4th of July

We attended the 4th of July parade and festival in CL this year. It was a ton of fun and Anna had a blast bouncing in her stroller as the parade rolled by. She also went on her first carnival rides, the train and the carousel. She loved both!

Family Room

Before and afters! We still have a a little bit to finish, but I feel like we can live in the family room now. Our wish list includes carpeting (the floor is currently wood laminate) and a TV stand/shelving for books, toys, DVD's, picture books, etc. We hope to have the carpeting in by the time baby G #2 is here, and the shelves by ??? .... well, it may have to wait until next spring because there are other house projects I would like to tackle first.

Renovations

Before

After

This is just a teaser of all of the good stuff to come!

Saying Goodbye

Before we left the city we had to say goodbye to Jessica, and it was so difficult. She has been part of our life, our family, since Anna was just a few months old. She has taken such good care of AB, and we were devastated that she couldn't just move to Elmhurst with us! We are so thankful for the time we had with her and we are missing her a ton. These pictures were taken on her last full day.

Alive and Kickin'

We are alive! We've had a hectic few weeks, but we survived our move out of the city, a brief stay with my dad in Crystal Lake, and the move into the new suburban house. I have been taking a lot of pictures, so expect upcoming posts about our happenings, Anna, before and after interior house shots, and of course an updated bump watch. Ps, Baby G #2 is a GIRL! Holy Sisters!

Ready for Summer

Packing

Now that we are back from Denver, we are extreme packing mode. We have started boxing everything up, and I think Anna just wants to make sure she isn't forgotten! Plus those boxes are tons of fun... who needs toys anyways?

Denver

We headed out west to Denver last weekend for the wedding of my cousin Adi and her new hubby Derek. It was a blast to see all of the family we had tons of fun dancing the night away at the reception. We spent most of our time at the Kubik's house (thanks for having us!) which was a lot of fun. Lauren and Anna really enjoyed their time together, and of course Kate and I got lots of time together which is such a treat. We went to a few great parks while in town, and one even had a water feature which AB LOVED. Anna had a super crush on Dave, and spent a lot of time trying to get his attention. I haven't seen that side of her yet, so hopefully it isn't a sign of what is to come! We spent the night of the wedding in downtown Denver at the famous Brown Palace hotel. We hired a babysitter to come watch TV in an adjoining room while us adults enjoyed the reception. Of course, we all got up early because 4 adults and 2 kiddos just don't work so well in one hotel room. We pulled the girls into bed with us around 6am when they woke up and tried to persuade them to shut their eyes for a few more minutes. Lauren promptly reported "Momma, I don't think anyone is sleeping anymore." Thanks to all my Denver family for a great weekend out west!

Bump Watch!

Helping out

I thought that I would help dad out this morning. I took off my pj's and my diaper so that when he came to get me I was naked and ready for a new diaper and today's outfit. I bet I saved him a lot of time! Love, Anna

New Do

We took Anna to get her haircut at a fancy smancy kids haircut place over the weekend. To say it was overpriced would be an understatement! But, it was her first haircut and they provide a nice little certificate and hair clipping in a fancy envelope. So maybe it was worth it? (maybe not!) Anyways - she HATED getting her hair cut. She cried and screamed the entire time, even while sitting on my lap with her pacifier and a lolly pop bribe. The end result is a super cute "bob" so I think the few minutes of torture were well worth it!

Shoes

The shoe obsession continues - wearing Grandma's high heels on Easter Sunday!

Millennium Park Fountain

Jessica took Anna to the Millennium Park fountains last week for a playdate with Jack and Bella. To say they had a blast would be an understatement! Anna is obsessed with all things water, so she was completely in her element. Matt was able to head down to the park for a few minutes while they were there, but Anna wanted nothing to do with him - she just wanted to play in the water.

More Easter Pictures

New PJs!

Post bath, post milk, ready for bed and VERY tired.