Solids and Slides

Sorry for the lack of posts lately. We lost the internet in our house for a few days but finally got things back on track on Sunday. In the mean time, I had my first try at eating solid foods! Oh boy, was that a mess! I was really good at it the first day and was opening my mouth up wide like a big boy, but then for the next few days I was not that into it. Grammie suggested that maybe I didn't like the rice cereal Mom was feeding me, so today Mom tried green beans. I definitely liked those a lot better. Maybe because they are so messy! Here are some pictures from my first feeding (Dad would like you to notice my bib) and a video. The last picture is me with my green bean face on!

The weather has been really super here in Illinois. Although we get a lot of storms, for the last week it has been blue sky almost all the time. The temperature is in the 70s and 80s and breezy. Mom says it is like October in Florida and she is loving it (and for those of you negative nancy's, Mom says, yes, she is aware that she will be singing a different tune come February). Consequently, we've been getting out and enjoying the outdoors a lot. Here are a few pictures of our family making the most of summer...

I hope everyone else is enjoying their summer, whatever the temperature. Our family is headed to Minnesota next weekend and then down to Florida in July. We can't wait to see you all!

Jelly Belly

Anyone figure out what me, jelly beans, and Wisconsin have to do with each other? Why, me at the Jelly Belly factory in Pleasant Prarie, Wisconsin, of course! Eager to explore the area this weekend, Mom read that the Jelly Belly factory gives tours and was only about 15 minutes from where we needed to go to the mall anyways, so off we went!

Mom & Dad thought these signs outside the building were funny.

Luckily, it was a slow day at the Jelly Belly factory.

The tour went around the perimeter of the Jelly Belly distribution center ON A TRAIN! It was my first train ride, of course, but I wasn't a big fan at first. After awhile I calmed down and Mom & Dad say the tour also include a dancing jelly bean chorus line and a parade down Jelly Belly Row under a bunch of giant jelly beans hanging from the ceiling, but I wouldn't know because I slept through that part. You'll have to take their word for it though, because you couldn't take pictures on the tour.

We also saw some really cool pictures made completely from jelly beans! Check out these of Presidents George Bush and Ronald Reagan.

Afterwards you got some free jelly beans to take home and you could sample any flavor you wanted in the gift shop. Mom & Dad both tasted a 7-Up flavored bean. What was my favorite part? The hat, of course!

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day, Dad. Mom and I both say thanks for being such a GREAT dad!!!

A few pictures to share....

Hi all. Here are a few of my latest pictures. We're all doing great here in Chicago. Check back in a day or so to find out what me, jelly beans, and Wisconsin have to do with each other!

Chicago, Chicago, that toddlin' town...

On the third day of our trip we finally made it to Chicago! But first, we had to drive through Indiana.

After that came Illinois and the Windy City itself. To get to where we were going we had to drive right through downtown and right past the Sear's Tower. Did you know it is the tallest building in North America?

Since our stuff on the moving van wasn't going to be arriving until Monday, we spent Saturday night at a hotel so we would only have to be in a furnitureless house for one day. Here I am in my pack 'n play at the hotel.

On Sunday we went over to the house. Here's a picture of it...

Mom & Dad said they didn't think it was possible but I managed to get cuter on our trip!

On the Road Again

Hi guys! I'm back to tell you about Part 2 of our trip, but first, a couple of corrections. In my last post I said we drove through 5 states, but Dad reminded me that it was actually 6. Sorry about that, but it was pretty close for someone who can't count yet! Also, you may have noticed that some of the past pictures on my blog are looking funny. Mom says this is because Shutterfly messed with the URLs. She says she'll help me fix it eventually but right now she has neither the time nor the patience for it.

Now, on with our trip! On Friday, we left Birmingham and headed for Tennessee. Mom was super excited because she got to sing Rocky Top.

It's the little things that amuse her. Actually, it's the big things too. When we started out Mom said that if we passed anything giant on our trip we had to stop and see it. You know, like a giant ball of yarn or giant block of cheese. I think we may have been on the wrong road for giant things, though, because the closest we came to something giant was what looked like a giant cupcake wrapper turned upside down with a red cone sticking out of it, but that turned out to be the Corvette Museum.

We stopped in Tennessee for lunch and Dad decided to sport a mullet for the occassion.

Just kidding, it's really the tree behind him but it does look nice on him. Maybe Dad should consider a style change.

After Tennessee came Kentucky.

Mom thought Kentucky was probably the prettiest state we drove through. We stayed the night in Kentucky and Bushie Cat and I were glad to relax a little.

Poor Bushie Cat had to be cooped up in a cage when we were in the car and he really didn't like it.

Luckily, we only had one more day left to go to get to Chicago. More about that in my next post!

On the Road

We made it to Chicago! It was a long couple of days but our whole family made it here. Since our trip spanned several days and we have a bunch of photos, I'm going to tell you about it in multiple posts.

On Tuesday and Wednesday the movers came and packed up our whole house. Mom & Dad were kind of sad when we had to leave the house. It was the house where they lived when they were married and when I was born. Even though they were sad, Mom & Dad had fun reminiscing over some funny times they had in the house--like the time they tried to get the bird out of the chimney!

We spent Wednesday night at Yia Yia's house and then set out early Thursday morning. At first, Mom & Dad didn't think we'd all make it to Chicago in one piece. For the first 20 minutes of the drive I was crying and Bushie Cat was meowing so they weren't hopeful. Eventually things settled down; until we made our first stop, at least. Here's are some pictures and a video of the chaos that happened when we stopped in Chiefland

Of course I was okay because I was getting my bottle...

Bushie Cat was hopped up on sedatives but he still wreaked havoc when Dad let him out of his crate...

Mom was feeling a little frazzled....

I'm not sure if Dad was standing outside because there wasn't room for him or if he just didn't want to be in there!

But when Dad went inside to get lunch things really got out of hand...

Mom & Dad soon figured out how to streamline our stops, however, and things started going a lot better. All total we drove through five states and we did our first two on Thursday before we stopped in Birmingham for the night with Grandude. That was our longest day and Mom & Dad both agreed it was a beautiful thing when we made it to Alabama!

We spent about 9 hours in the car that first day. I think I had the best seat in the place.

Check back in soon for more on our trip!