exotic toledo

if there is one thing mike and i have failed at during our time here in michigan, it is sight seeing.

we've seen very little of what michigan has to offer, and it is a shame because there are so many wonderful things out there...

sleeping bear dunes, the henry ford museum, mackinac fudge, a billion lighthouses...
i've been dying to go to traverse city just to get moomers ice cream for three years now and we still haven't ever found the time to go do it.

we've only got one year left here in lansing, and we decided it is high time we start exploring pure michigan.

so where did we decide to visit first?
toledo.

totally not in michigan.

here's the thing, though. i love the toledo zoo. i've been raving about it to mike ever since we moved here. i think i've mentioned the detroit zoo a time or two, but toledo is only half an hour farther and i love it so much more. mostly because there is far too much walking to do at the detroit zoo. i like my zoos compact. please don't make me walk a mile between each animal or ride a train from one side to the other.

plus, toledo happens to have the closest friendly's, and there is nothing better than their honey bbq melt and their ice cream for dessert.

so we started "exploring michigan" in toledo.

the city did not disappoint.

we spent the first day filling up on our favorite foods, and the second day we spent at the zoo.

tennyson got to see his "quenguin" friends....

 and kiss the eyeball of pumba...

and ride on a "woah, big turtle!".

 the highlight of the zoo visit was the elephants. we got there right at feeding time and both tennyson and maggie were completely captivated by them. i don't think tennyson realized until this visit just how big elephants actually are. they've been his favorite animal for a month or so now, but i think this visit sealed the deal. plus, how can you resist the utter cuteness of a baby elephant?

(props to mike for taking this picture!)

we also got up close and personal with the hippos (another tennyson favorite) and the biggest orangutan i've ever seen in real life.

it was so nice to have a weekend away with our family. we've missed having mike around this summer, and it has been so wonderful that we've been able to find the time to do fun family outings. i love when we are all together. just one more week until mike comes home for good. and then maybe we'll spend some time exploring things that are actually in michigan. i can't wait. 

meet me halfway

the stars lined up perfectly this summer.

mike was able to stay in michigan for his internship,

mike's brother got an internship in wisconsin,

and my family went to utah for a week in july which left their house open.

a house which just happened to be the halfway point between michigan and wisconsin.

so we packed up our car and met halfway. totally perfect.

the only unperfect thing was that we had planned on going to a park or the zoo,

and it decided to be october outside instead of the end of july.

my poor nephew didn't have any pants with him, except a pair they had just bought that was a couple sizes too big. not that he really seemed to mind.

it was a very lucky coincidence that i hadn't happened to take tennyson and maggie's jackets out of the car yet. laziness for the win.

playing outside with the cool breeze and our jackets on made me yearn for the autumn. is it time to go pumpkin picking and drink apple cider yet? because i'm more than ready.

mike and his brother's favorite part of the trip?

re-enacting family portraits to replace inside the frames at my parent's house.

i wish we lived closer to family.

but we are lucky to have times like this to play together.

overall? it was a perfect weekend.

and i'm so glad we were able to do it.

(nearly) wordless wednesday {morton arboretum}

same tunnel. same boy. different batman shirt.

my how he has grown.

new and improved

don't say you weren't warned that this post is almost entirely about potty training....

_______

i've had some people question my sanity when i told them that we were going to start potty training during the summer where mike was gone five out of seven days a week, but i'm going to be honest here. i'm about the laziest potty trainer on the planet.

i read up on everything i could about potty training, and especially potty training with speech delays and after every single article or blog post all i could think was...

so i'm taking the lazy route. sometimes we potty train, sometimes we don't. i only sit him on the toilet about every half hour or so. if he's just peed, sometimes i go longer.

but this is the only way that i knew i could both potty train and also stay sane.

i was a little worried that my method would be a complete failure.

today gave me hope that i might be okay.

that maybe the lazy method is just what tennyson and i need.

because today he lasted all day in his underwear, and we didn't have an accident until seven thirty pm!

he didn't even pee in his diaper during nap time.

(nor am i sure he ever actually got more than a few drops into the toilet, but i'm ignoring that for now)

_______

truth is, tennyson has been a new kid lately. sometimes it is like a light turns on in his brain and he's suddenly a different kid. 

he eats plums now. without us even asking him to.

he ate a peanut butter sandwich for dinner.

we went to the grocery store two days ago and when a stranger came up and talked to him, he didn't start flipping out. he actually said "hi".

he is suddenly following directions and his words are becoming more intelligible. 

we are really enjoying it. we don't know when the light will be flipped off again, so we are soaking in every single minute of this tennyson.

_______

here's to the start of becoming potty trained.

we've got a long road ahead of us,

but we'll get there soon enough.

independence day

i love celebrating the fourth in chicago.

 

it means we get to be around family,

and eat lots of ribs.

 

this year, we even found what we thought was going to be a little parade.

the parade lasted an hour and a half.

not so little, but totally spectacular.

plus, the kids got spoiled with patriotic flags and beads.

 

 

at one point during our "little" parade, a helicopter came down the street.

and maggie almost died when she saw mickey mouse turn the corner.

 

 

really, maggie stole the show in her little outfit, wobbling down the street.

i think people enjoyed watching her wander around as much as they enjoyed the parade.

 

 

that night we went to see fireworks.

mister sat there and chanted out each color as it went off.

"purple!" "green!" "red, white, and blue!"

and he got to take his own fireworks home.

someday when he's older we'll tell him that they are actually called glow sticks,

but for now it is totally precious to see him run around the house showing everyone his fireworks.

 

hope everyone had a wonderful fourth.

 

 

god bless america.