Thanksgiving in Chi-ca-go!

The cousins: Zach, Adam, Evan & Jake

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving in Chicago! Adam *loved* being with his cousins as well as Aunt Samantha & Uncle Jeff. Bobbe & Zaide also flew in from B'ham which made the holiday extra special. It was such a treat being with "the whole gang" again. Steven also met a 2nd cousin of his, Lauri, for the first time. She was also born in South Africa but has lived in Israel her entire life. She is in Chicago, studying for her MBA. Her husband and 18 month old, Yonaton, joined us for Thanksgiving. It was great to meet one of Adam's (3rd) cousins! =)

Samantha is a *fabulous* cook and the Thanksgiving dinner was heavenly... especially the turkey, challah stuffing, sweet potatoes and pumpkin pie. Yum! Of course, the night ended with lots of football -- the adults watching and the kids playing!!!

It was a lovely dinner and we all felt *so* blessed (and...thankful)!

Adam was so excited to play with Zaide again!

Bobbe, Zach and Adam

Aunt Samantha, Evan, Zach and Adam

Yummy!

The kids table

Adam's "new" 3rd cousin, Yonaton

Playing the piano

Lots of football was played... hmm, looks like we're going to need to replace that Bears helmet for a Redskins one...

Busting a move in his T'giving outfit!

SO HAPPY!

Dreaming of the delicious sweet potatoes and cornbread muffins in his toddler air mattress! For the most part, he slept pretty well on it.

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! More pics from our Chicago trip tomorrow! Oh, and if anyone knows how to prevent "red eye" when taking photos, let me know! Adam really does have hazel eyes, if you can believe it!

MIA - well, in Chicago

Oh my goodness, it feels like forever since I've posted! Things had gotten quite busy before the T'giving holiday. We've been in Chicago since T'giving day and have had a wonderful time. Adam is in total heaven with his cousins. He absolutely adores them! Bobbe & Zaide were also here with us and we love having time with Aunt Samantha and Uncle Jeff. Uncle Steven and Aunt Elizabeth are also in town (visiting Elizabeth's family) so we got to see them last night, too. Lots of pictures to come in the next day or two! Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! =)

(relatively) Wordless Wednesday -- Adam's buddies

Adam has lots of buddies. He usually (ok, sometimes) plays nicely with other kids and seems to enjoy their company. If we go somewhere without other children, the question "Where are all the kids?" will usually be raised. Here are some recent adventures with some of Adam's buddies...

Special playdate! The mothers of these adorable kiddos -- Rachel, Angela & Kerry -- and I met around the time that we all got pregnant. We try to get the kids together a few times a year. Adam and Liam were born only one week apart (we even had the same OB!) and Lily was born 6 weeks later. Sarah "came into the scene" about 9 months later. Now, Liam and Lily both have little brothers (Connor and Nolan) and Sarah's little sibling will be arriving in December. Sitting oh-so-nicely in this photo are: Sarah, Lily, Connor, Liam, Nolan & Adam. Full disclosure: do you see that little orange peg that Nolan is holding? Well... let's just say that Adam made a mad dash for it .3 seconds after this photo was taken. It was NOT a good scene (and that's putting it mildly!).

Adam LOVES Lily. When Lily got off the couch, Adam asked for Lily to come back and sit with him.

Happy 3rd Birthday, Caylee! Adam's celebrating Caylee's birthday with Caylee & her baby sister, Emma. He especially enjoyed the cupcake icing.

Remember Riley? Unfortunately, with both Molly and myself working, we don't get to see Riley as often anymore. Here's a pic of them playing -- when they decided that they wanted to share, that is (that didn't last long).

Adam giving Caylee a birthday hug good-bye. He has mastered the "gentle hugs"... as his big bear hugs were ending up with kids on the floor!

We also went to Andrew's 1st birthday party last week but I forgot my camera.=( He was an adorable birthday boy who especially loved his cake!

Hope everyone is having a great week! Can't believe Thanksgiving is only 1 week away... time is flying by!!!

"WHY?"... & other favorites

Oh my goodness... there is really so much to write about these days and I have been really slacking. =( It's been crazier here than usual balancing everything. Fortunately, I love my job (usually) but I've been missing Adam a lot recently when I'm at work. He's at a really fun age and I just love being with him. He continues to crack us up with his expressions. Tonight he was playing with my hair and said "you look so pretty, Mama, like an angel". Like an angel?!? One thing I do not look like is an angel... but it was sweet (and amusing) none-the-less. He is also using adjectives frequently these days. When he stepped out of the bath he told me that he was "freezing cold".

The word that LL uses most often now, hands down, is "WHY?". He is particularly interested in WHY someone feels a certain way. If a person/character dares not to smile, Adam will ask "WHY is he mad?" "But WHY?". I answer different ways, depending on my mood. Being a former teacher, I like to use "teachable moments". So when Adam is asking for the 100th time why someone is mad, I usually answer that the person is mad b/c someone didn't share their toys. Fast thinking, huh? =)

Adam is also in the "pretend play" stage -- BIG TIME. He is always "cooking" for us (in his 2 kitchens), giving his doggies a bath, feeding them (and us), etc. He has just started playing with his Lit.tle People barn, animals & fire truck. He especially likes to stuff all the animals (20+) into the barn. There is a little iguana and he alternates between calling it an "alligator" and a "dinosaur". It's pretty funny. Here are some photos of Adam (pretend)playing:







Playgrounds continue to be a big hit! The weather has been really nice so of course we're taking advantage of it! Here are some playground pics from last week:





Adam LOVES to climb... he can climb the whole way up by himself. I have a near heart attack every time! Also, the little girls in the photos are kids we met in the library music class that meets right before we head out to the playground.

Last, but certainly not least, Adam still loves tossing around -- or kicking -- a ball. He seems to be quite athletic, all thanks to me (yeh... totally kidding there... Steven is a natural athlete, though... I'm SO not!). We took Adam to a park this past somewhat rainy Saturday and caught a soccer game. A few balls "went out" during the practice and Adam went after every one! Afterwards, he found some nice mud puddles to jump in! Such a boy!!!


Victory!



After all this playing, this is how we usually find Adam after 10 minutes in the car:


Before I sign off, I have a few shout-outs:
* Congratulations to Stacey, Tom & Benjamin on their latest addition! We are looking forward to meeting Alexander tomorrow!
* Happy 3rd Birthday, Miss Caylee! We had a great time at your party! Will post pics soon!
* Happy 1st Birthday, Andrew! Wonderful party -- we especially loved watching you go after that cupcake! =)
*Saving "the best for last" here:
Happy 10 Years to my 1st Love! Steven and I met on a blind date on 11-14-99 and my life hasn't been the same since... xoxo
Photo taken from our Alaskan Cruise Honeymoon -- June 2003
Have a great week, everyone!

Wordless Wednesday -- Cox Farms!

On Sunday we ventured out to Cox Farms for our last "pumpkin patch" outing of the year. The temperature was almost 80 degrees - unbelievable in November. I think I got a sunburn!!! Adam LOVED running around, petting the goats (up close) and picking out pumpkins. However the highlight for him was the hayride. It was about 20 minutes long and he had a huge grin on his face for at least 18 minutes of it. It included lots of cut-out decorations on the side (including aliens, Bar.ney! and zoo animals) and even a trip through the haunted tunnel. Here are some (well, lots) of photos from our day:




















Before we left, Adam picked out a pumpkin (or two):

Just for fun, here is a photo of Adam picking out a pumpkin at Cox Farms last September, at almost 18 months:

One last note... from now on, every time I write a new post, I am going to use a new photo for the title picture. Otherwise, some loved ones (Hi Uncle Steven!) will know that there's a new post. It's also fun to choose a new "photo of the week (or mid-week") each time! =)