Visit with Grandma

My mom came yesterday to visit Howie and me for the day (remember that Josh is currently in intense battle with the Hebrew language... read on below... some days Josh wins, some days Hebrew wins)! It was so much fun to see her! We went to Chick Fil A in the West County Mall, which is always a hit. Howie managed to see the giant cow that works for Chick Fil A, and while impressed from afar, when the cow came up to him and tried to give him a hug Howie was offended by the intrusion into his personal space and started to cry. When the cow backed off Howie managed to wave him goodbye. It was lots of fun!!

How Howie Is Spending His Summer

Howie's Nana and Bible Bill got us a membership to the Magic House for Howie's 2nd birthday! It's already been so much fun- we have really enjoyed exploring! Here's Howie checking out a real-life bulldozer.

Mom, please hug these bunnies very tight

MUST HUG YELLOW BUNNY

Although this would be humanly impossible for most dads, Josh managed to squeeze through a crawlspace designed for children ages 1-6... yes, seminary is building up his brain but not fattening up the body

Our neighbors Sharon, Matt, Maggie, and Abraham have been kind enough to share their pool with us to beat the St Louis heat! It's been a big hit!!

Reading with our neighbor friends... PD and Kelly came over for brunch one Saturday and Howie hijacked PD for some book reading

Playing with Mya's water table- what's more fun than that??

How Howie chooses to spend many a moment- driving matchbox cars on all the furniture

Bowie Update

Lest my faithful readers forget that we are expecting another baby August 30th as I often do, let me remind you that I am indeed almost 31 weeks pregnant. Josh and I just kind of had a wake-up call the other night after I went to the doctor that Lord willing we will have 2 kids in a matter of weeks and we need to be ready! (if that's possible) Toward that end I have actually begun to think about the birth and what we need to gather before Bowie arrives. It's so funny the second time around- when we were this close to having Howie there was little else on my mind, but as I spend this summer as a Hebrew widow and mother of an on-the-go 2 year old, it seems like Bowie has gotten pushed to the sidelines. Poor Josh has been completely swamped with this insane 8 week Hebrew class, and everything else has just kept our family pretty busy.

Anyway, I just went to the doctor last Monday and will have to start going every other week now until Bowie appears. Everything seemed to check out fine, and I had the dreaded glucose test where you have 5 minutes to drink the nastiest sugary drink on the planet and then sit an hour to have blood drawn. I remember doing that test with Howie, but I feel like the drink they gave me was basically red Hawaiian Punch on steroids (in terms of sugar content, if that's possible). This time around it was a seemingly harmless clear color, but it was even more disgusting than the electric red one. However, I managed to choke it down and submit to the nurse taking my blood (a process I HATE- needles give me the creeps in the biggest way- WHY was I a pre-med major??) and passed the test. I know that there are many worse things in life, but I'm glad that that part is behind me.

We'll keep you posted on future Bowie updates as we get them.

Branson, MO in Pictures

3 grandsons- John already pulling wrestling moves on Pax

Pax Nathan

Howie and Grandpa Poppy wait for the coaster riders

Sweet Pax

Howie and Dad in the pool

Howie keeping it real in the hotel room

We had such a great time in Branson at the end of May! My whole family was there and it was a blast. We discovered that Howie is a bluegrass fanatic, which is good to know. And he ate ribs right off the bone, just like your average caveman. Also good to know.

Howie Eats a Big Chunk of Watermelon

Howie has discovered watermelon for the first time this summer!! He only likes it if it's a piece that's bigger than his face.

Howie's BIG FAT Haircut!

Please excuse the purple stuff all over Howie's face- learning to drink from a real cup has had its hiccups- but notice Howie's major HAIRCUT!! It's keeping him much cooler as the temperature keeps going up in St Louis, and it's made washing it at bathtime just a little bit less painful. I was pretty shocked when I first saw how short it was going to be, since he came out of the womb with longer hair than this, but now that we can actually see his face we really love it.

Saying Goodbye to the Allens

Our friends Jen and Chris Allen just moved out of Gulf Drive last week to start the next chapter of their lives in Mississippi- we will miss them! Jen and I spent a lot of time outside with our kids blowing bubbles, playing in the sandbox, chatting while making sure that our kids only occasionally ran into the street, etc. We babysat the girls while Jen and Chris went to the baccalaureate service last month, so this was Howie's chance to say goodbye to Mackenzie, Isabelle, and Addie. We miss you!

Howie and the Zoo, His Favorite Place

Looking for some animals

Uh, Mom, there are some really big hippos in there

Hey, this choo-choo is fun!!

Howie's second popsicle of his life, contained in the bathtub

We have been to the zoo countless times since it's gotten warmer this spring- Howie's favorite animals by far are the hippos, cheetahs, and elephants. I have walked around the River's Edge part of the zoo so many times I can't even tell you!! My favorite animal: probably the cheetahs, I have to agree with Howie. Most elusive animal: capybara. I've never managed to see this animal who I think is the world's largest rodent, or something horrific like that. Most offensive animal: the black rhino. He almost peed on Josh, Howie, and my sister Carrie one time. Unfortunately this is not a joke.

Baby Shower Fun

Lis, me, and Apes chillin at the baby shower for Baby Weichbrodt, who we can't wait to meet next month!! Howie and Bowie look forward to another playmate!!