We had a visit from our local friendly fireman today after our smoke detector kept repeatedly going off (right as Ben was trying to nap, of course). We were worried as our attic space needs to be vented and we haven't gotten to it yet. So, I called the fire department and they came to take a look. Fortunately, it was just a bad battery. I felt a little foolish to have the big truck come and everything, but better safe than sorry, right???
P.S. We really are leaving for vacation (tomorrow).
Monday, July 31, 2006
George William Finch Gulde
I got to meet the GORGEOUS little guy this morning! It was great to see Sally, Matt, and George. They are all doing well and looking good. Congrats, you guys!!!
Sunday, July 30, 2006
One more LITTLE thing...
CONGRATULATIONS to Sally and Matt on the birth of their son, George William Finch Gulde, who arrived today at 4:20pm, weighing in at 8#14 oz (2oz heavier than his sister, Francis, at birth) and 21" long. I am having trouble showing his photo, so check out: www.mattandsally.com for more info. I love you guys and am so happy for you! I hope to meet the little guy tomorrow before we head out of town. Lots of love to you all!!!!
Saturday, July 29, 2006
Going on vacation
We'll be away for about two weeks for a trip out East to see Steven's family and one of our new neices. We'll post all about our trip when we return. Take care!
Cooling off...
It is HOT, really, really hot here in Chicago. The heat index has been over 100 degrees for the past few days with no signs of it letting up. Phew. I'm not a big fan of this kind of weather. I prefer it to be 70-80 and breezy.
Friday we went down to Millenium park for a Friday picnic with Daddy. Afterwards, we took Benjamin to the fountains to splash around and get cool. If you've been to Millenium park, they have these amazing towers of water which also have digital images of peoples faces on them. The faces make expressions, smile, blink and also "spit" water out of their mouths at regular intervals, spraying out about 10 feet. The water in between the towers is about 1 inch deep and is full of kids running around, enjoying getting splashed. Benjamin loved it! The funniest thing is that he kept trying to lap up the water like a dog, on all fours. He also does this in his bath and at the pool. We try to prevent it, but sometimes he sneaks in a few sips. (I promise we do give him plenty of water to drink otherwise!) I got especially grossed out thinking about the contents of this park's water (people's gross feet, pigeons, etc.). Hopefully he didn't take too much in...YUCK.
If you want to see more photos and get a feel for what the towers look like, click on this picture and it will take you to our Flickr account and other photos.
Friday we went down to Millenium park for a Friday picnic with Daddy. Afterwards, we took Benjamin to the fountains to splash around and get cool. If you've been to Millenium park, they have these amazing towers of water which also have digital images of peoples faces on them. The faces make expressions, smile, blink and also "spit" water out of their mouths at regular intervals, spraying out about 10 feet. The water in between the towers is about 1 inch deep and is full of kids running around, enjoying getting splashed. Benjamin loved it! The funniest thing is that he kept trying to lap up the water like a dog, on all fours. He also does this in his bath and at the pool. We try to prevent it, but sometimes he sneaks in a few sips. (I promise we do give him plenty of water to drink otherwise!) I got especially grossed out thinking about the contents of this park's water (people's gross feet, pigeons, etc.). Hopefully he didn't take too much in...YUCK.
If you want to see more photos and get a feel for what the towers look like, click on this picture and it will take you to our Flickr account and other photos.
Do other people celebrate such anniversaries?
Thursday the 27th was the 4 year anniversary of our first date!!! For the past 3 years we have celebrated by at least acknowledging the day. This year we celebrated by having a quiet meal together after Benjamin went to bed.
We had a really great first date 4 years ago. Steven took me out to dinner to my favorite restaurant, Rose Angelis, which also happened to be his favorite restaurant. We then went to see "Meet Me in St. Louis," a great old movie with Judy Garland. Not only is it a classic, a wonderful, cheesy musical, but it was playing outdoors in a downtown Chicago park. The evening was wonderful. Its so fun to reminisce about our early days of dating and to see how far we've come! I love you, Steven! Thanks for asking me out!
We had a really great first date 4 years ago. Steven took me out to dinner to my favorite restaurant, Rose Angelis, which also happened to be his favorite restaurant. We then went to see "Meet Me in St. Louis," a great old movie with Judy Garland. Not only is it a classic, a wonderful, cheesy musical, but it was playing outdoors in a downtown Chicago park. The evening was wonderful. Its so fun to reminisce about our early days of dating and to see how far we've come! I love you, Steven! Thanks for asking me out!
Every (little) boys fantasy
The other day "the Village" came to dig up our yard due to a water leak in one of our pipes. Let me tell you just how relieved we are that it is NOT our responsibility to fix it (for once)!!!! They came by at 7:30 am to start digging with a very large back-hoe. Maybe all back-hoes are large, but it was big enough for us. They even blocked off our street to work, it was all very exciting. Well, our little boy went googly-eyed over such an interesting machine. I guess it must be ingrained in all boys to find such things interesting, but I will also say that I was pretty intrigued myself. The back-hoe operator looked right up at us and smiled as we intently watched him from the window in our pajamas. Maybe he remembered back to the day when he was a little boy going googly-eyed and his dream came true!
Sunday, July 23, 2006
Operation Rocking Horse
My Dad is an excellent carpenter and has recently made a few rocking horses just like the one I had growing up. If you are frequent visitors to our blog, you would have seen the previous entry about 1.5 months ago showing Ben on our horse, which we having lovingly named Roxanne, in honor of Steven's pony that he had as a child. Several of my friends and their children have tested out our horse with great delight. Yesterday, my parents visited and brought along a couple horses. We delivered them yesterday afternoon to Karen and Bill for their daughters Miriam and Ellen, and also to Sally and Matt and their daughter, Francis. Here are the photos of us delivering and installing them at their respective homes. We love you guys and are so glad you can enjoy these wonderful horses!
Diss!
Ben's favorite word now is "Diss" while pointing at this an that. He also loves to go over to the window and try to crank it open. Its so fun to watch him making connections and learning new things. He is now 13 months, is confidently walking all over, and is learning some new sign language. We can also hear him attempt to imitate what we say by making similiar sounds. He loves to ride around in his bike seat on my bike, play at the pool, be outside, and peek over the edge of the bathtub. He's fascinated with little objects and how things work. What a delight! I think we have said this at many stages, but this is such a fun age!
A Mother's Work is Never Done...
This was the pile of laundry I had facing me the other day. It wouldn't have been a problem to get it all folded and put away if it wasn't for the little monkey hiding on the pile :)
First Greasy Spoon
We all went out for breakfast this week on Steven's day off to a local greasy spoon (so greasy, in fact, that I cannot remember the name of it). It was a GREAT place, and so kid friendly. They even had a bucket of toys for Ben. There's nothing like hashbrowns and scrambled eggs prepared by a 300 pound cook...boy, were they good!!!!
Friday, July 21, 2006
Embarassing moment
I've had a few doozies of embarassing moments in my life, this one wasn't so bad, but I got a good laugh out of it.
The other day I went to Caribou Coffee for a little coffee treat while getting a few hours alone to myself. Its been a really busy week with lots of details to manage...to say the least, I was distracted and sleep-deprived. It went like this:
Amy: Walks up, squints while reading the drink option menu. Decides on a "coffee cooler", much like a Frappacino. Approaches cashier and ask "Can you make that drink iced???"
Cashier: (looking confused) "...but, it IS iced."
Amy: (feeling stupid)..."OH! I mean can you make it DECAF?"
Cashier: "Oh, sure. No problem. That will be $3.48"
Amy: Hands cashier $3.00
Cashier: "Uh...Do you have $0.50?"
Amy: (confidently) "Nope." (thinking I gave cashier $4.00)
A few seconds later (feeling even more stupid)...
"Oh my gosh. I thought, uh...here's another $1.00"
Amy: A few seconds later..."OH! Hey, I have $0.02 so I can get $0.50 back...."
Cashier: (confused) "Um...then your change will be $0.54..."
Amy: (now wanting to crawl in a hole)
"...You'll have to excuse me, I'm really out of it. AND, Please don't tell anyone you've talked to me!!!!"
The cashier was very sweet and a very good sport. She was probably thinking "Geesh, she should have gone for the caffeine!!!"
The other day I went to Caribou Coffee for a little coffee treat while getting a few hours alone to myself. Its been a really busy week with lots of details to manage...to say the least, I was distracted and sleep-deprived. It went like this:
Amy: Walks up, squints while reading the drink option menu. Decides on a "coffee cooler", much like a Frappacino. Approaches cashier and ask "Can you make that drink iced???"
Cashier: (looking confused) "...but, it IS iced."
Amy: (feeling stupid)..."OH! I mean can you make it DECAF?"
Cashier: "Oh, sure. No problem. That will be $3.48"
Amy: Hands cashier $3.00
Cashier: "Uh...Do you have $0.50?"
Amy: (confidently) "Nope." (thinking I gave cashier $4.00)
A few seconds later (feeling even more stupid)...
"Oh my gosh. I thought, uh...here's another $1.00"
Amy: A few seconds later..."OH! Hey, I have $0.02 so I can get $0.50 back...."
Cashier: (confused) "Um...then your change will be $0.54..."
Amy: (now wanting to crawl in a hole)
"...You'll have to excuse me, I'm really out of it. AND, Please don't tell anyone you've talked to me!!!!"
The cashier was very sweet and a very good sport. She was probably thinking "Geesh, she should have gone for the caffeine!!!"
Monday, July 10, 2006
Sally's Shower
On Saturday, we celebrated the upcoming arrival of Baby Boy Gulde at Penny's Noodle Shop, a local Thai restaurant. It was a really great time of enjoying lunch and catching up with friends. Sally posted more pictures on her website at www.mattandsally.com. Doesn't Sally look great??? We can't wait to meet you, baby boy! Come out to see us soon, you hear???
Sisters, sisters...
Kim (my sister-in-law) and her sister Amber came over for dinner the other night. Amber is an actor and lives in LA. She is a wonderful person, very creative and talented. We loved seeing you both, thanks for coming over!!!
Can't you see the resemblance?
Can't you see the resemblance?
Fun at the Zoo
Last week I went to the zoo with Sally and Francis for a mid-day diversion. This is the only photo I took...
I think Benjamin will be REALLY into the zoo in about 6 months. He does love seeing the animals, especially a bunny, the otters, and birds. The family zoo is so fun, with lots of activities for kids and interactive stuff like watering plants, petting animals, and even a play animal hospital. Its great! I'm so glad we live so close to be able to enjoy it regularly.
I think Benjamin will be REALLY into the zoo in about 6 months. He does love seeing the animals, especially a bunny, the otters, and birds. The family zoo is so fun, with lots of activities for kids and interactive stuff like watering plants, petting animals, and even a play animal hospital. Its great! I'm so glad we live so close to be able to enjoy it regularly.
Tuesday, July 04, 2006
Fireworks
Tonight we did something I thought we'd never do...we woke up Benjamin at 8:45 this evening to take him to the fireworks. I guess I was being selfish as I absolutely love the Fourth of July, especially fireworks. We both knew that we could be shooting ourselves in the foot with this decision, but we decided to take the risk. Thankfully, it was so much fun! We went with Kim (Ben's Aunt) and Benjamin actually really loved it. He kept pointing and going "ah". He seemed shocked that we woke him up, but didn't fuss at all (highly unusual for him). The best part of all is that we laid him down in his crib upon our return, and he went right back to sleep. A miracle. Truly a miracle. It was a fun family day and the fireworks were so worth it. As Steven reminded me, today is truly a wonderful celebration of our country's independence. I am proud to live in this country, although I can't say I'm proud of all that we represent or all that we do. However, I do think we are so blessed to be free!
Family Picnic
Today we celebrated Independence Day by having a family picnic in a nearby park. We rode our bikes there and spread out near a playground. My romantic notion of a family picnic wasn't quite how it all turned out....Ben was into everything, gagged on some strong cheese we fed him, got his and our clothes dirty, ate sand...etc. All that being said, it was a precious memory that I will always carry with me. Romantic family picnics are overrated, anyway.
Peaches
Peaches, Laurie, Heather and I have known each other for a long time. We reconnected on Sunday to see Peaches again as she's having a baby in September. I love you, girls! It was great to catch up and see one another again...
Good friends
Theres nothing like hanging out with good friends. Sally, Matt, Francis (and soon to be born Baby Boy Gulde) had us over for burgers the other day on their newly rehabbed porch (see www.mattandsally.com). It was so good to be together!!! We live only a few blocks away and although Sally and I see each other often, we rarely get together with our husbands, too. It was such a good time, we definitely need to do it more often....
Francis and Ben enjoyed their wagon ride, too!
Francis and Ben enjoyed their wagon ride, too!
Our future plumber
Ben is fascinated with the knobs that turn on the water to our sink. Does this mean something for his future vocation? Steven said he wouldn't mind if Ben does become a plumber...it could come in handy, after all!
(You can do whatever you want, Ben, we will love and support you either way!)
(You can do whatever you want, Ben, we will love and support you either way!)
Michelle's birthday
Last week we visited my friend Michelle in the city for her birthday pizza party. It was great (other than the unusually long trip downtown due to unexplainable traffic). Happy Birthday, Michelle!
Biker Dude
We got this bike seat at a yard sale and I have just started riding around with him. With the exception of one ride, he seems to really like it! I love riding my bike (especially with the horrific gas prices) and its good exercise, too!
Lots to catch up on....
I've been out of blogging for the past week or so and much has happened. I will keep it brief and start with this...
Last week, Athenia and Paula came over with their children (Kate, Coulter, respectively). We were in a childbirth class together when we were pregnant and have kept in pretty good contact. We really enjoy one another's company and the kids are starting to enjoy being together. The best part of the day was the kiddie pool. Its great that we can be entertained by such entertaining individuals :) You guys are great, Paula, you will be missed incredibly!
Last week, Athenia and Paula came over with their children (Kate, Coulter, respectively). We were in a childbirth class together when we were pregnant and have kept in pretty good contact. We really enjoy one another's company and the kids are starting to enjoy being together. The best part of the day was the kiddie pool. Its great that we can be entertained by such entertaining individuals :) You guys are great, Paula, you will be missed incredibly!
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