Daddy-O

We had a great weekend. If I could, I’d bottle it up and put it on a shelf so I could pull it out and savor it again years from now. It was THAT good.

Sam’s nanny had a vacation day on Friday, so I scheduled a day off and spent the whole day playing with Sam. It was rainy and awful outside, but we still found plenty to do and I was secretly a little sad to see the day come to an end. Saturday was even better than Friday – the sun came out and the temps soared and after music class, we spent most of the day outdoors. There was a little block party at the corner bar and we caught a three-piece band that had Sam enthralled. Then we came home and broke out the sprinkler for some fun in the sun, and after Sam hit the hay, some friends joined us for dinner on the patio. It was an ideal summer day.

Sunday really took the cake. After waffles, fresh fruit and an early morning trip to the park, we celebrated Steve as the best Dad ever at the Cubs game. You probably wouldn’t believe it, but Sam is truly a Born Cubs Fan. He yells “Cubs” whenever he sees their logo, loves looking at his Cubs books and relishes the moments we let him watch the games on TV. It’s not entirely surprising given Steve’s love of the Cubs, but it’s still super fun to see him become a full-fledged fan.

Sam loved being at Wrigley. We were a little nervous going into it, but Sam was an angel. We checked his stroller at the gate and then he hung on tight to Mom and Dad. He alternated between our laps, waved to our neighbors and clapped for his Cubs. I swear I could’ve sat through 10 more innings just watching him take it all in.

A belated Happy Father's Day to all the Daddies out there. Hope your celebrations were just as good as ours!

Summer Fun

Another fun weekend has come and gone. We took in the Cubs/Twins game on Friday with my parents and a few other relatives. The highlight: sunny skies, temps in the 70s and great seats. The lowlight: having ketchup splattered all over me and watching the Cubs let the Twins walk all over them. Still, not a bad way to spend a gorgeous summer day.

The rain came back on Saturday, but the sun pushed its way back into the picture today, so we spent the majority of our day outside. We started out with a walk along Lake Michigan and then cut back through Lincoln Park and the zoo on our way home. I forgot the camera, so I have nothing to show for the adventure, but we did snap a few photos at the end of the afternoon. It doesn’t capture any of our fun activities, but if a dirt-filled, ice cream-stained face doesn’t prove you’ve had a fun day, I don’t know what does.

Party Animals

We welcomed Grandma, Grandpa, Meghan and Kristine to Chicago this weekend. We did lots of celebrating -- we started with Meghan's third birthday party on Saturday night and moved to the Boylan family reunion on Sunday afternoon. Meghan's birthday party came complete with balloons, party hats, pizza making and candle blowing. All in all a really great night and so refreshing to see that the little things in life (balloons, cake, ice cream and pizza sauce) can still bring such great joy.

Crabby Pants

You'd never know it from these pictures, but Sam was super grouchy all weekend long. It was the lethal combination of a cold and a couple of new teeth creeping in. We were totally amazed by how many times he was able to use the word "no." I think he said it 25 times within the first 30 seconds of me greeting him on Sunday morning. Needless to say, we felt a little bad for the poor kid who was clearly not his usual self. We also rejoiced in the happy moments (and quickly pulled out the camera!)

We're hoping things shape up before Saturday when the Boylan clan from MN arrive. I'm optimistic -- it's amazing the impact Grandma, Grandpa and cousin Meghan can have.