Madilynn Ann

Our niece, Madilynn, was born in Omaha and we were so excited to get to go visit her on Saturday. She is adorable and is loved so much by her mom and dad, grandpas and grandmas, and all of us!

Born May 30, 2014

Meeting Madilynn

Uncle Adam and Cousin Cohen

At the hospital with Madie.

Proud Daddy Andy showing her off to Ryan.

Love this little girl!

So much dark hair!

Ryan loved holding his cousin.

So sweet.

Until we see you again, be good to your momma and daddy!

Good-bye kiss.

 After visiting at the hospital for a while, I headed to a baby shower for Adam's cousin and the guys hung out with some of the other uncles and cousins. We had a great day in Omaha and were happy to see everyone!

Fun on the Farm

The boys had a few chances to visit grandpa's farm this month. My mom took them one day when she was babysitting and then they were excited to go back with cousins when Emily and Lincoln came to visit. Here are a few pics of one of their favorite places!

Eating a day-old donut like a real farmer.

Bottle feeding calves.

Big helper.

Baby kittens at a friend's house.

Aunt Janet's horse, Angel

Jumping off the haybales.

Farm Cousins

Tractor Rides

Exploring

Tulip Festival Road Race

If you thought that title meant I participated in this event...we may have never met in real life. Ryan and I decided to go cheer on Aunt Abbie as she ran the 10k and there were many more people we knew running the 5k including my cousin, Carter. We met up with Wade, Saylor, and Collyns and cheered them on as they started.

Then, like about 100 other people, promptly went to the Dutch Bakery for a donut.

 We were back in time to cheer Carter on to his finish:

And see Abbie start her second lap:

After playing in the park for a while, we met Abbie after her finish and they got to play with Saylor a little longer.

Collyns being a good sport

Way to go, Aunt Abbie!

Since Adam spent the afternoon and night at graduations in Sibley, I decided not to tackle the festival with both boys by myself and instead we spent time playing outside and Ryan had fun playing with a bunch of kids in the neighborhood who were visiting. He didn't really know the difference and we figure we have about 20 good years of solid participation ahead of us once the kids are in school that it's nice to take advantage of a less-than-hectic weekend for now.

Tulip Festival 2014

We still aren't in full Orange City mode and therefore chose to be Tulip Festival observers again this year. Thursday was too cold anyway and Ryan and Adam ended up going to the district track meet with Abbie and Saylor instead of to the parade. But Abbie got this picture on the way of some of the only tulips actually blooming.

Friday was much nicer and Adam took the boys to the park in the morning since there wasn't school and they also took the opportunity to set up our lawn chairs for the parade since there aren't any free bleachers anymore.

We watched the Friday afternoon and evening parades and did a few rides after each parade.

Waiting for the parade (before getting soaked in the water troughs)

Cohen's first carnival ride with help from big bro.

I swear this ride is over 10 minutes long. Can't believe no one pukes!

Watching the night parade with Grandpa Boone.

Saylor and Abbie on the carousel while Ryan and Adam were on the ferris wheel.

Two boys enjoying the bumper cars.

Trying a new attraction-an obstacle course.

Up the shaky bridge.

Down the slide.

Slightly apprehensive and ended up getting turned around, exiting head-first, but conquered some fears!

We decided one day of the festival was enough for us this year and even though there were a few other food stands I would have liked to hit, decided I needed to not push it too hard two days in a row. Ryan seemed to have his fill though and Cohen (who threw a huge fit before the first parade) was not exactly the best observer, so it was a good choice to just chill out the rest of the weekend.

Cohen: 1 year, 5 months

Cohen is a busy little toddler who loves being outside. He will run as fast as his little bow legs can toddle away from you, so you always have to be on your toes! He is babbling a lot more lately and picks up words here and there including "Down" (to Nika), "off", "marble" and can make a few animal sounds. He understands much of what we say and sometimes I forget how mobile he is. We were playing upstairs with his fence and I said "This fence needs some cows!" He promptly ran to the stairs, went all the way down, and returned upstairs with a cow! And yes, he has mastered the stairs both ways! He has also added 3 back teeth and is starting on one pointy one for a total of 12 teeth.  He tends to be easier to catch on camera than Ryan so here are a few candids from this month.

He loves sitting in the middle of the fence!

Laying on Nika and getting comfy.

A common look we get from little blondie.

Not so sure about the tractor (or Grandpa's tee shirt)

Are you sure I can't come with you?

Just relaxin' on the couch.