June 18

When the tornado sirens went off at 5:00 this morning, we checked the radar and decided to go back to bed, instead of to the basement.

When they went off a second time at 5:30, we gave up and woke both babies and took them downstairs. Chris and I were both tired and crabby and grumbling about what a crummy day this was going to be.

Boy were we wrong.

Chris let me go back to sleep later, while he wrangled Caleb. Then, while both kiddos napped, he sent me off to do some solo shopping. (Really! Shopping! All by myself! It was amazing.) I came home to find Caleb still sleeping, and Chris and Daisy having some quality time.

She's fascinated by Daddy. He is very different from Mommy.

When Caleb woke up, we all played on the patio. 

The boys inspected the veggies growing in our garden while they ate popsicles.

Meanwhile, Daisy and I lounged in the shade.

And then? The best part of the day. Caleb hasn't been to the park in a while, so we took him today. 

He was so excited to visit his favorite park!

He ran and waved hello to the pond and fountain. (Seriously. He's shouting, "Hi fountain! Hi pond!")

He also said hi to his favorite dragon. He loves that dragon. He's terrified of it, but once we leave he does nothing but talk about it. He even makes up stories about how he touched the dragon, when really he's way too scared to do any such thing. It's pretty funny.

Then, he discovered a secret about the park: 

it has a splash pad!

Caleb has never experienced the splash pad before because he was either too young and immobile or it was closed for the season. But today, he  made up for lost time! 

I can't remember the last time I saw this kid so happy. He was running, laughing, interacting with other kids, and being more social than I've ever seen him be. Chris and I were fully expecting Caleb to be terrified of the splash pad. It has all of the things that frighten him: other people, unpredictable elements, the possibility of hurting himself...

We were so wrong.

I think I want to take Caleb to this park every day from now on!

While Caleb played, Daisy and I lounged in the shade. (It's kind of our favorite thing to do.)

The weather was perfect, too. Daisy didn't get hot at all!

This was what Daisy was gazing up at. It's a really pretty park.

But as fun as today was, I have a feeling tomorrow will be even better.

Why?

We're celebrating Fathers Day with a trip to Busch Stadium to see the Cardinals play! It should be awesome - as long as Caleb manages a nap before the 1:15 game.

And it's not too hot.

And Daisy cooperates.

And Caleb cooperates.

And our seats are in the shade.

And the Cardinals finally win a game.

Ok, now I'm getting nervous. But I'm sure it will be fine.