3rd Birthday

Pictures are kind of out of order.

The cake

Out to dinner at Olive Garden (unfortunately, her favorite restaurant).

Baba made her a new blanket

Daddy took a half day and we all went to Legoland Discovery Center. Here she is with a tower she made out of big lego bricks.

Building something with mom.

With Lego Barack Obama

With Lego Bob the Builder

Waiting in line by a lego statue that farted every couple of minutes.

On Saturday was her birthday party. Here she is with Aunt Momo.


With Uncle Tony and Aunt Heidi

Holding baby Kyle for the first time.

Aunt Momo got her some carved stone animals from her trip to Kenya.

Opening a present with Olivia.

Giving her friend Grant a big hug.



The chaos.


In her pretty birthday dress just before everyone started to arrive.

3 Day Weekend

We had a long weekend for President's Day this week.

We took Grace to the Museum of Science and Industry. Here she is with mom in front of the Zephyr.

Checking out the model railroad.

Driving the tractor.

We have something like this at the Kohl Children's Museum of Bullying and Bad Manners so naturally it was the first thing she wanted to do.


Funhouse mirror at the circus exhibit.


Baba and Papa came over for Valentine's Day so we could go out to dinner and a movie.

Grace got Baba some flowers.

Grace's New(ish) Bed!

We took the side of Grace's crib today and converted it into a big girl day bed for her. She's very excited to be able to climb in and out by herself.

Grace got a surprise package from Grandma and Grandpa Funke who were at the zoo in Texas last week.

Grace now spends more time in a classroom than I do I think. She started gymnastics classes last week and loved it.

After "jumping" in the pit.


On the climbing wall.


Swinging on the rings.

First Day of Dance Class

Inauguration Day Special

Taking a nap in a big girl bed.


Out to dinner for Baba's birthday.


Using chopsticks.


Baba's birthday balloons.


Walking the dog.



The Obama Song

Green is For the Money and Yellow's For the Honey

Mom, the TV's broken. What are we gonna do all night? Celebrate the birth of Christ!

Blogger has the worst photo upload/import feature I've ever worked with and it seems to get worse every day. As a result, these pictures are in no particular order.

Making cookies for Santa with Papa.

Jake

Trying out her new exercise mat.

Opening a present.

Being thrown in the air by Papa.

West Side!


Singing in Rock Band 2.

Playing the drums in Rock Band 2.

Funkes

With her new doll house.

Play Doh!

Setting out milk and cookies and carrots for Santa and his reindeer.

Santa snuck a present into her crib while she was sleeping.

Playing with toys from the junk drawer with Grandpa Funke.

Zoo Lights

I think it can be said that the Lincoln Park Zoo has the worst parking lot ever. It can also be said that people who live in the city don't know how to drive and are wholly unfamiliar with the complicated physics of parking a car in a crowded lot. We left the house at 4:00. Due to traffic and some bad mapquest directions we arrived at the zoo around 5:30. Around 6:30 we finally parked the car. The line to park was so bad that Lisa and Grace finally got out and went in to the zoo while I sat in the car cursing the stupidity of the people in front of me. Kaitlyn and Amy would have joined them except that Kaitlyn was sleeping at the time.

So begins our annual Monday/Funke outing to freeze our butts off while looking at sleeping animals and Christmas lights. At least this year we didn't go in the middle of a blizzard.

Grace coloring some kind of thing they were giving away in the ape house.

Trying to catch a snowflake in her mouth.

Grace and Mom in front of the giant snowman.

Sitting on Santa's lap without crying.

On our way out, posing in front of the zoo entrance.

Snow Day!

10 Gazillion inches of snow is what they said on the news. Enough to make my district call a snow day so Christmas vacation started a day early this year.

Playing in her snow fort.



High enough to sit next to the mailbox.


Watching Caillou in the big basement chair.