More SKP pictures!

I waited up way past my bedtime last night to see the proofs from the awesome photo session we had with Summer Knobloch. They turned out so cute and we couldn't be happier with the results. Above are just a few of the great shots she got of our family. The one and only thing that could have gone better would have been if Lily would have been in the mood to smile. Instead, she was way more interested in Summer's cool camera and would have rather helped her take the pictures than be in them herself. Our whole gallery is on her website right now and if you would like to see more please let me know and I will send you the password.

Thanks again Summer, for capturing our little family of 3 before we add one more! I can't wait for our newborn session, which will be here in no time!

www.summerknoblochphotography.com

Crafting for Play

I would say I am an artsy person, but I am definitely not so crafty. Thankfully, my mother-in-law is very much the crafty person because I have being dying to learn how to make play food out of felt. Not only is the felt food very cute, but it also is better than buying plastic food and cheaper than buying the wood play food. So I have had my eye on the fun felt food on Etsy.com and on Lily Bean Market, but it gets a little pricey so I figured I would take a go at making some myself. I am glad I had Judy there to guide me through my first efforts, as I would have been a little lost without her. We ended up making these cute little strawberries that I got a pattern for from Bugga Bugs on Esty. Now I am working on little sugar cookies with pink frosting and beads for sprinkles. I hope Lily has as much fun playing with them as we did making them!

Summer of Fun!

Here a few images from our wonderful session with Summer Knobloch this past weekend. We had so much fun with her and she was so great and easy to work with! She will be coming back to take some newborn pictures when little #2 gets here in a few weeks. She is so talented and we are so excited to see the rest of the proofs from this session. Check out more of Summer's fabulous photography at SKP blog.

Our Sweet Little Baby

Here are a few pictures I captured of Lily in her most precious state, asleep. I love watching her sleep and listening to her breath. I am pretty much always watching her, but being near her when she sleeps is my favorite. When we first moved her to her crib from sharing our bed, I remember crying in the middle of the night because I missed her so much. Months have passed since that time, and I still wake up in the night hoping to hear her make a noise over the monitor. Some nights, like last night, she ends up in our bed, and while it can end up being an uncomfortable night of sleep, I cherish it. When Jeff brings her in and sets her on the bed she crawls right over to me and snuggles in...and then flops around several times. I am usually the lucky one that gets the less floppy end of her in the bed. Unfortunately for Jeff, he ends up getting a heel in the head or the ribs or a whack across the face. Poor Daddy. She apparently needs to be touching both of us, but is not very gentle in going about it. When I become uncomfortable and have to turn my back on her to get my big belly and hips some pain relief I usually end up with two little hands on my side pulling me back around. I always give in and turn back around to cuddle. How could I not when she is pulling and saying, "Mama?" Finally, the best part of sharing the bed with our wild sleeper is the morning. As she always has, she crawls over to her "Da Dee" first and wakes him up. Then she looks at him and says, "Baba? Okay!" Daddy goes down and gets her a baba and then we all snuggle a little more until she is finished. After her thirst is quenched, bright and cheery, her day begins...and she doesn't stop talking or smiling from there. She is endless and constant entertainment, awake or asleep, and I couldn't love her more if I tried.

Up North after the 4th

On Sunday we traveled to Elgin to visit with Jeff's side of the family. Lily, as always, put on a show and dazzled everyone with all her new tricks. She had lots of fun making pirate faces at Uncle Moks and Papou and enjoyed snuggling on the couch with Grandma and Aunt Dana. It was a beautiful day and we all enjoyed the sun and playing outside too. Per usual, Lily did not want to miss any of the fun and stayed up way past her bedtime. Luckily, she did sleep pretty well and was very excited about her trip into the city to Lincoln Park Zoo.

Lily filling in as the "O" and making her "O" face.

Very excited about the puppies (camels)


Making her pirate face, which doubles as a tiger face when tigers are in the vicinity.


The first animals that really captured Lily's attention were the two-humped camels. She was amazed! Then she cheered for the polar bears as they swam around in their pool. Next she was in awe of the giraffe. She just stared at him as he ate from a tree. She also enjoyed the ape that was lounging right next to the observation window. I think she thought he was cute, and she shared with us that he had gone "nigh-night." It was a quick trip, but it was also a lot of fun and we look forward to many more in the future.

Red, White, and Lily

Lily had a fun-filled 4th of July playing in the pool. Mom and Dad enjoyed all the help from Lily's cousin Tess. Tess can always make Lily crack up, and she did not disappoint on this occasion. She had Lily giggling multiple times throughout the day. In fact, Lily was so exhausted from laughing with her family that she crashed for a nice nap at 5:30 p.m. and only got up just in time to cheer for the fireworks.