A Day at the ZOO

Hot! Humid! July in Illinois! 

Let's go to the Zoo. 

Best Buddies! Just so much love between these two. 

The big rhinos were a little scary. "Mom, hold me, hold me."

Now there is a beauty!

Really? I have two kids! That's just crazy! I love it!

Me and my baby girl. It's a love affair.

First of many...

...going to sporting events, that is. Today Bennett had his first teeball/soccer game. 

We've talked about this particular day for over a year. The build up has been enormous and I'm happy to report that the day and the event did indeed live up to the hype. 

The day began early. One Starbucks latte, a Juliette dipe blowout, and "oh, stink I forgot your water bottle" later, we made it to the park. Bennett hopped out of the car, spotted Auntie Holly, took off in a sprint towards her, then screeched to a halt when he saw all the commotion around him. There were minivans, moms, strollers, crying kids, baseball gloves coming from every corner into the park.  

I saw his "I'm not sure about this " look and quickly grabbed his hand with a "C'mon Buddy. It's gonna be a blast. Let's go get your shirt."

 

And then it was time...the moment we've talked about for a year, and waited for, the moment that I realized my little guy wasn't so little anymore and that I needed to let him go, stand back and watch him be himself. 

They stretched, hit the ball off the tee, played catch in the outfield, and in true firstborn fashion, as he ran around the bases with the other 5 team members and crossed home plate first, threw his arms up in the air and said, " I won, I won." I smiled and made a mental checklist to have the Humility Talk later on. 

After 30 minutes of pure joy, hanging onto every word and instruction Coach Holly, aka Auntie Holly, gave..

...it was over. 

The tears began to flow. What Bennett thought was just a "run to Mom for a drink break" was really "your team is done. See ya next week". 

A heartbroken Bennett cried, "I still want to play baseball". 

Now that is sad.

Of course he did. It's like a vacation you wait for and talk about for over a year being over. 

Thankfully, 3 year old are easily distracted with "Hey, let's go get your name and number printed on the back of your shirt" and a nearby playground.

We made a stop at Grimm's to get Bennett and  #10 (like Auntie Holly...Ben's choice) silk screened on the back of his shirt and a celebratory treat.

As I relive the special moment, I am excited for all the many days and evenings that I am sure will be spent at Bennett's sporting events in the years to come. It's a little weird that it's now "my kid" instead of a sibling that I'm watching...a whole new world, for sure..but I love it and look forward to what's to come. 

My little athlete, Bennett Toews.

A spring day...and oh yeah, Juliette arrived...4 months ago.

It's been nearly a year since my last post. I've neglected our blog, I know. I'm back at it though, and committed to use this as intended, a place to share the little and big things in our life with those who care. 

Juliette Holly Toews arrived on December 5, 2009. She our "Lovely". Bennett is so protective of her and makes it his personal responsibility to know her whereabouts at all times. More Jules pics to come later.

On this particular Spring day (it actually felt like summer), the kids and I wandered down to the Riverfront and took in all the sights and sounds of Spring. It was glorious. With a Grande Iced Americano in hand (and an iced water for Bennett in his own Starbucks cup), we watched the fountain, flew high in the sky in the big red swing, munched on cookies and loved every moment of being together. The only downside...Daddy was missing. Too bad dads have to work.

My thoughts today, I have to BEST job in the entire world. Yes, sometimes, okay, a lot of the time, I am tired and a full night's sleep hasn't been around for over four months, but the days filled with snuggles, funny Bennett conversation and little lady smiles make what I get to to every single day, the most fulfilling, wonderful, don't want to be anywhere else kind of job.

A quote from my little rock star son to his little sister, "Jues, you are my best friend in the whole wherold (world)."

Florida, Disney and Lotsa Great Memories!

Chris, Bennett, my sister Holly, and I just returned from a vacation in Orlando, Florida. What a fun, FUN week we had. Lots of swimming, sunning, eating PF Changs, watching movies, hanging out, and of course, going to Disney World.

My two favorite things about the week....First, seeing Chris and Bennett have so much quality time together and watching the bond between them grow right before my eyes. Secondly, spending so much fun , quality time with my little sis, Holly. She's not so little any more and she's gone from being a little sister to a friend sister. We had a lot of laughs and great memories that we will talk about for years to come, I am sure. We took lots of pictures, I am only going to post a few though for time sake.

13 Weeks and Rowdy!!!

I am now 13 weeks pregnant (or just over three months) and doing well. Morning sickness has finally SLOWLY begun to fade. It was a looong 8+ weeks of never ending nausea. Finally on the upswing. We had the delight of hearing our baby's heartbeat at 10 weeks. It was fast and strong.

The baby is about 3 inches long and the size of a medium sized shrimp right now. He or she got fingerprints this week. Amazing to think about God forming our little one with such detail and precision.

Chris had a dream the other night that it was a girl and she was squirming around a lot and he named her "Rowdy", so that is our name for the baby now...Rowdy! I told him it's not prophetic...just a dream...the rowdy part. He said a little rowdy is a good thing. :)

We will know in a few weeks if we have a boy or a girl. We will be sure to let everyone know.

Our Little Love!

Chris and I are so blessed to have our little guy, Bennett in our lives. He brings us so joy and laughter and love. The other day I said, "Oh, my tummy hurts. Bennett's reply, "I'm sorry, Mommy."

Rain Puddles and Trains

Today was an exciting day at the Toews' home.....
We arrived home and as soon as Bennett got out of the van he spotted them, giant puddles in the alley. It had rained a lot this afternoon and left perfect jumping puddles just outside our garage. He looked at me with a look that said, "Mom, PLEASE let me jump in the puddles and I agreed, but I made him wait until I ran in to get the camera.





















After a few minutes of jumping, the pants began to sag....And then, they came all the way down. Chris, Bennett and I were all laughing our heads off....keep reading below to hear about the trains....