Happy Birthday Auntie Mar-Mar!

Bryson's Auntie Mar-Mar (Marlene) had a birthday, (don't worry we won't tell anyone which one), and we got to hang out with Maya. And wouldn't you know Maya decided to impress us all with her latest trick of walking... across our kitchen!! It was so fun to live those 'first-step' type moments all over again. Now the two of them chase each other around and stay quite busy together!! It was also tons of fun to give them a bath together... I'm still not sure the bathroom has dried out all the way from the splashing! Thankfully we got a few funny pics to embarass them with later in life!! Hehe!

Bryson's Drawer

For about a week straight, every evening Bryson would get into the drawer with all the baggies and bring them to me... one at a time until he had emptied the box. I decided the best way to stop this was to convert that drawer to Bryson's Drawer. A special place for him to put his toys or for me to put little surprises for him. Well the idea caught on rather quickly. On a daily basis you can find anything from coasters, remotes, hats, pieces of cardboard, to toys, hats and even iPhones. Whenever something can't be found in the house we now know where to look!

Is this a trick?

Nope, Halloween has not come early! Bryson is lucky enough to have 2 costumes... so he wore one today just for fun! Psst! It glows in the dark! (HI DA! Miss You in Taiwan)

Mommy's little helper...

Bryson decided to help me clean out the pantry... somehow we ended up with a box of Cherios dumped on the floor... hmmm...

Culturing Bryson

On Monday, Marlene and I decided to be brave and bring the kiddos downtown. We first spent some time at the Shedd Aquarium. Both Bryson and Maya were enthralled with the big tank, they especially loved Nickel the (giagantic) Turtle and the Sting Ray area where they could walk over the water filled with sting rays.

After the aquarium we stopped for some quick photo ops despite the rain. We then went to the Field Museum for lunch and a quick look around.... before his naps (hurray) Bryson couldn't seen to get enough of Sue, one of the Field Museums main attractions!

We all made it through the day in one piece and can't wait to try it again!

A visit to the Apple Farm!

This weekend we went to the Apple Farm in Michigan. Bryson went on his very first hayride. He liked the bumps and the tractor that was pulling us. He especially liked his poppie showing him the "ins and outs" of the farm.

After the hayride Bryce went to play on the playground. He really enjoyed the car-shaped swings and the super fast slide! We then headed over to see the animals. Bryce didn't quite know what to make of the goats... he thought they were 'ggggs' his word for dogs!

We picked our very own apples and Bryson of course had to test the merchandise! It was hard to tell what he liked better, the fresh apple or the apple doughnuts that grammie gave him in the car.

We tried one more time to get him to take a cute picture with the hay and pumpkins but had no luck. Regardless it was a fun trip.... (I liked the visit to the Chocolate Garden!! Mmmm overpriced truffles!)

Pumpkin Patch Time

This weekend we took Bryson to Bengston Farm to pick out pumpkins.... and wouldn't you know he's apparently scared of pumpkins!! Maya sat so pretty for her pictures with the pumpkins and Bryson.... well, Bryson screamed, and made a scene. Finally we got him to hold a baby pumpkin. I guess I should expect nothing less from my son!

We had a lot of fun watching the pig races. The kids especially got a kick out of the crazy guys 'mc-ing' the event! Both kiddos loved watching the chickens... they practically fought to see who could get closest to the gate. After checking out the chickens Bryce decided to take Maya for a ride!! It was so darn cute to watch him try to pull the wagon all by himself!!

Bryson's Baby

After a bit of 'dicussion' between Nate and I, my mom got Bryson a little boy doll that he could play with. It's a very "cool" doll as it teaches the different body parts in both English and Spanish. It's interactive, naming it's parts as you touch them with it's hands (i.e. This is my tummy, tickle my tummy. These are my ears, I can't hear you!) This morning Bryce wanted to bring his baby along to visit a friends house.... I couldn't resist the picture!

Ode to my Auntie Anna

Mmmmmm, bacon!

The last days of summer...

Enjoying the last few warm days of summer, Bryce and I often go to the park with some of our friends... Bryce occasionally gets to go without his helmet for a little while since he sweats so bad! He loves the slide and insists on doing it all by himself! He's also a big fan of the swings and enjoys going really fast and really high!! He and Micheal often fight over who gets to play the little piano and Aanya likes to walk around saying, "Bryce, come!" Maya usually comes along for the ride! Before you know it she'll be joining running around with the other 3! Micheal and Bryce also like playing with chalk on the driveway. Margret, Micheal's mommy is quite the artist and keeps the kids interested with her cool drawings!