Baby It's Cold Outside

All Bundled Up!

Here is Lil waiting for her daddy to pull the car around after the last PrairieThunder Hockey game. The team photographer snapped this shot when I set her down so I could get my coat and hat on too.

I love her in her winter get-up!

1201 on 12/01

This past Saturday, 12/01, we made the slow and icy move over to our new house. Thankfully, we had plenty of wonderful friends on hand to make the transition a little less slippery. The weatherman predicted that we would have an ice storm starting around 9:oo a.m., and of course we had planned to have our friends arrive at that same time. So we got up and got the U-haul at 7:00 a.m. and tried to start getting as much done as possible before the ice hit. Lily and the boys were dropped off at Mimi and Papa's house at 7:00 so that they would not have to be part of the chaos. Just like the weather man predicted, the ice started exactly at 9:00 a.m. Everyone went into full gear and worked so hard to get everything out of the house and into the garage as fast and safely as possible. Uncle Patrick went and salted both houses, making the load in and load out areas a little smoother, however the road between the two houses was another story. The salt trucks were not as fast as Patrick and our little U-haul almost got stuck going up the hill on Vernon Street several times. Luckily, there were no major injuries from the move or the ice, only sore and tired men and ladies. Thank you so much to all you boys (and sister) that helped us. We definitely would not have been able to do it without you!

We are now completely out of 1110 and over to 1201. On Sunday, Jeff and I went to Fell to do some last minute cleaning before handing over the keys. I had no idea how emotional it would be for me leave that house. As I was scrubbing the bathroom floor I started to well up thinking about all the wonderful memories we have made in that house. Our first date, our wedding, bringing home our little baby. Even that bathroom was very sentimental to me. I found out I was pregnant while standing in that bathroom and I figured out I was in labor while standing in that bathroom. So I had a little cry while scrubbing that bathroom floor for the last time. We are so proud of that house and all the work we have done to it. It will always have a special place in our hearts as it wasn't just our first house, it was our first home. I am looking forward to making many new memories in our new house as we watch our family grow. I know that soon we will love it as much as we have loved 1110...and soon 1201 will feel just like home.

before and after pictures coming soon!

Thankful Indeed

This is perhaps the easiest post to publish since Lily was born. This submission is simply, in the spirit of the season, an outlet for us to be thankful for everything we have. While we too often focus on the things--and they're always things--we don't yet have, this time of year is special because of the way it forces us to turn our attention toward the good in our lives and just how incredibly fortunate we are to live how we do.

First we'd like to say thank you to our parents. Both the local and Chicago-based set are exceptionally loving and generous, and we couldn't be happier for Lily to have such caring grandparents. Some days it's hard to tell if we or they love the little one more. Thanks, P's, for all you do for us. Please know that we appreciate everything and love you very much!

Secondly, a big thank you goes to our siblings. Like our parents, they have loved Lily as if she were their own child, and we feel very fortunate to have brothers and sisters (and those in-law) who we consider friends as well as relatives.

Next, we are blessed with genuine friends who support us each and every day. If you're reading this blog, you're almost certainly someone we value greatly (or you're some computer hacker attempting to steal our identity online). Seriously, thank you for being part of our lives. The number and diversity of those who check this blog fairly regularly is indicative, at least to us, of the quality of people around whom we've surrounded ourselves, and it makes us feel good.

At the risk of sounding a bit too sappy, we wanted to write something to just say thanks this time of year. And we are obviously thankful for the health and welfare of our little family too. We hope you all had a great Thanksgiving, and we look forward to seeing you all soon on Valentine Drive!

Snuggling Time

Waking up with Lily is one of the best things in the whole world. She is so cute and funny when she first gets up in the morning. Anywhere between 3:30 a.m.-5:30 a.m. we hear our little booger stir and bring her in to sleep the rest of the morning with us. When she finally decides to get us up for the day, she first rolls around with her eyes closed and babbles a little and then sits up so she can whack her dad on his back and wake him up. She always gets him up first. If he is already up and out of bed, she crawls on top of me so she can look out the bedroom door to see if he is done showering in the bathroom. She yells for him and waits for his response. Usually, the bathroom door swings open and his face lights up and then she giggles. Then we turn on the Disney channel to watch her favorite morning shows. Her arms flap up and down once she sees Mickey's face on the screen. Such a silly happy child.

Meet the Robinsons

Sweater and hat, lovingly made by Jo Porter

Lily is quite the character these days and is getting into everything. She is always on the move, and it is hard to slow her down. Nothing keeps her attention for long and because she is not much of a napper, entertaining her all day can become exhausting. Luckily, we have found something that will keep our wild woman seemingly sedated for a few minutes. She absolutely loves the Disney movie Meet the Robinsons. We have owned the movie for about two weeks, and she still loves it day and night. Today I really needed to get some work done so I thought I would try out Finding Nemo instead, and she didn't even take a second glance. The minute I put Meet the Robinsons on, she didn't move a single inch for about 15 minutes. Thank you, Disney!

Other Lily developments would include the emergence of four teeth, crawling at the speed of light, pulling up on everything, laughing when other people laugh, and being strong as an ox. She loves to eat Cheerios by the Lily handfuls. She talks all day long. She tells stories and says "uh-oh" every chance she gets. PrairieThunder hockey games have become her new favorite pastime. Every time the Zamboni comes out, she goes crazy and gives it her beauty queen wave. Jeff and I couldn't be happier that she enjoys the games so much. Jeff gets to see the games, and I get to see my baby while I am at work.

Over the past couple weekends we have been packing up our house here and there in preparation for the big move right after Thanksgiving. We close on our new house November 26th and will move all our big furniture the following weekend. We purchased all the paint this past Sunday, which Jeff will be throwing up on the walls before we move. Thankfully, his dad has generously volunteered to come down and help him paint that week. We are so excited to get in there! I can't wait for everyone to see it too!

Trick and Treats

Lily had so much fun on her very first Halloween. She made a quick stop at the home of neighborhood friends, then continued on to both of her babysitters' houses, the Seibrings' house, and her cousin Alexander's. At Alex's house, she encountered her first Halloween scare when she saw her great-grandma Dorkie in full costume. Dorkie took her beautiful mask off to try and reassure Lily, but it didn't help much. Aunt Molly swooped in and saved the day though, cuddling Lily until she recognized Dorkie and gave a big smile. Lily was a trooper in her big, fluffy costume all night and seemed--for the most part--untroubled as we took her in and out of the car several times. Most of the time I took her out of the costume completely, but on our short trip to our neighbors' house a block away, I kept it on, and as you can see from the photo, she wasn't too happy. After showing all of our friends her tricks, Lily was treated to a nice bath and new jammies at her final stop at Grandma O'Rourke's. Grandma O'Rourke had bought a really neat blow up ducky tub--that actually quacks--just for the occasion. The tubby was just what Lily needed, and once she had her cute jams on she was ready to go. In fact, she was a wild woman! She bounced around the walls as though she had consumed a whole bucket of Halloween candy, despite having none at all. Lucky for us, she settled down a little at home, and soon after she had a bottle--her only real treat on Halloween--she crashed for the night. So ended a very successful first Halloween experience for our little, pink poodle!

Lily had so much fun visiting some of her favorite people!

Boosta Boosta Nicky Nicky....and Dana

Lily in her magenta cloth diaper

Yesterday morning at about 5:00 a.m. we heard Lily waking up in her room. We brought her in with us and decided to change her diaper. In all the commotion we ended up with a Lily and a Buster snuggling with us in our bed. The snuggling didn't last long, as Lily and Buster were soon playing together. We were talking to Lily about Buster when suddenly she blurted out "Boosta, Boosta." We thought it might have been a fluke, but again this morning as our entire family was warm in bed, Lily woke up with a smile and the first thing she said, upon seeing her furry companion, was "Boosta." I don't know if that counts as a first word or not, but she definitely knows Buster. If she hears his name, she stops whatever she's doing and looks for him. They are best friends, for sure. They sit and look out the front door together, share toys, and Buster always tries to snuggle with her when we are holding her on the couch. So it was only a matter of time until she called out her best friend's name.

Just yesterday, Lily enjoyed a visit from her aunt Dana. Lily treated Aunt Dana like she treated Uncle Mike during his visit a couple of weeks ago. After a minute of scrutiny, Lily warmed to her and the two were like long, lost friends. A huge, two-toothed smile set the tone for the rest of their day together, as Dana played with Lily while Mommy and Daddy went to a wedding. Even though Aunt Dana had to make a quick return to the city for a party last night, she and Lily reconnected, and Lily is looking very forward to her next visit from her aunt.

Recently, Lily has had wonderful visits from two different Nicks. One from Grandpa Nick when he and Grandma Judy visited and the other last night from her 6-year-old cousin Nicky. As you can see from the pictures, she had a wonderful time with both of them.

Homecoming Babies

This past weekend was IWU's homecoming. Lily and I had so much fun visiting with all my friends that came back for the weekend. Tara, D, Lily and I had lunch with our very best running friend G and her beautiful baby Ron. Our other IWU friend, Shannon, and her cutie patootie, Abe, joined us as well. It was a wild lunch with the mom's eating as fast as we could so that we could keep an eye on our little monsters. After lunch, we had a mommy parade down to the game. President Wilson loved all three of us standing there with our strollers so much that he went and grabbed Tommy Titan and the IWU photographer to get a picture of all of us. Maybe we will be in the next alumni magazine! During the game some of my very special friends that were seniors when I was a freshman came over to meet Lily. It was so nice to see Mish, Mary, Kristy, and Angie. Lily loved Mish! They chatted for quite awhile. Lily was also in love with Katie Elwood. She sang a little song while Katie walked her around. We had so much fun seeing all of our friends and I was happy they finally got to meet Lil in person. After the game, we stopped by Tommy's with daddy and visited some of his friends from school. Lily, of course, put on a show and tried to get everyone's attention. Luckily, it was loud enough in there that her yelling didn't seem to bother anyone. After Tommy's, Lily went to Grandma and Grandpa O'Rourke's for a nice relaxing evening while dad went to the local bars for alumni duties and mom went to the Coliseum to work the Bob Dylan concert.

Sunday we had a wonderful visit from Grandpa Nick and Grandma Judy. Lily showed off her crawling skills and her new teeth. As of this morning, she now has a total of four showing through. She has two on the bottom and two just now poking through on the top. She also showed them her waving, clapping, and how she says "hi dada." She was not in the mood to play peek-a-boo.

This week has marked our first week in cloth diapering. Lily looks so cute with her booty all padded with a cloth dipey. Last Friday we met with a woman in town that sells cloth diapers and does free consultations. I had researched all the benefits, pros and cons, and tried to understand all the different types, but to look at them on the Internet was overwhelming. Luckily, Sarah was very informative and seeing the diapers in person made it all so much easier to grasp and understand. With both of us working, I knew we would need a diaper that would be easy and convenient for our lifestyle and for our babysitters. We talked it all over and decided to take the plunge. We purchased all-in-one diapers and the name says it all. The diapers are all one piece and have velcro as the latching mechanism. Once soiled you just throw the whole thing (minus any solid) in the diaper pale. So far so good. We have had a few leakage issues, but part of that problem can be attributed to our squirmy child that does not sit still for any diaper change. The washing has been easy as well. The diaper pale liner is made out of the same material as the diapers and goes in the wash with them so I never have to touch the diapers at all. I just dump them in and throw the bag in as well. Pretty easy so far. Lily is a lucky baby cruising around in those soft and cushy diapers.

SOLD

Soon to be Mavros Family's Home

Family room with wood burning fireplace

Front family/living room

another view

another angle

Kitchen

nursery
Kids Bath
bedroom

Spacious backyard

kid's playroom in basement
kid's fort in basement

another play area/family room in basement

We sold our house! So we will be making the big move right after Thanksgiving and couldn't be happier. Here are a few pictures of the new house. Unfortunately, our computer has been on the fritz so I wasn't able to load all the pictures I wanted. In addition to these pictures, you missed our master bedroom and bathroom as well as more of the open kitchen and eating area. I can't wait for everyone to come over and visit!