10 months

One more month has come and gone in the blink of an eye.  How is it almost May?  Seriously!

Likes: Sleeping on my tummy with my butt up in the air, eating all sorts of yummy foods (turkey, cheese, black beans, mixed veggies, avocado, potatoes, pad thai, etc.), standing up and looking out the window, climbing up the stairs, giggling (I think I'm pretty darn funny), walking all over with the assistance of my walker

Dislikes: Falling down, people eating in front of me and not letting me have some. Yep, that's it. I'm a happy, happy camper.

There's nothing quite like summer in the Windy City

This past weekend, Chicago got a reminder of what summer in the city is like.  Perfection, that is. Mother Nature gave Chicagoan's a little tease of warm weather before a blast of cold air and snow again on Monday.  We were lucky enough to get there just in time for the beautiful weather and split town before the cold. We met my parents in Chicago for a long weekend so that they could play with and snuggle and hug and kiss Lilly for 3 days straight. We rented an adorable little walk up in Old Town.  Now that we've been Chicagoan's, the idea of staying 'downtown' isn't as exciting as it once was.  Staying in one of our favorite neighborhood's, amongst singles and families, alike, going about their daily routines? Now, THAT is exciting.  We were able to walk everywhere all weekend (except for one little trip a couple of miles west to Carly's for a Master's party!) and made sure to hit up a few of our favorite ol' stomping grounds.  Grandparents (aka best babysitters ever) helped make that possible.  We ordered sushi delivery (just can't get great sushi in STL...) and stayed in Thursday night. Corey and I worked all day Friday and then we all met some friends at Ranalli's (#1 of the ol' go-to's).  On Saturday, we enjoyed a visit from my college friends Shelley and Betsy and then got to meet our friends', Will and Karen, two week old baby girl Ellie.  Saturday afternoon was filled with Troy friends and a Master's golf themed party followed by alfresco dinner at Orso's (ol' stomping grounds #2) and then karaoke with Luis at Four Farthings (ol' stomping grounds #3) before calling it a (very long day and) night.  We hit the road early Sunday with our rockstar road-trip buddy in hand.  Another fabulous weekend in Chicago is in the books!

Our adorable little walk-up, The Biddle House

#history

Helping Mommy and Daddy work

Lilly with Justin and (his) Carly

Corey and Carter (college roommates) with their kiddos, Lilly (10mo) and Henry (5mo)

Lilly with Katie and Carly at the Master's party

Matt's turn at the putt competition

Decorations compliments of Timmy's students

Pimento sandwiches, "a Master's tradition"

Katie's turn! (nice green jacket!)

Dinner at Orso's with Paul, Justin, Carly and (not pictured) Melissa and Matt

75% of the way to ONE!

Lill turned 9 months while we were on vacation in Phoenix (hence, the delayed post). She's crawling all over, pulling herself up to standing and loves walking (assisted, of course). She's started using a sippy cup, and enjoys pulling all of her toys out of the toy baskets and eating books. At her 9 month check up, we got the go ahead to feed her whatever we're eating (with a few restrictions, of course!).  No more making of pureed baby foods!

She is 28.75 inches tall (90th percentile), 22 lbs and 4 oz (95th percentile) and 99th for head size as usual.

Likes: Clapping, when mommy and/or daddy come home (smiles, clapping and leg kicking ensues!), making a silly scrunchy nose face, sucking my thumb and burrowing my head into your chest when I'm ready to sleep, sleeping in the stroller, eating puffs, playing with things in Tyler's toy basket, watching my cousin Carter

Dislikes: The snot-sucker/having my nose wiped, sleeping in the pack n' play

Why oh why are deserts dry?

Bedtime stories with Nicholas

Come March, I'm always itching for some warmer weather and sunshine. After this winter, the itch came a bit sooner. This winter has been one of the worst in history. I can't really complain, though, as I know my friends and family in Chicago and Michigan have had it much worse.  That being said, we were very much looking forward to our vacation we had planned for March.  (It's no coincidence that our vacation overlapped with the opening weekend of March Madness that Corey always takes off of work for anyways).  When the question came up as to where we'd go, it was a bit of a no-brainer.  Have you ever been to Phoenix in March?  It's pretty much perfection as we realized back in 2009 when we first visited our friends Andy and Andrea. Beautiful weather and great friends? What more could you want?

We stayed in a hotel the first few nights and then spent the last 4 as house guests with our friends and their adorable one and a half year old son, Nicholas.  They live in the cutest little historic district in central Phoenix with everything you could need within walking distance (which basically constitutes a perfect location in my opinion).  We loved getting to spend a few days in the life of the Stone's; walking their streets, eating at their favorite spots (most of which are owned by the same people who are geniuses in my book) and meeting some of their friends.  Some favorites included brunch at Windsor (named for the neighborhood), dinner at Joyride Taco House, ice cream at Churn and happy hour at my absolute fave, Postino.

Our first visit to Postino back in 2009 with Andrea and Andy.  $5 glasses of wine, delicious and fun bruchetta and the open air.  What's not to love?!

We also tried a 'mommy and me' yoga class and visited the train park in Scottsdale as well as the Phoenix Children museum.  Unfortunately, our museum visit was cut very short as Lilly came down with a high fever and was not in a playful mood :-( We also had an adults night out which meant our first non-family babysitter. Corey and I were a little nervous but Andy and Andrea put us at ease and ensured Lilly was in great hands.
They weren't lying.  I basically wanted to pack their two sweet neighbor girls in our suitcase and bring them home to STL with us.

I think she looks just like me when I was her age in this one :-)

Bathtime

Riding on the choo choo at the train park

Just LOVE these bougainvilleas which were all over!

Lilly's first trip to the desert was filled with firsts - first flight, first swim in an outdoor pool, first hike, first trip to the zoo and first March Madness just to name a few. I see many trips to Phoenix in her future.

My first note to the babysitters.  Actually, make that second as I had to throw away my first attempt that was just a disaster.

March Birthdays

I'm a sucker for St. Patrick's Day.  I'm not Irish nor am I a leprechaun but my brother's birthday is March 17th and my mom's is the day before.  My brother and I are also ones for tradition.  As such, I clearly couldn't go a year without a corned beef and cabbage day spent with family.

The spread was slacking in comparison to last year, but I think it's safe to say that we all had a great time.  Kyle and Meredith and the kiddos came by, as did Jimmy and Bootsie as well as Corey's Uncle Mike and Aunt Joan.  We watched my beloved Spartans beat the Badgers to get to the finals in the B1G tournament, played with all the kiddos and enjoyed a nice dinner together with some laughter and some craziness that comes along with three kids under 3. For the second year in a row I did not have enough leftovers that Corey desired.  We'll probably be having some corned beef and cabbage in April to make up for it...

The Big 6-0

March 16th was a milestone birthday for my mom.  The big 6-0!  I wanted to do something special for her. What do you get the gal who has everything or at least avoid just getting her something for the sake of getting her something.  She deserves the world.  I just needed to figure out how to come reasonably close to that. Unfortunately, a surprise trip home for Lill to surprise her Grandma on the big day was not going to be an option this year.  

Then I came across an idea on Pinterest that was just what I was looking for.  Sixty envelope's filled with notes and pictures from friends and family that love her dearly and want her to know that they're thinking of her on her birthday.  "60 Year's of Memories", it was called.  And so the project began... 

I sent an email and some facebook messages and then I waited.  The notes, memories and pictures started to show up.  Corey was excited for my arrival home from work each night to see my face light up when I had 'snail mail' and to see the project come to life. The evening before her actual birthday we Skype'd for the big reveal.  An hour and a couple of glasses of wine later, her response..."Best. Birthday. Ever....Best. Gift. Ever".  No Mom, you're the best gift ever.  We're so proud to call you ours.  Love you more.