We spent the past weekend in the Wisconsin Dells with Grandma and Grandpa Andrews at a lovely condo. Of course, no Schmitt-Andrews vacation is ever a dull event and this one was no different. Temperatures were near 100 degrees, which prevented us from being outside much during the day. We visited the Dells Deer Park without incident, though it was VERY hot. It was when we got to a restaurant for dinner afterwards that the drama began. It turns out that Benjamin had a terrible stomach virus and he got sick at the restaurant. We had to go back to the condo where he seemed to recover, but during the night got sick again. We had planned to go out on a pontoon boat that we rented all morning on Sunday, but Benjamin was still a bit lethargic from his illness, so I stayed behind with him while my parents and Mike went fishing. The good news is that Mike caught his first fish...woohoo!!! When they got back from fishing, we all went to a winery for a wine tasting and then to dinner at the Essen Haus, a German restaurant. Just when we thought that Benjamin was better and our vacation was turning around, I came down with the same virus! Monday morning the other four seemingly healthy people spent some fun time in the pool while I stayed back and slept. We all drove home Monday afternoon and at various times on Monday night, Mike and my parents all came down with the virus, too. Though the vacation didn't go as planned, we all had a great time and we enjoyed spending time with each other!

Benjamin has learned his first song! He knows the chorus part of Old Macdonald and sings it constantly, haha.

We were very busy this weekend. Grandma and Grandpa Andrews drove up to hang out with Benjamin at the St. John the Evangelist Block Party (our church), which was headlined by Soul Asylum. The little guy missed the big show, but was able to get lots of good food and fun in before bedtime. We stayed at the show with friends and enjoyed a beautiful evening outside watching the band. We are headed to the Wisconsin Dells this weekend with G&G A and are very much looking forward to getting away!

Well, Happy 4th of July to everyone! The three of us spent a fabulous five days together over the holiday weekend and it was awesome! We spent time just hanging out, drove down to Winona to see good friends, ate Cambodian food at an engagment party of sorts, cooked tasty food, had visitors, and watched a great firework display! What a wonderful time!

For the fourth, we had our friends Sam and Jake over for the day and then we went to The Olson's house for their own personal firework display! Benjamin's first exposure to fireworks actually went great! He was a bit concerned about the noises, but was a great little guy! I am adding a video of the event below.

Benjamin had his 12 month doctor's appointment on Friday and he is doing great! The doctor was very impressed with his cruising skills and the fact that he's totally off of bottles. He weighs in at 23 lbs and is 29.5 inches tall. Completely in the 50th percentile for both height and weight!! He has started to stand all on his own, but has yet to take a step. We keep thinking it will happen soon, but then we remember how long it seemed like he was close to rolling over...haha.