Four Men and a Lady

January

2012-01-31T22:05:00.006-06:00

Traditionally, January is my least favorite month. There are usually some post-holiday blues along with a lot of cold. I usually find myself in survival mode until March or April. Originally I was going to title this post 'Surviving January', but this year, January hasn't been too bad -- mainly because we've had one of the warmest winters in history. We started the month AT THE PARK!

Being outside is good for the soul! We also had some inside fun, meeting up with friends at Monkey Bizness.

Caleb loved the crawling area!

We also met up with friends at Pump it Up. While we were there, Caleb clapped for the first time! So mad I didn't have my camera with video with me.

Wes loved the slides.

And he tried out the climbing wall.

Dillon did more than try it out, he did it over and over and over again

...and he kept getting about this high.

Then, right before it closed, and we were forced to leave, he tried one more time and made it to the top of the 20 foot wall!!! I was so proud of my boy for putting his mind to something and doing it. I wish I could have captured the smile on his face when he made it.

Dillon lost his fifth tooth this month. The best part was that he pulled it out on his own. I wasn't even around. I had run upstairs to get Caleb and when I came back, he was sitting at the kitchen table with a bloody tooth in his hand. My boy really is getting tough.

We also saw some snow this month. Caleb was fascinated watching white stuff fall from the sky.

Wesley loved getting out in the snow.

You should see him shovel!

Dillon made his own igloo and just laid inside for quite a while.

Just the right amount of snow for me. A year ago today was the beginning of the blizzard when we got over 2 feet of snow. And yet today we had temps in the upper 50s! Crazy.

So here's to a pretty decent January. Hopefully February doesn't stab us in the back!

Nine Months Old!

2012-01-26T11:38:00.006-06:00

Our Caleb is growing way too fast. And he just keeps getting cuter. The first week of this month was spent among family and I just have to take a moment to talk about these two...

I love the relationship my dad has with Caleb. I think it's because he came to help right after Caleb was born. So he was the first to meet our little man. My dad even claims he saw Caleb's first smile :) They can't get enough of each other and I can't get enough of them together. I love it! Dad, thanks for being such an awesome grandpa.

We've discovered curl in this boy's hair this month.

Right when he gets out of the tub there's a cute little wave like his big brother Wesley.

Caleb, on the other hand, has discovered EVERYTHING! This boy is all over the place!

His favorite spot is the bathroom. He loves to unwind the roll of toilet paper...

use the top of the toilet as a drum, and he's even figured out how to flush!

He loves Mom's green broom and is always crawling over to its corner to take a look and see how many little yuckies he can find attached to it.

Caleb is doing new things everyday. He pulls up to standing against everything. He's a major cruiser and we've even see him let go and stand for a few seconds! And yesterday I found him on the 4th stair up!!! Ahh!

He's discovered the tiny little rocks in the fireplace, making my life much harder! I spend my whole day trying to keep him from major disaster.

His new sounds are "na na" "la la" and "ta ta"

He's got two new teeth! The top left one popped through last week and just today the top right made its debut. Poor Caleb's been pretty uncomfortable though.

It's been a rough month in the sleeping department. Between traveling and teething, neither he nor I have slept much. Two nights ago he went all through the night though, so maybe we're headed in the right direction! I hope so!!!

He's gotten better at waving and we saw him clap for the first time!

He's still the most smiley baby I know and I love every bit of him. I love wrapping him up for bed and nuzzling my nose right into his soft cheek a few times. He giggles but manages to keep his binkie in. I love it! He's just so fun!

Love our little boy! I just wish I could freeze him so he doesn't get any bigger!

In the Words of a First Grader

2012-01-23T17:28:00.003-06:00

Time to record Dillon's cute papers he brings home from school and clear them off the door where I like to display them. (Words in italics were the prompt he was given)

Petzza is scrumptious! I like the olivs. I help my mom make it. I like the petzza so much I eat more and more. I like the chese. I like the big pesies. My family likes petzza.
Do you like to gobble? I like to gobble cokes (cookies). I like the choklet chip ones. My mom likes them to. We eat them for snaks and dzert. My holl family likes them. I like them emunem ones to.
Thanksgiving is a time to be thankful. First, I am thankful for my family. They luve me. We play. Second I am thankdful for my home. We clene ower home. It givs us selter. Third I am thankful for horses. I ride them. I like the brown ones. Thanksgiving is fun. I like the terky. I can't wate for that day. I play on that day.
My Thanksgiving was amazing! I was a wolf. I attaked a 11 year old boy. His name is Sam. I eat and eat. I love the swet ptato.
Dillon's bruthers Wesley and Calube play whith him. Calube is redy to crol. Isn't that amasenge! I like that. He is happy alot. I hold him alot.
I would like to live in the country. Then I could ride ponese and horses. I could go to cherch. I could lern. I could go to the park.
A tree is beautiful! I climb trees! Trees are shelter for animals and people. That is good! Raccoons and squirrels and even ants can live in trees. Birds can live in trees. That is amazing!
Let me tell you about my bedroom I have a desk in it. I shar a bunkbed. I werk at my desk. I play with my bruthers. (His "desk" is the seat of a chair.)
The boy went to the beach. He saw lots of fish. Waw! He saw a pod of dolphins. They wer bodl nosd dolphins.
The snowman is amazed! He is amazed becus there's a rainbow. His name is Jasin. He is happy. He is hansum. He is six years old. He lives in a prity place. My Christmas Tree is butyful! There is a big big stor at the top. There are lots of ordments. I put anamals on the tree for fun. I pretend the tree is the oshene.
Christmas is a happy time of year. It is fun to give gifts. I am going to give the best gift of all to my mom. It will be a pink and plum ring. I am going to get it with my dad at Target. She will like it because it is colorful and her favorite color is plum. My mom will be so happy.
My best Christmas present was a dolphin. It was blue. It was adorabl. I named it Brittny. It was a gir. It is 12 munths old. It's berthday is on December 25th.
It's 2012! This year I would like to lern Gymnatix. Then I could pull mysellf up. Then I could pop a bone in 1 sekint. I would like to lern kroty.
The doorbell rang! It was a candycane! It brot gelo. It was lemin gelo. It was six inches wide and two feet tall. We ate and ate and ate. Our bellese wer so full that they were going to berst.

He is obviously obsessed with animals and food. And some of these sentences are a little alarming. Is his ideal Thanksgiving really one where he eats an 11 year old boy?! Lots of the sentences are sweet though too and it's fun to see him learn this crazy language of ours. One other thing I better record: The other day Dillon said, "Dad, it's so cool you make paper!" We were confused until we realized how many tablets of paper with Aaron's letterhead from work we have lying around. If Dad's name is printed on a paper, he must have made that paper! Pretty funny how children see things. We love our Dillon!

Family Moments

2012-01-20T21:36:00.006-06:00

Amidst Christmas and all the wedding festivities, there were lots of fun moments with family. I tried to capture a few of them. Dillon was thrilled when Brittany offered to paint his face...

...like a dolphin! This boy is obsessed with dolphins and sharks these days. What a great aunt! We had fun getting to know little Blake. He's just fifteen hours younger than Caleb, and yet they are so different. He is such a cutie. Dillon has had a little practice with babies.

And we had lots of fun showing off our little Caleb. He's just so fun right now!

Here he is with cousin Tyce. Chase and Aunt Richelle in the background.

My Grandma Hobbs stuck around for the two days between the wedding and reception. It was great to have some extra time with her. I want my boys to have memories with their great grandparents.

Lots of tickling with Grandpa

A big squeeze from Grandma before she left. I love her! (like the baby slobber on my sleeve?!)

Cousin Avery is so cute. She hugged everyone in the room when they were leaving.

As we drove out of Idaho I got a call from the newlyweds. They were just 15 miles behind us, so we pulled over to see them one last time before heading back to Illinois. It was a fun pit stop.

We opted not to drive through the night on the way back and stopped in North Platte, Nebraska for the night. But that just made for two really long days in the car, so I can't decide which method is better. Hmmm.

It was a great holiday and so good to see all our family. Wish we could do it more often.

New Years Eve

2012-01-12T12:12:00.004-06:00

The day started something like this...

It's so fun to have all the Chandler grand-boys together. During the day our big boys went with the cousins to Hop To It and had a blast. That evening we ate pizza and played a variety of games including Duck, Duck, Goose.

We also tried out the gift we bought Grandma and Grandpa -- The Boogie Monster Book -- Everyone had fun dancing...

...and twirling...

...and just being together!

After we got the kids down, the adults played Curses. We laughed so hard. It was a great way to bring in the New Year.

A couple more reception shots

2012-01-12T11:44:00.005-06:00

I'm not sure what was happening here, but I'm sure it had something to do with Heather, the family comedian, making some comment. I love my grandma's face when she laughs.

Heather is so awesome. She is so positive and really helped me a lot this trip. Whenever I got frustrated trying to keep both families pleased, she'd come tell me what a great job I was doing and it made a world of difference. Thank you Heather. I love you!

You might have to be in the family to appreciate these pics.

Tossing the bouquet

Lauren was determined to catch those flowers --- and she did! My brother and his friend Jake have the coolest friendship. It was so fun to see the two of them together. I still picture them in Nintendo sweatpants! This pic is them trying to be serious.

The bride and her daddy

Another really cute one of my baby

The chocolate covered spoons were supposed to be used to stir your hot chocolate, but Wesley had other ideas.

Me and the bride

Richelle and the Brittany -- I actually think these two look the most alike, minus the hair color.

2012-01-11T11:34:00.004-06:00

The reception was beautiful and everyone looked great! Dillon kept striking those awesome poses for us!

And Caleb was absolutely too cute to handle! I couldn't get enough pics of him

Look at those two handsome men!

The bridesmaids

My whole family (minus a couple husbands)

19 tuxes! That's what every wedding should look like!

We actually got a great family picture! I just need to find a program to take out a little red eye, and zoom in a little. Wesley's awesome smile finally emerged!!!!!!

My boys!

Oh man! No words...

Cutting the cake

One envelope was addressed to Aaron and Brittany -- bound to happen!

Me and my handsome husband

The bride and groom during clean-up. My boys LOVE them!

It was a beautiful evening. I always love the chance to celebrate!

Prepping for the reception

2012-01-10T21:58:00.004-06:00

They say "Many hands make light work." If that's the case, this reception was a piece of cake 'cause so many hands were involved. It was fun to see it all come together. The boys looked stunning during their tux fittings...

Fitting 18 tuxes is a big job only Tuxedos Now could handle!

(That's my father in law's store!) All the little boys were so cute!

Although some didn't cooperate

Dillon knows how to pose -- I wish this was taken with a nice backdrop.

Even little Caleb got a tux -- so adorable!

We all took shifts ironing, tying sashes, unloading decorations, running errands...

It turned out beautifully!

Up next, the reception...

The Big Day

2012-01-09T10:54:00.006-06:00

Aaron's little brother, Luke, and my little sister, Brittany, got married on December 28th. It was a great day. I met Britt and Richelle at the salon early that morning to give moral support while she had her hair and make-up done.

Then off to the temple. This little boy was such a hit with everyone. He was passed around the whole day. After a whole year, we finally saw Amy and Shane again and they met Caleb for the first time.

A year is way too long! It had also been a whole year since I'd seen Brittany. Lame!

Handsome boy waiting outside the temple

A couple shot while we waited

(You'll probably see me in glasses a lot now :( My eyes are not real happy with contacts these days. At least I scored these new glasses for $10!)

Here comes the happy couple!

It started to rain as we hurried through pictures. I actually really love this shot.

Then off to the luncheon!

There was lots of singing : The Hobbs fam, The Chandler fam, a combined sibling number and the bride and groom sang too. I thought it was all great! We sang our own personalized version of "Sisters" -- Sisters, sisters, never been a better little sister... ( I'm going to try to put all the videos on facebook since blogger doesn't like long videos)

Dillon can never get enough of Britt and Lukey

In fact, most toy animals in our house are named after them.

The bride and groom got a little time with this sweet boy too. I can't believe how great he was throughout that long day.

I couldn't resist snapping some double brother/sister photos.

Two sets of siblings married 8 1/2 years apart. So fun!

The wedding photographer came over for some Chandler family photos.

Notice the forest Don created for the luncheon -- man, that guy goes above and beyond! The boys couldn't resist a little hide and seek in the trees!

Great day! Congratulations Brittany and Luke! We love you!

Christmas with Chandlers

2012-01-07T20:24:00.004-06:00

After Christmas dinner with my family, we ran over to the Chandlers for a little celebrating there. When we realized the two sisters and brothers were sitting next to each other, we had to take a picture...

The Chandler kids put together a book about Addy (the family dog who recently departed this world) for their dad. It was so fun to watch him open it. He was sincerely touched. Don and Addy were quite the pair. After gifts, it was on to the stocking contest (well, an abbreviated version of it). For the first time, my boys got to stand up and say what they like about their stockings. It was so fun to see them getting into this crazy tradition.

The best part of the evening was when Wesley talked about his. (I was sitting by him, so I didn't have the camera.) But he kept saying how much he likes the sparkles on it. And he likes drums too. It was SO cute!

Aaron has had years of practice arguing why his is the best!

At the end, we surprised Brittany with her own stocking! I bought the kit in October and started working on it. Then I sent it to Aaron's sis in Boise. From there it made a quick stop in Twin Falls before heading to Salt Lake for the final steps. So all the Chandler ladies helped complete it for the new sis-in-law. Kind of fun!

Here's the video of Don -- love it!

Lots more catching up to do, so check back soon!

Christmas at the Hobbs

2012-01-05T16:21:00.007-06:00

We made it to Idaho for Christmas. The 23-hour, straight through the night, drive was rough, but we survived. This is what the poor boys (and our van) looked like at hour 22! The mom and dad looked even worse!

But we got there and it was so great to see family. On Christmas Eve morning we went to a breakfast at the church and the boys got to say hello to Santa.

That evening Aunt Shelly helped the boys make cookies to leave out for Santa. Brittany got in on the fun too!

We finally got to introduce the cousins that are 15 hours apart in age. Blake is such a handsome little boy!

We had a nice evening together. Dillon was excited to set up the little nativity while Grandpa read from Luke 2 (pic at the top of the post).

Then Dillon graced us with a few songs. He did a pretty good job.

Somehow tickling Brittany became part of the night!

Santa made it!

On Christmas morning, before going up to see what Santa brought, I tried to get the boys to pose in their PJs, but one little boy didn't want to be involved :(

Children make Christmas magical!

The babies in their matching PJs

Wesley got Bullseye's wife, just like he'd asked. They were happy to unite, and maybe kiss a couple times!

My sis, Richelle, brought a bunch of fun little wooden toys from her recent trip to Dresden and Prague. They provided plenty of giggles! I love this picture of my parents.

Merry Christmas!

Lots more to come...

The Real One!

2012-01-05T14:50:00.005-06:00

Before Christmas, we went to the mall to see Santa. He was awesome! His hair and beard were totally real and I think he even had rosie cheeks. Dillon has noticed that every Santa is different, so we've talked about how he can't be everywhere so sometimes he has helpers. But as we approached this Santa, he called the boys by name and I will never forget Dillon's face. He turned to me and whispered, "Mom, I think this is the real one!" It was a magical moment! Thank you Yorktown Mall Santa!

Eight Months Today!

2011-12-26T17:44:00.007-06:00

This little boy...

...is into everything!

But he sure is cute and everyone seems to like him -- a lot!

This month Caleb has really learned to get around. He crawls fast and can push back into sitting -- it fact that's always how we find him in his crib now.

His new babbling sound is "ba ba ba".

He's got two little teeth that are really coming in -- he tried biting his mom a bit this month, ouch!

He scrunches up his little face sometimes, particularly when he is tired. That's also when he slaps the back of his hands -- kind of backward clapping.

He's learned to wave and will do it about half the time he's asked to. He likes waving to big brother Dillon when he gets on the school bus.

He's sweeter than sweet and just has a wonderful nature. While we were in Idaho he really won over some friends -- he's hard not to like. He continues to be soooo smiley. And I could kiss his little cheeks all day - so could Grandpa!

He's tried almost everything edible and even had his first french fry this week. It helped get him through our LONG drive. He was quite the trooper.

We just can't get enough of this little man. I fall more in love with him everyday. Month nine, here we come!

Merry Christmas

2011-12-24T15:13:00.003-06:00

We survived the 23 hour, straight through the night, drive from Chicago and are in Idaho to spend the holidays with family.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Catching up

2011-12-12T21:45:00.005-06:00

I've kind of fallen out of the blogging world for a couple weeks. I think Christmas cards are to blame. So here are just a few things I'll want to remember:

1. A family bowling trip

2. A wonderful Thanksgiving with friends from church and the missionaries.

We made this cute little turkey basket at the library family story time.

I always love having the missionaries in our home. And it's fun to get them on a holiday 'cause they can be a little more relaxed. We've got a great duo here right now and they're super fun with the kids. This video is for their mommies.

3. The Holly Days Parade

We got to ride the float with Santa!

4. First Snow Fall, although we haven't seen any snow since and it's supposed to be in the 50s this week! That's fine with me!

Aaron had just put these babies on the night before (so I feel better about our 24 HOUR DRIVE to Idaho!)

5. Live Nativity

Dillon and Wesley were such cute shepherds. When Wesley came out in costume he spread his arms out to the side and yelled, "Ta da!" It was tricky to get pics of the actual performance, but you get the idea.

Caleb was so cute all bundled up.

Aaron and I sang in the nativity choir and also did a duet as part of the music performance. We did Sally Deford's What Child is This? It's a great arrangement.

We also sang as a family at an assisted living facility with some friends last week. It was so fun. Dillon was so great with the residents. They requested us come back for Easter!

I can't believe December is nearly half way over. Christmas is literally around the corner!!!

Seven Months Old Today!

2011-11-26T21:06:00.009-06:00

Our little man is seven months old today. Somehow this month got away without hundreds of pictures. But I'm glad I got this one. Caleb loves his older brothers and they are pretty sweet with him.

Lots has happened this month. He loves to eat anything you give him. He's figured out how to feed himself little things like puffs and pieces of bread. He can click and making razzing noises with his tongue. He's also started babbling "ah-da-da-da." He rolls all over and likes to do the plank position and stick his little bum right up in the air. He's mastered the army crawl and on Tuesday of this week he started doing this! This is the only shot I got of him today. But it's a great one and shows exactly what he is up to these days -- getting into everything.

He is constantly moving. So much so, our friend has "diagnosed" him with Restless Body Syndrome. You will rarely find him holding still, except for the first few moments after he wakes up and he's content just to snuggle.

He still likes his early morning feeding, although today it didn't come until 7:15AM! So we're getting closer to sleeping completely through the night!

We love our little Caleb and can't get enough of his big smile and spontaneous giggle!

Stats:

19 pounds 6.5 oz -- 71st percentile

27 inches long -- 56th percentile

45 inch head circumference -- 74th percentile

[ First tooth appeared on 11/28! Bottom right and bottom left may be coming as well!]

First Grade Sentences

2011-11-03T14:20:00.005-05:00

I love that Dillon is really learning to read and write now. He's pretty good. His teacher really encourages the children to sound out their own words and write sentences on their own. I get such a kick out of some of the things he brings home. I can't keep all these papers, but have to remember these cute sentences. He's already improved a lot, so I'll try to list them in chronological order as much as I can. He was getting his Bs and Ds confused at first. Here are some of my favorites, spelled Dillon style (no italics if it was an instruction on the paper):

Let me tell you what I did last summer! I playd at my nabrs hows and swhengd on the swhengs. It wus fun so I did it ovr, ovr and ovr. (Yes, we really need to get a swing set -- gotta get a back yard first.)
The tigr shorc has gils on its heb so it can dreth wobr throo its gils. [Translation: The tiger shark has gills on its head so it can breathe water through its gills.]

I like scool! I like my techr misis jasprs and ol my frens. I like ort and lunch and jim and math and evretheg.
School is col and it is osum. I luve art and lunch at school.
I can bro shorcs enewar. [draw sharks anywhere] At lest ef it is papr.
Eggs or bracubol. [Eggs are breakable.]
I like to...I like to eat food. I like to eat soe much I olmost eat the hol panchree. Sume times I dont. I dont like lemens varee much. I sume times eat ulot.
My favorite season is summer. I like summer becus I swim and becus I plae awt side whith my frens and my bruther. I dont like it wen I get musceto bites. I do like it wen I see stors and butrflies.
My favret game is Horses. Me and my bruthr Wesley are horses. It is fun. I like that gam. I plae it evreday. My bruther likes it to. He rids me. He likes wen I let him rid me. I like it to. Wen I am a hors my name is Red Licrish.
I am a pummpcun. I live at a form with a scare croe. The scarecroes name is Luke. He is nise. I look all arawhnd. I see cids. They ar picen pummpcuns, but not me.
Dillon is a strong boy. He likes Legos. His favorite thing is his stuffed animal dolphin. Dillon likes to eat pizza. Chucky Cheese is a place he likes to go to. His favorite sport is soccer. Did you know that Dillon likes horses?

Now I can clean off the door!

A New Motto

2011-11-01T21:20:00.009-05:00

I don't "talk" on my blog very much, but I've had some thoughts that I think are worth remembering. I apologize if it's too personal, this is more for me than anyone else. I have a new motto / inspiration / something to live up to. It comes from Galatians 5:22 in the Bible.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance...
I came across it several nights ago after praying to be a better, more patient and loving mother. What an answer, hey?! This is how I need to parent, with the Spirit, filled with love, and concentrating on the JOY part. I need to be gentle with the sweet little ones with which I've been blessed. And on those days when I have just had it, I need to have faith and trust in the Lord -- let Him help me carry the burden. I wrote it down and have kept it next to my bed, re-reading the words several times. I've studied some of the specific words that are used. More than anything, I keep finding myself repeating the words in my head during the day. That alone has brought a lot of comfort. You see, I love my children. They are my life. They are why I get up every morning. And they are the reason I crash on my pillow at night. They wear me out! Three children has really been an adjustment and challenge for me. They are each so unique. I'm realizing that more now that Wesley is a little older. Things that were so simple with Dillon are huge battles with him. And the other way around as well. Some things that were so difficult with Dillon are not even issues with Wesley. And Caleb is his own man, too. It's so fun to see how different they are, although I was hoping parenting would get easier after the first child thinking I would know how to do it. Not so. Tonight we had one of those moments where it all seems worth it. It started with reading 'scripture stories.' The boys actually listened, probably just because they thought it was cool that the story was about a tower. Then we said a prayer and I helped them into bed. As I did, I sang "I know that my Savior Loves Me." The first few lines go like this...
A long time ago in a beautiful place, children were gathered 'round Jesus. He blessed and taught as they felt of His love, each saw the tears on His face.
I've sung it a hundred times, but this time Wesley stopped me and asked "Why did Jesus have tears on His face?" I explained to him it was because He loved the children so much. We talked about how sometimes people cry when they are talking at church because they are happy and are feeling the Holy Ghost. That really sparked Dillon's interest. We talked for a while and ended up deciding Dillon should say a special prayer to help him feel the Holy Ghost more and recognize it when he does. He also prayed that he'll listen to the words people are saying in church and understand things. He prayed for help in school as well. It was a really sweet, thoughtful prayer. When he finished he saw me wiping my cheeks and asked," Do you have tears?" I confirmed that I did, because I was feeling the Holy Ghost. And with a huge smile on his face he replied, "I think I'm feeling the Holy Ghost too Mom! I feel really good and happy." I thought back on my new favorite scripture and how grateful I was to feel the JOY and LOVE parts of parenting at that moment. The Spirit was there in that room and I think my boy may have felt it. I am so grateful to be a mom and even more grateful that I don't have to do it alone. The Lord understands my needs and those of my children and He is willing to help us along the way. I just have to remember to listen.

(Anyone know why Blogger messes up my paragraphs?)

Happy Halloweeeeeeen!

2011-10-31T18:34:00.008-05:00

This has been the holiday that never ends. It started with a Halloween themed playgroup last Wednesday (of which I already posted pics). The next event was the party at Wesley's preschool. He was the cutest cowboy EVER! And Wes is a pretty good cowboy name if you ask me.

I was one of the parents that helped with the party. It's always fun to get an inside view of your kids at school. Wes is a pretty good boy.

The next event was on Friday -- the Trunk or Treat at our church. Behold the fabulous costumes! (notice Wesley had a costume change, also notice the super cute bags my sisters sent) Not sure who that guy in the suit is!

Cruella and her puppies!

(Yes, this is the third time we've done this, I couldn't resist)

Dillon had a blast with the donuts. I think he ate FIVE!

Trunk to trunk is so much faster than door to door.

The most exciting thing on Saturday is that I let the boys wear their costumes to the grocery store. The next holiday event was on Sunday -- our little tradition of Dinner in a Pumpkin. It turned out pretty awesome this year. And my sweet friends added a delicious salad and absolutely beautiful homemade rolls to the menu (I should have got a picture of those). Dessert was pumpkin bars and Carmel Apple Cider! YUM!

While the pumpkin was cooking we had some fun carving pumpkins.

Dillon loves playing with the seeds.Awesome dad! Great picture!

The finished products

The fun continued today. We ran over to Dillon's school to see him in the parade.

Caleb enjoyed the show!

And later we all headed out to Trick or Treat. This is a shot of some of the neighborhood kids.

Wesley loved the whole thing. He kept yelling things like "I got another one of these kinds!"

We were significantly slower than the older neighborhood kids and ended up venturing on our own back toward the house.

Dillon and Wesley were great.

Cute puppy in the stroller

All in all, it was a great Halloween. I can't believe the holiday season is on its way!

Six Months Old!

2011-10-26T14:39:00.008-05:00

Caleb is 6 months old today! Wow, this is going fast! I took lots of naked baby pics this month so we can remember his awesome rolls! He continues to be so smiley! Everywhere we go people comment how he is such a happy baby. He's making more noises. Grunting, sighing, moaning, whimpering, etc. He is especially vocal when he eats and boy, does this boy LOVE to eat! He's had rice cereal, squash, peas, beans, bananas, oatmeal, sweet potatoes and carrots. We just introduced puffs which is great since he just wants something in his mouth all the time. He needs to hurry and get some teeth so he can really have fun. When he wants something in his mouth, he smacks his lips and has even figured out how to click his tongue. We're working on the sleep thing. He was getting tricky, so here's how it works now. I always give him the option to be rocked to sleep, but if he fights me at all, he goes into the crib and gets to figure it out on his own. We did that a few times and he hardly ever fights me now. He'll take the cuddling (and I like it too!). This is another time he has become more vocal. As he relaxes he usually whimpers or groans a little. Sweet! We've had to do some middle of the night crying too. If he wakes up any time between 8 PM and 4 AM, he gets to cry himself back to sleep. After that, I'll usually give in. Last night he slept from 8:30 to 6AM. I went in then, let him eat, and he went right back to sleep until almost 8:00. I'll take it. Eventually we'll have to get rid of that early morning snack.

This was probably the last time I put him on the bed. He is rolling all over the place now. And he rotates on his stomach real fast. He does this funny thing I call 'beached whale' where he leaves his tummy on the ground but everything else is moving --legs and arms flapping all over. He's a pretty restless little dude, constantly moving. It's a rare moment when he just sits still on your lap.

He's also just started making the funniest face, usually when he is upset or tired. He squints his eyes shut while he whines. He usually points his face straight up and arches his back too. Funny boy.

Caleb can sit all by himself now. Eventually he'll fall over, but it takes a while. He looks like a little Buddha here.

We went to a Halloween playgroup today. I have another costume planned for our church party on Friday night (family theme), but I had to try this one out. And I must say, he is the cutest giraffe I have ever seen, although he is the last person that should be dressing as a tall, thin, long-necked animal -- I don't think he even has a neck!

Unfortunately things went down hill after the playgroup. I had Wesley hold him on his lap for less than one second and he pretty much just let go. Poor Caleb flopped right off the chair and face planted onto the hard wood floor. He and I had blood all over and I was sure he'd broken his nose or something. (We'll have to see how my shirt weathered) Aaron reassured me that there is no way he could break a bone in that face. It is way too padded. But his face was a little puffier than usual and he hasn't been his happy self, so I didn't take any more pictures today.

But we sure do love our little man. Here's a little video of his cute giggles. He loves playing with Daddy!

Stats about three weeks ago:

18lbs 13 oz -- 86th percentile

26.75 inches -- 76th percentile

Head 44.5 cm -- 82nd percentile

Family Pictures

2011-10-24T13:46:00.005-05:00

We had family pictures taken this last weekend. It was a gorgeous day to be outside -- so lucky! Before heading out, we took a few at the house...

Tickle Caleb!!

Then we headed out into the beautiful day, to a nearby park/forest preserve.

LOVE this one!

I am so mad Wesley is hiding in this one. Otherwise it would be perfect! That's what happens when we tell him to snuggle in close.

Gotta love silly pics!

For trying to get 5 people all looking the same direction with a decent smile, I think we did fine. I'm so grateful for family.

Fun with Friends

2011-10-20T15:14:00.005-05:00

Our friends moved to Texas two years ago, and we finally got to see them again, thanks to a medical conference here in Chicago. Unfortunately the whole family couldn't come, but we still had lots of fun with just Leanna and Mike. And because they didn't have their own kids around, they had time to really entertain our boys. Dillon and Wesley LOVED it! I think Dillon might have a little crush on Leanna, it's cute. They were nice to put up with all the craziness our boys have to offer. Their first night here, we went to a Keith Urban concert. I got the tickets for Aaron's birthday last month. It was awesome!!!!!

He was so entertaining. So smiley too. And I had no clue what an incredible guitarist he is. AMAZING!!! Even if you don't like country, you'd love listening to him because he is just so darn talented. And he totally worked the crowd. At one point he pulled 3 people on stage and had each of them sing the chorus of the song by themselves. Then we "voted" which one was the best. This guy was the winner. You could tell he was having a ball! Keith also went out into the crowd several times and even signed the guitar he was playing and handed it to a young girl.

My sister loves Nicole Kidman and asked if he deserves her... Absolutely! It's probably against the rules to video, but I grabbed just a 5 second one to give ya the idea. It was such a fun night and I'm thrilled we got to go. Go Keith Urban!!!

We also had some Chicago style pizza while they were here.

Gotta love the cheese!

We played late night games, did a little shopping and ate lots of chocolate while they were here, but the best time looked like this...

My boys love "Aunt" Leanna and "Uncle" Mike.

We also love singing with these two, so since I was in charge of sharing time in primary on Sunday, we threw together a 4 part arrangement of "Pray in Faith". It turned out pretty good for the amount of time we spent and I just love singing with them. I feel like Leanna and I blend like sisters!

We're going to have to make sure it's not another 2 years before we see them again. Thanks for coming! And thanks for entertaining our boys. We love you and miss you already!

Autumn at the Arboretum

2011-10-14T13:14:00.005-05:00

We had so much fun with our neighbors at the pumpkin farm, that we decided to continue the fun on Columbus Day and go to the Morton Arboretum. Once again, it was gorgeous!

Dillon and Wes are getting to be pretty good buddies.

Wesley followed Dillon wherever he went.

He did a pretty good job keeping up, but sometimes got a little frustrated if Dillon went too fast. He said to me, "Mom, I'm big and little." We've been talking a lot about how big he is getting -- tall enough to reach the light switch, use the potty, pick out his clothes, etc. But he still feels little when he tries to keep up with his big brother.

I love that Jake wore his cowboy hat!

We let the boys pick out a pumpkin...

...and paint it.

When we'd had our fun, we hopped in the car and drove through the grounds. Absolutely beautiful!

Another great day. Thanks Paige!

Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-13T21:41:00.004-05:00

We took advantage of the absolutely beautiful weather last weekend and went to a local pumpkin farm with our neighbors. Our dad was at work and their's was hunting, so it worked out great.

Wesley was in heaven with all the ponies! He would have stayed all day.

He was also super cute with the baby chicks. He had no problem picking them right up. I just had to remind him not to squeeze too tight.

The pony rides were a huge hit with both boys.

And Dillon had a blast on the big slide.

We all enjoyed the train ride together.

And we munched on some delicious apple cider donuts before leaving.

I attemped a pic with my boys -- you can see which one was too grumpy to join. That boy!

Great weather. Great friends. Great donuts. Great day!

Beautiful Autumn Day

2011-10-07T21:32:00.004-05:00

Today was gorgeous! 75-80 degrees with a slight breeze. Awesome! It had cooled down and I was sure summer was gone for good, but it came back one more time for us. Dillon didn't have school (teacher inservice), so I had to take advantage of our free day. We walked to the park for a nice little picnic and play time. I am going to soak up every bit of this while it lasts.

The boys had the playground to themselves and loved every minute! Strawberries, mmmm!

This little guy had fun too -- rolling around on the blanket and trying to get to the edge so he could grab onto the grass!

On the way home I took some pics of the beautiful trees.

We made another trip to a different park later in the day with some friends.

I love Fall -- just wish it wasn't followed by a really long, miserable winter. I feel myself getting anxious already. But I'm grateful for today. And grateful to have 3 cute little boys to share it with -- even if one of them did poop his pants forcing us to go home early (no it wasn't the diapered one). Beautiful day, beautiful world, beautiful family...

Five Months Old

2011-09-26T21:17:00.005-05:00

Caleb is 5 months today!

So I took some pictures to capture his cuteness. He's getting pretty good on his tummy. Whenever we lay him down on his back he almost immediately rolls to his tummy. He has a little harder time getting back to his back, but he can do it. He's also learning how to sit. And he's learning how to play with toys. It's fun to see him reach out and grab things. He's an ok sleeper -- good and bad nights, good and bad days. Sometimes he likes to be held facing out, other times he likes to be snuggled in, sometimes rocked, sometimes bounced...we're trying to figure him out. He's usually up once at night, around 4 or 5AM. When it's time to sleep he likes his binkie, although we've caught him with a thumb or finger in his mouth a few times. Sleep or no sleep, he's still really sweet.

His cheeks are awesome! They are soo fun to kiss.

He is sooo smiley -- the second anyone looks at him he flashes a big one, but I like to think he saves his best smiles for his mommy!

He's found his little voice and likes to use it sometimes.

He often has his hands in his mouth, so he drools a lot and his poor little lips get chapped.

Caleb is a mover. He is constantly kicking his little legs and swinging his arms all over.

And this little boy loves to eat. He wants to eat everything. So we introduced rice cereal this week -- he loves it!

While we had him in the high chair, Dillon pulled out a balloon and got some pretty good giggles out of our little boy.

We love our Caleb. He's getting bigger and cuter every day!

He's got talent folks

2011-09-22T14:04:00.008-05:00

My man just does it all. He got roped into singing at the ward talent show. He sang Bill Withers "Lovely Day." During the first chorus, suddenly a lot of the men in the audience made their way to the stage to be his back-up singers. I had been complaining that I would be the only lady not surprised, since I knew the plan. So my sweet husband found a way to surprise me too! He pulled me out of the audience, got on a knee and handed me some beautiful roses! It was super sweet. The only unfortunate thing is that I didn't get it on tape, for obvious reasons. I'm hoping someone else captured it. But here is a picture of the roses...

...and here is the video I got before he grabbed me!

[Ok, the video isn't loading. I'll try again later...]

But let me just say that my husband is awesome! I don't know exactly why, but I feel like I've kind of fallen in love with him all over again in the last couple of weeks. He somehow got cuter! He really is the man of my dreams and I am so lucky that I get to spend forever with him.

Buh-Bye Blazer, Hello Mazda

2011-09-20T22:30:00.005-05:00

An intra-family transaction has been in the works for a few months, but nothing was set in stone. Almost out of the blue, Aaron's brother Luke decided to pull the trigger. In a matter of hours, the Blazer was on an auto-transport truck headed to Provo. It all happened pretty quickly. The boys loved watching the truck driver load Daddy's car onto the big transporter. The driver was a very nice guy -- native Idahoan -- and let the boys take a look inside the cab. Aaron made it home from work just in time to see the truck, trailer, and Blazer disappear around the corner. Just a couple days later, Luke sent us this picture. Luke is happy to have transportation and the Blazer (yes, it has thoughts and feelings) is excited to revisit his old stomping grounds at BYU.About a week later, we followed in the footsteps of our mentor of all things motorized, Shane, and got a new-to-us Mazda3. It's a 2005 with plenty of miles, but that made it cheap. Its single owner babied the car, so it's in pretty good shape. I think it's a really cute car, but Aaron insists that it's "cool," not "cute."

Aaron loves driving it and I think he looks pretty good in it, too!

Zoom-Zoom

Preschool!

2011-09-20T10:10:00.004-05:00

Wesley started school last week! He was super excited. Tuesday was the open house when I went with him and we just got to play for a while. Thursday was the first full day, without Mommy. So with his new tote around his shoulder, he was off! (Notice the difference in clothes --it was 20 degrees colder in 2 days!)

His little friend Jackson is in his class. They are such cute little buddies.

I think we're off to a great start. He's been having a good time. And he's keeping his undies dry the whole time! This boy is really growing up. We love our Wes!

The big 3-0

2011-09-13T22:16:00.005-05:00

My cute husband turned 30 today! That's a big one folks. He's suddenly feeling old -- grown up. He had to go to work as usual, but came home a little earlier than usual so we could have a little time for presents, dinner and cake.

The boys were bouncing off the walls. Dillon has been soooo excited about this. Yesterday I asked him what we should do for Daddy's birthday and he came up with a whole plan involving Hot Wheel cars, chocolate cake and dinner at Wendy's. He's under the impression that that is Aaron's favorite restaurant. Pretty funny. Kids definitely make birthdays more fun.

I even attempted a poem to tell him about his final present... (sorry for the weird formatting)

Hello my love, Happy Birthday to you! I’m not great at poems, but here’s one for you.
This birthday’s not any old birthday you see, This one is a BIG one, you’re turning THIRTY.

A lot has happened in three decades time. Some things have been rough and others sublime.
You had a good childhood, a great dad and mom. They taught you the Gospel and filled life with song.
Then off on your own things started to get crazy. But as a grown man, you have been far from lazy.
You finished your schooling, passed the Illinois bar, Moved to a new house, with a garage for your car.
You’ve been very blessed, you’ve had a good life. You have three great boys and a pretty hot wife!
So let’s do something fun, something to celebrate, But one celebration will be a bit late.
How does October 14th sound to you? A night on the town with hot “you know who”!
That’s right when our friends from Texas will be here, So watch out Keith Urban, ChanDusens can cheer!
Happy 30th Birthday Aaron! I love you!!! Pretty rough video, make sure you watch until the end for the nose picker.

Happy Birthday to my wonderful husband. Can't wait to see what the next decade brings!

Photo Shoot

2011-09-05T15:33:00.010-05:00

We had a little photo shoot with the boys. We actually got some fun ones, you'll just have to ignore the big "SEARS" printed across each pic. I just picked up our copies and will hopefully have them in the mail to grandparents soon. Enjoy!

This picture made the whole thing worth it!

And this boy just FINALLY started using the potty!!!!!

Four Months Old

2011-08-26T23:26:00.004-05:00

Our Caleb man is 4 months old today. I think every month goes faster.

Caleb is a sweet boy. If he finds a face to look at he immediately flashes the biggest open mouth smile. He's found his giggle but still has a hard time really letting it out sometimes. As far as sleeping, he has good and bad nights. He's not usually up more than once, and often that once is at 6AM. He has a hard time staying asleep for his naps. I usually have to go back in half way through and rock him back to sleep. I know I should probably make him cry it out, but I just can't yet. That said, I figure I spend at least 3 hours of my day nursing and/or rocking to sleep -- and we wonder why my house doesn't look better. He definitely takes up my time, but he's so sweet I don't really mind. He's on a pretty good schedule with a good morning, afternoon and evening nap. And he usually goes down for the night around 8:30 or 9:00 -- depending on his big brothers! Speaking of, they are really having fun with him these days. Today Caleb grabbed onto Welsey's collar and got him laughing so hard thinking he was trying to tickle his neck. Dillon is fantastic with him and loves playing peek-a-boo with him.

Caleb has always got his little hands in his mouth and is pretty drooley. He's a great eater (every 3 hrs) and likes when we top him off with a little formula before bedtime. He has a distinct smell. I think it's a combination of breast milk and baby sweat, which sounds nasty, but I love it. Maybe that's why Aaron always calls me Momma Bear! What can I say, I just love the little man! When you wipe in between his fat rolls during a diaper change he giggles, thinking you're trying to play with him. And he's getting stronger on his tummy. When he's on his back he likes to arch his back and push his feet into the ground. He often scoots around that way. Today I found him right up at the top of his crib -- he's on the move! He's getting strong little legs. Strong enough that Daddy can do his trick (I'll have to post a pic of that soon). His new favorite place is in the Johnny Jump up.

We love our Caleb! Happy 4 months!

First Day of First Grade

2011-08-26T18:23:00.004-05:00

My little Dillon started first grade this week!! The night before I packed his lunch for the first time, not knowing that lunch would actually be his favorite part of the day -- that's all he talks about when he gets home. He came into my room at 7:00 AM completely dressed, shoes and all, and said, "I think we should go get some breakfast." The bus comes just after 8:00, so we had plenty of time to take pictures. Sorry about the overload of pictures. He was a pretty fun to photograph.

He lost his other front tooth just a couple days before school started! He also took a good fall on the cement, hence the scab on his chin.

This kid has got personality!

The bus stops right in front of our house --awesome!

And off he goes! I can't believe my little boy goes to school ALL DAY! He had a great first couple of days and I've heard great things about his teacher, so I think we're in for a great year! I love my Dill!

Stay-cation: Part III

2011-08-26T15:27:00.004-05:00

Our final adventure of the week was to the Zoo -- thanks to a very generous friend from church. The boys loved seeing all the animals.

Our little lion had fun too! This is my attempt at a dolphin face -- pretty rough. But Dillon loved it.

Wesley fell in love with this doggie he found in the animal hospital.

Randy and Wesley hand in hand.

We always love the dolphins. Dillon liked talking to them in his dolphin form.

Let's see how my boys measure up!

Can you spot the lions?

It's always good to be together as a family. Thanks for making the sacrifice Aaron.

Stay-cation: Part II

2011-08-25T08:29:00.004-05:00

Our second adventure was to the beach at the Indiana Dunes. I was very grateful to our friends that let us use their beach umbrellas. We had a nice little set up.

Dillon LOVED it. We couldn't get him out of the water...

and we couldn't get Wesley out of the sand. Aaron gets the award for Dad of the year. He got out in the water with the boys and they had a blast. Those boys climbed all over him.

My job was to keep Caleb out of the sun, sand and water. He didn't mind.

We all had a great time. It was a beautiful day to be at the beach. The cool water felt great. Unfortunately Aaron and I ended up with some pretty nasty sunburns. Next time we'll remember to re-apply the sunscreen.

Stay-cation: Part I

2011-08-22T22:11:00.003-05:00

Aaron had a few more days of paternity leave to use, so we decided to take a little "stay-cation." Our first outing was to a nearby water park -- Cypress Cove. The boys LOVED it!

Wesley loved jumping from the side. He'd give himself "2 thumbs up" after a good jump. And there was one slide he was tall enough for that he loved! Each time he came down he'd say, "That was so fun! It was funner than I thought!"

Caleb liked the Lazy River

...and just being really cute.

Dillon loved everything, especially the slides. He could go down all the big ones. Unfortunately I didn't get too many pictures of him. But it was a great day.

And I even got to swim a couple laps which really made my day -- I miss swimming!!!!

Lookin' like a 1st Grader

2011-08-13T22:29:00.003-05:00

Dillon lost two bottom teeth in January, but last week he finally lost one on the top. The tooth was literally dangling from his face for weeks. When Aaron finally got his fingers around it, it just fell right out without any effort. The other middle tooth on the top is very loose, so he's going to have a real big space soon. Right now he just looks like a total hillbilly with one tooth gone and the other hanging crooked. I guess he's really ready to start first grade now!

Stats

2011-08-04T16:27:00.005-05:00

The stats are in folks. My 16 lbs 11 oz baby is in the 94th percentile for weight! This is one chubby baby and we love every ounce of him!

Three Months Old

2011-07-29T22:19:00.012-05:00

Caleb is 3 months old! Although he looks like a 6 month-old baby. We are loving every bit of this chubby little baby. His fat cheeks are so kissable! Here are some fun pictures:

Blogger keeps downloading this sideways, sorry. I've tried to fix it three times.

Another sideways one, sorry.

Caleb is so smiley. If you catch his eye for one second he is just delighted to have someone interacting with him. He's a great baby. We still have to wrestle him occasionally to get him to bed at night but he's much less fussy than he was a month ago. And most nights he sleeps until 5:00ish AM, eats, and goes right back down until 8:00ish. He likes to talk and is working on his giggle too. (I tried to upload a video and it was having a hard time, I'll try again later.)

As far as the Momma, I feel pretty good. Between feedings, sickness, and summer storms, I'm still not getting the uninterrupted sleep I desperately need, but we're surviving. I'm having a harder time getting the baby weight off. I'm working out 3-5 times a week and don't feel like it's helping much. My belly flab is bad, so I've really been trying to do ab exercises. I haven't seen much improvement yet though. Maybe it would help to cut out my evening helping of ice cream :) My back gets pretty tired carrying this heavy baby and my large chest around, but the occasional chiropractic/massage therapist visit keeps me going. I've also started to lose my hair again -- man, these babies do a number on us!

I love having a little person to snuggle. There is just nothing like rocking a sleeping baby. I want to enjoy it more, but I'm usually in a hurry to get back to the other kids. So you first time moms out there, ENJOY IT! Savor every moment. I'm trying to. On the flip side, having other children around with a new baby can be great. Dillon is an awesome helper with Caleb. He puts his binkie in when we're in the car and will hold him and talk to him when I need a couple minutes before I can get him. He's great! This mother of three boys is surviving. I'm so grateful for my children. Most days I love being a mom and am thankful I get to do it.

Pirates Cove

2011-07-22T17:34:00.005-05:00

We made a trip to Pirates Cove again. It is such a perfect place for children. Our boys love it. We met up with some new friends and Dillon and Mason really hit it off. Mason is over a year younger, but he's got Dillon beat in the height department. Maybe because his parents have got us beat. Guess that's not hard to do!

Dillon always loves the trains

Wesley loved the slides

...and the merry-go-round

He got really attached to this horse. I think he even named him. I don't remember the exact name, but it can't be as good as his horse at home he named Scrappy Ho! Isn't that the best horse name? Wesley is totally into horses these days.

Caleb had fun too

One of the best parts of the day for me was when an employee let me sit in a private air-conditioned dressing room to nurse Caleb. It was so nice of him. And I got to sit and look at pirate costumes for 20 minutes! Who doesn't want that?!?

All in all it was a great day. We had dinner at All Aboard Diner and made homemade cookies at home for dessert. Grateful we had new friends who gave us the excuse to play. Thanks for coming Brady family!

Trip to the Temple

2011-07-22T15:41:00.006-05:00

Our primary (church children's organization) visited the Chicago temple a couple weeks ago. Afterward we had a picnic at a nearby forest preserve. It was a beautiful day. We tried to take some family pics, but as you know we don't usually have much luck with that -- thanks to our sweet Wesley.

Somehow our friends have trained their children to be so much better in pictures.

Just compare the next two pics, it's pretty sad.

I mean, who is that picture perfect every time?

Well, good pics or not, we had a nice day at the temple and I was grateful for the opportunity to teach my children about the house of the Lord. I'm so grateful for the blessings of the temple that allow us to be united as a family forever.

Taste of Westmont 2011

2011-07-19T23:07:00.003-05:00

Our friends joined us again for Taste of Westmont this year. It's just fun that we are able to walk to an event like this -- even if it IS a little trashy!

The kids LOVED the rides

These kids are all so cute together.

We tried some fun food and the weather was absolutely delightful! As the sun went down it was the perfect temperature. Go Westmont!

Visit with Grandma and Grandpa: Part 4

2011-07-13T22:40:00.006-05:00

The 4th of July!

We started the day at a local parade.

The kids found some good climbing trees while they waited for the parade to start.

Once it started, they became expert candy collectors. Rachel held her backpack open and Dillon ran around like crazy grabbing as much candy as he could. Sweet Rachel then went home and divided the candy evenly, making sure everyone got the same number of suckers, gumballs, tootsie rolls, etc. So cute!

The rest of us tried to find a shady spot -- it was HOT and HUMID!

The mommies and babies!

We got some Chicago classics (hot dogs, Italian beef) at Portillos for lunch and then, while the boys napped, Lori and I went to Hobby Lobby. We gave my mantle a little makeover. We also got a really cute Tuscan picture for the wall I'll have to take a pic of sometime. Lori is so talented. She walks through those stores and can put it all together whereas I just feel overwhelmed. She kind of gave me the decorating bug though. This week I went back to Hobby Lobby to get another item we'd looked at. I've also been painting frames and moving stuff around. I'll post pics when it looks just right. Stay tuned.That evening we went to the park for the fireworks.

Another attempt at a family picture.

It'll be a miracle if we EVER get something worth framing.Don and Lori make every picture look good!

Our little Chub!

Friends at the fireworks

During the show, Dillon and a neighbor hopped up on the Frisbee golf cages for a better view. I love these pics I got.

It was a fabulous Independence Day. Don and Lori flew out early the next morning. We LOVED having them here, on our turf, where they couldn't be distracted by work or anything else, they were just stuck with US. Thanks for making the sacrifice to come, you two. Let's do it again soon!

Visit with Grandma and Grandpa: Part 3

2011-07-12T22:11:00.005-05:00

Blessing Day

My sweet neighbor came over to take a few pictures of the crew before church. Unfortunately Wesley did not want to cooperate at all -- but at least it's documented, right?!

Our priesthood boys:

An attempt at a family picture The "man" of the hour

Dillon always has a smile for us!

Wesley is a different story -- good thing he's so dang cute.

The most photogenic grandparents in the world! I LOVE this picture.

It was soooo wonderful to have some family here for this important day. And I've had several people comment what a wonderful blessing Aaron gave. I'm so grateful he's my "priesthood man." It was nice to have the help at church, too. Lori came and asked me for a diaper (and new outfit!) half way through the 3-hour block -- I loved having her around! Don helped dress the boys that morning. And Luke decided to join the party last minute. He's in Tennessee for the summer. I'm so glad he came. What a stud. I have the greatest in laws in the world!

Visit with Grandma and Grandpa: Part 2

2011-07-10T22:08:00.004-05:00

The second day they were here we had a nice relaxing day at home and took a trip to the park down the road.

Caleb had his first ride in the swing -- our little slug! The boys loved having Grandma around.

She is the greatest grandma. She was always so sweet with Caleb. He'd snuggle with her forever if we let him.

Meanwhile, Don took the train down to the city and enjoyed walking around downtown. That evening, Lori and I drove down to the city to meet up with the guys to go to Beauty & the Beast. It was so awesome! I loved it!

The music is so fun and it was nice to have a night out -- although I was a little worried about Caleb being with a babysitter for the first time. But he was just fine and we had a great time. We ate McDonalds ice cream cones on our walk back to the car.

Day three we were going to bike along the lake, but it was way too hot and muggy, so we opted to go to the local market instead.

That afternoon Grandma and Grandpa took the boys to see Cars 2 at the theater. After that, Aaron and his parents drove to the airport to pick up Luke and then into the city for a few hours.

Stay tuned...

Visit with Grandma and Grandpa: Part 1

2011-07-09T14:49:00.003-05:00

Aaron's parents came to visit! The boys didn't know they were coming and were thrilled to find them in our basement one morning. Our first stop was to the Morton Arboretum.

It was a super hot and humid day, but we had fun and especially enjoyed dipping our feet in the water.

All the flowers and trees are so pretty and it was fun to have two people who appreciate them along for the ride.

That night when we got home I decided last minute to join Aaron in the city for a social gathering with some co-workers. We went out for dinner with just the two of us and I was so grateful for our wonderful babysitters at home!

Funeral trip

2011-07-05T17:03:00.009-05:00

Caleb and I took a quick trip to Utah for my Grandpa's funeral. It was a short visit, but packed with fun and a lot of tears too. It was a very emotional couple of days -- crying hard, laughing hard, feeling the Spirit, etc. I'm so glad I was able to be there.

It was fun to show off Caleb. My dad couldn't believe Caleb is the same baby he saw 7 weeks ago. Cousin Addy was a great helper, and a beautiful one too! All the Berkey kids enjoyed helping with bottle time.

And their beautiful momma was a pro at bouncing!

The first comment always made about Caleb was his size. He is one week younger than his 2nd cousin Tate and check out the size difference!

My sweet grandma was glowing the whole time. It was so beautiful to watch her. I was particularly touched whenever she approached the casket. There is no question that Grandpa was the love of her life and seeing her with him was to witness pure love. The day of the funeral when she said her final goodbyes before they closed the casket, she kissed him right on the lips. It was so sweet, not weird at all, as if he was just taking another one of his naps. I love them! One of the speakers at the funeral said their relationship shows you what the gospel can do for a righteous man and a righteous woman -- so true. She wrote this poem in the days after his death:

What is the aching I feel deep inside

I've never felt it before.

I can't hear you speak, I can't feel your touch,

I can't hear your shoes on the floor.

Yet, also I'm feeling a peace I do know,

I have felt it before.

A spirit so calming and filled with great love

A feeling so sweet and so sure.

Oh, thank you dear Savior, for caring for me

And my family I love so dear.

Please stay with us, be with us,

Help us to know thy Spirit will always be near.

The funeral service was the best I've ever attended. (I just listened to it again online and it was still amazing!) The veil was thin. It was so spiritual, so filled with love and such a wonderful tribute to Grandpa and the life he led. He was such an incredible man, so full of love, and as someone mentioned during the funeral, it is so ironic that he died of a weak heart. His heart was the strongest part of him. After the services we all drove to Franklin, Idaho for the burial. Here's a quick shot of my immediate family that was able to be there -- man, did we have fun together!

All the grandsons

They all placed their rose boutonnieres on the casket...

...just as the small rain drops turned into huge hail stones. It was crazy! Within minutes it turned from the most beautiful afternoon into the wildest storm. It only lasted 15 minutes or so, but it got us all out of there in a hurry. We think Grandpa was playing a joke on all of us, letting us know it was time for the mourning to stop! As we drove away the sun came back out, creating the fullest, most beautiful rainbow. We could see the whole thing, end to end. It was amazing. We attempted a family lunch at the park and then hit the road back to Utah. As we passed back by the cemetery we noticed one car there, and the silhouette of a single person standing next to the grave. It was my father, saying his final goodbyes to his dad. It was a precious moment I don't think I'll soon forget.

Back in Utah we of course stopped for frozen custard. My brother Jason was so great with Caleb. He just became a father himself and suddenly loves babies!

We're looking a little rained out here, but we loved the special time with our oldest niece.

My immediate family all stayed at the same hotel that night so we could have a little more time together. It was so fun to have time uninterrupted by my wonderful children! I felt like I really got to catch up with my siblings. The next morning my dad got a little more time with Caleb -- such a great grandpa!

Before leaving town I got to see Aaron's sis, Lindsay and cute Chandler. They escorted Caleb and me to the airport.

I am so grateful for families. And I have an incredible one! So grateful to be able to see them and to honor an incredible man who started it all. I'm also grateful to my amazing husband who played Mr. Mom at home so I could be there. Thank you Aaron. I love you with all my heart!

Grandpa Hobbs

2011-07-01T15:58:00.005-05:00

My sweet Grandpa passed away on Father's Day.

These are the last pictures I got of him - when we saw him over Christmas. He was such an incredible man and I was so grateful to be able to call him grandpa. He somehow figured out how to balance life. He was so fun, such a hard worker, dedicated to the gospel and his family and especially to his sweetheart. I admire so much the relationship they have and hope to have a marriage as strong as theirs. I love my grandpa and can't wait to see him again. Caleb and I flew out for the funeral. I'll try to get pics of the trip up soon.

Wesley is 3!

2011-06-30T00:33:00.004-05:00

My Wesley is 3 today! He started the day getting a new pillow pet. He wanted one just like his big brother's. He even gave him the same name.

Tonight we went to dinner at 2 Toots. Our friends joined us for cupcakes. Wes was pretty excited when they brought out his birthday cupcake.

He LOVES horses right now, so he was thrilled to hop on this one for a minute.

We went to a nearby park to open a couple more presents.

Wesley is such a fun kid. He is a communicator -- always talking up a storm. I love listening to him talk like crazy in the back seat of the car. We're noticing that he is so outgoing with his family and close friends, but actually pretty shy in other settings. He has been really loving and snuggly with me lately. He has the sweetest brown eyes. He's having a hard time getting used to a little brother, but he's still awesome. We love our Wes.

Two Months Old!

2011-06-26T21:39:00.004-05:00

Caleb is 2 months old today. It's amazing how quickly this is going, and how much he is growing. He is one big kid! We love his chubby little face and can't get enough of him.

Caleb is a sweet boy and a really good baby. He's starting to sleep better too. One night last week he slept from 9:30PM to 7:15 AM!!! I couldn't believe it. He hasn't had another night quite that good (it's 11pm now and he's wide awake), but now I know he's capable of it. The trick is giving him a little formula at his last feeding.

He's sooo smiley. If you catch his eye for one second he'll flash you a big grin. And he's working on his giggle. We've seen a few attemps. Somehow, another boy has stolen my heart. Happy 2 month birthday, Caleb! We love you!

Chubby Cheeks

2011-06-16T16:49:00.004-05:00

Our little Caleb is getting some pretty chubby cheeks. He is definitely getting enough to eat!

He's starting to do tricks with Daddy too.

We sure to do love our chubby little boy!

First Smiles

2011-05-30T22:06:00.003-05:00

One month old

2011-05-26T19:45:00.007-05:00

Caleb is one month old today. So it's about time I post the pictures my friend took when he was 4 days old. She did a great job but I've decided no picture does him justice. He just gets cuter every day. Here are the newborn pics:

I know this one is funny and a little out of focus, but for the first couple weeks of his life he would suddenly sneeze 4-5 times in a row and they were just the cutest sneezes, so I'm glad we captured one.

Here are some pics taken in the last week.

We love his little head. It's the perfect shape and is covered in quite a bit of hair compared to our other babies.

We sure do love our little Caleb man!

Dillon is 6!

2011-05-23T13:26:00.007-05:00

Dillon turned 6 last week. Hard to believe. We had a little party the Saturday before. I planned it for the park so I wouldn't have to host a big party with a two week old baby, but unfortunately it was cold and raining so we had to move the party to our house. It was a little crazy with 10 kids running around our house, but we survived. We played a couple games in the basement.

Then we let them decorate their own cupcakes.

Dillon made a wish... ... and opened way too many presents.

The morning of his birthday he found a new bike waiting in the living room for him. He hopped on immediately so Dad could see him ride it before leaving for work. That night we went to dinner at his favorite place, All Aboard Diner.

He got to make another birthday wish.

A couple great things about my Dillon:

He has always been a great sleeper, even now, with a crazy little brother running in and out of the room
He usually cleans up his whole plate at dinner time
He is very loving these days and insists on flashing me a double sign language "I love you" every time I drop him off at school. Apparently if you do it with both hands at the same time it means "I love you, I love you, so much!"
He's a fantastic bike rider and has been for a year now.
He has the best laugh!
He's a great reader and counter
He continues to love trains more than anything else in the world.
He's pretty tough when it comes to doctors, etc. Last week he had a cavity filled with absolutely no numbing/medication. The dentist kept saying he's going to grow up to be a Marine!!
He is a great big brother to his new little brother, Caleb. He loves to hold him and play with him. I had to include a couple cute pictures. I love you Dillon. We're so glad you're our #1 son!!

It's always fun when Grandpa comes

2011-05-15T14:44:00.004-05:00

My wonderful dad came to spend a week with us and help out with a new baby around. He was awesome! The best thing he did was get up with the boys in the morning and let me get a little extra sleep. He also read lots of books, made store runs, took Dillon to school, and watched the boys when I needed to go to appointments etc.

The big boys loved having him around. He was so fun with them.

We took a trip to the park and they had a ball playing on the swings with Grandpa trying to "eat" them.

He got caught up on all his Disney movies.

And by the end of the week I think we wore him out. Thanks so much for coming Dad. My boys are so lucky to have you as a grandpa. We love you!

National Train Day

2011-05-13T17:45:00.005-05:00

I'm not sure if you're aware, but last Saturday was National Train Day. Yeah, pretty big deal -- hah! Dillon is still obsessed with locomotives, so I wanted to go check it out. So all of us, including my dad, ventured down, via train, to Chicago Union Station to check out the festivities. Caleb had his first ride on a Metra train.

They had several model train displays.

Dillon was in heaven! He was especially excited about the train that had real steam!

Kind of a funny picture of my dad and Wesley, but this was a cool old train we got to peek inside.

Dillon had me take a picture of him in front of almost every engine. He was loving life!

Pretty cute little train lover.

Even with the crowds, it was a fun little adventure for us. We just might have to go again next year.

Caleb Moments

2011-05-10T19:40:00.005-05:00

Caleb is two weeks old today. I want to document some things about him so I can remember what he was like as a newborn. I know he's going to grow way too fast. First, I want to document about my very first moments with him. My first thought when I first saw him was "Caleb", which might sound really simple, but Aaron and I had had a hard time feeling good about a name and I suddenly felt really good about Caleb. They put him right onto my belly so I could see him for a couple minutes before whisking him away to clean him up a little. When they brought him back, he was really crying, which was good, so he could get all the fluid out of his lungs. As soon as I pulled him close and started talking softly to him, he immediately settled right down. It was amazing. He knew my voice and it comforted him. There is just nothing like the immediate connection between a mommy and her baby. I felt it. I experienced the same thing a couple other times in the hospital when he'd get a little upset. The sound of my voice always calmed him down.

The day after coming home from the hospital I sent my bigger boys to a birthday party. After nursing Caleb, he fell asleep laying against my chest. I thought about doing something productive but then decided to just sit and enjoy him. I sat on the couch rubbing my cheek against his perfectly soft little cheek for probably an hour. It was a precious moment.

Caleb has been a great baby. He sleeps a lot. And every 2-3 hours he grunts a little to let me know he is hungry. Then he'll just lie awake looking around for a while. Then a little more grunting to let me know he's ready for his binkie and a good swaddle, and he's back to sleep. He's up during the night, but usually just to eat and then he falls right back to sleep. I really can't complain.

He likes to look to the right, especially when he is hungry. It's like he's been told there is food waiting on his right shoulder. He just keeps turning his head as far as he possibly can, hoping he'll eventually get to something yummy.

Most babies like to keep their little legs bent up close to their body like they have been for the last nine months -- not Caleb. From the moment he came out he's always got them stretched right out, hovering a couple inches above the ground. I love seeing his skinny little bowed legs all tense.
He's a sneezer. A couple times a day, he'll suddenly sneeze 4-5 times in a row. It's hilarious.
I love feeling the palms of his hands and feet -- I cannot get over how incredibly soft they are.
Grandpa swears he can get a smile out of him, and although I have a really hard time believing that without seeing the proof, he's sweet enough, it really would not surprise me at all.
Sometimes when he is nursing his breathing sounds a lot like a squeaky rocker!

He's just the perfect baby, really, and I am so happy to have him around. Yeah, it'll be nice when I can start sleeping through the night again, but then he'll be bigger, so I'm trying to enjoy every precious moment with my newborn.

More pictures of Caleb

2011-05-03T14:55:00.003-05:00

My little man is a week old today. He's been a pretty good baby so far. He doesn't complain much. Sometimes he likes to be awake late at night, but he usually sleeps really well after that. He's just so sweet! Here are some more pictures to help you get an idea how darn cute he is.

Going home from the hospital

First bath at home -- he wasn't real thrilled about it.

Happy awake time

Caleb is a sweet boy and we're so excited he came to our family. I'm feeling pretty good -- I feel like I'm recovering more quickly this time around. My sweet dad is here to help for the next week and hopefully I'll be able to get my feet underneath me after that. I just still can't believe I am the mother of THREE BOYS!!!

Family of Five

2011-04-29T14:29:00.003-05:00

We've graduated to a family of five! Kind of crazy, but so far it's been great.

The boys were so excited to come to the hospital to meet Caleb. They were super sweet with him.

I almost cried when Wesley spontaneously kissed him on the head, without being prompted. He's been pretty nice with him, constantly trying to share toys with him and give him his binkie -- even when he's fast asleep!

Dillon could not be more proud. He runs through the door from school looking for Caleb. He'll just sit and hold him for 20 minutes, softly touching his little hands and face. It's pretty sweet.

I love my boys. Let the craziness begin!

Baby Caleb's Arrival

2011-04-27T09:56:00.005-05:00

Our little guy has arrived! Caleb was born on April 26th at 3:15 PM, weighing in at 7 lbs 14 oz.

We're so grateful he's here safe and sound. The delivery was so smooth. I'm a fan of inductions -- everything is just under control. We had babysitters all set up, it all happened during the day so we were awake, I got the epidural in plenty of time, et cetera, et cetera. It just makes it all enjoyable. They started pitocin at 9:15 AM, epidural around 11:00, broke my water around 11:30. My contractions weren't consistent so they kept increasing the pitocin. At 2:30 I was dilated to a 6. They kept asking if I was feeling pressure and as soon as the nurse left the room I really started feeling just that. I called her back and at 2:45 I was a complete 10 -- I'd progressed from a 6 to a 10 in 15 minutes! I'm so glad I had the epidural during that time. I had to hold off pushing for a minute so we could get the doctor there. Once he got there I pushed just a couple times and our little Caleb arrived!

Stay tuned for more pictures and updates!

Easter 2011

2011-04-25T16:45:00.008-05:00

We had a great Easter around here. Last Thursday we had a little Easter Egg Hunt at the church.

Dillon was awesome, Wesley was grumpy about it. So I had Dillon grab a couple extra eggs to share with his brother when he came around. They were both pretty happy when they discovered all the candy inside! We had a fun little brunch afterward.

On Saturday we went to the village Easter Egg Hunt. It was pretty crazy--way too many kids--but still fun.

Once again, Dillon had significantly more success than his younger brother, but was thankfully willing to share again.

The weather was beautiful, so after the hunt we ran over to the park for a few minutes.

Easter morning the boys were pretty excited to see the Easter Bunny had made it to our house

And he managed to bring me some much needed rain boots too!

After a nice day at church and traditional ham and potato dinner, we pulled out the eggs to color.

The boys had a blast and ended up with some fun colors. Meanwhile I prepared and served strawberry shortcake---yum!

We had a great Easter and it was nice to spend a little time as a family---those moments are always when I feel the happiest. And I can't forget to mention the real meaning of this sacred holiday. I am so grateful for a loving Savior that suffered for each and every one of us. I am so lucky to have a knowledge of His full plan for us. Easter is such a great excuse to really REMEMBER Him.

The week ahead is sure to be pretty crazy since I am scheduled to be induced tomorrow. I love my boys so much and am excited to welcome another one into our home!

Proud Mommy Moment

2011-04-17T17:35:00.006-05:00

Let me preface this by saying my children are definitely not the best behaved children in church. My mother was so good at making all of us sit on the bench and I am a little more of a pushover. If they are playing quietly and their feet happen to be on the floor, I just don't fight it. And we're still working on the whispering thing. They forget so quickly. But today they were actually sitting next to each other on the bench while the bread and water for the sacrament were being passed. Dillon leaned over to Wesley and said, "Do you know what the bread is supposed to help us think about?"

Wesley, in a very loud whisper: "What?"

Dillon: "It's to help us think about Jesus' body."

Wesley: "Oh."

Dillon: "And do you know what the water is supposed to help us remember?"

Wesley: "What?"

Dillon: "We're supposed to remember Jesus' blood."

Wesley: "Oh."

I was definitely fighting back the tears. Then a few minutes later Wesley turned to me asking again for a snack I told him had to wait until after the sacrament, to which he responded, "Oh yeah, after the sacrament, when the bread makes us think about Jesus' body and the water helps us remember His blood." Children really are little sponges and we just have to make sure we provide the good stuff to be soaked in. I'm so grateful for my boys and that they do in fact listen to me on occasion and hopefully will grow up to be righteous little priesthood men!

Baby celebration

2011-04-13T20:49:00.004-05:00

My dear friends decided I needed to do a little pre-baby celebrating, even though I'm having my THIRD boy. They threw together a nice little open house for the occasion. The food was awesome.

The friends were even better...

and despite the "presents not necessary" line in the evite, I somehow ended up with lots of cute little gifts and donations to a "diaper fund".

Here's fat me with my beautiful hostesses. Thank you so much Nicole and Jacquie!

Once I got home, I had to get a couple shots of the cute diaper cake Nicole made before opening it up. She really went above and beyond.

It was actually really good for me to have a little shower. I have been so concentrated on my discomfort and the fact that I am going to have push this baby out and then I'll have THREE CHILDREN! I wasn't feeling any excitement about the new little person that is about to come into our home. Opening some cute little outfits reminded me how lucky I am to be able to welcome another baby into our family. Yes, labor can be rough, and the newborn stage is full of sleep deprivation and stress, but it's also full of wonderful moments when the other side of the veil seems not so far away. I really am grateful I get to do this all again. I can't wait to see what this little man looks like and what the future holds for him as he joins our family of FIVE! My due date is 2 weeks away but I've been experiencing lots of pre-labor symptoms so I'm curious to see when he decides to make his entrance! I'm grateful to be a mom. And to my little one, we can't wait to have you join our family!

Spring Break with Heather & Bradley: Part 2

2011-04-05T17:29:00.004-05:00

Here are a few more pictures of our time with Heather and Bradley. Bath time is always fun---the more the merrier, right?!

Heather extended her trip an extra day to avoid traveling with a sick baby. I was glad because we got to plan one more fun outing, this time to Monkey Bizness.

Check out that cute face! Pretty good considering the fact that he felt terrible.

This is about the only picture I got that actually had all three boys in it.

Dillon loves the art room.

Heather is always awesome to jump right in with the kids!

Thanks for coming Heather and Bradley. We loved having you here. Sorry we sent you home with a nasty cough--we just wanted to make sure you didn't forget us too soon.

Spring Break with Heather & Bradley: Part I

2011-04-02T21:18:00.007-05:00

When my doctor advised against me traveling anywhere for Spring Break we decided we needed to maximize the fun here at home. What better way than to fly my super fun sister, Heather and her son Bradley here to spend the week and play. Unfortunately we had several bumps in the road---sick children, big uncomfortable hostess, bad weather, etc.----but I must say, we did a pretty good job of having fun despite the odds. I tried to capture some of the fun. We ventured to Naperville to the Dupage Children's Museum

Wesley was running all over the place--he's getting pretty crazy these days.

Their faces don't show it, but the boys loved the water area.

Once again, we sent them into the wind tunnel to dry off after the water fun.

And how can you not love story time with an 83-year-old Cat in the Hat!

Cute cousins!

The next day we took a last minute afternoon trip into the city via train. Dillon has been begging me for weeks to ride.

We had an hour to do something in the city so we decided to go to the top of the Willis (formerly Sears) Tower. Richelle, this picture is for you!

It was hard to get a good picture at the top but here's my beautiful sister.

This one is super dark, but that's probably good---you can't see how HUGE I am.

Heather and I were both totally freaked out by the glass bottom ledge, but the boys were much more brave---and apparently Wesley was a little grumpy too!

It was fun to have a little city walking time, although it was a little too cold to really enjoy it. But like I said, we made the most of the situation-- laughing at ourselves breaking handicap doors, nearly setting off a fire alarm and accidentally pulling off a bathroom door knob! Stay tuned for more fun in part 2!

A new decade

2011-03-28T18:31:00.010-05:00

So I have officially left my 20s. It's kind of weird to enter a whole new decade. My 20s were great. A lot happened in those ten years--college graduation, marriage, 2 children, at least 6 moves, 4 states, 3 jobs for me--4 if you count Mommying, 2 degrees for Aaron, etc. etc. I had a great birthday. Aaron and I left the house around noon on Friday and did a little shopping. It was so nice to just walk in and out of stores, holding hands without pushing a stroller or buckling a car seat or anything. We grabbed a little lunch and a Blizzard before hopping in the car and heading to New Buffalo, Michigan.

(This is a pic of us in the garage before leaving)

Our hotel was right on Lake Michigan. This was the view from our room--the "Harbor view" Unfortunately it was just too cold to do much walking around the cute little town. But we had a nice dinner and watched Disney's Princess and the Frog. In the morning we had breakfast in bed before checking out---a great way to start my birthday! We headed back to Chicago. My awesome sister somehow survived the 24 hours with three children even though Wesley was kind of sick. She's awesome. The boys had colored me little birthday pics and it was good to kiss their cute little faces. I really tried to work the birthday thing with Dillon and get him to be extra nice to me that day. That night for dinner we got Chicago-style pizza so Heather could try it out while she was in town. Afterward we had some friends over for cake. Wesley loved singing to Mom How's that for a birthday picture?!

It was a great day. I am so grateful to wonderful family and friends that made it extra special. Today I went and got a spa pedicure thanks to my awesome siblings. I am one lucky girl and have had a great 30 years. Here's to the next decade!

Best husband in the world

2011-03-22T16:26:00.003-05:00

I have the greatest husband, and am especially reminded of that when it comes time for my birthday or Christmas. He is the best gift giver and unfortunately got paired with the worst gift receiver. I'm not very good at being surprised. A couple nights ago I got an email from "the troll in the basement". It had an attachment with the following poem:

Dear Lover Love, the love of my life, I am so glad to call you my wife. A pretty big birthday in less than a week? Consider this note an early sneak peak. My poems are nerdy and they often get wordy, But the word of the day is that you’re turning thirty! On your special day, let’s get away, Let’s make it a two-day stay – what do you say? This coming Thursday, no matter the weather, We’re skipping town (I’ve already planned it with Heather). So pack your bags, and check out this site: (http://www.harborgrand.com/) New Buffalo, Michigan? Yeah baby, that’s right!

I love you, Aaron

Where did I get this guy?! He's just the best and I am really excited to spend a little time away with him (although the poor guy is stuck with a pretty fat date!). We did decide to cut it down to one night since Thursday is a little busy, but it's still going to be awesome. And a special thanks to my sis who is going to spend the first half of her vacation babysitting!

I love you Aaron. Thanks for planning a night away for us. I can't wait!

Navy Pier Children's Museum

2011-03-02T21:49:00.006-06:00

Dillon had the day off of school last Friday so we took advantage of my friend's Children's Museum Membership and ventured downtown for the day.

Wesley was fascinated with the firefighter.

Dillon always loves digging for dinosaurs

And what boy doesn't want to play gas station?!

Dillon played in a little room where they were doing experiments with play dough for quite a while. He made friends with all the staff members.

Treehouse trails was always my favorite when we lived downtown and Dillon was Wesley's age. Wes was happy in there for quite sometime. He loved catching frogs and fish.

The waterworks is always a hit. And I was smart enough to bring a second shirt for both of them for when they got drenched!

They discovered fun building materials on our way out and had to stop and use their creativity for a bit. I think some kind of tool set may need to be incorporated into Easter or a birthday present in the near future.

And we can't be in that part of the city without stopping for cupcakes at Swirls. So YUMMY!

Thanks for a fun day Nicole!

Renewed love for music

2011-02-21T14:04:00.005-06:00

Ever since we went to see Les Miserables, Aaron and I have been kind of obsessed with the music. We've been familiar with it for so long, but seeing it again definitely rekindled our love for this musical, its message, and the amazing music. This is the 25th Anniversary for Les Mis so they did a big celebration in London in the Fall to kick off the tour. Aaron has had a lot of fun searching through YouTube videos and seeing clips from that performance. This Valjean Quartet is definitely the favorite. And Aaron has a new hero Alfie Boe -- check it out! Amazing, huh?! Four men, with that kind of talent, all singing at the same time -- WHOA! Alfie is "the key change guy" who definitely steals the show. His voice is just really nice to listen to. Wow! If you get a minute, see if you can't waste some time on YouTube and see some of the other clips from this show. Samantha Barks makes an awesome Eponine! On a side note, I got to sing with my lover yesterday in church. I just have to say how much I love that! I'm so lucky to have married a man that loves music as much as I do (if not more) and sings with me. It is definitely one of our favorite things to do together. I love you Aaron. Thanks for singing.

Valentine's

2011-02-16T16:50:00.004-06:00

Aaron and I did most of our celebrating on Saturday. During the day he left the house to fill up the car and get a haircut and came back with these: That night we drove into the city and ate really yummy Japanese food at Ai -- this is the only picture I was able to sneak -- it didn't seem very socially acceptable to take pics there in the romantic lighting. I really couldn't get over how good the food tasted, probably mostly because I didn't have to cook it.

From there we cabbed over to Cadillac Palace Theater to see "Les Miserables." Aaron purchased the tickets as part of my Christmas, so we've been looking forward to it for a while. It was incredible -- just a lot of really talented people!

It was a perfect night and I'm so happy I got to celebrate another Valentine's Day with my hot man! I love you Aaron!

On V-Day I served my boys my traditional breakfast -- heart shaped french toast. Wesley was probably the most excited. My little boys also got a little candy and silly putty they were pretty excited about. Dove chocolate for Aaron. I love all three of my boys!

Backyard Sledding (updated)

2011-02-16T16:32:00.006-06:00

Our friends invited us over to enjoy their own man-made sledding hill. It was the perfect size for the kids. They had a blast!

Cute friends (I almost missed them!)We warmed up with homemade vanilla steamers---YUM! Thanks Noordas!

Blizzard report

2011-02-03T17:32:00.009-06:00

We've seen quite a bit of snow around here. Estimates are between 16 and 20 inches, although it's hard to get accurate measurements since it drifted so much. The boys were pretty excited to see all the snow when they woke up.

(that's a 12 inch ruler) They were eager to get outside and help Dad shovel. There was a wall of snow waiting outside the garage door. Aaron spent at least 2 1/2 hours shoveling, taking a couple breaks to try to keep working a bit in the basement. I tried to do a little shoveling while he was on a conference call and was reprimanded by the neighbors on both sides. Why is pregnant shoveling so forbidden??

It took literally hours to get to the end of the driveway.

All bundled up

Dillon complained that his face was getting cold--we fixed that problem!

The boys loved the snow

Dillon complained that his legs were tired--it was hard work getting through that deep snow!

We had another wall of snow at the front door

Thanks to the neighbor's snow blower, Aaron finally got to the end of the driveway.School has been cancelled for the last two days and all the neighborhood kids are loving it!

We've got some pretty good mountains of snow now:

It was fun to drive around and see the mountains all over town. It's crazy!

So we lived through the "Chicago Blizzard of 2011" and we've even left the house a couple times. School is supposed to be back in session tomorrow, but I think it will still be awhile before all the side roads and parking lots are cleared. We really need it to get above freezing and melt some of this, but we've been in the single and negative temps every since the storm and it's not supposed to get above 20 anytime soon. Guess we'll just have to get used to living in a winter wonderland---it's actually kind of pretty.

Chicago Blizzard

2011-02-01T20:52:00.002-06:00

Here are a couple little videos of the view outside our front door right now.

Our favorite museum

2011-01-24T22:04:00.006-06:00

The Museum of Science and Industry is free on weekdays during January, so we decided to take advantage of the day out of school on Martin Luther King Day and go. Unfortunately A LOT of other people had the same idea. But we still had a great time at our favorite museum.

First stop, tour inside "The Zephyr"

Wesley and Lorenzo checking out the ball maze.

We made sure to make it to the submarine this time. Both boys thought it was pretty cool. I'd forgotten how HUGE it is.

We watched a video about how they got it in the museum. It used to be on display outside. They had to lower it into the ground and built around it.

Dillon thought the anchor was pretty cool. He couldn't even lift up a piece of the chain.

After almost an hour of waiting, we finally got into the Idea Factory and Wesley played with this little rocking alligator the whole time. He loved it and dragged it all over the place with him. I was so busy keeping track of him I didn't get any pics of Dillon enjoying all the fun water activities. Wesley also loved the cow in the Farm area

And the boys waited very patiently to check out the tractor.

But I bet you can't guess Dillon's favorite part...

Honestly, his obsession with trains is starting to concern me. And now it's all about automatic trains. His little wooden Thomas trains are just not cool enough anymore. He complains that they are boring and begs for an automatic train EVERY DAY and it's kind of starting to drive me crazy. Especially since the ones he likes are collectors items for adults. I'm not quite sure how to handle the dilemma. But I guess I should be grateful that he's into something as innocent as trains. I haven't had to deal with Star Wars or super heroes---at least not yet.

(My belly looks HUGE in this picture---ahh!)

It was a long day but I think we all had fun. My sweet friend endured the crazy crowds with me--thanks for coming Nicole!

Christmas Trip Part 5--Post Christmas

2011-01-14T12:39:00.007-06:00

Fun family games

Reading with Grandma---she's the best with toddlers!!! We took a day trip to Boise to visit cousins. The boys had a lot of fun at Planet Kid. I love this picture of Wesley and Cade

Then out to dinner at Red Robin. It was fun to spend a little time in Boise. And to see Amy Jo and family. We'd have so much fun if we lived closer!! Lauren drove home with us.

New Year's Eve was pretty uneventful. We watched a movie until 11:30 and had a little toast at midnight.

The boys always love when Grandpa pulls out his doctor instruments.

Homemade pizzas with Grandma Lori---yummy

Taking down the tree---bittersweet

We drove back down to Utah on Monday the 3rd. Aaron flew out that night and I got to spend another day with Lindsay. My old roomie, Melodie, stopped by to visit. It was great to see her and catch up--sorry about the blurry pic--I think the lens was dirty.

We flew back on the 5th without too much trouble. My boys are awesome travellers. Dillon is my helper---I couldn't do it without him. He pushes Wesley in the stroller so I can carry the car seat and backpack. You should see him going through security---he's obviously done it a time or two--shoes off, on the belt, backpack on the belt, jacket off and in a bin, help Wesley get his shoes off, etc. I did some rough calculating and he's flown at least 30 times in his short life. Pretty crazy. That's what happens when you live so far from Grandma.

It was so good to come home. I think three weeks of living out of a suitcase made me more grateful for my own space. We've got a great thing here in Chicago and as long as we can go home a couple times a year I think I can be ok with that. I'm a little worried it's going to be lots harder to travel once #3 gets here, so that might slow us down a little. Sigh. It'll be interesting to see what our future holds...

Happy New Year!