People?! ... in our house?!

Naomi, Brooklyn and I have been in Chicago now for 2 1/2 months, enjoying the adventure and new scenery that my Internship with Burns & McDonnell has provided us. As you may know, sometimes when you move to a new location, away from family and friends, and all things familiar, some creativity and ingenuity are required to stave off boredom! Naomi and I have done some pretty fun stuff: Every puzzle in the house, exercising every day, oil painting, plenty of TV, every book we could get our hands on ... oh, and taking care of and playing with that adorable little worm we call Brooklyn.

However, starting last Thursday, Naomi and I have very much enjoyed a little bit of company! Brian and Natalie are in Chicago for a whole week just to visit us! Man are we cool! Rumors about their being here en route to Brian MBA program at the University of Michigan are grossly exaggerated.

Actually, other than Brian and Natalie, the only other guests that we've had over at our house were Karina Morales and her sister Jeannette (la viejita)! Again, we are the coolest!

I just had to join the "cool club" on the couch

Brooklyn and Wes enjoyed meeting each other for the first time. Brooklyn spit up her meal and Wes got sick (he's had a 101 deg fever since coming here yesterday)

Sizing each other up... Brooklyn's definitely has more baby fat.

I like Wes' "blue steel" look.

Wes even taught Brooklyn about credit cards, and the minutes of enjoyment that come of it.

Ahh, fun stuff. We love having company!

When She Moves, She MOVES...Just Like That!

SIDE VIEW

FRONT VIEW

From Day one, Brooklyn has been both independent, and determined. Now that she is becoming more mobile, she is proving just how determined she can be. She turned 6 months on the 26th of July and hasn't learned to crawl yet...but that hasn't stopped her from getting to the things she wants. She started by rolling and then began to scuttle in circles. NOW she has mastered the 2 arm pull! Watch her get my cell phone. She is grunting the whole way, I LOVE it!

Lions and Tigers and Bears...OH MY!

On Saturday, Kevin, Brooklyn, and I ventured out to the Brookfield Zoo. It was so much fun! I was amazed at how nice the zoo was and how well kept the animals and grounds were. My favorite thing about the zoo was that, unlike the Hogle Zoo, there were no hills to hike up with a stroller and it was easy to navigate.

Other than the lack of hills, the main reason we wanted to go to the zoo was because they have a petting zoo for children. We took Brooklyn in and she got to play with the goats. It was so cute. She had a cheesy grin from ear to ear that made the extra $3 to get in TOTALLY worth it!




But all the fun wasn't reserved for Brooklyn. We also got to go see a dolphin show!! Brooklyn could have cared less, although she was fascinated by all the people sitting around us, but Kevin and I LOVED it!

All-in-all it was a GREAT visit and we had a blast checking out all the huge and unique animals. Here are a few extra shots of the creatures we got to stare at. Hope you enjoy!

It was a movin' and a shakin'

Wild and crazy storms are most likely nothing new to anyone familiar with the mid West. I'm sure it has something to do with the enormous lake sitting just to our East and the utter lack of any geological features rising above 14 ft to block or quell any storms. But to two people who have spent most of their time in the mountainous West, last night's storm was awesome!

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,397582,00.html

Luckily, it hit just after we got back from the store, and for the rest of the night I felt that I could look out the window and see a little old lady riding her bicycle past our house! The lightning and thunder were non-stop and close! Several times, I was staring out the window at the spectacle and lightning would strike so close, that I found myself blinded for several seconds. The windows were shaking and rattling with every roll of thunder!

And to think . . . Naomi put her foot down and wouldn't let me go on my run last night! The nerve! I had to content myself by sitting and watching the guys on Mythbusters blow stuff up . . . while the cable went in and out of course.

Fun night! Oh . . . and we checked on Brooklyn several times . . . she was sleeping, well, like a baby!