Strawberry Fields

Last weekend we were looking for an activity to do, a little fun for the whole family.  I have always wanted to go strawberry picking, so we did.  We packed up and drove over to Eckert's in Belleville to pick some of the best strawberries I've ever tasted.  The boys loved the tractor ride to and from the fields.  And once we were at the field, we had entire rows to ourselves to pick 3 full baskets. 

The boys helped sample and pick as many as they could reach.  Bennett was happy standing still and grabbing strawberry after strawberry and shoving them in his face.  Gabe loved running around and trying to find a HUGE strawberry.  Overall, Scott and I loved it and since we are gave away a few boxes we could go back for more. 

Thanks Eckerts, we'll be back for peaches.

This boy loved the strawberries

Running, always running

And eating again

More open field running

It was a little chilly

B had a death grip on his basket

Blogging Funk

Not a whole lot has happened over the last month. I'm in a bit of a funk and not really knowing where to start.  Grammie was here most of April and that was a lot of fun. Plus we've entered the wonderful world of potty training.  The weather is getting nicer and evenings are spent playing outside before dinner.  I do have some cute pics that I need to share, but for now, I'm in a blogging holding pattern.  More recent pics are on Instagram.

Mother's Day 2016

I'm happy to say that this Mother's Day was not crazy packed with activities, place to go, people we had to see.  It was beyond lazy.  Starting with me kinda sleeping in, ya know 7am.  Once I was up, I read my cards and then was asked about breakfast.  The only thing I wanted was donuts, and it had to be Donut Drive-In.  We packed up the boys and headed to South City for my treat. 

While Scott patiently waited in line with all the other fathers/husbands, the boys and I drove around my old neighborhood.  We saw the fire truck getting washed and some down tree branches the storm the other night.  We had fun checking things out.  We picked up Scott and head to the playground.

We hung out at Francis Park playground for a couple hours.  The boys had so much playing on everything that was there - it as almost completely changed since I went there (all but the bathrooms).  We played with new friends and I ran into people from grade school.  I love this park.

After we decided the boys desperately needed new shoes.  So we waited at the playground till the mall opened.  Wow, the lines in some stores at the mall were a bit crazy, all those last minute Mother's Day shoppers.  We were right, the boys both grew at least a size in shoes.  With new shoes and new balloons we were off to the Apple Store, Scott's toy store (and kinda mine). 

It was home, lunch and a sort of nap - at least for Gabe it was.  Bennett decided he wanted nothing to do with a nice long nap.  We watched the baseball game and hung out in the family room.  We did nothing crazy for dinner and it was perfect. 

Thank you boys for my perfect Mother's Day!

18 Months

Little B turned 18 months on Papa John's birthday (May 6th).  Bennett has turned into quite the character.  He is still a very loving little guy, but he has turned mischievous!  He has to keep up with big brother and he does a great job holding his own.  He vocabulary is not as strong as Gabriel's was - but he is getting there.  Sometimes it is hard to speak when your brother won't stop asking "Why?" 

Bennett had is 18 month doctor appointment and was very well behaved for the doctor.  He was not a fan of showing off his teeth - I honestly don't know how many are in there since he won't let me look or feel.  I do know he has 4 molars, which is way more than Gabe at this age. 

His stats are:
54% for weight
97% for height

What we have is a tall, skinny kid and if you watched him eat, you would think we never fed him.  He will eat pretty much anything and all of it.  I guess I shouldn't complain now - just wait till he is older. 

We love you Little B, Bennett Boy, B Jammers!

Yes, we were xmas jammie in May

Snuggles with Reily

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Such a sweet boy dancing

Little Gardeners

While my mom was up here visiting, Scott and I decided to use my mom's gardening knowledge to our advantage. Scott has always wanted to put hibiscus plants around our 2 big trees in the front yard and I really wanted to pull up the pointless plastic planter in front of the porch. While Scott cut the grass, my mom and I took the boys to Lowes to find some bushes and hibiscus.

While going to Lowes with 2 little ones isn't my idea of a fun and worthwhile trip, it worked out.  The boys did pretty good watching the birds fly around inside the store and my mom did most of the talking to with the very helpful Lowes employees.  I pretty much said "yup, that's it" and paid.

 Once we got home we got to work digging holes for the plants and the boys did a decent job "helping."  We took some time out to check out the worms and play in the dirt of course.  Overall, I like to think they had fun being outside and helping.

The yard looks so much better by just adding new greenery and mulch.  Now teaching the boys to walk about the flower beds is a whole new deal.

Lone Elk Park

Ever since I moved back to STL I have been wanting to check out Lone Elk Park.  I'm not sure why, probably because I had never been and you drive through and see animals.  A less insane version on Grants Farm.  So while we were in recovering from the flu, I knew the boys needed out of the house, but I couldn't do too much.  We drove down to check it out.  The first trip was a bust, we only saw a deer or 2.  Our second trip was prefect.  We saw all the bison, some deer and geese.  Just enough for it to be memorable for Gabriel.  Bennett wasn't too sure about it all and probably didn't get the best view from his car seat.



Swimming

We joined the Y way back in September and since then we've been taking advantage of Sunday morning swims.  It has been a great way for the boys to burn energy during the cold winter months.  And even better, we get home in time for lunch then straight to naps.  It's awesome.  While I don't have any picture of them actually swimming (Scott and I are in the water with them), they are super cute when they are excited to get in the water and waiting for us.