Fun with friends, part one and two

Part one: This morning Anna and I met some playgroup friends at Frederick Meijer gardens to see the butterfly exhibit.

Kayla, McKeiley and Anna

McKeiley and Anna checking out some photos with Christine (McKeiley's mommy)

Anna decorating a butterfly wing.

Part two: Tonight Anna's buddy McKeiley came over to play with us while McKeiley's mommy and daddy were out. The girls had a great time playing together and we had fun getting to know McKeiley a little better.

Hat modeling

Hug!

Looking at books.

After Anna went to bed McKeiley had fun making silly elephant noises with Bryan.

Whazzup?

Warm enough for...

...shorts!

Zoo day!

We met some friends at the zoo this morning and a good time was had by all :). We saw sea otters, lions, monkeys, turtles, flamingos, tigers, bears and more.

Anna checking out the bears with her friends Gabe and Lillian.

Liz was kind enough to let Anna perch on her shoulders while they watched the ducks.

Drama queen

Anna is throwing a tantrum in this video because I had just put her in "time out." (When she bites I put her down firmly and say "no bite" and then ignore her for a little bit.) As you can see, though, she wasn't sure whether she should be throwing a tantrum or watching the TV show that was over her right shoulder.

More house photos

Our hope is to move in in about a month. In the meantime we have a lot of wallpaper to remove, walls to paint, carpet to tear up, etc.

2 random photos and our visit with Matt and Carol

Today we attended a gathering in honor of our friends Matt and Carol, who work with Wycliffe Bible Transladors and are soon heading overseas once again. It was great to have an opportunity to see them! (I've also included a couple of photos from earlier in the day.)

Anna helping me pick out painting supplies at our local paint store.

Sending a text message just like Mommy and Daddy.

At the party Lillian gave Anna some baby care pointers. Lillian is going to have a new baby brother in July, so she knows these things.

Bryan posting with the guests of honor.

A special visit

Anna, my dad and I all drove back to Michigan today, but we made a special stop in Illinois. We ate lunch with my friend Lora, her husband Kevin, and her son Asher. Anna and Asher are just a couple of weeks apart in age. I know Lora from an online group of women who had children in December of 2007. We've met a couple of times before and it was so fun to see them again!

A case of the sillies

Meeting a new cousin

Today Anna got to meet her cousin Ally for the first time! (Actually, Ally is my cousin's daughter, so... I'm not sure exactly what their relationship is, but cousin seems close enough.)

Just hanging out in STL

Another exciting day a.k.a. photo overload

Zoo day! My mom, Michelle, Anna, Tristan and I all took a special trip to the Saint Louis Zoo. The kids did extremely well even through their normal naptime and conveniently fell asleep when we were about 60 seconds out of the parking lot :).

Petting the guinea pigs at the children's zoo.

Both kids had a great time playing in the food prep area at the children's zoo.

Anna was not shy around the goats!

Anna's favorite part of the day- the train!

Bonding with Grandma over lunch.

We were at the zoo too early in the season to catch the sea lion show, but Anna got a sneak peek when they were rehearsing today.

What a charmer!

This is my favorite photo of the day. It was taken in the monkey house.

A special day

We had an especially fun day today in St. Louis. My mom and I took Anna and Tristan to The Magic House. They had an especially cool area for young kids and Anna and Tristan had a blast. Afterwards we all went to McDonald's for lunch and then home for naptime. Tristan wouldn't go down for his nap so after Anna was up my dad and I took the kids for a walk to see if we couldn't get Tristan to go to sleep. It worked like a charm!

The ball pit was a hit with both kids.

Anna playing the bubble organ.

Anna adores playing in water. I eventually had to drag the poor kid out of the water area to leave. She was so wet we ended up putting her in Tristan's spare outfit before going to McDonald's.

This photo cracks me up. When I took it I was trying to keep both children entertained and eating while my mom ordered our food. I briefly put down the spoon I had been feeding Tristan with to take this shot and Tristan was quick to put me back to work. He is pointing at his jar of food in this photo.

One tired boy.

Tristan was still sleeping when Joe came to pick him up.