Crisp Family Visit

This weekend we had lots of company! Grandma and Grandad Crisp, Uncle Lane, Trenton and Jenna came to visit.

Will's First Boo-Boo
Before they arrived on Saturday morning, Will, Daddy and I had a relaxing morning at home...Mama and Will love it when Daddy is home with us! Just about every day, Will plays at our front window to look outside. Our window sills are low and perfect for pulling up (with Mama's help). He was standing there while Daddy was trying to get the video camera going. Just as Daddy was getting the camera out, Mama and Will looked toward him, and before we knew it...Will lost his balance and down he went. Banging his chin on the window sill. He didn't cry for long and it was only red for a while. It hurt Mama worse I think!

So after a long nap, all was fine and our guests had arrived! We enjoyed a trip to the City Museum - talk about a mad house - everyone else had the same idea to escape the heat! Today we visited the science center too! What fun we all had!

At the City Museum - Will's face was really irritated from all the teeting/drooling...can't decide if he looks cute or a little "devilish"...

Trenton and Jenna really enjoyed the giant Mouse Wheel!


This reminded me of the Bible song "He's Got the Whole World In His Hands" - we all got it stuck in our heads!

Shirley Temple

Happy 9th Birthday to my niece Abbi! Aunt Stephanie, Abbi and Grandmother came to St Louis to go to the zoo and celebrate Abbi's big day! She even got to pet the sting rays. For some reason, Abbi has found a fascination with Shirley Temple...movies, songs, dolls...and she's discovered "googleing"! So, after some digging, I found an idea for some cute "Shirley Temple" cupcakes. We also all had genuine Shirley Temple "cocktails". What a celebration. Abbi had found a $125 doll on EBAY even...Mark and I settled for a $20 one from a local collector...she said "it would work". Uncle Mark also threw in a turtle that he found in the backyard with her gifts. Come to find out, it might be a snapper - so they've already released it to the "wild" aka Grandmother and Papa's backyard. Aunt Stephanie says she'd never seen a turtle move that fast to get away!

Happy Birthday Abbi!

7 months...

have come and gone...I guess it will never slow down. I'm just going to have to keep up, huh? So Will turned 7 months on the 4th of July actually. It took me a couple of days after getting home to get his picture taken in his chair. So here it is! What a big boy!

Milestones:
Sitting up
Sticking his tongue out
Grabbing for EVERYTHING
Rolling everywhere
2 teeth already, and more on the way I'm sure

Chicago on the 4th

Our first family vacation (sort of)! What an adventure. We chose Chicago to go see our friends that recently moved there from Connecticut. Chris and Angela orginally lived in St. Louis, but since have been on the east coast. We're glad to have them back in the Midwest. They have 3 little ones now, Mason who turns 3 and twins Carsen and Claire who turn 1 all this month!

Our adventure began on the road last Friday. We made a stop in Springfield, Il, a little less than halfway, to visit President Lincoln's home there. Will got lunch and we had a chance to stretch our legs. Really, it was a great place to see. Glad we made that stop. Will did fantastic and really traveled well.

Next stop: Chicago.

We loved Chris and Angela's home and neighborhood. We enjoyed some DELICIOUS Chicago deep dish pan pizza on Friday (Mark was in heaven). Then just enjoyed the evening catching up. Saturday was a lazy day too - a little shopping for the Mama's and Mason, then dinner out for just the grown ups. Angela's cousin is staying with them over the summer to help with the kids and she was kind enough to watch the kiddos (all the babies were already in bed) while the grown ups got to enjoy some time away. And we saw a few fireworks too!

For the 4th, we celebrated by going downtown to join all the crowds for Taste of Chicago. Had a Chicago dog, some Eli's cheesecake and got to see the Magnificent Mile, the lakeshore and admire beautiful downtown Chicago. We even stopped for some Garret Popcorn (Chicago special = caramel corn + cheese corn) - it was great! That evening we cooled off at home with some steaks on the grill and good old watermelon!

Our weekend wasn't long enough before we had to head home. We wanted to make a stop on our way out of town to visit the store IKEA. I'd heard lots about it. Boy was it AWESOME. I could have shopped all day. It's Gi-normous! We spent 3 hours there (including lunch too). So off we were on the road again - already 1:30 pm. Will had a little rougher trip home, wanted to stop more often, which made for an even longer trip...but he made it just fine!

Happy Independence Day America - and thanks to all our veterans and servicemen that make our freedom possible!


Daddy, Will and Honest Abe (in the background is Lincoln's home)


All the kiddos, Angela, Rachel & Mama.


3's company - meal times where lots of fun!


Will's first swing ride - he loved it!


Just chillin' in the back yard.


Carsen pushing Claire in the cozy coupe.


Aren't they all so cute!


Will's new buddy Carsen.


The crispycritters on the 4th in Chicago!


Will was a sleepy dude after all the fun!


Mason shows us how old he'll be soon - what a big boy!

where's the camera...

Somehow - I've already reached the point of always forgetting my camera - not that it's too much to carry around, but I guess I've got other things on my mind. Darn though, cause I've missed some really great shots lately. Here's a recap...

Mama & Daddy's first night away!
Thanks to a gift card from Aunt Diane, free tickets to see Michael Buble, Mark and I decided to have a night away! Grandmother and Papa came to stay overnight with Will - they had a great time and Will did just fine - I knew he would though! The show was great - we were both sorry that the show ended. We enjoyed our night away too - even sleeping in kinda. Great breakfast at the hotel. I couldn't wait to get back to the little guy.

Happy 50th Anniversary Charles & Billie Kay!
My first cousin, once removed (I think that's how it goes) and his wife celebrated 50 wonderful years together this past weekend. We took a road trip with Grandmother and Papa to congratulate them at their little shin dig. Charles and his brother have farmed my family's land since we moved away from the Bootheel. Charles and Billie Kay are both such amazing people and I'm proud to call them family! This was also a great opportunity to see family we don't get to see very often. It was a long ride in the car - 3 hours there and back, all in one day! Will did great - took a few cat naps, laughed and played with everyone and never fussed a bit! He's a trooper - let's see how he does on our trip to Chicago soon!

Sonic Trip!
Today, we walked up to Sonic with our neighbors Karen, Evan and Ella. We went for lunch and had a good time. It's only about 1/2 mile from our house, Karen towed her kids there in a wagon, while Will strolled! We all got a treat and enjoyed the beautiful cool weather we had today. Will hung out in the Baby Bjorn on the way home while Evan - who's almost 5 - rode in his stroller. Boy does 50+ pounds make a difference up those hills!

Sittin Up!
I don't think I've mentioned lately that Will is doing a great job at sitting up. He even rode in the shopping cart at the store today. He still occasionally falls to the side or backwards, but he's doing it on his own now! Here's a shot - this makes me feel like he's all grown up!

daddy's day

Happy Father's Day to Mark! What a great daddy he is! After so much longing to have our little guy, it's been amazing to see how he's transformed our lives - every day.

Not that I wouldn't have figured it, but Mark is the most patient, loving, kind, gentle and amazing father. Will is very lucky.

From day one in the hospital...to week one with a sleep deprived and almost losing it wife...to a cranking, sleepy 4 month old and everything in between...Mark has been a constant voice of reason and hold-it-togetherness! Is that a word???

Here are some of my favorite shots Daddy!











We celebrated in Jefferson City with my folks...here's to Papa too! Just a relaxing weekend with homemade ice cream and texas sheet cake (YUMMMM).

Also, on Sunday at church, Grandmother sang Will a song! She had heard it well before he was born, and now was the time. She wanted to hold him and sing...I said that would work if she was willing to share the microphone, with a handsy little boy!
So Will and I pulled up a stool and he watched her sing and looked out onto the congregation. It was beautiful! THANK YOU GRANDMOTHER! What a special tribute! We've got it on video - how very precious!


Happy Father's Day!!!

Grant's Farm & Crown Candy

Mark's cousin Tracy and her youngest, Meagan came to visit for a couple of days this week. Thursday we headed to Grant's Farm then lunch at Crown Candy Kitchen.

Grant's Farm was great...a little warm, but not too busy which was great. Grant's Farm is wonderful...smaller scale than the zoo, but you get to see the animals up close and personal, it's FREE (except the parking), and you can let your kids have a bit more freedom. We saw both the bird show and elephant show...snowcones and feeding the goats. I don't think that the goats had much to eat that morning cause they about trampled Meagan for the milk!!! Will took a quick little nap in the heat too!


I've always heard great things about Crown Candy Kitchen in the city, but hadn't made it there yet. They're known for their shakes (made with their own homemade ice cream). I had the BLT - see the photo - 'nough said! If Will's Papa had been there - there is no doubt that Will would have gotten a piece of that bacon!

Meagan had a vanilla cone - and it was the most beautiful ice cream cone I think I'd ever seen. I couldn't resist having a sundae; hot fudge, caramel and roasted pecans - YUMMMMM!