An Angel Amongst Us

Yesterday....My morning run was not like my usual morning run. I remember thinking what a perfect, sunny and cool morning it was. When I run I usually say a prayer. So my prayer this morning was one just for my grandma Anne. For the past year she has been battling cancer. Early Tuesday morning she fell and broke her hip so I went to visit her in the hospital. It was then that I learned of how much she was suffering. It was so heartbreaking. All I could do was say prayers for her. But today in thinking of how long she has been struggling, I asked God to take her into his kingdom. It was this day that she passed away. Despite not having her here on earth with us, she is in a more peaceful place. She no longer has to endure the aches and pains, the daily struggles, the sadness, that once filled her life. Although she lived a long and plentiful life, we have the wonderful memories of her in our hearts. As much as it hurts not having her with us physically, she will forever be a wife, a mom, a friend and a grandmother. You will forever be missed... Love you Grandma!!!

A New Chapter

Well the day is finally here...I am going back to work tomorrow! It's bittersweet. So excited to go back to doing what I love...teaching, yet sad to not be with my little man in the mornings. For the past year and half, I've been all E knows during his days. As I reflect on the year I am so happy and grateful to have had the time I had at home with Evan. We have done so many things together from music to swimming to tumbling classes. We have even explored the museums, parks and local play places. We also met an amazing group of friends. I am so glad to have met them and don't know what I'd do without them. They made being a stay at home mom all the more fun!

As cliche as it sounds, I feel as if it were yesterday that I was holding our newborn baby boy. With the blink of an eye, he's become a little man! As I have said so many times (and as I imagine all parents do) I am so proud of Evan. He's naturally developed and has exceeded my expectations. It's the little moments that we share. When we sit and play, we cuddle, we explore, we sing and dance. It's the look we give one another, the unspoken love between us. These are the moments that I embrace, the moments I want to remember forever and ever. Since I will no longer be with E in all day, I will truly cherish those moments we have had and the moments that we have yet to experience with one another. As the saying goes, absence makes the heart grow fonder. With that said, I sure hope that God gives me the strength to get through the first few weeks of not being with Evan in the mornings. I know E's in good hands and will continue to thrive but I naturally find it hard not to feel guilty for going back to doing something that I love while I leave him. I hope Evan will also appreciate me more when we have our time together!

Mommy & Daddy Time

What a rejuvenating weekend! Dave and I went to Kohler Water Spa this weekend in Wisconsin. We left Friday afternoon to retreat to the most relaxing and most needed time away sans Evan. We planned it for a last get-away before I return to work part time the end of August. It was hard to leave E without shedding some tears (me that is, not Dave :0) but once we did, I was eager to start to set all worries and cares aside to embrace the time Dave and I had for one another. Once we arrived at the Carriage House (our hotel located above the water spa, we enjoyed some appetizers and drinks before dinner. We ordered room service (too tired to get dressed up and go out to eat) then headed to the relaxation pool at the water spa. How inviting and relaxing!!! We enjoyed a drink while reading and lounging on the cushioned lounge chairs alongside the waterfall. Saturday we worked out, Dave went to the range to hit some balls while I went to a yoga by the lake class and got a mani/pedi. We met up for lunch at Blackwolf lodge and after lunch relaxed in the spa for a few hours before getting ready for dinner. Right before dinner we went to the Winery had excellent wine and listened to a pianist. We had dinner at the Wisconsin Room and again went to relax for the evening at the relaxation pool before calling it a night. Sunday we ate breakfast in bed before leaving for home. As much as I enjoyed the time away with Dave, the relaxation and ease of not caring for anyone but ourselves it was beyond wonderful to see our smiling E when we got home! He had a great time with his Grandpa and Grandma. Dex, of course, had fun too! They went to the beach, Family Grounds, and for walks. E slept and ate really good and brought much joy to his grandparents during their stay!! Thanks Mom and Dad for helping to make our time away stress free!!! We are very grateful!!!

Taking a Moment

I love to stop, cuddle and breathe in Evan. His smells, his touch, his pure innocence is so peaceful. In one single moment of seeing him or thinking of him all my cares and worries disappear. Each day, I stop, I sit, and I take in all of him. I can never get enough of him. I thank God each and every day for being so blessed to have him. I cannot imagine life without him. He is such a breath of fresh air. I love what he has taught me, to be still, take in the moment, and listen to the laughs, the tears and the experiences in life. I love imagining what his future holds and all the endless possibilities it offers. Thank you Evan for being you! I love you with all my heart!

A week of many firsts

Lots of stuff happening with E...my goodness! I feel like I haven't written in months! Well Evan is continuing to amaze us. He is talking up a storm. A few people that I see during the week at our play places even made comments about him being a chatterbox. I think Dave and I may be in for it! E also walked backwards for the first time in our kitchen earlier this week. I think he was motivated to do it because I sort of had him cornered. He was in need of a serious diaper change. For those of you that don't know, E has never been a fan of diaper changes in fact he hates it so much he throws a full out crying fit every time. Tears and all...you would think he was in some serious pain by the look and sound of his outrage. Well anyhow, he so cleverly used his newly acquired skill in an attempt to escape the "diaper changing situation". Putting my proud mommy moment aside...I quickly captured him and successfully changed the diaper. E was not too happy to say the least.

Another first happened at Gymboree. Evan had been practicing walking across this green bridge for the past week or so. It's not a flat bridge rather it is an uneven bridge. Looks like a ripple if that makes sense. Well...he finally did it...without falling might I add. He was very proud, but not as proud as Mommy of course. He even got to show off his latest achievement to Daddy on Friday when Daddy tagged along with us.

This past weekend E and I went to Family Grounds Cafe on Saturday (Dave was in Wisconsin visiting his brother and golfing). For a week now I have been teaching Evan about feelings and using the sign for happy, sad, and mad and how to teach him when to say 'excuse me' and 'sorry'. While E and I were sitting in the cafe, E was munching on his snack and heard a little kid crying. He stopped, looked at the kid, then at me, and signed 'sad'. I was ecstatic!!! Now to work on his awareness of his own feelings :-)

First Family Vacation to....

Lake Geneva!!! Dave, Evan and I decided that we needed a little weekend get-away so we packed our things and headed out to Lake Geneva Sunday morning. The weather was perfect! We relaxed and enjoy our family time away together. We really didn't do a whole lot it was just nice to escape the city and our daily routine for something different. We went to lunch, check into our hotel, took a walk along the lake and Main Street with all the cute little shops. Later in the afternoon we went to a pool with water slides, sprinklers, and a zero depth walk in which was perfect for E. His favorite were the water slides. I think he would have keep going down about another hundred times if we hadn't stopped him. He was quite the ball of energy. Can't blame him for being in the car as long as we were. We decided to order dinner to our hotel since E was exhausted, as were we. And watched a movie while sipping a couple glasses of wine before we called it a night. The serenity of the evening was breathtaking. I wanted to stay in the moment and not return back to reality. So little care and worries. Well... that didn't last that long because E woke up at midnight. Not sure why he actually woke but it was challenging to get him back to sleep. We brought him into bed with us (mind you this is something we haven't done since E was 6 weeks old). That didn't work out that easily. E was up for about an hour and a half. Dave finally got him to sleep and we were able to squeeze in about 4 more hours of sleep. After rising from our semi-rested night, we headed to breakfast, the park, Starbucks and the Geneva boat cruise. It was interesting! We never realized how many Chicago dwellers actually own homes along the lake in Geneva. E enjoyed looking at the water, climbing up and down the stairs (we sat on the top of the double decker boat), sitting in the chair, and saying hi and bye to a little boy that must have been about 2 years older than him. It was sad to have to leave but I am glad that we took the time to enjoy some relaxing family time. I, of course, took lots of pictures and videos that captured some of our best and favorite moments of our Geneva get-away.

Elvis Impersonator

More Words...More Tricks...More F.U.N.

In addition to Evan's new dance moves...lol...E has added more words to his vocabulary including park, car, stick, brush, chair, turkey, chicken, sleep, blankie, and beans. There are more that at the moment I cannot think of and I always try to remind myself to write them down as soon as I can, then I forgot. Mommy brain at it's best ;0) Although he continues to repeat almost all words that we use in isolation...it's fascinating how much they learn and absorb!!!

E can climb onto the kitchen chair and as you already know, on top of his toys...OY!!! Not good! He's also walking on the balance beam and jumping off a 3 foot platform at Gymboree. I am astonished at how physically daring Evan is. I hope he can channel it in the right direction.

We watched one of Evan's friends, William, on Tuesday and I captured a sweet moment that I thought I'd post a picture. I LOVE it!!! They are incredibly cute together. I love how they play, both together and parallel. They definitely find ways to entertain!

Oh, the most recent thing that he learned from Dave and his race cars toy is priceless. I will have to take a video of it to show everyone. I still am humored by what he says. It's a line from Toy Story. No, Evan hasn't watched the movie but he has a Toy Story 3 race car speed track that says a line that one of the characters, Buzz Lightyear, says from the movie, "To infinity ...and beyond!". Well Dave often when they are playing recites it with emphasis on "and BEYOND!". He says it with the pizzazz that Buzz does in the movie. So anyhow, E laughs at it and tells Dave to do more of it. Well little E must have liked it sooo much that he decided to join in. So Dave says "To infinity..." and E finishes the saying "...and BEYOND!". It's hysterical!!! I will post as soon as I get a video of it. Stay tuned...

Juggling Act

Leaving my little man

For the past two Thursday's I have left Evan in the care of Sara, our sitter. She is lovely and E just adores her. Today was by far the hardest for me. Reality set in when I realized that I will not see E in the morning before I go to work. Unlike last Thursday, today I went to Bally's in Schaumburg to workout before heading into work. My goal was to run through a day as I would when I go back to work in August (5-11a). Well...I am glad to say the day went super quickly although I did find myself sad and thinking about Evan because I was not able to see E's smile this morning. Fortunately, Evan was happy when I came home and didn't seem phased by me not being with him in the morning...sigh. I am hoping that the transition, come August, when I go to work everyday, will gradually become less difficult (for me). I surely am going to miss my little man more than he knows!

You're In Our Hearts and Minds Pastor Bill

I am still in shock over the passing of our church's pastor, Pastor Bill. I find it all so surreal how sudden it was. So many questions swarm my mind as they often do when people pass on...why did he have to die and how is his surviving family managing to survive. I can only imagine the pain and sadness they are enduring now. Today as I usually do during Evan's nap, I scrapped, although, today was different. I began taking out Evan's 13 month pictures and decided which pictures I wanted to put into his album and I came across Evan's baptism. Some of the pictures were of Pastor Bill and our family. Wow...I couldn't contain my emotions. Tears filled my eyes. Not tears of sadness but rather of joy in knowing the lives he touched and he is now in our Father's heavenly kingdom, watching over us. I felt a peace at that moment when I stared into his eyes. His eyes were filled with happiness, memories, and life. He lived. He inspired. He loved. Pastor Bill touched our lives in more ways than he probably knew. We are forever grateful to have met and known him. You will forever be missed but forever remain in our hearts and minds Pastor Bill.

Our Little Parrot

Evan is a riot! He's repeating words that he hears Dave or I say. His most recent being Jack (that's what Dave calls me), bird, tree, book, diaper, banana, dog, and papa. He's also in what I call a 'destructive phase'. E's been throwing his toys. I imagine he's doing that just to see what happens or to get a reaction out of us. For example if he throws a toy, I quickly and quietly (without saying anything) remove him from the situation, sit him down in a time out, and model how to play with his toys. After the time out I invite him to play with me and his toys. If he continues to throw his toys after the time out, I repeat the process and say we play with our toys. We don't throw them. So far it has taken one or two times of time outs and modeling. When he finds a new toy and decides to throw it I follow this 'discipline' process that I learned from the Love and Logic book.

Yesterday I found E on top of his Leap Frog play table trying to reach things off the kitchen table. He moved the play table next to the kitchen table and climbed on top. Today I found him on top of 2 storage bins trying to climb onto the daybed in our guest bedroom. He sure is a dare devil and curious little boy. If he's not climbing onto things he's trying to throw things and wrestle with anyone he sees at our play places. Luckily E's friend, Grace, is a tough cookie. E goes up to her, hugs her and then tries to wrestle her to the ground then he tries to hug or kiss her. She just resists him all the while putting up with his playfulness and love. So happy she doesn't mind!

E's been enjoying the parks. We have been trying to visit at least one new park a week. So far it doesn't seem to matter to Evan as long as he can run and climb on things. He also loves the ones with sprinklers. I took a video of E at the park. Check it out...

A perfect looonngggg holiday weekend

What a fun filled weekend Dave, Evan and I had!!! We started out the weekend at Millenium park since Dave had a half day. We took E for his first time to the fountain, the "bean" and the pavilion. E enjoyed the water and of course taking in the people and sounds everywhere he looked. Saturday we met up with some good friends for breakfast and later that afternoon celebrated my grandma's birthday. We had many laughs and shared good memories as Evan ran around the party room looking for things to climb on. Sunday was another fun day. After rising early bc of little Mr. Evan, we worked out, went to the park and enjoyed a quiet late morning/early afternoon at home before heading to our friends annual Fourth of July BBQ. As usual we had a great time! Evan was in his glory with all the kids running around, the slide and pools. Although he couldn't keep up he found himself attempting to talk with and join in on the boys fun. It was really cute to watch. After all E's energy blasting fun, Dave and I thought that he surely would be exhausted and sleep on the way home. Much to our surprise he was still up and not ready to go to sleep until well after 7p. Hmm....maybe it's the 2 molars keeping him awake?!?!?! Who knows. Monday was an excellent day to catch up...Phew! We cleaned, did laundry, and played, of course....and spent time, just the three of us (and Dexter too) close to home. Sad that the weekend had to come to an end.

Our 5 Year Wedding Anniversary

Dave and I have been together for well over 13 years but Friday, June 25th marked our 5 year wedding anniversary!!! What a fun day and night we had! My mom stayed with Evan and Dex while Dave and I headed downtown to see Toy Story 3 (excellent movie by the way and just as good as Toy Story 1 & 2). After the movie we went back to the hotel to change and then went to dinner at Gibson's. We enjoyed a much needed relaxing evening over dinner and at the beach. Saturday morning we woke up, ate breakfast at the Drake, the most delicious breakfast I must add, and took a stroll to the beach to lay out, read and enjoy some quiet time before heading back home to our little munchkins. I can't imagine any better of an anniversary...It was more wonderful than I ever could imagine. I am so blessed to have Dave in my life as my husband and my best friend and I am looking forward to many more happy and healthy years together. Cheers to 5 years of marriage Dave!!!!

Let the MeSs begin!!!

Today we officially started reconstruction! It's been nearly a month since the fire and we are now just beginning to rebuild the walls and get things back to normal. After waiting for the insurance's approval, we finally got an estimate of $16,000 for the repairs last week. I was glad to have been gone today because the dry wall dust was everywhere. The crew was great in that they cleaned up almost all of it, well at least the stuff that visible to the naked eye, and we are able to live in our home through the night and into the morning before they are back at 8am. Funny little story....Evan found the blue tape markers along the baseboard entertaining while I was making dinner. I turn around to look at him and there he was with 3 crumbled balls of blue tape stuck to both of his hands. At the moment I was thinking, crap, how am I going to know what walls these came from but in looking back once I was able to figure out where they belong (or so I hope they are back where they belong) I laughed at how cute E looked standing in the hall thinking he did nothing wrong. He probably thought they were some new toy...ha hahaha.

While the construction crew was hard at work at our house, Evan, Dex and I made a trip out to visit my parents. Evan and Dex hung out with Nana and Papa and I went to my work friend's baby shower. It was great to see my co workers and catch up with them. It feels like I never left them :) E definitely had a wonderful time by the huge grin he had on his face when I came back. He played with some of the toys that my sister and I grew up playing with, went on a walk, and tried his first fruit popsicle. Not too sure about how cold it was at first but definitely grew to like it rather quickly. He came home with a red stained mouth and a little stinker smile ;0) Thanks for such a relaxing day Nana and Papa!!!

It took me a long time...over 6 months, but....

i finally figured out how to insert a picture into my blog entry...lol

it's not hard at all and i don't know what my problem was. anyways, i picked a picture hoping that it will show up!

15 Month Pediatrician Appointment

Where is the time going!?!?! I can't believe Evan is already 15 months old, what! Well E went to the doctor on Monday for his 15 month check up. He wasn't too happy about it. He knew what was going on and what was about to happen as soon as he saw the nurse and doctor. Uh oh...the tears came a flowing. We saw a different pediatrician since E's pediatrician didn't have an available appointment until July so that might not have helped matters. E weighed in at 26 lbs and 32 inches tall. He is in the 75th percentile. The doctor was pleased with his growth and reassured me that his stranger anxiety is purely developmentally appropriate and may stay with him until 2-2.5 years old. E got two shots which he didn't like AT ALL. He hasn't seemed to be effected by them as much as he is the 2 molars that are erupting. Speaking of molars, the top right molar, the one I said was black and blue, still hasn't popped through. It started to concern me when I saw E's left top molar break through and it didn't ever turn black and blue. I thought the black and blue was normal because I learned of it at a pediatric dental presentation I attended back in February, but just to be safe I phone Dr. Kristin, E's dentist. Low and behold it's totally normal and will eventually break through along with some blood. She assured me not to be alarmed and to stop on in if I am in need of more peace of mind :)

Aside from E's check up and recent teeth erruptions...E's having a hard time backing off the milk. He LOVES his MILKY!!! If we let him choose one food/drink to live on it would hands down be milk. Let's hope all this milk builds strong bones so he won't break any in his years :0) E's added more words to his speaking vocabulary like milk, cheese, shoes, ball, and shake (this one he's been saying for awhile, not consistently but at Gymboree when we sing the Shake the Parachute song). He's signing (which I may have mentioned in my past post but can't remember) turn around, please, and again. Along with his vocabularly development Evan is becoming more opinionated. Watch out! He's going to be one determined little boy (a.k.a. stubborn) !!! If I take him away from something he enjoys or wants something he can't have, he talks back, screams, or walks back to the place he was at originally after I put him down. Oy! Dexter has become so easy in comparison...lol. Speaking of Dex...E now walks Dex's while he walks along side. I will have to get it on video. It's too cute. Evan also can throw Dex's toys to a further distance so Dex can actually chase after them a little bit. Before Dex would just look at the toy, then Evan and not do anything (probably thinking "that's all you've got").

We have been taking Gymboree classes on Wednesday mornings and took a Music class there for the first time yesterday. We also have our weekly Monday playdate, Family Grounds a couple times week, and fill our afternoons with either Gymboree open play or parks. Our latest venture is going to Bally so I can workout (instead of getting up everyday at 5:30a to go workout sans Evan) and put E in the Kids Club to play. Well, yeah, that didn't go over to well. Tuesday was our first day and E cried from the time I dropped him off until they called me over the PA system (10 minutes later) to come get him. I am going to keep trying. We went again this afternoon and...he DID IT!!!! 30 minutes in the Kids Club while I worked out. Thank you Evan!!! We'll be going again next Tuesday and Thursday so I can sleep in those days (hopefully E will sleep in too :)

Thank You Mommy

"Thank you mommy"...I heard it for the first time today!!! Well I actually didn't hear it but rather I saw E sign it. Not once but twice!!! It was a heck of a week with E teething and all so it was the perfect end to a rather tiring week. E's getting his first molar on the upper right side. His gum line has been black and blue since Monday and he's been very clingy, whiney and sporting a wicked diaper rash (his usual teething signs). Anyhow, I have been teaching please and thank you signs to E over the last month and he has finally signed it. I am so proud of him!

All this thank you business got me thinking of how often we took our parents for granted and how little appreciation they got when we were younger. I know I put my parents through a lot growing up and I can only imagine how they felt during those years. Parenting is a selfless job and I cannot be anymore grateful for having two wonderful, loving and supportive parents. I know I can never express enough to them how happy they are my parents. Thank you Mom & Dad!!!!

Welcome SUMMER!!!

I can't believe it's already JUNE!!! Where does the time go?!?!? This past weekend marked the "official" start to our summer and couldn't have been anymore fulfilling. I am so excited of what this summer has in store for us. E is so mobile and aware of things that I think we will be able to take him to see and learn LOTS of fun stuff. After our lovely time at Gillson Park on Saturday, Dave, Evan took Evan to the beach for his first time. When we set him down in the sand he cried at first. He didn't like it one bit. Dave tried to get him to play with the sand bucket and shovels but he just observed Dave doing it. After a minute or so he began to touch the sand and realized it wasn't all that bad. He became brave after playing for a bit and started to crawl towards the water. We were about 25 feet away from it. Evan crawled for about 5 feet, got up and walked the rest of the way. Much to my surprised he only fell down once. When he made it to the water he was a bit reluctant to go in so Dave held his hands as they walked in together. Evan didn't stop. He just kept walking. Silly me I didn't bring a change of clothes so I decided that we better take his clothes off so he doesn't get soaking wet and have to go home naked. Despite the warm weather it was cooler by the lake. Anyhow, I took lots of pictures but uploaded a couple here. Looking forward to going back soon!

The rest of the weekend we grilled dinner while taking in the peacefulness of our back deck. Believe it or not...it is quiet in terms of 'city living'. I finished a book from the Redemption Series...so eager to start the next one tonight. I also finished a page of E's scrapbook. So much more to go but it will be done soon. I am determined ;0) Evan really really really enjoyed his new water table and will hopefully continue enjoy it throughout the summer. Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday weekend as well.

A breath of fresh air

Today was simply a breath of fresh air! Dave hung out with Evan all morning while I took some alone time...worked out, went to the chiropractor (I have been having mid back pain for the last couple of months from holding Evan) and got a mani-pedi. This afternoon we went to Gillson Park in Wilmette with Dave's family for his mom's birthday. The weather was beautiful. We had a picnic in the park and walked over to the visit the gardens of the Bahii Temple. Absolutely breathtaking!

It's been a while since I wrote an update on the house, sadly there is not much to report. Just met with our home insurance adjustor last week and are awaiting approval from our insurance company for the go ahead to start reconstruction. Hoping to get word from them next week.

Updates on E...

I still find myself amazed at how much he is changing and how big he is getting! I am so proud of how much he has learned and what he continues to teach us every day. Evan's really really trying to talk more. He has now added more, ball, and shake to his verbal vocabulary. He still has his good old baby babble that he thinks he is communicating to us but we still cannot make it out. He's singing along in the car while clapping and tapping at times. He's starting to jog, as I like to call it, without out falling down. Still a bit unsturdy but he's walking 99% of the time. Since I planted flowers on the deck he has enjoyed playing outside going in and out of the patio door, picking the flowers and throwing off the deck so he can watch them fall to the ground (mind you we are on the 3rd floor). He signs "help" while he faces the chair as his request to us to help him onto the chair. Once there, he sits, looks around and laughs. He has found quite a few ways to entertain himself, this being one of them. At the park Evan enjoys the swings and likes to climb up and down the stairs. His latest craze are the plastic cups that you can get at Starbucks, Panera, etc. You know the ones with the lids and the straws. I put some water inside with the lid and straw assembled and give it to him. He loves it! He will hold onto it in his stroller, walk with it, try to bring it up to the top of the park's jungle gym. I should try to get a video of it...it's hilarious! E's loving his books. He'll sit on the couch or the floor and page through them while he babbles. He usually brings me a book and signs 'help' for me to read it to him. Over the last week or so he has been himself bringing his toys (usually one or two) to me and Dave. He'll walk over to us with the toy, give it to us, and then walk away. He's also been doing the same with Dex. Except instead of E bringing his toy to Dex, he brings Dex's toy or bone to Dex. Aside from all these fun little developments, E is getting one of his first molars. I was wondering why he had been so clingy, whiney, and picky about eating early this past week and speculated that it might be teeth. And...sure enough, I noticed his upper right gum is black and blue. Ahhh...it looks terribly painful it's no wonder he wanted me to hold him almost all day.