I am Back!.....June 2011

Now that summer is long gone and fall is on it's way out the door, I thought I would catch my blog up to date. I have wanted to for awhile but all those months of not posting have been hanging over my head! I could just start from today but I have a hard time leaving out our summer and any pictures of my kids. :)

So here is a re-cap of the month of June.......

Shanda came to visit me! It was so fun having her here. We filled our weekend with lots of shopping, swimming with the kids, White Sox game, boat tour of Chicago, sushi, deep dish pizza, staying up way too late, and treats from Rocky Mountain Chocolate. It went by too fast but we sure had fun!

We celebrated Father's Day with a yummy Japanese dinner and a trip to the park. Unfortunately the only picture I took of Christian and the kids all together is the one on the slide. My kids were at their most favorite place to be with their dad.... the park!

Benson started taking his first steps on 6/15/11. My kids and I were at Humanitarian that morning and he just stood up and took about 6 steps. The pictures below are from one evening the next week playing with a baseball. Christian would throw the ball and he would walk to it. I love how he toddled! Now he runs everywhere he goes.

We moved out of our townhouse the last week of June. I have really mixed emotions about it! I never really loved that house but I must say that I really miss it. Our life in Chicago started in that house and it's the only place Addy remembers. It's where we brought Benson home to and spent the last 3 years of our lives. There aren't a ton of things I loved about living there, but I have all the memories we made together as a family. I did love how open it was, the wood floors, all one level, and my appliances. That's about it! The rooms were kinda awkward in the main area, I hated the huge flight of stairs, and I really hated the yellow paint in the kitchen. There were 3 shades of yellow on the walls when we moved in. All the tan paint covered the worst shade. I planned on painting the kitchen but never got around to it. We moved for more space, a third bedroom, and a place for me to do hair. I just don't feel at home in our new place yet. It's hard to be so picky when it's just a rental and it's temporary. I am being picky though! I am worried we made a mistake moving... time will tell I guess. I have a huge list of projects that will make it feel more like me, hopefully.

Here are pictures of the house a day or two before we moved out. Remember.... my house never was this empty or clean! ( Thanks to two kids and all my hobbies!) I had pretty much everything packed up and the landlord asked if I would take pictures for the realtor. I am so glad I did! It isn't much, but it was my house and I will always remember living there!

P.S. That is not my window scarf! :)

4th of July

We had a simple but enjoyable 4Th of July this year. We weren't able to go to any parades or firework shows but we did have fun with some friends. Sat morning 17 girls from our ward went and saw Eclipse and had lunch at Panera Bread. That evening we had a few friends and their families over for a BBQ. The kids ran wild through the house while all the adults chatted and ate dinner. Here are a few pics of us from that evening.

We planned on going to see fire works after the BBQ, but the time got away from us and all the kids were getting cranky and needed to go to bed. So we decided to just go outside and let Addy and her friend Jackson do a couple boxes of sparklers and snaps.

Erin gave the kids a glowing necklace. Addy loved hers so much she even slept with it next to her! Christian showed Addy how to spell her name with her sparkler. She definitely enjoyed what little fireworks we had.

Sunday we went to another BBQ with some friends in our ward. Christian tried some alligator hot off the grill. Gross!

Christian had Monday off work so we went swimming with Erin, Nate, and Ella. The girls had a blast splashing and swimming with their dads. This was Benson's first time swimming. He was very mellow and just relaxed in his floatie. Addy on the other hand wanted to be in the water swimming like a dolphin and splashing like crazy.

June 2010

The month of June went by really quickly for us. We have been busy playing outside enjoying our summer. Here are a few highlights of our month.

Benson's First Hair Cut 6/6

Benson had the usual baby hair in the back. Long through the neckline and a big rubbed bald spot above. He has lost at least half his hair through the top so he was getting a little comb over. So I buzzed the back and sides with a number 1 and cut about an inch off the top. I had a hard time blending his bald spot because he was so wiggly, but it looks so much better. He hated the hair cut! He fussed through the clippers so I didn't do as good of a hair cut as I wanted. Oh well! He sure looks handsome!



Benson turned 4 months old 6/18

- Weight: 15 lbs 9 oz 73%

- Height: 25.75 inches 85%

- Head: 17.25 inches 90%

- 6-9 month clothing

-Sleep: 10 hours at night

3-4 1 hour naps through out the day

Brookfield Zoo Dolphin Show 6/19

The brookfield Zoo has a new dolphin exhibit that just opened up for the summer. We took the kids to check it out. Addy loved it! She giggled through the whole show. The best part was when the mom dolphin splashed Christian and the kids. Benson wasn't thrilled but it made Addy so happy. Worst part was when my skirt was sticking to me and I flashed everyone behind me. NEAT! Luckily a nice lady told me right when I stood up.

Fathers Day 6/20

We celebrated Fathers Day on the actual day this year. This was Christians first weekend of not working at the airport anymore. It has been awesome having him home. The kids and I got him a blue ray disc player that he wanted. He was definitely surprised!




Park


We have spent half our days this month at the park. Addy loves to dig in the dirt. She can't wait until Benson can play with her. Addy chose a pair of new sun glasses from Target. She wears them everywhere she goes! Such a stylish cutie!


Swimming 6/28

Addy had several play dates with Ella. They have a lot of fun together. The girls had a little lunch, went swimming in her new pool, colored with chalk, blew bubbles, and ate sugar cookies. They had a lot of fun running around outside. Thanks Erin for the cute pictures!



I am starting to get the hang of having two kids. It was definitely harder in the beginning! I seriously don't know how mothers do it. I guess that's why we have one at a time. (well some of us do!) Now that Benson is a little older he is more content to play on his own. He is a very happy baby as long as he is in your arms. I am really trying to enjoy him being so little because this baby stage is all ready going by so fast! He is almost ready for solid foods. Freedom! I mean that lovingly.

Camping....

Last weekend we went up to where my parents were camping and spent the day. It was a lot of fun. It's not often that my mom gets in the pool with us. Just so you know, the bag that was left home had Christian and my swim suits in it. I normally don't swim in my clothes but I really wanted to get in the water. Luckily there were some spare boxer shorts ( they were brand new!) and my brown under shirt. It looked like I had a load in my pants! I felt so stupid but what do you do. It was HOT!

Jellybean of course loves the water and had fun playing and splashing. Christian and I fight over who gets to hold her in the pool. She is just too cute!

We had yummy hamburgers, salad, and baked beans. I love food when your camping! It just tastes so much better. Well and of course the fact that my mommy made it! I love her!

Thanks for a fun night guys!

9 Months....

While I was in Chicago my little sugar bear turned 9 months old. I haven't had anytime to post these pictures, so here they are finally! I tried to do a quick little photo shoot and it didn't work. I could not get her to look at me. Of course the grass was way more interesting. The picture of her looking she was screaming! Oh well. She is still just as cute from the side view!

Overload Update

July has been a crazy month for our family. I have been in Chicago the last 2 weeks looking for a place to live. We have to be out of our house by the end of July. It's coming so fast! Now that it's down to the end I really don't want to leave. We have such great family and friends here. We love you all so much!!

Hopefully some of you will come visit! There is a ton to do in Chicago. Dirty Dancing starts on Broadway the end of Sep. I can't wait. The shopping is fabulous! My mother in law came last week for 4 days to help me with Jellybean. We hit some good sales! It's so fun because you can walk around for a couple miles and the stores never end!

I have walked so much the last 2 weeks. We rode the trains and walked everywhere we went. My aching feet! It has been so hot and humid there. I don't have hair that works with any of that!

We still are not sure where exactly we are going to live. We want to move out to the suburbs but we haven't found the right house. It is really hard not knowing the areas. It's a big culture shock for us and I want to feel safe. We had a Realtor show us around and that was super helpful.

Hopefully when Chris goes back this next week he will find something.

Here are a couple pictures of us waiting for and riding the train in down town Chicago.

I sold my living room furniture and decided to bring in the patio set. I know it's crazy but what else are we going to sit on? The swing is great indoors. I love to swing and watch t.v.

Who needs a rocking chair when you have this?

This is a picture of the guys hauling away the love seat. That was the first set of furniture
Christian and I purchased together.

I also sold our office furniture. Thanks for your help Alice and Rookie!

We have played many hours of Rock Band at my parents house. I love this game!

Fireworks

We spent the fourth of July with Alice and Rookie. We got some take out from Cafe Rio and headed to watch fireworks. Jellybean was more interested in playing with the grass than anything else. She would pick a handful of grass and then pull each blade one by one. Right before fireworks started the sprinklers turned on. Luckily only the corner of the blanket got wet.

Jellybean and I went swimming with Charlotte & Texi. It has been so hot so we loved cooling off in the water. We also went another time with Shanda, MaLia and Daddy. It was so much fun to see how much Jellybean loves the pool. She would scream and splash and scream some more.

Hope everyone is having a fun summer!