plant that each kid said what they loved about their moms. Kyle's said that he loves that I play tennis with him.