Happy Mother's Day!

Cheers to all of you wonderful mother's out there. I hope you're being spoiled rotten today.

If every day were Mother's Day...I might just be thinner and more well rested :) But alas, I will relish in how wonderful today has already been. Sleeping in, and having my happy, clean-diapered baby delivered to me in bed is about as perfect as life gets.

Hubby took the crew out for a big walk, and then made a delicious breakfast before the little guy went back down for his nap. I was able to get out for a run, and enjoy the beautiful day.

Pretty much the best day ever. And I still have brunch and a massage in my future :)

Hubby, thanks for the effort. I really appreciate it.

And for a little added entertainment, this is what my dear boy was wearing after going for a walk. A pair of stripped shorts (with the tags still on), over top of his dino PJ pants, shoes and an animal print jacket. I wonder how many other mis-matched little people were out with their daddy's this morning.

Cheers.

Like Willy...

I'm on the road again for a few days...I think the last trip on my calendar for a bit. It will be nice to settle back into the at-home routine. Until then, I'll dream of this little face and surely be entertained by the reports from hubby on the homefront. He consistently delivers great content and photos that make being away from home a bit easier.

Hope you have a great week!

Clear Line of Sight

Ok, I surrendered. Ben (and hubby) got his hair cut tonight. It really wasn't as bad as I thought it'd be, although he does look ages older than he did at breakfast.

We hit Urban Joe where hubby gets his hair cut, and really got the red carpet treatment from the staff. Ben made the chalkboard, and Bridget did the honors. She couldn't have been nicer to Ben, and he rewarded her with a high five when it was all over. Of course we saved the clippings in an envelop, not really as much as I feared would be cut off...and captured a tons of pics.

Stella came along too, and while she didn't get a trim, she did get a load of treats.

Enjoy :)

My sis rocks

I read a stat this weekend that said if you were raised with at least one sister, your more likely to be happier than people with only brothers. The article says (obviously) girls are more likely to express feelings and encourage the entire family to communicate more effectively...along with a few other things that lead to an increase in overall happiness levels. Basically, sisters rock.

With mine in town this weekend while hubby is in Boston for a week, I must conquer. For a thousand reasons, I love having her here...not the least of which is that we haven't had quality alone time like this in ages. We caught up on everything under the sun, ate Ethiopian (she is one of only a handful of people in my life who crave it like I do), helped with Ben (thank goodness b/c I found myself feeling not so hot on Sat and not sure how I would have handled him on my own), and of course, she is always game for a Ben photo shoot...so enjoy the pics.

You have my sis to thank (as do I!). xoxo

Avitar at the IMAX

Hubby, Gaston and I finally saw Avitar last night at the IMAX. The movie really was amazing, I won't go into more detail given that we're probably the last people in the world to see it. Seeing it at the IMAX made it even more awesome.

The experience did remind that I generally avoid large crowds of people at tourist traps like Navy Pier, it really brings out the worst in me. And I momentarily felt sorry for Ben who may likely never visit this place or any like it, since both hubby and I feel the same way.

But the movie was worth it, and of course the large bucket of popcorn didn't hurt either :)

Please slow down!

Life feels like it is stuck on fast forward right now...and I'm in survival mode. Just get the daily basics checked off the list - get up, feed Ben, go to work, come home, feed Ben, work, bed.

Sadly, the blog is on the same auto-pilot. Loading photos is about all I can accomplish these days - when I remember to take photos! I fondly recall when I had witty things to share (at least I thought I did), or a story or two with some added color.

Even poor Stella is getting the big screw as hubby has been traveling a lot lately (who am I kidding? I gave up our morning walks before his schedule heated up).

The optimist in me has to blame the weather b/c at least there should be some relief in sight. And successfully pulling off major client event next week should help free up some time and energy too...

Then maybe Stella and I start getting up a little early to run before Ben wakes up? And I could post something other than blah, blah, blah...

Ben's driving!

Ok, maybe not driving just yet, but don't tell him. Hubby and Ben hit the Chicago Auto Show today to check out all the latest new wheels. Here's Ben in the Land Cruiser, daddy's little guy!

And, we're WALKING!

OMG - Ben is officially WALKING!!!!

I came home from work tonight and hubby and Ben were practicing on the floor. AMAZING. He walked FIVE STEPS to me unassisted. Multiple times.

Videos to follow this weekend. Mom, sis and Tracy are coming in to visit so I'll have a full production crew to capture this latest development.

It is SO exciting!!!

In the meantime, we got the gang all back together this Sat for Daniel's b-day. Needless to say, it's much more difficult to keep the little critters still on the couch for a photo.

Enjoy.

AcroCats

I'm not even really sure where to begin on this one...but the Acrocats act (UPDATED with URL) has been prodding us for quite some time. I think Gaston first discovered them, and we all cried foul. Performing cats? No way.

Periodically an article would pop up, or a notice in TimeOut. They continued to sneek up on us when we least expected it, just like our own cats. Well, for xmas hubby bought tickets to the show and Sat we finally went to check it out.

There is no way to do the experience justice - and it was an experience from start to finish. It's hard to say whether the cats were actually the most interesting act -the host, event organizers and audience members really gave them a run for their tuna.

As for the show, it really did feature performing cats. And other animals too. But the cats were the stars, about nine of them in total, doing everything from ringing a bell on command, to balancing on an exercise ball as it rolled across the floor. The performance culimated with a concert - cats on electric guitar, drums and piano as seen here.

Sadly I didn't remember my FLIP video (getting new phone this week w/video, camera - it is going to revolutionize my life) - but this picture gives a little taste of the excitement.

I can promise you it was the best $15 we'll spend all year...check 'em out.

Ben loves...

in the latest Ben loves, several new updates and a few old favorites:

- dad, dad, dad - whether sitting on their favorite chair sharing the remote control or discussing musical techniques with Ben's new guitar, Ben loves his dad. He now sits in his high chair while eating and calls out if he can hear him but can't see him, to get his attention.
- climbing in the stairs up from the basement (we're gaining serious speed with every try)
- rooting through the pantry (yes, we have more than five different types of mac & cheese in the house at any given time. hubby's fav and now Ben's too...)
- pulling up. on shelves, the coffee table, and best of all, pant legs
- bath time
- trying new foods (tostadas, creamed spinach, dad's juice)
- aunt Carrie :)

New Year's Eve

Sis came in for a long weekend to celebrate NYE. We hit the town a night early for a few adult beverages and socializing. Thursday we stayed home and cooked a giant feast. As an aside, I've been in a cooking frenzy. (stay tuned for my new favorite snack, an amazingly delicious nut mix) I think a combo of being away from home for so long, the winter settling in and having some time off. I made hubby his favorite, prime rib. A GIANT prime rib...thanks to Marsha for the perfect cooking instructions. It came out perfectly!

Little Mover

Thankfully the little dude has been delivering laughs and hugs throughout our visit home, and overall just brightening things up.

He learned how to walk around the coffee table at my parents house. I've said it before but it is really amazing to watch him learn.

The first day we got here he was trying to figure out how to pull up; next day it was successfully navigating the turn at the corner; this video is day three and he is motoring along fast as ever. He even falls down and pops right back up to continue on the journey.

Santa hat courtesy of grandpa Ted.

Hubby - this one is for you. We miss you, hurry back to OH.

teeth

November will go down as a very big month for us, I can tell already and we're not yet half way through. Food, crawling, button-pushing, and now...

Ben started to cut his first tooth today. Is that how you say it? I can feel the tooth on his bottom gums, sharp and pointy, coming through. How long does it take for the tooth to appear? When will the other one join (babies seem to always have two on the bottom in the beginning, right?)? Does it hurt him? He is doing all the things they say will happen, rubbing his ears, moving his tongue all around. But overall he doesn't seem too bothered by it.

Hubby's new camera came this week. We're celebrating with a trip to the zoo tomorrow. I can't wait.

And Ben is saying 'mom.' Not like 'good morning MOM,' more like da-da-da-grrr-grrr-mom but I'll take it.

So excited to be going to bed in 5 minutes, such a long party week. I'm old.

Happy Friday.

Bubbles in November

Hubby got some great giggles playing with the bubbles this weekend. Here is a little sample...

Happy Monday from the Little Bear

Hubby says I have to put the costume away now...

When pressed, he said maybe it would be OK for him to wear it on Sundays for Bears games. I'll take that. We did wear it around town all weekend long and he looks soooo cute. We took a big family walk on Saturday afternoon to check out all the other trick-or-treaters (read: show off our little bear).

I've never been a fan of Halloween, but I think that has changed. Last night I brainstormed all kinds of ways we can blow out our house next year; and can you imagine how fun it will be when Ben actually gets it?? 

Ok, I'm saying goodbye to Halloween for this year. But I do reserve the right to put him in it for Thanksgiving. 

Ben's Crawling!

Without further ado, Ben's crawling! 

I had some technical difficulties so I didn't capture the first few times when he was moving with (relative) ease and enjoying it, he's pretty pooped out in this video but exciting nevertheless.

AND Ben ate scrambled eggs for breakfast, and loved them. I read later that he really isn't supposed to eat egg whites until he's a little older b/c of potential for allergies. Anyone have a baby react badly to them? He seems fine so I'm not too concerned. 

He also tried a little of hubby's juice today and ate some chicken. I can't contain my excitement. Thankfully this experimentation mainly happens on the weekends, otherwise I'd have him on lobster by Wednesday at this rate. 

The time change continued to confuse all of us throughout the day but the extra hour keeps on giving. 

Finally, a big huge THANK YOU to hubby who took me out last night to party like a rock star, then took monitor duty and woke up with the little camper this morning so I could recover (boy, it's much more fun while it's happening than it is the next day). We had such a great night out on the town!

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween from the Little Bear!!

Pinot and Special K?

I woke up today and momentarily considered eating my Special K with wine instead of milk.

What does that say about me?

Going on fifth day without hubby and while I CHERISH the time alone with my little guy, anticipating another couple days of single-parenthood, as a working mother, has me dreaming of alcohol at odd hours. What do single parents really do to survive??

I realized today that October has been a killer, with Ben's ridiculous morning hours (STILL IN DENIAL), colds, visitors, hubby gone most of the month, work super busy, poor Stella, it's a lot.

And the rain is always the deal-breaker. It's boring to even explain but it's the final straw in the Stella/Ben evening equation. Rain makes everything harder.

Again, am I complaining about this mundate junk? Yes. But at least with the wherewithall that I could have it much worse and am grateful that I don't. Obviously I'd be hard-pressed to handle it...

And as a completely random aside - have you tried Special K with berries (with milk)? Seriously, the bowl of cereal really sticks with you. I'm kind of amazed everytime I eat it. At 6am. And then don't eat again until lunch. And I'm a HUGE snacker. They may be on to something. I may eat a bowl for dinner too. Thanks mom, I owe you for that one. You really do know everything.

Happy Monday.

Little dude

It's just me and the little dude for a few days, hubby is traveling for work. It is sooo much easier than being alone when he was a newborn. Today we ran errands together, had lunch and soon are heading out for a big walk. Actually it's like having a little friend around

He is doing a lot of good standing these days. And Paula how to walk this week (holding hands of course and it is very slow going). Still no teeth but they are coming any day.

Enjoy a couple pics.

Family and Friends

I'm sitting upstairs listening to the poor little guy cough, sniffle and sneeze while he tries to get some sleep, hoping he feels better when he wakes up tomorrow. 

A few pictures from last weekend for you to enjoy. From the bottom, Ben's new best girl friend Tracy, sticking their tongues out at each other; hubby and mini me; hubby's cheering squad; laughing with grandma Marsha; and hanging with grandpa Joe. 

Look at all the hair that has come in over the last week, amazing. Good news too because for a couple days it was all standing on end and I was concerned he was going to be cursed with a horrible cowlick. I think now that it is getting longer it's weighing down.