fun home weekend in pictures

kids spent lots of morning time in their new “busy books” I made them – I am so happy that they like them and they are great for 15-30 minutes of alone quiet time!  (Proud Momma Moment)

attacking Daddy as he comes home from a long week – they are both really into piggy-back rides – primarily on each other!

Jack & I were cooking machines this weekend – applesauce, homemade noodles, a whole chicken (for said noodles and soup for later), hummus, muffins, spaghetti squash…a lot of dishes!

playing santa in the bathtub

play-doh time!  they are really interested in play-doh lately – it is so fun

GREAT train/lights exhibit at the Chicago Botanic Gardens

with Five Guys for dinner afterwards – YUMM

Gingerbread house decorating – Jack loved it and Emma licked EVERY piece of candy

We felt very crafty this weekend with some painting during Emmy’s nap – a gift for someone special!

These are the simple, fun weekends that I will remember – full of kid activities, field trips, and time at HOME.

Kicks

Just relaxing in bed after a long week and BW3 is moving like crazy...I wish I could bottle this feeling...Amazing!!

Never gets old.


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awesome weekend

a little late, but this past weekend was just FANTASTIC!

a perfect mix of fun, family, and to-do-list-tackling!  Got a few things knocked off of my Holiday To-Do List!

Friday night was my office holiday party, which I organize (270 people – not a very small feat!) – it went off without a hitch and was a good time.  Scott was traveling all week, so he chose to stay home, but it was nice for me to get out with work friends, and I actually made it home pretty early.  Came home to Scott and Jack snuggled up in our bed after watching The Polar Express (their fave), both just wearing their boxers.  I will spare Scott the embarrassment of posting a pic.  Apparently Jack wanted to “sleep just like Daddy” in boxers and it was adorable.  When I picked him up to take him back to his bed, he said “I love you bigger than God” to Scott.  So Sweet.

Saturday was CHRISTMAS DECORATING at the Walti home!  We went to our old standby, Home Depot, and picked out our tree.  Someday we will go cut it down, but it is right down the street, and on a rainy morning, much easier than a drive to the burbs.  The kids enjoyed running through the trees and splashing around.

(How ADORABLE is this coat that my Mom got Emmy?  I love the sleeves…)

We listened to Christmas music, got out the decorations, and Jack and I had a great time.  Tackled the toys, took some to storage (looks so CLEAN – I CANNOT WAIT to have a dedicated play-space!)

Saturday night was my annual Secret Santa/Holiday Dinner with my girlfriends – always a great time.  The group is much smaller now (everyone is leaving Chi-town!), but still fun and a great excuse to be up until 1am talking with my gals…nice to know that we can still find the hip spots to dine and are not totally out of it. 

Sunday…more Christmas decorating and lots of talk with Jack about what a “tradition” means.  This conversation stemmed from the tradition that we have of getting the kids a new ornament every year to signify what they were interested in that past year, which my mom did for us.  Jack’s ornament this year was a fire truck to remind him of his current love of rescue equipment and to remind him of our years in the city and having the firehouse right up the block, which he still ruses to the windows to watch run by.  Emma’s 2011 ornament is of a Fisher Price dollhouse – she is really into dollhouses and babies and has been playing with Grandma’s a lot of this year.  She loved it!  (I have attempted several photos of them holding their ornaments – another tradition that I want to start – but they have been TOO WOUND UP!  AKA – bring on summer!!!)

Then, on Sunday night, we packed up the wagon, complete with Hot Chocolate in sippy cups and bundled up to head to ZOO LIGHTS!  One of our favorite things every year and it was a great trip.  Not too crowded, a mild winter temperature, and the kids were pretty into it.  Emma even tackled her fear of carousels and loved it! 

SO much fun!!!

Baby Walti Update! Week 16!

I have been really bad about taking belly shots this go-around…Poor BW3 is already slacking in the attention department!

Last Thursday was Week 16 of this pregnancy and I have SO MUCH MORE ENERGY!  Yay!  2nd trimester rocks!

Babycenter.com is telling me that the baby is now the size of an avocado – about 4 1/2 inches long.  I am definitely feeling more and more movement – primarily after my morning coffee (keeping it to one cup this time, and sometimes 1/2 caff – who AM I?) and when I finally lay down at night.  Katie took a picture before I left for my work holiday party on Friday…my favorite part of this photo is Emmy – she is such a cheese lately!  She is such a tiny little peanut…

The work party was pretty funny – I just told work 2 weeks ago and pretty much just told my boss, hoping that everyone else would just “notice” and everyone sure noticed at the party!  The bump is definitely prevalent and full-panel maternity pants/jeans are my go-to.  Scott pulled the rest of my maternity clothes out of storage this weekend…ahhh…the tents are back! 

Overall, I feel really good (I seriously love being pregnant) and am just so glad to have some nightly energy back!  It was brutal there for the past few months…Now I truly forget that I am pregs a lot of the time and I realized today that I need to make sure I am getting enough hydration, healthy foods, and rest…I forget to eat and that is obviously not good!

BW3 Quick Facts:

Pregnancy Week:  16

Pounds Gained:  4 (I lost 5 lbs the first trimester – no appetite)

Food Cravings:  hash browns, bologna sandwiches (I know, but so true), apples & peanut butter, steamed spinach, and pasta

Side Effects:  a little tiredness, “mom” brain, appetite picking up, my hair is out of control and in need of a major trim!

Sleep?:  falling asleep great, but waking up to pee a lot (did NOT do this with the other two – Emma just have moved my bladder!), and then cannot fall back asleep easily.  I am a stomach sleeper and am past that point, so finding a comfy spot is harder and harder…

Funny Jack Questions:  “Did God make the baby?”, “Is the baby under your skin,” “Can it be a boy and a girl?”  (Ummm…let’s hope not!)

We have our ultrasound on the 19th (NO, we are NOT finding out the sex again!), so I will update again after that appointment!

Hello, December!

Yay!  My favorite time of the year!

Christmas and the holiday season is SO much more fun as a parent…watching the magic be imparted upon Jack and Emma is so fun.  I love watching them be mesmerized by the lights, the holiday books, and the constant talks of “wish lists”

A friend had a fun idea to compile a list of Holiday “Must-Do’s” – so here is mine!

• make cookies  with the kids to deliver to neighbors
• night walks with the wagon to see Christmas lights with hot cocoa in sippy cups (to which the kids both yell – “Christmas Lights!”
• watch as many Christmas specials with Jack as possible (a special treat during December – more TV)
• leave the Christmas tree lights on as much as possible
• read a plethora of holiday books (our collection is growing!)
• play with our Little People nativity scene
• get a good family xmas picture
• Lots of special treats and adventures planned with Katie
• decorate a little tree in the kid’s room
• make special Christmas crafts for the grandparents
• take Jack to a Christmas play – “Junie B Jones”
• Lincoln Park Zoo Lights (Scott and I went to this for the 1st time on the night of our engagement – 8 years ago!)
• Christmas Eve family church service
• Have a big family lunch on Xmas Eve and then popcorn or appetizers for dinner
• Play Santa with Scott on Christmas Eve with festive drinks (okay, club soda and juice for me and BW3) and an adult dinner
• Watch the Polar Express a hundred times (Scott and Jack’s fave)

Jack has made his list and it is a good one – as read to me.  I must not have been good enough, as I didn’t make his list.    Jack is also very generous with his snacks of apples and toast.  Little does he know that Mrs. Santa really likes macaroni and cheese and carbs right now.    He decided to also tear out corresponding photos so that Santa would know “exactly” what he would like:

(a LeapPad {good luck finding one Pappaw!}, Gardening stuff, a Firehouse, Rescue people {VERY into Rescue}, a scooter, and Busytown)

Santa came to preschool yesterday, so both of the kids got to see him.  Emma wouldn’t have a thing to do with him, but Jack did sit on his lap and tell him Thank You for his gift (but got gun-shy with any other conversation). 

Santa gave him a stop-watch (which I brought) – very practical, but for the ever-practical kid who loves shovels and brooms, it was perfect.  And, he is now OBSESSED with it and timing everything.  Scott is on a trip (and when he is gone Jack and I have sleepovers), and as we woke up this morning I heard Jack say – “Mom, Look!  We slept 10 hours!”  The little bugger had clicked on the stopwatch before we fell asleep and remembered to turn it immediately off.  Hilarious and SO JACK.

**and Jack is hopeful to get a haircut on that Bieber fro this weekend…

We are looking forward to a fun December full of tradition, special projects, and LOVE.

Christmas 2010 – They have grown up SO MUCH!