It's Zoo Time Again!

It is once again summer and with summer comes the zoo! We kicked off our zoo experience today at the Cleveland Zoo. Grandma Chris, Papa Chuck, uncle Andrew and Lisa invited us to join them at the zoo for Lisa's birthday. Of course we couldn't say no. We spent a wonderful 4½ hours there and saw nearly every single animal! Papa and Lexi even fed the birds - in fact there were 3 bird ON Papa; one on his hand, one on his arm, and one on his hat trying to eat the button on top! Lexi also got to play the drums/tambourine at the Jungle Music demonstration. Although we took the double stroller, Lexi spent most of her time on Papa's shoulders. We even enjoyed lunch at the McDonald's at the zoo. I just know this summer will lead to many more zoo trips and lots more memories for Lexi (not too many for Jill yet, for she is barely a month old). Lexi and Jill were both the best little girls in the world and I am excited to take them again. I will let the pictures speak for themselves as to who had more fun - Papa or Lexi??!!

Happy Birthday Lisa and thanks for bringing us along on your first-ever trip to the Cleveland Zoo!

Busy, Busy, Busy

It has been over a week since I last posted. I really try to make it more often than that. We have just been a bit busy over these last few weeks. My mom came and stayed with us the whole week after Memorial Day and my grandma and aunt Ruby came and joined us on Thursday. We met them at Lodi Outlet mall and walked around and spent money until almost 3 pm! Lexi and I even enjoyed a train ride (see the picture I took of us from my cell phone). On Saturday we had 2 graduation parties to attend; one in Kent (near Akron) and the other in Montpelier (almost in Indiana/Michigan)!! This made for a 3+ hour car-ride on the turnpike. Jillian made it the entire trip without needing fed -yay! Lexi made it without her DVD player! On Sunday, mom hosted the Ginter clan for an easy lunch. Granny came with Keri and Carter and Jessica came with Connor and Lillian. The guys were all busy and couldn't make the trip. It was great to catch up with the girls and the kids are growing like weeds! I even managed to snap a picture. The only ones missing were Jill (who was inside with Granny), Kaitlyn (Brittany had to work), and of course Lyndi (who lives in Arizona). We spent the rest of the weekend at mom and dad's in Haviland and returned home on Monday just in time to do lots of laundry and picking up the house for the week. Matt has kept busy this week by picking up one of my days at work - that means he worked Mon, Tue, Wed, Fri, Sat, Sun!!! Busy! Well, kids call... I promise I won't wait so long next time to post an update.
By the way, our nest of ducks got destroyed. There were eggs strewn all through our yard and the momma duck was no longer sitting on the one egg that was left in the nest. Some animal must have found her and got to the eggs. How sad:(

Sand and Sun!

As the temps hit 80 degrees this week, I finally convinced Matt to go buy Lexi some sand for her new sand box (she got it for Christmas along with a picnic table + umbrella). We set it up for her on the back patio and she LOVES it!!! It was placed close to the house, so we get the shade from morning until about noon. After noon however, you are in the sun for the rest of the day! Good thing I stocked up on sunblock. Jill also loves the sand box - I mean she likes to sleep in her carrier while Lexi plays in her sand box. It is so nice to be able to take a baby outside and not worry about her freezing or getting wind in her ears.














Big weekend coming up, so better start preparing... BIG Elton John/Billy Joel concert on Sat. night and my entire family is coming in for the whole weekend as well (partially to baby-sit while Matt and I enjoy the concert!). By the way... our development's pool is officially open as of Saturday, so bring your suits and your sunscreen if you are coming to visit!

It's Duck Season!!

Well, we now not only have a dog, but also a duck!! As Chuck (Matt's dad) was mowing our yard on Saturday, he looked in our "Tall Grass" in the front yard landscaping and saw a female duck just sitting there! Even with the noise of the mower coming very close to her nesting place, she still didn't budge. Chuck said she was probably sitting on 8-10 eggs! We all were amazed and also wondering "why our yard???" There is no pond or even a puddle close to our yard, so the lack of water would be an issue. Also, as you can see in the picture, the old chopped-off grass from last year is very difficult to walk through... she must have flown or jumped into the middle of the old grass. We can't wait to see how many (if any) ducklings we will have this spring and just how they will get to the water. Hopefully some hungry animal doesn't get to them before they hatch!

A Few Visitors!

As I have blogged in the past week, you have all become aware that our family has been out to visit - but we have also had non-family (and distant-family) visitors! I just thought I would include them, too! Enjoy!


































1. Amy Gula with Jill - mommy's friend from work (also our first non-family visitor)
2. Nicole and Lyndi Thompson with mommy, daddy, Jill and Lexi - mommy's cousin through marriage (James Thompson is Nicole's husband)
3. Amy Goske and her son Ben with Jill - our backyard neighbors
4. Paul Goske with Jill - Amy's other son
5. Beth Wade with Jill - our next-door neighbor
6. Chloe Wade with Jill - Beth's daughter

We love visitors... call and stop by anytime!!!

Sisters... and sisters!

What an interesting title! The pictures should explain everything. My entire family was at our house to welcome Jill home including my mom and dad, my brother Benny, my sister Brittany, her husband Matt, their daughter Kaitlyn, and my cousin Maely. After all the oohing and ahhing over baby Jill, we had a really nice couple days to visit and catch up. It was great to have all the help. I only posted a couple pictures, but check out the kodak site for MANY MANY more!




P.S. - the title... the first picture is the new Saris sisters and the second picture is the original Ginter sisters with their daughters. The third picture is our new family picture - Banky included, just for Pa-Pa Chuck!

Meet Jillian!

Jillian Christine has finally arrived! She joined us on Tuesday April 28 at 6:07 in the morning. She weighed 7 lbs. 7 oz. and was 20 inches long. Jill was a little jaundiced after 24 hours and so we brought her home with a billi-blanket until we can follow up with her Pediatrician tomorrow morning. Mom and baby are now home and doing great. Big sister Lexi is adjusting as well as can be expected and says "baby Jill is so cute". Please enjoy the pictures and feel free to stop in and visit anytime (just call first and make sure it isn't feeding time). More updates to come later.