Halloween 2012!

To start off the Halloween festivities we went to Joey's school for a parade and party! Joey elected to be Superman for school since he could not wear a mask or have any handheld props. So it was Superman for school followed by a change after lunch into Captain America! We went to the library with Nonna for another parade, this time both could participate together, and we can never go to the library for just a program! Both Joey and Jillian love the library, checking out books, playing on the computer, doing some puzzles, and playing with the stuff they have all around. Thanks Nonna for letting them show you what they love to do there! After spending naptime at the library instead of in bed, we came home and got ready for Andrew, Emma, Auntie, Uncle Chris, and Grandma to show up so we could go trick or treating!

Fall Fun!

I am falling a little behind in updating only because so many fun things happen from this time of year til the end of the year! A week and a half ago on Friday we went to Sonny Acres to get our pumpkins! Always a fun night, and luckily it wasn't too terribly cold, and it had just rained so we pretty much had the whole place to ourselves. We went just after dinner, and just before we left to come back home the high school crowd seemed to be heading out for the night. The kids had a blast picking out there pumpkins and having the run of the place. Andrew, Emma, Uncle Chris, and Grandma braved the Haunted Hayride while the rest of us checked out the goats! It was a little late to carve the pumpkins when we got home, but we had a lot of fun playing out there. Saturday morning after hockey and dance Joey couldn't wait to carve his pumpkin. Daddy helped Joey while I helped Jill, and then once the seeds were out the kids pretty much got bored so they went to play while Mommy and Daddy got to work. This was my first pumpkin carved like this...I am usually a triangle eyes, nose, and whatever happens for a mouth kinda carver so when Jill asked for Snow White and Daddy told me I was doing it I was a bit worried. Daddy did great on Ironman, and said in front of Joey that Snow White looked like she had a mustache! It was the princess upper lip, not a mustache but Joey totally believed him and tells most people that Mommy made a silly pumpkin of Snow White with a mustache! That Sunday we also went to Goebert's Farm with Nonna and Grandpa! Grandpa made his yummy blueberry pancakes to give us some energy before heading out to feed all the animals! The kids loved riding the horses, the camels, and feeding every animal they encountered! Jill was even fascinated with the mechanical dinosaur that ate a pumpkin and then thought it was hilarious that it had quite the belch afterwards! We had some tasty snacks and looked around the store before heading back home. It was quite the fall weekend! This past weekend (like I said I am over a week behind) we didn't do as much outside since it was much cooler. We're glad we were able to get out and have our fun when we did!

April Updates

Ok, I know I have been extremely lazy with blogging this month. Time is flying by! Here is our update for most of this month. As we head into the warmer weather I hope to be more diligent about posting again! Rainbow Toast Did you ever make rainbow toast? I remember doing this in Kindergarten and wanted to share the experience with my kids. Joey enjoyed making the toast, but he is not big on eating toast. Phil claims its because of the double fiber bread I buy, but I think he's just not a toast guy. A little Java love... Joey's Un-birthday Joey had his un-birthday at school earlier this month. Since his birthday is in the summer we kept getting notices to celebrate before the year was over. I first thought of not doing it at all, but am so glad we did. Joey knew it wasn't his real birthday but was very happy to bring in treats for the class. He is not big on cake, but loves chocolate chip cookies and chocolate. So that was what we brought in. We also had to fill out a sheet of all of Joey's answers to the things he likes. Hopefully you can read it from the picture, they were all Joey responses. He needed to bring in a book to share and he loves when I read Puff the Magic Dragon (hard to read and not sing!). Joey was presented with a birthday crown in front of his whole class and had to add 4 candles to his birthday cake. I thought being the center of attention he'd be very shy and not want to be up there but I sat on the carpet behind all the kids and he looked over to me so proud and happy to be up there. They read and asked him about his favorite things and he replied with all the same answers (so I really didn't lie!) and they asked if he wanted to tell his friends what treat he brought or if he wanted to keep it a secret. He wanted to keep it a secret, and then ran over to me to tell me how we had a secret surprise for his friends. Turns out I think the class was cupcaked out from the other birthdays because unprompted at snack time most all of his classmates said "thanks Joey!" or "I love this Joey!" He sat in his chair with a huge smile on his face and nodded at the gratitude and you could tell he was so happy. It nearly made me cry and I was so glad we did celebrate his un-birthday! Easter Easter was spent going to Grandma's church and the church that Phil and I got married at, with the mass said by the priest who christened and helped lay to rest Joshua, Father Tony. It was so great to hear his mass as always, and especially at Easter when the readings so perfectly touch my soul. The opening words of mass "Christ has risen! Christ has risen! Christ has risen!" of course said so powerfully like only Father Tony can say to capture everyone's attention led to tears streaming down my face immediately. I love Easter, the hope, the life, the promise, everything. After mass we headed to Grandma's house to color Easter eggs, have our traditional mimosas, and then make our ravioli. The kids played really well and each stopped to help with the process. At nap time Phil and I went to Assumption and then back to Grandma's for an Easter egg hunt, some gifts, and a yummy dinner! Sadly our camera battery died and we used the video camera for some of the festivities, but only got a few pictures. The glasses Jill and Emma have are 3D glasses for bubbles, we didn't quite see the 3D effects but Jill loved her glasses! And finally some pictures of the purple park, a new par I recently discovered that the kids loved. The parks we visit besides the one behind our house are all colors: red park, blue park, orange park, and now purple park. Yes, the first picture is Joey resting with his crown that he has been wearing constantly around the house and wanted to wear to school again but I told him it wasn't his unbirthday anymore! And Jill's new favorite fruit are mini bananas! Ok, that is it for now, sorry for the delay and I hope to be more on top of it!

Spring break

This week was spring break so at one point we met Auntie, Grandma, Emma, and Andrew at the indoor pool. Joey and Jillian love the water and Jillian had a hard time being told it was time to go. We spent a lot of time towards the end of the week with them as well--thank you Auntie for watching them while I picked up some extra classes! Now we are waiting for Emma's 2nd birthday party later today!

Happy New Year!

New Year's Eve day the kids spent some time showing their new Christmas presents off to Nonna and Grandpa, and then after naps it was off to Grandma's for our evening celebration. We had a yummy appetizer kind of dinner with all the chips, dips, poppers, pizza, you name it there! The kids were playing very well together which was very nice to see, and we put on A Charlie Brown New Year's Eve special for them to watch. Daddy found a countdown clock for Grandma's computer so we counted down til 8pm where we celebrated the new year with a parade, horn blowers, hats, and excitement. Java even came along for the celebration, but we were home by 9:15 and in bed for the real new year!


New Year's day we had Jillian's birthday party with friends and family. Just like Christmas, Jillian appreciated each and every gift she got whether it was a toy or socks, she was sure to show everyone and shout out some exclamations of how awesome each gift was. She really enjoyed everyone singing happy birthday to her and looked what seemed like at each and every person, even those hanging out in the kitchen to make sure they were singing to her. She did her best at blowing out her candles and had the best Tinkerbell birthday ever!


Here are the kids parading in some of their new dress up items:


And finally today Jillian had her 2 year appointment where she did very well. As I was answering questions for the nurse, another asked if Jillian would be okay to walk with her to the scale. I told her yes, and Joey asked if he could follow them and took off out the door to catch up. He came back and said "20-40 Mommy." Jillian walked in and said "I stood on the box!" And then finally the nurse walked in and said "27 pounds, 6 ounces." The nurses and our doctor were very impressed with Jillian's achievements and couldn't get over the fact that she was in her big girl underpants! Here are her stats:
Height: 35 inches 78%ile
Weight: 27 pounds, 6 ounces 76%ile

Happy 2nd Birthday Jillian!

In some ways it is hard to believe that Jillian is 2 years old, and in others it seems like she is going on 12! This morning Jillian woke up, and like Mommy went to make some coffee in her coffee pot (drips water), sat in her chair to receive her birthday phone calls and well wishes talking away, and then headed out to breakfast with Grandma, Auntie, Uncle Chris, Andrew, Emma, Joey, Mommy, and Daddy. After much attention and filling her tummy at breakfast we came back to the house to open some gifts before going to the Teenie Weenie New Year's Eve Ball! Much different than last year where Jill fell asleep on my shoulder with the dj's music blaring and not making it until midnight--12 noon-- today she was partying like a rock star! She is in full diva mode constantly amazing us, making us laugh, and making us shake our heads a bit too! Happy 2nd Birthday Jillian Grace!

Christmas Week in Pictures

Before Christmas my Andrew and Emma's grandparents from NY were in so we were able to get together a few times with them to catch up. The first thing I had suggested for them to do was of course go to the Arboretum!


Christmas Eve service was at Joey's school church. The kids enjoyed singing songs, seeing our neighbor in the choir, sitting up front with the pastor talking about the toys he got as a kid and the magic of Christmas, followed by a cake for Jesus being ushered down the center aisle! We sang Happy Birthday to Jesus, had some cake and visited with our friends and then it was back home for a light lunch and naps. Christmas Eve was at our house with the Kurby side of the family: Nonna, Grandpa, Auntie Steph, Uncle Don, Mikey, and joining us a little later was Uncle Kevin, Aunt Nicole, baby Amelia, and Miranda. As the pictures show we all had a great time and the kids had a blast and loved each and every thing they got!


Christmas eve after everyone was gone and Joey finally made it to bed, Grandma and Jessie came to sleep over so they could be here in the morning. Grandma, Joey, and Jessie tried to get up at 4am Christmas morning, so Mommy had to go into their room and tell them it was a little too early! Santa did come and brought way too much. Even Java and Jessie had plenty of treats in the morning--Frosty Paws!


After playing with our toys and taking a short nap we headed to Assumption to say Merry Christmas to Josh who is so lucky to spend Christmas with the birthday boy-Jesus! (Although it is also Grandpa's birthday on Christmas day too--Happy Birthday!) Afterwards we drove to Grandma's for some more fun with Andrew, Emma, Auntie, Uncle Chris, Grandma, GG Joe, GG Rose, Mike, and Kathy. The food was of course delicious and Grandma got to use her new kitchen and dining area for her first real big meal! After dinner it was another obscene gift exchange and I think every kid got more than they even thought they wanted!


Monday was spent winding down, playing with all the things we got, visiting with Mike and Kathy, and wishing them a safe travel back home. Today (Wednesday) we had some free time and Daddy is still on vacation so we braved the cold and went to the Brookfield Zoo! The kids loved it, it was chilly but it didn't seem to bother anyone as we went from animal house to animal house.


We hope you all had a Merry Christmas! We are now getting ready for Jillian's 2nd birthday on Friday! Time sure flies!

More holiday fun...

Last Friday we had the opportunity to see our neighbor Nicolas perform in Scrooge with a company in St. Charles. We had a great dinner, play, and dessert afterwards with the performer! Thank Beth and Dom for going out on a date with us...it had been a long time!


Last Saturday Jill had her dance class and Joey and Daddy came to watch as well. Joey and Daddy came in the room to take some pictures since you couldn't get a good shot from the tinted glass outside. Joey was a little bit of a distraction so they didn't stay in the room long, but Jill was in her glory showing all her dance moves and following her teacher through her exercises.


After dance class we headed to Nonna and Grandpa's so the kids could help them decorate their tree and bake some cookies. Joey and Jillian really seemed to get into it, and we heard they loved baking with Nonna too!


On Sunday we celebrated an early Christmas with Uncle Wayne, Auntie Carol, Jenn and Chuck, and Mike and Nikki. Auntie, Andrew, Emma, and Grandma were there as well and everyone was excited to open gifts and catch up. Thanks for a yummy brunch Auntie Carol! After heading home, Emma came back over for some fun play time while Andrew went to the Blackhawks game with his parents and Grandma. Emma had lots of fun decorating cookies, marching in our parades, and having a picnic with Jill.


Monday we went to Cosley Zoo with Nonna and Grandpa since we had the day off and usually that is their day to watch the kids. After looking at the few animals that were braving the cold and watching the zoo keepers count the tagged ducks we headed over to the Arboretum. Nonna and Grandpa hadn't been here with us before so Joey was happy to show them the ropes! And of course the trains too since they will only be there a few more weeks.


Finally, on Tuesday was Joey's Christmas program at school. Joey did a fantastic job ringing his bells, singing, reciting poems, and entertaining us all! A far cry from Halloween when he cried through the parade, this time Joey was very excited and jumping around when he shouted "hey!" in Jingle Bells. After the performance he brought us a secret present he had been working on at school...a snowflake ornament that he painted, glued glitter, and placed his picture in, a perfect keepsake ornament! After some cookies and punch we headed back home and Joey is officially on break!

Happy Halloween!

Sunday we had a Halloween party at Uncle Chris, Auntie Christy, Andrew, and Emma's house. There was tons of food, activities, and kids dressed up and running around! Earlier in the day I had pulled out some old costumes we had in the basement. Couldn't quite figure out how we had it, but we had a Superman costume in a kid's size. Turns out we forgot, but are so grateful that our awesome neighbors gave it to us last year even though Joey was a little too small for it. He still was quite small for it, but some safety pins got it fitter a little bit better and I'm sure he will wear that costume for a few years now! He decided Tow Mater was old news and once he saw and put on Superman there was no turning back! Good thing I got the Tow Mater costume for $3! And thank you to our great neighbors...he loves that costume and will be wearing it for years!

Yesterday, of course was Halloween! Joey was dressed in his costume all day long, while Jill sported a Tinkerbell shirt, but didn't get fully dressed in her costume until after naps. After naps we headed out on our block for a little trick or treating and then back home to wait for Auntie, Uncle, Andrew, Emma, and Grandma. They brought over some of the left over pizza so we heated that up while I distributed some fun Halloween place mats for the kids to color while they waited. After a little bit of dinner, glow sticks, and pumpkin flash lights we all headed out for another block and cul de sac. Joey and Andrew were running from door to door, Emma followed yelling "Hello!" as she approached the doors, and in princess fashion Jillian only did a few houses before insisting on someone putting "Pixie Dust" on her so she could fly aka be carried from house to house! Before we hit the end of our block we were greeted by a police man in his car who stopped to hand out candy to the kids. It was pretty cool to see the kids running up to the police car to get candy (good way to make friends Officer Friendly!). We made our loop and headed back inside to warm up and watch The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown! Happy Halloween!

Sonny Acres
Last Friday we went to Sonny Acres to pick out our pumpkins, play around in the pumpkin patch, and of course a few rides! After dinner we headed back to Uncle Chris and Auntie Christy's house to carve our pumpkins. After the initial pulling the top off the pumpkin with Joey, Daddy pretty much did the rest all by himself. He made a great Tinkerbell for Jill and Lightning McQueen for Joey. Good job Daddy!


Saturday Lunch!
Saturday we went out to lunch at Pilot Pete's a restaurant by Schaumburg airport. Jillian loves airplanes and points them out to everyone all the time so she and Joey had a lot of fun looking at all the planes taking off, landing, and even one guy washing his plane!


Cuddly
On Tuesday Joey had his turn to take care of Cuddly the bear. Each kid in school gets to take Cuddly from Tues. to Thurs. and have him at home for some adventures. Then you have to write what adventures you and Cuddly went on and draw a picture. Joey was so excited to bring Cuddly home. He napped with him, had him at the table for meals, took him for a bike ride, went to the park, you name it whatever Joey did in those 2 days Cuddly was there! He was not happy about having to bring him back, but knew it was Kayden's turn next (one of his buddies) so he brought him back on Thursday.


Joey's school Halloween parade
Thursday Joey also had his Halloween parade and party at school. At 10:15 Daddy went in the classroom to dress him while Jill and I waited in the sanctuary. Shortly after Daddy's return and telling us how Joey did not want Daddy to leave, the parade started which was Joey staring at us the whole time half crying, not singing the song they learned, but trying to bee line back to us. After the parade and song was over we helped him decorate a treat bag, filled it up with all the treats from his cubby, had a bite of the Halloween goodies all the parents brought, and then went out to lunch. While we were at lunch Joey told us how much fun he had at the parade at school, and proceeded to sing the Jack-O-Lantern song he learned and was supposed to be singing earlier!


Meeting Jacob!
Thursday was also the day that Jacob Matthew was born! Nathan is now a big brother and his mommy and daddy looked so happy and ready to take on another boy when we went to visit them on Friday. It was so wonderful to hold Jacob, so light, gorgeous, and comfy! We were so excited to meet him and so happy to see that mom and dad were doing well too. Congrats Auntie Miya, Uncle Mark, and big brother Nathan! And welcome to our world Jacob!
I will get some pictures here soon (with parent consent), they are on Phil's phone!

And finally some miscellaneous pictures from the past week.

A Perfect Autumn Weekend!

We had a great weekend and enjoyed every bit of this wonderful fall weather. On Friday the kids painted some pictures for GG Joe's 89 birthday on Sunday. After naps we headed out to Scarecrow fest where there was a craft show, bouncies for the kids, carnival rides, face painting, and much more. We didn't get out there until 5 and the craft show was already closing up, but the kids loved all that we did do including just walking by the riverwalk. A fun start to our weekend!


On Saturday we started off with breakfast at Nonna and Grandpa's where Grandpa made some delicious blueberry pancakes! After fueling up it was off to Goebert's for some more fall fun! If you remember last year it was pouring rain the weekend we had scheduled to go, so this year was much better not being wet or cold and seeing all that Goebert's has to offer! They enjoyed posing in front of the character cut outs, reading in the giant rocking chair with Nonna, feeding the giraffe and other animals (but the giraffe was hands down the coolest), riding ponies, watching the pig races, and riding a camel too! Thanks for a fun morning!


Saturday night we went to Grandma's house to celebrate GG Joe's 89th birthday! Well, turns out at 3:00 Grandma got a call from GG Rose saying that GG Joe was in the hospital! If you know GG Joe, he is the fittest 89 year old man you'll ever meet and can handle pain like no other. So for him to have said he was in pain enough to go, you know its something. Turns out he had his gallbladder taken out Sunday morning, on his birthday! He was not able to eat anything Grandma had made him--of course all his favorite things since it was his birthday--and Grandma brought our gifts and pictures to GG Joe after dinner. Fast forward, GG Joe did great through surgery and is expected to go home tomorrow! (Hoping to eat apple pie soon I'm sure!)


Sunday morning I woke up at 3:30 to head down to the city and check in to Volunteer Headquarters at 4:30am for the Chicago Marathon. Since I ran in Sept. I decided not to do another marathon so close, but of course could not stay away from all the excitement the marathon hold, especially since Ryan Hall would be in the vicinity (my current favorite male marathoner who placed 5th, but is not just a tremendous athlete but a great guy giving back too). This was my third time volunteering: the first year I did runner information, second time start corrals, and this year charity village directing people running for charities to their charity tent as well as many to the start line. The excitement and anticipation on people's faces after months of preparation is priceless and made me wish I had signed up even if it were just a "fun" run.

After heading home at 8am it was a quick pit stop before heading back out with our family as well as Auntie, Andrew, and Emma to go apple picking. Unfortunately Grandma couldn't make it since GG Joe was having his surgery that morning but we were sure to pick plenty of apples for her so she could make her famous, delicious apple pies! Even though we got there 15 minutes after they opened there was already a long line to go on the wagon ride and head out to the orchards. So waiting in line the kids entertained themselves dancing with each other and goofing around. Once we got out there the kids had a lot of fun being lifted by Daddy/Uncle Phil, eating as many apples as they could manage, and carrying their full 1/4 peck bags of apples around. Of course we had to indulge in some apple donuts and cider before heading home. We later caught up with Grandma for updates on GG Joe, which of course we were happy to hear he is doing very well. Happy 89th Birthday GG Joe!

Honey Bee Weekend

This weekend was honeybee weekend at the arboretum so we went out for some honey fun! Ok, so we didn't do much in terms of tasting honey, bee hive tours/talks, or visit the local vendors but we did play and have fun! It was Auntie, Andrew, and Emma's first time at the Arboretum so Joey showed Andrew the ropes so to speak! The weather was perfect and was a great way to let the kids run around and burn off some energy!

Weekend Events

A quick recap on what we did, more to be posted later.

We watched Minnie for a long weekend and Joey and Jillian had a blast! The kids loved feeding, walking, and playing with Minnie, and Java had a lot of fun too.


This weekend we also celebrated Andrew's 4th birthday! I was very negligent to take pictures because Kelly, Andrew's other aunt, is a great photographer so I let her capture the day which you can view here!
I will post some pictures of ours on his "real" birthday!

Auntie Trish and Uncle Alex's new place

Last Sunday we went in to the city to see Auntie Trisha and Uncle Alex's new apartment! They moved in Memorial Day weekend and were brave enough to invite the whole crew down. Yes, the whole crew consisting of Auntie Pam and Snowy, Grandma and Jessie, Auntie, Uncle Chris, Andrew, and Emma, and then Daddy, Joey, Jillian, and myself. Java kept cool and calm at home. Later in the evening Auntie Tiff, John, and his dog also showed up! It was quite the housewarming party and I think we really broke the place in for them! We hope to be invited back again! The kids really had a blast, thank you Auntie Trish for the fun coloring activities, and for allowing so many dogs and kids in your place at one time! The food was fantastic! Auntie Trish did all the cooking inside where you'd think she had been living in her place for years, and Uncle Alex braved the heat grilling some tasty food for everyone! Thank you so much for a fun, fun night!

Harry Potter

As everyone is well aware the last Harry Potter movie came out last weekend. I have never read or watched a Harry Potter movie and am not all that interested in starting, just not my thing. But it is Grandma, Uncle Chris, Auntie Christy, and Daddy's thing! So, I got the privilege, as I did for the last HP movie to watch all the little ones while the big ones went to the show (or as Auntie and Uncle Chris told Andrew--their meeting). The kids all ate really well and played really well. We were greeted a few hours later with popcorn (how nice of them to serve popcorn at your meetings Auntie!), and we all indulged!

Boomtown Half: The Race That Could Not Be Run

A little over a week ago I saw a run was going to be held today to benefit the people of Joplin, MO. It was the Boomtown Half Marathon that was to take place in Joplin, MO last weekend. Due to the devastation of the recent tornadoes the race was not going to take place. The race I saw was in support of Joplin and called the Boomtown Benefit: The Race That Could Not Be Run. The distance would be anywhere from 10 yards to 10 miles. There would be no time clock, no fancy t-shirts, no closed streets, no lines of port-a potties, and only water fountains along the course and water bottles at the finish. The entry fee was a donation to United Way for the people of Joplin. Noting the 10 yards to 10 mile distance (not to mention the race was put together in 10 days)I thought it would be perfect to donate and have Joey and I run. I would push Joey in the stroller for 9.75 miles and he would run the last .25 to the finish. He said he was going to beat me! And I believed him! He was really excited, and this morning when I went to get him as I do most races at an early hour he smiled at me, hopped in the car donning his Lightning McQueen race shirt and was ready to go. He persevered through the long (one toilet) potty line doing his dance but keeping dry (the first part of a runner's agony!) We took off and Joey was in his element with the beautiful scenery, looking at the water, the trees, the geese, cheering me and other runners on, and eating his Cheerios. We met a few people, including the race director who I had e-mailed earlier in the week to make sure it'd be okay to bring Joey in the stroller and have him run the 10 yards or whatever it'd turn out to be. We were at 9.94 miles when I pulled him out of the stroller to finish. He was startled by another runner and then didn't want to run or was confused, something. Turns out he fell on the graveled pavement, got a couple of good boo-boos on his knees and was crying. I told him its not easy to run, and when you fall you get up, and the most important thing is to try and finish. So, he whined/cried his way but he did cross the finish and he accepted his medal. I guess sometimes the great visions in your head don't always turn out that way in reality (I wasn't holding hands with Joey smiling and skipping our way across the finish line of his first race, but that is life)! Daddy, Jillian, Auntie, Andrew, and Emma were there to cheer us on too. Andrew made a sign for Joey to show his support. Joey slept the whole way home. Running is tough, but with a little more training I think he'll do just fine!

It was a beautiful day weather wise, and of course a great way to support the people trying to get their lives back together in Joplin. There were 153 registrants accepted, the same number of deaths. Each bib was in remembrance of one of them. My bib read: Gregan D. Sweet, 59, Joplin was at the Pizza Hut with his wife when the tornado hit, according to his son's Facebook posting. His wife survived. Joey's bib: Steven Haack Stephens, 28, Joplin. Died from injuries after he helped rescue his wife and mother when their vehicle was struck by tornado. Worked in construction. Joey's "traumatic" morning is absolutely nothing compared to the devastation the people of Joplin faced and continue to face as they restore their lives and community. Our thoughts and prayers are with you Joplin.


Not sure if this is going to work, but Christy had way better pictures of the whole thing than I did since I was running. Poor Joey, but I can't look at these without laughing. Try clicking here.

Last night Java was also able to meet Grandma's latest addition. The kitchen seems slow going compared to the quick taking to Jessie! Yes, last night Grandma's puppy was named. We had the help of Auntie Pam (#1 Dog Lover), Auntie, Uncle Chris, Andrew, Emma, Mr. and Mrs. Sole, Dom, Nick, and Gigi to help figure out a name. Jessie got quite the welcoming with everyone playing outside and Snowy and Java there to play and pounce with. Jessie seemed to like nestling in for a rest on Mrs. Sole's feet. Grandma reported that Jessie slept fairly well last night waking almost every 2 hours but going back to sleep nicely and taking to her crate really well.
(After the race today we had some outside water fun, so just threw some of those pics on at the end.)

Catching Up...and a new addition to the family!

I have been negligent again, so here is the mash of pictures and updates from the past 2 weeks:

First some random pictures from the past two weeks. We went to a kids "concert" with one of Joey's friends from school at Wheaton Library but the only picture I had was of Jill and her water bottle. A picture of Joey playing basketball at All Sorts of Sports, the sports camp he is doing on Saturdays with Daddy and loves it! I forgot my camera, but you know Crystal never does! I went out with Crystal, Eva's mom (another CHARGEr)and some of her other friends to help celebrate the end of her cancer treatment. It was a fun day in the city and my first step inside the American Girl store...Jillian it will be a long time before I tell you about that place! And then just other miscellaneous shots.

Last Saturday we had Uncle Paul, Auntie Katherine, Ben, Abbey, and Juliette over...it had been a while since we saw them, but fun of course always fun. The kids had a blast, Joey loves playing with Abbey (and Ben and Juju too), and Juliette and Jillian were a great pair at the table. All the kids left to go play and the two youngest stayed to finish off the desserts! Happy (early)Birthday Auntie Katherine!

Of course it wouldn't be an update without an Arboretum shot. Last Sunday we were able to meet up with Uncle Mark, Auntie Miya, and Nathan and Joey was super excited to see how the tadpoles had grown. Jillian and Nathan had a cute game of peek-a-boo going between the trees. It was a nice relaxing day!

Heading into the weekend we got a surprise phone call. Grandma had been talking about getting a puppy for a while, and the thought was that she would wait until after her addition since it is a mess over there, she travels a lot, is always busy busy busy...but she called this morning to say the breeder was going to drop off the dog to her house so she could see if she liked her. So Auntie came over to put the seats in her minivan and caravan us all out to Grandma's to meet "the puppy." As of now no name. Of course the puppy is not going back, she is here to stay, and we are trying out names for Grandma but not much luck yet. Here are a lot of pictures of this fun loving little girl, and stay tuned because I think she is coming to visit tonight!

Happy Easter!

For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him shall not parish but have everlasting life. John 3:16

That is probably one of the most well known bible passages, and for a perfect reason. As I have mentioned in the past I am comforted by the fact that Josh passed away during lent. It is a constant reminder to me that God is good, that I will see Joshua again, and that Christ died so that we may live eternally with Him. Happy Easter!

We started off our day with a quick look for Easter baskets and then got dressed and headed out to church. Afterward we went to Assumption where Joey and Jillian got to play and bring some Easter Lilies. Jillian wore the jacket that my Grandma Rose made for me when I was a baby, it fit her perfectly!

Next we headed to Grandma's house where we found Andrew and Emma waiting to start our first Easter egg hunt! The kids had a lot of fun, thanks Auntie Christy for hiding them all so well and filling them! Instead of Target bags, next year we'll have to remember to bring our baskets...like I said it was our first year! After the egg hunt it was time to color some more eggs. Grandma saw how much they all liked coloring eggs last weekend that she bought some more and boiled them for the kids to color again! We sat down to enjoy our ravioli, ham, lamb, and veggies, and way too many desserts. The weather was so nice that we were able to go outside and play t-ball, ride bikes, run up and down the block, blow bubbles and just enjoy the day. Of course we forgot to bring the camera out, but trust me we all enjoyed the sunshine and warm weather!


Saturday we went to Nonna and Grandpa's for an early Easter celebration. The kids got baskets filled with toys and candy. Jillian enjoyed sporting Nonna's boa and of course the chocolate carrot, and Joey loved his Fearless Freddy Thomas train as well as the bubbles! They loved all the goodies, thank you!


On Friday we had a rainy day so the kids and I stayed in and painted! Joey and Jillian really enjoyed themselves, Jillian got her face pretty well, and Joey was very concentrated on his masterpieces. After a wardrobe change and some cleaning up we headed to the park district for our first day of Mommy and Me Bootcamp. I am teaching a 30 minute class for moms and their babies/kids. They have one child, I have 2 and they are the 2 oldest therefore most rambunctious out of the whole group! But they really enjoyed it, and I did too!

Gearing Up For Easter

So we had a pretty busy weekend and still didn't get quite everything we wanted to do in (we missed Eva's birthday party on Saturday night, but had a much needed, and planned for a while, adult only dinner out with Paul and Katherine!). So here is what we have been up to...

Sunday we went out to Grandma's house to make our annual Easter ravioli. Auntie brought some donuts that everyone enjoyed, but Jillian really seemed to like getting into the chocolate frosting on hers! After some nourishment (don't tell anyone I'm an RD!) we made some ravioli for Easter. All the kids really got into it this year which was a lot of fun. Grandma made 3 batches of dough, Auntie Christy had the boys set up with the pasta press rolling out the dough into sheets, and I had the girls playing with flour, measuring cups, and pretty much whatever they wanted to make a mess while filling and sealing the ravioli. After some cleaning up we sat everyone back down at the table to color Easter eggs. Joey and Andrew had a great time coloring the eggs, Emma was more interested in trying to suck on the dipper that holds the eggs, whereas Jillian didn't want to use it at all, she just stuck her whole hand in the colored water to dunk her egg in and fetch it out when she was ready. A messy, but fun day! After heading home for naps we all met back up at the mall to attempt an Easter bunny visit. It was 4:15 and we showed up to the area where the bunny was. But he wasn't there...he was taking a break. Ok, so we stayed in line and at 4:30 when he was back we waited, and waited, and waited. Let me also tell you that our mall recently got a train (not sure if its for the holiday or what) that takes kids through the mall. Andrew had been on it before, but Joey had not, and the two were fixated on the train. So after waiting a little while longer, Auntie and I looked at each other, I left the line to see what the train line looked like and $15 later we had sent Grandma off with all the kids on a train ride! The real kicker was that as we were walking back to the train station to meet everyone we saw the Easter Bunny coming back from yet another break! We saw the line and wouldn't have moved in almost an hour! At that rate, the Easter Bunny is going to be late!


We weren't too upset about not visiting the Easter bunny. Last year we didn't have Jillian sit with the Easter bunny even though it was her first Easter because she had fallen asleep and Joey was terrified. Saturday Jillian proved to us that she loves the Easter bunny and tried booking towards him before we could even check in at the Bunny Bash! Uncle Mark, Auntie Miya, and Nathan joined us for the Bunny Bash at our park district where we took a quick picture of the kids with the Easter Bunny, Joey bounced in the bounce house, Nathan, Joey, and Jillian played some games, pet some of the bunnies, chicks, ducks, and lambs at the petting zoo, danced around to some music, made some crafts, and tumbled around on the mats for the Easter egg hunt. Thanks for coming to play with us Nathan! Note, Nathan is a fast guy...every time I tried to snap his picture he'd turn around or walk out of the picture!


As I mentioned earlier we had a nice dinner Saturday night with Paul and Katherine. Here are some of the other happenings in the past few weeks. Remember when it was in the 70's and the kids didn't need to wear coats? Hopefully those days are coming back, but during that time we took advantage of as much outside time as we could. Java and Snowy even got a play date in too!

April Fun!

This weekend we some time outside, even though it is still a little on the chilly side, and went to the zoo. I kept telling Joey I was going to feed him to the animals and I'd pick him up and pretend to put him over the fence, and he would tell me that animals eat "fruits and vegetables, not Joey!" The kids had a fun time looking at the lambs including 3 baby ones that were "so cute," the bunnies, the chickens (Joey would keep walking past saying "hi chics!"),the "stinky pigs," the cows, donkey, llama, and of course the ducks!

Sunday night we celebrated (yes again!) Emma's first birthday with her favorite foods for dinner and then some yummy cupcakes and desserts. We also tried to get the cousins together for a good picture, but we had to settle for these action shots. Happy Birthday again Emma!