Almost Home

Somehow, quite by accident, we planned the majority of our exciting summer trips back-to-back in June. That, along with a heavy work travel schedule, has led to action packed adventure with little time at home (or for blog posts). We're closing in on the final trip, and I'm almost sad to see it over.

A quick report and photo highlights follow...

Memorial Day - as mentioned, Ben, Stella and I headed east on a big adventure by ourselves. We hit T-town to visit aunt Carrie, a great stop where Ben was able to meet his personal fan club (shout out to fan club leader Chris), and have lunch with his other 'aunts' Megan and Rachel.

From there we hit my p's house for a surprise visit (mom cried). My dad was on the mend and totally appreciated the visit from the little bear.

And then on to the east side to visit all the cousins...oh the spoiling (!) We took in a couple of Jack's baseball games, Ben was mesmerized (for at least the first three minutes), caught up with aunt Deb and Cathy, grandma Marsha and Joe. It was awesome.

Back to Chicago Monday. Orlando Tuesday. 'Burbs Wed. Vegas Thurs - Sun. Whew!

We had a blast in Vegas, hubby and me. Carrie met us, along with Joe & Molly (bro/sis in law), and several friends. Worked out every morning (a Vegas first), cabana all day, amazing dinners, and gambling into the wee hours of the morning. Contrary to my earlier speculation however, Vegas is not that fun without alcohol, and I would recommend avoiding this scenario yourself if at all possible.

My p's came to hang with Ben and he seriously didn't look like he missed us one bit while we were gone. I came home last night to him perched on grandpa Ted's lap with the biggest smile ever, laughing. Perfect.

A big thanks to them for putting their life on hold for five days to babysit. I think they had kind of a good time :) but we appreciate it a ton!

Photos to follow...

Cleveland Rocks #2

A couple more pictures from the Cleveland trip, including hitching a ride with grandma Es, hanging with cousin Jen and uncle John, and snuggling with grandma Marsha.

As promised...

A few good pictures from Cleveland...grandma Marsha to be added tomorrow, different camera and still having some difficulty getting myself organized. More great pics of cousins too.

PS - I'm home!!!

Home again...and then off

I'm electronically disorganized right now as I downloaded all of my moms fun Cleveland pictures on to my work laptop, yet am posting from the Mac so I currently have no photos to share but they are coming soon.

We had a great visit home, albeit it fast and crazy. Ben was literally too excited to sleep and took virtually no naps the entire time we were away. Even on the six hour car ride home where his only option was looking in the mirror, he opted to stay awake. So many hugs and kisses and squeezes from aunts, uncles, grandparents, cousins, dogs. He was the star for three days straight and loved every minute of it.

Off to Miami for a couple days and hopefully will have time to post while I'm away. Plus it will be a good Ben project to keep him close while he is so far away.

I predict he will turn over this week. He showed some serious potential yesterday afternoon and basically did it this am in his crib but the side wall stopped his full rotation. His legs are SO strong.

I miss him already :(

Happy Father's Day!

We celebrated early with Ben's first Cubs (Indians) game yesterday. He cheered on Cleveland, while hubby cheered on Chicago. It was the perfect day. Our seats were in the shade, Ben had a great time and we made it to the 8th inning before heading out.

We ran into friends and then caught up w/my cousin Lori who was in from NY with her son to watch the game. Overall a big success!

Today we relax and catch up after a long weekend!

Happy Father's Day to our dads and hubby on his first celebration!