Grandpa's Visit

Grandpa Howard came out for a visit to help take care of Nathaniel while Christopher was at a conference in Cleveland. I wasn't the best at taking pictures- mainly because we were hard at work on our sun porch. I really enjoyed the time we spent together and he was a big help with Nathaniel.

Seattle

I recently went to Seattle for a library conference and was lucky to have sunny weather for several days. Everything about my trip was great- the conference, weather, coffee, crepes, catching up with library friends, and hanging out with one of my favorite people, Kim P. Yet, there was always a part of me that kept thinking about home and Nathaniel. I felt terribly guilty for being away for 5 days. I guess that is how most moms feel when they leave their baby for the first time. Check out my pics here: Seattle

No Fooling...It's a true story!

Yesterday, we had our first confirmed "Da-Da" from Nathaniel. He first did it for Kristina. In fact, he said it a couple of times. He did it for me just before bed last night. Each time was loud and clear. He seemed to be practicing his Ba-Bas and decided to push his tongue out and got a new sound. I know it doesn't have any meaning to him, but it sure did make me smile.

Now, in all fairness to Kristina, I have to say he has said "Ma-Ma" many times in the past. However, they always start of with "Waaaaaahhhhhh-ma-ma-ma!" So, I'm not sure that counts. ;-)

Christopher

Bouncing Baby Ball

On the last day of our Guys' Weekend. Nathaniel and his Grandpa Appelt played with a beach ball from the parade. As you can tell, they had a great time.



Christopher

I Love a Parade

On the last day or our Guy's Weekend, we went to the Southside Irish Parade here in Chicago. Kristina and I have wanted to go to this Southside tradition for several years, but we've always been away during it. Unfortunately for Kristina, this trend held true.

However, we guys were ready to take full advantage of the timing and our location. We're a mile and a half from the parade's starting point. So, Nathaniel warmed up for our trip by doing a few reps on the farm (see left).

Actually, we didn't go all the way to the beginning of the parade route. We stood about a block before the starting point. That way, we got a good view of all the floats and received various goodies without dealing with the the crush of people along the route and the rather...umm...inebriated people a bit further down.

The stroller from Aunt Stephanie was very
handy for the 3+ miles we walked. Nathaniel
found the ride to be pretty smooth and comfy.

Nathaniel received lots of goodies at the parade including
his green fireman's hat and beads. We ate his candy for him.
Like many at the parade, he preferred to hit the bottle instead.

Christopher

It's Like Having a Garden Gnome...

That's what my dad said several times as we took photos of Nathaniel at the various places we went during the first day of our Guys' Weekend. Don't let the fact that he appears to be asleep in every photo fool you. Nathaniel got into lots of mischief during our trip.

The first stop was the Lion's Club Pancake Breakfast in Evergreen Park. We thought it was a very "manly" thing to do. The photo on the left is from when we were spending a long time standing in line. Nathaniel tried the old "sleeping baby" trick, but it didn't let us move up the line any faster.



As you can tell from the photos, Nathaniel was excited to eat some pancakes and sausage. He polished off two plates!


Next we did some "manly" clothes shopping. Nathaniel needed some bigger clothes, so we hit a couple of thrift stores. As you can tell, he was building up quite the stack of clothes before we cut him off. We had to intervene a couple of times when he picked pants that made his butt look big...in hindsight, maybe that was the diaper.


Doing all that shopping, we built up a "manly" appetite. Nathaniel had 4 taco supremes and followed them up with 2 chalupas. We're not sure where he put it all.

This is a gratuitous "cute" shot
of Nathaniel sleeping between
the tacos and the chalupas

Because Nathaniel had acquired a "manly"....er...diaper rash, we
ended our outing at the drug store, where we picked up some Desitin.

Christopher

Boys Behaving Badly: Beers, Bottles, and Bumping Beezers

Last weekend, Kristina went away to a conference in Seattle. She left on Wednesday and returned on Sunday. I was flying solo with Nathaniel until Friday night. My dad flew out to join Nathaniel and me for a "Guys' Weekend."

That's right! Guys only! No moms, wives or sisters allowed. No girls...well, except for Calli, but she's been fixed, so we're pretty sure we could make an exception for her.

In short, we had a blast! In long, it's going to take me a few blog entries to share the fun things we did. I'll spread them out over the next few days. In the meantime enjoy these teaser photos. Remember: what happens at Guys' Weekend, stays at Guys' Weekend...at least until I blog about it. ;-)

Nathaniel had a lot of fun playing
with his Grandpa Appelt.

One of Nathaniel's favorite new games is
"Bumping Beezers," which involves touching
noses. Apparently, that was something my
Grandpa Appelt used to do.

Of course, no Guys' Weekend is complete
without kicking back and having a few drinks.

However, someone, who shall remain
nameless, was hitting the bottle a bit
hard, and didn't know his limit.

Christopher