City Slickers

Last weekend Colin and I had a quick little get-away to Chicago to spend some time with our friends Morley and Ruby. The boys had planned this weekend a long time ago, so the occasion was really just to get together, but you could also call it our anniversary get-away as that's coming up very soon too! =) We had a relaxing evening at their house on Friday night, grilling out and catching up. Then on Saturday, we took the train downtown and spent the day shopping (just a little bit - this was not the purpose of the trip as I was reminded!) and attending a local blues festival. We got rained on about an hour into the festival so proceeded to spend the rest of our day hopping in and out of sports bars watching the Cubs and World Cup Soccer. We capped off the evening with a fantastic dinner out and drinks at a fun piano bar - it was a great time! I was impressed with my ability to stay up so late since it had been a LONG time since we'd done that! =) What was really funny that night too was that we saw first our friend, Kari, who grew up in our hometown (sister to one of Colin's best buds growing up), and then second our friend Brooke, who I went to college with and haven't seen in 2 years. We saw her first standing inline to go into the bar and then again inside (she was there from Indianapolis for her sister's bachelorette party). Two random reunions at a bar in Chicago - fun!

Chicago skyline from Grant Park



Getting ready to leave the Blues Festival



Morley and Ruby at dinner



The next day I flew out of O'Hare to head to New York City for the week (for work). The timing our of weekend trip and my work trip unfortunately fell right on top of each other, but it all worked out. The kids were getting LOTS of lovin' from their Grandmas and Grandpas and having so much fun. I was really ready to get back to them on Friday though! New York was great, but I was missing them a lot!

My trip consisted almost entirely of long days working, but this being my first time to NYC I did squeeze in a few hours of site seeing. We stayed in the East Village and got to do a lot of walking around there which was nice - lots of history and culture to be seen. One night we visited McSorely's Old Ale House which is the oldest pub in NYC. There was dust everywhere which added to the cultural ambiance. There was a chair that was once sat in by Abraham Lincoln. Beer options were 'light' or 'dark'. It was really cool. I also visited the NYC Tenement Museum, which was home to nearly 7,000 working class immigrants on Manhattan's Lower East Side in the mid-1800s. The history that was be experienced in NYC was actually really impressive. When your only exposure to NY is crime scene dramas, the Today Show, and pop culture, it's easy to forget that it's a really old city with much to be seen!



That's dust on floor and look at the chandelier on the left.



I also took a couple hours to visit Ground Zero one day. The site itself is still a massive construction zone - a hole in the midst of towering skyscrapers. Looking at the site it was hard not to feel emotional. What put me over the edge though was the church across the street. It is still an active parish, but also a sacred memorial to those lost on 9/11. There was just a presence in the air that felt eery. Walking into the church I was overwhelmed...I couldn't bring myself to walk around the wall and view the memorials - not when I saw the first one containing teddy bears. I spent the majority of my visit outside reading the plaques in the cemetary. It was really powerful just being there.

Ground Zero - from the ground





And from a crosswalk nearby



St. Paul's Chapel, Est. 1766

















This was a tribute to the firefighters lost on 9/11. It wasn't at the church, but on a nearby building. Another moving memorial...









From Ground Zero we walked to the shore then to see the Statue of Liberty. The line for the ferry to Ellis Island was seriously a mile long...we were content to just admire from the shore =) I'll be heading back to NY in mid-July again for a couple days so maybe I'll squeeze in another touristy bit...Central Park, Times Square, maybe a little shopping???? We'll see!

Recent Action

A couple videos we took recently...

This is the Sunday before Memorial Day. Poor Ellie was sick all weekend, and Emmit the first part of the following week. Here was one moment (before Emmit started feeling feverish) where they were the happy kids we knew. This was shortly after our MISERABLE drive home from the UP...sick, tired, kids in a car for 4 hours...ugh...



And this one was the week before Memorial Day I think. Emmit has NEVER done this before, it was kind of funny...this was right before dinner time! Of course we took him out then, and he woke right up!

More Emmit at 9 Months

9 Months!

Emmit is 9 months old and changing every day. Unfortunately, he's had a rough couple of days and is home sick with Mama today, but he seems to be on the upswing. Minus these last 2 days, Emmit has been an absolute joy this last month. He is happy ALL the time. Emmit is all smiles and giggles these days. He loves playing peek-a-boo and being snuck up on. Ellie can make him laugh so easily just by saying 'Boo'! He loves to throw things and have you pick them up - anything can be thrown from the highchair these days! He's still inch worming around, but now sitting up from crawling very easily and pulling up on things too. He's taken a couple diggers already, not too steady on his feet yet, but he's getting there. He loves to pull up onto his knees more than his feet it seems. He babbles dadada, mamama, bababa yet, and I swear it sounds like he's saying 'all done' at times. He loves to listen to music, watch his sister, and just play, play, play.

Emmit is eating most table foods now with some of the chunkier baby foods on occasion. His favorite foods are pancakes, sloppy joe or casserole (or anything with hamburger), noodles, green beans, banana, and applesauce. He still drinks little bubas, but since eating more solid foods he wants less and less to do with the bottle. He usually drinks a couple ounces and pushes it away. He does like the nukie too! At his 9 month check today Emmit was 22 lbs, 10 oz. (85th %), 29" long (85th %), and 48 cm head (97th %). I actually think he's lost weight these last couple days since his sore throat has kept him from eating (or wanting to eat) anything.

Emmit also has 4 teeth coming in right now! He has his 2 bottom teeth already, and his top fangs are coming next (little vampire!) His middle top teeth are just through the gums. On top of being sick, this is has been not so comfortable for Emmit lately either - poor babe has a lot going on right now! Even when he's sick though, he's trying so hard to be happy...he's is just a happy little boy!

Cheesy smile!



Mama wasn't quick enough with the camera, but I was trying to go upstairs!



Messy face!



Look what I can do...



I'm so proud of myself =)



Cute hat =)



Vampire baby!



This is how Emmit dances to music. Either this way or by bouncing sitting up. Ellie thought it'd be fun to dance with him this time listening to music outside.



Very easily entertained these days too =)