Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!!!

Friday night marked our first snowstorm of the season! This is usually not something I get excited about, but this year Chad and I couldn't wait to see Dylan's reaction. And as we expected, he loved it. He is an outdoor guy just like his dad. Good thing Chad got boots and snowpants for his birthday because I'm shipping the two boys out to play while I sit inside and enjoy the view :) So here he is, Friday night ready to check it out...

Earning his keep. We are in the middle of celebrating Hanukkah and one of Dylan's gifts was his snow shovel. Just in time!

Saturday afternoon we headed over to my parents for some fun with Daddy and Grandpa Beej.

First snowman, please don't laugh. I had to quick snap the picture before he pulled the arms off.

Getting ready to go down the hill with Daddy...

Action photo. Big smiles!!!!

After a busy day of sledding we took Dylan down to the Christmas walk in the village. It was pretty lame but we got a picture with Santa. Just as I expected his reaction to be (Daddy is just off the photo to the left)

Happy Thanksgiving

Another Thanksgiving is in the books. We survived without eating too much turkey. Actually, Dylan wouldn't even give Thanksgiving dinner a try. He ate broccoli, sausage, blueberries and yogurt at both houses. That is his standard meal these days, and the spicier sausage the better.... Anyway, we spent Thursday night with the Weigle family at my parents house. Dylan took his first shared bath with his cousin Madeline. They ignored each other almost the entire time but it was a success. Neither of them were too photogenic but this one made me laugh.

Friday night we bonded with the Everitts and Dylan's 6 year old cousin Jon. The two are becoming fast friends. I got my first glimpse of what life must be like with two boys as Dylan out of nowhere became extremely interested in wrestling. It was all in good fun and no one got hurt. His new thing is giving hugs so Dylan clung to Jon's leg most of the evening. We can't wait to get these boys back together over Christmas!

And we can't forget what happens around Thanksgiving every year. Chad's birthday! We went out to Azteca with Chad's birthday buddy (and the love of Dylan's life) Reagan Hassel and family. Let's just say it wasn't exactly our best night out considering we had a 6 year old, 16 month old and 8 month old at the table. Good thing Mexican is fast. Next time, adults only :) Here is a picture of Chad with the kiddos below, Evyn, Reagan and Dylan. Happy Birthday Daddy!

15 Months

Ok so its been over a month and blogging isn't exactly my top priority these days. The newness of motherhood must be wearing off because I only took 3 pictures of Dylan in over a month. Oh well. He had his 15 month checkup and weighed in at a whopping 21 lbs 9 oz (less than 10th percentile) and measured 30.5 inches (under 50th percentile). I'm not sure if they are completely accurate as Dylan screamed bloody murder and put up a major fight during the entire appointment. I don't think it helped that the nurse was dressed up as a witch for Halloween. But we survived...

It has been a busy month as they always are. Most of you know I turned 30 last weekend. Minus the unsuccessful court case and a Hawkeye loss it was a great weekend. My college roomate and her husband came into town for the weekend. Friday Chad threw a fun party at Jersey Grille and Saturday we spent up in Iowa City cheering on the Hawks. Also, my older bro Ben came into town. He and Dylan really bonded. Dylan calls him 'Uh Bah' (Uncle Ben) and frequently asks about him when we go to Mimi's house so he will be excited to see him over Thanksgiving.

He looks very sweet and well behaved in the photo but don't let it fool you. Dylan is a piece of work. He is really into climbing, especially on the kitchen table. He also enjoys climbing on chairs and then diving off head first. He has successfully performed two complete sommersaults this past week. Perhaps he will be a gymnast. He amazes us every day with the new babbles coming out of his mouth. In the morning when he gets up he points to the TV and says 'Elmo On'. My other favorite words of his are doorbell and hairdryer. Not in perfect English but he is a great little communicator which is scary.

Thats about it for now. We have a fun filled weekend including a trip to Iowa City for the Michigan State game and last but not least Halloween. I'll try to get a good photo of our little dragon and post it before Thanksgiving :)

The Jury Is Still Out

For all of you who were on the edge of your seats wondering if I was guilty or innocent about the open container violation, you will just have to wait. Last Friday I woke at 6:15 am to make my 8 o'clock court appearance. I arrived in Iowa City only to find out this was an initial appearance, which meant I was SCHEDULING my court date. Seriously any lawyers out there, is this normal??? Can't this be done online or something? I showed up looking professional and with my 'statement' and photographic evidence for nothing. So my court date is scheduled for October 22 so stay tuned. Boo... And not that this needs to be repeated but I had to suffer through the Iowa v Arizona game the following night so needless to say it wasn't a stellar weekend. Oh well, if drinking tickets and Hawkeye losses are the two most stressful things I have going on right now I'd say life is pretty good!

And speaking of life is good we had an awesome time tonight celebrating Madeline's birthday. I'm not sure if there is anything more fun than watching a 1 year old discover cake. She took about 10 minutes to warm up to the idea but then it was game on. We have a chocolate fan!!!

And don't forget about Dylan. He loves birthday parties. Two forks are better than one!

Happy Hawkeye Fans

Football season has returned and Dylan has a new black and gold fall wardrobe. Minus the open container ticket I received last week (court date is scheduled for Friday so stay tuned) we have enjoyed our Saturday trips to Iowa City and look forward to the rest of the year.

I've been too lazy to post these days so here is an update on our almost 14 month old terror (yes, terror). Dylan's favorite toy is his silly Fisher Price corn popper. We have to take it for a walk every day. Most of you are friends with my mom on facebook so you probably saw the video she posted. Other than walking his pet corn popper Dylan keeps busy by climbing on anything and everything. The good news is that he waits to get into mischief until he is sure someone is watching... ok, its not really good news because he loves the word 'No' and any kind of negative attention. Oh well. Slowly but surely I'm working on this discipline stuff.

Dylan's favorite foods are carrots, broccoli, and sloppy joes. He refuses to eat any kind of pasta, even mac n cheese. Hope that changes soon....His favorite outing is the Childrens Museum. Below are a few pics from our most recent trip.

Playing with blocks

Cruisin the ramp in the toddler play area

Driving the John Deere Tractor with Madeline

His favorite toy at the Childrens Museum is the mop in the play kitchen. So today Mimi splurged and bought Dylan his own cleaning tools. The kit included a broom, mop and hardwood floor cleaner so he is set. After about 30 minutes of running around the house this afternoon I couldn't believe how much dirt he was able to pick up on the microfiber cloth. Next time I'll throw a little Bona cleaner on the floor and we'll both be happy. Sounds like this will become our new after dinner ritual?

Done with the kitchen and onto the dining room

And last but not least he is making the transition from two naps to one afternoon nap. So if you see me before noon and I'm not showered that's my excuse. Ta ta for now!

MIA

I have a pretty good excuse for the lack of blog posts the past few weeks. I will try to keep this as short as possible but here goes. Three weeks ago Dylan got sick. High fever and completely unable to sleep. I felt like I had a newborn again. But anyway, we survived. A few days later I came down with a headache and fever. I hardly ever get sick so I was pretty bummed. I shipped Dylan off to grandma and stayed home and slept. After 3 days Chad convinced me to go to the doctor. I was hoping for an antibiotic or pain medicine but the convenient care doctor sent me straight to the emergency room. WTF it was just a headache?!? After 6 hours in the ER I had a spinal tap to confirm viral meningitis. I had to stay overnight in the neuroscience wing of the hospital. Of course my headache went away by this point and I felt fine but they wouldn't let me go home until 5 the next day. Boo. All was well for two days until I came down with another bout of headaches. Turns out it was a complication from the spinal tap and I needed two days of complete bedrest (only get up to go to the bathroom). That didn't work so Friday I went back to the ER and had an epidural blood patch. And yes, it was as bad as it sounds, dont ask. But hooray, 11 days later I am finally back to normal! Woo hoo! I don't know what I would have done without two awesome sets of grandparents in town and an amazing husband. We also got a visit from Dylan's great grandparents DD and GG last week. Dylan loved having a new audience to show off all of his new tricks for. Hopefully he didn't wear them out too bad...

I can't believe its Labor Day next weekend! We are planning on going up to Iowa City for the Hawkeye season opener. Sorry Dylan, no games for you this year :( Go Hawks!

Madtown

This weekend we took our first family getaway up to Madison. I lived there for 4 1/2 years during college but spent most of my time drinking (and occassionally studying) so I decided it was time to check out all of the awesome family fun Madtown has to offer... We stayed at the Holiday Inn in West Towne and it was pretty sweet. They had an indoor waterpark perfect for toddlers. Dylan is now obsessed with waterslides. We also checked out the local zoo. Dylan was not a fan of his porta crib so he wasn't the best sleeper but other than that we had a great time. Action shots below!

A view of the pirate ship. Dylan is holding a plastic egg playing 'keep a way' with the little girl.

Going down the baby slideAnd back upGoing down the big slide with mom - bracing for impact!

Petting the goats at the zooHamming it up for a photo. He thought it was hilarious to stick his head through the holes.Dylan's first trip to mom's favorite college bar the KK! Sorry Dyl, 20 more years and I'll buy you a famous lunch box shot.

Partied Out...

We had an awesome week but it's time for this birthday to be over. Too much cake and too many toys! But we had so much fun celebrating with family and no surprise - Dylan has a sweet tooth just like his mommy. Too much to blog about so I'll just post a slide show.

Dylan is 1!

Happy Birthday Dylan! We cannot believe our baby is 1. The family birthday parties are scheduled for Thursday and Saturday so more photos to come next week. But we celebrated like any Quad City born and raised 1 year old should - with a Magic Mountain from Ross'! I know it's a little non traditional but he will get his share of cake later in the week :) Thanks to all of our family and friends for the birthday wishes. What a year its been!

Baby's First 4th

This weekend we celebrated Dylan's first Independence Day. Fortunately the weather was great so we spent ample time at the pool. Dylan likes to imitate everything we do these days. Too bad that means chugging Bud Lights at the pool just like daddy and grandpa Beej...

Last night we took Dyl to his first fireworks. He loved them, but the noise was a bit much so we watched most of the show inside the DCC clubhouse. I'm not sure if he was mesmerized by the light display or just completely exhausted because we didn't get home until after 10. Either way, it was fun. Afterwards, I realized I hadn't taken any pictures of him in his red, white and blue other than the one of him and Reagen below.... Anyway, the only other big news to report is that our baby is no longer toothless!!! Finally, Dyl has a bottom tooth :) Just in time too, because we only have two more weeks until his first birthday cake!

Mission Impossible

Thankfully we only have one more Mickey photo left because this is just too stressful. I finally asked Chad to come hold Dylan on the couch so I could snap his 11 month picture. Its definitely not his most photogenic moment but it will do. A couple of my favorite attempts are below. First, he stands up and walks away...

I attempted photos earlier but Dylan discovered Mickey's tail so he chewed on it for a while and screamed when I took it away (temper tantrums are becoming a daily occurrence at our house)

Ok, besides the Mickey photos life hasn't been too shabby for the little guy. He spends at least three days a week vegging in the pool. Good thing I discovered the dollar bin at Target because I'm not sure he can own enough plastic scoops. Always has to have one in each hand.

Thursday we went to an awesome play date. So many fun outdoor toys and things to do but Dylan stood in the same spot for an hour and played with the blue plastic scoop (oh well, cheap entertainment I guess).

Thursday night it was time for me to go out and play! My mom and I invited our friends Dale and Kristi to play in a 'Birdies in Paradise' golf event. You are looking at the 2010 champions! Yep thats right. I'm not sure how we pulled it off but it was fun.
Friday night I went out for sushi and cocktails to celebrate my long time friend Heather's birthday (don't worry girl, I won't post the number!) I came home to discover the power had been out at our house for almost 3 hours and my sweet husband didn't want to call to tell me because he wanted me to stay out and enjoy the evening and not worry about him and Dylan. Saturday night we went to a pool party (with the baby) and Sunday we celebrated Chad's first Father's Day with both our families. Good fun had by all! Happy Belated Father's Day to all you awesome dads out there!

New Faves

Dylan has three new favorite things. First is a love for popsicles. He definitely gets this from his mimi. A refreshing summer treat!
Second is the new 'happy hour' activity at our house. Dylan floats around in his own personal pool (aka our hot tub) before dinner while mom and dad sit on the side and drink a beer.

Good family fun! Last but not least is the Children's Museum, our new favorite rainy day activity. Unfortunately I didn't snap any photos because we were so busy running around and playing on the indoor ramp and slide. We have already been twice this week. Sure, he came down with a runny nose a few days later but it was worth it!

We are still making time for mommy and daddy fun! Friday night we played in a Hawaiian Luau two ball. Check out my grass skirt and coconut bra below. Our team won Best Dressed, well deserved. After the golf and roasted pig we jumped in the pool to cool down. Nothing better than swimming at 10 pm after a few cocktails :)

Ok time to make a plan for a rainy Sunday afternoon. Boo!

Dylan Who?

Happy Memorial Day weekend! Good thing it is almost over because I need a break from partying. This weekend kind of got out of control. But in a good way of course :) Saturday night I attended my friend Rachael's bachelorette party. The evening started out with an underwear shower and jello starts and finished with a party bus and drag show. Good times!

Yesterday we shipped Dylan overnight to Chad's parents and participated in our friend Traci's birthday bash/scavenger hunt. Five teams cruised all around town for items such as a Happy Joe's wooden coin, movie ticket stub, bowling pin and team pictures around famous 'landmarks'. The final challenge was to obtain a team photo with the Travoltas. Though it was mission impossible for most groups my mom's team ended up stalking the backup dancers at the Holiday Inn Rock Island (their hotel) and got a photo and autographs. Nice! The highlights of the evening included Traci stealing another team's Magic Mountain order and my mom almost getting into a fight with the girl dancing next to her, who then referred to my mom as 'midget girl'. As the Travoltas would say 'Oh What A Night'!!!

Don't worry, we really haven't forgotten about our little D. He had a great weekend too. Spent 4 days at the pool and loves the water. He is pondering the transition from crawler to walker. Check out some footage below!

We have a walker

It figures. Friday morning Chad and I dropped off Dylan at my parents house and headed to Chicago for my friend's wedding. We were less than 60 miles out of the quad cities when my mom called to report that Dylan started taking steps. So we missed three days of the beginning of the end. Oh well. I'll try to fire up the video camera and get some action shots. Meanwhile, we had a super weekend. Beautiful rehearsal dinner and wedding (my college roommate, the bride, looked amazing), awesome dinner and cake, good company, and an endless supply of cocktails. We stayed downtown right on the corner of Michigan Avenue and took some pictures over at Millenium Park. Chad and I need a few days of detox and sleep, but it was worth it. Congrats Kristin and Jeff!

Camera-less

My camera broke on vacation and I have been too lazy to get a new one, which explains the lack of blog posts since I have no updated photos. I had a wonderful first mother's day. Dylan and Chad bought me a pandora bracelet. Dylan is a great shopper already. We celebrated with the Everitts Saturday and the Weigles Sunday. Actually we have had lots to celebrate this week! My mom's birthday was Friday, my cousin Nate was Sunday and my brother in law Eric was Monday. And tomorrow Chad and I celebrate our third anniversary. We are looking forward to a Dylan free date night! Also my brother Ben is in town and Henry comes tomorrow so lots of family bonding. Chad and I may sneak out after a nice dinner to do some drinking with the cousins in the Village tomorrow night. So we are keeping busy. Still no teeth for Dylan and he is not walking yet fortunately but that doesn't stop him from cruising all over the house and getting into anything and everything. It took a while but he is really loving life. Maybe I'll get around to getting a camera and some new photos this week....

Hilton Head

Friday night we returned from a week long trip to Hilton Head. We had nice weather and fabulous company. The boys golfed and the women and kiddos played at the pool, visited the children's museum, shopped, and lounged around. Very relaxing. We all enjoyed our daily bike ride around the island. Unfortunately my camera broke after the first couple of days so I didn't get too many photos.

Dylan playing at the pool

Chad and Dylan posing by an alligator (the tiny spec on the left of Dylan)

Dylan and his crush, Reagan. We were thinking that Dyl would fall for Reagan's 8 week old sister Evyn , but she gave him the cold shoulder all week so instead he chased around Reagan like a little puppy dog. Here they are riding in the back of the bike trailer.

Awww good times. Guess it's back to work tomorrow :(