Surprise!!

Yep - that's another baby! We decided life was way too easy with our two calm, docile and completely agreeable little boys (ha!) so we're adding another one to the mix! In all seriousness, we are thrilled to be expecting another little munchkin this fall (Oct 2nd to be exact.) This one was a surprise, but a very welcome one, and we are all getting really excited. Alec loves to talk to my big (and yes it is already very big) belly and we can't wait to see what this little one, whose gender will remain a mystery, will add to the mix!

New Outfit

Thanks for the new outfit Abby Root, it's finally chilly enough for me to wear it:)

Happy St Patty's!

It has been unseasonable warm here for the last 10 days and we have all been loving the spring weather. It was 80 degrees and sunny all day yesterday, which is unheard of for Chicago on St. Patty's Day. We spent almost the entire day outside in the sunshine! A few cute pics from our sneak peak at spring.

Charlie was entertained by this cup full of ice cubes for 45 minutes, it just cost me my iced tea:)

Alec and his friend Brady

Alec was thrilled to see that the leprechauns left some gold for him in the yard yesterday morning. Not something we had planned, but he woke up on Friday and started going on and on about gold and how we needed to look for it in the yard. After he spent 15 minutes before school inspecting the entire perimeter of the house, I decided I might make a trip to the party store for some gold wrapped coins for the real St. Patty's Day. We can't imagine how excited this boy will be for an Easter egg hunt this year.




Inspecting their loot

And it was so nice yesterday that Matt and Alec hung up Charlie's bday present - a new swing for the yard. He adores it, and it will be so nice for him to have somewhere to peacefully relax in the yard this spring and summer.



Yesterday alone, Alec played baseball, 5 games of soccer, Frisbee, golf, went on a 3 mile bike ride with Matt while he ran, and took 2 walks with us. He literally never gets tired.

Charlie also adores Alec's old car



Hope you all had a Happy March 17th - especially bday girl Abby Root:)

Charlie is 1!!

Took me a little longer than I anticipated to post the bday pics. Poor little Charlie was pretty beat down on his bday, and for good reason, when I took him to his appt on Fri he had a nasty ear infection. He got some meds and is on the mend, but he shared his germs with the rest of us, so he, Alec and I have all been a little under the weather for about the last week. I did manage to get some shots of him on his bday though.

Although I didn't get any smiles, he did like his cake and ate much more of it than Alec did on his first bday.


Goofballs in the bath


Sporting his new jammies

and enjoying some new bday books

Alec is particularly fond of the new books Charlie got from Grammy:)

Birthday boy

Happy first bday to our little Charlie Matthew. It's hard to believe he has been a part of our family for a full year now, but this day last year seems like a lifetime ago. We feel so lucky to have Charlie as a part of our family. He is a sweet, silly, opinionated little boy and he makes up laugh and smile every day. He has changed a lot in the last month and is certainly becoming a toddler, but the fact that he isn't walking yet still makes him seem more like a baby. Unlike Alec, who was always big for his age, Charlie is very compact. He is really thick and round, but he doesn't weigh very much, which is baffling b/c he eats non-stop, and he isn't very tall. He babbles all the time and seems rather impressed with himself when he carries on and on, but he doesn't have any recognizable words yet. He is stubborn and determined and does not hesitate to completely fall apart whenever he doesn't get his way, which basically means he will throw himself onto the floor and sob when you do something like take a kitchen knife that he has snatched from the dishwasher out of his hand. Aside from loudly voicing his opinion when he doesn't get his way, he is still a very easy going guy. He fits into whatever situation we throw him into and he is completely content with whoever wants to play with him, feed him, hold him or put him to sleep. He is a great sleeper, 12 hours at night and 2 naps a day, and he is totally content to entertain himself in his bed until we decide to come in and get him in the mornings or after his naps. He is a lot of fun and we love the little person he is becoming.

Some of Charlie's favorite things at 1 year old:

*Opening and closing doors and cabinets (this often results in smashing his fingers, which in no way deters him from doing it over and over again as soon as you dislodge his little appendage.

*Reading Pat the Bunny

*Playing in the dishwasher

*Playing in the toilet

*Climbing up the stairs

*Getting directly involved in whatever Alec is doing, he is especially fond of sabotaging any board game, card game, or puzzle that Alec is working on

*Playing with my cell phone

*Chasing balls around the house

*Eating, particularity carbohydrates (this kiddo has a lot more of mommy in him than Alec does.)

*Watching Alec play the kinetic and trying to imitate him; it's pretty hilarious to see him wave and point at the TV like he is doing something

*Taking a bath. He is completely out of control in the bath, he literally flays and flaps around like a lunatic and has to be watched like a hawk or he will happily drown, knock himself out, or drink gallons of dirty bath water.


He also loves to play with his tongue and is very fond of this mischievous face


Another favorite thing to go after, the wine rack

We have a very low key day planned, just dinner and presents tonight with the four of us, which is a good thing b/c our little birthday boy has a pretty nasty cold. He goes in for his 1 year check up tomorrow and then we are getting his pics taken on Sunday, assuming his runny nose and drippy eyes are all cleared up. Happy Birthday Little C! (and I'll post birthday cake pics tonight if I get a chance:)