St. Louis

We headed down to St. Louis for vacation last weekend. They have a lot of free children's attractions and we didn't think the ride would be too long for Mason. The day that we got there we pretty much walked around the city and tried to find out how to get everywhere we wanted to go. They were having a festival right across the street from our hotel so things were a bit congested. The bonus was that we could see and hear the fireworks and concerts from our hotel window. This was nice since the day that we arrived it was 99 degrees outside!

The view from our room

On Sunday we went to the St. Louis Zoo. It was another hot day, but there were many cooling stations and air conditioned buildings for relief! Mason seemed to have a good time. He really liked the penguin building and the snakes. You could get very close to the penguins. I even got splashed by one!

The three of us at the zoo (Mason was clearly not interested in the photo. He just wanted to get in the fountain)

Checking out the penguins with Mommy

The St. Louis "Sophies"

Looking around in the herpetarium

On Monday we had tickets to go up the Gateway Arch. We walked through the museum there, while Mason slept, and then boarded our tram. The cars you ride in are very small. If you're over 5 feet tall you have to bend down to fit in. Once we reached the top Mason had a blast looking out the windows. He actually cried if we tried to move him to a different window.

Mason & Mommy outside the arch

Our ride to the top

Looking out the window with Daddy

Checking out Busch Stadium

Mason at the highest point

Looking at the Mississippi with Mommy

The three of us at the top

After the arch we headed to Hooters for lunch before we went to a Cardinal's game. Mason loved all the attention from the ladies.

Busch Stadium

The field (notice the arch mowed into the grass)

Waiting for someone to score

Ready for a foul ball??

Rainbow during the game

After the game we headed back to the hotel for some dinner and fireworks.

Grabbing a post game burger

Fireworks!!

Tuesday we went to the Magic House Children's Museum. It was a really neat place. It even had a special section for little ones 24 months and younger. It was less crowded than the rest of the museum so Mason pretty much had the whole area to himself. He seemed to enjoy some of the areas for the older kids too, as did Mommy & Daddy.

Mason in a bubble

Daddy

Mommy

Mason

Enjoying the music section

"M" is for Mason

In the auto shop

Taking full advantage of the baby area

The "hair raising experience"

Shadow wall

This kid loves water!!

We also stopped by the City Museum which turned out to be a rather odd place. Needless to say, we didn't stay long. It was basically a mish mash of strange memorabilia. There were a couple of highlights though.

Mason liked watching the turtles

and picking Big Boy's nose!

Before heading out of town, we stopped by the Anheuser-Busch Brewery for their tour. It was very interesting to see the ins and outs of the brewery and learn some of the history behind it. They were bottling Bud Light Lime that day. At the end of the tour they have a hospitality room where each guest got to sample two beers. There was also a neat collection of memorabilia and a store featuring their products.

These pipes carry the beer from building to building

The dalmatians and Clydesdales

The packaging area

Mason & Daddy at the end of the tour

Happy Independence Day!

We didn't get many festive photos since we weren't home!

Eight Months

At eight months old our little guy has become quite mobile. Not only is he crawling everywhere, but he has begun to pull himself up on practically anything he can get his hands on. We had to lower his crib mattress and remove the bumpers because he was pulling up and trying to climb out. He now has two teeth (both on the bottom) and the tops don't seem too far behind. He is such a happy little boy. He loves to giggle and although his vocabulary has expanded a bit, "dada" is still his favorite! He is using his sippy cup more and more and has started eating some finger foods. It's hard to believe that he's becoming such a big boy! He has even moved up to a convertible car seat (in Mommy's car).

He now weighs about 20 pounds 10 ounces, is 29 inches long, and has a head circumference of 17 3/4 inches.

Mason the day we decided to lower the crib mattress

Happy Father's Day!

Father's Day weekend was busy around our house this year. On Saturday we went to a Kane County Cougars game. We're taking Mason to St. Louis in a couple weeks and have tickets to a Cardinals game. We decided to try a Cougars game first as a "test run" to see how well he would do at a game. Overall he did a good job at his first baseball game. He made a lot of friends and actually stayed awake for the entire game. He did, of course, fall asleep right before the fireworks show and slept through the whole thing.

Watching the game with Mommy

Today we celebrated Father's Day by going to Soldier Field for brunch. It was held in the United Club there and was so yummy! Everyone had a great time. After brunch we got to go onto the field and Devin got to try to kick a field goal. Mason fell asleep just as we were heading to the field so he looks drowsy/cranky in most of the pictures because we woke him up!

Mason with Daddy at brunch (you can see his two bottom teeth if you look closely)

Family photo heading on to the field

Devin's field goal attempt

Mason & Daddy on the field

On the field (still not too sure about the grass)

"Flying" out with Daddy

After brunch we stopped by to see Grandpa Gene. While we were there, Mason got his first ride on Rocky (a coin operated horse).

Mason and Devin also went for some pictures earlier in the week. Here's a few of them.

Great Grandma's Party

Yesterday we went to my grandma's 80th birthday party. Mason got a chance to meet some new people from my dad's side of the family.

Mason with Great Grandma Zdenek

Four Generations of Zdeneks

With Mommy & Auntie Erica

With Daddy

Not too sure about the grass

Pool Day

Today we took Mason to Grandma & Grandpa's house to swim for the very first time. He loves baths so we hoped he'd loved swimming too. It was close to nap time so we were afraid he would get cranky and hate being in the water, but thankfully he loved it! He was giggling and talking up a storm. I think we definitely have a little "water baby" on our hands!

Ready to go

Testing out the water

Having a blast!

Trying out Grandpa's boat

Seven Months

At seven months, Mason is constantly becoming more mobile and making more sounds! He rolls or scoots around and is rocking while up on all fours. This boy will be crawling any day now! He has mastered "words" such as hey and dada/daddy. He knows how to wave and clap, just not usually at the right times. His first tooth broke through the other day too! He has graduated from the baby bath tub and now takes "big boy baths" with the help of a bath seat. He loves it! He enjoys reading his books in the bath and wants his rubber duckie at all times! He's working on learning to use a sippy cup and is doing a pretty good job. He continues to be a happy little guy!

He now weighs about 20 pounds 1 ounce, is 28 1/2 inches long, and has a head circumference of 17 1/2 inches.

Enjoying his first "big boy bath"