Good summer times!

Last week we went to the Como Zoo in St. Paul. For being a free zoo, it's pretty nice! Madeline and I went with some friends from church, and the older kids had a blast seeing the various animals. Madeline enjoyed seeing the kids! She didn't care much about the animals...

(Kate, Madeline, Logan, Kennedi with Jenna in her lap, and Grant)

(And normally Madeline doesn't get her paci during the day -

she was just tired and fussy because it was naptime)

She loves getting out and seeing the sights!

She's been busy exploring a lot these days. She LOVES to find any chords, so we have all of our throw pillows scattered around the room hiding them from her! So far it's working, but I'm sure it's just a matter of time before she realizes that she can just pull the pillows away. In the meantime, she's crawling off her belly (not much army crawling anymore!), pulling up onto things, even trying to push herself from crawling to standing. She'll stand while holding onto something, but not on her own yet. She's growing so fast!

Oh, and for those who say, "Wow, she's always smiling!" This (below) is for you. There are occasions when she's quite grumpy! (Like teething)

We did some landscaping around the yard last weekend, which prompted us to finally buy that wheelbarrow. Of course we had to let Madeline ride in it! She loved it - especially going over any bumps in the grass.

And last, but certainly not least, Madeline has a new friend! On June 29, our good friends Patrick and Rose welcomed a little baby girl, Amelia Anne. Many of you will remember them from our wedding - Patrick was Caleb's best man, and Rose was invaluable for support and coordination! We are thrilled for them, and can't wait to come visit!! I especially want to hold little Amelia (who is 21", by the way - Madeline was 19" at birth!).