This NEVER Happens...

Jack gave up naps shortly after turning 2, and has rarely taken a nap since.  Even during long (8 hour) car rides, he doesn't sleep.  We stayed out pretty late last night, but Jack still woke up just before 7:00 this morning.  I knew he would be tired, but I was shocked when he told me this afternoon, "Let's snuggle, Mommy."  I wasn't about to refuse.  So we laid down on the couch together to snuggle, and amazingly we both fell asleep!  Jim took this picture of us.  This is the first nap I have ever taken with Jack.

Science Center, Magic House, and Zoo

Here are some pictures from the past few weeks.  We've been to the Science Center, the Magic House (twice) and the Zoo (twice).  We've had some really nice days (mid-70s a couple days) and were excited to get outside at the zoo and some parks.  It's getting colder now, but we needed that short reprieve.

Patrick enjoyed the Legos at the Science Center.

Jack read a book about the solar system.

The Magic House has a new Bob the Builder exhibit that the boys enjoyed.

Jack and his friends hung out with Bob.

Jack likes to climb the beanstalk.  How appropriate!

Fishing is always fun!

On another trip to the Magic House, Jack and I spelled his name with rubber bands.

Jack put a bubble around himself.

Margo is completely covered by the bubble.

Dr. Jack took care of his infant patient.

Dr. Andrew took care of his little brother.

We went to the zoo two days in a row last week.  I didn't bring my camera the second day.  On the first day, we met Jack's preschool friend, Allison, and her mommy.  Of course, we rode the train!

Jack and Allison had a lot of fun together.

Some people go to the zoo to see animals.  We go to ride the train and climb trees.  :)

On Sunday, we walked to a playground at a neighborhood elementary school and I took a couple pictures of Jack in front of the wall before I ran out of batteries.

WAO 2011

Last weekend, we went up to Milwaukee to visit Aunt Karen (Jim's sister), Uncle Lenny, and Colin.  Jack was so excited to hang out with Colin.  The first thing he asked when he woke up Saturday morning was, "Where's Colin?"  Colin shared his toys with Jack and Jack even enjoyed just watching Colin play video games.

Jack and Patrick wore their guitar shirts.

Every year Karen and Lenny have a party called the WAO - Winter's Almost Over.  It's a lot of fun!  They set up a "stage" and people get up and play music.  I made these cookies for the party (they are heart-shaped because it was 2 days before Valentine's Day).

Jim's brother, Paul, was excited to make his second trip to the WAO.

Karen played drums for some songs that Jim and Paul played guitar and sang.

Lenny and I don't play an instrument or sing, we just enjoy the show.

Winter Vacation in the Dells

First, some pictures from before our vacation.  The boys were looking cute in their Cardinals sweatshirts the other day, so I took some pictures of them.  They get along pretty well most of the time.  Jack especially enjoys making Patrick laugh.

Bedtime stories with Daddy:

Jack wanted to wear one of Daddy's ties.

When I take Patrick's picture, he says "Cheese!"

Last weekend, we met my brother and his family at an indoor waterpark in the Dells.  On our way to Wisconsin, we stayed in Illinois one night with Amy, my college roommate.  Actually, we stayed with her parents who have a little more room at their house since they don't already have 3 little ones.

Aurelia is just a few months younger than Patrick.

Patrick was intrigued.

Bo is just a month older than Jack.  These boys got along really well.  They had fun playing badmitton and chasing each other around.  Hopefully we can visit them again soon!

We arrived in Wisconsin on Saturday afternoon and went straight to one of the three indoor waterparks at our hotel.  The boys had a blast!  I didn't take any pictures the first day, but here are some of the 4 older boys getting ready to go swimming on Sunday.

I brought my old camera to the waterpark on Sunday.  It's hard to tell, but Jack is coming down the orange slide on the right.

Really?  Is it necessary to point out that there is no water, and that you shouldn't dive here?

Jack was in heaven and can't wait to go back.

Patrick liked the water, too.  He just enjoyed playing in the shallow water, but did not like the water slides.

We planned to come home on Monday, but due to the "Storm of the Century" that was supposed to hit Monday morning, we left after dinner on Sunday and drove through the night.  We got home by 1:30 in the morning and avoided the bad weather.  Right now it has been sleeting for hours and we are under a Blizzard warning.  Fun.  Jim will probably just spend the night at work tonight instead of driving home and then driving back in the morning.  We have plenty of food and hot chocolate, so we're good.  :)