Santa!

We headed to Navy Pier's Winter Wonderfest this morning and had an absolute blast! If you have kids and live in Chicago, definitely check it out. Max and Tessa were too young for most of the rides/attractions, but it was still fun to see everything. We also took them to meet Santa for the first time. It went just as we thought it would. They were terrified. We did get a good pic (except for Max picking his nose) with all four of us that I will have to scan in and post. We are making Winter Wonderfest and annual event!

Snow, a Haircut and Turkey Day Re-do!

We had a great weekend. Max and Tessa had their first hands-on experience with snow and they loved it. We let them play for a few minutes on our way out Saturday and they did not want to get in the car. We still need to get some appropriate snow clothes, but I can't seem to find snow boots small enough for Tessa's itty bitty feet.

After MANY requests from Duke to get Max's hair cut, I finally caved. I was just so afraid of loosing his curls, but it really did need cleaned up. He was starting to look a bit shaggy. So, Max got his first big boy hair cut on Sunday and other than one little cry, he did great! He drove the car he was sitting in, had some snacks and watched the "buh" (buses) go by outside the shop.

Sunday afternoon, we headed out to Duke's parents house for a Thanksgiving re-do. Since Max and Tessa were a little less than cooperative for us on Thanksgiving (we had to leave early without eating), Don and Mary made an entire Thanksgiving meal for us!! Max and Tessa loved the turkey and stuffing. Duke and I were very grateful to get a second chance at a very tasty meal.

Can you tell we tired them out this weekend?

Hats and Shoes

Tessa has taken a liking to hats and shoes. Here she is with her new favorite hat from Grandma Sassy. She asks for it first thing in the morning and wears it for hours at a time.


Here she is after Thanksgiving wishing she could wear mamas "boos" (boots).

The Holidays are Here!

We put up our holiday decorations last night after the kids went to bed and took a few pics of the kids coming out to see everything this morning. They didn't notice anything at first, but once we pointed them in the direction of the tree, they spent quite a bit of time looking at it, smelling it (this is funny because it's a fake tree) and touching all the ornaments they could reach. We strategically placed a few non-breakable ornaments within their reach. They gave Santa, an elf, Rudolph and Frosty the Snowman lots of kisses. So far they haven't pulled the tree over or broken any ornaments, but it's still early. We're working on getting them to say HO HO HO while jiggling their bellies.

We took a quick trip to the Lincoln Park Zoo today. We went thinking the kids could see Santa, but I must have must have read the flyer wrong. Santa didn't start until 5pm. Oops! Oh well, it was actually really fun. We practically had the place to ourselves. Max and Tessa loved watching the monkeys and the lions and wanted to touch everything in the gift shop. It was chilly, but a beautiful sunny day. We even took a ride on the carousel!

Happy Turkey Day

Max and Tessa with their first turkey hats! We have so much to be thankful for this year, most of all our friends and family. We hope you are enjoying Thanksgiving with your friends and families. We are off to Duke's brother's house later this afternoon.

Jump Around!

Max and Tessa have developed a love for dancing over the past month or so. We have little dance parties several times a day. Their favorite type of music is rap/hip-hop and it's just a complete riot to watch. Check out our favorite video so far.

Hoosier

This year was the 20th anniversary of the Indiana University Dance Marathon and 10 years ago, I was lucky enough to be involved in planning the event. I headed back to IU on Saturday to celebrate the anniversary and catch up with some college friends. The picture above is of our 4:00 am Mad Mushroom cheese sticks! Visiting the Marathon was a blast and it was an evening full of laughs with some old friends. It was a short trip, but it was packed full of fun! And, to top it all off, IUDM raised over $1.6 million dollars for Riley Hospital for Children. I'm hoping that Duke and I can head back together next fall with some friends for some more college fun.

For my fellow IU Alumni reading the blog, here are a few things I noticed/learned while back on campus:

Kilroys on Kirkwood has been totally renovated and now has a top floor with big leather booths where kids order bottle service. Yes, bottle service.

La Bamba is gone. No more "burritos as big as your head." Several people had a hard time accepting this news this weekend.

The fanny pack is back! I didn't get the memo, but apparently neon fanny packs are all the rage with college girls. We saw them. Lots of them.

It's not a s fun to sing the fight song at the bar on the day your team looses 83 to 20.

Happy Halloween

We had so much fun this weekend. I'm sad it's over! Friday night, we had a sleepover with the Oskay girls and I wish we could do it more often. It was so fun to see all the kids play together. Tessa loved having a little dance party with Emme and Delanie.

Saturday we all headed to Glen Ellyn to the Beaumont's for Keely and Spencer's baby shower. They are expecting TWIN GIRLS in early 2011!!!! Keely looked amazing and it was so good to see both Keely and Spencer. We wish we could see them more often. We took all the kids to the Glen Ellyn halloween parade and then headed back to the Beaumont's for food, cheesecake and gifts. The weather was gorgeous and everyone got great pics of the day. I especially love the shot of all the girls. We've gotten one at every baby shower so far. The monkey in the group shot is little Charlie Wells (you can't see them in this pic, but his cheeks are super pinchable!) and the butterflies are Ainsley and Emery Beaumont (I'm going to have to post some other close ups of these girls...adorable!)

Sunday, we headed to Duke's parent's house to show off our little lions to grandma and grandpa. We had some fun play time outside, a great lunch and a little shopping for M&T. Our little babies were exhausted by Sunday night and barely made it to 6:30 pm!

I can't wait until next year when we can take them trick or treating for the first time!

Tessa's First Haircut

Here is a picture of Tessa's first haircut. She was such a big girl! No crying or fussing. I can't stand the thought of Max loosing his curls, so I decided I'd let him cut his hair when he goes to college.

Stella & Dot Open House

I'm hosting my first Stella & Dot trunk show Saturday, November 6 from 1:00 - 4:00 PM at our house. If you're in the area, please stop by. I'll have the full Stella & Dot line for you to try on as well as some drinks and apps. Feel free to bring friends.

I received my first set of accessories in the mail and LOVE them! If this little job doesn't work out for the long term, I am sure going to have some nice jewelry to show for it!

In other news...my baby girl got her first haircut yesterday. I think I was holding my breath the whole time, but she did great! We actually had an appointment for both Tessa and Max, but when the stylist told me that there was a good chance Max's curls would not grown back after being cut, I practically ran out of there. No haircut for my Max Man any time soon. I can't give up these curls!! I'll post a pic of Tessa's super cute cut soon.

A Fun New Hobby - Stella and Dot

I have loved Stella and Dot jewelry for some time now (I have several pieces thanks to my BFF Jorie!) and I recently attended a Stella and Dot trunk show hosted by my friend Kathryn. I had such a good time and really liked what I heard about the company from the event's Stylist that I have decided to sign on as a Stylist myself! I'm very excited about this new opportunity to do something that I think will feel much more like fun than a job. I'm also thrilled to be able to help my friends and family find some fabulous accessories!!

If you've never heard of Stella and Dot, it is an accessories company that's been around for about two years. You can learn more about Stella and Dot and view the jewelry at my website.

If you are in need of some fresh new accessories, think about Stella and Dot for you next purchase! You can:

*Order pieces for yourself or gifts for others on my website.
*Host a trunk show for your friends, family and co-workers and get $250 in FREE Stella and Dot jewelry
*Attend my Launch Trunk Show...more details to come soon!

Here are some of my current Stella and Dot Favorites:

The Nolita


The Vintage Link


Charlize Earrings


Jolie Ring


From Stella and Dot's new Little Girls Line - The Mini Soiree

Great Weekend

We've had a great couple of days visiting family and enjoying some beautiful weather. I took Max and Tessa with my parents to visit my Aunt Patti in Indianapolis for a quick two day trip and had a great time. My parents left this morning after being here for my birthday yesterday and we can't wait until they come back next month! After they left today, we took the kids out to a pumpkin patch with Duke's sister and Jack, stopped by to see some friends and then met Duke's parents for dinner. We have a busy week of work this week and then we are hoping for more nice weather next weekend and maybe even another visit to the pumpkin patch!

New Pics

Here are some new pics of M & T. Both are now officially walking and gaining speed by the day! It hit me yesterday that they are not babies anymore when Tessa walked from the living room into the kitchen looked at me and pointed to her bottle on the counter and said "ba ba." And, when I say it's nap time, they both get up and walk to their room. I swear that it was last week when we were swaddling, burping and feeding someone at 3 am.

Da Bears

Max got to wear his first Bears shirt today and see their first win of the season. Go Bears! We're teaching them to put their arms up for the touchdowns. Max loves to do this so much, he wiggles his fingers back and forth when his arms are in the air. Spirit fingers! It's pretty funny to watch. And, since we couldn't find a Bears shirt small enough for Tessa, here's a pic of her just lookin cute:) I'm also on the look out for some Stillers shirts for them.

And We're Walking...

M & T have been walking for a bit and they are getting more adventurous every day. These videos were taken a week or two ago and now they are taking off without any prompting from us. No running yet which is fine with us! I see lots of tears and boo boos in our near future. And, they're getting so big! We just had their one year check-up and Max is 24 lbs and Tessa is 19 lbs. Tessa is a little better with her words than Max and she started to repeat her name. It's sounds like teta, but still pretty fun to hear. Max is better at getting into EVERY cabinet and drawer than Tessa. They love looking at pictures of babies or their cousins over the web cam and the love dancing to music.

Please forgive me for my annoying mommy voice in the video!!

For Sale!

We've decided to try and sell our condo. We'd like to stay in the area or maybe a suburb close by. Click here to visit our condo website! Lots of info on the neighborhood and pics. Let us know if you or anyone you know is interested.

Cousins!

My brother had some work to do in Chicago, so they were here for a few extra days and we got to spend a lot of quality time with them. Max and Tessa LOVED watching Grayson and Lily. They love their cousins! It was so fun to watch them play together. They did very well sharing toys and even sharing some meals! I wish we could all hang out more often, but when we do hang out, we make the most of it. Miss you already Gary Sheetz and Mix N Match;)

Stitched with Love

Max and Tessa received some VERY special birthday presents from Grandma Sassy. My Mom spent the last year making these birth samplers for Max and Tessa and I can't tell you how much I love them. So much love and hard work went into these gifts and they will be something special Max and Tessa will have forever. Mom, we can't thank you enough. They are beautiful!

Baptism

This weekend was not just a bday celebration, but we also had Max and Tessa baptized. It was a beautiful day and a very nice ceremony with both of our families there. Max is very lucky to have Duke's brother Michael and my sister-in-law Kelly as his Godparents and Tessa is very lucky to have my brother Adam and Duke's sister Julie as her Godparents. We got some really nice family pictures at the church and then Duke's sister Mary hosted a get together at her house with cake and cookies. It was a really special afternoon.