After we got such wonderful news about Miles, we decided to make the most of our day in Peoria with my parents. We had never checked out the
Peoria Zoo, so after letting Ellie get up from a failed nap, off we went. I like zoos in 70 degree weather as opposed to full on summer heat so today was perfect for it!
There were these (well-loved) animal statues all over and they might have been Owen’s favorite part.
One of the highlights was this little bird aviary. For $1 you could buy a stick with some bird treats on it. The birds would land right on your stick. I was pretty shocked that both kids LOVED it and weren’t scared at all. I, on the other hand, didn’t mind letting William and Grandpa stay in there with all the birds.
This little girl is all sass these days and loves to put her hands on her hips. :)
She also loves these two guys:
While the zoo is small (and a tad overpriced) the Africa exhibit is nice.
The kids lasted way longer than I thought they would and walked the whole way.
Grandma had baby duty:
We headed back to their house and after a great grilled burger dinner, we celebrated Owen’s birthday a few days early. My Grandma and Grandpa Hoerr came over to celebrate with us. He requested vanilla cupcakes with chocolate frosting.
He opened a new duplo set (a pirate ship) and was so excited. “This is the best present ever.”
But then he opened the next present which was a pair of pajamas (requested by me) and said “aww man.” I’m taking it that pj’s weren’t really on his list. haha
We enjoyed chatting and eating dessert while my mom gave the big kids baths before hitting the road. My grandma got in some great Miles’ snuggles.
I really had no idea how this day was going to turn out. I had prepared myself for the worst and at many times throughout the day, found myself in disbelief that we were just getting to enjoy an awesome family fun day with 3 healthy kiddos in tow!
The kids had a blast playing in the basement, running naked in the hose outside and feeding the cows. Oh and just being crazy.
The parental units made an amazing dinner for 
Then we finally got to the part Owen was waiting for, Cake and presents. 
We made the mistake of thinking Owen and Ellie could possibly sleep in the same room together. Parent FAIL. I guess we should have known that putting 2 terrible sleepers together is just going to result in more terrible sleep. So somewhere in the middle of the night, we divided and conquered. Ellie came and slept with me (and Miles) and William slept with Owen.
Sunday morning we finally got a picture of my parents and the kids. That’s been a long time coming. I took about 40 and this was the best. :)
We had a great time at their church, the Vineyard Church Peoria and after a quick lunch, got on the road. The kiddos were asleep before we got on the highway.
When we got home, we finally got around to something we’ve been talking about doing. . .making Ellie’s crib into a toddler bed. As you can tell, she was thrilled!
It really hasn’t done much to make sleep better or worse this week which I guess I should be thankful for. Of course we’ve had a few more things to clean up as she now loves to pull books off her bookshelf and take shoes out of drawers. And one night, she did walk downstairs in the middle of the night looking for me. But other than that, we’re on our way to true toddler-hood. Next up: paci only at night and maybe potty training? Lord help us.
Inside lots of the eggs were pictures of bigger gifts that wouldn’t fit. They got so spoiled with sidewalk chalk, playdoh, and lots of other goodies!
No pictures of our afternoon, but we broke tradition and ate dinner together on Saturday! It made it so much easier on our schedule because we didn’t have to get home late on Sunday evening.
My gorgeous little girl.
Getting these two crazies to look at the camera is next to impossible these days!
Aww, a rare sweet hug.
And it’s time to run.
The best shot we could get of our (almost) family of 5.
And an adorable picture of my brother and sister-in-law Kara!
Even though we missed Casey and Jenna, it was a great little weekend with our awesome family.
After getting the exciting news (more on that in another post), we headed to my parent’s house. They opted for a non-traditional tree this year and last and I love it!
We have a yearly tradition in our family to do a fondue dinner every Christmas Eve. So on Saturday we got out everything ready.
Check out these vintage fondue pots:
The kiddos only lasted for a few minutes into dinner, but the adults had a lovely time. Blurry picture, but the flash one was terrible.
After a very yummy dinner, my dad did his traditional telling of the Christmas story. He also gives each of us the next chapter in his book “Thing I Wish My Father Had Told Me.” He reads it to us and we all cry. Then we go around and share something we are thankful for this year and something we’re looking forward to in the next year.
Sunday morning, we got to go the Peoria Vineyard which is always a fabulous time!
My cutie:
I could not love this picture anymore of Ellie and her Grandpa.
It was such a wonderful weekend with our family!
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