The Zoo!

One of the great things about South Bend is their zoo. Not every relatively small town has a zoo, but South Bend does! We took the kids to Potowatami Zoo on Friday. Sebastien seemed to really like it...but for a variety of reasons. Yes, he liked the animals, but he also liked running around the zoo paths, hanging with Grammy & Papa and riding the little train that goes around the zoo.

As far as animals go, we saw tigers, lions, camels, emus, zebras, ducks, fish, wallabies, monkeys, bats, snakes, buffalos, giant turtles and more. Sebastien was afraid of the tigers and lions and made us pick him up around them. Below is a picture of them looking at the tiger.

Below: It's kind of cool that we have pictures of mommy and uncle Brian in this same pose with Grammy about 25 years ago. I'm pretty sure it's the same fence.
Posing with a peacock:

Below is one of the lions. These cages were pretty close to the sidewalk and as I was standing there, I stupidily watched as this lion walked as close to me as it could get, turned around and then started to spray pee at me. Luckily I jumped out of the way just in time. He also barely missed Genevieve in the stroller.

I didn't see this sign until after the fact:

Below: Riding the choo-choo was probably the highlight of Sebastien's day.

Below: Sitting on the giant turtle statue

What a fun day at the zoo!

Playtime at Grammy & Papa's

Grammy and Kim took the kids to the park on Saturday. Potawatami park has a great kids playground area. Here's Grammy pushing Sebastien on the circle turn thingy (what are these called again?).

Below is mommy and Sebastien on the playground.
I don't see how Grammy can say baby Genevieve doesn't look like her. Look at this:
Sebastien has fallen in love with his blanky. At home, his blanky stays upstairs in his crib but since Grammy and Papa live in a ranch house, he can go get his blanky out of his crib anytime, which is exactly what he's been doing. Here's Elmo and Sebastien taking a rest on blanky.

Grammy & Papa also bought a play tent with a detachable tube. Sebastien adores it. Here he is inside the tent in the basement. (Note where blanky is.)

Sebastien has been dragging the tube all around the house, as seen here.

Below: a typical day at Grammy & Papa's. Genevieve loves the bouncy seat we borrowed from cousin Addie.

Throwing balls down the tube is also very fun.

More Pics from South Bend

The days roll along quickly here in South Bend. Yesterday Kim's friend, Ann, drive up from Indy to visit. Ann's baby boy is due in November. We took the kids to Chick-Fil-A then hung out at the house afterwards. Sebastien is still no where near sick of all grammy's toys.

Below is a scene from last night. Sebastien is wrestling with "Papa" while Genevieve is bouncing like crazy. Dog Monet is not sure what's going on.

Today Sebastien and Kim got their teeth cleaned. Sebastien was not a fan of it, but was happy with the toy car Papa gave him when it was done. Here is Papa at work with his grandkids.

I just thought to include this picture because it shows how blue Genevieve's eyes are. I always thought my eyes were basically blue, but not when you compare them to hers!

Sebastien's (early) 2nd Birthday Party!

Grammy decided to throw Sebastien an early 2nd birthday party on Sunday and invited our family and friends. Since our family is huge, it was a little overwhelming for Sebastien but he still had a blast. Below is a picture of the kids waiting for the party to start.

The cake Grammy made:
Kim's cousin Joel, his wife Amy and their daughter Addie, brought over their inflatable bouncy house. To say that it was a complete success is an understatement. All of the kids loved it and some even cried (Sebastien included) when it was time to go in for dinner. Below is a picture of Sebastien and Charlie bouncing around.

Addie, Grace, Charlie and Sebastien bouncing:

When it came time to sing Happy Birthday, Sebastien was getting overwhelmed. He's not used to dozens of people singing at him so he was scared and mommy had to blow out his candle. Luckily we opened presents next and that was enough to make him forget his scary birthday singing experience.

Below: with great-grandpa Popoo

We had such a wonderful time at Sebastien's party. Thanks to all who came and a BIG thanks to Grammy Patty for planning and preparing the whole thing.

Arriving in The 'Bend

WE MADE IT TO SOUTH BEND! After a surprisingly easy flight, Kim, Sebastien and Genevieve made it to South Bend on Friday. We've had a wonderful first couple of days here. Sebastien was very excited to get to Grammy and Papa's house to play with all of their toys. Despite not napping all day, he played for several hours straight with the new cars and trucks and choo-choos until finally conking out Friday night. Saturday morning we went to visit Papa's friend, Mr. Reed, who has a nice model train setup. Sebastien liked watching the trains go around the track and helping Papa run them. Below is a picture of Sebastien with Mr. Reed and Papa by the trains.

Below: with Papa & Grammy

Saturday evening we went up to Tom & Hetty Cohen's condo on Lake Michigan. Gina was there with Isaic and Claire. Here's a photo of us and our kiddos.

Below: Claire & Genevieve were instant friends.

...and they were partners in drool.

Isaic & Sebastien were partners in crime, armed with squirt guns.

Sunday was Sebastien's birthday party day. Before the crowd came over, Sebastien got to meet his 3rd cousins Grace and Charlie. Here's a pic of the 4 of them:

Pre-party photo (Sebastien is sporting a nice swollen bug bite in the middle of his forehead).

Woop! Woop! (at the Police Department)

Today we had a very special playdate since one of Kim's playgroup friend's husband is a police offer at the Dracut Police Department. We got to walk all around the station and visit the police cars. Below is Sebastien getting "booked." He was very cooperative about getting his fingerprints done.

Sebastien is so proud to be a criminal!!
Below: Here we are outside among the police cars. Seabstien was too afraid to go inside the first car because once he heard the siren up close and personal, he wanted to stay by mommy.

He eventually losened up though, as you can see below, and ran around thrilled with all the police cars.

Below you can see Adrianne and her baby, Avalynn, while Sebastien and Bella sit inside a cruiser. Sebastien was not shy anymore and loved turning on the siren.

Forget the sun and sand...the beach means cars and trucks!

We went to Hampton Beach on Wednesday to the Children's Festival, but instead of hanging out in the sun and sand, the boys were way more interested in all things car or truck. Here's a picture of Sebastien and Luke on the playground. Sebastien was very content to sit in this firetruck and watch the real cars and trucks drive by on the street.

The arcade was also a big hit with Sebastien, Luke, and George since they all wanted to climb in the cars, trucks, planes, trains, etc. Sebastien did not like it though when I would put a quarter in them to make them move. He apparently prefers to be stationary.

VIDEO: Genevieve in the ExerSaucer

Here's a video of Genevieve at 5 months having fun in the exersaucer.
As you can see, she's entering the "everything-in-my-mouth" phase.

Family Trip to Boston Children's Museum

We used our museum pass Sunday to take a (free!) trip down to the Boston Children's Museum. We've never been as a family before (since usually it's Kim going with other stay-at-home mommies) so it was a special treat. Below Sebastien is excited to go!

Below Dan and Sebastien in the "Construction Zone."

It's hard to tell whether Dan or Sebastien is having more fun.

Below: Sebastien playing in the water exhibit