Week home with Mom!

We had a crazy busy month of July. I haven't said much about anything we've done yet..I have pictures saved to share but just not the time to do it yet! It started with 4th of July..we went to Osakis for the annual 4th of July softball game with the Waldvogel family. The next weekend we had the Osakis car show, then it was the Carlson Family summer picnic...then family reunions and finally..August! In the middle of all that...we had t-ball two nights a week and I had a week off from work to stay home with the kids. Below are some pictures from that week. It was the hottest week of the year so we were limited in our choice of outdoor activities. The temps were near 100 almost every day that week with record breaking humidity...I think the weather people said it was like living in the Amazon Rainforest. My mom put their little swimming pool out in the backyard and that's pretty much what we did every day. The kids played in the pool, my mom and I sat out there and sweat..and then we'd go inside the house to cool off! I did venture to the park near our house one afternoon...Caleb rode his scooter and I pushed Ella in the stroller. The playground was too hot so we could only use the swings. Another morning before it was too awfully hot, my mom and I took the kids to a different park and Caleb rode his bike. He's been practicing a lot and he's anxious to take off the training wheels (this is mostly because Charles from t-ball can ride his bike without training wheels). Laura, my mom and I also brought Caleb to Dairy Queen one night (instead of t-ball..it was canceled both days due to the heat). It was a fun week but we really wish the weather had been nicer!

Ella at 18 months old!

Ella was 18 months old, a year and a half!!!! on July 20. She sure acts like she's 2 so hitting this milestone seems appropriate for her. We went to the doctor for an 18 month check up and she did pretty well. In the past, she's been terrified there and screamed for most of the appointment. She still cried when I had to put her on the scale and she cried a little when the doctor examined her, but for the most part it was much better than last time! She was 26 lbs 12 oz and 32 inches tall. That was 90% for weight and 50% for height. She's always been around that growth curve. The doctor was not too concerned about it but did go over some healthy food choices and we can switch her now from whole milk to 2%. She loves to eat but we just have to make sure she's not eating too much junk! She does like pretty much everything (fruits, veggies, etc) so it shouldn't be a problem.
I included a couple phone pictures here...Ella loves her baby and likes to pretend to take care of her, feeding, taking for a walk, putting her to sleep. She'll even tell us "shh!" when she puts her baby down. She also has loved being outside this summer. She gets upset if Daddy and Caleb are outside at all without her. She's not afraid of much and really likes to look at bugs, chase ants around, pick up worms...nothing phases her. Her vocabulary is growing every day and she amazes us at what she says sometimes! One of her latest words is "loud." After knocking over one of Grandma's plants, Ella watched Grandpa vaccuum up her mess and she kept holding her ears and saying, "loud!" She doesn't like the vaccuum. She has also started calling my mom "Ma"...which is especialy cute because Caleb used to call my parents "Ma" and "Pa" too. Ella does say "Grandpa"...it sounds a lot like her word for "brother," though.

Fishing

Caleb went fishing in June with my brother and sister-in-law...they had bought him a Spiderman fishing pole for Easter so he had been anxiously awaiting summertime so he could try it out for the first time. Steph took the pictures below..she said they had a great time and Caleb loved it! He is ready to go again!