Weekend Getaway for Mom & Dad

Last winter Nate won the grand prize while attending a Chicago CFA social event. The prize was a free one-night stay at the Fairmont Chicago hotel. I wanted to use it before I went back to work, so we spent last night at the fancy hotel. We took the time to be tourists in our own city. We explored Millennium Park & went out for a great dinner. This was the perfect combo celebration of my birthday and our upcoming anniversary. It was also my first night away from Kevin. It was a nice break, but I was sure ready to come home & give him a big hug & kiss this morning! It was much easier to leave him for a fun night out with Nate than it will be to go on some lousy business trip - maybe beginning again in September :(

Aunt Nicole & Uncle Joe willingly agreed to their first overnight babysitting gig. I am so happy to say that Kevin was on his best behavior & Nicole & Joe had a great time with him. They took him for a walk to the park (twice), and of course to Starbucks on Sunday morning. Nate & I were betting on what time Kevin finally went to bed last night, I guessed 9:30 (which is 2 hours later than normal). But, Kevin gave them no trouble & was asleep by 8:00. We are so grateful to have them close by to spend time with Kevin!

The BEFORE:



The AFTER:


They are pros!!!

Mom's Group

Today I hosted the Mom's Group. There were 9 moms, plus 9 babies in our little space. It was chaos. Fun, but chaotic. It has been really great for both me & Kevin to join this group. I have enjoyed watching all the babies grow and it has been great for both me & Kevin to make new friends. Kevin shared all his toys, but was happy to roll around once everyone went home.

Roll Over!

The other exciting news from our trip; Kevin rolled over! I was so excited when he did it that I think I startled him so he won't do it if we are watching him. We have spent the last few days begging Kevin to do it again! Maybe next time I can catch a photo of it.

Kevin's first road trip

We left Friday afternoon for Kevin's first road trip. Nate's cousin was getting married on Saturday, so it was the perfect opportunity to introduce Kevin to many family & friends. Normally it's a 6 hour drive to Des Moines, but it took us longer because we took some breaks along the way to give Kevin a chance to get out of his car seat. He did very well for most of the trip, but 6 hours is a long time for anyone to ride in the car.

We stopped in Iowa City for a snack & to give Kevin a short tour of the campus:

Friday night we stayed with my friends in Des Moines. Kevin met her kids & could not believe how much fun it was to have other kids around to make noise with! Kevin with Eliana & Garrison:

Saturday was the wedding & the first time Kevin met his Great Grandparents:


We spent my birthday, and the remainder of our trip boating on Lake Panorama. We took Kevin for short, slow boat ride, but he didn't like it. Neither did I, I was too worried he was too hot. It was better when Kevin played in the house. Nate & I were able to enjoy some water skiing thanks to the help of Jim & Emily's babysitting service! (Thanks for letting us enjoy your beautiful new lake-house!)

Happy to be home:

The results are in....

Kevin will be 4 months old on Saturday. Here are the stats from his appointment today:

18.0 pounds
25.5 inches

WOW! We are happy to say he is a solid, healthy baby boy! He doesn't have giant chubby thighs or arms, so I can't imagine where he stores all his weight. The doctor told me not to worry, he is growing very strong bones & he is not too big for his age. He was not a happy camper at the doctor's office :( He is currently taking a super-long nap after all the drama from the vaccine shots.

Guess his weight game

Thursday is Kevin's 4-month doctor's appointment. Any guesses on his weight?
I will give a few hints:
-He is currently wearing 6/9 month clothes
-Our guess is that he weights 18 pounds!!!!!

I'll post the results on Thursday.

p.s. - the winner gets a big fat smile from Kevin!

By popular demand...

Here is another video clip of our favorite baby giggling as hard as he can. Enjoy!



Grandmom was here Friday & Saturday and we had so much fun with her! We took this photo just before she left yesterday. He is such a ladies man, already.