If it weren't for all the chilly mornings lately, I wouldn't believe its fall already!! The summer seemed to have passed so quickly, possibly because we were busy doing so many fun things. In June, we were still welcoming the newest member of our family in our home, Lilly, our boxer puppy. Aiden and Lilly have a better relationship than I could have ever asked for. Aiden had his first swim lesson and it was chilly!! The indoor pool where they were supposed to be held had roof issues so instead we were outside and by the end of the week Aiden also had his first ear infection. Aiden does like to swim though, so we will try lessons again another time! Aiden also got his first black eye when he learned to pull himself up and stand at the table...but lost his grip! Thank goodness that only happened once! In July, we spent a weekend in St. Louis. We had a lot of fun at the zoo and the Magic House (children's museum) with the Trickey and McCabe families! With us living away, its always nice to make memories with friends and family whenever we get the chance. On the way home, we made a detour to Grant's Farm. On the last weekend of the month, our home was filled with love! We had a house full of family who all came to celebrate Aiden's Baptism. We are so blessed to have many people in our lives who support and love us! Two days after everyone left, Aiden took his first steps!! I guess he didn't want an audience when he took his first steps!! It wasn't until later in August that he actually started walking though...and now there's no stopping him! Also in August, mommy took Aiden to the sprinkler park a few times and we all spent an afternoon at Splash Zone, the water park by us. We also had some adventures exploring a few different parks. Aiden likes to swing, slide, climb, pick up sticks and rocks, and even tried the monkey bars and rock climbing with daddy's help! Mommy even got a special "surprise" visitor when Lucas spent a weekend with us! It was fun for Aiden to have a "big brother" for a couple of days. In September, went to Illinois to visit, Nana & Kevin got married so it was a special trip! Aiden also got to ride in one of Papa's big green tractors for the first time. Daddy took Aiden for a ride around the farm, the little guy sure does love those John Deere's! He also liked the cows, he got to help feed them and count them one night before bed. He liked to moo at them, but couldn't seem to get them to moo back! When we got home from our trip, Aiden made a new friend, Braylon. Braylon lives in Wisconsin, but was visiting his Aunt Lindsey who is our neighbor. The boys played together quite a bit but as usual with military families, your time together never seems long enough! While they were here, we all did the Paws in the Park 5K to benefit the Humane Society! Aiden rode in the stroller and Lilly walked with Nora, Lindsey's boxer who is like totally her bff that lives up the street!! Our last family summer adventure was to Animal Paradise Wild Animal Safari in Strafford, Mo.
The Animal Safari is so cool!! It is a drive through animal park. You have to stay in your car, but many of the animals come right up to your window! The emus and the camels even tried to stick their heads all the way in, so we had to be sure to keep the windows rolled up unless we were feeding them. Aiden thought it was the greatest thing to get to ride up front on mommy's lap and hang his head out the window! We bought a cup of food and thank goodness we did because there were times that we had to use it to lure some animals out of the middle of the road so we could keep going! Some of the animals we fed were emus, ostrich, camels, deer, donkeys, buffalo, zebras, llamas, goats, a yak and a wildebeest. We also saw black bears, elk, tigers, hyenas, leopards, monkeys and Ligers! Whheeew...I'm exhausted just thinking about all the fun things we did and great memories we made this summer!! If fall ends up being as exciting as summer, I think I might hibernate all winter long to catch up!!
