Moo-rie And Me

Dylan officially has a favorite book. It is very fun to watch him use discretion and pick out "Moo-rie and Me"...every....single....time. :)

Coffee Table

We knew the coffee table we recently bought would serve more than just the purpose of holding our drinks. It opens up to store toys too. Little did we know it would have a third purpose - fort/play area for Dylan. He loves it in there.

Keeping Us Entertained

Dylan gets so excited about his toys sometimes that he crawls up on top of them. (We got him an old computer keyboard because he was slightly obsessed with ours.)

Sporting a little post-nap "bedhead."

I left the room for literally one minute, and returned to find he'd pulled down the Kleenex box and had it half-emptied already. :)

First Trip to Navy Pier

Dylan accompanied his daddy to the Chicago Flower and Garden Show at Navy Pier on Friday. Marc supplied pavers for an exhibit there.

Standing Tall

D is spending more time on his legs these days.

Little Boys

Dylan and I met my aunt and cousins and kids in Evanston on Friday. Connor and Carter had fun taking the free magazines on the street corner, and are displaying their copies of "Today's Chicago Woman."

We saw our good friends Cortt and Jen's new baby Connor on Saturday. He is beautiful!

"My New Favorite Things"

Playing with the curtains.

Listening to Daddy tell me how to make coffee in the morning. I help by shutting the cupboard, and closing the coffee pot lid.

Putting items in buckets and bowls.

Playing At The Park

Chicago was blessed with a couple of warm days last week. A few pictures from our time at the park, and talking with our neighbor Rina along the way:

"Cooking With Dylan"

If Dylan had a cooking show, these would be a few of the snapshots from it:

More!

Dylan used sign language for the first time yesterday! I asked him if he wanted more apple (I wasn't even signing), and when I turned towards him he was touching his hands together to signify "more." You should have heard the shriek of happiness that came from my mouth. I must admit, I was one proud mommy! Two thumbs up for Baby Signing!

(The Other) Birthday Boy

Marc's birthday was this past week! His actual day was Tuesday, so our small group got to help us celebrate. Then on Saturday he and I went out for dinner.

Walking through the door with his gift from multiple family members, which involved an excursion to Best Buy.

He broke his "BBQ ribs" birthday dinner tradition and opted for Magnolia Cafe, one of his very favorite local restaurants. I was thrilled to toast to my husband and celebrate his life and this past year.

Hope

In the heart of a snow-filled, 100% winter weekend in Chicago, Dylan sported his "Daddy's Future Caddy" outfit. Spring is just around the corner......

Play Date

Dylan had a playdate with my friend Tersha's twins, Koen and Shylah. Doesn't Shylah look like her mommy?!

Bedtime Talks

Intently listening to Daddy before getting ready for his bedtime story.

The Splits

Dylan's position for having his bottle the other day.

One of the more "interesting" things D likes to do is to sit and shake something, like an article of clothing, then nuzzle it next to his face. He often likes to accompany this move by doing the splits with his legs. This picture sort of shows it.

Valentine's Day

Isn't this the epitome of "a gift"?! I loved the way my gift from Marc was wrapped so much that I didn't want to open it! I'm a sucker for "presentation."

Our V-Day celebration was a memorable one. We planned on cooking a meal together, and had all the ingredients out and ready to go. Before getting started, I put a bundle of parsley down the garbage disposal and it seemed to be taking awhile to dissolve, so I kept running water. 5 minutes later, I felt water on my feet and realized that water had flooded the entire cabinet below and was pouring out. The parsley got jammed in the pipe, causing it to "spring a leak", so the 5 minutes of water was on our kitchen floor. Needless to say, our next move after cleaning up was placing a carry-out order. :)

Dylan's First Birthday

Our hearts are overflowing with thankfulness at this milestone celebration as we reflect back on God's abundant blessings and protection over us in this past year.

Psalm 100:4-5: "Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His name. For the LORD is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations."

A few pics from his parties in Chicago and Orland Park.....

Checking out his present from Mommy and Daddy on his birthday morning. Not quite sure...

He decided he likes it and repeats Elmo's actions by waving his hand and nodding his head.

Pre-party picture with my mom, who flew in for the weekend!

Enjoying bday balloons with Daddy.

New toys!!

Dancing to the "birthday boogie", played by Papa on the piano at the Orland Park party.

Then Dylan took his turn on the ivories.

D and I are with my cousin Tammy and her son Carter.

Dylan's "smash cake."

Considering his strong affection for sweet potatoes, he did pretty well with this "foreign food" at Sunday's party. (On Saturday, we weren't so lucky, rejecting cake in favor of his sweet potatoes.)

Our cousin's kids helped Dylan open presents.

Who Needs Presents.....

....when the cardboard box they're shipped in is just as intriguing?

Super Bowl

Dylan was in full uniform in support of his Steelers on Sunday. He waved his "terrible toddler towel" with the best of them at the beginning and then went to bed at half-time. He knew they'd win - no need to stay up and watch the end.

Excited About His Toy

Dylan gets so excited about this toy that he hikes himself up and practically crawls on top of it. He is also known to show off his dance moves to the music it plays.