Chicago

Cody had NO idea that we were going to Chicago until Karen asked him to take the bypass to Goshen.  He couldn't believe that we were going to go north when Goshen was south.  He kept trying to argue that we were going way out of the way & when we were getting on the toll road Karen told him that she had seen a Goshen sign on the toll road.  We all yelled, "Surprise!" then let him in our secret.  We weren't going shopping all day -we were headed to Chicago.  He couldn't believe that we had pulled it off & talked about how shocked he was for half of the trip.

Navy Pier.  
Our first stop. 

Trying on Hats.

Then food.

Train rides. 

3 of them.

The train rides started happy.

But ended sad.

(Case gets a little embarrassed of his brother.)

We stopped everywhere Cit wanted.

 Had our pics taken.

Got to play the new 3D nintendo that didn't require 3D glasses.

If you wanted to steal it it came with a person.

They were actually padlocked to their waists.

Then checked into the hotel where we went swimming & stayed up WAY too late.

M

Calan ate his first M&M.

Just one blue one.

So does that just make it an M?

Birthday weekend

SOOO EXCITED. WE ARE GETTING READY TO GO TO CHICAGO FOR THE WEEKEND & CODY HAS NO IDEA.  HIS BIRTHDAY WAS ON THURSDAY & BECAUSE HE WORKS SO MUCH OVERTIME WE HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO SPEND ANY TIME TOGETHER.  HE THINKS THAT HE IS SPENDING THE DAY SHOPPING WITH ME & FRIENDS.  HE DOESN'T EVEN KNOW THAT THERE IS A SUITCASE IN THE BACK OF THE VAN JUST WAITING TO LEAVE TOWN.  ONCE WE TURN THE OPPOSITE WAY THAT HE THINKS WE'RE GOING & GET ON THE TOLL ROAD HE'LL KNOW :)

Lost in Translation

This afternoon we went to our favorite Mexican restaurant.  Cody & I ordered then decided to get Cit his own taco. I asked for the beef taco in green sauce (sounded like something he would enjoy) & when our waitress repeated it back it didn't sound like what I had said.  So I opened the menu & pointed.  When we got our order we realized that she still didn't understand what I had said so he had to eat a...

(ok, this is kinda gross)

...TONGUE TACO!

Timeshare

We all know how timeshares play out.  

You pay way too much for way too little.

But in this case it has been worth it.

We started out by sharing Lola so that Calan could get all of the benefits of having a dog without actually owning a dog.  BFF & WFF were kind enough to let us take one of their pugs for a play date which turned into a weekend stay which turned into a ...

 She has only been home twice in the last 2 weeks and they claim that she was way too unhappy to stay longer than a night.

Calan LOVES her.

Not just likes playing with her but LOVES playing with her.

They spend every waking moment together. 

They both fight over the same toys.

They both take naps at the same time.

They both eat food off of the floor.

She's like the daughter I never had.

Mastering the Art

of the Pedal Car.

Cody has been teaching him how to pedal all by himself.  He came downstairs this morning, got in his car & took off. 

It's been a week of

firsts.

Calan fell down the entire flight of stairs on Monday & by Friday had shut his hand in crack of the bathroom door.  He also "slept" through the night 3 times! 
(Cody didn't turn on the monitor)

CHICK-FIL-Again

We are spending a lot of time at every surrounding play land & play place that I can find.  I've even started taking him to different McDonald's & Chick-fil-a's so that people don't think that we're homeless. 

Yesterday was as packed full of fun as Calan's mouth.

He ate chicken nuggets for the first time.

6 of them.

He met a Cow while eating chicken.

Ran into his friend Tammy.

Introduced Case to Natalie & her family.

Played in the toilet.

Played with Eli, Gabe, Kirsten & Miah.

Realized what is soon to come if we don't hide the markers.

Case put on his party hat.

Then got his first "fuzzy hair" which had everyone besides him laughing.

Chick-fil-a-is-super-fun

especially when Kelly climbs to the top!  

Case had a nice time too I'm sure.

Nap Time

Sleeping went well today.

Calan is clearly warming up to his brother.

When he is asleep at least.

One Course Meals

Last night for dinner Case had milk & Calan ate RANCH.  That's it.  There is no more to this story.  Except that Calan lifts his pinky finger like a lady when he eats.

Happy Valentine's Day

When Case eats he puts his hands over his heart.  

Just Doing

What Babies Do.

Sweet CIT

I can't officially say that Calan loves his little brother 

-but- 

he is starting to grow on him.

Angie, RN

Angie was Calan's first nurse the night that he was born.  She taught Cody & I how to bathe, change & feed him.  She was the BEST.  Angie spent hours with us in our hospital room in 2009.  Last Friday night while we were waiting for our discharge papers she came to say "hi!"  She had remembered us from when we had Calan wanted to come see our newest baby.


                             Calan                                              Case

The Little Boy that Could

Get into EVERYTHING while his parents were away.  Grandma has been watching Calan while we were in the hospital.  Since we've been home we've realized how many "new" tricks he has under his belt.  I guess she was swindled the entire time by a 1 year old.