The Mouse Family Blog

We were going a little stir-crazy this afternoon, so we took a trip over to the lake.

Lauren had a nice time venturing around, while Grace mostly slept in the stroller. Afterwords, we took a little trip down Lake Shore Drive and an ill-considered trip to a neighborhood pub (parent lesson: newborns and loud raucous football fans don't mix).

It's slowly donning on us how much closer the lake is here at our new house. It's not within walking distance, but it's just two miles down a main street. That also puts us onto Lake Shore Drive, so we've had a fun time "rediscovering" one of the most beautiful drives in all of Chicago. In fact, we've driven it four or five times already this weekend.

at Family Grounds Coffee Shop.

Today the workmen in our house are staining the hardwood floor, so we vacated and headed down Lake Shore Drive to the Museum of Science and Industry. I (Liz) decided the best course of action for toting a toddler and a baby around would be on foot instead of via stroller. Grace does not care for her car seat...and I envisioned myself with a crying Grace strapped to the stroller as I pushed it careening through the crowds in pursuit of a run away Lauren...more frightening that a trip to the chiropractor. So I strapped Grace into the Baby Bjorn, slung the diaper bag over my shoulders, buckled the waist belt, grabbed Lauren's hand (after having a conversation with her about how big girls get to walk through museums by themselves, but they need to stop when Mommy says stop and come back when Mommy says come back) and off we went.

It was of course a free admission day.

So we were not alone in the museum.

But the crowds weren't as bad as free days at places like the Field Museum or the Shedd Aquarium. "Free" however is a misnomer if you park in their garage (are there other options?) - $16. Also, I apologize to Grace for not getting a picture of her on her first trip ever to a museum. I will make it up to you, I promise.

Here's Grace at three months. She is big on smiles and sleeping with mommy. She has yet to sleep "through the night" or sleep in her crib for that matter (all the blame lies on the house renovation for that one). She will be installed in her room and sleep trained the minute we are done with phase I. She likes reaching for toys and often can get a hold of them. She likes chewing on burp cloths. She does not like it when her hood falls over her eyes. She turns her head to see where voices are coming from, especially Laurens. She tries to sit up when she's laying down and can raise her head completely up. She took her first bottle!

No check up with the doctor, so we have to guess on her weight, but I think she is less than Lauren at three months.

Labels: Monthly Photos

What big shoes you have Lauren...and just what do you plan to do with that screwdriver?

Instead of dragging the girls to the Bungalow Expo, we thought we'd have more luck avoiding meltdowns at a pumpkin patch this Saturday. Or at least, at the pumpkin patch, we'd be surrounded by other frazzled parents and screaming kids.

So we headed to Goebberts Pumpkin Farm in South Barrington, IL. They have multiple locations, but this one seemd to have the most stuff from what we could tell on their website. We had never been before but several of our mom friends have been and given it great reviews (Amanda, I have those apple cider donuts you ordered).

Lauren had a great time running around to all the different activities. They have about 15 mini play areas with little fire trucks, tractors, photo ops, etc. It's nice that all of those at this location are free admission, basically sprinkled amongst the outdoor "store." We also paid admission to the animal park, which had a small farm petting zoo, about 20 exotic animals (including giraffes and tigers), pig races, and a toddler maze. Lauren loved seeing all the animals she recognized from Charolette's Web, including "a Wilber" and "a Gussy Goose."

Liz and Lauren also bought tickets for the camel ride. Lauren also asked to ride the ponies, but we passed on that, reminding her that Grandpa Leslie will take her to ride her pony Cocoa in Oklahoma at Christmas.

Lauren enjoyed an apple and an apple cider donut on the ride home.

My little girls are getting into the holiday 'spirit'...

(Thanks Megan, this is the cutest onsie!)


Just look at poor Lauren's face! She is terrified that Grace is going to eat all her Halloween candy. Just kidding... the most perceptive of viewers might have noticed the goulish hand that has Lauren by the ankle :)

And more on "spooks"...
Grandma Ann (I think it was she) helped me out of what could have been a sticky situation by telling Lauren that the faces on her new pants were "spooks". So much better than what I could have told her.... "umm, those, well those are faces that pirates put on their flags and that some people use around Halloween" or "well, do you remember the show where Curious George went to the museum with the dinosaur bones and he fell and broke his leg? these are bones like the dinosaurs' skulls and like Curious Geroges' leg, but, umm, these are human bones, like we have under our skin".

So Lauren is old enough this year, and oh so verbal enough, to be asking lots of questions about Halloween decorations. Some of them are pretty scary. I was silly enough to buy her skull and cross bone pants, but even a stroll through our neighborhood isn't safe enough since there are witches, skeletons and ghastly things hanging from our neighbors porches. Why can't we all just stick to decorating with pumpkins? And to add insult to injury, her new beloved Thomas the Train CD has a Halloween themed song it that talks about being scared of the dark and things that say boo, needless to say we skip track number 7.

One of my favorite bargain shopping experiences happens yearly at the St. Alphonsus church sale. My friend Amanda turned me on to it and a few of us have gone for 3 years now. Amanda scored the best prize, but I did pretty well myself when I got a hold of this Kettler trike. Lauren is thrilled to have her own "bike". Here are some pics of her and the bike in action.



Several of the outfits pictured also came from the sale as well. It's a great place to score play clothes. I was able to divide out a section in Lauren's closet so Jace knows that clothes from there are approved for anything he wants to do with Lauren and he doesn't have to worry if they get dirty. If Lauren gets to pick their activities, it will be riding her bike to the park or the sqaure. She even asked us if she could ride it to church! We should install an odometer on the thing.

Need another hint? Here's the view from the other side...


Indy finds the most amusing positions to nap in.
Oh and if you know anyone who would like to buy the faux stone fireplace surround...we might be willing to part with it for the right price.

This picture is blurry, but it's Jace and the girls! Our temporary kitchen is in the background. Don't you all wish you could have the coffee maker right there by your couch ;)

Here are the girls, with house construction in the background. (Warning: Mundane video ahead.)