Yum Yum

Probably the issue that I'm the most lax about that annoys Mark a bit is Zoie's neatness (or lack there of) when she is eating. Since I'm the one who would be most likely to spoon feed her, I pretty much let her go at whatever she is eating and figure I'll clean her up later. She can feed herself pretty well which allows me the pleasure of enjoying my meals warm.

Here are a few shots for fun

Ice Cream Snickers Bar

(yes she ate the entire thing)

Spaghetti and Green Beans

Getting the last of the spaghetti

I don't even know what she is eating here but she looked cute in the hat

Brownie bowl spoon

And the ever popular banana

Cousin Emmett Comes to Visit

Matthew & Renae also came of course

Zoie is very excited that her cousin Emmett is going to live nearby as Matthew and Renae make their move north. While they were looking for houses and awaiting their move, they are spending some quality time at our house.

Zoie has had a few jealousy issues with the new baby around but she's doing better. Here are a few pictures of fun times with Cousin Emmett.

Unzicker Family Reunion

Part of the Lindberg family visit was the Unzicker reunion. This is Grandma S. (Mark's mom's mom) family. Mark had to work so Grandma kindly picked Zoie and I up and off to Wisconsin we went. You know you have a great "in-law" family when they let you come to the reunion...sans the actual relative.

The reunion was at a resort with an indoor/outdoor waterpark in Wisconsin Dells. It was lots of fun. We stayed in this amazing condo which was the central hub for the activity...thanks Grandma.

Here is Grandma with most of her siblings (Dallas couldn't come)

Grandma and her kids (minus Joan)



The pool table in our condo

playing cards

On the bus to the waterpark

Our "room"

At the waterpark

Our little family

Happy Birthday Short Child- Brookfield Zoo

To celebrate my sister Amanda's birthday, we spent the day with the "girls + Braden" at Brookfield Zoo. We then met up with Brian at Adoke, a Japanese Hibachi grill. It was a fabulous time but I think the pictures will demonstrate that.

The water/fountain play area was Zoie's highlight of the visit. I didn't know the thing existed so I wasn't exactly prepared. But we just stripped her down to her diaper and off she went. As you can see the look of happiness on her face, she loved it!

My lovely sisters and mom.

Aunt Amber loves Zoie enough to share her treat.

Dinner at the Adoke...lots of fun and yummy.

Lindberg Family Visit

What a month August has been. I haven't posted much on the blog because of all the things we've been doing. I have a string of events to post about. I haven't really put all there was about South Carolina but we'll save that for another day.

Mark's family came to visit in the beginning of August. We met them at the Gateway Woods Sale. After an eventful long drive back to our house. Let's just say the van had some brake issues....issues that involved fire while we were in the middle of nowhere Indiana. Those bottles of water purchased at the gas station before we left Leo turned out to be a really great investment.

The family then stayed at our house (Ben and Joel went over to Brian and Amber's) for Saturday and Sunday night. It was a wonderful visit and a great opportunity for Zoie to get to know her Lindberg family a bit better.

Here are some of us waiting on the curb at this random gas station off of Route 30 while Mark drove my father-in-law to an auto parts store.

Zoie loved her aunts and uncles. By the end of the visit she had successfully said "Joel" and a version of "nana" aka Hannah.

Zoie snuggling with Aunt Lydia. She loved being carried around and played with.



Our kitchen isn't large enough for the entire family so we had to set a table up outside.

Here is Zoie enjoying her breakfast just before we went to the Gateway Woods Sale.

A fun shot of Joel.

We had a great time and hope they can visit again soon.

We love you!!!

S.C. Vacation - The Beach

The house we rented was only about 2 blocks from a public access beach site. The beach was wonderful. It was definitely a warm week we were in South Carolina but it made it very comfortable to be out in the water. Zoie loved the beach. She would play and play with her sand toys. She liked being carried out into the water and playing with the waves. She didn't even cry if she got hit in the face (and yes that happened on occasion). Of course we were always holding her but she she loved it.

With her little sun-safe swimsuit, hat, and lots of sunscreen she never got burned but she spent a lot of time out on the beach. Besides eating a bit of sand, she did great. Here are a few pictures

Sweet Corn

I was inspired by Sandra's post the other day to let Zoie try some sweet corn at dinner. Let's just say...she loved it.

Please

Zoie has recently learned to say "please" when she wants somethng. Zoie also knows what dessert is and will likely show you how she can say "please" if you have some...as Amanda found out :)

South Carolina Vacation -The House

My family (my parents, siblings, spouses etc...) took a family vacation to Surfside Beach S.C. last week. We had a fabulous time. My parents found a duplex about 2 blocks from the beach for us all to stay in. With 5 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms, we had plenty of space. It also had it's own pool which was nice. Here are a few pictures.

Our family from the top balcony

View from the balcony

Our duplex...we were on the left side

The pool

Zoie relaxing with Brian in the living room

When we travel, we really enjoy getting a condo/house instead of hotel rooms. Here is a link to the property we stayed at http://www.vrbo.com/244670 called Katy's Dream. It was as wonderful as they said it was.

Lift Up In Prayer

Please pray for the Schroeder's. Jordan (the husband and father) is seriously ill with cancer. They have a beautiful family and an amazing faith. They need fellow believers to lift them up in prayer.

To read their story
http://jkschroeder.blogspot.com/

Sweet little angel or...

or a little girl with attitude?

As with most children, a bit of both. Zoie has been growing and changing so much the past few weeks. Unfortunately my photography frequency has not been keeping up. I'll try to do better.

I think I got this picture just because she wanted to touch my camera but it's fun either way.