Updates

Last Monday Aunt Mimi took the day off to hang with Claire. They went to the park, ran through the sprinkler/fountain at the mall, swam in her pool and got ice cream. I'm wishing Auntie would stay home with me for a day. A great time was had by all.


If you've been to a Brewer's game in Milwaukee, you've heard of the famous racing sausages. They run in the 7th inning stretch for crowd entertainment.
On Sat., I participated in the Famous Racing Sausages 5k Run. I thought signing up for an organized activity would motivate me to get in shape. I've been working out over the lunch hour at a local gym and ran outside last weekend to make sure I could cover the 3.1 miles. The one thing I didn't count on was the heat!

The course was primarily in the Miller Park parking lot, black asphalt with no shade. I powered through and so did my cheering section. Lucian and Claire were there to cheer me on in 3 different spots. Part of the course included running on the warning track of the field. It was pretty cool. I hope to do it again next year, on a cooler day of course.
To cool off Sat. afternoon, we headed to the pool. Claire loves the water and this time we introduced her to the big water slide. We spent most of the day there as she asked to go down it again and again.

Shopping

Although Aunt Mimi does most of Claire's clothes shopping, there is one item we are contemplating buying her. A Big Sis t-shirt! We are expecting and will welcome a new member of the family in early January! We are very excited and will share what we having after our ultrasound next month.

A 3-Hour Tour

Friday night we were fortunate enough to have dinner on our friend's sailboat on Lake Michigan. Chris and Cait acquired the boat last year and spent the winter and spring making it sea worthy. We headed out for a sail prior to dinner, however, the wind stopped cooperating so we had to use the engine to get back. We saw at least 10 rental (motorless) sail boats being pulled back to the sailing center. They couldn't catch the wind either.

Lucian manning the jib

We "parked" at their mooring behind the break wall and grilled out.

The Summerfest grounds are home to a festival every week in the summer, most accompanied by fireworks. We stayed on the boat long enough to watch the Festa Italiana fireworks, even though they didn't come on until after 10! (It was supposed to be 9:30.) Claire was a trooper and ooooed and aaaaaed over the show. I think "wow" was her most common response and she did great naming all the colors.

Fun with Claire

We attended a picnic for Lucian's work last Wed. with brats and ice cream and a bounce house, of course. It happened to be at a park very close to our house and occured during the company's weekly softball game. It was great to not plan a meal for the night and to visit with some co-workers and friends.

Claire was instantly amazed by the sight of the bounce house, but had mixed emotions about going in. We watched the kids from outside for a while and then she said she was ready to go. After two or three attempts of setting her in and then bursting into tears, she eventually sat for a while holding my hand through the entrance. Eventually, she stood up and then we couldn't get her out. She thought it was great.
Saturday morning Claire and I picked up her friend Sydney (and her mom) and headed to the zoo. The girls rode in Sydney's wagon and had a great time seeing all the animals.

There is an area where you can feed goats at the Milwaukee zoo. Claire loved it and in addition to feeding the goats pet and hugged them too.



On the way out, the girls were hamming it up, splaying themselves over the side of the wagon.

Sunday was really hot here in Milwaukee. We stayed inside most of the day and in late afternoon headed to a local pool. We had heard good things about this place and it was perfect for Miss Claire. She loves the water and is starting to learn a little about how she can move around in it. I'm sure we will head back again this year.

Cake

Claire and I made a trip to Rockford last weekend to visit with family. My grandmother's birthday was Saturday, so we visited with her and we were able to see my aunt from GA and uncle from CO.

Claire offered to help Nana Barb with the cake for the party. She was busy mixing things and even got to frost a cupcake.

As you can see, applying frosting is overrated when you can eat it.


Claire was asking to paint one evening this week. Typically I put her in her high chair for this, but she is letting us know she's totally over that phase. All she does with that chair now is play underneath it and pretend it is a truck or car she is driving.

Anyway, Lucian put papers out on the floor and they finger painted together for a few minutes before Claire discovered how fun it is to paint with her feet. Perhaps we have a new artistic style developing.

Happy 4th!

What an amazing weekend of family time! Lucian and I took Friday off from work, so we enjoyed a four day weekend of great weather and activities. We went for bike rides, saw a parade, hit up a festival, grilled out, visited a local audubon and beach, ran errands and worked on the yard. It was lovely to have so few plans and let the days take us where ever we felt at the time.

Lucian and I enjoyed brunch on Sunday celebrating our 4-year anniversary at the place where we had our wedding and reception. The food was amazing and we walked the park a little after our meal to see our ceremony site.
Lucian and Spencer dug posts for our hammock and cemented them in over the weekend. Here are Claire and Spen writing in the concrete.
We went to the Schlitz Audubon Nature Center to hike and hang out on the beach.

It took a lot of coaxing to get Claire to stand on the sand or put her feet in the water. Eventually she got the hang of things.

Walking the trails

We stopped after dinner one night for some frozen custard.

On Monday we rode our bikes to a local 4th of July parade. Claire is at a great age to enjoy such a thing. She loved seeing the horses, fire trucks and probably most of all, the candy.

Collecting candy in the street

Showing dad her loot

I feel like we grilled out for almost every meal last weekend. Here we are enjoying some corn on the cobb.

After dinner we rode up to a nearby park hosting "Glendale Days," an annual 4th festival. Claire and I rode the merry-go-round and then we headed home. A great way to end a holiday weekend.

Breakfast on the Farm

Last Sat., June 25th, Claire and I went to an event called Breakfast on the Farm. Lucian was in a golf outing that day and it seemed like something we would enjoy. The farm was just a half hour north of us and Claire had a blast checking out all the animals. It started early and ended at 11:00, which made for perfect time to get home, eat and take a nap by 12:30.

My picky eater sampled all of the food. She liked the cheese and pancakes the best, but also tried the eggs with ham. She is becoming such a big girl.


This farm is a dairy farm and they grow alfalfa. Claire really liked looking at the cows and she didn't seem intimidated in the least.
There were rows and rows of calves in their houses. Some didn't mind being pet. One tried to eat clothing, but was very friendly. Claire got a kick out of touching them and kept asking if they were soft.
They also had a petting zoo with a small calf, goats, sheep, puppies, chicks, rabbits, kittens and guinea pigs. It was fun to see that Claire knew what they all were and the sounds they make. She loved touching them all.
Here is Claire milking her first cow. They had a fake cow that squirted water into a bucket. Only in Wisconsin, right?