Day Out With Thomas

On Sunday we went to the Illinois Railway Museum to see Thomas. The morning train rides were sold out, so we were on the second to last run of the day. Our train was about 90% empty. It was just a regular old train that is normally at the museum, but they stuck Thomas in front. Bradley's favorite part was the inflatable jumpers. Ben really liked the Lego display. Neither of them liked the train whistles. The museum is pretty interesting and worth a return trip on a non-Thomas day. Ben only had a short nap on the way to the museum, so he wasn't too peppy during the visit. Sitting in the stroller and being carried for hours gave him a chance to rest up and be loud and obnoxious on the way home and at dinner.

Where Did My Baby Go?

Contrary to very explicit orders, Ben continues to grow up. He is now out of the crib. He stayed in his bed all night during the first night. I am sure that won't last.

Start Your Engines

Bradley went to his first motor sports event this weekend - the demolition derby at the Porter County Fair. He was very attentive and didn't ask to leave until it was almost over. The next day, the boys got out their own race cars and went for a spin (with no demolition attempts!).

We Have a Sentence!

Ben spoke his first sentence today (unless you count when he said "go away"). He took a blue marker and pointed it at me and said, "color my dada."

Stream of Consciousness

Ben used the potty!!! As usual, he sat on the potty before putting his pajamas on. I reminded him to aim and then he successfully peed in the potty. Yeah!

A Wee Bit Anti-social

I am afraid Ben may grow up to be a hermit. One of his first and still favorite words is "my". He is also quite adept at saying "go away". And, oh yeah, Ben likes to roar at people. Hmm...

Working Guy

On July 4th, Bradley attended his first Home Depot workshop with mommy and Grandma. You can't see it in the picture, but he has an orange apron on.

25 Months and Counting

Ben turned 25 months last weekend. Guess what we did to celebrate?

June Flashback

Where have my babies gone? A year ago, Ben got his first haircut and had his first ride in the bicycle trailer. Ben was also learning to play basketball and started to play water. His big brother finally learned to poop on the potty and started playing t-ball.

http://elcheekogordo.blogspot.com/2008_06_01_archive.html

Making A Run For The Border

The family took a mini-vacation this weekend. Mini as in less than 24 hours. The first stop was Charles Mound, the highest point in Illinois. The summit is 1.4 miles from the road. Despite a good effort from all, there was a 75% dropout rate on the trek. Since we were so close to Wisconsin, we popped over the border so the boys could check one more state off their list. The next stop was Dubuque, IA. It was lunch time, so we went to McDonald's. (I think the boys are secretly trying to eat at McDonald's in all 50 states.) After lunch we found a park and played for a little bit. The boys did a lot of climbing. This was Ben's first trip to Iowa. Bradley had visited once before. He needs to watch out. Ben is only one behind in states visited. He was three behind at the beginning of the year.