Blackberry Farm

This Sunday Cort had a golf outing with his dad and brother so Sarah and I decided to take the kids to Blackberry Farm. I had been there a million times on summer camp field trips, but had never brought Mia. It was fun to go somewhere new! Mia got to ride on the train, carousel, and on a pony! She had a lot of fun even though we were there WAY past her nap time. I didn't take a ton of pictures because it was too hard juggling her by myself and trying to do pictures. Sadly I have no pony pictures-I guess we will just have to go back with Cort.

On the train

Aidan on the train

Mia on the carousel (sorry for the BAD picture-I was holding her with my other arm)

Apple Picking

Today we went on our yearly apple picking excursion. Every year we go to Jonamac Orchard up by DeKalb, but as I was checking for directions this morning I noticed on their website that their u-pick apples were all out. Sarah knew of another place that was actually a little closer called Honey Hill Orchard, so we went there instead. While it was a little more low-key than the other orchard, they had a ton of apples, a petting zoo, store,p pumpkins, hayrides, and food. We had a very relaxing time and came home with a peck of apples. Here are some pictures as well as a flashback to last year. :)

Mia and her mini-apple

Last year with a mini-appleI think the pumpkin is bigger than her!
Ava and Aidan
Mia in the pumpkin field Playing with Ava
Aidan picking out a pumpkin with Sarah
Hanging out with daddy
Family picture 2007
Family Picture 2006

Heading home

Visit to Lincoln Park Zoo with Pam

On Wednesday after work I went in to the city to hang out with Pam. It was a beautiful day and we decided to go to the Lincoln Park Zoo. Of course Mia loved the animals, and it was a lively day with lions roaring, otters fighting, and crazy beavers swimming around. After the zoo we grabbed something to eat and then called it a night. Thank you Pam for letting us come down and hang out with you!!!

Mia with her baby ape friend

Smooching the ape (look how it looks like she is holding its arm)
Pam and Mia

Watching the cows mooooo
Pam and Mia hatching from an egg
Playing on a bench
Crazy fighting otters
Mia in her PJs playing on Pam's bed before we left to go home

Get This Girl a Goat!

Can you stand another post with goats? We went to the Brookfield Zoo this Saturday since the weather was so nice. We got to see the new baby tiger cubs which were really, really cute, but of course as always, the highlight for Mia was the petting zoo. I swear I should buy a goat and keep it in the backyard! She is just so funny squealing and giggling and screaming whenever the goats come around. Mia was also very fascinated by the baby chicks that were on display too, although I didn't get any pictures of that. Mia was so tired after the zoo that she slept from 7p.m.-7:30 the next morning-woo hoo!!!









I just had to share this one too. Mia LOVES her Leo. She loves him so much that we bought a second one just in case something might happen to him. Every once in awhile they end up in the same room together. This is the scene I found today. Is she cute or what???

Mia's Many Faces

So I have to give credit where credit is due and acknowledge that I am copying Kristin's post about Tyler's different faces (you can see her blog-Scherman family on the right). I have not spent much time with my camera lately other than taking snapshots, so I decided to play a bit with it yesterday and work with the manual settings. As I was doing it I managed to catch quite a few of Mia's many different faces and her personality. Mia has had a rough week with teething, so it is probably a miracle that they aren't all of her crying! Her top 2 teeth look like they have finally popped through, although she still seems pretty crabby. Hopefully it will pass soon! Here are Mia's many faces...

Thoughtful

Mischevious

Goofy

Confused Getting ready to cry!
And last but not least-the model pose :)Mia just loves Zip and will not take her eyes off him if he is nearby.

Graue Mill Corn Fest

Today Mia and I picked up my mom and went to Graue Mill. My mom had invited us to the corn fest they were having. They had lots of yummy food and activities for kids. Mia's highlight was seeing some horses and getting to pet them of course! Another highlight was being serenaded by a gentlemen from the little band that was playing. He also gave Mia a little shaker to shake with the music. We also walked around a bit, visited the visitor's center where Mia got to see fish, a snake and some other stuffed (real) animals. I also demonstated my stilt-walking skills for my mom and Mia (one of the old-fashioned activities they had out), and Mia got to practice walking by holding on to my and grandma's hands. :) Thanks mom for the invite!

Mia and Grandma at the water wheel

Taking a walk Mia being serenaded

Mia and Mommy at the waterwheelMia, me and the horse
And on another note, now that Mia is eating table food, one of her favorite things to eat is black beans. Here is what she looks like as she chows down on them.

And here is a totally random picture from Friday. I went to Kendall and met up with Dayna, Jackie, their kids and my former 3rd grade team for lunch. It was so great to see all my old coworkers! Sadly I was having major issues with my camera. As a result, this was about the only picture I got, Mia drinking her sippy on the couch in the teachers lounge. :) Turns out my zoom lense is broken, so I am going to have to send it int to Nikon. Thank god it is still under warranty!

We have been busy the last couple of days. Cort is coaching middle school football and had his first game yesterday. I took Mia along with me to check it out since his team was playing the school my old elementary school feeds into. I got to see some old familiar faces. :) Unfortunately, Cort's team lost. Here is a picture of Mia enjoying her afternoon out and Cort watching his team:



Today after school, Mia and I headed to the Bolingbrook Promenade for lunch and playing in the foam area. Half of it is just the squishy foam area for kids to play on, and the other half is the squishy foam with water fountains squirting up. Of course that was where Mia wanted to go. I gave in even though I knew she would get soaked. She ended up having so much fun and I brought her home in just her diaper. :)