C-H-I-C-A-G-O

Blake and I celebrated our 4th anniversary in Chicago this past weekend. The weather was amazing getting up to 60 degrees on Friday.... we made the most of it...

We jumped on the "Metra" - Red Line and headed to north to Andersonville for breakfast at M. Henry's. It was so cool because we were the only tourists in the place. It was this cute neighborhood with adorable shops all around.

Then we headed to Wrigley Field to see the famous baseball field. We have to say that Chicago has to have the nicest people... we met Joe and Ben who took time to tell us all about the Cubs and Chicago! Blake is already planning a trip to take the kids back for a game!

Blake's favorite part was the "EL" or the elevated train that is part of the subway system... which is mainly below ground but there is an elevated part called "The Loop," that goes in a circle around downtown - very cool.

We walked through Grant Park which Millennium Park is part of. The famous "Silver Bean" is there. It's a famous sculpture that Chicago has become famous for in the last 3-4 years. It is amazing how the many parts were welded together and then buffed out to make it look like one seamless piece. We took the Silver Bridge across Lakeway Drive and walked a mile down Lake Michigan to Navy Pier, which is like a huge amusement park. When I arrived to Chicago on Monday, the lake was almost completely frozen over and by Friday it had all melted and just had a few ice chunks floating around.
Then it was off to the 3rd tallest building in the world - The Hancock Tower.
We did a 30 min. audio tour at the top, notice how Blake is going no where near the edge... heights are not his thing!

We re-lived our Hawaii honeymoon 4 years ago with a stop to The Cheesecake Factory and a sample of the macaroni and cheese fried balls with marinara. YUMMY!

Then we walked "The Magnificent Mile." and 2-3 miles back to the hotel where we got ready for the musical Chicago starring Blake's favorite "Dancing With The Stars" contestant - John O'Hurley!

That was just the first day.... the next day was way more relaxing after sleeping in we found the second Chicago Pizza place - Lou Malnati's. There are 2 famous downtown pizza places... we had to try them both. Giordornos on Thursday night was Blake's favorite because of the richer tomato sauce.

After driving around "Soldier Field," it was off to The Field Museum where the famous "T-REX - SUE" is. She is the largest and most complete T-Rex found in N. Dakota in 1990.
Then we had an amazing dinner at the hottest restaurant - AVEC! We had the best 2 seats in the tiny modern restaurant overlooking the chefs where we got to talk to them all night about the different entrees they were cooking. It was a perfect way to end our anniversary get-a-way.

Big Boy Bed!

Well, we figured at 26 months it was just plain TIME for Carter to move into a "big boy bed!" We made the transition this week and surprisingly it has been perfectly smooth (besides 1 little hiccup.) This was Carter's face the first time he saw it! He was so excited!And so proud! He has done so well in it every night. We told him he can' t get out until it is light outside and Mommy and Daddy come and get him. Well... the third morning, he was talking VERY LOUDLY and so the second time I went in at 6AM to tell him to not wake up his sister, I threw his door open and CRASH!!!! He had gotten out of bed for the first time and was trying to open the door. So he has a little bit of a busted lip. I am so so sorry Carter!
I have to say, the main reason I wanted to switch him into this bed wasn't because he was trying to climb out, it was because I wanted to be able to climb in and read books with him. Carter still LOVES to read books constantly and we were always leaning over the bed rail to read to him. Now we can lay in bed and hang out with books in the mornings and nights! FUN!

Duos.

It was Blake's birthday weekend and annual golf weekend with a bunch of his friends. They headed to San Diego for the weekend. Back at home, Carter had a super busy weekend! It started with a fun play date with JD! Here Carter is helping one of his best buddy's climb up the wall... so helpful!

We also pulled out the Bounce House with the beautiful February weather and Avery and Carter found a new way to bounce inside the basketball goals!Look at this "good looking duo"... Addie and I went and visited Mema!Saturday morning, Cash & his mommy came over to hang out. I look forward to all of Carter's play dates as much as he does because all his friends' moms are super cool! Early Saturday morning, I took my "duo" to HEB! They were so cute sitting in the cart together!Here's a trio... on Sunday morning, we got a call from Grandpa Joe and Ya-ya wanted to come and get Carter and take him to the Farm for the afternoon with cousins Macy and Marshall! Carter got to see lots of cows and the family's miniature horse.. Diego!

Our weekend ended with Blake back at home. Ben and Terri invited us over for dinner to celebrate Blake's birthday! Terri made a fantastic chicken gumbo and the boys had a fun time playing! Carter jumped right on this motorized tractor and would not get off!
Happy 31st Blake!

3 Quarters of a Year Already... Please Slow Down!

Addie & I just returned from her 9 month checkup where everything was very good. I can't belive it has already been 9 months. Here are a few things I wanted to write down to remember her by at this wonderful age! And a few pictures of her at 9 months old!

• Her hair started really growing resulting in some definite curls


• Eyes are still blue (little hazel in there too!)


• No teeth just yet


• Sweet & cuddley temperment


• Absolutley infatuated with her big brother, a remarkable bond has really started from 8 months & on with both of them


• She does get upset if she is given to someone else other than mom or dad who is not as familiar


• Loves her walker and Baby Einstein video each morning


• Rolls to get some place or something


• Grabing for everything.... goes from sitting to stomach and onto hands and knees to reach something


• Loves to be outside


• Enjoys every veggie and fruit baby food she has tried, eating baby food improved dramitacally, almost overnight, at 8 months


• At 9 months, comfortably wearing all 12-18 month clothes


• weight - 21 lbs & 7 oz (90%); length - 29" (90%); head circumference - 47 (>97%)

Rollin' Rollin' Rollin'

Although Addie is not crawling yet, she has no problem getting anywhere by rollin'! Here she is going for a baseball on the other side of Carter's room.

The Biggest Thank You...

...to Diane a.k.a. "Me-Me" for allowing Blake and I to have a super fun "12 hour double date" all day Saturday for Valentine's!!! She is truly amazing and the kids had so much fun with her. We are so lucky to have you and we appreciate you so much! We love you!

Love is...

Love is when Maverick & Smokey lick our faces even after we left them outside all day.

Love is mommy trying to never say no when daddy asks to play golf.

Love is my sister loving balls as much as I do!

Love is when daddy makes coffee for mommy and he takes a sip before giving it to her, to make sure its not too hot.

Love is my brother yelling "Addie" and giving me a big hug at the end of every day when he sees me.

Love is when mommy sees daddy on the toilet and she doesn't think it's gross.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.

Happy Valentine's Day to our family and friends! We love you all!

Carter's 1st Trip to the Rodeo!

Blake, Carter and I got to go to the rodeo today. He LOVED the actual rodeo performance... his favorite 2 events by far were the "Mutton Bustin" and the "Barrell Racing." He kept saying "go fast... go fast," when the horses came out sprinting! The Metcalf's were in the family box with us and came prepared as always with great snacks to keep Carter entertained if he did get a little antsy.

Afterwards we walked the grounds of the rodeo and Carter, of course, found every ball game in a mile radius. We were able to detour him for a while with the Petting Zoo, which had some very interesting animals... including one that continuously insisted on stealing some paper out of Blake's back pocket and not giving it back. I think I would rather fight with a 2 year old than one of those things!

Towards the end... Carter was so unbelievably focused on finding another "baseball game, " that we finally gave up going into tents to explore and headed to the car. This was the most intense focus he had on finding a ball to play with that we both have ever seen!

(This was his persistent face at our breaking point right before we headed to the car... imagine him saying "play baseball.... play baseball" a hundred times in 30 minutes!) We ABSOLULTY LOVE his DEDICATION!