Reder Family Reunion!

In mid-September, we had a Reder family reunion! Since the Reders are spread out between the Chicago area and the Cincinnati area, we decided to meet in between the two at my sister's home in Lafayette, IN. We had a casual afternoon with burgers and brats on the grill. It was wonderful to see everyone again - aunts, uncles, cousins, etc! Growing up, we spent every Christmas together at my Grandma Reder's house in Cincinnati, and I have very fond memories of those fun holiday trips. These days, as families grow and schedules seem to get busier each year, we don't get to see one another nearly as often. But we all enjoyed the day and would love to try and make it an annual event.

Off to School

Cassie started pre-school this year! She goes on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. It is a wonderful little school with 2 classrooms - one for the 2/3 year olds (the "bunnies") and one for the 3/4 year olds (the "bears"). She has 3 wonderful teachers and is in a classroom with about 12 other kids her age. Luckily, her buddy Kristian is at the same school, so she looks forward to seeing him there on schooldays. They focus on educational play, and also an introduction to God with Bible stories and saying prayers before snacktime. Her favorite part is circle time, when they read books aloud and sing songs, and she gets to hold her circle buddy (stuffed animal). Meanwhile, Gavin and Mommy get to enjoy quiet time at home, when he gets my full attention and a nice uninterrupted morning nap!

Labor Day 2009

We had some really fun outings over Labor Day weekend. We joined Grammy and Grandpa Brown and Aunt Mel for a day at The Morton Arboretum. They have a huge childrens' garden there that is wonderful! It includes a fairy garden, wading ponds, jungle gyms and slides, as well as a giant tree house with fun wobbly bridges. The arboretum is one of Grammy Brown's favorite spots, and she had been looking forward to taking Cassidy there since the day she was born! We all had a great time. Afterwards, we had a nice lunch in their Ginko Cafe.

The next day, we went to Edward's Apple Orchard with Grandma and Grandpa Reder and the Harding Family. We love their apple cider and cider donuts! They have a mini petting zoo, tractors, and a play area with lots of things to climb. This year, Cassie went for a pony ride all by herself. (My mom, my sister and I kept nudging Erik to stay within arm's length - I was sure she was going to slide right off the saddle with every wobbly step that pony took.) They went around in a circle with 5 or 6 other ponies. She loved every minute of it and gave us a huge smile each time she passed by. Gavin enjoyed the day from the stroller point of view, and was his usual happy self!

Aunt Mel, Budding Photographer

Erik's sister Melissa recently got a new camera, and we are enjoying her wonderful photographs so much! I have already been given a couple CDs worth of photos that are better than anything I've gotten taken professionally (talking about the kids here, of course - rest assured I am not out there getting portraits taken of myself -ha!). I'll share just a couple here that we love, although they are all truly precious photographs that I will cherish as my kids grow older and the time flies right by. Some of the candids she takes are my favorites, she just catches that moment in time. Thanks so much, Aunt Mel!

Our Friends from Louisville

Our great friends Jamie and Eric Haru (Jamie and I were college roommates!) and their son, Kainoa, drove up to Chicago from their home in Louisville for a visit. Kainoa is just a few months younger than Cassidy, so they had great fun playing together. Cassidy also had fun goofing around with Eric, who she named "Blue Daddy" because he was wearing a blue shirt when he arrived and well, because she thinks all men are called daddies. Anyway, with us all being exhausted parents (Jamie and Eric are expecting #2 on Thanksgiving Day!), we kept the weekend plans very relaxed. We ordered in Thai for dinner, got Oberweis shakes for dessert, and took a nice walk to a nearby park to meet up with Mandy Hoffmeister (another college buddy and my wonderful neighbor!) and her 2 boys. We also took a trip to Wagner Farm, one of Cassie's favorite pastimes these days. It's free and only 5 minutes from our house, so we go there at least once a week to visit Boo the dairy cow and her new calf, Maddie. (Cassie also chases the cats and taunts the chickens with her versions of their sounds.) Kainoa was a little stunned by Boo (she is an enormous cow) so he kept his arms wrapped tightly around Jamie's neck. But the toddler games inside the farm museum kept Cassie and Kainoa very busy! We had a really fun visit with the Harus. I always tell them (and my other great girlfriends who live out of state) that I wish we could all live on the same street and hang out every day.

Late Summer Fun

August 2009 has been a fun month. On August 9, Erik and I celebrated our 6 year wedding anniversary! Grandpa and Grammy Brown gave us the day off, and we took full advantage. We started with a relaxing lunch at a great Irish pub in Old Town. Next, we saw the matinee for the "Best of Second City" at the famous comedy club. Very funny as always, but the improv was by far the best part of the show. (Isn't that always the case? SO hilarious!) After that, we tried out a delicious new restaurant for dinner (new to us, anyway, since we don't have many meals out these days!) over in Wicker Park. Our plan was to head home after dinner, but we were having so much fun that we decided last-minute to go see a movie - a comedy, to stick with the theme of the day. We saw "The Hangover", which was actually very funny - exceeded our expectations! We highly recommend it to any other sleep-deprived parents of small children who need some easy laughter to end their day. (Although, I have to say how proud we are of Gavin - we have gone 3 nights in a row now with wonderful sleep - no waking from 7pm - 5am - not even for a pacifier, which has been a big hurdle - Go Gavin!).

In mid-August, we took part in a family picnic for Erik's dad's cancer support group. Many of the group members took part, and all were invited to bring their families so we could all meet one another. Don handled the grilling for the group and everyone brought side dishes for the table. It was a beautiful sunny day for a picnic. It was windy, too - we were wishing we'd brought a kite! The picnic area was on the same grounds as a huge childrens' splash park, so Cassie brought her swimming suit and had lots of fun playing in the water. She's a little unsure about anything that will dump on her head, like waterfalls or those giant mushrooms that pour water down all sides. But she's happy to splash around and enjoy the scene. Gavin even got in on the splashing action!