3 months old

Justin is now 3 months old! It's hard to believe that 3 short months ago, we were still waiting for him to make his grand entrance. He has changed so much in that short amount of time, and is such a sweet little boy.

Likes: Chewing on his fingers, drooling, pony rides, jumping in his Jump Up, riding in the stroller, smiling at Mom, laughing at Dad.

Dislikes: Bed time, nap time, laying on his tummy.

Favorite Toy: Green frog

Favorite Food: Milk

We went to Chicago this weekend, but I am massively busy and I will blog about it later in the week (Note to Self: do not attempt to drive across the state when half of it - including the freeway- is under water. You will not make good time). I have a 2 week project to do by Wednesday night (yes, it was given to me this morning), so all other activities are on hold until that's done. My only saving grace is that my boss goes on vacation on Thursday, and I will have 6 days of peace and quiet.

Family Visit, Part II

On Monday we changed plans, and instead of heading to Winterset to see the covered bridges, we headed out to the zoo! We had never been to the local zoo, and we were all pleasantly surprised. It was an overcast day, which was actually good because it kept us all a little cooler.






Malaina loved riding the camel, and kept telling us that she wasn't scared at all.

Justin was SO good. He rode in the Bob, napped, and didn't make a peep the entire time we were there!

As soon as we got into the zoo, Malaina insisted we see the elephants (and kept at it the whole time). When we finally moseyed over to the elephant area, she took a look at the mom & baby & completely lost interest. I think her favorite part was being squirted by the baby elephant statue!
I recommend a visit to the zoo. It's a really nice size to see in just a few hours, and there's lots to do - feed the animals, ride a camel, ride the train, etc. We wanted to try and hit the Science Center, too, but just ran out of time. That night we had dinner at PF Chang's (so good!!), and made it an early night. Yesterday we took a jaunt over to the mall and Malaina played while the boys strolled through Scheel's. We had lunch at Panera, then Matt and Malaina went to see Kung Fu Panda (highly enjoyed it), and the rest of us went to Valley Junction and the Heart of Iowa store to pick up a few local goodies for them to take home. Then it was off to the airport (via a newly found shortcut - avoiding flooded Fleur Drive). Justin's expression shows how we all felt about Grandma & Grandpa leaving.

Now we're scrambling to get ready for the long weekend in Chicago - catching up on laundry, cleaning, and I'm trying to finish a blanket for the new Baby Payne (isn't she precious??). I'm just grateful that the one thing I did get accomplished this week was to mail my Father's Day cards. They might actually reach their destinations on time!

A busy weekend

Grandma & Grandpa Engle came to visit this weekend! They travelled from Gardnerville, NV to see Malaina in her dance recital, and to meet Justin for the first time. We went to the Farmer's Market on Saturday, and had a great time seeing all the beautiful produce, sampling Kettle Korn, and Dad even chatted with a few other Aussie Shepherd owners. Malaina got to ride the train, and could have done that all day. Justin was sacked out in the Bob the whole time, but I think he enjoyed himself, too. Later that day we put Justin in his Jump Up (see video below), and I guess he was so worn out that he fell asleep! After dinner we went to Snookies for a little ice cream and Iowa atmosphere. Sunday was a quiet day, and we had to abandon going to Pella in favor of staying dry and off the flooded roads. Grandma and Grandpa got some one-on-one time with the kids while Matt and I snuck away to a movie. What a great weekend! We should be off to Winterset today to see the covered bridges.

Justin in his Jump Up! He seems to enjoy it, and it always cracks me up when he gets some momentum. (Ignore the conversation in the background)

My Ballerina

Malaina performed in her first ballet recital on Friday. The Capitol City Dance Center performed La Bayadere at the Drake Performing Art Hall, and Malaina's Creative Movement class participated in the role of snakes, complete with snake charmer. She did not have any stage fright, and did a great job in her part. We're so proud of her!

She was a little wishy-washy about going to dance class towards the end of the year, but I think performing in the recital (and having the chance to watch the more advanced dancers) has convinced her to continue taking lessons in the Fall. We'll move from a half hour class to an hour class, and they will even learn a little tap dancing! The Website is here Capitol City Dance Center, and I like them for their small class size, close location, and reasonable price.

Randomness

Our Louisiana red beans finally came on Monday, and boy were they good! There are not many things that live up to their memory, but I am so glad these did. Even Malaina enjoyed them, especially when we started telling her stories from our time in Louisiana (and calling her our Cajun Queen).

Here's a little shot of Justin, hanging out with his buddy Henry Bear. And one when he woke up from his morning nap. I don't like the pacifier in pictures, but he looked so cute all bundled in his blanket (and cuddled up with Daddy).

Just call me Velma?

Matt and Malaina were getting ready to run an errand before dinner......

Matt: Ready, Freddie?

Malaina: (filled with indignation) I'm Not Freddie! Freddie's a boy's name! You're Freddie!

Matt: If I'm Freddie, who are you?

Malaina: I'm Daphne, you're Freddie and Mama is Velma.

Matt: And who is baby brother?

Malaina: (rolling her eyes as if we should already know this) He's Scooby.

I guess we know what we're dressing up as for Halloween. And should I be worried that she thinks of Justin as the family dog?

Indiana Jones

I finally saw the new Indiana Jones movie on Thursday night. I put Justin down to bed & was able to sneak out to the 10 pm showing while Matt stayed home with the bambinos (he had seen it on opening day). It was good. Definitely not Raiders good, but good, and worth seeing. I think Harrison Ford seemed a little rusty in the part, and it showed. I also think that Shia LaBeouf was decent as Mutt Williams, but a little stilted. I found myself analyzing the whole time - looking at the sets, thinking about the acting, comparing and contrasting with the previous films. It took away some of the enjoyment of the film, but I couldn't help myself. I was fixated on Shia. I had read a review of the film that called Shia a good actor, but "with absolutely no charisma"... and I have to agree. Harrison Ford - charisma. Will Smith - charisma. Edward Norton, Kevin Spacey, Tom Selleck, Tom Hanks, Nicholson, Pacino, DeNiro - Charisma (with a capital C). But I digress. I thought the plot was underdone, and the sets were terrible. You could tell that most of the locations were sets (I mean seriously, when they went to the catacombs/ underground burial chamber that was an AWFUL set), and I was so surprised that Spielberg would allow that, and that they wouldn't have maxed out the budget to make it look authentic. For those who haven't seen it yet, I don't want to reveal too much. Like I said, it was good, but I'm really not sure we'll be adding it to our DVD collection.