First day of school

Aug. 22, 2012: Jack's first day of third grade.

From Hollands at Home 2012

Face time at the zoo

The vast majority of this post is pictures of Max poking his face through the wooden cutouts as part of the water conservation display outside the primate house at Brookfield Zoo. I probably could have gotten by with fewer photos, but Max was so proud of himself because he posed for each one, I felt compelled to share the best shot from each display — and a few others from this trip. (For the record, this is from Aug. 19, the Sunday before Jack started school for the year.)

Waiting for the dolphin show to begin. From Brookfield Zoo

Dragonflies. From Brookfield Zoo

(Almost) literally a Doodlebug. From Brookfield Zoo

Otterly adorable. From Brookfield Zoo

This one's a little fishy. From Brookfield Zoo

Potty trained. From Brookfield Zoo

Someone didn't want to be left out. From Brookfield Zoo

Well, he is pretty. From Brookfield Zoo

I have no idea what he's supposed to be here. From Brookfield Zoo

Charlie really enjoyed himself on this zoo outing. From Brookfield Zoo

Birthday dinner lin Libertyville

On Aug. 12 we packed up the bounce house for a trip to Libertyville for our annual family birthday dinner. Sadly, Aunt Kim was already back in California and Kat wasn't able to make it, but we had a very nice evening with Uncle Matt, Pops and K. We did connect with Kim via video chat (despite some technical difficulties) and while it turns out I didn't take as many photos as I usually do, I did grab a few worth sharing.

Trying to video chat with Aunt Kim. From Pops and K's

Playing catch with Uncle Matt. From Pops and K's

He's got incredible stamina for this game. From Pops and K's

Mugging for the camera. From Pops and K's

Bounce house!

While Jack and Max were at How's house, Kristie made the all-star mom move of the century. She found, on Facebook, a mom from a neighboring suburb who was getting rid of her Little Tikes bounce house — for free. Seems the family had left it outside and she no longer cared for the fact it smelled like a tent.

These things sell for around $280 new. We know since we priced them before Christmas 2010 when Kristie thought it might be a good idea to have one in the basement for Max when she was downstairs washing Charlie's diapers, Charlie at that point being a few months away. At the time we decided it was too expensive and not entirely practical. But almost two years later with an unbeatable price, well, that was a different story altogether.

Kristie didn't say anything about the bounce house to Jack and Max until they got home with How and Pop. Having that surprise available was a pretty good way to ease their transition back to home life — and did I mention it was free? Besides, when you can use a toy like this as a prop to help set up adorable photos, well, it's pretty much a no-brainer.

First time in the bounce house. From Hollands at Home 2012

Fun for all ages. From Hollands at Home 2012

Helping Charlie up the slide. From Hollands at Home 2012

A team effort. From Hollands at Home 2012

Charlie's a big fan. From Hollands at Home 2012

Jack is all about encouraging Charlie. From Hollands at Home 2012

Face first! From Hollands at Home 2012

Just Jack. From Hollands at Home 2012

Charlie in Gurnee

I posted this photo and video over at Be Thou Our Guard, but they warrant sharing again in case you missed them the first time... or forgot them since it's been more than a month. For the record, these photos are from Aug. 11 after Kristie, Charlie and I shared a super awesome dinner out with Pops at Capt. Porky's in Wadsworth.

High five for Pops! From Hollands at Home 2012

The video shows Charlie running in place, trying to copy what we were doing in response to him actually running, but go ahead and tell yourself he's dancing. It's even cuter that way.

Charlie in Fulton

After leaving Elizabeth, we drove straight to Fulton to leave Jack and Max with How and Pop for a few days. Kristie, Charlie and I spent the night Aug. 7 and stayed through dinner the next night. In that time, I was able to get some excellent pictures of Charlie, who really grew into a wonderful comfort zone at How's house — which really paid off when we returned a bout a month later for Labor Day.

It was a Wednesday when we drove home, How and Pop brought Jack and Max back to Gurnee the next Saturday. It wasn't as long of a stay as Jack would have liked, but family circumstances dictated a shift. To his credit, he accepted the change of plans as well as any kid his age possibly could, which means he far exceed my expectations. Perhaps some of his graciousness came from me telling him Kristie and I would leave him alone while we were there, but no matter the reason, I was thrilled to see him display such uncharacteristic maturity.

And now, what you came for: adorable toddler pictures.

A happy guy after a long day. From How's House

Mother and son smiles.<//b> From How's House

Yes, sometimes we feed our child like a dog. From How's House

That's a sweet smile. From How's House

A hug for How. From How's House

Hitching a ride with Jack. From How's House

This was Charlie's first ride in the Jeep. Jack was an excellent chauffeur, taking great care to use his free hand to secure his tiny passenger. The little man's smiles are absolutely priceless, and his big brother is a pretty smooth operator behind the wheel.

A day in Elizabeth

As noted in an earlier post, my dad's mother died on the first Friday of August. Fortunately we were able to get the entire family together for services in Elizabeth, Ill., the following week. So while it was in no means a happy occasion, I was able to get some decent pictures during family time. As part of catching up on my photo backlog, I present them to you now. The first few are from the church basement during the post-funeral luncheon, the others are from Aunt Shirley's house, where the family headed after things closed down at church.

Mr. Blue Eyes. From Elizabeth, Ill.

This would have been cuter had it not been happening on the floor. From Elizabeth, Ill.

Striking a pose. From Elizabeth, Ill.

Jack was trying to make a good face here. From Elizabeth, Ill.

Kim and Cousin Laura look through jewelry. From Elizabeth, Ill.

Charlie and K watch the Olympics (or Jack). From Elizabeth, Ill.

Someone loves his grandmother. From Elizabeth, Ill.

Pops' Aunt Shirley and Cousin Sharon. From Elizabeth, Ill.

Early August photos

In my ongoing quest to get caught up with photos, I bring to you now, in the first week of September, these pictures from the first week of August. As always, thank you for agreeing our children are adorable.

For starters, is it any wonder this kid is so regular?

Max and his fruit/veggie tray with a side of yogurt. From Hollands at Home 2012

Next up, Charlie makes even our garage a good setting for cute pictures.

See guys, I'm big, too! From Hollands at Home 2012

Diaper? Check. Helmet? Check. Ready to ride. From Hollands at Home 2012

Jack was all ready for his trip to How's house. From Hollands at Home 2012

I can haz MacBook? From Hollands at Home 2012

These last three are from a big park in Waukegan we checked out on a very warm summer Sunday. Max and Charlie had fun, too (Max especially enjoyed the enormous slides), but I didn't get great pictures of them.

Jack explores the spider web climber. From Hollands at Home 2012

This picture show how far up he was. From Hollands at Home 2012

Checking out the splash pads. From Hollands at Home 2012

King Doodle Speaks

I will get to photos eventually, I'm sure. But for starters, here's a video of Max telling us about his weekend in Fulton. (We'd just gotten back from taking Jack to the bus stop and I was basically rehashing the conversation in order to get it on video.)