Play Date at Maria's

Some of the kids!
Some of the moms!

The Monday after Christmas my roommate from college, Maria, had a bunch of girls and their kids over for a breakfast get together. As you can see, there were so many kids but amazingly enough, we only had minor crying spells and it took over 2 hours together for even one tear to be shed! It was nice for the boys to have new friends to play with, new toys to explore and it was nice for me to catch up with some girls I haven't seen in a long time and have a delicious breakfast! Winter vacation has its perks!

Christmas Fever 2009

Inside the stocking

Checking out his new toothbrush

Showing off their new Handy Manny and Cars figures

Luke's all time favorite gift-a vacuum

Happy about the Elmo police lego set

Well, some things about Christmas this year were what I anticipated they would be...leaving out milk and cookies for Santa and carrots for the reindeer, discovering that Santa had come and left gifts, and the pure excitement of the new toys that were left by Santa. However, what I didn't anticipate was Luke having a fever around 102 for 4 days (including X-mas Eve and day) and just having an overall miserable little boy for all of this time.

It turns out he had an ear infection but since it was the holidays, I didn't have the opportunity to take him to the doctor until day #4 of this. It was very tough trying to enjoy Chase and all of his excitement (and boy, was he excited) with Luke wimpering and crying for me at every moment. He absolutely only wanted me which made it hard for everyone. He is finally acting more like himself again, although he now wants me to hold him all of the time... I'm hoping next year might be a bit more "merry" and allow us to see everyone in our family since we didn't get to this year.

DuPage Children's Museum

Chase, Reese and Luke on the way to the museum

Banging the drums

Building with the train set

Peek-a-boo!

Reese and Luke at the water table

The Tuesday before Christmas my friend Kim and her daughter Reese headed out to the Children's museum for a morning of fun. The kids had a great time playing and Kim and I actually had a few minutes to talk. What fun!

Our Snowman

Blake, Chase and Luke decided to go into the backyard and build a snowman on Sunday. Although there wasn't much snow, they came out with a pretty good product. Blake did most of the work but being outside in the snow is too much fun to stay focused on rolling a ball!

Robyn and Brian's Wedding

Walking down the aisle
What a proud smile!

Waiting for Robyn to walk down the aisle

Uncle Bob and Robyn (isn't she beautiful!)

The happily married couple!

Entering the reception wearing his ring bearer gift, a Black Hawks jersey

Chase and his "girlfriend" dancing almost the entire night

Mom and her dancing machine son

Yes, he caught the garter...for some reason I can fast forward 20 years in my mind and probably see a picture similar to this one!

Robyn and Chase

Well, he actually did it, he walked down the aisle! This wedding was so much fun because I got to watch my cousin marry someone who truly seems suited for her and Chase was able to really show his 3 year old colors!

The pictures tell the story of the evening. Most of the afternoon and evening were consumed by the two flower girls, who Chase is still asking about now. They were such sweet girls and connected wonderfully with Chase. The danced all night, I couldn't even cut in for a dance with him! My dad was able to come and I think he had a good time even though I knew he was still pretty upset about my grandpa. It definitely wasn't a "party" wedding for Blake and I, but it was a great night that I'll never forget!

The Rehearsal Dinner

Chase and his "girlfriends" practicing their walk down the aisle

My cousin Robyn got married on Saturday, December 19th and Chase was asked to be in the wedding. At first we doubted there would be any sucess with the walk down the aisle but we constantly talked about it, read a book about it and even attempted a practice walk in the family room. Apparently the pracice paid off because Chase did great at the rehearsal. He was totally excited about the two flower girls in the wedding and that was all the motivation that he needed.

The evening was great until dinner. My grandpa (my dad's dad) has low blood pressure and passed out. It was scary, the ambulance had to come and he actually stayed over night at the hospital. He wasn't able to make it to the wedding or reception the next day, and they had traveled such a long way to be there. The biggest disappointment was that they could fine nothing "wrong" with him and there really isn't much they do about low blood pressure. He is doing fine and hasn't had an episode since...hopefully he won't have another.

Preschool Holiday Party

Chase and Anthony
Singing holiday songs

Right before winter vacation, Chase had a holiday party at preschool that Blake and I both went to. We were able to have a feast with delicious treats and then the kids sang 3 different songs with their bells for the parents. It is so much fun to see Chase in a different environment where he is used to doing things without me. He seems to be a pretty good listener which makes us very happy. It was fun and so cute!

Polar Express 2009

Standing in front of the train
Waiting for Santa (can you see the hot chocolate on Luke's face!)

Here is Santa

Mrs. Claus and Santa greeting all of the kids

Santa talking to the boys

A few weeks ago we went on the Polar Express train with Aunt Dana, Casey and Cassi. This is our 3rd year going on the train and it has become one of my favorite Christmas traditions. They serve hot chocolate and cookies on the ride to the North Pole. We also sing Christmas carols which is a lot of fun.

Both boys were excited to see Santa and neither was scared. Chase let Santa know that he wanted "The Hulk" for Christmas and each boy got a bell from Santa. I can hardly wait for next year!

Cookie Baking

The grandmas and the grandkids
Mixing the ingredients

Rolling the dough into balls

Chef Luke

Waiting for the cookies to bake

Yummy!

This weekend we had my mom, Blake's mom, Dana, Casey, and Cassi over for a little holiday cookie baking. It was somewhat of a last minute decision so there really weren't that many cookies baked, although my mom did make a lot! The kids had a lot of fun making the cookies and actually did surprisingly well taking turns and being patient. It was a nice, laid back thing to do with the kids and I think everyone enjoyed themselves. Plus, now we don't have to search the house for a "special treat" after dinner for a few nights!

Preschool Thanksgiving Feast!

Got to love the turkey hat!

On Tuesday Chase had a Thanksgiving Feast at school. Blake and I both went and it was really cute. The kids sang some songs about fall and turkeys and then they had a feast of yummy treats. Chase was out of sorts because he didn't know that I was coming so there were a lot of tears for the 30 minutes that we were there. Oh well, at least we got to see him sing, he chose not to enjoy the feast!

Bye-Bye Grandpa!

Chase & Grandpa
Luke & Grandpa

Well, my dad decided that he was finished living in the crazy house and went back to Michigan on Sunday. Since August, things have been a whirlwind with my dad and I am happy and relieved that he is able to go home and live on his own again. Although he is doing great, he still has a long road of speech therapy and relearning somethings but all in all, this miracle that he has been given is certainly that, a miracle.

He is very concerned about all of the medical bills that have been adding up and wants to get back to work right away. The people that he works for are amazing and have saved his job for him. They are helping him go back slowly, only working 2-3 hours/day to get back in the groove and feel comfortable with his responsibilities. I know that they will help him anyway that they can.

We're looking forward to his visit in December when my cousin gets married! Chase has asked several times when Grandpa is coming home...I'm sure he'll get it one day but it may take a visit up to Michigan for him to fully understand that he is home!

Casey & Cassi Turn 5!

Happy Birthday Casey & Cassi!
Daddy & Luke

Mom & the boys

Mom & Luke

On November 9, our niece and nephew turned 5, we can hardly believe it! They had a great party at Pump It Up which is a place that has a bunch of "jumping things" for the kids to play in. Obviously a good time was had by all, including the adults!

Fevers and Dust

Grandpa, Chase & Luke working on the floor
Carpenter Chase

Pulling up the kitchen floor

Our house has been chaos this week. Last Saturday Chase woke up from his nap with a fever. It lasted for 2 days, a cold hit, the fever came back and now we are home again for yet another day this week. He seems to be doing better, I just hope he can kick this cough, cold and fever before Luke gets it.

We also have started the next phase of dust at our house by tearing up the linoliem and tile flooring so that we can put down the wood floors that we want. It is a major project, moving of cabinets and appliances and putting another layer of dust on EVERYTHING that is in our house, even upstairs. I almost feel like giving up but I know when all is said and done, the house will feel more like our home and we'll love it. I could definitely do without the construction zone home but we asked for it.