Fencing anyone?

So Rachael has made a habit of putting the strainer on her face because, well, it is hilarious! She is such a comedian. Our babysitter Woojin was able to catch it in a picture after our failed attempts to capture the moment...I hope this brightens your day...

Cubs Home Opener...

Well today the Cubs have their home opener. Rachael decided to take a nap, so she won't see the start. It is currently a rain delay, so she may see some of the game today. Here are some pictures from today. In one, she is giving Curious George a ride in her school bus. The school bus was one of the abandoned toys we saved from the alley, and the George doll was a wedding gift. Now the monkey pillow buddy belongs to Rachael. Luckily, she has started giving her toys rides in the bus now instead of trying to climb in herself. The other picture shows her riding her favorite caterpillar Charlie. As you can see, she likes to stand on him. She is a little daredevil speed freak, so shortly after this picture was taken, she heard, "Get on your bottom, Rachael. No standing on Charlie!" Of course, she just giggles and keeps on climbing.

Bouncing and Giggling

Here we are bouncing on Rachael's crib mattress and giggling. You can see who Rachael got her "silly" from, right??

Easter- Cold and Sunny with the Bunny

Rachael enjoyed her second Easter in Michigan City with the family. We had an Easter plastic egg hunt and Grannie and Grandpa's house. She found all ten eggs. Each egg was filled with a shiny coin and sweet little note to Rachael. We enjoyed eating out this year, and after our afternoon brunch we went to Aunt Judy's to visit cousins Lisa, Scott, Abigail and Harrison and my Grandma. Rachael had fun hurling the bocce balls around the golf course that sits behind my Aunt's home. She has the "muscles of a steelworker" as Goomba Harold would say.

Lincoln Park Zoo

We took our first trip to the Lincoln Park Zoo today. We joined our friends Mara and Ana for a beautiful spring day amongst the creatures. There were no pictures taken because I was too busy wrangling up our little explorer. We enjoyed seeing the monkeys, apes, barnyard animals, and llamas. Rachael really enjoyed trying to feed her cookies to the seagulls at the picnic area. She doesn't share her mothers unnatural fear of large birds yet. We liked the gibbons best. They entertained us with acrobatic swinging. The zebras and chimpanzees seemed to be starting their "spring romance", so we decided not to stick around too long. When I was a camp counselor, the zebras started "mating" in front of my group of 7 year olds. I didn't need to relive that memory! Overall it was a great first trip to the zoo. I am sure we will be back with a camera next time!

Waterpark!

We took a trip to Lake Geneva to enjoy the warm waterpark at Timber Ridge Lodge when Marjean and Harold visited a few weekends ago. It was a great diversion from a hard cold winter...We realized after we returned that the spots that we thought were "skin sensitivity" were the start of hand, foot, and mouth, so I hope we didn't pass it to all the other kids there! Hopefully the chlorine killed the virus. Luckily, it seems like spring is peeking around the corner with the slightly warmer weather we've had the last few days. Here are some pictures of our adventure at the waterpark... Rachael also loved the giant chess board.

Hand, Foot, and Mouth...

Poor baby Rachael has hand, foot, and mouth disease and is pretty miserable. Hopefully she is at the tail end of it...We all are lacking sleep, and thank goodness Harold and Marjean are visiting to help us out!