Happy Birthday!

On Sunday, my big boy Jonathan turned 2! I can hardly believe that he's already 2. We got him a t-shirt at the craft fair at the Odeum that announced his new age for his birthday. His cute t-shirt announces that my little man is 2. We celebrated on Saturday so that he could celebrate with Kerry's parents on his actual birthday. Unfortunately, he wasn't feeling well (turns out he has Thrush), but we still had fun. We went to this children's play place called Monkey Joe's (www.monkeyjoes.com), and let Jonathan play to his hearts content. Monkey Joe's is entirely inflatable bounce houses with slides. It is geared towards kids ages 2-12. Jonathan had a blast!

Jonathan's riding on the Lochness Monster (which he called a dinosaur)

Riding on the turtle

Going down the Pinball slide (the slide looks a like a giant pinball machine)

Going down a VERY fast slide where he bit his tounge.

Now, you may ask, what was Bella doing while Jonathan played and ran around like a wild man. Well, Bella did what Bella does best.


After playing at Monkey Joe's, we came home to have pizza, cake and presents. But, it didn't go so well since Jonathan wasn't feeling well and his daddy didn't show up on time. So, after dinner, I took Jonathan and Bella for a walk. On our way home, we got caught in the rain. 3 very handsome firemen were on a walk while I was stopped under a tree (hiding from the rain). They offered me assistance, but I couldn't bring myself to wake up the little boy who had falled asleep.

So, I parked the boy in the garage to sleep while I took Bella in to clean her up after she spit up all over herself in the sling during the walk. But, after an hour nap, I had to wake him up to have cake! We got his cake from our FAVORITE bakery (the Lilac Bakery in Lombard).

Complete with dinosaurs, and icing in his favorite color, lellow! The green icing looked like dinosaur tracks on his cake. It was so good!

He was such a pro at blowing out his own candle! He did not need any help from anyone and got it on the first try. I was so impressed. As soon as the candle was blown out, he reached for the dinosaurs.

While the rest of us ate cake, Bella hung out with her Papa (in her clean outfit complete with a bib). After cake, Jonathan opened his presents. He got a big wheel, some dinosaurs, a couple books, and some counting animal bath toys.

Jonathan loved his dinosaurs.
He is such a big boy on his big wheel (which was a PAIN to assemble). But he rode it all over the house! And before going home, Bella was chilling out in the vibrating bottom rocking chair and she was too cute to not take a picture of!


All in all, Jonathan had a great birthday. I got Jonathan packed into the car with his presents and before he left he says to me "love you too auntie" and I got a kiss from the birthday boy. I can hardly believe the little boy is 2. He's not so little anymore either. Where did the time go?

Beware of Falling Poop!

A week ago Thursday, we took Jonathan to the zoo to see the dinosaurs and took Bella on her first ever trip to Brookfield Zoo.














Jonathan's ready for the zoo!














Bella's ready for her first zoo trip!

As we entered the dinosaur exhibit, we were greeted with a sign that Mom fell in love with.

After seeing that sign, you looked up and there was a Pteranodon greeting us to the dinosaur exhibit. Kerry and Mom laughed so hard they nearly woke up Bella. We then walked through and saw a couple of cool looking dinosaurs. One dinosaur, Dilo, wasn't feeling well so he wasn't working. There was a set of Mommy and Baby stegosaurus', Mommy and Baby Apatosaurus' and Mommy and Baby T-Rex. The zoo is getting very smart. To leave the dinosaur exhibit, you have to go through the dinosaur gift shop.


Bella loved the dinosaurs. She slept through the whole thing. Not a peep from the little girl.

Jonathan LOVED the dinosaurs! He got his first dinosaur (a triceratops). He was making dinosaur noises and showing off his new dinosaur the whole time. Everywhere Jonathan went, the dinosaur was sure to go. After the dinosaurs, we had a snack while Bella slept. Then it was off to see the dolphins! But, when we got there, we saw the sign that said the dolphin show is closed until summer 2010. They are "remodeling" the dolphin area. Luckily, you can still go below and see the dolphins. We spent the rest of the day by the Lions, and tigers. While Jonathan rode on the carousel, Bella and I went on scowering the park for the dinosaur mold-a-rama. She woke up as we got to the reptile house. After a small snack for Bella while Jonathan finished his ride, it was time to go home.

Since she slept through her whole first zoo trip, she was awake the whole trip home. She was still rather hungry since she only got a snack at the zoo. But of course, by the time we got home, she was sound asleep. She's always got those fists of hers up by her face.





Jonathan fell asleep about half way home. He's showing some signs of jealousy with his baby sister so now he won't sit in his big boy booster seat. He wants to be back in his car seat. His potty training has come to a complete halt as well. He's too cute though! He's 2 so it is all understandable. He sleeps just like his daddy does. All I can do is love him. On our next zoo trip, we WILL find the 3 mold-a-rama's of dinosaurs.

Dinosaurs, Jonathan & Bella!

After not seeing the little ones for 2 weeks (we were going through withdrawl!), we got together with Kerry & the kids for a trip to the zoo! This video is of one of the dinosaurs before my camera batteries died.



On our way home, I kept reading a book to Jonathan called "That's not my dinosaur!" (this book is another in the series & Jonathan loves the "That's not my puppy!" book). Here's Jonathan holding his 2 newest mold-a-ramas telling you about what he saw!



Not to be left out, here's Bella telling you about her first trip to the zoo. She was a bit cranky because she slept the whole time and only got 1/2 a bottle before going home so she was still a bit hungry. But, she still looks cute! She's 6 weeks old in this video.

YEAH! We have lift off!

Alright, for those who know me, know that i'm a complete space nerd. So, of course, I was glued to my computer to watch all the attempts and the final lift off of space shuttle Endevour. I'm so thrilled that after all these failed attempts, they got off safely and are now taking some stuff up for the Japanese. I'm such a geek but I love it!

WHY?

I was reading the newspaper this morning when I came across a news article that I just had to share. My first thought was "why?!"

Willbert Weeks was 4 years old when he lost his legs as a result of severe burns. Early this morning, the 66-year-old Englewood resident lost his legs a second time — at the hands of two thieves who broke in to his home, pistol-whipped him and stole his prosthetic legs. “They hit me in the head with a pistol, snatched my legs and ran out,” he said. The suspects got away. But Weeks’ legs were recovered, undamaged, in an alley near his house. Chicago police say Weeks told them he was watching a Discovery Channel program on volcanoes when a male and female, between 15 and 18 years old and both around 5 feet tall and 110 pounds, entered his bedroom. After hitting Weeks and grabbing his legs and identification card, the pair ran out the back door, police said. Weeks said he’s not sure how the intruders got in to his bedroom. He suspects that they broke in through the home’s rear. He suffered a minor bruise and refused medical treatment.

Why would you break into someone's house just to steal their legs? I could sort of understand if they took his money or anything else, but to only take his legs then to dump then later? Oy vey! What's today's youth coming to? All I can do is shake my head. At least the man wasn't hurt.

Happy Birthday Mom!

Today is not only Canada Day but it's mom's birthday! It seems like every year, no one gets mom a cake. So this year, I made mom a pie. I made a Peanut Butter Ice Cream Pie. Since her two favorite things are chocolate and peanut butter, this pie made the most sense. Plus, it was SO easy.



To make this pie you need:

-1 quart chocolate ice cream (softened)
- 1/2 (16 oz. jar) peanut butter
-1 (9 inch) graham cracker pie crust

Directions:
Mix ice cream and peanut butter together. Pour into crust. Freeze over night.

Now, when I went to the store I couldn't remember how many pints were in a quart (it was late and I was tired) so I got a container of Breyers Chocolate Ice Cream (plus, it was MUCH cheaper to get 1 container than 2!). Yes, the Breyers was 1.5 quarts, but it was less expensive so, oh well! Here in Chicago, you can't find a 9 inch pie crust, it's either a 6 inch crust or a 10 inch crust. So, I used a 10 inch crust. I put all the ice cream in a bowl and then put the peanut butter in the bowl. Mixing was a nightmare (but it left huge chunks of peanut butter in the mix). When I make it again, I will use the whole jar of peanut butter. I think it'll be easier if i use a blender to mix the ice cream and 1/2 the peanut butter until it was smooth & creamy. Then i'd stir in the rest of the peanut butter. It was SOO good. And So easy to make! Be careful when spooning the ice cream into the mixing container, to not get it on the floor. It comes out of the container so much easier when it's soft then when it's hardened. But the pie was a huge hit! A great summer treat.

Happy Birthday Mom!