Lila's Dedication

A few Sunday's ago we dedicated Lila at our Church.  A dedication is a bit different than a baptism in that we as parents, family, and friends, publicly commit to raising Lila to become a follower of Christ and that someday she will chose to become baptized.

Many members of our family were in town for the event.  My sister Leslie and brother-in-law Steve came in from Seattle and my brother Doug and his wife Susie came with their kids Lucas and Asher from Grand Rapids.  Kim's family was also there as well.  It was very moving to be up in front of church and see so much of our family present in support. 

Kim and company put together a wonderful spread of food for the after-party. Thanks to all who helped and contributed!



We also had many friends come by to celebrate and pass the little Lila bird around.

A typical smile for Lila - she brings us so much joy and it was fun to give her all our focus for her big day.

Lucy's Last Day of School Performance

Lucy has officially completed her last day of preschool! Last Thursday she participated in an end of the year performance and ceremony where she received a certificate. We had a moment when we arrived at the performance because it was the first time we had seen her name printed in a program. When it came time for her to dance in the circle she did so with total abandon and utter glee! And she did a great job of showcasing her somersault skills! Our little girl is growing up!  

Lucy and her creative movement teacher Larry.

Lucy and her friend Natalie.

Lucy and her friend and our neighbor Amanda.

In the picture below they were supposed to be marching in place and doing hand motions to the song, "The Ants Go Marching." The funny thing is that Lucy had been talking about practicing this number for weeks and has been doing it at home on a daily basis. Of course when it came time for the performance she was a little awe-struck and was more of an observer than performer!

Lucy had a big turn out at the performance. Grammy, Puppy, Mommy, Daddy, Titi and Milo all came to see her! Titi even had Milo miss his nap so he could see his cousin dance, stomp, and do somersaults. Lucy was so excited to see her family in attendance! She had a huge smile on her face when she walked in.

 

Proud mama!

We went out for ice cream to celebrate the completion of her first year of pre-school!

 

Mother's Day

Thanks to my amazing husband, my Mother's Day weekend was truly special and VERY relaxing. On Saturday we went to brunch and then to the Garfield Park Conservatory, which are where the pictures below are from. We really enjoyed looking at the Spring flower room and took some shots among the flowers once we found out it was the last day of the exhibit. On Sunday we went to church and then the boys made us lunch and served us drinks all day long. It was great to just hang out outside with the fam and relax and have no "to do" lists. I could use a Mother's Day every month!!

Fab Three plus two babies

So recently my friends from college, Jenna and Priscilla, came in town for a visit! We haven't had a girls' weekend in four years so it was overdue for sure. But this time it was also a play date for Lila and Phoebe who are two months apart in age. Phoebe is my friend Jenna's baby and it is so fun that we have kids so close in age (she has has a daughter, Jillian, who is like 10 days younger than Lucy). Priscilla, Jenna, and I had a great time just catching up, going out to dinner, taking a long walk, and doing a little shopping. Glad that we finally made the girls weekend happen!

Having a little tummy time together!

Phoebe is the biggest thumb suckers and I am totally obsessed with how adorable she looks sucking her thumb!

This is us walking around by the Frank Lloyd Wright homes in downtown Oak Park.

Out for martinis

We had a great dinner at Cafe De Luca in Forest Park.

 

Picnic in the Park

One day while in Baltimore the girls and I met up with Erika and her two kids (Sophia and Graham) and Michelle and her two sons (Ryan and Brendan). Michelle, Erika and I were all pregnant at the same time and would often commiserate about our pregnancy woes. In fact all three of us delivered within about 6 weeks of one another. When I left Baltimore we were all in our third trimester and now when we reunited we have these little bambinos that are growing so fast! It was so fun to be able to introduce the babies to one another! We realized that we met five new babies during our time in Baltimore. How crazy is that that 5 of our friends have had kids since we moved out of the area?

How cute together are Lucy, Sophia and Ryan?

Sophia, Graham, Me and Lila. I am so bummed that we didn't get a picture of Michelle with us--she was taking the picture.

Lila is in that fun stage right now where she just stays in one place. She enjoys sitting up, but has made no attempts at crawling, which is just fine with me. It is great to be able to plop her down on a picnic blanket and let her play. I don't know what I am going to do when I have to chase two kids around!

What a smile!

Bald Buddies!

Graham looks like he is trying to engage in a conversation with Brendan.

Pure Joy!

Meeting Graham and Naomi

One of the main reasons we went back to Baltimore was to meet all the new babies that have been born. We were so excited to meet Craig and Laurie's first son, Graham, who was 5 weeks old. And we also met 6 month old, Naomi, who is Greg and Thu's first daughter. Here is a group shot of the kiddos (minus Lucy who was hanging out with Maria at the time).

Baby Graham is so alert for his age. He has the most beautiful eyes and can you believe he is already smiling? I am not surprised that the kid is advanced!

Lila and Naomi are only a couple months apart in age. Don is doing a pretty good job handling two infants.

Greg with Naomi sleeping on his lap--he looks awfully comfortable as a dad!

When you have a five week old baby the big cup of coffee is key to getting through the day!

It was so incredible to see the guys all holding their babies together. Don has been friends with Craig since college and with Greg since high school. So it was a real full circle moment to see them all with their little infants.How cool that their babies are all so close in age.

The wife shot-Thu with Naomi, Lila and I, and Laurie and Graham

Below is a random picture of Lila on the plane all ready for her big trip!