July

July was busy with a lot of great things!  We started off with fourth of July celebrations at a small town in Illinois where we could avoid heavy crowds/traffic, but still give Jillian a dose of her first fireworks.  She loved them!

 

We squeezed in a visit up to Manchester on Abby's birthday to see friends, Stephen and Carrie Mulligan, who were back from Haiti for a visit.  We also went up to Strawberry Point while we were in the area to see Grandma Betty and Grandpa Dick.

 Jillian loves sitting up high on the walker seat and being read to.

 

 Paul had to work on his birthday but we surprised him with a DQ ice cream cake when he got home.

 

 

 Jillian loves to get her toes painted and even sits pretty still for the process!

 

 

We had a Jackson family reunion at a park near Manchester.  The kids really enjoyed the park there!  The swings were a big hit!

 

At the end of July we went to the Amana Coloines to the Waserban water park with Paul's family.  All of his siblings and their kiddos were able to make it and we had a GREAT time!  Jillian could hardly sleep at night thinking about a big pool being just down the hall! 

 All of the Hovey cousins...except for Alyssa.

 Jillian with Aunt Jill

 

 Here's the whole Hovey gang!  Yes, 7 girls and one boy! :) 

 

 Hovey cousins on the swings

 

 Most of July hit Abby hard with the 1st trimester blahs!  Jillian was good about understanding and agreeable to more cuddle time with Mommy

 

 Jillian loves putting on Mommy's shoes.  The high heels are especially a fun challenge!

 

 

Jillian took 5 weeks of gymnastics class at the Bettendorf YMCA.  She really enjoyed stretching, running, and even trying some somersaults. 

 



Madison Trip

At the end of June, the Glew family took a weekend getaway trip to Madison.  Abby's brother, Nick, did a great job finding a condo for us all to stay in where each family had plenty of room, including their own bathroom.  We filled our time with a trip to the zoo, Children's Museum, farmer's market, and a few stops at parks.  Jillian loved all of the events and of course the people she shared it with!  

 

Up close and personal with the lions at the Madison zoo 

 Jillian and Leah got to ride the carousel with Gram and Grandpa

 

 One of Jillian's favorite zoo activities...feeding the goats!

 

 Landon and Grandpa hanging out

 

 Picnic lunch after the zoo

 

 

 



Cousin Leah was so kind to share a bubble wand with Jillian 



 Building things at the Children's Museum

 

 Painting at the Children's Museum. 

 

 The girls loved cooling off a bit with this water on the roof of the Children's Museum

 

 Petting a baby chick at the Children's Museum

 

Another wonderful park in Madison

Vacation

This year we opted to do a "staycation" and it was probably one of our best vacations!  It was great not having to travel, sleep in a hotel, or live out of a suitcase, especially with a two-year-old.  We enjoyed splurging in the Quad Cities and coming back to the comfort of our own home at the end of the day.  It was great to be together as a family for a whole week! Here are a few pictures from the week!

 Jillian with her bubble wand

 Playing with her new sand box

 Daddy and Jillian at the zoo feeding the fish

 Jillian rode a pony for the first time at the zoo.  She kept asking Daddy to take his hand off her as she could "do it my own"

 Feeding the goats at the zoo

 Butterfly chair at the zoo

 Donuts before our hike at Scott County Park

 Jillian loved the frosting on her donut!

 Hiking at Scott County Park



We also did a few projects around the house while we were on vacation.  One of them was replacing the hallway and stairs carpet.  It was really worn down!  Paul's dad installed the carpet and did a fabulous job!  Thanks, Dave!

Before...

 Almost completed...

At the end of vacation, Abby ran in the Race for the Cure, a 5K race in Moline.  There were thousands of people but Abby still managed to spot her fan club a couple times during the race. 

 Jillian trying on Grandpa's hat

At the start line...

Good times in May!

Jillian has really enjoyed the month of May with fun visitors, creative play ideas,and many trips to the park with the nice weather. She's really becoming quite the little lady!

Jillian at the kitchen table telling Mommy she is making "coffee".  Looks like she may have already had a couple cups! :)

Jillian taking a "nap" on the back steps.  She had to try out every step to find the most comfortable one!

Jillian thought her little pig, Wilber, needed to try on her tennis shoes.

Our dear friends and neighbors while at Denver Seminary came to visit us.  The Wiens family will always be like family to us!  Jillian loved playing with Katarina and Annaka since they would do whatever she wanted and didn't mess with her toys! 

Just another day at the park.  Jillian shouts, "higher...faster...higher, Mommy!"  Then she says, "Mommy, take my picture!"

Jillian loves swinging!

Look out, kids!  I got this park thing down!

Great Grandparents

Paul had Saturday off this weekend so we decided it would be a great opportunity to go visit Abby's grandparents. We had a great time catching up and being entertained by Jillian. Wish we could visit more often!

Jillian loved playing the piano

Jillian sitting on Grandpa Dick's walker

  Jillian wanted to try sitting on all the tractors at Grandpa Gary's shop

              Jillian ready to go on a trip with Great Grandma and Grandpa Jackson in their new trailer 

                         Jillian climbed this ladder multiple times with Grandpa Gary "spotting".

           Jillian loved going up and down the steps of Great Grandma and Grandpa Jackson's trailer.

We stopped at a park in Manchester before we headed home and Jillian displayed her fearless behavior by chosing the biggest slides and climbing right to the top.  Little Miss Independent informed Daddy as he followed her up the slide, "Daddy, you can go to another park."