Summer 2008

I know, I know...it's about time! I apologize for the long hiatus from blogging, but life has been pretty nutty in the Ahrens household. Okay, I won't insult you with excuses. Since fall is almost upon us, here's a quick snapshot of the highlights of our summer!

* Mexico - In May, Jared and I went to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, for 5 days to celebrate our 5th wedding anniversary (for the observant few - yep, our anniversary is actually June 15. However, I had to teach summer school in June, and couldn't take time off. So, we decided to plan an early vacation). It was wonderful! We stayed at an all-inlcusive resort called "Canto Del Sol", and just enjoyed relaxing by the pool, taking walks by the beach, catching the bus into the city, and just enjoyed a week of rest. Joshua spent the week with Grammy and Grandpa (and we only called home twice!).

* Joshua's 2nd birthday - When we got home from Mexico, we had a day before Joshua's birthday party. Our little boy is 2!! So, on Sunday, May 25th, we had a small party at Highpoint Park. All his little friends from our Moms' Group were invited, and it was a beautiful, breezy day. Joshua had an "Animal-themed" party. They enjoyed pizza and cupcakes, and bubbles galore!

On his actually birthday, which happened to be on Memorial Day, we went to the Brookfield Zoo with Grammy and Grandpa. Keeping with the animal theme, we went to the Rainforest Cafe for dinner to continue with the birthday celebration. He loved it! I've included a video...

* Day in Chicago - one Monday in July, we decided to spend the day in Chicago. We drove to Oak Park and caught the El into the city. We got off on Wabash, and found our way to Macy's. From there, we caught the Free Trolley to Navy Pier. Joshua just had a blast on both the El and the Trolley! We went to the Chicago's Children's Museum and spent about 2 hours there. It was huge and rather overwhelming for little ones. Nevertheless, anything with wheels and water entertained Joshua. We had a quick lunch at the food court and then caught the free trolley back to Michigan Avenue. Joshua was able to fall asleep in his stroller, so Jared and I walked around the city for about an hour or so. When he woke up, we went to Millenium Park and played at the water-spouting walls (I don't know what it's called). Needless to say, he was soaked, but he had so much fun! What a perfect day in Chicago!

* U.S. Citizenship - On July 11, I was sworn in as a US citizen! It was a week after the 4th of July, and we drove into the city where I pledged my allegiance to the US alongside 150 other new citizens from 49 different countries. My next order of business as a citizen is to get my passport and register to vote!

* Potty Training - We are currently in the midst of potty training Joshua. It has been a very eventful weekend. We started Thursday morning, and we've basically confined ourselves to the house. Joshua had many accidents, along with a few successes. We celebrate like crazy whenever he pee-pees or poo-poos in the potty. But for the most part, cleaning up messes has become a frequent occurance. Hence, our house smells of Lysol at the moment! (yes, here's his cute little butt...we've kept him bare-bottom the first couple of days)

* New addition to our family - Joshua is going to be a big brother in March! We are very excited, and feel so blessed to have another child. I am now 14 weeks and I'm feeling great (aside from the normal tiredness). Please pray with us for Baby's health, and that God will continue to prepare us to welcome our new addition to our family!

Hope you've enjoyed reading this! I will try to be better at blogging and keep you updated! God bless!

(sorry for how goofy the layout of this blog is. I spent over an hour trying to make it look right, but it's not working!! So, hopefully it's not too bad to read.)