Grass Stains

Finally, after days of cold and icky weather we had a nice weekend. On Saturday, Daddy went to Naperville to play volleyball with his buddies, leaving Lily and I to play. In the morning, Ciarra was so nice to come over and watch Lily while I went to pilates with Mimi. After pilates, Ciarra, Lily, and I made our way to downtown Bloomington for the first farmer's market of the summer. Unfortunately, Lily was not really in the mood to check out the local goods, so our trip did not last long. Not surprisingly, she fell asleep in the car on the way home. We dropped Ciarra off and I headed straight for Mimi and Papa's hoping that Lily would continue her slumber long enough for me to relax in the sun for a few minutes. Thankfully, I got her inside and on the family room couch and I got changed and out in the sun very quickly. It was the first day that I really got to enjoy their new pool. It was so nice! Lily took a long nap and I floated in the pool with Mimi. After her nap she came out and enjoyed the pool as well. She thoroughly enjoyed sitting on the pool deck and pulling helicopters out of the trap. After swimming, Lily sat inside with Papa and watched the Cubs game while I was able to continue to enjoy the sun. Thanks, Papa!

Sunday was not a day of rest at our house. After a few morning errands, Jeff got to work on mowing the grass, trimming bushes and trees, and cleaning gutters. Inside, Lily and I played and made lunch. After lunch we went outside and played in the backyard (pictured above). She loved it. She especially loved playing with and breaking sticks. As you can see, Buster wanted to share sticks with her as well.

It wasn't the easiest weekend with Lily, as she is getting more teeth. She was in a fairly good mood for most of the time, but she definitely had her moments...including a premature departure from the farmer's market and one from meeting Chris, Beni, and Olivia for ice cream last night. It has also made her bed time a lot later, as she is fighting off going to bed. She did sleep pretty well last night, minus her short time with us at 3:30 a.m. for more Tylenol and some TLC. When she returned to bed, she stayed there until 7:30 a.m., which was great. Hopefully, the pain from those new teeth will go away soon. She now has four top front teeth and will have four bottom front teeth by the end of the week and two molars popping through in the back.

BABY UPDATE:

Nothing new to report. I am 23 weeks along, feeling good, looking bigger, and on track for my due date. No name for her yet, but I think we are getting closer. :)

Fun with Friends

Lily and Keaton



Face she always makes when camera comes out

Watching Dada mow the yard

Wanting to play with the camera

Our first trip away....too bad our only picture was blurry

Jill coming down the stairs with her dad

Harp and Jill....so cute!

The groomsmen in their cool glasses

Haeff exhibits The Summer Look

Judy dancing with Mohawk Man

As you can see, Lily and Keaton have a great time together fighting over...I mean, sharing, toys. In the past week Lily has made close friends with both Keaton and Dalton by laying big kisses on them when they have played together. Last night we all met at Shirk for our Wee Swim class, but unfortunately the water was way too cold for the babies and the baby mamas. So we moved the class to Mimi and Papa's pool. Papa had the heat turned up, and it turned out to be a lot of fun. The Shirk pool is always a good time, but it was nice to not have blue lips for once. When the kids were done swimming, my family helped us by making an assembly line to get the kiddos out of the pool and into the house to get warmed up and jammied for the night. It was so cute to have them all bundled up in blankets and towels. Hopefully, the weather outside will start to cooperate soon so we can take the kids swimming again...minus the goose bumps that followed.

At the end of April Jeff and I had our first trip away from Lillers. Lily stayed the weekend at Mimi and Papa's while Jeff, Judy, Nick, and I went to Ft. Myers for Harp's wedding. The wedding was on Friday night and we had all day on Saturday at the beach with all our friends. While I did miss Lily, it was nice to be able to enjoy the beautiful weather and beach. The wedding was great. The weather was perfect, and the wedding was totally Jill and Harp. From the beach to the sunglasses to the music and the reception, it was totally them. I loved it.
Thanks for getting married in such a beautiful place!

BABY UPDATE:
I am now 22 weeks along and still feeling good. I had another sonogram this week so they could get a good picture of the spine because she wasn't in the right position for one the first time. Luckily, this time she was in the perfect spot and everything checked out great. She did spin around so we could see her little mouth and nose pop out. Just like her sister, she quickly put her hands up to her mouth like a little boxer. So we didn't get a good picture. After the sono I had my regular check-up and I checked out fine as well. Right as Dr. Thorton asked me if the baby was kicking and moving a lot, the baby decided to show her by kicking the Doppler she had placed on my belly to hear her heartbeat. I think this baby kicks more than Lily did, which is hard to imagine.

Also, thank you to everyone who voted on our name poll. At this point, we haven't really made any firm decisions on this one's name. We go back and forth on a few and then we add one here and there. So we will see what happens. She may just have to be named after she arrives. I can't wait to see her!

Fun Pics

Ready for 80 degree weather!

Wild woman!
Can't wait to get outside and play

PROM NIGHT

These are old, but I couldn't resist. We encounter messes like this on almost a daily basis.

Pink or Blue

Baby #2 is looking great and healthy. We went in for my 18-week sono last week and got to see the little one moving around. Everything was in working order, and I am still on target for my due date in September. My belly is definitely starting to protrude, and my belly button has popped out. I would say that at 20 weeks with Lily I was definitely not this much out there. I am feeling good and my appetite has strongly increased. Baby is kicking all the time, much like his/her sister did, and Jeff was able to feel some little kicks a few weeks ago.


This past weekend we purchased a trailer to attach to the back of Jeff's bike so the family could enjoy some bike rides in this nice weather. Lily seemed to enjoy the ride and even fell asleep.

Lily is really starting to seem like a toddler these days. She "talks" non-stop and seems to learn something new everyday. She has a lot of personality and really enjoys hamming it up for everyone. She loves to listen to music and dance, can't wait to dip anything (mostly her hands) in ketchup, and loves doing anything that might wear her parents out. She goes down for bed so well now and typically sleeps through night and wakes up happy as can be. We are so lucky to have such an easy going kid. Hopefully, the introduction of the new little one won't change her good natured behavior too much :)


Oh, yeah, by the way did I mention we are having another girl?

Fun at the Park

Baby news

So far this second pregnancy has been a breeze (knock on wood) compared to the morning sickness I experienced with Lily. However, my 15th week started off a little rocky with a bad case of the flu. I came down with the flu early Wednesday morning and could not hold anything, not even water, down until around 8:00 p.m. that night. I was quarantined to my room and thankfully, Lily and Jeff were able to stay healthy. Unfortunately, my mom, dad and brother came down with it the next day. I had my monthly check-up with Dr. Thorton on Thursday morning, and they were able to find little baby's strong heartbeat right away. I was not feeling so strong, however, and everyone in the office was very nice and sympathetic to my illness. They were a little concerned b/c I had lost a good amount of weight since the last visit, but I hadn't eaten in 24 hours either. Thankfully, I was able to handle liquids and some rice and toast on Thursday. I am very confident I will be able to make that weight up and then some very soon!

Papou and Grandma Mavros came to visit us two weekends ago before their trip to Hilton Head. Lily had a ball playing with them all afternoon. She danced for Grandma and giggled for Papou. She was go-go-go the whole time they were here, as she wanted to make sure they saw all her toys and tricks. I am pretty sure Lily passed out for the night at about 6:00 p.m. She had so much fun and really enjoyed, as always, their visit!

Easter was pretty low key for us since Grandma and Papou were in Hilton Head and the rest of us were recovering from the flu. We went over to Mimi and Papa's for some BCC fried chicken and mashed potatoes. The food was great, and Lily had fun playing with her Easter presents from her basket. I think we all had fun playing with Lily's Easter basket stuff. The Easter bunny was very generous to us, as well. He must have heard that Mimi and Papa are putting in a pool because we were given some fun pool noodles and towels for the summer. Yes, you read correctly...Papa has granted Mimi her long time wish to have her very own pool. The construction is well underway, and as soon as we have two 70 degree days, the liner will be installed and it will be ready for some splish-splashing fun. We can't wait! Lily has her menagerie of bathing suits ready to go.

I am into my third week of my new job and really enjoying it. It has been really fun to learn a new business. All the people I work with are funny and laid back, which is also very nice. I have already been doing some insurance quoting on my own, as well as putting together comparison sheets for some of the current clients. I think I will fit in well here and continue to enjoy my experience. It has been so nice to come home at night (and stay home for the night) and be home on the weekends. I think Jeff and Lily appreciate my new schedule, too.

Will you go to Prom with my cute uncle?

Lily made her visit to CCHS yesterday and on very important business. She helped her uncle Patrick ask a girl to Prom. Luckily, both Patrick and Lily's charm won her over and she accepted.
Lily and her Chili Cheese Face. More pics of this to come!

Cold Season

Well, I had a very uneventful week off as Lily and the rest of us were not feeling well. Lily, along with an ear infection, had a nose that was running like a faucet and a very congested cough. Jeff and I both came down with similar symptoms on Tuesday and are still hanging on to some of them today. This has just been a really nasty cold, and on top of us having it, we passed it along to the grandparents as well. We all sounded and felt terrible this weekend. Mimi made soup on Friday and Sunday that helped warm us up a little, and Lily enjoyed it too. This week we let Lily take over trying to feed herself with a spoon...well, Lily decided that she was going to take over feeding herself with a spoon. She loved feeding herself soup and mashed up crackers. She also tried out some Jello. The mess that followed was even more fun for her. Oh, how she loved running her fingers through the mess on her mat. She splished and splashed and rubbed food everywhere she could. Her head, her ears, her neck, her belly, and her legs. It was quite a sight to see. By far the best mess she made this weekend was when Jeff made us some of our favorite chili-cheese dip to eat while we watched some basketball. Chili cheese dip is made with a block of cream cheese, a can of chili on top of that, and then shreddeed cheese on top of that. We usually add some other things here and there, but you get the gist. Anyway, Lily of course woke up from her nap just as we were about to dive into our favorite snack...and of course she was not going to miss out on any of that action. We tried to hand her pieces of tortilla chip while we dipped and ate. She made it clear, however, that she planned to dip like Mommy and Daddy. When she persisted, we decided to make her a little dish of dip that was not quite so hot to the touch. Oh how she LOVED it!!! She closed her eyes as she sucked the dip off the chip and made her trademark mmmm noise. Well, the small dish didn't last long because Mommy and Daddy weren't eating from the small dish. So she went for the big dip. The choas that ensued from there was hilarious. She was just covered in chili cheese and loving every second of it. At one point she gave up on the chips altogether and just dug in with her little messy hand. Very appetizing! We were glad she enjoyed it as much as we do.

Lots of News!!!

We have been a busy family these past few weeks. I promise that soon we will have more time to keep everyone updated on a more frequent basis. First on the list of updates would be that this week is my last week working at the Coliseum. While I have really enjoyed my job, I am ready to do something that requires a little less time and energy. I am so excited to have more quality time at home with my family and a healthier lifestyle all around. I will begin working at Benefit Planning Associates in two weeks. I am really looking forward to working with all the nice people there and coming home at a normal time and not working on the weekends. I know Jeff and Lily are excited about it as well.

Lily is still doing great. She entertains us all day and night with her cute and hilarious personality. She can't help but to stop what she is doing and dance any time music starts to play. She either sits on her knees and bounces, or, if she is standing up, she shakes her booty up and down. Even though she loves to dance, she still has no desire to walk. I am pretty sure if she wanted to she could probably do it by herself, but she finds it much easier and quicker to get where she needs to go by crawling. In addition to dancing, one of her other favorite things to do is eat. Any time we are eating she is right up next to us fighting with the dogs for the best spot to get a taste of what we have. She is getting really good at boxing Buster out. She likes pretty much anything we give her. She definitely is going to be into the salty treats like her mother. Right now she is into trying dips and condiments. She had her first taste of ketchup this week and loved it. She made an "mmm" noise while she savored the moment. She also tried some guacamole this weekend and enjoyed that as well. She sucked it off a tortilla chip and then discarded the chip to the dogs while waiting for her next sample. Our little piglet has also become quite the ham. Whenever she has an audience she does not hesitate to put on a show. Her favorite ditty involves crawling across the sectional and throwing herself into the cushions and making an exasperated "uh" noise as she hits the cushions. Then she gets up, crawls some more, screams a little, and lays flat on her back, pretending to be exhausted. After a few laughs she pops back up and is right back at it. She really is quite the character!

In addition to always being busy with work, I have fallen behind on updates due to the fact that I haven't been feeling the greatest. This is because I am due with our second child in September! I am really starting to feel better and actually have had a much easier time than I did with Lily...so far. We had our second doctor's appointment this past Thursday, and we were able to hear the baby's heartbeat and it was perfect. We will get to find out the gender in 2 months, and we can't wait! It will be hard to love another one as much as we love Lily, but I know there is room in our hearts for this one :)

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.