florida trip earlier this month

naples was so warm and wonderful, the best was the sun on my white winter skin and being able to wear flip flops. tim's mom had a delicious pasta dinner waiting for us the night we arrived from the airport, the next night we all enjoyed a fun night out to a fabulous restaurant with tim's parents and even got out one night for a date while they babysat!

after declan's morning nap we spent our days out by the pool.

in the stroller on the way to the pool which is in the neighborhood, just across the street. notice the tummy peeking out and thighs - this baby is getting c-h-u-b-b-y! :)





for his afternoon nap we wised up and brought the pack & play poolside and he napped there so we could stay out in the sun! don't worry, it was in the air-conditioned cabana. i couldn't resist snapping these pictures of the sleeping baby after his first swim in the big pool. he was worn out! he looks so huge to me!


after breakfast we'd head to the park to play to kill some time before morning nap and pooltime.




he loved to practice his new walking skills around the big driveway!

on the big airplane

declan took his second airplane ride to florida this past week when we went down to visit tim's parents in naples. i had tons of anxiety about him confined to his carseat on an airplane for 2 hours (knowing he'd also be missing his scheduled naps). he ended up being very good, i should have known (!) but it did take a lot of entertaining, snacks, toys and books.

snack in his mouth

showing ducky the view

the beloved bottle (only before bedtime)

the florida post to come soon...

snow day

the day before we were to leave for florida (last week) we got a blizzard! it took me an hour to get 2 miles from our house that morning and i normally have a long commute so i gave up and declan and i turned around and came back home for a snow day. he finally got to try out his new sled from grandma and grandpa depeal! it was very bitter cold so we were only out for a quick spin!

portrait innovations, part 3

i received quite a bit of fan mail from an earlier post about declan's 3 month pictures and my experience at portrait innovations.

i recently took him back for his one year photos and either they are getting better or i'm learning how to more effectively communicate what i want (probably both). this time was better except for the fact that he kept walking or crawling off the set.

here are some of the winners and losers, not as funny as his 3 month shots but still enjoyable!
some of the winners





some funny ones

declan's ornament cache

as i was putting away the ornaments this year i marvelled at how many beautiful ornaments declan has already collected and he's only 1!!!!

i loved the wreath on the front door, the sparkling white lights on the trees out front, the fresh pine smell filling our living room and the warmth that garlands, stockings and holiday candles do to a home at christmastime. until next year... if only spring would come early this year. jan, feb and march are kind of depressing in the heartland.

happy birthday parker!!!

declan's first and very best friend parker turned 1 last week on january 2nd! we were invited over for cake, presents and playing in their super cool kid-oriented playroom with a new BALL PIT!

parker seemed pretty thrilled with his new shopping cart and food which was declan's gift to him.




poor child, he was really lacking in the toy dept, ahem...



declan was in heaven, they toddled around (both are new walkers) and dashed from slide to playhouse to tunnel to ball pit. at this age they "parallel play" meaning they just play alongside each other but aren't really interactive at this point. it is getting much more fun now than when they laid on blankets together with a boring rattle.



happy birthday little man! we are so glad you are feeling better after your little NYE scare at the ER! can't believe how big you are getting and glad to see you are now growing some hair, dec will be happy to share his combs and hair gel with you!

christmas 08, recap

christmas 2008, here we go...
our christmas began the week before actual christmas when my mom and stepdad visited us in indy for what was supposed to be our christmas weekend. unfortunately a major case of food poisoning ruined our plans. they had stopped at wendys in south haven, michigan on the way down for a quick bite to eat, shared a cheeseburger in case you are wondering. at 2am they were both struck simultaneously with intense nausea and it went from bad to WORSE. sadly it took them until mid-week THE FOLLOWING WEEK to fully recover and want to eat again, many days after their visit. needless to say wendy's is off our list for a long time.

so they stayed in bed up in our guest room for basically the entire weekend while we made our special christmas dinner of beef tenderloin, cheese potatoes, pie, etc.just tim and i. we ate the blueberry coffeecake ourselves too. we felt so sorry for them and knew it was beyond their control and there was nothing anyone could do. declan received a new sled, lawn mower and elmo flip phone from them. i didn't think it would be nice to take pictures during presents since the patients could barely sit up and wouldn't appreciate memorializing their state.

great grandma betty and great grandpa gord sent down some goodies for us including banana bread without nuts, cookies, a cute winter picture for the mantle and two wooden puzzles for declan. he very much loves the puzzles so thanks grandma, i took these so you could feel like you were here!




christmas eve we drove to be with tim's family in lake forest, il. we alternate the two big holidays and it was their christmas year. here are a few from the big party at their house christmas eve with the mitchell side.

cute cousins



christmas day was held at tim's grandpa's house this year, he is 92. all the aunts did the cooking: lasagna, pasta, meatballs, sausage, salad. declan ate his first real italian meatball and even a black olive. of all the wonderful toys we received over the week, he was obsessed with this fisher price vacuum circa the 70s at his great grandpa's house.



more cute cousins


papa and mary kate