Indian summer

Late September graced us with a visit from my sister Kara. (Can you see how happy Iohan is in the picture above?) Kara took three days from work to come visit us, and we made sure to pack those three days with fun, fun, and more fun. It didn't stop. Stop 1, on Monday, was a trip to the Shedd Aquarium. Day 2 included a visit to the North Park Nature Preserve, and Day 3 was for the Brookfield Zoo. Whew! Are you tired yet?! We were. The boys loved the attention from Auntie Kara, and I enjoyed company for three days straight, especially since it was with my little sister.

Do the following pictures look extra amazing? That's because Kara took them. (Yes, she's available for sessions in the Grand Rapids area. http://vividphotoanddesign.com)


I don't know what it is about this picture that cracks me up: Manny casually pestering his brother? Iohan looks stuck? Iohan's doing a pushup? Iohan's checking behind him to see why he can't move forward? I don't know, but I love it. Perfect capture of a quotidian moment.

Manny's mitt, and Iohan's baby boobies!

Angel face.

Somehow Manny has taken up the habit of walking with his hands behind his back. Taking his afternoon constitutional?

Here's my new hair, by the way. And the now ever-present giant earrings! Thanks to Mom for this pair.

Off-roading.

We wanted a picture of Manny pointing on this bridge, and I'm sure that we asked him to point, whether directly or indirectly, about 20 times. This might be the photo of just when Manny got fed up with that.

So big!

Primate House

Here's Kara with Iohan. As you may be able to tell, based on the fact that she's in the photo and not holding the camera at an awkard angle to photograph herself, I took this photo. It's the only one in this post that I actually did take! For the rest, you can enjoy Kara's photographic skills again...

Nothing like a little pre-zoo buffalo horn-hangin'.

Aaaannnnnddddddd... In we go!

High fliers.

When I see this photo, I'm tempted to think: "Why didn't I leave them there?" They obviously want to join the animals.

Here is Sebastian, watching the dolphin show. Alina, Sebastian's mama, was nice enough to invite us to the Brookfield Zoo, as guests on her membership. It was a lovely morning!

Can you see the rhino in the black and white photo? A grey rhino in a black and white photo is kind of like a black and white "Where's Waldo," isn't it?

Iohan sleeps, brothers are silly. Fairly typical.

Kara and I were actually able to watch the primates for quite awhile at our last stop for the day. We were only able to do this because the boys were busy calling Africa. And they should soon be calling Auntie Kara, because they love and miss her! Thanks for the visit, Sister-Friend!

Precious cargo

Mil-i-wau-kay

In August the boys and I were able to travel up to Wisconsin to meet my Iowan maternal grandparents at my cousin's house in Milwaukee (roundabout, but it worked!). My poor grandmother, lover of babies and all things sweet, hadn't met Iohan since his birth, so we were all thrilled that this daytrip worked out. I didn't know how beautiful Milwaukee was. Granted, we stuck to my cousin's backyard and the lake, but I'm sure that the rest is great too, right?!

After the boys chowed down on their delicious Jimmy John's (above, with second- or third-cousin Isaiah), they headed down to the lake to throw stones in the water with Isaiah and Great-Grandpa Denny.

Stone-throwing and sand-digging.

Hey, everyone, take one last look at my beautiful hair, and Jonah's! You won't see either again! (Little did I know...)

When Iohan wasn't chomping on a water bottle, he was kissing Jonah through the Pack 'n' Play mesh. Everything this baby does is cute.

Great-Grandma Ruth with Ioey, and my grandparents with all three of my little bears. (The elder two were distracted by the TV -- can you tell?)