A Special Surprise

Today was an eventful day for our home.

I had to get to leave the house this morning at 6:15 am to get to work early for a Board meeting, so Jer had to handle drop-off of Miss L to the babysitter. And Jer had a 7:30 am conference call, so this meant he had to wake up, get himself and her ready (and fed) and out the door by 7:10ish.

It was soo nice just getting myself ready and in the car on time (for once!). I find working part-time outside of the house is a perfect balance and truly lets me appreciate my time spent with and without Miss L.

The fabulous part of picking up Miss L from her in-home sitter/neighbor/friend, was the suprise of beautiful artwork that accompanied her. Today, she made her first piece of art to don our fridge! Her little foot prints dipped in paint strategically made the feathers of a Thanksgiving turkey.

It made my day and certainly reassured me that she is just fine while I'm at work, she's in great hands AND the other neighbor ladies long to have coffees together on Wednesdays just so they can play and have fun with my little girl. We are really blessed by such amazingly generous and thoughtful people in our life.

House Updates

When we purchased our home in April, it was not without a long laundry list of required projects. Some of them were just necessary for the cleanliness of the home (i.e. new carpet in the entire home and practically refinishing the laundry room due to poor pet hygiene...or rather sad pet parenting)...other projects were a matter of personal style and preferences. Regardless, I think we spent every.single.Saturday at The Home Depot nearby (which we also were frustrated with b/c we already had a Lowe's card and the nearest Lowe's is about 15 miles away!).

Below are two projects that we completed early this spring.

Living Room

• Removed the built-ins from our living room because our TV wouldn't fit it the slotted area for a TV and they were taking up too much room. However, they were "too nice" to toss, so we relocated them to the office. 
• Removed the existing tile and mantle/surround and replaced with stone from floor to ceiling and tile floor.
• Jeremy strategically and meticulously crafted the perfect home theater system with all wires and connections through the walls, down to the basement and up again to our console on the left side of the room.
• Fresh Paint
• New Carpet
• New Curtains

Office:

• Modified and installed the built-ins for optimal storage
• New Carpet
• Fresh Paint

Dishing out smiles and hope

Today, we visited the Minnesota Hematology and Oncology office for a routine Vitamin B12 injection and a blood draw to check my platelet count. We sat in the hot, stuffy and crowded waiting room awaiting the first lab work to be done. In the meantime, Miss L woke up from her nap and had to escape her car seat carrier, because afterall, she hates being warm (Jeremy's trait) and being confined (my trait).

So, I hold her on my lap as we play with the toy I brought, as well as quietly performing our "elevator ride" song (I pretend lift her up 3 floors, one at a time and then we go down...she LOVES it!). The entire time she is flashing her gummy-beautiful-smile to the rest of the waiting room - which is filled primarily with both older patients and those clearly battling cancer. They glance at her and smile; they ask questions about how old she is; all the while I imagine this little miracle is making their day just a little pleasant for 10 minutes. Maybe for 10 minutes they forgot about what's on the other side of the waiting room...or maybe they were reminded of their sweet lil' grandchildren and perhaps great, grandchildren.

After I get the CBC done, we return to the waiting room for a few minutes longer, again dishing out more smiles. By this time, the entire waiting room practically knows her name. (Plus, her adorable onesie designed by our dear friend Cori, says "Hello My Name is Lexi")

Then, my name is called for the injection in the lab. Selfishly, this is my favorite part of my day. I carry her in my arms with the car seat in the other arm and the nurses all get so excited to see us again (since last month!). the main nurse offers to hold her during my 90-second (if that) injection. I gladly accept and before I know it...at least seven ladies (nurses, scheduler, etc.) are all surrounding Miss L just making faces at her, smiling, observing her every detail. "She looks like a porcelain doll" "She is so beautiful" "Look how strong her neck is" "Wow, she's so alert!" ...and it goes on and on...well after my injection. I must say, they sure put a smile on my face.

At the library this morning, during "Storytime with Babies," two different moms/grandmas came up and talked with us, both citing how advanced my little 3-month old is - gripping the toys, watching the older kids, trying to stand, and observing the activities - she may be a peanut, but I am certain that she is the advanced kind.

As a child, I was never "into dolls"; as I was more of a Barbie fan. This was a great concern to my great-grandmother, since that generation believed dolls help girls learn how to mother and nurture. Well, I must say, on days like today, I know that I am the best mom to Miss L that I can be...and it is kind of nice having a dolly to call my own!

10 Days 'til Turkey Day!

Wow! Where is time going? My baby girl is already 3 months old and we are now just 10 days shy of celebrating our first Thanksgiving together as a family...well a more complete, real family!

Last Thanksgiving was quite eventful for our family of 2! Jeremy left for work at O'hare around 7am. I flew out of bed shortly after he left to take a home pregnancy test. It didn't take very long for the window to turn to a positive sign and for me to be jumping for joy in the bathroom on the 29th floor of our Chicago high-rise. Then, I had to walk to the grocery store, prepare our appetizers and Thanksgiving feast...all while I was lip-locked, waiting for Jeremy to arrive home from work so I could share the exciting news.

For the past four years, Jeremy has had to work Thanksgiving day and we created this routine of our very own intimate, Thanksgiving celebration. This year, we are happy that Jeremy has the day off and our family of three can celebrate the entire day!

Our tradition has become our favorite holiday - we dress up, enjoy the food that we love, watch football and basically share our thanksgiving together. Time to start planning the menu...this year, we will have to have a little family breakfast included in the plans.

In A Perfect World

Having lived in 4 metropolitan cities, I must say there is something to love about every area. If I could have a semi-perfect world (because a perfect world involves me planning events and Jeremy renting cars on a tropical island), it would include:

• Indianapolis weather - all four seasons, particulary mild winters, warm springs and amazing falls!
• Minnesota terrain and topography - beautiful!
• Chicago's restaurants and retailers - delish!
• Detroit sports teams - go Tigers and Wings!
• And most importantly, it would include all of our family...and friends from all of our cities.

As much as I have acclimated pretty well to the Twin Cities, I certainly find something I miss from one of our previous homes...nearly every week. This past week - Bonefish Grill...I rec'd an email for $5 bang, bang shrimp (our favorite appetizer). I immediately Googled where the nearest one was...and my search came up empty. I am sad to read they haven't entered the Mpls market...yet! Maybe in my perfect (er, near) world.

November=Winter

Although this is my first full year in Minnesota, I quickly learned this sad, sad, math equation... November = Winter.

Today's forecast says we'll be lucky if we hit the 40's and the weatherman used the terms "wind chill" and "snow" in the forecast. Yikes!

Time to put away the flip flops and to bring out the coats from the basement storage. It truly is a sad day in my world. I continue to ask myself why did we have to relocate to the north pole?

Since November=Winter here, I spotted neighbors decorating lights on their trees over their fall break (early-mid October) and THEN, another neighbor flipped on their (professionally decorated) holiday lights earlier this week! WOW! I have never seen Christmas lights so early...but that's what happens when you live at the north pole.

So morale of the story is - we need to get our butts in gear on the exterior holiday decor.

Gaining an hour...really?

I quickly learned (today) that when Daylight Savings Time ends and most of the world celebrates in "gaining an hour" of sleep today...it really is irrelevant to families. It just creates a more-sleepy day for the family with young kids. This day/weekend, which used to be circled on the calendar weeks in advance...is now just a weekend of unpredictability for little one.

She and I did manage to nap for about 3 hours this afternoon while having a lazy football Sunday in our home...I think we both needed it after her 4am wake up!

Baby Video Monitor...Must or Lust?

In the sea of baby monitors, we originally registered for the best-reviewed simple monitor on the market, the Sony something or another. We graciously received it as a gift from Jeremy's aunt and cousin at one of our baby showers, however, this all-important electronic remained in the original packaging on a shelf in the nursery room closet for months and months.

About 2 weeks prior to the due date, as we were finishing up the nursery, we were ready to open the said baby monitor we registered for and my dear electronics-guru hubby said, "Are you sure you want to use this monitor? Maybe we should look around for a different one?" This was code for: "This bulky hunk of plastic appears to be straight out of the 80's and I think you were crazy for putting it on the registry to begin with." But a smart husband cannot say those exact words to a pregnant wife in her 3rd trimester.

So...it sat on the shelf some more. Then, one day shortly thereafter, I was browsing Pregnancy and Newborn magazine and saw an advertisement for Angelcare's NEW 3-in-1 video baby monitor. This led me to watch the short promo video on their web site...then, I immediately showed it to Jeremy. Our jaws dropped and our eyes sparkled in amazement.

Without hesitation, I really wanted it! It had all of the features I was searching for in my initial research, but never found...plus more!

• A video monitor - preventing me from running to the nursery with every wimper...plus I am able to observe her many sleeping habbits, which is very helpful!
• Angelcare technology to help prevent SIDS - a sensitive motion-detecting mat is placed beneath the crib mattress and will sound an alarm if it detects the babe stops breathing. (Only one false alarm thus far!)
• Direct Connect - it's practically a Nextel for our home, being able to talk with one another...comes in handy when my hands are tied as I nurse her and need something (usually a burp cloth!!)
• Temperature Gauge - we always know the temp in the nursery
• Timer - this is by far my favorite feature and benefit - you hit a timer to clock how long she has been in the crib...this is a huge sanity saver early on when you think "Did I feed her at 1 or 2? or How long was that last nap?" love, love, love it!

Needless to say...I found a stellar sale on it, had a coupon, had a credit from the former monitor...and still had a pay a small bit...but it is worth every penny!

I say this a "must" for any modern family!

Happy Halloween

Halloween...one of my favorite holidays, probably more so because it takes place during my favorite season.
We had just over 100 Trick-or-Treaters this year, which is a high for us (particularly coming from our Chicago high-rise days!)...and we made pizza, cocktails and of course a baby bottle and enjoyed the thrill of the night!
 
Below are photos of our family fun as we celebrated Miss L's 1st Halloween!!

Tired "sweet pea" after our Baby Storytime at the Library

The not-so-friendly welcoming team!

All Tuckered out after photos and more photos!



Peek-a-Boo



She is handing out smiles for the trick-or-treaters

One of Jeremy's three artfully crafted pumpkins

And a Happy Halloween it was!

Pumpkin Fingers

We carved our pumpkins tonight. Jeremy, meticulous as ever, from the thoughtful design to the flawless execution...this probably does not come as a surprise to anyone! Me, the ultimate multi-tasker trying to handle Miss L while finishing some details on my first pumpkin...only to have to get through the second pumpkin fast enough while she is happy in her swing. Pictures below...

No matter how you carve 'em, your fingers to your elbows end up getting pumpkin 'goo' all over them. This is when the blog title "Modern Family" truly kicks in high gear...as we thoroughly enjoy the benefits of our modern kitchen with the Delta touch faucet. That is right, touch it on...touch it off. You can use your elbow, a finger tip, etc. to turn on the water to wash your dirty, pumpkin fingers.

Although a bit pricier than the standard kitchen faucet, the convenience has paid for itself over and over again! Cleaning your hands after handling raw chicken...piece of cake. Rinsing your hands while holding dear baby...easy! Even Mr. Cole can touch it on/off with his paw (we tried it with him)!!

Pre-backsplash photo of kitchen with new granite and faucet

Playmat Envy

When registering for baby items...it is downright overwhelming. The aisles of BRU (babies r'us) are endless and even after reading Baby 411 Baby Registering, I still felt clueless. Well, I am quickly learning that I made the right decision on a few key items, specifically, the activity playmat.

This weekend we hosted our new baby friends and moms from our (mom and baby) class for a fun, lil' Halloween-themed get together. (photos to follow in another post) I left out a few toys for all to use with their lil' ones...such as the bumbo seat and the activity playmat. I really had no idea how "good" this play mat was until other new moms say how envious they are. Ours is the Fisher Price Deluxe Mobile Musical Gym (sold at Target). It has a rotating mobile, music and LIGHTS!! Miss L loves the lights...as did the other lil' babes joining her on the mat.

In fact, one new mom went to Target and purchased it that afternoon!! Anyone in the market should seriously consider this one below.