Bike Gear

I'm not really into taking pictures of Nate just to embarass him one day in front of his girlfriends, but I couldn't resist this one. Nate loves to dress up in Scott's bike gear...

Update: Frog or Toad?

My mom told me today that it is definitely a toad. So Jane Ellis and I were right. My mom also reminded me that 3 out of the 4 adults should have recognized it immediately because we (me, JE, and Robbie) all attended SOLAR Day (Student Outdoor Learning Activity Retreat - I think that's it) twice in 3rd and 6th grades. It was held on the farm where I grew up and I'm sure either my mom or dad gave the frog vs. toad speech, so I really have no excuses!

Frog or Toad?

The Griggs family came over to celebrate Memorial Day. Charlie found a frog or toad in our backyard. Being the "outdoorsy" girls that we are, Jane Ellis and I both voted toad. Heck, I should know with my family background.

Peter, Charlie, and Nate had a blast watching the toad jump up and down in the bucket. They all squealed with delight.

So what do you think Wayne and Debbie Corse? It is a toad???

Grant's Farm

Another trip to Grant's Farm on Sunday afternoon...we bought a season pass and we love the place, so I'm sure many more blogs to come about our visits there. I mean, if you are the parent of a 2-year old, you really can't pass it up. Nate loves the train ride to see the buffaloes and the longhorns...not to mention they have bald eagles and elephants too. And for the parents...2 free beers of anything that Anheuser-Busch brews! You just can't beat that deal.

Here is Nate under one of the old beer carriages. If you look really close, you can see that he is wearing a Johnny Cash t-shirt that Scott brought him from Austin. He thinks he is so cool when he wears it and says, "Mom, this is a cool dude shirt!"


Surrounding the Biergarten are the carriage houses and the pony stalls. This is Nate's favorite...Dolly. Couldn't get Dolly to look at me for a picture.

BBQ at 7406

Aren't they precious???? The Peach family joined us for a BBQ on Saturday afternoon. Megan and Nate play well together and Avery is very good at humoring the 2-year olds!

The kids played t-ball in the backyard and Nate & Megan has lots of fun chasing the balls hit by Avery. We are so lucky that another generation of the Peach and Boyle families get to be friends!

Geese in Forest Park

Scott, Nate, and I went to Forest Park on Saturday for a picnic. Scott & Nate spotted these geese and goslings a few weeks ago, and we saw them again in the same spot. It was neat for Nate to see that the goslings were getting bigger and losing their baby feathers.

Dandelions

Nate and I had such a great morning. We met the Griggs family at Cooper Ella for breakfast. For those of you that don't know - Cooper Ella is a kid/parent friendly coffee shop in Maplewood and is the best business idea I've seen in many years...

Since it was a nice day, Nate and I strolled to Cooper Ella and on the way back, we stopped at the park and picked dandelions. It is one of Nate's favorite activities these days. Here is he showing off all the dandelions, even the one behind his ear...gotta love it.

We hope everyone has a relaxing and safe Memorial Day weekend!

"Deer Gate"

It is not often that Nate stumps us with new words...Well, on Monday night, Nate pointed to a structure on the Tinker Toy box, and said, "Mom, will you make me a Deer Gate?" I checked the picture and said that I would try. During the building of the "Deer Gate" I questioned him on what it was, where he heard about, and why we were making it. None of the answers led me to understand what a "Deer Gate" might be. I don't think it actually has anything to do with deer, or gates even...but it remains a mystery.

We still don't know what this mysterious object might be, but I think I did a pretty good job of matching the Tinker Toy box...just one of the many talents of a parent!

Check out this video of the interrogation!

Just the Two of Us

Scott went to Austin this weekend to celebrate the wedding of our dear friends Drew & Amanda - so Nate and I held the fort down in St. Louis. Thankfully, the weather was gorgeous so we sat by the pool and ate popsicles and relished in the fact that spring might have offically sprung!

Today while I was dusting, Nate came to tell me that he wanted to do an "acfivity." So I drug out his box of crayons, paper, and markers (washable of course!) He sat at his table in his room for what must have been 30 minutes drawing and talking. I went to check on him and he said, "Mom, I am really good at this. I mean, really, really good!" Well, at least he's got the thinking positive lesson down.

He tries really hard not to look at the camera these days...

At Nate's suggestion, we gave the potty training thing a try a few weeks ago (I mean who can resist Thomas the Train underwear?!). He did very well for about a week and now we are back to completey ignoring the bathroom. I'm sure it will happen soon enough, so I should probably be better about going with the flow. I asked him today if he wanted to use the potty...he said "Mom...I will potty train in a little while." I guess that about sums it up!

Happy Mother's Day

I've been in Nashville this week for work, so this is a little late, but I had a great Mother's Day with Nate and Scott. I arrived home from New York and they showered me with gifts and flowers. Scott cooked a wonderful dinner and we were all glad to "veg out" together.

I've very thankful for my own mom and mother-in-law. They do so much for us and we are lucky to have them as mothers.

New York City

I went to see my sister, Emily, this weekend in New York City. I'm so proud of her and her life in the big city. She is phenomenal at getting around and always knows exactly what to do and say. How lucky I am to have her as my sister and friend.

We visited the Neue Gallery to see the work of Gustav Klimt and ate dinner at Pastis in the old meat packing district. It was fabulous. And of course we talked and laughed alot. She told her friends that I really have my "stuff" together - even though sometimes I'm not so sure! I cannot express how much that means to me coming from someone as accomplished as her.

Cheers to Emily and our weekends in New York. They mean the world to me.

Beautiful Day

It was a great day in St. Louis. The weather was absolutely perfect. Nate and Scott worked in the yard this weekend, planting flowers and getting everything in shape. Nate is quite the little helper. Here he is posing with some of the flowers he planted...








After the yard work was finished, we headed to Grant's Farm to meet the Peach family. My cousin Evan and his wife Olga came along too. Here they are feeding the goats (sorry that I could only get their backs!)





We decided that Nate is always going to wear his tie-died Atlanta Zoo Panda shirt when we go to a public place - he was so easy to spot!


While at Grant's Farm, Nate tasted a new food - Dippin Dots. He was a big fan - I mean what kid wouldn't be!





When Grant's Farm closed (yes, we were there when it closed - it was such a beautiful day!), we went to Evan & Olga's house for dinner. They made us a wonderful Mexican feast and it was great to spend time with them in their new house. They are going to have a baby in October and we are so excited to meet the little one! We hope that 2-year old Nate doesn't scare them too bad!