Trying Something New

We went to Louisville this weekend to do some stuff in our new house (yeah). One night after dinner at our favorite pizza place, we popped in to the local martial arts studio housed above to check out the classes in session. There were a bunch of kids Ian's age and he was in awe. So this impromptu visit turned into Ian AND his Dad being signed up for a two week trial in July together. The teacher was a bit of a drill sargeant and I secretly loved how it got Ian's attention. At one point we had to repeatedly go over how martial arts didn't include any painting...but he eventually got it and was OK with it. :o)

Mark & Sandi Visit St Louis

Mark and Sandi came to visit St Louis. We started out their first day with a morning at the zoo. Ian got to enjoy the new stingray exhibit, actually touching a stingray! Natalie took everything in from her stroller, but did walk hand in hand with Sandi for a long time. You could tell she felt like BIG stuff. It was a beautiful morning at the zoo.

On the next day of our visit, we went on a tour of the Anheuser-Busch Brewery. It was a really cool factory and they had lots of history to tell us about. We got to see the magnificent Clidesdale horses (HUGE) and got to sample some beer at the end of the tour. Don't worry folks, fruit punch for the little guy. Ian wouldn't miss out on a 'cheers' photo shoot with Uncle Mark!

Last Day at Union Preschool

The last day of preschool was this week. Ian said goodbye to lots of special little friends and teachers at Union Preschool. Here are some of the kids in his homeroom class (Caitlyn, Lucy, Ryan, Goofy Ian, and Jack). What a great group of kiddos!!

Lunch With The Minis

Our friends Jennifer Jim and the minis (Justin & Jocelyn) came over to hang out and have lunch the other day. We thought the 3 high chair set up was photo worthy!

Its A Girl Thing

Natalie got into some purses today. She managed to get one over her head and carry it hands-free for a while, then added a little black hand bag (her going out with the girls purse!). She just walked in circles around our house carrying two purses for a long time, thought it was the most fun! That's our girl!

Milkshakes For Dinner

Chiara drove in from Lexington to hang out with us for a few days. We went for a walk in the super nice weather and ended up at an ice cream shop. Ian had a scoop of his favorite strawberry, then moved on to Chiara's milkshake. We're pretty sure he managed to weasel his way into drinking almost half of it!

Mother's Day Celebration

Ian's preschool had a Mother's Day program today. Natalie happily stayed with Aunti Chiara and I got to focus on my boy. They sang special songs, played a mean tambourine and had snacks with his best friend Ryan. Also pictured is Ian's homeroom teacher, Mrs Goehring.

The Littlest Jedi

We had our good friend Nick over after preschool today. The boys decided that they were gonna play with light sabers. Natalie is old hand at carrying around the weapon of the Jedi, so she joined in. They were super careful around her and she loved being a part of their activity. So proud of the boys!

Our Saturday

Natalie got a new pink chair from her Nonnie today. She really enjoyed her brother's blue one so we thought a girly version was of the chair was in order. She LOVES climbing in and out of it.

This picture tells a story. Natalie is walking now full steam ahead and fast. One minute she is in the hallway and the next...out of sight. I found her in big brother's toy closet. Its a forbidden spot with choking hazards galore (door that's usually closed was left open). She was so pleased to sit and check it all out. If she could talk, she would have said 'Go away Mom!'.

We got out a wagon full of baby blocks from storage. Ian and Natalie really enjoyed digging in. Of course, Ian was building Star Wars space ships. Natalie was more interested in the wagon and stashing pieces in her room. Gotta love we old toys are new again!