Hello and Goodbye Due Date!

Hello and goodbye due date. Little baby, you do not need to wait any longer to make your debut in order to prove to us that you are the soon to be prince/princess of the house:) Your big brother very quickly taught us that over 2 years ago! So, come on, sweet baby, we simply CANNOT wait to meet you:)

Since I am not in the hospital yet again today, Granny, Papa, Uncle Ben, and Adeline went to the Oak Lawn Library to see Santa on the Village Green. Well, Jack never actually sat on Santa's lap (Mommy wants to wait until Jack can be joined by his new brother or sister), but he still certainly had fun doing other Christmas activities! Jack watched the BIG "horsies" pull Santa's sleigh, put his head into all of the Christmas decorations, watched the children's chorus sing Christmas carols, drank hot chocolate and ate Christmas cookies, and BEST OF ALL, rode the Christmas train!

Although I thought that maybe today might be special because I would FINALLY be holding my new baby, today was still very special for other reasons......spending some more precious moments with my sweet Jack. I am truly grateful for each and every day I have the opportunity to spend with him as an "only child." I will never forget our wonderful days before our family grows from 3 to 4!!!!


Here are some photos from our from afternoon......

We Are Blessed and oh, so THANKFUL

This Thanksgiving, I found one quote that sums up our lives at this given moment that I would like to share.....

"We give thanks for unknown blessings already on their way."

As always, we are especially thankful for our WONDERFUL families this Thanksgiving. Thank you so much for all that you do for us. We are blessed beyond belief....and there is not a day that goes by that we forget that.

I am shocked that I am still here today to celebrate Thanksgiving with my wonderful family and not in the hospital with a new baby (or even home with the new baby, for that matter!!!) Either way, today is a blessing and I am with the people I love most in this world. So, life is great. That said, IF this little sweet baby does indeed decide to arrive today, that would be fine with us too! There is simply so much to be thankful for.....

On another note, I thought I would capture some things that my sweet Jack is especially thankful for this year:

Mommy
Daddy
His new baby brother or sister (IF he of she ever decides to arrive!!)
Ralphie
Tops (plastic ones for the top of plastic pop bottles)
Froggy Blanket that "Ganny" made him
Pumpkins
Turkeys
Santa
Stockings
Christmas Tree Lights
Pizza
Candy
"Slip Slippies"
Swishy Letters
Books

We hope that each and every one of you have a wonderful Thanksgiving and a very blessed holiday season!

Love,
Jay, Erin, Jack, Ralphie, and our new baby that we hope to meet soon!

The Cutest Little Indian....

This afternoon, Granny, Papa, Aunt Julie, Adeline, Aunt "Kick Kick", and I had the absolute PLEASURE of watching the cutest little Indian! I personally, felt SO FORTUNATE just to be able to be in the audience for this very, VERY special Thanksgiving Fall Festival. I consider this play to be so special because it was Jack's very first one. Never did I think I still would be pregnant today, but during the adorable play, I was so glad that I was able to be there in person for my little man. He was just darling...and shot simply the sweetest smile when he saw us in the audience. After the Fall Festival, my sweet, proud little Indian took us all to his classroom where he showed us all of his play areas, his artwork, his teachers, and his friends. He is just so happy at school and I am so THANKFUL for it and his wonderful teachers, Mrs. Jamie, Miss Alyssa, and Miss Kim. Afterwards, Granny and Papa took the little Indian and the rest of us out to dinner at Huck Finn. As always, it was delicious! We love that place!

Granted this is the week to be very extra thankful for things, but today, I am especially thankful for Jack's wonderful teachers and my amazing family for helping Jay and I make Jack feel special and secure. He was so happy today....and of course, there is NOTHING in the world that makes me happier than to see my sweet boy so happy! He is one lucky little boy to be loved (and spoiled!) by so many people that love him so much!!! I simply cannot thank my loving family enough to be there for us all of the time, but especially this week as we are sitting on pins and needles ANXIOUSLY awaiting the arrival of yet another sweet baby.....

Here are some shots of the cutest little Indian during the Fall Festival this afternoon.

A Cherished Moment.....

I thought I would share a photo that has come to be one of my favorites lately. I asked my sister Katie to take some family photos of Jay, Jack, and I this year around Jack's 2nd birthday and unfortunately, we picked an awful day which resulted in VERY few good pictures. However, just before it started raining, Aunt "Kick Kick" did get a quick shot of Jack hugging his little brother or sister. I think this shot is absolutely PRECIOUS. It captures the pure sweetness of my little man. It is certainly a cherished moment of mine and I am so happy to have a picture of it. I will love this special time in our lives as we are enjoying our last few days of "waiting" for our second sweet bundle of joy to be born.....

Getting Into The Spirit of the Season with Cousin Adeline

This morning, Aunt Julie and I decided to put Jack and Adeline into their matching Christmas sweaters and take advantage of the beautiful weather yet again while we can. In Chicago, you just never know....could be in the 80's one day and it could be snowing the next week:)

We were hoping to get a really cute vintage themed 2010 Christmas "grandkids" photo for Granny and Papa's house since they are beginning to decorate for the holiday's this weekend. Well, we never got that "perfect" picture, but we certainly did try very hard. Adeline really enjoyed slapping Jack's head...and he did not appreciate it so much. Then, Jack decided to share some pine cones that he found in the yard with his cousin.....and suddenly, there was lots of sap everywhere, even Adeline's mouth. Gotta love babies!!! Even though, I neglected to shoot a perfect photo of these 2 cousins, I still decided to edit some of the pics anyway because I still think they are darling. In life, very few things are indeed "perfect".....and in Granny and Papa's eye's, these little two cuties are always perfect anyway:)

Here are some of the shots from out little pre-Christmas shoot in our backyard this morning. I love both of these babies...and they are quite good friends too....that is, when they want to be....HA!

"I Love You, Mommy!"

We had yet another BEAUTIFUL day today. Every time, I close up the house for the winter and turn the heat on, I find myself opening the windows up again for another few days of beautiful weather. No complaints from me though, it was really nice to be outside without coats on in mid November. It was so funny watching some people on our block put up their Christmas lights in shorts and a tee shirts! Today, we hit 70 degrees again! So, I took Jack outside and we just played and played. We didn't go very far...mostly just in our backyard and down the block, but Jack still had a blast!

Lately, I find myself realizing more and more that I will really miss "Mommy and Jack" time once his new little brother or sister arrives. I really enjoy his company so much! Today, we were sitting in his fort on top of his swing set (don't even ask how I got up there with him...it was not pretty!) and out of the clear blue, he said, "I love you, Mommy!!!" and then gave me a big hug. This is not the first time he has said this, but something about this particular moment with him made me cry. I will never forget our special little moments when it is just him and I. There will always be a special place in my heart for my sweet, precious, oldest, little, boy. There is certainly plenty of love for another baby (I can't wait actually!), but for today, it is another cherished "Mommy and Jack" day. I have decided that he and I will continue to have some alone time together each week. My mind is already churning up some ideas of some fun "dates" I plan to take him on even after his new brother or sister arrives. Date #1= McDonalds for a Happy Meal. I can't go wrong with that choice!!!

Please enjoy the photos that I took of Jack playing outside near our house today. Again, what a beautiful day. I sure do love my beautiful boy! "I Love You, Mommy"....these could be the very best four consecutive words ever to be spoken!