chicago trip: part 2

 

so our chicago trip continues. part one is here. after we got back from the beach, bastian took a nap and we all got ready for the main event. the bride looked gorgeous as always! i loved her dress, so classic and elegant. everything about the entire wedding was beautiful! the reception was at a small country club in the middle of the city. you would never know it was there! they had yard games set up during the cocktail hour and of course bastian had a blast. he really loved croquet…and he looked pretty cute playing with the mallets. i also had the honor of helping the bride and groom with their print pieces for the wedding. i will share those soon too.brian’s mom and step-father were nice enough to take bastian home to bed after dessert, which allowed brian and i to dance the night away. the wedding’s decorations, food, band and atmosphere were all exceptional.

the next morning bastian was so tired on the plane that he fell asleep in brian’s arms. he was pretty happy about it too 🙂 i sure miss those days of having your baby sleep in your arms. we now know that a plane ride is doable and our little guy can be a good little traveler.

chicago: part 1

this past weekend we flew to chicago for brian’s beautiful cousin katie and her now husband will’s wedding. it was a short weekend filled with fun and beautiful weather. bastian did great on his first plane ride. we were really lucky to have brian’s mom and step-father driving to chicago so they took all of our luggage, stroller and car seat, which left us with only carrying a diaper bag. i wore bastian in the ergo through the security check line, and boarding the plane. while we were waiting for our plane to arrive, he had a blast running around the airport and looking at the planes and “trains” (the luggage cars). he would squeal with excitement and even got a few waves from the plane crew.

once we got to chicago we decided to take the L into the city. we played around with a bunch of different options – checking our car seat and getting a taxi, seeing if uber rents out car seats, taking a cab with no car seat (i just didn’t feel comfortable for a longer ride though). taking the L ended up being so easy and cheap. it took us within a 10 minute walk to the apartment we rented. side note: i will never travel any other way with family than renting apartments. it’s so nice with kids, and you have the amenities of home. we rented through vrbo. anyways, the L was great, bastian took a nap and the ride went quick.

that night we went to the rehearsal dinner which was so beautiful! bastian wore the cutest outfit and just looked like a little stud. he loved looking out the windows at the downtown traffic. he was such  trooper after a day of traveling too. being able to have all of our family together is something that doesn’t happen too often, so when it does we sure have fun. last time brian and i were in chicago, i was 11 weeks pregnant with bastian.

the next morning we took a long walk to get breakfast at ann sathers (amazing food btw). we walked along the lake front while everyone was running or biking around us. they got a little miffed at our slow stroller pace…hehe. we then went to montrose beach which was amazing! bastian was in heaven. he literally could have spent the whole day there. we ended up just taking his clothes off and let him go to town in the sand and water. he would bear crawl, pushing his hands under the sand and then lay on his tummy, loving feeling of getting dirty. i made little sand balls for him to throw, along with rocks and wet sand. he probably has baby dreams about going back there.

i now know that our next family vacation will have to involve a beach. he just felt free there. i am sure he would have preferred to be completely naked haha but i didn’t want too much sand getting in that cute little bum of his.

part two coming soon.

cool guy

 

last week bastian insisted on pushing his trike on our after dinner walk. he thought he was a pretty cool guy, showing off to all the neighbor kids. he managed to fall and give his chin a little scratch…and then allowed mom to hold his hand the rest of the way home. bastian has become quite the cool guy lately. cool guy hat, check! big boy shoes, check! no longer wanting to be strolled, check! everyday he manages to amaze me with his growth and development. he loves the idea of being independent and playing on his own. he no longer needs me to help him play or show him how to play with certain toys. he understands everything we say now and i love to see his wheels turning inside that little head.

brian and i watched some videos from around bastian’s first birthday, which was only 3 months ago, and we couldn’t believe how much he has changed! it’s hard to believe that in 3 short months a little person can learn and grow that much. he mimics things we do around the house and even does little chores for us like throwing away his own dirty diapers 🙂 although there are moments where he is very attached to brian or me, he has become more social and interested in others around him.

bastian has a few words that he says…or so mom and dad think he is saying. “da” is dog (and cat…and sometimes anything that walks by our house) “hah” is hot. he will walk by the grill and put his hand out and shake it back and forth and say “hah, hah” with a concerned look on his face. lots of food and drink are “hah” too. “tizzy” is kitty and maybe also tilly my parents dog. “ba” is ball. “burburzz” is blueberry. he blows kisses, gives open mouth kisses and likes to wave and say “hi”. he loves to run and is now climbing, yikes! when he is outside there is stick in hand at all times. 

i love this age, and although those molars are starting to cause a bit more whining, he is still so much fun. i know in another 3 months i will be amazed at his changes. oh they grow so fast…but it truly doesn’t make me sad…because this is what having a kid is all about right?!!

mn trip part 2

 

our minnesota trip continued…the second day at the lake was much much better, meaning bastian was a happy boy! brian’s sister, bastian and i took a walk around the lake and got back just in time for someone to take his morning nap. then when he woke up we took brian and bastian tubing and it was so cute. he was not very excited about it right at first, but after a minute he relaxed and enjoyed the ride. it was so adorable to see him in his little life jacket just chillin’ on the tube. we made sure we went real slow too 🙂 the weather was perfect and everyone was just enjoying themselves. we got to see the older kids ski, only on one ski fyi…it’s ‘dorky’ to do two skis…i have so much to learn about lake life. the next day we took the boat to the marina where they had a sand beach. bastian played in the water and had fun throwing rocks. we said farewell to the lake and headed back to town. that night bastian got to pretend to ride some sweet motor toys like a atv and a dirt bike. he thought he was something else. we ended our trip sitting outside enjoying a drink and talking. we left the next morning, and although bastian wasn’t excited about being in the car, he took a long morning nap and then i tried to entertain him in the back seat the rest of the time. we were glad to be done with driving when we got home…we did shave off 30 minutes from our drive though!

minnesota is so beautiful and we want to make this trip an annual thing. every year bastian will begin to love it more and more. we can’t thank our family enough for being such great hosts and showing us a wonderful time.

mn trip part 1

last weekend we took a trip to minnesota to visit brian’s sister and family. we took this trip last year when bastian was only 3 months old. this year we got to do a lot more fun things including driving up north to their cabin on bay lake. the drive to minnesota took about 6.5 hours and bastian did pretty good. i packed a bag of stupid dollar bin knick-knacks for him to play with. sesame street ‘singing with the stars’ was a life saver though. if you don’t have this, get it. brian and i have found ourselves singing old destiny’s child songs around the house. ll cool j even makes an appearance…i mean you just have to get this. we stopped twice and although it was a struggle to get bastian back in the car seat we managed to make it to minnesota.

bastian was so excited to see his cousins and his aunt and uncle. the first night there we went to a wedding shower for an old friend of the family. there were lots of kids and bastian had a blast. there was a sweet college girl who was the babysitter for all the kids, so brian and i could watch from afar while we enjoyed a cocktail and some adult talk.

the next day we headed to bay lake, which was under a 2 hour drive. bastian was not happy. it was like the ride from hell. i am not sure if his teeth hurt, his tummy hurt, or he was just plain old pissed he was in the car again, but there were lots of tears. once we got to the cabin we were all ready to get the heck out of the car.

their cabin was so nice and the scenery so beautiful. we unpacked our stuff and headed for the lake. we took a boat ride – again…bastian was not very happy. i think he was over-tired and after some crying, he finally fell asleep in my arms on the boat, which i didn’t mind :). i was definitely ready for him to go to bed at the end of the day…mean mom. that night we grilled steaks and just enjoyed the beautiful weather and scenery and played a little dice.

i have so many fun photos that i split this post into two parts. to be continued…

guest post: baby swim lessons

 

i have a guest post over at parentsavvy.com today! you can check it out here.

fourth of july

hope everyone had a great fourth of july. we sure did! bastian was too young still to stay up for the night time fireworks (i really can’t wait for him to see those ;)) but he did get to see some fireworks. we spent the day at my girlfriend’s parent’s pool. they have a party every fourth, and although we aren’t as rambunctious as we used to be, we still manage to have a blast. the food, drinks and company were all wonderful; they even have a designated margarita maker who makes sure your cup never goes empty…can’t beat that! bastian had a lot of fun in the sun and then took near a 3 hour nap…3 hours…so needless to say i got to soak up some sun and lounge without worry about my kid falling in the pool.

 

after the pool we headed to a friends house to watch kids light fireworks and have some food. bastian was enthralled with the older boys lighting off fireworks. he is interested in watching older kids and thinking he close behind. sorry buddy…you got a little growing to do before you can play with them 🙂 once our kids starting to have meltdowns we knew it was time to put them to bed. we stayed at my girlfriends house, watched the fireworks on her back porch with all of our baby monitors on the table. fourth of july has always been one of my favorite holidays ever since i was little. put me by water, good food, drinks and friends and i am a happy camper. although our fourth has become less of a “party” we still manage to have a blast. hopefully bastian will love it as much as we do…and maybe next year he can hold a sparkler and watch some big night-time fireworks.