8th Anniversary

Today is our 8th wedding anniversary. We got to celebrate last night by having dinner out alone at Brio. Jill came up with the great idea of swapping babysitting nights since our anniversaries are so close together. We watched Ellie last Thursday night while Mike and Jill went out to dinner, and Jill came over and watched Coyle and Bella last night for us. It was great to dress up and enjoy a relaxing dinner out with no children.

Father's Day at the Botanical Gardens!

We spent the morning exploring the awesome children's area at the Botanical Gardens. Coyle loved getting wet in the splash area and climbing in the tree houses. We all enjoyed ourselves but had to leave after playing for 1  1/2 hours.

Happy Father's Day!!

First Day of Preschool!

Here's Coyle all ready to leave for preschool.
Here he is ready to go in the door.
He ran in and immediately went to play with some trucks.

Coyle had a great first day of school! He didn't cry when we left, although his teacher said he did get a little sad about 20 minutes into the day and asked for "Mom." He was very excited when Bella and I picked him up. He ran over to us and gave us a big hug. He told me his favorite part was "playing." In craft time they made cute little sheeps, but his teacher told me Coyle didn't want to make one because he just wanted to play. That's my boy!

Bedhead!

Bella's 7 month Pictures

I can't believe Bella is already 7 months old. She is crawling everywhere now and eating lots of new foods. Besides the normal baby food, she's fed herself bananas, puff crackers and yogurt melts. She's a big fan of feeding herself, although it can be quite frustrating. Ophelia gets a lot of dropped food, not that she minds one bit. Bella loves to go to the park and swing, go for walks, play with Coyle's trains and tools (way more fun than her boring "baby" toys) and watch that crazy dog play.

Chicago

Bella getting ready to try the swimming pool for the first time. She really dug it!
Coyle riding a trolley at the museum.
Coyle looking out at the city action from our hotel window.
Coyle on the beach. It was a bit rainy and chilly that morning. Bella and I stayed in.

We got away from St. Louis for a few days and visited our beloved Chicago. The kids were so well-behaved and had an absolute blast! We visited our favorite restaurants(Portillo's, Potbelly, Gino's East) and stores (Psychobaby, Nordstrom Rack). We also visited the Museum of Science and Industry (Coyle loved it!) and drove by Obama's street. Fun!!