Family Date Night

We started up the 2nd season of family date night a few weeks ago. Last year I started a weekly family date night tradition. Brian and I tried to pick a new place to go to each week, usually it was a park or somewhere we could walk outdoors. It forced us to set aside our to-do list and focus on the family; we also discovered some new places around the city such as Millennium Park.

I am hoping that we can keep up this tradition this summer. I think it is important that we spend some relaxing, quality time with the kids and each other where we don't let the daily stresses get to us. Its not where we go or where we eat that matters, its about having fun.

May 13, 2009

Allison - May 14, 2008

Allison - May 2009

Allison enjoying the slide with Dad.

Allison was fascinated with the geese. She was going to walk right up to them but got distracted by another set of geese near Brian.

Miss Amelia

I figured Amelia needed to get some "air time" herself on this blog. Here are some random pictures taken over the past few weeks.

Bedtime Routine

Take a Bath

Brush Your Teeth

Squeeze the Stuffings Out of Your Sister

7 Months

Mia turned seven months old last week. As you can see, she is happy as can be.

Mia really has grown up this past month. She has mastered sitting up on her own and likes playing with toys. She will reach for items that she wants. She is content with sitting up and isn't a big fan of laying on the floor. Therefore, she doesn't roll around that much. She will roll over once or twice, but that is about it. I can leave the room for a moment and usually find her in the same spot when I come back in.

Mia loves blowing raspberries and loves getting kisses even more. All you have to do is give her cheeks lots of kisses and she gets a big grin on her face.

Mia loves to eat! We have learned that once we start feeding her, not to stop, even for a moment, or else she will have a fit. It is funny because she is usually so calm and easy going.

She is really starting to show interest in Ozzie now. She tries to reach for him as he walks by and she likes to pet him.

Mia had her "six month" appointment two weeks ago. She weighed in at 17 lbs and 12 oz and was 25.5 inches long, although I think she may be longer as she wasn't stretching out all the way. She did good with her shots and only cried for a moment. Two days later though, she came down with a fever, so we had to bring her back to the doctor. I think with the threat of swine flu, they weren't taking any chances and had us bring her in. Luckily the next day she was good as new and has been feeling fine since then.

We are looking forward to seeing what the next month brings...maybe a tooth or some more rolling. One thing is for sure, it will bring us lots of smiles.

Happy Belated Mother's Day

Yep, I'm late on this...I'm a mom, I'm busy. I did want to share that I had a wonderful Mother's Day. I didn't have to work this year. This was the first Mother's Day I had off in seven years and I was fully ready to take advantage of it and relax.

Brian got the kids up in the morning and brought them to me, so we had a few minutes to snuggle in bed. I miss the days when Allison used to drink her morning bottle in our bed and would lay there for a good 10-15 minutes.

We went to church and we didn't get paged out during the service to retrieve a crying Allison out of the nursery. Allison did great and had fun playing with the other kids. That is a huge improvement from when we first started putting her in nursery. After lunch, I put the kids down for their naps and took one myself. They both slept for almost three hours and so did I. We have had some late nights the past few weeks with the kids waking up, so I had no problem sleeping for that long.

After naps, we went to Brian's parents house for a visit. Later back at home we put the kids down to bed and then Brian made me a steak dinner that I was able to eat in peace (other than Allison waking up an hour after we put her to bed for no apparent reason). We concluded the night with playing a little Wii Mario Cart and also a board game.

Brian and the girls were very generous. From the girls, I received a gift certificate to get a manicure, pedicure, and a facial. In a few weeks, Brian is going to take me out to dinner for a date night. I can hardly wait. Also, I can't forget to mention the beautiful flowers that are featured in the picture.

The best gift of all of course is my girls. There were a few times during the day that both of them gave me the biggest smiles, like they were telling me "Happy Mother's Day."

So to all my fellow moms out there "Happy Belated Mother's Day" and always remember how special you are.

Outdoor Fun

Happy 40th Anniversary Mom and Dad

Today is my parents' 40th anniversary. We celebrated last night as a family and had a wonderful time. We went out to dinner and then back to my sister's house for cake.

My sisters and I with our parents. Believe it or not, we didn't coordinate our outfits. Black and white was the unspoken theme for the night.

Nana and Papa with the grandkids.

As a special present, we took family pictures a few weeks ago and surprised them. Somehow, no one spilled the beans and my parents were completely taken aback by the photo.

The evening ended with a special video that my brother-in-law put together with photos of the grandkids growing up. It had everyone in tears (or near tears). It was fun seeing all the old pictures that reminded us how special family is. I want to thank my parents for the wonderful life they have provided us. Thank you for everything you have done for us. I know you have made many sacrifices for us over the years. You are always there for us and our families. Our children are truly blessed to have such wonderful grandparents. I thank God that you are part of their lives. And, Happy Mother's Day Mom and Nana. You are the best!

A Busy Day

We had a busy day yesterday. In the morning we had family pictures taken. We received a gift certificate a while back but wanted to wait until Mia was sitting up on her own. While the main focus was to be on Mia for her six month photos, we also were hoping for some nice family pictures and maybe some cute and sentimental photos of Allison and Mia together. We were hoping to capture those moments where Allison sits next to Mia and holds her hand or when Allison lays on her stomach next to Mia. However, Allison had other plans....to explore Amy's studio and eat. We were getting in her way by trying to take pictures.

As luck would have it, just as we were about ready to pack up and leave, Allison picked up a little stool and carried it over to the backdrop, sat down and started to smile. Luckily Amy was able to get some good pictures of that.

If you want to see a preview check out Amy's website.

Later that afternoon, we had Mia's sixth month doctor's appointment. It was a few weeks later, because they originally scheduled us for an appointment on a work day for me. Mia weighed in at 17 lbs and 12 ounces and 25.5 inches long. I think she actually is a little longer as she wasn't stretching out fully for the nurse. She did great with the shots and only cried for a minute. We are very fortunate to have a happy and healthy baby on our hands.

Toddler Cage Match

In this corner, we have Allison.

And, in this corner, we have Amelia.

ding, ding, ding...

Get her!