Feeling Behind

The fact that tomorrow is the 1st of October has not escaped my notice. I'm feeling so behind in getting ready for this baby. Uggh!! For the most part, I feel that what is in my control has been done or is ok to wait another week or so (for example, pack the hospital bag, diaper bag, etc.). But the biggest project by far, is Kai's big boy bedroom. This so needs to be done for a couple of reasons. One, I want it done so I'm not worrying about it after the baby and feeling stressed to get it done so that we can move Kai and get the baby in the nursery. And I don't want it to be done after the fact, making Kai to feel that he's being "evicted" by baby brother. Two, I want it done so that there is another dresser in this house for Kai's clothes and clearing up the nursery dresser so I can wash the new baby clothes and get them put away.

So, that's why I want it done, but it still doesn't tell me how I'm going to get it done. Help!!

We have pretty much "finished" the paint job--thank goodness. It needs some touch ups, but it's definitely liveable and in a place where we can move on.

Here are some pictures of the work in progress....
And here's the finished product (sorry it's so dark--I closed the blinds because the sun was washing out the pictures):


So, now we need furniture, decorations, blinds, etc. Having this done would really help me feel a lot more prepared. I guess we better get back to work!

Fun in the Snow

Yes, you read that correctly--SNOW! The snow always seems to fall early here, but this time I think it's about a month earlier than last year. We woke up to rain this morning. After a couple of hours I thought I saw little white flakes occassionally mixed in. And then before I knew it, it was undeniable snow. Kai was excited about watching the snow flakes and stood mesmerized by the window for a good part of the morning. He was even more excited when I told him that it was cold enough for him to wear his new race car shirt. And then after that, he wanted to go outside and play. So, he put on his hat, coat, and sweatpants and out we went. After about 3 minutes he was done, but he said it was fun to be in the snow. That's a big improvement over last year when he wouldn't even touch it! The only thing he didn't like was when the wind blew and made it cold. Hmmm.....I'll have to see how much more I can bundle him up so he doesn't feel that.


Seeing as it's snowing, Kai and I also went through his clothes this morning and pulled out some of the smaller summer stuff to make room for his sweaters. Since we were wearing sweaters only 4 months ago, his all still fit. Which is nice. We did find that he needs a new hat. And would you believe that my winter coat doesn't fit??! I forgot about the round belly and couldn't get my buttons to button up. I wonder if I can get away with that for the next five weeks. I really hope so!

Chicago 2009: Days 7&8

Friday September 11: About mid-morning we made the decision to pick up some chicken at KFC and then head to Tyler Creek Park for a picnic. We had a fun outdoor lunch and then headed to the creek to do a little wading. There was nothing we could do to talk Kai into putting his feet in the water. But he did enjoy throwing rocks into the creek, something Grammy showed him. Of course, this was the only day out of the whole trip that we took some pictures as a family and it was a day that I didn't do my hair or put on any make-up. Oh well, the boys look good. :)

Later that night, we took a trip to Culver's for dinner and custard. It was another good day.

Saturday September 12: The end of our trip had arrived and it was time to pack up and head out. We had an evening flight from O'Hare to Denver. This time we knew that Kai would not sleep on the plane, so we were able to get him to lay down before we headed out. The flight went well, although it did seem much longer than the flight out. And by the time we arrived in Denver, Kai was exhausted. After a week full of activities, inconsistent naps, and very disrupted night time sleep, we came right into our house and went to bed. Kai has been sleeping fantastically ever since we returned. I can't even begin to tell you how much I enjoy that!! I think we need to have family vacations more often, just so we can enjoy being at home that much more!

Chicago 2009: Day 6

Thursday September 10: We got moving early this morning, as we had planned the previous evening to head to Brookfield Zoo. The drive in wasn't too bad, just a bit of traffic, and we arrived at the zoo right about the time they opened. We opted for the all-in-one pass so that we could decide what we wanted to do as the day progressed. Kai started out the day very much not wanting to enter the exhibit buildings, which were kept slightly dark. But after some prodding, he enjoyed discovering the animals inside. He particularly seemed to enjoy the seals and the penguins. And he asked all day to go see the giraffes, which we did almost last. If you ask Kai about the zoo, he'll tell you that he had fun, but then he'll follow that up with "I no like dinosaurs!" There was a temporary exhibit there called "Dinosaurs Alive" and while it started out ok for him, he quickly became overwhelmed by the large animatronic dinosaurs that roared around every corner. We ended up walking quickly to the exit!

One of our favorite exhibits was the butterflies. It was so beautiful to see them flying right around you. And there were LOTS of them! Kai also had two rides on the carousel. By the end of the day (about 5 and 1/2 hours after we arrived) Kai was exhausted. He looked at me from the stroller and said "night night Momma". Poor kid! He passed out in his car seat before Reid even finished backing out of our parking space!

Overall, I was very impressed with the zoo. Growing up we always went to the National Zoo which I thought was nice. But this zoo took nice to a whole new level. Throughout the day I couldn't shake the feeling that I was in an amusement park akin to Busch Gardens and not a zoo. It was definitely designed for public enjoyment and to get you to linger longer. Which we could of done had we not had a toddler and a woman 8 months pregnant!!

Chicago 2009: Day 5

Wednesday September 9: After a pretty tiring day on Tuesday, we decided to have a more laid back day on Wednesday. We spent the morning relaxing and visiting. While the men were showering, Grammy and I decided to go on a walk around the block. We took Kai out in the stroller and he enjoyed collecting the acorns (something we don't really have around here). For lunch, Reid ran out to Beef Villa for some traditional Italian beefs for him and his dad. Once Kai was settled into a nap, Grammy and I headed to the Huntley outlets where we had lunch at Great Steak and Potato. After lunch, we hit the stores. Man did I have fun in Carters!! I've found that for baby clothes, I just love Carters. For toddler clothes, I tend to prefer Osh Kosh, Children's Place, or Gap. I ended up buying a couple of new things for Kai and a fair amount of winter clothes for the new baby. It was a good trip. We even found a new store that we liked called "Oops!". It's a book outlet that had some really great deals and super cute books.

After shopping, we called the boys and arranged to have them meet us at Spring Hill Mall. There we visited the puppy store and ate dinner at Old Country Buffet. Kai enjoyed looking at the puppies and one store associate was nice enough to get a puppy out for Kai to look at up close. It was a good "slow" day. I'll admit that shopping took a lot out of me and I was tuckered out by the end, but it was fun.

This picture makes me laugh. The face Kai
is giving me is reflective of how he felt about
eating almost our entire trip.

Chicago 2009: Day 4

Tuesday September 8: We spent the morning debating on a visit to a children's museum. Before our trip I had found out that the children's museum at Navy Pier was closed for the week and had found another alternative near the city, Kohl Children's Museum. We were concerned, however, that it would be a bit "old" for Kai or just not something that he would get into. We were concerned about losing time and money. The museum indicates that it is appropriate for ages 1-8, but we were still wary. After successfully getting Kai down for an early nap, we decided we would give it a try. We arrived a little more than 2 hours before closing, anticipating that we wouldn't need much more time than that. We were wrong! Kai LOVED the museum and we could have easily spent another hour or more there enjoying the hands-on exhibits. The museum was a blast and receives 2 thumbs way up in our book. Kai was sad when we had to leave. But we'll definitely keep this museum on our things-to-do list, and I think we're going to try the museum in Denver at some point now, too. We liked it so much that we even considered a year-long membership. We didn't do it, but we were sure tempted!

The first exhibit you see when you walk in is the "Car care" exhibit. I had to chase Kai down and pull him back to the desk for Reid to pay the minute he saw the cars and the tracks.


Once we got beyond the car exhibit, we found a doll day care center, a play library (where Kai played the computer games!), a hands-on house, nature center, water room (a BIG hit!), a music room, a mini-grocery store, and much, much more. There was even an outside park exhibit with some playground equipment. We took a lot of pictures, but here are some of the highlights!

Kai got soaked in the water room! You'll see him dripping wet in
the rest of these pictures. I guess we should have put on one of the
aprons provided. Oh well--he had a great time and didn't seem to mind!

Just down the road from the museum is the Chicago temple. On our way back to Grammy and Papa's we made a quick stop. By this point Kai was a bit tired and hungry so we couldn't stay long. But we got a few good pictures. After the temple, we went out to eat and then headed back to the house to share our stories. It was a really fun day!


And here are some of my favorite videos from the day:

Chicago 2009: Day 3

Monday September 7: We decided to head out to a spot that Reid had enjoyed as a child, Randall Oaks. A side stop was made before we hit the park at Subway for lunch and then we headed to the park. Randall Oaks is a smallish petting zoo and beautiful park. Admission was minimal and the cost of feed for the animals isn't too bad either. So we bought Kai a full bag of feed and set out to visit the animals. There were goats, pigs, chickens, horses, sheep, llamas, deer, ducks, geese, cows, and more. Kai loved the feel of the animals eating out of his hand and enjoyed visiting them.


After a late afternoon nap, Kai woke up to find his Uncle Cordell and Tia (Aunt Esperanza--we decided Tia was easier) visiting. Grammy prepared a fun Labor Day BBQ of hamburgers, hot dogs, Italian Sausage, homemade potato salad, and onions and cucumbers. We enjoyed the afternoon visiting and chatting. And at the end, Reid and Papa taught Cordell how to play Frisbee Dog on the Wii. I think it's time I retired from that game as both Cordell and Esperanza scored higher than my all-time high on their very first game!!

Here's one of several videos we took that day: