Sweet Summertime

One of the many reasons I love living in Chicago is that we get all four seasons. Watching the trees change in the fall, playing in the snow in the winter, listening to storms in the spring..and sweet summertime. Nothing beats summer in Chicago. Nothing.

There are so many fun events coming up, I can barely contain my excitement. We always kick off our summer at the cottage and this year is no different. My sisters birthday is Saturday and my brothers is Sunday. We eat good food, hang at the beach, go on the boat, relax, drink, celebrate and enjoy every minute. This year, we will head home for the holiday and go to a local parade. 

June is booked to the max. I do a good job of balancing weekends at the cottage and back home. My nephew turns 13 in 2 weeks so thatll be a cottage weekend. We will also go up to celebrate the 4th, which will be the last weekend in June this year. The rest of the month is busy with birthday parties, baby showers and summer fun.

Julys main event is Country Thunder, which is toward the end of the month. Its like Christmas in July. This year, Jason Aldean and Luke Bryan are performing on Friday night and its what I am looking forward to most! We will bring the boys during the day, decked in boots and hats. Our cottage is minutes away, so we will put the boys to bed and head back out for the late concerts. My niece turns 1 in July, so there will be a big bash for that. 

In August, we will travel down to Atlanta for the trio's first birthday. We are really looking forward to that trip! Minus the 13 hour drive. We will hang with the kids the first day, which Evan and Stephen work. Saturday is the party and Sunday we will have the whole family to ourselves! Were trying to decide on going to the zoo, museum or Six Flags. We aren't sure how we will head home..if we will drive thru the night again, stop halfway thru or extend the vacation by a day and stay in Tennessee. We are buying tix to a Day out with Thomas, which is also in August. We always wrap up the summer at the cottage for Labor Day weekend.

If summer weather continues through September, as it has the past few years, we will be able to use the boat a bit longer. My parents 35th wedding anniversary is Sept. 11 and I think we are going to put something together for them. We have tix to Disney on Ice and I have signed up for two 5K's! I'm super excited!

Along with all of these major plans, I have a summer bucket list of fun things to do/ places we want to go. I wonder how much we can get done. :0)

~Go to Raging Waves waterpark-groupon bought
~Spend a day at Navy Pier, see the fireworks
~Use Shedd Pass once more before it expires
~See the new bug exhibit at the zoo
~Go on a carriage ride downtown-groupon bought
~Visit the drive in movie theater
~Go hiking at Starved Rock
~Take the boys to a Kane County Cougars game
~Have dinner at RPM Italian downtown(anyone know whos restaurant that is?)
~Spend a day at Centennial Beach
~Take Trevor on a train ride downtown
~Register me and Trevor for summer reading program
~Drive down to Bloomington and go to the childrens museum/take Jamie to lunch
~Go on the ice cream social ride at Lake Geneva-groupon bought

Thats a good start! Our town and the one next to us have "crusin' nights" where old cars line up and people walk the downtown area to see. Shops stay open late, there is food and music, its a fun way to spend your Thursday or Friday evening. We are two blocks from downtown and looking forward to walking over.

I have a feeling summer of 2012 will be the best yet!

What do you have planned this summer? Any big trips? Special occasions? Trips to Chicago? ;)

Have a fun and safe weekend!!!

Need Sleep

Oh, how I wish there were more hours in a day. 24 just isnt cutting it. The past week or so has been particularly long and draining for both me and Tom. Tom picked up a ton of extra work due to the NATO Summit Chicago hosted this weekend. Today is day 9 of 12 straight for him. Were talking his regular 40 hours + an additional 7 shifts all within 12 days. At least itll be nice when payday comes and we pay off our Disney trip and then some. I love my hardworking man!

Obviously, I havent had much help recently and I am running on close to empty. Two kids of my own, plus the children that come over for me to babysit, trying to manage the bills, keep a clean house, run errands, fight colds, breastfeed, doctors appointments, and so on. 

Yes, we are very much looking forward to a weekend spent at the cottage. Friday can not come soon enough!

Gavin had his 2 month check up, about 2 weeks late, and got a fantastic report. He is only 11 lb. 6 oz..such a peanut. He is a little lover, smiling and cooing all day. He has started batting at toys and really interacting.

Trevor had a little half birthday bash with his best buddy, who is 9 days younger! They played in the sprinkler and sandbox, exchanged a little gift and ate half a cake, of course.

Tom and I celebrated 6 years of marriage on Friday. We went to dinner and really enjoyed ourselves.

So much more to say..perhaps tomorrow. :)

Two and a Half

(Lets just go ahead and pretend this was posted on Friday, as had planned..)

Trevor Michael, you are 2 and a HALF years old today. The past six months have been huge for you developmentally. You have gone from a baby to a boy very quickly!

You have been 100% potty trained for months. You were very easy to train..potty rewards and enthusiastic parents was all you needed. You didnt wear a diaper for nap or nighttime starting about a month into your training. We were diaper free for a bit, which was an unexpected surprise!

You have piercing blue eyes and long eyelashes.

You have all your teeth, except for 2 molars which appear to be coming in now.

You are ALL boy. Cars, dirt, bruises, balls. Yet, you are sweet as sugar. You love snuggles and kisses and are caring to others. 

You are madly in love with your baby brother. MADLY! You kiss him and hold him and are helpful. 

You have a perfect smile and infectious laugh. 

Youre very ticklish. :)

You still take one nap a day, ranging from 1.5-3 hours. 

You have changed your sleeping at night lately. You wake up before 7 am, regardless of what time you went to bed. 

Sadly, you have developed eczema and have to take less baths now and get special lotion every night. You are not a fan.

You love music and can pick up lyrics instantly.

You love books! Youre current favorites are Hungry Caterpillar, Llama Llama, One Fish Two Fish, Disney books..we read at all times of the day and before bedtime.

Youre a good eater. Youve been trying more foods lately which makes me so happy! You eat most fruit and are slowly eating more veggies. Youre favorite foods are cereal and mac and cheese. You have quite a sweet tooth and love candy and ice cream.

You love all things Disney! We talk about going to Disneyworld every single day. You know all the characters and songs and recognize "Umblellas"(Cinderellas) castle. 

Youre favorite shows to watch are Alvin and the Chipmunks, WordWorld, Superwhy, and any Disney movie.

You can recognize every single letter of the alphabet. You learned them from your Letter Factory DVD. You find letters everywhere you go and read them aloud.

You can also spell your name. We say Tre,vor.

You gave up your pacifier, the last bit of "baby" left..Easter weekend.

You sleep with Bear-bear every night. You also need your twinkle turtle on. Blue, of course.

You finally learned your colors! Those took you a while to get, enough that Mama was questioning if you were colorblind. You say your favorites are blue or green.

You can count to 14 before getting mixed up.

You love playing outside. You are great at basketball and soccer. 

Your favorite thing to do in our basement playroom is to dump the 3 bins of stuffed animals and jump on them.

I am Mama and sometimes Mommy and Daddy is just Daddy.

You love your cousins! You and Tyler are already getting into trouble together. 

You discovered the car wash and ask to go all the time!

You love visiting the zoo and know every animal I can think of.

Like most children, you love jump houses. 

I have noticed you coloring with more of a purpose lately. Not quite in the lines, but trying!

You love the taste of medicine and never put up a fight. If you cough, you ask for honey.

You dont like the taste of plain water, so I add some flavored water and tell you its pop.

You still apprehensive about the swings! You do not like to go fast at all.

You are very honest. If you had a rough day, you will confess to Daddy as soon as he gets home.

You are full of energy from the minute you wake up until you close those eyes at night.

We still give you warm milk in the morning with your vitamins. Its a good way to start your day.

You are ridiculously handsome. I cant get over how Daddy and I made you.

Happy Half Birthday, Trevor Michael! We love you the mostest toastest!

Wordless Wednesday

Two Months

Gavin turned 2 months old on the 2nd!! {I just realized his golden birthday will be on his 2nd. We will have to make that a special one!}

He is wearing size 1 diapers.

His eyelashes are so long they are starting to curl!

He is so happy all day. He coo's, squeaks and smiles constantly.

Gavin weighs about 11.5 lbs, according to our home scale. That is a full 2.5 lbs less than Trevor was! Ill get his official stats at his appointment next week.

His eyes are so big and round..and a very dark blue.

Gavin nurses every 3-4 hours during the day. He pretty much baby-wised himself and eats, plays and sleeps.

His naps can range from 45 minutes-2 hours. He sleeps a lot in the morning hours.

Gavin goes down for the night about 8pm and sleeps until 7 am, minus one quick feeding.

Gavin is in love with his pacifier. He often sounds like Maggie Simpson, sucking away.

His rash is completely gone. The best medicine was just time.

He loves the bath! He enjoys the warm water and doesnt make a peep the whole time.

Gavin is still fitting in newborn clothes! I started to make a pile of a few things too small. I cant wait to have him in shorts and onesies all summer so I can touch his thighs all day.

He has become the most joyful baby. He loves his swing, bouncer, playmat, mobile in his crib. As long as he is fed, burped and dry, he will sit happily with one of those for quite a while.

His baptism? He screamed the whole time. He was overtired, poor guy!

As stated previously, Gavin thinks Daddys chest is a tempurpedic mattress. He loves laying there and being patted.

He does like to be rocked, too.

I prefer to wear him when we are out and about and he loves it.

He met his new cousin, Connor. They are 17 days apart.

He rolled over, but it hasnt happened again.

He still enjoys his hands and has been gnawing on his left first a ton. Another lefty?

He has started to return the love to big brother. He studies Trevor and smiles at him when he sees him.

Gavin likes tummy time, most days. He is great at keeping his head up.

In fact, he is very strong. He can stand on his legs with little support.

His hair is growing back quickly. He still has a ton in the back compared to up top.

Gavin is starting to plump up. His chicken legs are getting some meat on them!

One of his favorite places is the changing table. He smiles and stares at the kitchen light.

He loves watching ceiling fans, just like Trev.

He likes to be wrapped, but you must keep his arms free.

We cant get enough of his snuggles, thats for sure.

He is getting close to giggling..I know its coming soon.

He sleeps in his rock and play and often ends up in bed with us.

He is a Mama's boy, he always finds my voice and stares.

We have enjoyed every second of the last 2 months with you, GT!