Here Comes Peter Cottontail

The Easter Bunny managed to find our house in spite of all the snow we got on Friday and Saturday. After our Easter egg hunt Sam dug into the baskets, which were full of bright colors and new things to touch.

I have to give a big shout out to the Easter Bunny who did an EGGcellent job coordinating the hunt and surprising us with two jam-packed Easter baskets.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Last year when I was pregnant we stayed home and mourned the loss of carefree St. Patrick’s Day celebrations. We reclaimed the holiday this year with a great, albeit mellow, day of celebrating all things Ireland.

We visited the Irish American Heritage Center and when we arrived I realized it was the same place my Grandma and Grandpa Boylan celebrated their 40th anniversary about 15 years ago. They both showed great pride in their Irish ancestry and on Saturday those happy memories set the stage for a fun day. The party at the Irish American Center was in full swing and it was the real deal – bagpipes, tin whistles, Guinness on tap, step dancers and lots of people in green. We camped out underneath the Monaghan County crest and enjoyed the revelry.

Overall it was a very fun and fitting way to introduce Sam to St. Patrick’s Day.

Slainte!

Sam and Meghan = Friends Forever

Aunt Kristine and cousin Meghan came for a visit this weekend. After looking at Sam quizzically for a few hours, Meghan warmed up to the "ba-be" and the two became fast friends. Kristine and I learned it's hard to have an intelligible conversation with two babies in the room, but we also learned that it's really heart warming to see Meghan and Sam become buddies.

On Sunday we headed to Lincoln Park to check out the Peggy Nortebaert Nature Museum. It turned out to be the perfect outing -- stroller traffic wasn't too heavy and there were plenty of exhibits to keep us busy.

We're already looking forward to the next visit!

Sam stretches his legs in between exhibits:

Sam spies his first butterfly in the Butterfly Haven:

Meghan and Steve had fun in the Nature Sounds room:

Meghan makes herself at home at the museum:

Happy Birthday Dad!

Uncle Shriner swung by to help us celebrate Steve's birthday on Sunday. The adults indulged in pizza and cake; little Sam chomped on Shriner's finger.

In other Sam news, he is officially official. His social security card arrived the other day after almost four months of waiting.

Another Addition to Our Family

Andrea Aguilar, Sam's nanny, is the newest member of our family. She joined us earlier this month when I went back to work and she's terrific -- she comes early, stays late and showers Sam with love. We broke her in when Sam caught a virus earlier this week. We figure if the screaming and puking didn't scare her away, nothing will!

A Day at Grandma and Grandpa's

Between going back to work and making an unexpected trip home to Minnesota, life's been a whirlwind! Sam continues to grow at lightening speed and is delighting us with lots of smiles and chitter chatter.

While we were home we caught up with cousins Claire and Meghan. Meghan wasn't sure what to make of the babies, who seemed to get along swimmingly.

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On to the Next Chapter

My maternity leave is quickly drawing to a close! The last 12 weeks are a blur at best, filled with long days of juggling the new demands of motherhood. I learned how to do almost everything one-handed – from picking up the house and preparing meals to typing email and surfing the internet. I also learned how to shower in record time and be a somewhat productive human being on little to no sleep. I figure the latter will come in very handy as I head back to work tomorrow.

Here’s a peek back at the last 12 weeks:

Day one:

A morning stretch during the early days:

Cuddling with Dad:

Sam's first Christmas:

Hanging out at home in recent weeks: