45

Been worrying a fair amount about how Little A will do when his little brother arrives. As far as I can tell he seems to comprehend that I do indeed have a baby inside me, and at times he is even quite tender and kisses my belly and says "I lub you baby brother." But what can he possibly know of the changes to come. Sharing the time and attention that we give him, having to wait to be helped or played with while the baby nurses, toys that will no longer be just his, and on and on. I realize most of us went through it as children ourselves and are none the wiser to it now as adults. Will he remember? Will he be excited or just disappointed to see Mommy holding another so often? These questions keep me up. Causing me worry that probably isn't worth worrying over. What will come will come. I will keep loving A with all my might and hope he can feel it even if my attention is divided.

44

One of my favorite things is piping hot muffins in the morning. I tend to make blueberry most often, but I swapped in raspberries instead this time. And with an ungodly dollop of butter what could be better. Yum!

43

A little teddy bear for a sweet someone due to join our family on July 4th. We are are expecting baby boy #2 and couldn't be happier!

42

Last weekend we trekked down to Navy Pier to take A to the Chicago Children's Museum. As a native Chicagoan I usually avoid this gigantic tourist trap, but I had only taken A once when he was quite little and much of it wasn't age appropriate. I thought we might have greater success this time and after a tiny meltdown while purchasing tickets he dove right in. It was such a fantastic afternoon that we ended up purchasing a one year membership which actually was a lot less expensive than anticipated. They let you apply the cost of your tickets from that day against the total meaning we owed less than $60 for a whole year. Can't wait to go back.

Little A adored the tool room especially the hand operated drill, waterworks was a blast, and who doesn't love photo booths.

41

Happy Valentines Day! We kept busy this morning making cards for Daddy, digging through A's drawers to find his Cupid tee, and baking butter tarts. I never heard of butter tarts until I met Luke 12 years ago, but as they are a Canadian staple and he is far from home I try to make them on any special occasions. We are looking forward to an evening of unconventional fun!

40

Maybe it was all the ads on tv for chocolate around this time of year or maybe I am just trying to find an excuse to eat something sweet, but whatever compelled me I couldn't help but make this chocolatey brownie-esque cake creation a couple nights ago. And yes, we are still munching away two days later and it's still good.

39

So the creativity has been a bit lacking in these parts and when I do find the time (or energy) to actually attempt something I keep making hats, baby or kid hats to be specific. A bit of a rut methinks. Our office/craft room is soon to be made over as something new and the motivation to keep things tidy and accessible is gone. One of those what's the point kind of things but still I know I should address it. I leave you with hats, all I have to show.

38

What a fun food-filled day we had yesterday! When it comes to football I couldn't care any less, but throwing a party involving lots of eats is right up my alley. And yet somehow in the hubbub of all the cooking, guest greeting, and girlie gossip in the kitchen I managed to forget to take a single photo. We had clam chowder, hot artichoke-spinach dip, chips, guacamole, Brie and a fabulous fig jam on baguettes, gooey walnut brownies, stuffed olives and even more. Yum!

I did manage to get a photo of A's lunch while I was cooking away. Kind of an odd thing to take a picture of, but I always love seeing those sorts of things from others. Continue daily to try and feed my little guy an organic and well-rounded diet. We don't always get it right but its nice to see the occasional reminder we try.

37

We saw our first real snow this winter. Enough that it was worth pulling out the snow pants and boots and packing on the layers for a morning outdoors. But before A and I ventured out into the cold, a warm and yes a little decadent breakfast was in order. We love oatmeal in our house but tend to fall in the rut of raisins and brown sugar. Delicious as that classic combo is this morning I switched things up.

I sliced a banana, sprinkled the slices with brown sugar, broiled them till they were all caramelized and yummy looking. Then I topped the oatmeal with a splash of heavy cream and the banana slices. So delicious and simple and gobbled up promptly.

Then out to the snow till noses and cheeks became rosy and fingers turned to little icicles in our wimpy drugstore gloves.

And what better way to warm up than snuggled close together on the sofa watching a movie. To think the day is only half over. What else could be in store?