Myles Daniel

Today, we welcomed Myles Daniel to the world, officially making us a family of FOUR!  

Without further ado, here are some pictures from the hospital -- 

He wanted everyone to know he was here!

Myles, the heart-break kid, already winking at all you ladies out there.

A miracle from God!

Lots of dark brown hair, just like Dad.

Already very much in love with this boy.

Working at the Car Wash, Yeah

Saturday, Nora was playing outside with Dan when he decided they should wash the car together. Great idea considering she loves to help, loves water, and (especially this weekend) loved being by her Daddy. To say she had fun would be an understatement. I stayed inside in the comfort of the air conditioning and started cleaning occasionally looking out the dining room windows to see what fun they were having. I must have gone out there three separate times to take pictures because I was laughing at what I saw.

First, you have to get the car wet.

(Although neither of them look like they were having much fun

in this picture, believe me, they were.)

Next you have to get the car all soapy.

"With soap all over, SCRUB, SCRUB, SCRUB!" - Sandra Boynton

The next time I looked outside, I noticed her hair was soaking wet.

I, of course, grabbed the camera, went out again, and asked Dan how that

happened. He said she took the hose and put her head in!

Which also explains why she was now unclothed.

But 98% of the time, she still likes to have her shoes on.

Dan started to get tired so sat down to take a breather.

She also wanted to take drinks from the hose just like Rusty does.

"Your turn Daddy."

Then her turn again.

Hmm... this bucket is full of water and just my size.

I bet I could get in it.

Yeah! I did it!

Despite the fact that the hose water is cold and she had

the goose bumps to prove it...

she assured me she was having a good time and not to worry.

Morton Arboretum

Karen has been telling me for a while that we have to go to the Morton Arboretum. As my due date nears, we thought today would be a perfect day for it. This place is really neat. We both agreed we'll have to come back - but in September.... when all the kids are back at school (sorry to say it, but it's true). There were a lot of "older" kids there -- maybe 4, 5, 6ish.

And when you're only 18 months trying to play too,

you generally get lost in the shuffle - like so.

But we found some great areas she absolutely loved.

She enjoyed smelling the flowers.

Or anything that was near a flower.

Every time she'd take a whiff, she say "mmm".

We found a dog house just like in the book we read where

they build a doghouse for Henry. I think she was looking for Henry.

We climbed in a tree house and played with rain sticks.

From the top of the tree house, she was able to spot Karen!

One of the highlights from the day was coming across a water pump. We all know this girl loves splashing and playing in the water.

Getting her hands and feet wet ultimately led to...

putting her head in!!

After playing with the water pump, she had to check on Claire.

(You can see her piggies are all wet from the many times she dunked her head)

She's going to be a great big sister.

Then we found the jackpot. A shallow pond you could get in.

I'm sure if this were the only thing we saw all day

she still would have been happy.

After getting out, we had to head home for lunch. Looking forward to the next time we visit the Arboretum.

All Better

They are the cure for all scrapes and boo-boos (and even the tears that come with 'em). They have magical powers. Of course, I'm talking about the ever popular Band-Aid.

The whole family went for a walk last night. After walking at least 10 minutes (and yes, I'm talking about Nora... she wasn't sitting in her stroller) she tripped over an uneven sidewalk crack. As she started to get up, Dan and I looked at each other thinking she might not cry and then the tears started. After a consoling hug from Mommy Dearest, she was ready to get back down and continue walking. About a block later, I put her in the stroller (it was about time to move faster than a snail's pace... bedtime was looming). It was then she noticed her bloody pinky knuckle. How does one get a bloody pinky knuckle? Well, a sunglasses lover never lets go of her sunglasses - even when falling. The blood didn't bother her, she was just concerned she was bleeding.

"Eh."

"Eh."

"Eh."

This was what we kept hearing for the remainder of the way home as she pointed to her bloody pinky.

Got home, washed it off and then thought to cover it with a Band-Aid so she wouldn't be so preoccupied with it.

Well, that just piqued her curiosity. The entire time we got ready for bed, read books, and said prayers, she held her hand out to the side (as pictured above) not letting her precious Band-Aid touch anything. We laughed the whole time.

Also tried to put a Band-Aid with neosporin on her knee scrape,

but ironically, she ripped that one off in 2.3 seconds.

As of this morning, the Band-Aid is off and we've moved on to bigger and better things.

Day Date

I've been wanting to take Nora to meet Dan at work for a picnic lunch for a while now. With our little boy due just three weeks from today, today seemed better than ever. A perfect day to sit outside, eat sandwiches, fruit, and share dessert -- not to mention share some quality time with just the tree of us -- and that's just what we did.

I was happy to see Missy wanted to go by him (and not just me)

considering she's been giving him the cold shoulder the past few days.

Cheeks full of grapes.

Golden Oreos = Dan's dessert. But it somehow got taken over

by her. (Who didn't see that coming?!) At least she was willing to share!

Thanks for the day date with us, Daddy!

4th of July Weekend

What a whirlwind of a weekend it was! And a good one at that.

Destination: Lake Camelot for the annual Guenther-Sowinski Lake weekend. With 10 adults, 3 dogs, and 2 children (which is a smaller group than it could have been) it was a full house. And it's only getting bigger as the years go on!

Here are some of the highlights from the weekend --

The weather was HOT on Friday. Needless to say, it didn't take long after arrival to get our suits on and cool off in the lake.

Even I had to bare the belly and get in.

Can you say Sports Illustrated Swim Suit Edition!?

Rusty couldn't wait to get in. He's a very happy dog when he gets to go swimming.

As you can see, Nora was a very happy camper splashing in the water.

Kojak's family portrait.
Greg, Claire, and Karen

Nora is giving rice cakes to all three of the dogs. Patient Rusty waiting

in the back for his turn. One for Sammy, one for Gunner, one for Rusty

and one for Nora.

Grandpa and Nora

"Can I get one of these?"

Swimming with Daddy.

mmm... who doesn't like chocolate frosting? (besides Daddy)

Enjoying a cupcake with chocolate frosting for Grandma's birthday.

We woke up on Saturday to find out there were major winds during the

night that took our staked-in shade tent out of the ground and put it down

in the water at the end of the neighbor's pier.

Luckily, they were able to get it out.

All the swimming, running, and trying to play with the old dogs can tire a pup out!

It definitely tires Rusty.

Nora was able to get her first boat ride. We are all ready to go.

Greg came along for the occasion.

Captain Karen

It's safe to say, she enjoyed the ride (and only tried to pull the life jacket off

a time or two near the end).

She got more and more brave as the ride went on. First standing with help.

Then letting go of one finger, then the other.

And soon wanting to sit on the seat by herself.

She pointed to everything along the way.

When the ride was over, she discovered all the rocks she could

collect along the path.

Man and man's best friend.

We could see a couple different sets of fireworks over the trees.
This was the best shot at night I could get.

Sunday, Nora was content sitting on a floaty in the shade.

It had a hole in the middle that was filled with water to play and splash in.

Claire was a little fussy and didn't want her mom or her Grandma.

I offered my comforting pregnancy hormones to see if that did the trick.

She fell asleep for about 45 minutes on my belly.

Nora got to spend some more QT with her Godfather before the weekend was over.

Monday, we were back home. We took in Mt. Prospect's 4th of July parade.

She got a lot of suckers. Suckers and Tootsie Rolls are run-of-the-mill here.

They also throw out cookies (from the best local bakery) and mini packages of

wheat thins, and freezy pops to name a few. They take their handouts seriously here.

Completely tuckered, she fell asleep in the car on the way home

from the parade. That's when you know you've had a good weekend.