VIDEO: The Great Gate Escape

Our curious Ian is always taking things apart & figuring things out... so we're not terribly impressed that he cracked the 3 step process (pull trigger, push down & pull up). What cracks us up is that it takes a degree of strength even for Brian & I to open these gates. Ian makes it look like a piece of cake...

New Playground!

Ian's been enjoying playing outside more & Audrey's been enjoying her new Bumbo chair. She's super alert & always checking out the world around her. She does lots of fun playtime now - looking at light-up toys, listening to music & showing off her big smile.

This is like heaven on earth for our big guy - even on a cold, wet day...
...any excuse to wear his monkey boots I guess!

He stands up here & says, "ARR! I'm a pirate!"

We did swings for about 1 hour yesterday!

We Miss you Ollie!

It's been a difficult week in the Zaruba house... at first we were in denial about Oliver's impending departure & then we were hit with the reality of his absence.

He's the perfect dog with just one flaw: he didn't get along well with small children. We were forced to find a new home for our first "child" - our beloved Ollie. It was the most difficult decision we ever had to make... and even now my head says we had to say good-bye but my heart doesn't understand.

Amidst the many questions, Ian is doing a good job understanding why the dog he adored is no longer here. He got to meet the woman who took Oliver and her 2 other dogs. For now, he seems at peace with him having a "dog family." I'm a bit more selfish and would prefer Oliver was here... at home.

Every crumb that hits the floor, every knock at the door, every time I open the pantry where his dishes used to be... I'm reminded that he's no longer here. Today I called to a crumpled up towel on the end of the bed to come snuggle with me... for several seconds I thought it was Oliver. I hope in time - and with positive updates from his new owner - that we'll all get used to life without our little guy.

Easter in MN

We had such a great time seeing everyone & the kids did amazing on our first trip as a family of 4!

Here's our little rockstar playing the wii!

Photo Shoot

We weren't totally happy with the studio portraits of Audrey so we set up a curtain and took our own photos at home...

These are from the studio:

Both kids did awesome considering they were tired & hungry!

Bowling

Here's Ian showing off his fancy bowling shoes. You can tell by the dazed look on his face he was excited & totally unsure of what "bowling" actually was...

It didn't take long for the fun to start!
Daddy had a heck of a time keeping him in our lane but it was good father-son bonding

This picture is funny because it shows what Ian did after each ball roll... he turned around & ran back to see the ball come back up. He could have cared less about the pins being knocked down.

We have about a million photos of this: Audrey smiling at herself in her swing's mirror - Aw!

Too cute with grandpa Jim - had to post!