Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

Well, we made it home from San Diego! We had a wonderful trip and took so many pictures, which I hope to post in the next few days! My first night back at work was just fine, too. A very slow night, so I had no problem getting my pumping breaks and I had plenty of time to catch up with the girls, too. More importantly, the boys did great. Ben slept from 9-6 (which is definitely not his norm) and was asleep again when I got home. Hopefully my second night back will be as pleasant for everyone :o) We hope everyone has a Happy St. Patrick's Day!!! Here are some more pictures of us decked out in our green on Monday in Legoland...

Keepin' Busy

Owen's been "knitting"

And "building machines"

And of course, snuggling on the couch!

Ben is getting big!!!

Here is a video of smiley Ben- Please pardon my baby talk!

Some of Owen and Ben's girlfriends stopped by on Thursday afternoon for a little bit! The kids had so much fun!

I have to go back to work tomorrow night :o( How could 12 weeks fly by so quickly??? I am bummed, but at least I just work tomorrow and then I don't have to go back until 3/19. No offense to my work friends, of course. I'm sure the boys will be fine. It's just a little sad to think about leaving Ben for such a long time! I think the longest I've been without him ever was last weekend when we had a babysitter and were gone for 4 1/2 hours. And, the thought of staying up past 10 pm is a little frightening, too! I think I'm going to have to make a Starbucks run on the way to work... Also, we're heading to San Diego with the Walsh's next week for Mike's cousin's wedding. It should be a lot of fun! We are looking forward to seeing everyone and hopefully some nice weather, too! And, Owen's 3rd birthday is next Saturday. It seems unreal!!! Thank goodness we have little Ben, or I think I'd be depressed that Owen is becoming such a big boy. I'm sure we'll be doing lots of celebrating in San Diego! I'll be sure to take lots of pictures :o)

More sweet brothers...

Hanging Around

Owen's been sharing toys with baby brother. How many cars can you find in Ben's chair? And, will he still be willing to share his toys when Ben actually cares???

Opening some Valentine's and snuggling on the couch

and on the chair

Owen modeling his new apron from Grammy. Don't you love his matching hairnet? It is actually the butterfly net from Elefun, but he loves to wear it on his head for some reason...

Baking some banana bread and trying out the apron

Delicious!

The usual suspects eating some pizza at a Superbowl party

Enjoying some cake at Andrew's birthday party. I can't believe Owen will be 3 in less than a month!!!

Making mailboxes at the Valentine party

I made Ben's ( I love art projects, so if Owen isn't very into it, I never mind finishing up :o) )

All of the kids are looking at the camera... amazing!

Ben enjoying the Valentine's Day Party...

After they ate lots of treats and played their little hearts out, we unleashed the kids in Melissa's back yard. They had so much fun! Owen loved pulling the sled :o)

And riding in it, too!

Father-Son bonding... And, for the record, Mike dressed him. Tennis shoes and socks and bare legs...

Ben before Church... I knit his hat and it is starting to fit :o)

Gym class at the YMCA... It's only about 3 blocks away so we almost always walk which is great! I can't wait until the weather gets a little nicer so we can start walking more!

They absolutely love it!!! It is pretty much unstructured play time. The perfect winter activity for little boys who live in small condos! I don't know why we didn't do this sooner!

Some live action from gym class...

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This video is a little long, but I just wanted to share Owen's giggle

Ben also very much enjoys the class


Last week, Owen had a pretty bad cold. We mostly stayed in and he spent a lot of time laying on the couch. I knit him this hat before Ben was born and he wore it for 3 days straight. He didn't even want to take it off when he went to bed! It is getting a little small. I think I'd better make him a new hat soon!


He did have energetic bursts... (again, he was disappointed because he didn't get any milk out!)


I don't know if you can tell from the picture, but while I ran to change Ben while Owen was in the tub, he dumped about half a bottle of Mike's body wash and then half a bottle of my body wash in. He smelled very fresh after that bath!


Everything is more fun in a box! Very silly!

Ben and Lola snuggling on the couch



What a little sweetie! And, he had just had a bath so he smelled heavenly!


I'm not lying, though it doesn't seem like this could possibly be true! Ben was 2 months old last Tuesday. Time sure flies when you're having fun :o)

"We are adventurers!"

Sometimes Owen proclaims this when we are playing! I always think it's kind of funny! Here are some pictures of our winter adventures around Chicago... When I take out our new (well, actually gently used) double stroller in the snow, I feel like quite the adventurer! It handles wonderfully, even in 5-6 inches, for the record.

Here are Owen, Eliza, and Andrew taking advantage of free day at the Field Museum. I didn't take too many pictures but the kids had a great time. They especially enjoyed the dinosaurs and the play area in the basement. If you get there early enough, you can get metered parking spots about a 3 min walk from the museum that cost $1/hr. A wonderful and cheap way to spend the day!!!



We also went to free day at the Museum of Science and Industry. Another very fun day! Parking costs$16, but it is easy and close to the museum entrance. Owen loved the tractor and combine. Just like Pa's!

Baby chicks

They have an awesome, huge model train which the kids loved!!!

Owen and Eliza, flying to Grandma's house!

Owen the construction man...

Another "adventure" in the city... afternoon tea at the Peninsula! Apparently that is where all of the celebrities stay when they visit Chicago. So fancy and fun! We went in honor of my friend Liane's baby to be! Amazingly, we found street parking across the street from the hotel on a Saturday afternoon! The food was delicious and amazingly, we all went home stuffed and didn't even eat dinner. I guess we got our money's worth!