Morton Arboretum

We went to Morton Arboretum last week. Gavin always gets soaking wet and has a great time (and makes new friends, like the little girl below).

Back To School

Gavin started school last week. He is in the same classroom (the Cat room), with all his same friends from last year. We went there for an open house on the day before the first day.

Gavin asked me to read him a book:




As soon as he saw his friend Nico, the boys started playing this Candy Land Castle Game:




The structure of school has been really good for Gavin, so I am glad the new year has started. I can't wait to volunteer in the Cat room again!

Rainy Day at the Zoo

Last Saturday we had planned to go to Brookfield Zoo. The weather forecast said it would rain at some point, but we decided to go anyway. We started out at Gavin's favorite place, the Hammill Family Play zoo (which is indoors):




The kids can water plants with squirt bottles:




Gavin played doctor and helped the penguins feel better at the "animal hospital":

Gavin loved petting this guinea pig! It even pooped while the caretaker was holding it - Gavin thought that was hilarious:

We were in the Play Zoo for a long time, and when we came out, it was raining. Francis bought Gavin an umbrella from the gift shop (because of course we had left his Lightning McQueen umbrella at home). Gavin actually had a great time walking with his umbrella and splashing in puddles:

We visited the animal that were in indoor exhibits, like the swamp and the desert animals:

After another hour or so of on-and-off drizzle, we decided to go home. And wouldn't you know it - the sun came out as were we driving on the highway.

Oh, well. The zoo was not at all crowded, Gavin had a great time, and we didn't get too wet (even though it may look that way)!

Downers Grove Car Show

On Friday nights during the summer, Downers Grove hosts a classic car show right along Main Street. We had been wanting to go, but were trying to make it work with Gavin's nap and bedtime schedule. He took a nice long nap last Friday, so we went to the show and had a GREAT time!

You can tell by Gavin's expression in these photos that he was totally fascinated. All of his grandparents were able to meet us there as well, which made it even better, since they remember driving / owning cars like these!



Below, Gavin checked his teeth in this scooter's mirror:




Gavin can identify a Corvette anywhere. He liked that some cars had their hoods up and some hoods were down.

We took a water break after awhile. Yes, we are sitting right on the sidewalk - oh, well. Gavin wanted to sit on me and somehow this is where we ended up. From this spot, Gavin could watch the cars cruise down Main Street and also watch the Metra trains stopping at the station. It was 6:00 pm, so there were a lot of trains!

Gavin and Grandpa Cermak inspect the tail lights on this Corvette:

I think Gavin looks like he is explaining this car's engine to Grandma:

A closer look:

The doors on this Mercedes were fascinating to everyone who saw it:

So it was a late night for all of us, and Gavin woke up at the same time in the morning - bright and early! We took himto the zoo to tire him out - more pics on that later. The car show was a lot of fun!

Auntie Di

Happy birthday to Auntie Di (today is her actual birthday)! We all met up at Grandma and Grandpa Cordes' house last night for dinner to celebrate with her. Gavin was very excited to give her a card and a big hug:




Last week, we took Gavin over to Di and Kevin's house. Kevin put new brakes on Francis' car (thanks again, Kevin!) and Gavin played with the cats. He gave them treats right out of his hand for the first time:




After awhile, Gavin was curious to see what was going on in the garage. He was fascinated with Di and Kevin's cars. He sat in the blue Miata...

...and the white Miata, over and over. He just kept getting in and out of them - he was totally entertained!

Of course, he had to get a closer look at what Uncle Kevin was doing to Daddy's car. One day Gavin, you too can learn how to fix cars!

Playing With the Halls

Below are photos from two of our playdates with our friends Lindsey, Maya, and Brandon. The first two are from a day in July when it was super-hot (wait, that was the entire month of July) and the video and last two photos are from a playdate this past week. We had to get together one more time before the triplets start kindergarten!




The kids were playing Red Light, Green Light below:

We always have a good time together! Good luck in kindergarten!

Last Friday we had a beautiful day for soccer, and the kids got to play outside. Francis brought along a diffferent camera with a better zoom lens, and he got some great pictures of Gavin. I couldn't narrow it down to just a few, so here are several of the best ones:

Helping to pick up the cones when this activity was done:

Making Cupcakes

Last Sunday it rained in the morning, so we decided to bake cupcakes. Gavin loves to help with the ingredients and stirring, even though he won't actually eat them.

This video is really sweet - we were just mixing the batter, and then he started talking about Evie:

Time for the really messy part - frosting and sprinkles! As usual, we had sprinkles all over the floor, but that's OK. Gavin had fun and the cupcakes were yummy!