We took a fun trip to the Minnesota Zoo back on Jan 8th (I know, I know - that was over 2 months ago!). We only took 3 pictures before, in Matias' excitement of helping Zeke take a picture of a crocodile, he dropped the camera with the lens open. It broke the lens so that was the end of our picture taking for a while. We actually braved the zoo on a Saturday and were able to see the tropical fish and the sharks get fed which was cool. We also watched the dolphins in training. They used to have a dolphin show but one dolphin got pregnant so they've stopped the show for a while. It was still fun to watch the dolphins playing - although Nicolas was much more interested in the concrete stairs which made it hard to stay for too long. It was also Zeke's first (and probably last) time at the zoo.
the infamous crocodile
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happy boys hanging out (Feb 2nd)
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At the beginning of February, Zeke and I visited St Louis together. It's somewhat ironic that the only pictures I took on our three trips were of St Louis, and that's where we ended up choosing to go!
In case we didn't move to St Louis, I definitely wanted to see the arch and go up it (Feb 4th)
At the top in the observation deck
A view of St Louis (they had just had a big storm that actually postponed our original trip by 2 days)
Zeke wasn't so happy about these "egg containers" that you ride in to get up and down the arch - he's putting on a brave face for the camera :)
I actually took this picture back in December after Zeke interviewed at Washington University - they gave him a box of chocolates that he brought home for me and this piece was huge and delicious (it's white chocolate with their logo stamped in milk chocolate!!)
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Every Tuesday morning for about 8 weeks, I got to go into Lucas' classroom and help out with their "City Design Project." Tricia, a local City Planner and Architect, came in to teach the kids about different kinds of pollution and how to build cities. The kids had a great time designing and planning their own cities. These pictures I took on a day when they invited another classroom to come in and visit the different cities that the kids built.
Lucas finishing up his city (he missed the first day that they built their cities) (Feb 15th)
That's Pat on the left (Lucas' teacher) and Tricia on the right
Lucas called his city "Space City"
there was a quick welcome to the classroom that came to see the cities
showing his city to his friend Albin (he's in the classroom that came to visit)
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On February 18th, we (Lucas, Matias and me) went with Tina and her son Keating to see "Babe" at the Children's Theatre. It was an interesting adaptation for the stage and wasn't one of my favorites, but the kids loved it. The actor that played "Babe" was especially entertaining and always got the audience to laugh.
Lucas and Keating in our two traditional pictures - one with the poster and one with the Children's Theatre sign outside; Matias did not want to be in the pictures
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One afternoon (Feb 19th), the temperatures were more bearable than usual and it was sunny so I went outside with the boys. We were only outside for about 30 minutes before we wanted to go back inside, but it was nice to get fresh air and I realized it was Nicolas' first time getting to walk outside! I'm always carrying him or he's in our wagon or stroller. He loved being outside and was the hardest to convince to go home even though I could tell he was freezing cold!
so happy to be walking outside!
Lucas and Matias spent their time "skating" on this ice
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I finally broke down and got a Dyson vacuum cleaner which I absolutely love (after 3 vacuum cleaners that never worked well - I love Costco's return policy)! The kids were just as excited about the box and the styrofoam packing. Lucas and Matias played with the box for at least 2 weeks before I convinced them to get rid of it and Nicolas went to town on the styrofoam that evening (I didn't let him keep it as long as we kept the box of course!) March 1st
Nicolas was so happy with the styrofoam - it was all over him and I kept picking up pieces for at least another week because of how static-y it is
that evening the boys all took baths - Matias came downstairs to model his favorite pjs these days - such a cute pumpkin!
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One Saturday, the temperatures were not super warm, but it was so sunny, we ventured outside again (after some play-fighting inside first of course). March 5th
Matias happy about his slaying of Lucas :) They love to fight, play swords, all that fun 'boy' stuff
Nicolas was SO happy to be outside and walking
of course he and Matias spent most of their time in this freezing cold puddle
Lucas preferred climbing the many snow mountains we have now
Matias took a turn pulling Nicolas in the wagon
then Nicolas wanted to try - he didn't get very far and of course got mad when I tried to help him
Lucas trying to enjoy the playground even with all of the snow
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After the kids built their own cities, they worked in groups to build a large city. The last day of the City Design Project (March 15th), parents were invited to come and see all of the cities. I got to bring Matias and Nicolas too.
Lucas stamped our passport after we visited his city
Lucas' group city was also called "Space City"
They also designed a flag for their city and had to explain the design, why they chose the name and the different elements in their city
Lucas was concentrating very hard on a word find and wouldn't look at me while I tried to get a picture of him with Matias
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And of course the best for last - here are some ultrasound pictures of boy #4!
that's my tablecloth around the edges - I keep forgetting that I have a scanner now - I really should just scan the pictures in instead of taking pictures of the pictures
3 comments:
Great post - love all the pictures!
We went to Babe, too. I agree that it was my least favorite of the productions I've been to, but there were some great parts and that pig was really talented.
It was so great getting caught up on all your exciting news! Congrats to both Zeke's new job and your fourth baby. Good luck in the next few months! So happy for you guys.
Great update. So you like the Dyson? I'd love to hear more about your thoughts on it--our vacuum is a cheap one that was fine when we only had hardwoods and rugs, but now we have a lot more carpet and it is struggling to pick up little lint pieces!
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