Running, running, running

Big News! We are an Uncle and an Aunt and a Cousin again! Emmett John Mortensen was born August 24 at 9:15 a.m. Steve and I have both been to visit. Steve actually made it for his birth. Unfortunately, it was the first day of school, so I couldn't call in. I did make it that afternoon though. I even got to hold him for about an hour! It was awesome. So fabulous in fact, that I forgot to take pictures! I know, me, forgot to take pictures! Hopefully, we will be going back to visit this weekend and I'll post some later.

Our running group started back up this week. Actually, last Saturday. I really did miss the scheduled runs for that month that we were off. And Steve and I are convinced Jack likes the stroller rides, even when they last an hour.





Outside of the running group, I feel like we've been running everywhere just to keep up this week. With me back at work and Steve going to grad school twice a week, we certainly are cherishing our few moments on the couch when we can get them. Jack's been so tired, he's fallen asleep right away every night this week!

I don't know if I've updated all of the fun words Jack is saying now, but some standouts include booger and tissue (he can blow his nose if you hold the tissue!). Steve taught him Blackhawk and Bear today (got to get him ready for the fall and winter sports). He also says cook, which could mean cook as in make dinner or cookie.

Well, that's about it for now!

My dangerous, fun-loving boys

Everyone always tells me how much Jack look likes Steve. And while I do see a physical resemblance, I think the similarities have more to do with their natures than their looks.

Quite accidentally, the following two pictures were taken one after the other and therefore appear next to one another in my camera roll on the iPhone. Steve noticed the connection. I wonder where Jack gets his love for adrenaline from?





And just for giggles, here's a video of the tree actually falling.



Since Steve has grad class twice a week right now, Jack and I miss him a lot. Today, we decided that with summer ending so soon, we would take an opportunity to have some fun and see Steve at the same time. After nap time, we loaded up the car for a trip to Oak Street Beach, conveniently located right next to Steve's grad school class. We were able to get a good 45 minutes in at the beach of some good quality family time. Jack loved every minute of it. He ate his fair share of sand, and then some. He also loved the water despite it being absolutely freezing.



Here's another video (and I'm actually in this one! Thanks, Steve!)



I go back to school for Spokesman Week next Monday, so we are trying to pack as much fun into this week as possible. Until next post...

Life moves pretty fast

If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it. - Ferris Bueller

Actually, it's Jack that is fast. So we've been pretty busy keeping up with him this summer. And we have had a great time.

So far, we have gone to swim lessons, music class, the Children's Museum on Navy Pier, A Kane County Cougars game, the pool, lots of parks, St. Germain Wisconsin, playdates with friends, on the boat with Aunt Susie and Uncle Peter (and Nicky of course), a Spokesman reunion, and many other things I can't remember right now. And that's not including what Jack does while he's at daycare twice a week. Still, his favorite thing to say is "More".

For Father's Day, we made the rounds and saw Papa and Pepere. Jack and I actually got up and made Steve a breakfast burrito.





Shortly after, we started swim class. I learned the downfall of being a working mom. It turns out I can't read the park district schedule, so we only made 2 out of the 8 classes. The weather didn't help. It's pretty hard to take photos while you are swimming with Jack, so I've got the "getting ready to go" photo and that's about it.



However, if you were there, you would have seen him asking to get into the water as soon as we walked on the deck. Then once we were in the water, he was the first kid to start splashing and I think the only one who wanted his mom to let him go while in the water. We sang lots of songs: The Wheels on the Bus, Motorboat (which I didn't realize was a song), and I'm a little pancake (sung to the tune of I'm a little teapot). Jack loves to splash and he puts his face in the water like a champ. He's even letting us dunk him now. He's definitely a water baby.

The Fourth of July was pretty fun too. On that Thursday, Jack's school had a parade, so I stopped by and took photos and cheered them on. It was quite cute. Jack was definitely in the spirit as he let his teacher put on face paint. I don't know how she gets him to sit still for that, but she is certainly amazing!





We spent the actual holiday with Susie, Peter, Nicky, Brent and Dawna in Antioch/Gurnee. We went out on the boat while the weather was iffy and the boys had a great time helping drive.





Of course, they were cute enough just in those little life vests (which both boys wear without much trouble!)





After we put the littlest boys to bed, we set off some fireworks in the Nustra's backyard. The big boys had lots of fun with that. Steve made Susie light one since she had never done it before.





In mid-July, we took our vacation. We drove up to St. Germain, WI to spend a few days at the Carlson's cabin, "Up North". While the weather wasn't exactly summery (we wore jeans and sweatshirts every day), I wouldn't trade it for any other summer vacation. Auntie K is right when she says it only takes a few hours up there and you are totally relaxed. We had just driven six hours with Jack and Breyer in the car, and that was still true for us.

I could write an entire blog post about our time at the cabin (and probably should have when we got back), but the highlights were the fantastic views and sounds of nature, the screened-in porch, naps, s'mores and campfires, the boat, the ski show, and the awesome park. Even though we had a wonderful time, I think it was Breyer who enjoyed it the most. She loves her Auntie K and all of the freedom she had while she was up there.









(Look for the eagle in the tree!)


In the midst of all of this fun, we are also working on the house. We are in the process of redecorating the living room, which means lots of painting. Steve just finished making our screened-in porch safe for Jack to play in. Slowly but surely we are getting the house in the state in which we would like it to be.





Now that you have made it to the end of this post, I do have a treat for you. It has gotten harder and harder to get Jack to pose for pictures. But the other day, I did get him and the blue bear together for a little 18-month shoot. I hope you enjoy these as much as I do!







Now that I have an iPhone, I might be able to update this a little more often. However, I wouldn't get your hopes up. It's probably best to think of this as a quarterly newsletter until Jack slows down.

Mother's Day and the 1st Cubs' Game

Mother's Day was phenomenal here! We got up and met Nannie, Pepere, and Auntie Bubbles for breakfast. Luckily, we wake up early enough to beat the rush! Grandma Sue was going to meet us too, but she got called in to work (don't worry, this story ends well). From there, we headed to the Brookfield Zoo for a very fun day of animals and adventure.

We used my Mother's Day present, a Garmin Nuve, to get us there. GPS's are so much fun! Once we arrived, it was just Nannie, Bubbles, and the Barretts for a good while. We visited the Big Cats, the Dolphins, and the Carousel while we waited for the Nustras and Grandma Sue to meet us. Jack rode on the Silverback Gorilla and waved at everyone but Nannie and Dad until we got off. I think he liked it.

Once the Nustras arrived, we took off for the Monkey house. We felt right at home there. By the time we got through all of the different rooms, we were pretty hungry so we stopped for lunch. Note to self: always bring a picnic lunch to the zoo; zoo food is expense and leaves a lot to be desired. Grandma Sue arrived in time for lunch, and she brought her wagon. We tooled around the zoo trying to see other exhibits, like the wolves and elephants. It was getting pretty crowded by then, so we finished our trip at the overcrowded Dinosaur exhibit. It might have been that this was our last stop and we were pretty tired, but we were not that impressed with the dinosaurs.

Jack was asleep before the car even started, so I think he had a great day, and so did his Mom.

We have officially started the nicer-weather-pack-as-much-as-you-can-into-the-weekend season. So this weekend, we started off with Steve running a 5K. This was his first race in quite a while, so Jack and I made sure we were there to cheer him on. As soon as the race was over, we took Jack to his first Cubs game ever. They played the Houston Astros and did eventually win despite the closing pitcher trying to give it away in the 9th. Jack slept through that, so he was none the wiser. We went to the game with our friends Kurt and Amanda and Jess. Jess was in this weekend from Texas, so we've been having fun hanging out with her.

Well, enjoy the photos. I haven't gotten to look at next week's schedule yet, so I don't know exactly what we're doing, but 'tis the season and I'm sure we have something fun in store!



Mother's Day Breakfast


Teaching Jack about the Zoo














Nickie at the Monkey House


River Otters...

Happy May!

We've been busy, but we're always busy, so I won't bore you with the details. Here are the fun highlights:

We went to Starved Rock/Fox River Resort for Spring Break. The whole family went (Steve, Karen, Jack and Breyer). And although the weather wasn't awesome, we had a great time. Really, you can't go wrong with an indoor pool. We even managed to do a little hiking. We will go back, and next time we will not try to use the jogging stroller at Starved Rock. They really mean it when they say it's a bad idea with all of the staircases and whatnot.

Jack is now in the toddler room at daycare. Our little boy is growing up fast. He's adjusting fairly well to the more structured schedule. He paints and draws and plays all morning. Then he usually gets a pretty good nap in the afternoon. He sleeps on a cot, which just cracks me up.

Jack is learning lots of new words lately. He now says "bye-bye," "outside," "shoes," "row," and just today... "bubbles." Now he said bubbles to Auntie Bubbles, which may seem like he learned her name first. I won't be totally convinced though until he says it only to her or in reference to her. He was saying it all night tonight and there was no Auntie Bubbles around, nor were we blowing bubbles. Time will tell.

Easter was really fun. In fact, we are still having Easter egg fun around our house. Jack loves playing with the plastic Easter eggs. He picks them up, puts them in other things, gives them to whomever will take them. It's pretty cute. We celebrated Easter twice this year, once with the Watts family (on Saturday) and once with the Reilley family (on Sunday). At the Watts house, Jack took to the Easter Egg hunt right away. He loved walking around the yard and putting eggs in his basket. On Sunday, he had a great time eating donuts and hanging out with everyone.

So now that the weather is nice, we're getting outside a lot more. I think that's been good for all of us! Until next time, enjoy the photos!

Spring Break


Stirring the Pot


Egg Hunting






Playing at the park




Easter Sunday


Happy Kid


Just wants to be outside


Nap Time


Happy Dog