My grandparents came to visit us last week from Utah. We had such a fun time with them! I've never seen Gabe warm up to two people so quickly. Here is Gabe and great-grandma reading Bob the Builder.
He also loved reading with great-grandpa and brought him Go Dogs, Go! several times.
What is a trip to the South without a good bbq dinner?!
I couldn't resist posting this. We all went to the aquarium and for whatever reason (yes I'll admit it was past naptime) Gabe decided to snuggle up next to the fish and take a little rest. Where some of us need 20 minutes for a power nap, he needed about 30 seconds and didn't even have to close his eyes to get recharged enough for the next exhibit.

A few more of the haircut... A new side view. I am happy to report that it still curls when it's wet. I was worried we would lose the curl once we cut it, but it's still there.
Two clean-cut boys

A huge milestone in our house - Gabe's first haircut! We had always planned on waiting until his second birthday to cut his long curls off. But, it had gotten to the point of his bangs being in his eyes and the back being too long to curl much. So, we were ready (mostly) to trim it up. Here is a before shot of all those long curls in the back.
Watching daddy go first.
It took a sucker and some cartoons to get him to hold even remotely still enough.
Who is this little boy and where is my baby? What a handsome little guy :)

A few pix of our little guy just being silly. I had pulled out the swing for my friend's 3-month-old to sit in, and of course it became fun again for Gabe to sit in it! Notice his fake smile - they learn so young! He's really into playing with cameras and saying "cheese" for the pictures.
Now this is a picture I never thought I'd get to take. Gabe actually fell asleep in his booster seat during lunch. I don't know why he was so exhausted - it wasn't that late in the afternoon! Is it mean that I let him bob his head around trying to get comfortable a few minutes longer so I could take a picture before taking him to his crib? Nah :o)

Well, believe it or not, after almost 6 years of campaigning, Erik finally convinced me to go camping. We went to a site in North Carolina with 2 other familes from Erik's company. We stayed for 2 nights and (shhhhh, don't tell Erik I said this!) we actually had a really great time. Gabe was in little boy heaven! He couldn't get enough of running around and playing in the dirt. It made it all worth it just to see how happy both of my boys were.
Here we are overlooking the river that Gabe waded into (supervised, of course). The water was soooo cold, but he was having a blast! He was spashing and screaming and putting on quite a show for everyone.
And here are some of us IN that same river. As if camping weren't enough, Erik also convinced me that I needed to experience white water rafting. It turned out to be a beautiful trip down the river, and I didn't drown after all.
Well, I said that Gabe loved the outdoors, but playing in the car was a close second. It was like having an onsite playpen for him! He knew he was getting away with something, which made it that much more fun for him. Here he is pointing out the birds to our friend, Nathan.

More fun in Chicago. Good times at the mall with Papa while the girls went shopping.


















Trying on shoes at the open house after Jenica's baptism.
Giving loves to cousin Jett.
Laci, Jenica, Sara and me posing outside the theater after seeing Wicked. We loved it!!

Chicago! We had such a fun trip. We visited my sister, Laci and our aunt/uncle/cousins, the Barkers. Laci just moved there with her husband after they both graduated, and the Barkers were celebrating the baptism of Jenica.
Here we are at Navy Pier being silly.









The merry-go-round at Navy Pier.
Gabe really had a hard time at the Lincoln Park Zoo. He was so exhausted at that point! But, nothing that a push-up popsicle couldn't help.
At the zoo.

More pix from our trip to Utah. We spent July 5th at Lagoon - it was sooooo hot! (notice the red cheeks!) Gabe must have gone on the merry-go-round 5 times. I don't know who enjoyed it more - Gabe or Papa.
The log flume... I didn't know that Gabe would be able to ride with us, but he did! He loved it, of course.
My aunt, Jonna and I braving the new roller coaster, "Wicked." It was actually really fun. I didn't realize we would be shot up quickly to the top before we were dropped, so that made it more exciting.
We spent some time in Park City riding the Alpine Slide and the new roller coaster. Lucky for us, Gabe slept in the stroller while great-grandma kept an eye on him.

Oh, I have so much blogging to catch up on! We've had a busy summer. Thanks to my mom for emailing me the pictures from our trip to Utah at the end of June/beginning of July. Here are a few of my sister's graduation from Paul Mitchell (congrats!!! and thanks for the haircut!!!). I got to be her "model" for graduations - Gabe wanted to come along while Laci described how she did my hair.










The girls and Gabe
Sam, Sara and Brett waiting for our coaster to buzz at the Olive Garden.