Uncle Ken and Aunt Linda Visit!

Uncle Ken and Aunt Linda brought Charlie this new Bears jersey and ball. He wore it every day...even to bed at night!

Last weekend we were very fortunate to have Pete's Uncle Ken and Aunt Linda come stay with us. Their son, Andy, is the trainer for the Wisconsin men's hockey team (you saw pictures of us a couple years ago at a hockey game of his), and Wisconsin was playing Norther Michigan in Green Bay. Uncle Ken and Aunt Lin decided to make the Michigan Loop trip... they started in Illinois, went to Wisconsin to watch their grand kids, then went to Green Bay for the game, drove to Marquette to stay with us, then looped through the UP to head to Ludington to close up the cottage. 

It was SO nice to have them here. Whenever we have gotten together in the past, it has been with the entire family, so you can imagine how crazy that is. This time we actually got to spend some one-on-one time with them. They hadn't met Seda yet, so they got to do that and spend some fun, quality time with the kids. Unfortunately the weather did not cooperate (it was raining sideways from the wind, and cold), so we were cooped up the house most of the time, but that didn't slow them down. They played everything Charlie wanted to and even enjoyed interacting with Seda, even though she was a little scared of Uncle Ken at first ;) She warmed up to him eventually though. It was a short visit, but a great one. Hopefully we can get them back here again when the weather is good because we know they would love all of the outdoor adventures here. We are looking forward to our next "for sure" planned trip when Uncle Ken and I run the Lakestride Half Marathon in Ludington this summer. Hopefully we can see them again before that though! Thanks for the visit, Uncle Ken and Aunt Linda! It was so nice to have you, and we appreciate you making the drive!

Charlie making sandwiches for his guests.

Big smiles for Uncle Ken.

Seda was finally starting to smile at her Great Uncle. :)

Showing Aunt Lin the Call Me Maybe Big 10 mascot video.

Tackling with Uncle Ken.

Uh, oh! He got him!

Aunt Lin was teaching Charlie how to do the hands on the bat to see who goes first. I love how Charlie's tongue is out in concentration here.

A Sitting Duck . . .

Just hangin' out with the Bears ball.

 Guess who's sitting up... all by herself! Yep! Ms. Seda Jane has perfected the art of sitting all by herself. She started out pretty wobbly, but we noticed that her core was pretty darn strong. After a few weeks of practice, she started to just do it on her own! She'll sit there for a good 15 to 20 minutes without falling, but we still leave a pillow behind her in case she gets tired. She still has no interest in being on her belly though. She has started to do complete rolls to get a toy, but when you put her on her belly, she stays for a minute, then quickly rolls back over to her back. We go to the doctor for her 6 month check-up on Monday, so will post all of her "stats" then!

This pic was too cute to not share. They were all snuggled together one morning...love it!

Mackinac Island

Seda all bundled up for the boat ride. It was a REALLY cold weekend.

 Pete's dad surprised his mom with a family trip to Mackinac Island for their 40th wedding anniversary. For those of you who don't know what Mackinac Island is... look it up! :) My family grew up going there for trips, but it had been a long time since I've been. One really cool thing about the island is that there are no cars allowed; everything is done by horse or bike. We took the boat over Friday afternoon. We spent the rest of the day checking out the island, and then we had pizza for dinner. On Saturday morning we headed out for a bike ride around the island. The weather was pretty questionable, and of course it started raining on us half way around (luckily it's only 8 miles around the whole island). We stopped for lunch, and then spent the rest of the day avoiding the rain, shopping, napping, and hanging out. Saturday evening we went out for dinner to celebrate the anniversary, and then Kelly and I hung out when the kids went to bed so that Grandpa and Grandma could go out with friends and Pete and Mark went down to watch the State game.  Sunday morning we got up, had some breakfast, packed our stuff up, and headed to the Fort. After walking around there, we found a lunch spot, got some ice cream and fudge, and then headed back to the mainland on the boat. It was a great little trip, and it will be even more fun in the future as the kids get a bit older and can do more. It was a great anniversary celebration (I think Grandpa and Grandma enjoyed it too), and as always, it was so much fun to spend some family time together!

Our boat to the island.

The crew waiting for the boat.

The boys sat inside where they could see the captain.

Matthew and Seda ready for a ride to town.

Charlie and Seda in their chariot ready for a bike ride around the island.

Pete ready for a ride!

They both fell asleep.

There was a children's riding stable and the lady let us come in to see the horses.

Auntie holding Seda and Matthew while I snapped pics of the boys petting the horses.

It was so chilly we had to buy Seda a new hat!

Apparently she was hungry!

Drew and Charlie at the Fort. Charlie totally looks like a tourist.

Taking a picture with the cannon.

I love this one with his leg in the air.

Again... all bundled up.

Charlie dressing the part.

These two look super excited about me taking their picture, don't they?

Guns with Grandpa.

Following the guy on a screen teaching him how to hold the gun.

Marching with Grandma.

Waving good-bye to Mackinac Island.

Our family pic!

The guys.

Door Jumper . . .

 We finally got out the door jumper for Seda since she was starting to use her legs more. Unfortunately we have molding around all of our door frames, so we can't put the jumper where we want. The only place it'll work is in the doorway to our pantry, which is a little hidden. It still works out OK if we are in the kitchen. She LOVES it! She was all smiles one day, so I figured I would get the camera out. She's just so stinkin' cute!

Seda's First Swing . . .

Grandpa and Grandma got Seda her own swing for our little play structure we have in our backyard. She finally seemed big enough to try it out, so we did. She did great! She sat there, content, while we pushed her for a good 10 minutes. Too bad the weather is turning and she won't be able to enjoy it much longer, but at least she got it in before the snow came!

Golfing with Papa

 Last time my parents were up for a visit, my dad got Charlie his first golf club. He was SUPER excited! They went in the back yard and hit the little yellow balls for a long time. He's pretty good when he concentrates and pays attention to what he's doing! Hopefully my dad and Uncle Mark can keep helping him perfect his game! ;)

Fun Around the House with Gramps & Gram

Playing with the construction hats.

 Just some fun pics from a Grandpa and Grandma visit. A little late, but better late than never!

Finger painting with Grandma!

Grandpa got paint on his nose! :)

Just watching TV, but I had to take the pic!

Dancin' in the Rain . . .

 It was raining one day and Charlie really wanted to go out and play in it. I didn't want to take Seda out, so we got Charlie all set and sat at the window to watch him. He looked too cute not to take pictures!