I am a stay at home mom and former attorney. I met my husband in law school at Washington University in St. Louis, and we were married in December 2006. We both practiced law in Indiana before moving to Illinois where Ed serves as general counsel and executive VP in the family's thermoforming plastics business. I am lucky enough to be able to stay home with our daughters, Matilda and Evelyn, and not have to miss a thing! Our two dogs--a farm collie named Laddie and a golden retriever named Romper complete our family. We live in lovely Geneva, Illinois, a western suburb of Chicago.
In all the hustle-bustle leading up to Christmas we've been trying to enjoy and capture some of the quiet moments too. These are not the best pictures that have ever been taken, and we're all in our jammies, but they are pictures of moments that make me feel good and that I will cherish for years to come.
Like making Christmas cookies with Matilda for the first time. Letting her help add ingredients:
And her first time licking the spoon:
Catching my loving husband and beautiful baby smiling at each other:
And the love and calm I feel seeing their silhouette against the setting sun coming through the window:
Wishing everyone a peaceful Christmas Eve, joyful Christmas and happy and healthy New Year!
Matilda was sick for the first time this week. We made it 17 months and 10 days without any illness! But it was scary for us and I don't think she liked it much either. We still don't know what she had, but she was treated with Tamiflu as a precaution and seems to be back to herself now.
We did learn that no matter what your age, a bubble bath is always good medicine. It even made her smile a little:
Today is our 3rd anniversary. The traditional gift is leather. Our tradition is to celebrate by going out for a fancy dinner at our favorite local restaurant, Atwater's at the Herrington Inn. We won't be doing that this year; at least not today. Poor Matilda is sick and we are tending to her. But we're doing it together, and that's what matters.
So, I've been trying for a while to get a nice picture of the girls together for Christmas cards. Today, we dressed them up in their prettiest Christmas outfits and decided to have a photo shoot at home. This is how it started.
Great Aunt Mona sent these adorable "All I want for Christmas is my Auntie" shirts to the girls, along with a really fun book about Christmas, Jesus and candy canes. Here are some pictures of Matilda and Evelyn enjoying these early Christmas presents. Thanks, Mona!
My family came to visit and have a little early Christmas this weekend. It was really great to see everyone--it's been over a year since we were together.
The kids had a blast playing together:
Matilda tried to say Boston's name, but instead calls him "Bossy"
They even shared some toys!
And they played chase, climbed all over everything and were your typical energetic toddlers.
There was plenty of food and Matilda and Boston were on pretty much the same schedule:
We bundled the kids up to play outside at the playground:
Everyone got to meet Evelyn and spend time together:
And of course there were gifts! My dad made this great toy box for Matilda:
All the kids got things from their aunts and uncles:
And I got an amazing new DSLR camera--thanks Dad! You can look forward to even more pictures!
We went to our town's annual Christmas Walk on Friday night. It's a wonderful event they've been doing over 50 years. We missed it last year (too cold!) and 2007 was my first time--I was pregnant with Matilda then, at the very end of my first trimester.
In 2007 when Ed took me to my first Christmas Walk, the Ellen Degeneres Show was filming a "wish you were here" segment about Geneva during the walk. The video is a pretty great representation of what goes on at the Christmas Walk:
So Friday we bundled the girls up and took them out to see the Santa Lucia procession where one lucky young girl dresses as Santa Lucia and wears a wreath with candles on her head and proceeds into the town with her attendants handing out good luck pepparkakor, listen to the carolers, watch the Mayor receive the first candy cane of the season from our wonderful local confectioner--Grahams, see the town tree get lit up, and welcome Santa Claus!
The whole street was decorated, there were folks handing out free hot chocolate, roasting chestnuts and making s'mores, there was a living nativity, and even an ice sculpture being made. We also had some of the first snow flurries of the season. Evelyn stayed nice and warm in her baby carrier, Matilda refused to wear her gloves or mittens or keep her hands covered though, so we couldn't stay long before she got pretty chilly.
Here are a few pictures from our night:
Me and the girls (Evelyn is tucked snugly into her carrier!) counting down to the lighting of the Christmas tree:
While we did miss our relatives and look forward to seeing everyone next year, we had a really lovely Thanksgiving with just our family. We had tons of food, a relaxing afternoon, we showed Matilda the Charlie Brown and Garfield Thanksgiving movies, we had 2 pies, tasty food and good wine, and we ate off the wedding china while wearing our pyjamas.
Tradition: Ed had oysters for lunch on Thanksgiving day. Most years I cook them for all our guests, but this year he enjoyed them raw.
Relaxation: Evelyn was unfazed by the hustle and bustle in the kitchen.
Tons of food: This was our 22 pound bird... for the 4 of us. We will be enjoying leftovers for quite a while!
The Show: Ed masterfully carved the bird.
Wonderful company: Although their table manners leave something to be desired, it takes nothing more than a glance at my girls to instantly know what we're thankful for.
Sweet Ending: I made my very first pumpkin pie and it was great! I also made a butterscotch pudding pie in a gingersnap cookie crust and Ed has asked to see that again for Christmas. Both were served with freshly whipped cream, of course.
Evelyn is 4 weeks old today (it's hard to believe she was only due 9 days ago!). She had her 1 month check up this morning and she is growing like a weed! She has gained 2 pounds 6 ounces in the last three weeks. She is now 10 pounds 8 ounces (90th percentile) and has grown 1 1/2 inches in the last 3 weeks as well and is now 22 1/2 inches long (also 90th percentile).
She typically only wakes up to eat 2-3 times a night and is a great eater. She's beginning to smile and seems to get stronger every day. She loves to be held and is very snugly and generally very content.
She is healthy, happy, beautiful and perfect. No shots until after Christmas.
Here's a clip of Matilda and Evelyn. Matilda keeps trying to get a high-five from Evelyn, and even though Evelyn left her hanging, Matilda still gave her a kiss!
Actually, quiet is not necessary. Both the girls napped today while the dogs were barking, the piano was being tuned and the vacuum was running. Oh, and did I mention they're building a house behind us too? Thankfully, they are oblivious to the noise.
Matilda loves to be outside, even when it's cold. She'll stand by the door and get all excited and start saying "Wanna go outside! Wanna go outside!" over and over and over--it's nearly impossible to say no. So here she is, all bundled up in her long underwear and new hat and mittens ready to go outside and walk around.
