Let's go back to Friday - I did get my bonfire! We had a nice early evening with Oliver first, went for a walk, played for a bit and then he went to bed pretty nicely. We grilled ourselves some brats, cracked open a beer and then Mr. Monkey built us a lovely fire out of a bunch of the branches and things that have fallen in the yard since last year. It was a great way to get rid of that stuff instead of having to bundle it and drag it into the front yard! We streamed some light jazz music (the Pants Monkey's favorite) on my iPhone and just enjoyed a beautiful evening. He did have to keep feeding the fire, but it worked out well, when we were ready to be done we didn't have to wait for it to burn out.
Saturday morning I got up nice and early with Ollie, we had a fun morning of playing and then I packed him up in the car and headed to Como Zoo and Conservatory to meet Miss Lori.
I freaking love the Conservatory - especially the Sunken Garden room - everything is in full bloom in there right now, it smells amazing and is just lovely.
This was Oliver's second time at the zoo, and the first time I attempted a trip like this without the help of daddy - he did pretty well and so did I! I was excited that he even fell asleep in his stroller, gives me hope that we can do some sight seeing in St. Louis when we're there and he'll be able to go with the flow pretty well! He woke up in time to see some animals - though he's still not too into them quite yet. We'll keep going back though!
And let's talk about this lady for a second here - I stole this picture from her - I cannot believe in just a few short weeks she's heading to Chicago for good. I am so happy for her - but sad for me! She's one of the greatest friends I've made through blogging that I've had the pleasure of meeting up with in person. I definitely consider her more than just a blog friend now! I will miss her like crazy, but thank god for social media for keeping in touch - and I see a trip to Chicago in our very near future as well!
After the zoo, we came home and hung out on the deck for a bit with Mr. Monkey - but before that Oliver had to get in some quality time with his BFF. I love how he loves Taylor and how she loves him. Taylor was the cat we were more worried about, we seriously thought she would have trouble with Ollie, but she's really taken a shine to him. Pippin doesn't not like him, but she still is unsure, so he's still unsure of her. We'll keep working on it.
Sunday morning I got up early for church but got in some quality time with this sweet face before I had to go. He is becoming more and more of a little person every day. He's not quite crawling yet, but will pull himself up on our laps if we sit on the floor with him. Later in the day on Sunday we had dinner with my in-laws and worked out the remaining details for our St. Louis trip. I can't believe the trip is almost here! I'm still a little nervous about it, but mostly I'm getting excited now. It's going to be great to see the relatives there and I'm excited for Oliver's first vacation!
Monday we did Oliver's six month pictures - I can't believe he will be six months next week. We're almost halfway to his first birthday and that just blows my mind! We did the pictures outside and it was a little bright and warm, but he was a trooper I think. We had lunch outside after that, then he had a visit from his auntie since she'll be gone before and after we're gone. We all more or less crashed Monday night then! It was a busy, full weekend and if it's any indication of how the summer is going to be - I'll take it, even if I had sunburned arms and was totally wiped by the end of it - my heart was full and happy! Happy summer!!
