Sweet Bedtime

Right before Lily's first birthday we decided it was time that Lily sleep in her wonderful crib. We have been able to establish crib sleeping routines before, but somehow she has always ended up back in our bed. Don't get me wrong, we loved having her sleep with us, and waking up to her in the morning is so much fun, but with her getting bigger, Mommy and Daddy and baby were not getting the best sleep they could get anymore. So Jeff decided it was time to start fresh and work on getting her back in the crib. As many of you know, Mommy was not a fan of letting her cry herself to sleep. Thankfully, Daddy is a very patient person and was willing to work with our little sweet baby. After a few short nights, the trips to her room in the night went from three to two to one and now none. In the morning when she wakes up, she calls for her dada to come and get her. It is the cutest thing to hear her little voice over the monitor. It makes our hearts melt. Even more than that, we love nighttime before she goes to bed. We all sit on the couch together while she has her ba-ba. When she finishes, she usually crawls up my chest and puts her head on my shoulder and gives me a kiss. After a few snuggles, I pass her over to her dad who snuggles her as he carries her up to bed. Watching that little face on his shoulder as he goes up the stairs makes me get all choked up inside. She is so sweet and cuddly at night. Right before her birthday she started giving us kisses, too. It is so cute! She puckers her lips and makes a "mmmm" sound as she leans in. I love it! Sometimes she will even grab your face and pull it into hers, and then she kisses you and laughs. Getting her little kisses when I wake up in the morning or get home from work is the highlight of my day.

365 Daze

Wow, that went fast. Well, most of it did. Lily is one year old! Last Monday the 21st our baby girl hit a big milestone...she has been with us for 365 days. She is beginning to complain about her crow's feet and graying hair, but we keep telling her that she looks as radiant as the day she was born. Actually, fortunately for all involved, she is much cuter than the day she was born (it's evident that Mom isn't writing this post today, huh?). To celebrate the anniversary of the Bears winning the divisional playoff last year...and Lily's birth...we partied hard twice last week. On Sunday the 20th we met with the Mavros side of the family in Elgin and enjoyed cupcakes and ice cream in honor of Lily turning one. She received awesome gifts from her Aunt Dana (jungle train and animal book), her Uncle Mike (six-sided block puzzle and wind-up jumping frog), and her grandparents (wooden cow pictured below, jeans, and a darling, handmade sweater from Grandma). In related toy news, I am pleased to announce that just this past weekend Lily began walking around the house with the walking lion toy that Grandma and Grandpa gave Lily for Christmas. While it may look funny in ten years if she's still using the plastic lion for support, we are happy with the steps she's taking (pun intended) toward walking right now. Thanks, Grandma and Grandpa! And thanks, Mavros family, for throwing a great party...and loving Lily as much as you have for the past year. She loves you too, and we couldn't have made it this far without you!

The second party of the week was then on Monday night, the 21st. The O'Rourke side of the family, complete with Great Grandma Dorkie and family friend Chris Cushing, came over to our house for pizza, cake, and lots of toys. As you can see from the picture of our window seat full of gifts, Lily was spoiled rotten for the second time in two days. From cute outfits (Mimi's specialty) to an actual baby-sized La-Z-boy style chair from her Aunt Molly, Lily cleaned up in the gifts department. Aunt Molly is known as one of the premier gift-givers in the Great Lakes region, and she did not disappoint for Lily's first birthday. Despite Lily falling asleep in the middle of the party (we think her tummy was hurting from all the pizza she wolfed down), everyone had a fine time celebrating her big day. We thank all of the O'Rourkes and Chris for attending Lily's party and being such a big part of her life. She generally goes happily to others, and we believe much of that has to do with the exposure she gets to so many different people who help us by watching her regularly. In closing, we're sorry it has taken us so long to put something up here on the blog, but it's the result of Katie working lots of nights and weekends and Jeff being too lazy to get off the couch. Regardless, it's a formula that seems to be working because we couldn't love our child any more than we do, and we know so many of you love her too. What a great first year! Who's ready for the second?...

Ice cream cake...yummy.

You can find one of these at www.toddley-toddler.org/sit~toile

Mommy helps Lily eat her birthday cupcake at Grandma Judy's house.

Cool toy, Grandma! Dah-doo (thank you)!

"Did you see my birthday squirrels?"

You think these are enough?

This WAS pizza...but you had to look fast to see it.

Settling in and Doodlebopping

This past Friday, we took Lily to the Coliseum to see characters from one of her favorite morning shows, the Doodlebops. Jeff and I really do not enjoy watching this show, but it really was an enjoyable concert, and I got to meet them all in person. I have to say I was a little star struck seeing the real Doodlebops. I was surprised to see that they were really the same people as on the show! I can't believe I was actually a little excited to see DeeDee Doodle get off the elevator. We watched the show up in a suite with some of my other co-workers and their kids. Lily was by far the most entertained. She danced, shouted, and pointed. She loved it!

Other than that, we haven't had anything else too exciting going on. We are just trying to get settled in our new house. This past Saturday our sectional was delivered, which has made getting settled a whole lot more comfortable. It is so big and cozy. We spent Saturday and Sunday trying to find and claim our favorite spots. Around the house, Jeff has a few more little projects that he wants to do, but nothing too major.

Lily is approaching her 1st Birthday fast! This last month she has changed and learned so much.
She has added a few more words to her list, including: cheese, doggie, hi, pretty, Mama, ball, baby, Daddy, Mimi, Papa, Papoo, Pat, and our favorite, thank you. For the most part, she uses "thank you" in the correct context. She can now make it up the stairs in under a minute and has taught herself how to go down on her belly and get down off the couch the same way. She still loves the movie Meet the Robinsons, and we have not found another movie that will hold her attention as well. In the last few days she has graduated from formula to whole milk, and we are working on weening her from nursing as well. She still wakes up every morning and yells for her dad, but now she thankfully has days when she wants her mama, too.

Very Merry Christmas

Sorry we are so behind on the blogs! I will try to catch everyone up from here.

Lily had a very, very merry first Christmas. On Christmas Eve we went to the O'Rourke's for Christmas Eve dinner with all the extended family. Lily had so much fun entertaining all of her older cousins. On Christmas morning we went back to Mimi and Papa's to open gifts. Lily was overjoyed with each package that she opened. It was the cutest thing to see her little face light up each time she was given a gift. From there we went up to Elgin to see Grandpa and Grandma, Uncle Moks, and Aunt Dana. Once again, Lily had so much fun opening her gifts. Aunt Dana gave her a "band in a box" that keeps her occupied for minutes at a time. As you can see from the picture, Grandpa and Grandma gave Lily a walk around her new lion toy. She isn't walking yet, but the lion is helping! After gifts and playing we went to cousin Elaine's for the Mavros family Christmas. Lily had so much fun playing with her great-aunts and uncles and cousins.

Overall, we had a really great time with all of our family. It was so nice to visit with everyone and be with them on Christmas! Lily thanks all of you for her great presents. She really and truly has enjoyed playing with all of them!

All the cousins

all cousins including the moms

Pure Excitement over one of her presents!

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.