July 7-18

Go get something to drink and make sure you're comfy-this is going to be a long one!

First off, the birthday girl! Seven. Man alive.

At the family party.

As is our tradition, a picture the minute she turned 7.

Getting a manicure (I caved).

 Chicago! We left on Thursday for the weekend family union. It was an action-packed weekend!

Treats beside the Chicago River because we had to get up early to catch the train into downtown.

First stop: Sears Tower!

Mugging for shots outside Sears.

Most of the cousins reuniting. They have such a great connection.

You can stand inside a plastic "box" 102 stories over the street. It was a somewhat freaky feeling at first, but very cool.

First family photo this high in the air!

This was while we were waiting for a taxi. You can just grab a bike and take it somewhere else and park it. Some day we might do this!

The kids' first tax ride. We squished six of us in there (my cousins Jessica and Amy were with us).

Seven of us-Kate came along for the day. :o)

 Our destination? Water Tower Place-eight stories of shopping -but we were interested in just two stores...

This entire city scape-background, sky and everything-is built of Legos. Joshua and Ryan headed here.

Bella, Kate and I headed here. We had some birthday shopping to do!

The latest "Doll of the Year" is Isabelle-close enough. Bella stops her shopping for a cookie break (the best kind).

Kate and Bella now have matching glasses!

 Saturday was reunion day! We all met at Jeff's to enjoy time as a family. Altogether, there were 37 of us! We were only missing April and Rachel.

Carl and Lally's children: Judy, Richard, Sheila and Shirley.

The cousins in birth order: Jeff, me, Erika, Eddie, Shari, Jessica, Lori, Amy, Kevin and David.

The cousins' children (minus April and Rachel). Lori is at the end with Cousin #18 due in December. The ages range from Brian who is 22, to Jacob, who just turned 1!

 Sunday we all went to different churches, then met up at Portillo's for lunch. More fun!

I'm pretty sure Brian unhinged his jaw to get this double burger in his face!

Just like Uncle Jeff, my kids adore their cousin Brian!

Aunt Sheila and Lexi.

Random cousin-ness.

This. This is the one I tried to bring home with me. He is adorable.

Even Uncle Richard played with him, and Uncle Richard only likes girls.

Bella is listening very intently to whatever it is Aunt Sheila is saying!

Lori with Zoe.

The young ones did this on their own-grabbed a bunch of high chairs and made a train. Naturally we all helped them scoot around the party room we were in!

 Monday was another day downtown. This time we went to Navy Pier with Jessica and Amy. It was quite the travel day!

First we got on the train. Uncle Jeff pulled out his phone so he and Ryan could watch themselves travel on the map program.

Then we got on a water taxi! It was raining, but we didn't care. It saved us a loooonnnng walk.

Then we caught the free trolley. By the time our water taxi ride was over the skies had cleared!

Always beautiful. The ferris wheel wasn't running because it had rained all morning.

It has its issues, but Chicago is a beautiful city.

The sky, the clouds and the light all combined to give Lake Michigan a beautiful turquoise color. It was great for pictures.

I know his eyes are closed in this one, but they were closed in every shot! It didn't seem like it when I checked my phone after shooting. Oh well...

 After the train, the water taxi, and the trolley, we boarded a double-decker bus for a tour.

Here's our ride! Ironically, it's plastered with an ad for visiting Michigan!

Ryan started out strong...

But in the end, the bus just lulled him to sleep.

 Tuesday morning we met at the motel to say goodbye. I didn't get any pictures of that, but Bella got a ton of selfies. Look at my crazy girl. (I have tried-literally-more than 10 times to get these pictures to load correctly and I can't figure out why they aren't. Sorry.)

On our way home, we stopped off at the Shedd Aquarium. Bella grabbed my phone and took over 120 pictures! She's certainly a shutterbug!

How cute are these two?

Not even gonna bother trying to flip this. But I love it.

This is called a sea dragon. God has created some truly amazing animals!

Little girl dreaming of swimming with dolphins.

And that's it! At least for now. We're in the last few weeks of summer break (what?!). Bella has been in MO with Maga and Papa, and Ryan and I are headed there tomorrow for a few days. More pictures when we return!

Ryan at 4 months

What I never wanted-but knew would happen-has happened. I have neglected my second-born. You might notice that there's no three-month picture. That was my fault. His "birthday" hit right before we left for Missouri, and then we were there for a week, spent a week recovering, and then...well, I have no idea what happened after that. In any case, here are pictures from both months, including "fresh off the press" pictures from this morning for his four month birthday. Check out that smile!

He's tipping! Not able to sit up on his own yet.

And, as with every month, Bella wants to get in on the action. How can I say no?

Ryan HATES laying down (except to sleep) so that means no more parking him in his car seat while I get stuff done. He actually tries to sit up, or he straightens up to the point that he slides out of the car seat. Enter the horsey! This was Isabella's Easter present last year but he's already able to get his feet on the floor. I'm sure by next month he'll be bouncing his little heart out.

And he's ahead of Isabella because she didn't get into the high chair until she was 6 months old and Ryan's already hanging out in there. No food yet, but we should be starting that soon.

Here we are at "Touch A Truck" an event where you can climb on/get photos in/blow the horn of a ton of different vehicles. It was all fun and games until Bella heard a really loud horn, and then she was ready to go. Some day,the kids will love it. (This old-time fire truck seemed safe.)

And here's my little angel asleep.

This is called a Bumbo and it allows Ryan to sit up on the counter and watch me make dinner. I'm sure he could practically sit up on his own without the chair, but we're better safe than sorry on that one.

This picture is out of order, because I took it just this week. He was spiffed up to go to work with me: blue cardigan (with elbow pads!), khaki cargo pants (with pockets!) and his little brown gym shoes. Well...if you've seen Ryan you know they're not "little" shoes!

The kids and I headed off to Missouri to see Maga and Papa as well as Uncle Richard, Jessica and Amy. Here we are at the dock, enjoying a beautiful day.

Ryan gets his first golf cart ride! I'm sure it's the first of many, and if Papa is anything like my grandfather was, he'll be driving it by the time he's 5.

Whispering "Maga things" in those little ears.

Can you tell I'm absolutely crazy about this little guy??

Everyone took turns keeping Ryan occupied. Here Amy stops to chat with my Little Man.

All these websites say that by four months of age, a baby can start putting weight on their legs. Ryan had that licked at a month old. Here he and Papa have some special chair time.

Okay, okay, it's Ryan's page, but I couldn't skip this picture! I think it's my favorite one of all.

Ghosty Eyes! They're a regular occurrence now and they crack me up every time.

I love that Mom just has him hanging by his britches in this shot.

Here he is showing off his standing skills again.

Isabella has mad love for little Ryan. She frequently gives him kisses and high fives and grabs his little fists to play pat-a-cake. I also hear "Ho du" which is a loose translation of "Hold you" and really means "I want you to put Ryan in my lap." She just giggles. I'm not sure he's so thrilled.

I have always said that Ryan looks like Uncle Richard, and this shot proves it-at least to me! Isabella looks like Jessica, so maybe one day her kids will look like me!

Naked and smiling. Life is good!

This was at Uncle Jeff's house. Joshua was spending some quality Father/Son time with Ryan. LOVE that Ryan's hair simply defies gravity and is always at attention at the back of his head.

Here we are at Lincoln Park Zoo-Ryan's first trip! He had his lion hat and giraffe pacifier for the occasion. He will be embarrassed and hate me for it later, but right now, I think it's adorable.

Gotta sneak some Isabella in here-she and Uncle Jeff mugging for the camera.

Me and the love of my life. No question of where Ryan gets his good looks!

Ryan pondering the world's issues while at the zoo. What a multi-tasker!

We were trying to get a smile out of him, but he wouldn't do it.

More to come next month!