The Veldmans: Grant's 6 month pictures

Spring has finally sprung and we couldn't be more excited! We will try to block out the 5 day forecast which is projecting a rain/snow mixture later this week. In the meantime, we soaked up the sun this weekend. I had Friday off work so we started our day with a walk to the park. We have a park in our development which is probably 1/2 a mile away (across the street from our development's pool). I have a feeling we will be making that walk frequently this summer. Ava had a great time climbing, swinging, and sliding down the slides. We then took a walk down to the lake and watched the ducks. It was so nice to feel the sunshine. Our afternoon was spent with sidewalk chalk on our driveway.

Saturday morning we were out the door before 9:00 to get to the zoo when they opened. We are only 4 miles from the zoo so decided to get a family membership. We will definitely get our money's worth. We had a good time, however it was definitely a learning experience. We figured that Ava wouldn't want to be in a stroller and it may be a pain to get her in and out at each animal exhibit so we left the stroller at home and I just carried Grant in our Boba carrier which is very comfortable even after a couple of hours. We didn't realize how far it is between the exhibits though. We walked over 3 miles (part of that carrying a 40 lb little girl who was tired). Next time we will be taking the stroller, water, and snacks. :) Ava had a great time, and Grant seemed to enjoy it while he was awake (which wasn't for that long). We will definitely go back soon...both kids took almost 3 hr naps!

Mema and Boppa came over after nap to play and for dinner. Ava and Mema were covered in sidewalk chalk in no time. Grant hung out with the guys in the garage as Daddy was putting some shelves up in the garage. I had to run to the MOA. Nate and I have been debating for quite some time now about getting a new bed. We need one but couldn't decide on what we wanted. We finally made the big decision and went with a Sleep Number bed so I ran to the mall to order it. I'm hoping that we'll be happy with it and that it will somehow live up to its promise of providing better sleep. By the time I got home Ava had already eaten and Grant was in the process. Well, he was trying to eat. It was quite the sight. Boppa was holding him while Mema was trying to feed the little turkey. He had food on his face, up his right nostril, and in his right eye. I should have taken a picture. After he was down the rest of us got to enjoy dinner (grilled burgers). There are few things better than grilled summer food!

This morning we were out the door early again. We went to get Grant's 6 month pictures taken. I told myself before leaving the house that I wasn't going to spend that much money on them. Well, 3 hrs later and a lot of money later we came home with lots of pictures. :) Grant did a great job. Ava even got in on some of them and had a couple taken of herself. After nap time we went to Home Depot and got some ceiling fans for the spare bedroom as well as Ava and Grant's room. Daddy gets the privilege of installing those. We also had to check out storm doors. With the weather getting nicer it would be nice to be able to have our front door open and just a storm door there for some ventilation. There's always stuff to spend money on even with a new house!

We hope that you enjoyed this beautiful weekend and were able to soak up some sun. Wishing you a wonderful start to your week!

Grant's first trip to the MN zoo (yes he is sleeping under that hat)

This was supposed to be a fall jacket for the football games since it is an 18 month jacket. Well, it is now a spring jacket since it fits him perfectly

Whoever said this is a 12-24 month old hat has never seen the size of a Veldman head

Sadly enough the "youth" size fits my 6 month old much better

The kids's Porterhouse Nation shirts arrived today. Some of you may not know about Porterhouse (I don't know how you couldn't). My good friends Erin and Kevin have a bulldog named Porterhouse. He is not just any bulldog. He won the Drake most beautiful bulldog contest a few years ago, and for the past couple of years he has been Drake's official live mascot. He is also a foster brother, a therapy dog, and a huge spokesperson (spokesdog maybe) for the Illinois English Bulldog Rescue. (IEBR). A woman in Des Moines is making these shirts and selling them, all profits go to IEBR. If you're interested you can find them on etsy by typing in Porterhouse Nation.