Unwanted attention...

Due to some unwanted attention to our blog, we are going private. I maintain a blog in an attempt to keep all of our friends and family updated on our family. If you would still like to be allowed access to view it, please send me your email address so I can add you to our permitted viewers. Love to all!

Roadtrip crew

As many of you know, I spent the past two weeks on a roadtrip with my mom, sister Kathleen and Dylan. We first ventured to the Chicago area to visit my brothers, attend a wedding reception and visit old friends. Dylan ended up with a really nasty cold that lasted pretty much the entire trip. He traveled in the car pretty good, but was a very clingy toddler the entire trip. I could not move two inches without him screaming and grabbing onto my leg. It made for a very stressed out mom. He wouldn't sleep in his play pen, so he ended up in bed with me almost every night for two weeks. Needless to say, I didn't get much sleep. In spite of that, we had a wonderful trip. The picture above is my sister Kathleen and my brother Aaron while we were at Olive Garden.

Aaron and Karl both work at Buffalo Wild Wings in Gurnee. One night we all decided to go eat while they were working. It was fun to see them in action. Karl was actually our server. He does a wonderful job and we had fun getting messy eating yummy wings. Karl took a quick break from working to pose with my mom and sister.

Dylan LOVES fish. It is one of the few words he says, but he will say it all the time. Grandma thought it would be a good idea to take him to Shedd's Aquarium in downtown Chicago. Dylan absolutely loved it! He was so excited to look at all the 'shishies'. His whole face just lit up and he kept pointing and pounding on the glass. It was so cute.

While we were downtown, we had the opportunity to meet up with my friend Amy and her son Logan. Dylan and Logan had fun sharing food at Grand Luxe.

After Chicago, it was on to Piqua, Ohio. I don't think any place feels more like home than my Grandma Burt's house. I spent so much time there as a kid and I just love going back and spending time with my mom's family. They have all been such a huge part of my life and I really miss being able to see them all the time. We had a lot of fun while we were in Ohio. One night we all went roller skating and crashed my cousin Karrstyn's birthday party. I haven't been roller skating since I was a kid. Surprisingly it came back to me pretty quick! It was a lot of fun. The picture above was taken at the bowling alley. My cousin Keighly was such a big help with Dylan, so we decided to treat her to an afternoon out with us. It was me, Keighly, Kathleen, Karl and his girlfriend Jenn.

Dylan loved running around in Great Grandma and Papa's yard. It's nice and big. A luxury he doesn't have at our house.

He loved playing with the well that is in their backyard.

After a few days, Dylan finally started to warm up to everyone. No surprise, his mood shift was directly related to when he started to feel better from his cold. Keighly was so happy when he finally started to play with her.

By the time we arrived in Ohio, my mom, Kathleen and I all came down with Dylan's cold. You can tell by my face that I was exhausted and not feeling well. One of the few things that kept Dylan quiet was food. He got to enjoy his first Twizzler. Boy did it make his mouth happy.

All in all, it was a wonderful trip. It was so much fun being able to spend time with my family. I miss them all so much and wish that we all lived closer. Even with the sickness and the whining - I think everyone was glad to see Dylan. He's grown so much in the past year and I'm glad that he was able to spend some time with the people who love him so much.

Easter

Easter came and went pretty fast this year. The Elkington's were in town for that weekend and we had a good time visiting with them. Easter Sunday we all went to church and then came home and had a wonderful meal. We were all pretty sick of eating the traditional holiday hams and turkeys, so we decided to grill shish kabobs. They were so yummy! Grandma Elkington made her famous potato salad and we were all quite satisfied by the end of the day.

A glimpse

This is just to tide some people over until I return home. I am currently on a two week roadtrip with my mom, sister, and Dylan. We spent 5 days in Chicago visiting my brothers and we are currently in Ohio for another 6 days visiting my grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. This picture was taken Sunday afternoon when my mom treated me and my siblings to lunch at Olive Garden. It sure was good to be together for a little while. I really miss getting to see my brothers and sister on a regular basis.

Inquiring Minds Want to Know

A few of my favorite things. Thanks for the time waster Ang!

1. Favorite food- Pizza
2. Favorite dessert- My mom's Cherries in the Snow
3. Favorite restaurant- PF Chang's
4. Favorite beverage- Chocolate milk or Hot Cocoa
5. Favorite fruit- Raspberries
6. Favorite veggie- Broccoli
7. Favorite artist/band- Linkin Park
8. Favorite song- It changes all the time
9. Favorite concert- Haven't been to that many, but honestly? Britney Spears was really entertaining. Linkin Park was pretty cool, too. I guess it's a toss up
10. Favorite radio station- Don't have one
11. Favorite TV show- Grey's Anatomy returns April 24th!!!!!!!
12. Favorite reality TV show- Rock of Love
13. Favorite movie- A Walk to Remember
14. Favorite actor- Tom Hanks
15. Favorite actress- Julia Roberts
16. Favorite store- Nordstrom
17. Favorite school subject- History
18. Favorite hobby- playing piano
19. Favorite place- anywhere my family is
20. Favorite flower- orchid
21. Favorite animal- monkey
22. Favorite season- spring, it's my Birthday season:)
23. Favorite vacation spot- San Diego
24. Favorite day of the week- Saturday
25. Favorite household cleaner- Comet
26. Favorite website- My first time moms forum
27. Favorite book- Twilight series...ditto Ang
28. Favorite sport- to do, swimming - to watch, basketball
29. Favorite holiday- Thanksgiving
30. Favorite color- Navy blue

Driving Miss Momma

We were out driving around the other day and decided to stop and wash the car. It was really windy outside, so I didn't want to chase Dylan around while water was flying at us. Mike got out and washed the car and I was just planning on staying buckled with Dylan in his carseat. Well, Dylan had other plans and started whining. I kept trying to distract him with toys, juice, binkies, etc, but he was having none of it. Finally I just decided to unbuckle him and he climbed up into the front seat with me. No more whining from that point on. He had a good old time turning all the knobs and 'driving'. I must say, he's a good little driver -- I never felt a single bump.

Happiest cabby you could ever meet!

Something comforting

Dylan has finally found an item that he is smitten with. He loves his blue blanky that his 'Aunt' Angela made for him. He sleeps with it every single night. He uses part of it as a pillow and then hugs the rest of it with his arms. Yesterday, he was in his room playing. When I went to check on him, I discovered him pulling his blanky through the slats on his crib. Once he successfully pulled the whole blanket through, he proceeded to roll around on the floor with it for 10 minutes.