summer happenings

Posted in chicago, everyday, family, summer by Pilar

Well, hello. It’s been nearly two months since my last post: life has been hectic, crazy, and really fun. Here are some photos from the past few months:

^^^weekends with little dude while papa sleeps. we frequent church, playgrounds, and target.^^^

^^^little dude got a major haircut from aunt carri and immediately looked more like his papa. i miss his baby hair!^^^

^^^we walk past this church all the time. i think it’s really beautiful.^^^

^^^we love spending time with grandpapa {he and Levi are basically the same person, it’s hilarious}. he’s in england for 6 weeks, so we miss him lots.^^^

^^^cupcakes to celebrate my birthday. hello, 31!^^^

^^^family time at the playground & the beach.^^^

A few other notable happenings:

Levi weaned from his bottle at the beginning of June. He’s a big kid now with his sippy cups. He’s also now fully weaned from nursing before bed {this was more dramatic for me, I think}, and before naps. We nurse in the wee hours of the morning, again when we’re up for the day, and then sometime in the afternoon/after work. I still really enjoy our nursing time. In addition to signing “more” and “milk” to indicate he wants milk, he’s now started saying ‘nana’. We can’t quite figure out if it’s his word for nursing, or if it just means that he wants something.

Levi said “mama” the other day and I nearly cried. He says “papa”, but he doesn’t do it consistently. He is able to verbally say “Lennon” which is really cute; he also says “hi”, “night, night”, and “all done”. He’s still signing “please”, “thank you” and I think the most adorable thing he does at this stage is turn his hands up when you ask him where something is. At this age, it’s crazy to see how much he picks up on and how he’s trying to verbalize {and it’s heartbreaking when he gets so frustrated}.

I re-joined a gym, and have been making an effort to work out again. It’s really hard to get to the gym after working and juggling schedules, but it’s worth it. The group fitness classes are a blast, and my body feels good.

We’re feeling a little stir crazy in our tiny apartment, and are considering a move to a different neighborhood/area of the city.

3Jun2014

lincoln square // flirty cupcakes

Posted in chicago, cupcakes, food by Pilar

A new cupcake shop opened in our neighborhood a few weeks ago: Flirty Cupcakes in Lincoln Square. It’s an adorable little shop with a good variety of cupcakes. I love their display case and their overall vintage design. Although I’ll always be partial to Molly’s Cupcakes in Lincoln Park, these are a sweet temptation within walking distance!

I had the Me Want Cookie Dough cupcake and Chris had the Peanut Butter Delight. Both were good, and left us wanting to try a different one of their delicious options next time.

Do you have a favorite cupcake shop? Do tell. When I travel, I always like to try cupcakes in different cities.

13May2014

9/52 + 10/52 + 11/52

Posted in everyday by Pilar

looks like i missed a few weeks. here are some snaps from the past three weeks with the little dude.

9/52 — we’ve been sick. again. seems like L has a perpetual runny nose.

10/52 — he’s started mimicking speech more and more: this week, he started repeating Chris when he said “uh oh”. it sounds like, “uh oh oh oh”.

11/52 — he is obsessed with keys. o b s e s s e d. as in, he signs “more” and points to them until he holds them in his chubby little hands. and when i say “no” there’s a meltdown. when he says “keys” it sounds like a cross between cheese and these.

12May2014

mamas day 2014

Posted in family, motherhood by Pilar

Since Chris had to work on Sunday, we celebrated Mama’s Day in a few different ways over the past week. We celebrated with a family lunch at Little Goat Diner on Tuesday afternoon. The food was outstanding. I recently read an article about Stephanie Izard is beloved by Chicagoans, and in most opinions, can do no wrong when it comes to food. It is true. Perhaps it’s because we loved her on Top Chef? We ordered way too much, and took home a substantial amount of leftovers. We will be back, Little Goat, to further explore this menu. So good. Bonus: they have a photo booth, and we took our first family photo booth photo!

The best time to take L with us to restaurants is during that time of day when it’s too late for lunch and too early for dinner where there are few people in the restaurant, so our meals don’t take long to prepare and where we can let L run around a bit after we order and before we eat. This makes it possible for us to still enjoy a meal out as a family, and it prevents an epic meltdown. After lunch, we explored the West Loop neighborhood and found a park with lots of room for running around. It was a great afternoon with my boys.

{Chris had the ‘goat almighty’}

{I had the blueberry pancakes}

On Saturday, my cousin got married in southern Wisconsin. It was a fun day celebrating with family & friends. Also, it was at a camp & conference center, so L had tons of space to run around outside during the ceremony with Chris. Lots of dancing, running around, and outdoor time.

{My sweet sister & I at my cousin’s wedding}

{new favorite family photo ^^^}

On Sunday, we went to church with my parents and sister and brother-in-law in town from Michigan. It was a great service. Our church’s emphasis on families and motherhood is a blessing. After the service, we went back to my parents’ house where L took a THREE hour nap, which allowed me to eat in peace & take a nap. We were back home in time to see Chris before he jetted off to work. Play time, bath time, bed time. It was a good day. With enough time to spare for me to have a little SATC marathon before bed. #happymothersdaytome

{a realistic photo of motherhood. a toddler with attitude; a toilet paper roll & a bag of random items hanging out over my shoulder.}