Little Man's First Trip to the Driving Range

Kristen is out of town for a few days. I wanted to hit golf balls, but have Gilbert tethered to me. Solution! Take him to the driving range!

Little Man has not been overly interested in golf, but he loves an 'urban adventure' so it was worth a shot. He was fantastic. Incredibly well behaved he watched me hit balls and then finally piped up it was his turn. What fun!

His golf swing resembles more of a hockey slap, but it is a start! Seeing his face light up with a smile when he hit the ball was incredibly gratifying for me!

Bowling!

Got to love Groupon! I purchased a bowling Groupon awhile back and it was time to introduce Gilbert to rolling the rock.

We had a blast! Gilbert was enamored with the ball return machine, but also liked to throw the ball. For one hour we spent a whopping $10 with shoes and the lane. We had a great time!

Houston Trip - At The Pool

With Gilbert's cousin, the two had a great time at the pool. All they wanted to do was swim and jump. Each day at the pool Gilbert progressed dramatically and by the end of the week, he was diving off the side of the pool without assistance (from me or his arm floats) and swimming a good 10-15 feet under water to either me or Kristen.

Now back home, our goal is to keep it going!

Houston Day 1 - Houston Children's Museum

Arriving mid-morning and on the other side of the city, we stopped by the Houston Children's Museum (got to love the all access membership!). The museum was fantastic. I love the Chicago Children's Museum, but I have to give the nod to Houston's. Maybe it is because there is more space, but I liked it better as there was more active exhibits. Some of the 'thinking' exhibits were engaging as well! I found myself wanting to do the work!

There was the mechanical section with a cross-section of a car so you could see all of the engine along with the parts in a door to understand how the locks and door handle work. Gilbert, of course, just wanted to drive.

Then the was an exhibit which was a small city run by the kids. Each child receives an ATM card and earns money doing work. They can then spend money at the grocery store or restaurant. I found myself playing a sugar market futures game where you received information and then bought or sold sugar futures. It was awesome!

Gilbert enjoyed the grocery store the best. The place was awesome. Fully stocked with pretend goods, the place was organized and looked like a real grocery store. Little Man immediately headed for the checkout counter to ring up Kristen's purchases. The computer screen was a real checkout register and with a touch screen an actual total and amount could be tallied. Very cool!

I mentioned active exhibits. The rock wall was in the basement and to get down to the bottom, Gilbert had to descend a series of connected platforms in a wire lattice. Looked like something out of Alice in Wonderland as each platform was convex and looked like an oversized mushroom top. We had to pry Gilbert out of there! And at the bottom was also an obstacle course. A bit hesitant at first, I completed the obstacles with him, but after that he would not come out. Loved jumping over to the fire pool for the slide down!

A bit too much for Gilbert at this age, but the science exhibit was incredibly engaging. You took molecules to make chemical compounds. I could have built molecules all day! Held G's attention for only a few minutes as it was off to the next exhibit!

Water Park

Still stuck in time, we took a trip to the Pulaski Park to partake in the splash park and get Gilbert reacclimated to the pool before heading down to Houston for an extended time in the pool.

Little Man had a blast working the splash pad, but particularly enjoyed going into the 'big guy' pool!

Back From Vacation

Back from vacation, the posts will be flowing. We started off with a 4th of July party with friends. They had a bounce house and Little Man lived in it the entire evening. Was able to catch this quick video. Makes me laugh every time!

Happy Independence Day

From our family to yours, have a wonderful 4th of July!

Lil' Kickers

Gilbert and two friends are taking soccer lessons through Lil'Kickers this summer. First day was saturday, he had a blast and his happy that is jersey has his favorite number 7.

We are looking forward to tons of fun. All ready looking like a pro?? Patrick said he looks like Captain Morgan

Post practice Silly Session.

Kane County Cougars

Gilbert takes a photo of the action on the field.
Gilbert experiences his first piece of gum, lasted about 5 mintues, then he spit it out saying something like "I am just supposed to chew on this and NEVER swallow it??"

Where is Jack? Only 5 of the 6 kids made it into the photo.

Go Cougars!!

New Wheels

We finally got Gilbert a Bike! He is getting the hang of riding it and of course he likes to go "Super Fast" down the hills (just like his dad). He hasn't quite figured out the brake, but we are working on it. Is favorite part of the whole thing... the bottle holder. When we get ready to go outside the first thing he does is go to the Ref. and get his water bottle to go on his bike. The only down side to his biking- when it's not in use- it is now a part of the decor in our living/dining area. Ahh... City Living.

Fireworks

On Saturday, I organized a fun night out with friends at a minor league ballgame. Being able to sit in the lawn section allowed seven kids under age 5 to frolic while the adults could relax. After the game there was a fireworks show and running of the bases (kids only damn it!).

Here are a few pictures! Picture quality is suspect. Hey, the IPhone can't do everything!

Kristen and Gilbert took the train out to the ballpark and I picked them up after a day of tearing up a golf course...literally! As usual, Gilbert despised his train ride.

Pollywogs in a Bog

More posts from our Memorial Day weekend adventures with my friend Mindi and her family. Gilbert was very excited to go find "Pollywogs in a Bog" just like the song by the BareNaked Ladies on the Snack Time CD. The Boys are ready for the Hunt

Giant Snail anyone?

Almost got it.....

Carter is an expert tadpole catcher.

"Mom, when are they going to turn into frogs?"

Harsh Reality

I use to think I was good at golf. Last year was by far my worst year of late and this year, my expectations for a return to old form - so far - have been dashed. It is getting harder to get away with the swing idiosyncrasies that have manifested.

The season is still early and to further inject some energy into the game for me, I discovered that a golf amateur tour exists in most major cities around the nation. How cool! I've signed up and hope to play a few events. If nothing than to prepare me for my annual Crony Cup.

A nice benefit is the tournaments are 'flighted' which means you are grouped with players of like capabilities. The stark reality hit me though that based on my handicap I was not in the championship flight, but rather the A flight. A blow to the ego, but realities can be harsh!

Big hopes though I can report later of playing well. Stay tuned, first tournament is June 18th.

Love

Indy 500 Parade

For the Memorial Day holiday weekend we took a trip to Indy to visit my dear friend Mindi and her family. I am thinking it will become an annual trip for us. Saturday morning we headed downtown for the Indy 500 Parade. It had everything little boys could wish for- well except Candy.

All the guys together, of course there are ZERO pictures of Mindi and I.

Little Man's First Movie

On Memorial Day, Gilbert was treated to his first movie theatre experience. He was clearly excited having talked about it the whole weekend leading up to and the morning of.







It was a scorcher in Chicago on Monday so we felt mildly guilty not being outside, but we viewed the 10:30am showing giving us the entire afternoon following. Late out the door, we took a cab (a big treat for G) and Little Man was all smiles. It is the simple pleasure and traversing the city via Lower Wacker was especially fun for Gilbert. He likes the going 'underground'.




At the theatre, he ran to the Kung Fu Panda poster. It was only outdone when he saw the big poster for Green Lantern and proceeded to yell across the lobby, "DAD! LOOK! GREEN LANTERN!"

In his seat, Little Man was not amused with all of the ads and non-movie stuff on the screen. I lost count at the number of times he asked, "Where is Kung Fu Panda?" Finally, Kristen showed up with popcorn and all was righteous!