It's Beginning to Feel A Lot Like Christmas

As much as I love Thanksgiving, I guess we have been looking a lot more forward to Christmas as we have a full list of "holiday happenings" to do this holiday season - Winter Wonderfest at Navy Pier, Zoo Lights at Lincoln Park Zoo, see the Michigan Avenue lights, do a gingerbread house, make cookies, etc, etc.  Our house is in full xmas mode with decorations, lights up and tree decorated.  Maybe it is because Lucy is older and is really getting into Christmas (she has left voicemails for Santa and doesn't want coal in her stocking, just presents and likes listening to Christmas music in the car), or maybe because it will be our first Christmas in our first house, but this holiday season seems to be so much more "magical" than any other year and it really just started.  Pretty sure it has a lot to do with Lucy and of course our new niece Libby :)

 First snow of 2012

On the train to see the Magnificent Mile Lights Festival

Aunt Katie met us downtown - love this pic! 

Family pic

Lucy loved this Winnie - we headed to Portillos after the lights parade.  

Decorating our gingerbread house

And eating it (turns out they really don't stay together all that well)

Putting up the tree

As expected, going through the ornament box was way more fun than putting them on

My sweet girl

It is officially Xmas in our house!

This random pic uploaded during my post, but it made me laugh so I figured I would leave it up.  Lucy has thinned out a bit :) 

And another random pic that makes me smile.....

A few pics from the Barbie "Meet and Greet" event at my dad's work - it was such a fun afternoon of visiting him at his work.  Lucy had so much fun meeting Barbie and we got to check out the Sears cafeteria :)  

Welcome Libby Frances!!!

Welcome to our beautiful new niece - Libby Frances Wennerstrom.  Libby is lucky to have joined one of the most amazing families and this is the start of an amazing life for this little girl.  Born early Sunday morning (exact time I guess I should find out) weighing in at 6 lbs, 11 ounces.  She is a little peanut - with dark hair so maybe she will be the only brunette of the girls if it stays! We were lucky to meet her Sunday - and she was a dream baby sleeping the entire time :)

Congrats to Beth, Rob and big sisters Abigail and Caitlin!!!! Monday, when everyone is home together, will be when the real fun begins!  

Libby Frances - sweet as can be

A special photo with rock star mom, I will spare any labor and delivery details

Dad did a lot of work too so he gets some credit

Some one-on-one time with mom and dad

Love by Aunt Katie

And me

No uncle photos yet - Joe and I were in the room at different times taking care of Lucy and I left with the camera, and boyfriend-in-law Vern wasn't quite ready to hold a baby :)

CONGRATS WENNERSTROM FAMILY!!!! 

Happy Thanksgiving!

We had a great Thanksgiving - spent it this year with the Blandford/Lacny family and it was our first time at the La Grange Country Club, which was really nice, and went back to Tom and Lynnette' after dinner.  The Club was wonderful - amazing food...Joe couldn't believe the dessert table....and it was fun to do a dinner out for Thanksgiving.  Lucy really does get completely spoiled by this family - I actually ate a real dinner because every time I turned around Amy, Lynnette or Chris was entertaining Lucy in the lobby or women's locker room :)  She really is so lucky to be so loved by everyone.

But, Thanksgiving came and went around here because early this morning we put up all the Christmas lights and this afternoon put up our tree (well, put together, know I really am going to be disowned by my family for not doing the real tree again this year).  Pics to come on along with pics from many other things over the past two weeks very soon.

And, as I type late at night Beth is working very hard at delivering her 3rd beautiful girl so tomorrow I hope to be sharing many pics of my beautiful new niece!!

My only good (smiling at camera) photo of Lucy from the day! With Amy, who has quickly become a

the favorite Lacny :) 

The early shoppers checking out online deals

The football crew

Lucy helping Lynnette and Amy put up their train

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

We are back!

Name any sort of technological problem one household could have - and we have had it this week!  After a few weeks of my photo camera not working, I took it to Apple and learned that I first needed to delete a ton of photos onto our computer, which was already at storage capacity.  We took our hard drive in and were without for a few days, then our internet went down so we switched companies and had to wait 4 days for them to install (this afternoon!), then Joe put an accidental lock on whatever it is that backs up our computer, and we lost everything on our hard drive, so our computer is going back to "the shop" for a few days.  Because of this, I don't have a single photo left on the computer - although I am sure we will get them all back, I am thankful for this blog which has a lot of photos saved, and Beth's, just in case.  The silver lining is that I haven't been able to shop online.

Feel like so much has happened over the past weeks while we were living in 1920 here at the Blandford house - but now that the time has passed it really isn't all that noteworthy.  EXCEPT - We celebrated Caitlin's 3rd bday party which was so special - a Nemo party, and the day before went with Caitlin, Abigail, Beth and Rob to a live Blues Clues show.  The girls all sat through the show and got more into it than I would have thought.  Sadly I was kind of lost during it but the little kids behind me would yell out the clues and I would catch on.  I hope it wins a Tony this year :)  And speaking of excitement in the Wennerstrom house, baby #3 is due any day now!! I hope it is before Thanksgiving so I can spend as much time with this little one before the holiday since we won't be together for it.

And, speaking of babies, baby #2 (in our house) is doing great.  Really, nothing exciting to report yet as I am only 22 weeks, and we haven't had our "big" 20 week ultrasound yet (tomorrow!).  She isn't a big mover, and is making life pretty easy on me these days. There isn't much I have had to change in my routine.  Lucy goes around telling everyone she is going to have a baby sister named "Lauren."  Her preschool teachers asked me if it was going to be "Lauren" and it is not.  I gave Lucy a list of names to choose from and Lucy picked Lauren, probably because she had a classmate in music by that name.  She also calls her "poo."  We are now starting to work on the baby's room and have ordered her furniture.  Over Joe's xmas break from work we are going to get organized on the baby end and can't wait for the spring.  I can't wait for another newborn, and strangely, the sleepless nights and craziness that comes along with it.

And, this week Lucy got a new playroom!  Our house is officially overflowing with toys so we decided to get rid of our guest room (sorry anyone who was planning a trip to Chicago in the near future) and turned it into a playroom.  It is so nice to have a place for all the toys - at least for now.  Once I add the baby's toys, I am sure we will be selling the couch and taking over Joe's football center.

We have a busy weekend coming up - with a planned trip to the Mag Mile Lights Festival (a first for all three of us), of course pending baby W's arrival which we hope is in the next few days.

Sorry for the lack of pics - I think by next week our computer should be back working!!! It better be for the arrival of Baby W!

Happy 3rd Birthday Caitlin!!!!

Happy Happy Birthday Caitlin!!!  I love having you as a big cousin to play with and learn from.  You and Abigail are my very best friends! Love, Lucy