St Louis to see the Phillies

Well, prior to the "my dad, my hero" announcement, Brian and I had scheduled a trip to St Louis for the Phillies/Cardinals series this past week with his parents. Brian, his dad, and Brady took in Tuesday night's game and then all 6 of us went to Wednesday and Thursday's games together. This was before Brady and Brian headed out on Tuesday.

We stayed at the Hilton right across from the ballpark. This was the view from our room.

Blake attended his first Phillies game on Wednesday night. He did OK. Not great, but OK.

We had a lot of help from Grandma and Grandpa entertaining the boys. Thursday was so much easier because all out seats were in one row, so we could coral the boys.

Brady really liked "watching the boys play." Blake liked watching Brady.

Here was the real secret for keeping the kids happy: feed them!

As long as we kept a steady stream of food coming, Blake was happy.

A fun family adventure and a good test run for Philadelphia!

During the day on Wednesday we went to Grant's Farm. Ulysses Grant's family farm and acreage. Some really cool history for the adults and some animal fun for the kids.

We rode a tram to get to the actual petting zoo.

They had some elephants, exotic birds, tortoises, petting zoo animals and some family friendly shows.

The highlight for the kids was feeding the baby goats milk bottles.

Brady loved it!

Blake, not so much!

Exhausting but fun family trip!

Happy Father's Day!

This year, Brian received an extra special Father's Day gift. He won the MLB contest "My Dad, My Hero"! 2 weeks ago, I nominated Brian in a Major League Baseball contest that submitted a 300 word or less essay on why your dad is your MVP on behalf of the boys. 2 days ago we received word that out of 250+ nominees for the Philadelphia Phillies, Brian was chosen as their MVP Dad! The prize includes being recognized at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia prior to a Phillies home game. Today an article was posted on the Phillies home page on the web recognizing Brian. We don't have word from the Phillies rep yet on which game we will attend or what the details regarding the trip will be, but sometime in the near future the O'Donnell family will be traveling to Philadelphia to meet the Phillies!!!

Watermelon Treat

Last night Blake was hungry for watermelon before bed. He ended up make such a mess that I moved him to the middle of the wood floor so that it and he were easier to clean up!

He ended up with a bath prior to bedtime as a result!

First Haircut!

Well, Blake has been developing a tuft of hair now that we lovingly referred to as "the baby toupee". The other day we decided that it was time to say goodbye to the toupee and get a "big boy" haircut!

Unlike his brother at this age, Blake didn't seem to mind the attention.

Daddy had to help stabilize his head so we could reach and cut the tricky parts. Two cowlicks will do that!

Near the end, he was ready to be done sitting still. Brady was right there to tell him "Everything is OK Blakester" and "Good job Blake".

All done now and so handsome! What a big boy we have now!

Outdoor Activities

Brian and I finally bought and put up the new swing set for the kids that we budgeted for! (By "put up" I mean "hired someone to put up"!) They were thrilled and spend a ton of time outside now! It's fun to have an activity other than just playing with balls on the deck now!