zoo day.

Warning: Leisy has turned the blogging reins over while school is out.

Today we ventured out to the zoo in the nice weather! it was wonderful and buckets of fun. Fish, Penguins, Elephants, Hippos, Orangutans, Monkeys, Grandpa and many other exciting creatures were there to entertain us. Our favorite was when Grandpa Brent spread his wings and smiled!! The weather cooperated and gave us a good amount of blue skies and sunshine. After relentless rain and tornado warnings we considered a beautiful day a blessing. We covered a lot of ground in a short amount of time. We love our zoo!!
Zeb thinks he is far too big for a stroller and insists on pushing it himself. Melynda tried to help him a few times and got screamed at. Grandma got a very loud "MINE" shouted at her. Really the boy is cute but he's exploring his aggressive side. Ike slept. I like Ike.
No trip to Toledo would be complete without dining at the infamous Tony Packo's!! After the meal everyone expressed their feelings about the food... "It was good" "I really liked it" My Dad: "That was different..."













Stay tuned for further Toledo adventures...

blessed baby and tornado tornado tornado!

Grandma Pat, Grandpa Brent, and auntie Melynda arrived yesterday to meet Ike and be here for Ike's baby blessing today.
The blessing was great and Ike was perfect (as usual). I am not a fan of fancy blessing outfits on babies- but kent's mom knit Ike the cutest little sweater to wear and it was adorable. He looked like a little old man.
The best part of the day was when Kent's family took our kiddos home after sacrament meeting and Kent and I got to enjoy our meetings childless for the first time in a long long time!
Ike's baby acne decided to get really bad just in time for his grandparent's arrival and the blessing!












The Millers will be here for the majority of this week so I'm sure we'll have LOTS more pics and adventures to post.

In other exciting news we had three tornadoes touch down this evening not too far from Toledo! The tornado sirens went off while we were sitting chatting. I thought it was just a siren test until I turned on the tv and realized there was a major storm with rotating clouds headed our directions! It was rather fun and adventurous- but made Kent's dad mighty nervous! It was actually pretty intense and we were warned to take cover in small windowless rooms or stairwells. I did neither- hoping to catch a glimpse of something exciting. The storm ended up dissipating just before it reached us. It did leave us with some pretty cool clouds and bright blue skies afterwards though.

Having two really isn't that bad. Getting ready is a little more drawn out- and I have to pay more attention to my timing when we are out- but besides that things already feel totally normal. Really the ease has nothing to do with me - it's all thanks to the fact that I have the perfect little baby- he rarely throws wrenches in my plans (those are all thrown in by zeb). I have, however, noticed that I've been missing days of blogging lately. Sometimes when I wake up in the morning I realize I didn't post anything the day before. I'm not sure if it's me just forgetting- or having less time- or what! I went a really long time without missing any days- and in the past month I've missed quite a few :)


Luckily we have plenty to blog about from yesterday! WE went OUTSIDE! and went running/walking and played at the park! It was HEAVENLY. It was over 60 degrees out. I can't wait for the green to start coming out on the trees and for the grass to pop back up. Zeb was so happy to be be in his stroller and to run around at the park!! I think he forgot how to run on uneven ground though- he tripped and fell at least ten times! Funnily he was never worried about any pain or injuries- he was just always stressed out about the dirt and wood chips on his hands.

here's our little sleeper.

He is such a good baby. Too bad the baby zits are starting to show up! Zeb's stuck around until he was five months old!!

Zebby had a pretty good day today. We went to playgroup but first had a lengthy discussion about appropriate behavior. There was however a rather small turnout and that may have affected his performance (for the good). We've also started to notice that going to bed is harder for him right now. There are no tears or tantrums- he just questions us as to why Ike gets to stay up and be held while he has to go to bed. He's already using the drink trick amongst others to lengthen out the process. I can totally understand his frustration about it- I would be asking those same questions if I were in his place. "Why does the new kid get to stay up while I have to go to bed??!?!"

New Recipe.
I've been in search of a great pizza crust recipe forEVER. This one comes from my cousin Rachael (THANK-YOU thankyou thank-YOU!!!!) and is absolutely wonderful. It makes a great crust and fabulous breadsticks. Zoom in on the pic for the full delicious effect. Yum-o. She has posted the recipe on her blog- but I wanted to post it as well so I could add it to my favorite recipe collection. We've already made it quite a few times!!

1 c hot water
2 Tbs milk
1 Tbs shortening
1 Tbs olive oil
2 tsp sugar
1 1/4 tsp salt
1 1/4 tsp quick rise yeast (1 1/2 active dry)
add
3 Cups and 1 Tbsp flour

Knead for 5-10 minutes, til smooth elastic ball. Let rise about 45 minutes. Deflate gently and allow to rest for 15 minutes. Roll into 2 thin pizzas, one thick one or use for calzones. You can refrigerate dough in an oiled plastic bag for up to two days. It also makes yummy breadsticks (cut with a pizza cutter, twisted and rolled in butter, sprinkled with garlic powder and parmesan and placed on a cookie sheet). Bake about 415-420 for 15 minutes.

Zeb has decided to peak in his tantrum throwing phase (this had BETTER be the peak anyway). It's getting to the point where I am actually considering not taking him into public for awhile. I've never actually considered skipping story time or playgroup because I enjoy getting out of the house and talking with friends- but right now I've got to pick my battles. What in heavens name are we doing wrong?! Sometimes he is so bad it's embarrassing. Usually it's over some object or desire- but other times it's just a random heinous act against ME! I realize that his life has just changed and things are harder for him- but I don't see other kids reacting like this. Here is a picture mid tantrum. The ones at home aren't nearly as dramatic or long as those out in public.

Here's our little Ike after his bath this evening.

And here's the rugrat Zeb at the very same age after one of his baths.