Lac Vieux Desert in July

This year instead of going to Rhinelander or Phelps, the Ekedahls went to the UP for vacation. The resort is one we visited last year while out on the pontoon. It was the perfect place to go for the kids. There was lots of super shallow beach space, a small play area with slides, sand and see-saws, and lots of open grass to run around in. We spent pretty much the entire week outside, relaxing, and playing. Here are some pics to sum up the week.

We bought a new sprinkler special for the vacation. The kids loved running in it because it was more like a mist than a spray.Strike a pose!
For our outing this year we went to the coolest petting zoo I have ever seen (I was made fun of for liking it more than the kids!). They had porcupines, descented skunks, hedgehogs, goats, peacocks, deer, bears (in cages), parakeets, and lots more! Ethan's favorite was by far the goats (mostly the babies).

His second favorite was probably the birds. They had a huge room full of parakeets. You could buy a stick with birdseed on it and the birds would sit right on your arm or on the stick and eat.
Only problem was that Ethan wanted to hold one. He got pretty close!

My favorite part was the deer. I had heard that the antlers were warm but I didn't realize how warm they really were. This is a picture of Ethan saying, "No no no, mean!" to the deer because he turned his head and hit Ethan in the leg with his antlers.We also had lots of story times with Lainey. She is the best storyteller afterall!
Just the cousins hanging out on our Hawaiian themed day.
Eating his first ever s'more. YUM!
Posing in their sweatshirts made for the Sole Burner race we walked/ran in this past May in memory of Kevin.
Playing in the water was surprisingly not top on the list for Ethan, in fact, not even close to the top. For whatever reason he did not want anything to do with the lake. Finally, on the last day we were at the resort, he managed to go in up to about his waist to throw rocks with grandma.
We also spent lots of time learning everyone's names. His favorite to say, of course, is still Chad!

As a side note, our plan had been to bring DVD's for the car ride up north. As you all know, Ethan LOVED Ellen Degeneres so our plan was to find DVD's of her show. Well, he has completely grown out of his love for Ellen. He now loves Little Einsteins. So, the drive up and back were full of pat pat pats, buckling our seat belts, blast offs, singing, and dancing!

June 2011

One more tidbit to add from May's post. We went to Ethan's 18 month appointment right after the post. Here are his stats:
Weight: 23 lb. 12 oz = 21st percentile
Height: 2 ft. 9 in. = 71st percentile
Head: 50.7 cm = 98th percentile

So, pretty much the same as always. Long and lean with a big head :)

As Ethan is growing, so is his personality! Every day there is something to laugh about with him. He has really grown to love playing dress up. Here are some pics from his many dress up moments.

Dancing while wearing his favorite headband.
Wearing his beaded necklaces...
Dad's shoes... (I'm pretty sure he will also grow to love shoes like his daddy. He already goes and picks out all of our shoes when we leave the house)
Dancing in daddy's Livestrong shirt...
Soccer player (he looks tough doesn't he?) lol...
Another huge change this month is his independence. He only wants to feed himself now, no help whatsoever. So, he is learning how to use a spoon. Let's just say it's a pretty messy learning experience. Most of the time the spoon gets turned upside down and his food ends up on his clothes.
June also brought a ton of outdoor time. Whether we were on his bike or stroller, playing in the pool, or hanging out at the cabin we were outside for the majority of the days.
The kids even helped me drive the pontoon for the first time! Kileigh took her helping job pretty seriously :)
Father's Day at the cabin

Watching the boats with grandma. (Ethan is OBSESSED with boats, trucks, cars, trains, pretty much any big vehicle that goes fast)
At the end of the month we went to the Milton Relay for Life. A family friend was the person being honored, so we went to listen to his speech. Ethan was much more interested in the balloons and running up and down the bleachers. He did however get to sport his sweatshirt in memory of his grandpa!
We also made the annual trip to Rotary Gardens to snap a picture of the kids by the brick in memory of Kevin.

On to July...

Highs and Lows of May

The second week of May was BEAUTIFUL!! It was over 70 degrees for quite a few days in a row and we spent the majority of time outside. On one of the first really warm days, Courtney and Kileigh came over for the day. Peg had the great idea to go to the cabin and play in the sandbox so away we went! Since it was sooo warm, I thought maybe the kids would have fun splashing in a little wagon filled with water. Ethan had another idea...

As I am sure you probably already figured out, I hadn't exactly planned on going "swimming" at the cabin. But hey, at least he had a good time! Ki also had lots of fun building sculptures in the sand, sitting at the picnic bench, and her favorite activity, straining rocks out of the sandbox :). Thanks again Peg for the great idea!

Isn't it just so pretty and peaceful?

After lots of playing, we went home for a nap. When Ethan woke up, it was time to hit the pool (for real this time). We pulled out our little pink pool from last year and the kids had lots of fun. Unfortunately, so did Courtney and I. We had a huge water fight and we both ended up soaking wet! The kids loved it. Doesn't Ethan look like a little surfer dude in this pic?

Sweet girl...

Luckily, with spending all of this time together, the kids are getting better at playing together. Although they are not always perfect and tend to still hit, push, and steal toys, they really do love each other. Here are some pics of them working together to...

squirt Ethan in the head,

fill up a cup of water,and their favorite, attack mom/Jess!Watch out Kileigh, Ethan is coming for you!! Ethan loved dumping full cups of water over Kileigh's head. She wasn't quite as big of a fan.Crazy man dancing on the deck!Watch out Ethan! Kileigh is coming for you!After a day FULL of activity, the kiddos had fun playing in the tent Ethan got from Aunt Courtney.

After a long day of playing, they had to get to sleep so they could wake up and do it all over again! We got up, got ready and of course went outside to enjoy some more weather. While we were waiting for Courtney, Kileigh, my dad and Pam, we played around in the rocks and grass. We also like to spend lots of time sitting on the porch waving and saying hello to all the cars that pass by. Instead of spending the whole day outside again, we all went to Red Lobster for lunch (YUM!) then went for some shopping at the Super Target in Rockford.We also had a fun visit this week with Ethan's girlfriend Emelia and his mom, Casey. The kids didn't really like each other as much this week. Emelia wanted to play and attack Ethan and he wanted nothing to do with it. Little did we know, later that night we had a quite sleepless night. Ethan was diagnosed with his first ever ear infection the next morning!With all of that fun you might wonder why the post is called highs and lows. Unfortunately, we lost my Grandma Pesik this month. She has been suffering for quite some time now and has been in lots of pain for years. Although it was sad to lose her, I think our family can rest assured that she is living a better life now than she was here with us. We will miss you grandma!

Through all sad times, we can always find some good. With my grandma's passing, we had the opportunity to spend lots of time with family members we otherwise don't see all too often (Brother Aaron, Aunt Kim, and Uncle Alex from Texas, Uncle Don from Colorado, Aunt Tori and Cousin Shannon from Michigan). Ethan especially took a liking to my Uncle Alex and Uncle Kurt. Since when is he such a fan of men? Up until now, he has always been a bit scared of any man except for his grandpa and Mike. Here he is with Alex watching some Ellen.Oh, and don't let me forget he was also attached to his cousin Amber! He loved that she would always play with him and carry him all over the place. Thanks Amber for all of your time spent with Ethan, it was a huge help!The day of the funeral, we had a little lunch over at our house. Although we have our deck out back, everyone migrated to the front where there was a little more shade. We had monkey in the middle, car rides, and even a little pool. The grown ups had a little beer, wine, and good conversation. I think grandma would have approved of our little celebration of her life.

Since my brother was in town, we took the opportunity to snap a quick family photo (missing Mike, Ethan, and Chuck).While we were taking pics, here's what Ethan was busy doing...

After a long nap, Ethan was ready to get back to socializing. He started out with a big smile and belly laugh with his great grandpa!Although I do have a picture of all of the siblings, for some reason the picture wouldn't load on here. So, here is a picture of my mom and her sisters. The kids loved all of the attention and fun!

Although we loved the visiting, it is always sad to say goodbye to everyone again. The next morning we went out for breakfast with my dad and brother before they left for the airport. Hopefully we will see him again soon!That night, Ethan was playing around while we were doing laundry. For fun, Mike put one of my scrub tops on Ethan. Little did we know, he loved it and wanted to run around in it for quite some time.

Let's hope this nice weather and fun continues!