Eggburn Time

My dad's side of the families annual family reunion was Saturday morning in Cedar Rapids.  Every year we go to Jones Park bright and early for breakfast in the park.  I believe the eggs use to be burned all the time....thus the name The Eggburn.   I have been going to this reunion since I was born and its a great time to catch up with family.  Kevin, Isabelle, and I drove down on Friday afternoon and stopped in Williamsburg to do some shopping at the outlet mall. 

Sleepyhead

After shopping we headed to The Amana Colonies (another must-do-stop during the Eggburn weekend).  We all ate dinner at The Ronneburg Restaurant and had a great time.  (By "we all" I mean: Kevin, Isabelle, myself, Amy, Andy, Ava, Isaiah, Dad, Mom, Aunt Barbie, Uncle Dave, Kim, Jeff, Lilly, Luke, and my other Uncle Dave).

Isabelle enjoying her dinner

Isabelle and her Great Uncle Dave T

Our Little Family

Isaiah's reaction after a first bite of a beet

After dinner we headed back to our hotel and got some sleep.  Isabelle did great as it was her first stay in a hotel! In the morning we headed out to the Eggburn and enjoyed a lot of food, fun, family and sunshine!

Isabelle meeting her Great Uncle Dave E for the first time

The Jones Park Oak Pavilion that we always meet at

Time for a diaper change

Watching Isabelle's crawling skills :)

Must have been bright outside by Isabelle's expression :)

Cousin Jeff and Isabelle

We headed back home in the afternoon and Isabelle slept for most of the trip home.  She was a very good traveler and was excited for a nights sleep back in her crib.

Hello Aunt Barbie! (and Kim, Jeff, Lilly, and Luke)

After a busy shopping day for new fall clothes at Jordan Creek Mall with Grandpa and Grandma Van Slyke it was time to play with the Disney Princess car and then time for a nice relaxing swing.

Taking Elmo for a ride around the living room

Adorable little feet

Isabelle always falls asleep in her swing

After the busy day of shopping and playing, Isabelle had some very important visitors come by in the evening.  My Aunt Barbie from West Lafayette, Indiana, my cousin Kim, her husband Jeff, and their two kids Lilly and Luke from Raleigh, North Carolina came by to see her  They are all in Iowa for the annual Van Slyke side family reunion on Saturday.   

Aunt Barbie and Isabelle

Lilly, Aunt Barbie, Isabelle

Isabelle showing Luke how to do a puzzle (she is exactly 3 months older then him!)

Jeff, Isabelle and Lilly

My Aunt Barbie and I have always been extremely close and I was so excited for her to finally meet Isabelle!! Although Kim and I are cousins, we have always been more like good friends and it was great to get our kids together! 

Elly's Return and A New Toy

Yesterday Isabelle and I stayed in most of the day to avoid the extreme heat and humidity! With the exception of a quick run to the grocery store we were inside playing all day! 

Grandma Van Slyke stopped by in the afternoon for a visit (mainly to play with Isabelle of course!) and Grandma and Grandpa Larsen came by in the evening for some play time as well. Isabelle seemed to love the company and liked to show off her new crawling skills!

Isabelle also made sure daddy had fun getting her into her pajamas, as she does not like to stay still while on her changing table (or floor for that matter!).  She is such an active girl and always tries to crawl or roll off the changing table!  As cute as it is, it's a good thing Kevin and I don't take our eye off of her if even for a second!

Today we went swinging again after breakfast...this seems to be the best time to swing as it is still cool outside and not too sunny.  We later went to Target (surprise, surprise) for a few items and while we were there Elly was lost!  For those who do not know, Elly is Isabelle's little pink elephant blankie that was a gift from cousin Katie.  This is her favorite thing as she falls asleep, while we rock her, for every nap and bedtime holding tightly on to Elly!  It is the one thing we do not leave home without.  Ever.  It fell out of her stroller somewhere at Target and when I realized it I felt horrible! I retraced our steps literally 4 times up and down every single aisle...looking on shelves in case it was tossed there.  I checked with guest services and no Elly.  I checked the parking lot and under cars.  No Elly.  We went back into Target and retraced our steps again only to leave with no Elly. I felt so bad.  I left my phone number with guest services to call if it was turned in.  Luckily 2 hours later they called!  Thank goodness! Elly is now safe at home and got a nice bath (washing machine) and mommy will do a much better job to make sure this does not happen again!

Elly's back home!

All that looking through the aisles at Target caused us to stumble upon this new toy!  It is great at helping her walk and push her doll!

She was not fond of the musical bear at the top of the stroller

Giving it another try now that the bear is gone

The simple cookie blocks will do!

After a busy day of shopping, playing, and a lost Elly....it was time for bed and some cuddle time when daddy came home from work.

Love that smile.

Oh What Busy Days

Oh What Busy Days.  This is the name of  the Kindermusik session that Isabelle took this summer.  It was a five week class on Monday's at 10:45 and her last class was today.  She actually took an eight week class last spring and enjoyed it so much we signed her up for the summer session as well.  This was a really fun class for her and I had so much fun taking her to it! Isabelle was happy to have her daddy at two of her classes this summer as well!  The theme, "Oh What Busy Days", was so cute and fitting for her.
Here is what our little munchkin was up to today!

After breakfast we went out for a swing in our her pajamas!

Time to get ready for the last Kindermusik class of the summer!

Daddy joined today for music class!

Waiting for class to begin and Isabelle with her favorite drum!

She loves the egg shakers!

Time to play in with the scarves

Dancing to the beat!

After Kindermusik it was time for a yummy lunch consisting of beef and tomato ravioli, fresh strawberries, cheddar cheese, yogurt melts, and some garden veggie "lil crunchies".  (Of course all in small portions and washed down with some cold water!)

After the busy morning it was time for a nap!

Previous nap only lasted 20 minutes...next a walk

Asleep again, this time for a good long nap!

After some more playtime and dinner it was time to go swimming when daddy came home from work!

Waterfall!

More playtime followed by a nice warm bath before bed!

And that is Isabelle's version of Busy Days!!

**This may be the most pictures ever in one blog but they are all too cute to not post**