The firehouse!!

My bestest, Stef, is engaged to a fireman. Remember?

{heh. i cannot begin to explain the ways i love this picture}

So when we went to visit Auntie Stef one day, Eddie asked if Mike was going to be there. I (oops) told him he was probably at the firehouse working.  And right then, my little obsessed with field trips Eddie latched onto the idea of going to see Mike at the firehouse. And because we love them because they're awesome, off we went to the firehouse. My little man is so spoiled.

{he was very, very shy when we first got there. Mike and the other fire fighters that were there were awesome though, and let him have run of the place pretty much :) he warmed up slowly but surely}

{and I could kick myself in the ass for this, but I totally had my camera on the wrong settings. This is a (horrible quality) picture of Eddie man trying on Uncle Mike's jacket}

{ah! the bad settings! but OH MY GOD this picture kills me}

{they boy is obsessed with flashlights lately. the fact that Mike had one on his hat? Eddie's favorite thing ever. "You know what (enter person's name)? Mike's hat is heavy. And has a FLASHLIGHT!!!"}

{one of the most realistic smiles I got all day, here Eddie is in his favorite ambulance. The firehouse had 2 huge fire engines, 3 ambulances (one for the water rescue squad), a rescue boat, a tanker truck and 2 SUV trucks. Holy toddler boy heaven. But his favorite, hands down, was this particular ambulance}

{driving the firetruck, pushing the buttons to make the lights go and looking at the computer. this boy now thinks that he can really drive a firetruck...I tried so hard to tell him what we were doing was very special and not every kid gets to do this, but it just wooshes over his head, of course}

I am so thankful for Stef and Mike for letting us crash their day a bit, and so thankful for the other fire fighters for being so welcoming to me and Eddie. They happily lifted him into each truck, answered my questions and acted above all, like we weren't the bother that I'm sure we were. They really and truly made a little boy's day though, and for that I cannot thank them enough. 



Easter

Phew. I'm slacking lately. I've realized how many things I've forgotten to post....I've got the firehouse, Thomas Live, and, how did I forget....the United Center. Geez louise. I promise I'll be on my game soon. So right now I'll take advantage of a sick baby (its currently 10:11am (he's normally up no later than 7:15) and Eddie is still sleeping, trying to kick this horrible cold, on the day that we were supposed to be bowling with Michelle, Shelby and baby Leah :( poor guy) and post some Easter egg pictures!

Eddie had a blast dying easter eggs, he was very gentle (though this doesn't mean that we didn't have some cracked shells, he is 2 after all!) and the kit that I got was perfect....it was just a normal dye kit that came with chalk to color on the eggs once they dried. Cute and perfect for a toddler!

{shirtless is how we roll}

{ps, what is with the chris farley esque nipple covering? lol}

{how cute is this little ham? I was trying to just get pictures of the eggs and he threw his face in and saying 'cheeeese momma!'}

{my cute cute cute boys!}

{about a second after I dropped the egg I was holding. heh.}

{eddie now loves hard boiled eggs. you're welcome for this lovely picture}

{we left our eggs out for the easter bunny to hide}

{which made for the best part of easter morning. eddie loved hunting eggs! he would crack up when they were in silly places, doubling over laughing saying 'silly easter bunny!' soo cute}

{omg, that face}

{we went to my parent's house in the afternoon for brunch and a little egg hunt. unfortunately, i was less than on my picture game and this is the only picture that I like...their magnolia tree!}

{after a good nap at my parent's, we were off to hubby's parents' new house! they just moved about 15 minutes away from us, and we are so happy! Eddie loves playing hockey with his Bapa Frank and spent most of the time in the basement playing. He also became a total Uncle Pat lover, inviting Uncle Pat to play when he would even send Daddy away :) we also got to watch the ah-maz-ing blackhawks game (too bad last night's game didn't end the same way!) and eat some yum-yum-yummy bucca di beppo!}

it was such a good easter....nice and relaxing! I hope you all had such a wonderful day!

Perform Beautifully

My amazingly talented and beautiful friend Sara is in a contest sponsored by Oakley. If she wins, she'll get to go to Napa for a fitness retreat, which is something that I know she'll not only love, but as a mom to 2 year old Lillie, I know she deserves it! And while her pictures speak for themselves (scroll through to see them all, and to see cute little Lillie!) I have to say that this girl has always been in the most amazing shape and has a post baby body in line with most supermodels....no joke! She is so sweet, so beautiful, and I know she'd appreciate it if you voted for her!


(click through any of the above links to vote. it is linked through facebook, so don't be confused when you're directed there!)

Walking adventures

Oh, my independant little man. Eddie is currently in love with exploring, and comes up with the funniest places to go. Lately, he is crazy about water towers and will not stop asking to walk to one...with DADDY. Not Momma, mind you, but just Daddy. Boys.

So one morning, out of nowhere, Eddie says that he wants to go to the dolphin show. So, we check the weather for the nicest day and off we go to the zoo. I love letting Eddie walk around the zoo, so we went with that plan, and it worked! Last time we walked the zoo I had to carry Eddie out while he cried. This time, I knew that wasn't an option because I just cannot carry the boy anymore...this belly is too big! Oh, and for the record, we only walk half the zoo at a time...I don't think he or I could make it the whole zoo :)

{on our way there, Eddie announced that he was scared of tigers. And maybe frogs. Oh, silly boy. This tiger was our warm up}

{and what do you know? had to drag him away from the tigers. he just sat and watched him forever}

{for being scared of the tiger, he then had a great time pretending to be one!}

{he beloved dolphins!}

{brushing the goats}

{relaxing in our favorite hidden area}

{and then i let him paint his face. and oh, it was so funny}

{you should have seen the other moms looking at me like i was crazy. dude! it's washable! it makes him happy! and he thought he was a fierce tiger...come on, not much cuter than that}

{and if our tiger day was too one sided, the tiger on the merry go round was taken, so he was quite happy with his second favortie...the lion}

{so much for being scared}

{but he never did see any frogs, so you never know}

Moomas

....and everyone who doesn't speak "eddie" says HUH? at the title! The Moomas are the Imagination Movers, Eddie's favorite little 'band' that is on Disney. Probably over a year ago I found a Movers CD and got it for some half-sane kids music to play in the car. Eddie has been in love ever since, and although we don't get to  watch their show very often, I'd say that the Moomas are pretty close to the top of his love list. So when they came to Rosemont a couple weeks ago, I knew we had to go. And oh my, the child talked about it for FOREVER.

{I told eddie to look excited. this is what i got. um....ok?}

{choo choo soul opened for the moomas! and now eddie feels as though he can break dance like D.C.}

{and there they are! eddie was stunned}

{he danced a little, but not as much as I was expecting! he prefered to sit in his own seat...feelin' like a big boy, i guess!}

{oh, it was very, very hard to leave. "i want to see it again!!!!" was all we heard for the next 20 minutes}

After the show I went to support the moomas on their facebook page and then google searched them, only to find out that these guys are seriously awesome, anything from award winning teachers to architects and fire fighters. They decided to form the group after seeing a void in male role models and also feeling that there was a need to good, real kids music. They really are awesome, and I'm so happy that were went to the concert. Love them!

19 weeks

Yay for a normal doctor's appointment! After being hospitalized with the flu and then being banned from my doctor's office, only to be sent to the worst doctor I've ever met, I was a super happy camper to be back with my amazing OB. He's honestly one of my favorite people ever and after my flu scare, I truly appreciate just how awesome he is.

In my flu-related appointments, I'd learned that I had lost a total of 10lbs since becoming pregnant, baby's heart rate was always great and that I never want to have the flu again. At this appointment.....


Weeks: 19w3d
Heartbeat: found via doppler and seen via ultrasound! That's right...we had our ultrasound, too! Is there anything better than seeing your baby on that fuzzy little screen? I think not! While we had the option to find out what baby's gender is, we chose not to :) Baby didn't want to give us one of those beautifully adorable profile shots, instead he/she kept looking at the ultrasound thing. Which, I'm going to be honest...creepy! We laughed, though, everytime she went to baby's face he/she would turn right towards it like "why in the world are you poking me?!" he/she also kept his one arm and hand up by his face, just like Eddie used to...that's pretty much the only comparisson though, since we couldn't get a profile view. As a side note, she pushed super hard during my ultrasound, at one point causing me some cramping. Even baby was getting frustrated...whenever she would stop he/she would kick and stretch out in relief. I know how you feel, babe!
Weight: + 6lbs...yowza! And let me tell you, I felt every pound. When I hopped on the scale I told the nurse that I knew I gained a bunch....I can feel it and I'm not that crazy about the feeling!
Feeling: great! still sleepy, wanting to eat all the effing time and have to pee every 10 minutes. Baby's legs are right on my bladder, and I can tell you that he/she looooves to kick my bladder. not fun :)
Craving: anyone can make me crave anything at anytime. mention it and I want it. the one thing that is consistant is my love for steak. nom nom nom
Next appointment: 4 weeks and finally getting to see the doctor that delivered eddie! my normal OB (dr. k) kept me with him after the flu disaster so he could continue to check up on me, and as much as I love him, I'm looking forward to seeing dr. d!
Eddie says: (my new section, since eddie asks the funniest questions about baby)....he killed me the other day, asking tons of questions about baby (what will it eat, play, what he will share with baby (including "popcibles") but the one that really got me was after he stopped to think for about 5 minutes. "Momma?" he asked "what's baby's name?" and oh...it was just adorable. I teared up. He will talk to baby through my belly button, and just a second ago he brought over an icepack from the freeze "for baby". Thanks, buddy! He won't answer when we ask him if the baby is a girl or a boy...he just says "it's a baby"....I hope that one day he'll play our game!
Belly pic: Meh, I'll get one soon. I'm huge, that about sums it up.

Happy Birthday Momma!!!

Today marks the.....heh, nevermind.....


Today is my Momma's birthday! I'm happy to say that we actually got to spend a lot of time with them this weekend (eddie especially) when they came home from their spring break trip early. Not that I'm happy to have their vacation weather be sub-par, but I was happy to have them home....I talk to my mom on an average of 2 times a day and I was going through withdrawl!

Now, my brother and I got my mom a present together, so she has to wait until later to know what that is, but so I didn't go to her empty handed this weekend, I decided to make a cute little cupcake flower arrangement.

{mini bundt cake pan covered with tissue paper to make the cupcake base, a little half round of oasis holding the flowers, candle on top. cute!}

And even though her pre-celebration was kind of a bust (eddie woke her up nice and early, sushi station was meh, and our hobby lobby trip yielded nada) and Eddie simply could not believe that it wasn't his birthday (no, is my birfday! he would say all day) I hope she had fun. Because who doesn't have fun when a bunch of people come over to bug you for your birthday?

Happy Birthday Mom! Love you!!!