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Highlights of August:

Ky's been in Michigan for 4 & 1/2 weeks now.  We're 1/3 of the way through being apart.  It's gone by quickly for the most part.  We have WONDERFUL visiting and home teachers who have been taking care of us.  We also have FANTASTIC friends and neighbors who help me keep the kids busy and give me a break.

The kids and I have had only 1 day that was AWFUL (Logan's molars and eye teeth were coming in at once and then he ended the day by pulling a bowl of scalding water and peas over himself at the dinner table).  But other than that we've been doing alright.

Someone got his step-2 board scores back and got a 698!!! When he came home for the weekend a while ago we celebrated his score by going out to a fancy restaurant and having a very nice dinner and listening to live jazz music.  It was really nice and the kids had fun playing with friends while we were out on our date.

I've been keeping busy while my hubby's been gone.  I watch an 8-month old baby who is so sweet and mellow; the kids LOVE him and I'm so glad for the "work" he gives me.  It makes the time go by so much more quickly.

I've also been busy planning a preschool for Megan with one of my friends.  Her little girl is Meg's age and to save money we've teamed up to teach our girls at home this year.  I'm really excited about it and have been collecting supplies and ideas.  My only hope is that we won't get too tired of hearing, "but at Missy's we..."  I'm afraid we will NEVER live up to the Amazing Missy and all the wonderful things she did for our girls, but we will try to carry on without her (sniff, sniff).

I have such great friends here who have come over to play with me and the kids or have let me stop by on walks to chat for a while.  We now have 9 families in our complex who are in our ward! We've been busy meeting and getting to know all these new neighbors.  Last week Melissa and Trevor took me on a boat ride on the Chicago River with a few other friends.  It was so much fun.  I had a lot of fun enjoying the scenery and getting a night off from the kiddos.  I have some adopted grandparents from our ward to thank for watching the kids that night. 

Ok, so my last bit of exciting news is that I won a grand prize from the Summer Reading program at our library!  We got a gift basket which included a bag of animal crackers, a tube of sunscreen, a stuffed baboon, the movie "We Bought A Zoo", and a one-year family pass to the Brookfield Zoo!!  We are so excited and cannot wait to spend every other day wandering the enclosures and enjoying the animals.

I had a fun day with Logan on his birthday.  We went to the mall and he and Megan rode the train 3 times! That was definitely an extra special treat for both of them.  Then we went to All-Aboard Diner for pizza and chocolate milk.  However, Logan was too distracted by all the trains running around the place to eat much, even his free cup of birthday ice cream! He had one present to open - a package from Grandma and Grandpa Baird. All the others we opened last week when his daddy was still here to watch him.  

I did not do a party for Logan this year.  I've been really busy and Kyle isn't home, so I just thought going to the diner would be simple and fun for me and the kids.  Well, when we got there and were seated we saw that the Kimberling family from our ward had just walked in and they were being seated right next to us! It was so much fun to have them there for little Jacob's 2nd birthday too.  Angelika and I delivered our boys at the same hospital within a couple hours of each other.  It was such a fun evening.  

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I can hardly believe my "baby" is a two-year-old.  He is the sweetest little thing with those big blue eyes and long lashes.  I love watching him run around and copy everything his big sister is doing.  He is quite the talker and will use sentences like, "I don't like that" or "I want to color" or "I'm HUNGRY!!" and "I want to EAT NOW!!"  He has slowed down with his eating but is still good at trying new things.  He still loves his crackers.  Right now he loves Elmo (just like his sister did when she was 2) and anything to do with trains or cars or firetrucks.  He also loves any kind of sport with a ball.  He loves to watch "ba-ket-ball" and yell "TUT-DOWN!" (I'm sure he'll get the lingo down by next year).  He loves to say prayers and is my little example.  We have prayed over our food in public at least twice now and at every chance he raises his hand and says, "I want pray, I want say it!" and he does a wonderful job.  He is all rough-and-tumble and get-up-and-go.  He is my Logi-bear, my baby bear, and (as he refers to himself) my little "MAN!" (he screams as he's pounding his chest).