Chicago Seidlers

No, we haven’t had to downsize. The kids asked if they could take a nap together last week, and Lori snapped this pic of the two of them cuddled up. It’s not normally this peaceable, but we’ll take it!

Mathias kicked off his second year at pre-k today! He’s attending a new school this year, Coonley Elementary, as his old school, Waters, had so many kindergarteners come in that they had to drop their pre-k program. Coonley’s a really good school, though, so we’re excited for the change.

Mathias is ready for his first day of school!

Lori is actually helping Aunt Sara move to Washington D.C., and James had to work, so grandma took Mathias to his first day in the new classroom. It sounded like it went pretty well–and he has two kids from his old school with him, which is a nice bonus.

At the start of the month we headed down to Indiana Beach for a weekend with friends, which involved camping, carnival rides, and, of course, the perfect s’more. As you’ll see, both kids loved zipping around in circles and sleeping on the ground.

Mathias cruises at the wheel.

Lillian went crazy on the carnival rides…and Lori seemed to enjoy them too.

The dude works on the perfect s’more.

Aunt Sara snapped this photo of Lillian ready to rumble in Mathias’ Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle battle gear. Watch out Shredder!

Aunt Sara snapped this photo of Lillian ready to rumble in Mathias’ Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle battle gear.

Lillian takes us through the numbers with gusto.

Mathias’ last day of school was yesterday, and as the picture shows, he wasn’t sorry to say goodbye! (Contrast the shot with his arrival pic last fall.)

All in all, he seemed to enjoy school, but he told us the last few weeks, “Everyone was just blah, blah, blah…” A little prodding revealed that meant people were getting too rowdy at the blocks station, prompting him to take refuge in the library. Sounds a bit like his dad there…

We’re looking forward to summer fun, although he does start a camp at the Park District in a couple weeks. So he’ll stay busy!

In other summer news, Lillian got her first exposure to the water sprayer at our local playground today. As you can see, she hated it 🙂 !

Our big guy turned 4 last weekend, and to mark the occasion, we had a pirate-themed party that was light on the grog but heavy on the booty for our little captain. Here are some pics of the fun:

A little pre-party doughnut to get the celebration started right.

Of course, we couldn’t leave Lillian out!

Blowing out the real deal!

As decorated by Lori (with a pan from Aunt Sara), this cake was shipshape.

While this one was festooned with gold doubloons.

Grandma gets in the pirate spirit.

Likewise Aubrey with grandma Gail, Aunt A and Ava

And friends Mellany and Stefan

The littlest buccaneer just wanted some snuggling from mama pirate, though.

The “boarding gun” from Oma and Opa was a big hit.

As were Stefan’s childhood ninja turtles

A theme later matched by Aunt Sara. Happy birthday Mathias!

We took a little trip to South Bend a couple weeks back to visit the family–and celebrate cousin Ava’s second birthday! Here are a couple pics of the fun.

The kids wrestle with Papa on Uncle Neal’s front lawn.

The kids and the Thornberg cousins in a bounce house at Ava’s birthday party!

Mathias and Lillian take a whirl on the same merry-go-round that once spun James and James’ dad. Continuing family tradition, Lillian bonked her head and fell off. 🙁 Thankfully, she was fine.

We had a great holiday weekend, stuffed with jelly beans and bunny masks. James’ brother and sister came into town to join us for the Easter feast…and some board games as well. It was a fun time, boosted by the 70-degree weather on Sunday!

Bunnies all around! This is how James was greeted coming home from work on Friday.

Lillian and Mathias enjoy some puzzles and chocolate sent by their Aunt Sheila!

Dyeing the eggs–this took all of about 5 minutes this year!

The kids were happy to move the eggs from container to container with their hands.

They can both still fit on Lori’s lap.

The kids with their baskets! Mathias needed some pretty hints to find his, but it wasn’t long before they’d both gorged themselves with candy.

A toast from the “green team” on our couch last night: