Derrick's last day in Chi-town....

On Derrick's last day in the windy city, he wanted to take us out for my birthday. We went to Smoque on the nortwest side of the city. Wow!!! Barbeque that literally melted in your mouth. if you are in the area, go to Smoque - it's worth the line!

Here are Derrick and Olivia at the restaurant. Apparently, Olivia was on the move as the camera clicked.Then, we went to the park that was down the street from the restaurant. Tony and Mia on the swings.This guy is very comfortable in his masculinity wearing his daughters socks on his ears. We don't know him, but figured this was worth the picture.Mia in the swings.Again.Derrick on the teeter-totter with Olivia.The boys and Mia - can you say, Cheese?Derrick and Mia - don't they look alike? Although, Mia is cuter (no offense, Derrick).Derrick and the girls.Once again. At this point, everyone was getting bored with pictures.Once we got home, the girls were down for the count.

Museum of Science and Industry.....

So, a couple of weeks ago, we went to the M of S and I. One of my old friends had a birthday to celebrate and wanted to go to the Harry Potter Exhibit. While we went to the Museum, we decided against the Harry Potter exhibit as no one in our little family follows the wizard's tale.

At the museum there are many exhibits with picture cutouts to make use of. By the trains, we had the engineer and fireman.

Then, they switched occupations.Olivia and Brandi in the Cable Car.Olivia posing a bit more.Mia at lunch - she was trying to turn all the way around in her stroller. Here she is again. Olivia in the tractor at the Farming Exhibit.Olivia taming the cow. Moo Moo, baby.Tony in the wheel of the tractor.And Olivia needs to one-up Daddy.Mia slept through the presentation of "Poop Happens." Tony was very interested in seeing this presentation. Can you guess what this showed us? Olivia got her face painted outside the Circus Exhibit.Speaking of the circus exhibit....Tony and Olivia as a cool clown and a mini clown.Mia joined in as well.Brandi and Olivia as PETA clown and whiny clown.

Please enjoy this video of Olivia dancing under the lights that are also a piano.

Is there anything better in this world than....

....a sleeping baby? Sleeping baby pictures are my favorite for the innocence, quiet, and relaxation, and beauty that the showcase. And yes, in the grand tradition of her father and sister, Mia sleeps with her mouth open and snores. You should hear them in the car when all three fall asleep. It's like a symphony of snores.

Mobile Mia...

So, Miss Mia. You were sick this past Tuesday - snot faucets on full force! As you are so good at sharing your slobbery fingers in Mommy and Daddy's mouths, Mommy and Daddy are understandably under the weather. Here are some pictures I took on Tuesday when we were home and you were in a (rare) good mood.

I was sitting on the couch watching Mia crawl around and trying to do some work at home. I took a gander down to my left, and what do I see?
"Yep, it's Me!!! Mia the Mobile Wonder!!""See Mom? I'm totally under the table.""How did I get here? I traveled through this hole between the two couches. I am a crawling genius!"

Sorry about that....

Yep...it's been a month. Can you believe how time flies?? So...what has this month brought us? Let's see - we got a cleaning service (yay)!! A nice lady comes and cleans the house every other week for us. It's fantastic. One less thing to worry about.

My grandparents came and stayed with us for a night. That was fun! We can't wait to have them again!

We are almost finished with the play room. We got the border on the walls and all we have left is to move the cabinets down to the play room.

We went to Minnesota for the 4th and for Mark and Christine's 20th Wedding Anniversary. Congratulations!!! We cruised around Lake Minnetonka for the fireworks. This was a beautiful fourth! We met Melanie - the newest addition to the Sweatt Family. Melanie - we like you!! Can't wait to see you again! :-) We also visited the Mall of America, and for those fans of "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives," we also visited The Nook. Olivia had a great time with her Auntie Lynn, Auntie Christine and Auntie Tacy. She had fun with Nick and Annie. Tony went on a long bike ride with Mark and Robin and nursed his sore posterior area. To all the Pottorff's, Sweatt's, and Harris's - thank you for a great time and we can't wait to visit again!

Mia has cut her first two teeth and she is crawling!

Happy Birthday to all of our July friends and family: Logan Sobek, Erin Sobek, Emily Anderson, Laura Baxter, Sam Madan, Milo Anderson, Megan Harris, Wendy Hansen, Mark Pottorff, Annette McNeely, Nash Trumbly, Michael Sweatt, and anyone else that I may not have remembered this late at night.

Time for pictures.....

If you look closely, you can see her teeth!

Look how cute Mia is - in the background, of course.
"Daddy, what are you doing??""Look, people. You've kept me up, I can't crawl around, and I want to smack your face. HOLD ME NOW!!!""Jeez, Mom. Do you ever stop taking pictures of me?" Oh yeah, Olivia proceeded to fall at our first stop on the way to Minnesota. As you can see, she cut both on top of her nose and underneath. What can I say? When it comes to klutzy, she's talented!Mia! My happy baby!"Everybody look happy!""Wipe those smiles off your faces!"Olivia pretending to be camera-shy."Mmmmm...thumb....""I'm so cute they take tons of pictures of me.""Mmmmmm......stroller......"I love this picture of Olivia. How gorgeous is she???