Grant's Farm

After heading home from Kansas, we stopped in St. Louis to visit with my mom's friend Carol from nursing school. While we were there we visited Grant's Farm. It is the historical home of Ulysses Grant and has a 281 acre wildlife preserve with a zoo as well as some of the world famous Anheuser-Busch Clydesdales.

I think I mentioned before how hot is was in the Midwest this summer. Brad was hot, but happy riding the train to get to the main attraction.



Luke, me, and Brad



Neil and Ansev with Brad



Cool Luke



Clydesdale!



Luke's reaction to the Clydesdales (it is blurry because he couldn't get away fast enough!)



Brad's reaction to the Clydesdales



Ansev got Luke to get a little closer



Luke and Ansev



Me and my mom, we took this same picture when we visited Grant's Farm when I was 4. I'll have to see if I can find it someplace.

Carousel Museum

While we were in Kansas, my aunt Pam took the women and children to the carousel museum. It was really neat to see some original carousels that have been restored. The kids loved it and we got to take a ride on one of them.

View from the seat Brad and I were sitting in. Luke is in the light blue shirt across the way.



Family group shot
Neil, my mom and Brad, me, Luke, my aunt Pam and Kate, Jayln, Dana, and Ansev

Family fun night

One evening while we were in Kansas, just my immediate family headed out for a fun night of bowling. It was Luke's first time trying out the lanes. We got some bumpers and a 5 lb ball, he even got to wear the shoes.
I taught him how to push the ball down the helper ramp (I'm sure it has an actual name that I do not know) and then to high-five after he hit some pins. He learned quickly and then made it his business to walk up there, roll the ball, then high-five. It was so cute.

Luke bowling

On the road again...next stop: Kansas!

The boys and I joined my family for a reunion on my dad's side in Kansas, where his brother and family live. Poor Brad started out the trip really sick, high fever and just acting not like himself at all. He started feeling better as the week went on, but the first few days were rough.

Do you remember this summer? It was extremely hot and the mid-west had to have been the hottest place to be. I think it was at or near 100 degrees most of the week. We did a lot of lounging and spending quality time together. Almost all of my dad's family was able to join us in Kansas for at least some of the week. It was the first time many got to meet Brad and I got to meet my cousin Kami's kids Kelsey and (at the time very newborn) Kate as well as my cousin Jason's daughter Jayln!

Papa and Brad trying to stay cool on the patio



Luke eating shirtless



Swimming in Josh's (my cousin) pool



Brad's silly face



Luke, Jayln (3 months younger than Luke), and Brad



At nine months old, this is how close Brad was to crawling, just couldn't quite get going. Little did I know at the time, but it would take another full month until he could get going!

9 month old comparison

In honor of Brad turning 15 months tomorrow, I thought you might like to read the 9-month old comparison :)

At 9 months of age, Luke was 28 inches tall and weighed 18 lbs 10 oz. He was a really great eater and sleeper. He ate almost anything I gave him and always slept through the night. This is not just a glamorized memory, I really checked the notes I wrote about him at this age, it is the truth. Aside from his hemangioma and ear issues, Luke really was an easy baby. By this time Luke was army crawling and trying to pull himself up. He talked a lot and said mama and dada. He had surgery to remove the hemangioma on his arm and get ear tubes by this time and was a happy camper after that!

Luke at 9 months



Brad at 9 months weighed 19 lbs and 6 oz and was 28.5 inches so he continues to be just a little bigger than older brother. Brad had started to sleep more regularly and then he got sick. He had a fever for several days and that really disrupted his normal. Not to mention we were on yet another road trip during this time so he had to try to be flexible with his environment, which I have decided he is not. He is much better sticking to a routine in his own house.
I am proud to say I was still breastfeeding Brad at 9 months (we made it just over a year actually!) Brad really enjoyed dancing and singing and his jumpy seat. He loves to play with big brother's toys, especially cars. At 9 months, he is really trying to crawl, he just can't do it yet. He has got three teeth now too.

Brad at 9 months

summer travels to NC

Our summer of traveling (well me and the boys anyway) continued with a long weekend to North Carolina to visit Josh's grandparents, mom, aunt, and cousin, and our good friends who were vacationing nearby.

We got to GGma and GGpa's house and the weather was nice so Luke played outside!



Brevard, NC may not be a huge city, but it has some good eatin'! At one of the family's favorite spots the Fish Camp, Brad enjoyed some crackers.





Luke and cousin Haley! She is so sweet to the boys. We love visiting with her.



The boys and I headed over to camp Kanuga for a few days of fun with our friends Walter and Andi and their daughter Sophia. There is a nice (and unfortunately for the summer not shady) playground the kids love to play on. It was neat to watch Luke navigate the whole thing on his own this year as compared to last year when I had to help him.






Sophia was the flower girl in Neil and Ansev's wedding a couple of weeks ago, she was so cute!

So fun to travel just a couple of hours up the road and visit with so many loved ones!

Backyard friend

We had a friendly squirrel this summer who liked to come say hello on our back deck. One day I caught him lounging on the rail.
He was there so long, I actually watched to make sure he was breathing.
Ever see a squirrel rest like this?



Hope he found a nice spot to wait out the winter :)