Grandma and Great-Grandma

We had lunch with Grandma and Gigi today. It was a beautiful day, so we took advantage of the weather to snap a quick family photo.

Post-Haircut Day

Since we were already in Lincoln Square, we decided to make a day of it and spend some time in our old neighborhood. We listened to some music in the square where Drew showed off his break dance moves. We went to dinner at Tank and had sushi. We even had ice cream to end the evening. It was a great day!

Drew's First "Official" Haircut

Besides the occasional bang trim or hockey hair snip, Drew has never had his haircut until today. He did great! He climbed right up into the chair and Elena gave him an apple to keep him busy.

Before




During







After

No More Baby in Our House!

Drew has really made some major changes lately. Physically, he no longer has a baby body. He is getting taller and taller every day. He's also using a lot more words, and although I don't understand everything he says, he sure is trying! He knows what he likes and dislikes and he is vocal about it! He loves to brush his teeth, help feed the dogs, unload the dishwasher (with help, of course), get the mail, tell the dogs to be quiet, take a bath, and play with any kind of car or truck. We recently set up a "choo choo" on his train table ans he loves it! We also made the big switch from highchair to "big boy" chair. He loves it already. He really is growing up so fast! In just a few short weeks, he'll be two! Here's some pictures of him from the last week. I should mention that he fell last week on his head. He went head-first over the side of the chair and fell into his truck. Since there was a lot of blood, we thought he was going to need stitches. But, after cleaning it up and having our nurse friend, Jenn, look at it, we decided he didn't need them. I've never heard him cry like he did and it just tore me apart. It makes me sad to think that his perfect little face will now carry that moment forever. I had a hard time with that at first, but then I realized that there will probably many more in the future, especially with a son as active as Drew. I guess the first one is always the hardest.

Tyler Graham Schmidt

Today Melissa and Dave welcomed their new baby boy, Tyler Graham, into the world. He's adorable! Big sister, Mackenzie, has been a big help to mom and dad, too!

The Great Flood of 2008

For those of you not in Chicago, we experienced a terrible flood last weekend. It rained for 2 days straight and the water in the North Branch just kept getting higher and higher. Our backyard was basically a lake and about a block from our house the river had swallowed up the entire park, including Foster Avenue. About a mile east of us was where the water did the most damage. People had to evacuate while they watched their homes and possessions fall victim to the unforgiving water. I'm thankful that we only had minor damage--our roof of all things. When we bought the house, we were told by the inspector that in a couple years we would be needing to replace it. Well, a couple years has arrived. It's time. If anyone knows any good, reasonable roofers, we could use a recommendation or two!

I should explain one or two of the pictures I posted. The one with the black iron fence is actually the pool at Gompers Park. Before the rain, it was empty. When the rain ended, the water was less than 2 feet from the lifeguard chair.
The other picture I wanted to comment on was the one of our little dear in front of the police car. He is infatuated with cars of all types, so I took the opportunity to get a close up. Let's just hope he doesn't get too close to cars like these in the future!

These pictures are from the day after it stopped raining. The water had gone down substantially. But, the pool was still full! Gross!

Luke and Dexter

We had a little photo shoot with Luke and Dexter the other day. With a little bribing, the boys did great! How cute are they?

Go Bears!

I realize that I've been very bad about updating the blog lately. Now that things have calmed down with school, I should have some time to catch up. Oh wait, that's right. Our roof is now leaking due to the heavy rains we're had the last 2 days and it turns out we need to replace it. So, sometime between figuring that mess out, grading papers, and chasing around a two year old, I'll be sure to post! Thanks for checking in!