Happy Birthday, Sister!

Here's to you, J...

I love so much about you, like what a spectacular mom you are and your witty sense of humor. But what I love most especially is the fact that you're 6 years ahead of me in the aging process :)

Kidding, kidding...Love!

Yankee Doodle Sweethearts...

The week surrounding July 4th is always a time for celebration in our family. My niece turns 5 today, my nephew turned 2 on June 29th, and their parents celebrated their 11th anniversary on July 5th. So, Matt, Desi, Louie and I hosted a joint birthday party for the little ones on Sunday.

The bash was complete with mountains of food…I think we’ll be eating leftovers for 2 weeks; gifts…Matt said it looked like Christmas on our deck, and he wasn’t kidding; and an octopus sprinkler that only partially inflated! Yeah!!

Lucy, Teddy and their cousins Maddie and Claire having fun with the octopus…

Cupcakes from La Bonne Bouchee!

This was the first time I’ve been here, which is unbelievable since it’s supposed to be the best authentic French patisserie in the area. While I was in line waiting to pick up my order on Sunday morning, the pastries in their front case and the breakfast plates being served were making my stomach growl loudly. The cupcakes themselves were beautiful and delicious – Matt and I aren’t big icing people, and Bonne Bouchee’s is light, fluffy and not too sweet. I would highly recommend them!

Louie got into the spirit:

Teddy kept putting his fingers into his ears in anticipation of fireworks. There weren’t any going off in our backyard or even any that would be occurring within an audible distance from our house, but after a weekend full of fireworks displays, he was prepared…just in case :) I love it! Teddy with his very own Home Depot dump truck and hard hat…the thing even makes a beep noise when it reverses!

So many presents it’s overwhelming…

...Teddy couldn't handle opening the rest and ran off to play instead. His dad asked if he’d come back and let us watch him open some more and Teddy’s response was, “No thank you. But I’ll take my cupcake now.” Awesome.

Here's Tedward with his new Cardinals bat - what a handsome guy he's turning into! I'm totally unbiased.

I can't believe that our sweet, beautiful girl is already 5 years old! I remember being in Barcelona and getting the call from Chicago the day she was born, then celebrating her arrival with tapas and sangria on Las Ramblas :) I love this one of her and Desi:

Just for fun, I scrounged up a picture of Lucy at about 2 months old...isn't she absolutely squeezable?!

Lucy and both of her "cousins": LuLu and LouLou:
The pups were sooooo exhausted after their long day, but we were proud of how perfectly behaved they were!

Us with Lucy Goose:

Happy Birthdays, loves!

My Kind of Town, Chicago Is

My family had an awesome Memorial Day Weekend in the Windy City.

My brother, Craig, and sister-in-law, Amy, have lived in Chicago for almost 9 years, and just bought a new 4 story single family home in Lincoln Park that they share with Lucy, almost 5, and Teddy, almost 2! We decided that it was the best place to get everyone together and celebrate my Mom's milestone birthday this year.

My sister Sar and her boyfriend Jon flew in from San Francisco, my sister Jen, her husband Matt and their baby boy Sam came from Philadelphia, and my parents, Matt and I drove up from...well, the obvious.

Here are some pictures from the weekend:

The courtyard outside of the gorgeous house:

Happy birthday signs made by the grandkids:

Nana, the Birthday Girl:

Lucy stopping to meet Lily the Bullmastiff on Armitage:

Sar and Jon waiting for the show to start at Second City:


Our walking tour of the Chicago lakefront:

A much needed break at the Field Museum after walking nearly 5 miles in slides. Much to the dismay of my feet, I'm just not a sensible shoes kinda gal :)

Lucy and her new bike! She keeps a water bottle and toothbrush in the basket at all times :)

Teddster:

The Bean at Millenium Park:

Sammy:

Lucy in the fountain: My darling godson:

The fam at Buckingham Fountain:

Cutie pie cousins:
Me and my silly girl:

...and hanging around with my boys!

I love this city almost as much as love these people :)