Saturday we FINALLY went to the zoo. I say FINALLY because Madeline has been asking to go see the Komodo Dragons almost every day for the past month. "I want to see the kimono dragons mommy" over and over again. There are all these billboards around town for the exhibit and she has been so excited to go. So I say we finally made it because hopefully now she'll stop asking me about it every day!

Twenty minutes into the trip and we had seen her favorites, the manatees and the monkeys and she started asking, and by asking I mean begging, for ice cream. Apparently that is the REAL reason to go to the zoo. The inner Charles Darwin in me was seriously disappointed in the Komodo Dragon area. There was only one and he of course wasn't moving at all. I did get my annual picture of Madeline on the alligator though. The alligator looks smaller this year or maybe my girl is just getting too big.

She is also wearing her Sunday best. Not sure the fancy dress is normal zoo attire, but it was either that or a leotard and tutu...I'm picking my battles.

Jonny-Boy in all his cuteness.

This picture is from our 30th birthday dinner at Lynn and Wayne's. Hard to believe this is the best picture of the four of us. I seriously don't know how these people get a good picture of their family. It's been almost 6 months since Jonny was born and we're still trying to get one!

This onesie is passed down from Madeline to Jonny...one little Buckeye to another. That's for you Jeremy!


Jonny's sitting on his own pretty good now, although there is the occasional fall backwards or sideways and a big bang to the head. It's so sad how fast he's growing up, it's just one milestone after another, make it stop!!

Reds Game

Friday night we went to the Reds game and had the BEST baseball experience. We were in a box (Thanks Mohab and Susan!) and I don't think I can go back to attending a game any other way! The kids had a great time along with us "big kids"!












Last out of the game...struck out looking...REDS WIN!

Halo/Walking on Sunshine!

Madeline has been performing concerts for us each night because she loves Glee. Here are a few performances we've been enjoying! More to come I promise...

Lady Gaga!

Fourth of July weekend

What a wonderful perfect couple days. If only every weekend was three days. We did the annual Indian Hill parade with the family. Madeline scooped up more candy that she collected on Halloween, no joke. Followed the parade with swimming at Camp Lippert, grill out and lots of fun in the hot, hot sun.

We also packed in a trip to Kings Island (loving the season passes) and headed up to Ault Park for the first time for fireworks. We had an elaborate plan to deal with the crowds and parking, but ended up not needing to bother because Jon ended up staying home with Jonny. Poor kid has decided he doesn't want to sleep during the day so early evenings he gets a little upset from sleep deprivation :( So Madeline and I had a great time just her and Mommy. She was so excited and we got a great seat on the lawn.

This was taken early on and it got a LOT more crowded.

I wanted to take more pictures, but decided to just screw it and be in the moment with my girl. It was wonderful. So happy I got to experience that with her. The look on her face when the fireworks started going off I'll never forget!

One of Madeline's teacher's sent this picture out to us parents from the last day of school a few weeks ago. This is Miss Suzanne with all but one of the kids in the class. Madeline misses school SO MUCH and doesn't quite understand the whole idea of "summer break", especially when we drive past her school everyday. All but one of the kids will be back with her next year probably in the same class and we're planning playdates with her friends for over the summer. She'll be going for a third day in the fall for the 3 year old program so she's excited!

Jonny started on some solid foods this past week. He's been downing the rice cereal, which must mean he's into it since that stuff is so disgusting. I made a few batches of homemade baby food yesterday so the freezer is stocked and ready to go with some new flavors.

More importantly, I think this video shows irrefutable evidence that he has an older sister. At least his clothes are blue right.

1. Purple bumbo seat
2. Pink spoon
3. Cinderella playing in the background

Pictures from the last couple weeks...






Our first trip to Kings Island of the year. Madeline LOVED all the rides. We will be using our season pass a lot this summer!


She doesn't even look big enough to ride this ride, but she met the height requirement and loved it. She's the tiny little thing on the left next to Jon.

And this is how Jonny spent most of the morning, how cute.





Madeline's also been taking swim lessons at the Sports Mall and the pool has become her favorite passtime for the summer. We're looking forward to hitting up the waterpark at Kings Island soon too!

Jonny loves being in the saucer now. He's getting to the age now where you can actually play with him and he'll hold onto rattles and shake them around. He's also started rolling over from his belly to back and also just today rolled from his back to his front. Hopefully he doesn't figure out how to combine everything for a while still. I'm not quite ready for two kids on the move just yet!



I also think the days of looking like Jeremy may be over. He's looking more like Madeline the more weight he puts on and the more he fills out. Those Lippert genes may end up dominating after all!