Indianapolis Children's Museum

Abby in the "Dinosphere" exhibit, dressed as a dino of sorts.
Alex loved the dinosaur exhibit!

This beautiful Chihuly sculpture stood as tall as the 4 floors of the museum!

Abby, posing while Alex was off exploring.

She was pretty well tired out by the end of the afternoon and fell asleep while drinking her bottle.

On our way home from Cincinnati, we stopped at the Indianapolis Children's Museum for the afternoon. It is the largest children's museum in the world (how do they track that?) and certainly the most fabulous children's museum we have ever visited. It is 4 floors of incredible, interactive exhibits for kids and adults alike. We had just as much fun exploring as Alex and Abby and could have stayed there the whole day. There is a carousel on the fourth floor and other exhibits of note include the Bob the Builder workshop, Dinosphere, Playscape, Scienceworks, and the super cool food court :) This is defnitely a museum where we'll be looking to return.

Happy 90th Birthday Grandma!

Who orders grilled cheese at Montgomery Inn?

Abby and her Great-Grandma Dot

Abby + Aiden = Double Trouble

Alex declined to be part of this photo.

My Grandma turned 90 over the weekend, so we made sure we were in Cincinnati to help her celebrate with all of the family. The kids were champs during the road trip, the multi-generational photo, and the birthday dinner. Alex was uber-helpful when it came to opening gifts and entertaining Abby and my cousin's son, Aiden. Happy 90th Grandma!

Unexpected Thursday Entertainment

When they tagged our damaged sidewalks last week, we knew eventually they would be replaced. Much to Alex's enjoyment, they trucks rolled in this morning and he got to witness the entire demolition/reconstruction process. We started outside but Abby didn't really enjoy the noise and activity as much as Alex. He continued watching from inside and did not leave his perch at the windowsill until the last truck had rolled out. This afternoon the cement mixer came through and poured new sidewalks and he was just as captivated while watching them work. I'm sure the workers appreciated the audience as we set up with folding chairs in the garage at snack time.

First Soccer Game of 2010

She was ready to be the team cheerleader, and clapped a lot, but it was too cold to get down.
That's Alex in the middle, shirt untucked.

Water break!

So proud of our little soccer star!

We all enjoyed Alex's first soccer game of the Spring season on Saturday, despite temps in the 50s and strong winds. Abby was ready to cheer him on but spent most of her time bundled in the stroller dining on the free bakery rolls that the team sponsors were handing out! Go Sharks!

So Creative

Alex and Josh came up with this dump truck towing the wagon set-up tonight while playing outside. It was so cute, especially when they took turns riding in the dump truck that was in the wagon. They were pretending to be in a parade.

Kite Flying and Park Going

A perfect day to fly his kite.
"Will someone PLEASE swing me some more?"

"Look at me!"

With temperatures in the 60s, we've been spending quite a bit of free time outdoors. Yesterday we took the kids to the park where Alex ran around with his friends and Abby continued to swing her little heart out. Today was warm and windy so Alex thought it would be a perfect day to fly his kite. He was right!

Spring Soccer

Today was the first practice for Spring soccer and Alex looked awesome out there on the field. Actually, all the kids looked great. They were all really into the practice and worked hard at the drills. I think they have all grown up a lot in the past 6 months. Per usual, Abby was all over the place and wanted desperately to be out on the field with the older kids.

15 Months Old

Abby had her 15 month check up yesterday at the doctor's office. She was due for a few vaccines and even had a blood test done for food allergies. We'll be interested to see what comes back on that.

She's 31" tall (68 percentile), and weighs 24lbs 13oz (79 percentile). She's learning to feed herself from a bowl/spoon on her tray and that is going surprisingly well. She enjoys doing whatever Alex is doing and loves being outside.

Happy Easter!

Brad and Alex on this windy day at the park.
Abby searching for eggs in the backyard.
Backyard egg hunt.

Taking a family photo is getting harder and harder.

Opening Easter baskets this morning.

Today was a wonderfully warm, windy Easter day in Chicago. The kids opened baskets early this morning, then headed outside to hunt for eggs that the Easter bunny hid for them. We had a very relaxed day with Grandma Eileen and Great-Grandma Dot as we played outside, colored eggs, grilled out and played a little Nintendo Wii as the thunderstorms approached :)

Company for Easter

Slide or roller coaster?

Abby, ready to eat at Red Lobster.

Rollercoastering outside.

Grandma Eileen and Great-Grandma Dot are staying with us over the Easter holiday and the kids have been having a blast showing off all their latest tricks to a willing audience. The weather's been outstanding so Friday we took the roller coaster out front and let the kids play with it on the sidewalk. I must say it goes farther on the wood floors indoors but this worked just fine. Abby likes to try and use the track as a slide so we have to keep pulling her off and redirecting her to the stairs. Alex likes to wait at the bottom of the track so Abby can "chase" him on the cart.

Today, after Alex's ice skating class, the ladies ventured into the city to see the flower show at the Macy's on State St. and had a nice time shopping around this massive store. We had a lovely dinner at Red Lobster tonight and the kids are anxiously awaiting a visit from the Easter Bunny in the morning!