A Cup and Cone adventure

Today was a very important day for the Grilz family. It was our first visit to the Cup and Cone in 2007. Mary Kate enjoyed her first baby ice cream cone. Here she is in line with Daddy.

This was also Ethan's first trip to the C&C as a cash-carrying customer. He has a significant ice cream money fund built up from over the long winter, thanks to lots of grandparents who see fit to send ice cream money with most holiday cards. Here's E keeping a close eye on his currency (safely tucked into a very stylish green coin holder that he got in his goody bag at his friend Millie's birthday party).

Finally, it was our turn. Ethan ordered his cone by saying "a kid size chocolate cone in a cup with sprinkles, please," paid for it, and said "thank you" when given his change. A very proud moment in his life, indeed!

Placing his order...

A kid size cone will set you back a buck these days...

Anxiously awaiting arrival of the cone...

And worth every penny...

Mary Kate loved her cone...after she got used to the cold.

A pre-cone family photo...

The first chilly taste..

Followed by a huge bite!

Oh yeah...this is definitely good stuff...


And to conclude...Ethan and Mary Kate share a laugh together...

Reading together

Ethan has discovered the joys of reading to his baby sister. He likes to arrange their chairs together and read book after book to her.

And when she's had enough, she just climbs out of her chair!

Happy Easter!

Mary Kate's first Easter celebration was fantastic. At first, she was more interested in Ethan's basket.

Then Ethan helped her check out her own basket. She wasnt' quite sure what to think of the stringy grass stuff.

She really liked her new book.

But then, she caught a glimpse of Ethan's chocolate bunny and decided to go for it!

After that, Ethan instructed her in the finer points of tossing Easter grass in the air. Notice that she still has a hold of the chocolate bunny.

After church, Ethan got to eat a piece of his bunny.

Then Grandpa Grilz and Grandma Brenda came over for Easter dinner. Here's the best picture of the four of us that we got. Holding still and smiling at the camera all at the same time is not one of our strengths!

Here we are with Grandpa and Grandma.

Egg Hunt!

Today our friends the Wells family came over for an egg hunt. We had originally planned it for outdoors, but the consensus was to move the festivities indoors. Ethan and Laura followed the clues and found eggs filled with goodies all over the house.

Here they are, baskets ready, discussing their search strategy prior to the first clue.


Once the hunt began, these two moved too fast for us to catch anything but blurry pictures!

After all the eggs were found, Ethan and Laura retired to the couch to comb through their treasures.


Ethan needed a major scrubbing in the tub after supper. He was one sticky guy. Note: hairstyling by Mom. This is a classic "faux hawk" that is now all the rage. It's a sophisticated, understated mohawk.

Spring...Indoors, Anyway!

Dad had today off, so we decided if we can't enjoy some spring weather outdoors (due to the continued Arctic blast), we'd take a trip to the Como Park Conservatory to enjoy spring indoors.

The hydrangeas were gorgeous.

Mary Kate's new favorite thing is to be upside down. She took in the sights around the conservatory from this angle.

Cruising...Toddlerhood, Here We Come!!

We are experiencing a last (we hope) blast of winter here this week. Today was very cold and windy with a high of only 29 degrees. We have snow on the ground, covered with a lovely layer of ice. So we did lots of laundry and Mary Kate worked on her standing and walking skills.

First, she helped fold some laundry.

Then she cruised along the strategically placed furniture.

Followed by a walk around the family room...only needing to hold on to one of Daddy's hands today. He had to hustle to keep up!

And here she is standing all by herself. Hooray!!

Rain Golf, Anyone?

Desparate for an outside activity that would allow Mary Kate to watch from the dryness of the garage, Mom invented what is sure to be the newest preschool sport craze...rain golf. Ethan suited up in his raincoat, boots, and umbrella...but he quickly ditched the umbrella when he realized a golf club was involved.

But before he hit the course, he wrote a special message for our friends in Indiana. So, Evie, Annalise, Jenni, and Jim, this picture is for you. Ethan wrote the greeting himself.

Here's Ethan teeing up his shot.

Hmm...that wasn't my usual ultra-long drive. Must be this raincoat...I think it is seriously restricting my backswing.
You'll notice that Ethan is not using the wiffle golf balls that Mom got out for him. Nope, he is a purist when it comes to the sport (Papa Wheeler, we know you'll be proud). He went straight to Dad's stash of real golf balls and proclaimed, "Mom, I can't use those holey balls. They aren't real." I guess we'll have to call the golf course and see if they allow 3 year olds on the driving range!