The Zoo(s)

We spent some time in St. Louis last week visiting my family. We went to the zoo on Wednesday. The weather was great - sunny and breezy - very unlike a June day in St. Louis.


The girls were in their matching shirts and pigtails. We have to enjoy dressing them like this while we can.


Brooke got to pet sting rays and see penguins up close, but I think her favorite animal was the brown bear. She kept saying, "Roar!"



We had quite a group. My mom, Krissi and Luke are missing from this photo.



Tired girls!


The day before, the weather was pretty gloomy, so we took the kids to Chuck E. Cheese's for lunch. My memories of the place are of a dark room with bright lights and lots of loud bells and whistles constantly going off, so I wasn't sure how Brooke would handle it.


She loved it. Especially the carousel.



Because it was a weekday, it wasn't too crowded (and not nearly as loud/chaotic/crazy as I remember) so the kids could do pretty much anything they wanted. Lexi bounced from game to ride and Brooke was her little shadow.



And of course this little guy was there, just chilling and looking adorable.

Pigtails!

We officially have pigtails. They make her look so big - which makes me happy and sad all at the same time.


Aunt Krissi decided to make it her mission to get pigtails on Brooke and that mission was successful. Brooke actually sat really well while she put them in and didn't even try to take them out.


Of course, when I tried to do it again the next day, she was wiggling all over and pulled them out 2 minutes later. Because I'm determined to at least semi-regularly style her hair, this is a battle of wills that she's not going to win (famous last words, right?).

Happy Father's Day

Brooke, you're such a lucky girl to have a Daddy who loves you as much as yours does. He works very hard to provide for us and to make sure that we're happy - physically, emotionally, and spiritually.


He also loves to have fun with you.


And be the one to introduce you to new things.


And sometimes he may like to cuddle more than you or I do, but that's how he shows us he loves us, so let's just go with it.


And on top of that, both your Grandpa and Papa T love you very much and would do anything for you.

I couldn't ask for a better husband, father, or father-in-law and consider Brooke and myself two very lucky girls today.

Summertime is Here Again

Summer began for us about a week and a half ago and we certainly hit the ground running. I've used the time off to catch up on much needed time with friends cleverly disguised as "playdates." We've been everywhere from the Moron Arboretum to the North Avenue Beach (Sidenote: A fun experience, but NOT worth the travel time to regularly make the trek. And I realized that I'm much closer to being middle-aged than I am a teenager.)

We've been on the go almost every day, but you're going to have to take my word. Because save for a couple of bad camera-phone pics, I have nothing to show for it. Instead, I'll leave you with some photos of Brooke's last couple of weeks hanging out at Grammie Deb's and promise to work harder at documenting the rest of our summer.

Here she is with Grandma Audie. Doesn't she look guilty?


Hanging out with Uncle Dave.


Telltale signs of Sleepy Brooke - stroking a "blankie" (or sock) and making a sucking motion. I hope she does this for a long time. It's so cute!


Hanging out with someone her own size.


Brooke and Ozzie waiting for Aunt Jamie to come home. Matt's parents were kind enough to watch Oz a couple of times when we had house showings while I was at work.


So sweet.


And fun!


We also celebrated Uncle Mike's birthday a couple of weeks ago and Brooke was happy to help him with the candles.



And cake.


We're headed to St. Louis this week. I'm trying to brace myself for the humidity. I'll come back with lots of pictures!

I've Got a Feeling

Brooke had had a LONG day the other day, but we didn't want her to fall asleep on the way home so we cranked the radio. "I've Got a Feeling" by the Black Eyed Peas came on and the next thing we knew, Brooke was singing along:

I can't say I'm a huge fan of her music taste thus far, but maybe she's at least been cured of her Bieber Fever (actually, she still sings that all the time).

About Last Week

Last week was a little hectic for us, but all for good reason. After our visit to St. Louis, my mom drove back up with us to watch Brooke for the week. We loved having her up here, both for the company and the help. We missed her as soon as she left. Brooke still wakes up asking about "Dama" and I totally get why rich people have live-in nannies. I'm still waiting for some photos from my mom of their time together, but I get my penchant for not taking photos from her, so we may be waiting for those for a while (I love you, Mom!).

It was extra-helpful having my mom up last week because in addition to wrapping things up at work, at the end of the week we were getting ready for Scott and Kristina's wedding festivities. I had expected the wedding to be pretty epic, and they definitely delivered. We had so much fun with family and good friends. While I've made great strides in taking pictures where my daughter is concerned, when she's not around, I still stink at it. So, these photos are courtesy of my mother-in-law and sister-in-law. Here's the Alley clan, minus Brooke.


Along with a live-in nanny, I'm also accepting hair and make-up artist applications to join my entourage.


They were such a stunning bride and groom. Despite appearances, it wasn't a vampire wedding. Apparently eliminating red-eye on downloaded photos is beyond my technological capabilities. Sorry, S & K!


After the wedding, my dad came up for a brief visit and to pick up my mom. He brought a bubble machine with him, which was a big hit, as you can see here:

Even with the cool bubble machine, she couldn't pass up giving it a try the old-school way:

Memorial Day

For Memorial Day weekend (which feels like a month ago), Brooke, Ozzie and I took a quick trip down to St.Louis while Matt played a ridiculous amount of golf up here.

Tim, Krissi and the kids met us at my parents' as soon as we arrived and we took off for Grant's Farm. I'm not a fan of using this blog for endorsements unless I've been offered a lucrative contract (happens all the time), but this place warrants a free shout-out. It's somewhere that I'd been to in the past, but wasn't spending my own money, trying to entertain a toddler, or 21 at the time, so I didn't fully appreciate it for all that it was.


You basically only have to pay for parking. Then they load you on a tram, take you through some "woods" to see "wildlife"and a couple of historical buildings and drop you in an petting zoo-type area. There are tons of things to do in this area (many of them cost a dollar or two, but you could easily stay busy for free). Cherry on top? The visit ends in a courtyard where everyone of age is given 2 free glasses of beer - and the beer options were legit.

I was so impressed getting off the tram that I kind of went crazy with photos in the kid feeding area ("baby goat feeding area" sounds a little less questionable) and barely had any battery left for the rest of the Farm, let alone the rest of the trip.



At first Brooke was a little freaked out by the aggressiveness of the goats. They are all about gnawing on clothes. But when she realized they couldn't hurt her, she really got in to chasing them around and trying to feed them. It's worth noting that if you come as the Farm is closing, the goats aren't very hungry anymore.



Of course Lexi helped to show her the ropes.



It is SO humid in St.Louis (sidebar- the humidity does wonders for Brooke's hair. Instead of a tangled mess, it's cute and curly in the back.) Brooke was happy to run through the misters with Tim and Lexi.


Luke ("Baby Lutey") was his fat, sweet, content self.


We also had a BBQ at Grandpa and Grandma Gigi's. There were babies EVERYWHERE. It's so chaotic - and fun!


Finally, we embraced our South City Hoosier roots and had the girls play in the sprinkler in the front yard (yep, Lexi's in her underwear). Brooke's already wary of walking in grass in her bare feet, so she had to be carried through.




After breakfast and a visit to the pool Monday, Brooke was wiped.


It was a great visit and we're looking forward to many more this summer.