Napping

Christmas pictures are coming soon... in the meantime here is some video I took today after getting Anabelle up from a long nap.

High Chair Hi-Jinx

Lately in the mornings Anabelle wakes me up and the first thing we do is go into the kitchen to make coffee. She has become more patient in the mornings and can now wait the 5 minutes it takes for me to make the coffee before she has her bottle. While I am making coffee she sits in her high chair and laughs at me. Anabelle is definitely a morning person and usually wakes up very smiley. Her new favorite pose in the high chair is to slump over to the side in an effort to get her left foot up on the tray. She then bangs her feet on the tray and gets very excited. This has led me to 2 thoughts; the first is that we have a monkey for a child and the second is how am I going to teach her table manners b/c when she does this behavior I just laugh and grab the camera.

I think that the caption for the next picture should be, "Hey guys party's at my place tonight!"

Love this next pic, she looks so serious, or maybe she's thinking, "Really mom, naked and a Santa hat? What's up with that?"
Anabelle finally was able to fit into her baby overalls the other day, I think they are just so cute! I love overalls and spent a lot of time in them during my high school days. I am happy for Belle to carry on the fashion statement.

Santa

Saturday my mom and I made our annual trip downtown to visit Macy's and go to the Christkindle Market, only this year we had one additional stop-Santa. Anabelle needed to make a visit to the big man and give him her list so we decided to visit him at Macy's. We arrived early to get in line, it wasn't too bad about 30 minutes total. When Belle finally got up to Santa she was very calm sitting on his lap happily while he chatted with her. Santa took his time and explained how things worked with the whole Santa/Christmas thing, Belle listened patiently and posed for some pictures. She did great.

Then after Santa we went and had lunch in the Walnut Room under the tree. We were lucky enough to not have to wait in line. The tree looked great this year, all silver. And the topper was done by Waterford Crystal.

After lunch we headed over to Daley Plaza to the Christkindle Market- a really neat place to walk around and shop and eat. It was crowded and therefore a little insane to try and push the stroller through the masses. I used to make comments about people like me "They're crazy to try and push a stroller through here" now I am the crazy person. Oh well like we all didn't know I am a little crazy =)

After all the walking and shopping we were exhausted and ready for a break so we went to the 8th floor of Macy's to "test" out some furniture. Clearly everyone had the same idea. Now they actually have a stand set up where they sell bottled water and coffee. People were stretched out on couches sleeping and relaxing in recliners with their shoes off. It has become the popular spot to wait for your table for lunch/dinner at the Walnut Room. We rested and fed Anabelle before the trek home. All in all it was a great day eating, shopping, and visiting Santa.

3 months old!!

At the time I took this pic, she was yelling "Hey! I am 3 months old!!!"

Belle dressed up for our Christmas Party

I think she's smiling because she is plotting how to eat my gingerbread house

All bundled up and ready to go out into the cold. Auntie Steph and Uncle Mikey found this awesome hat for Belle-I love it! So cute.

A lot has been going on here at the Delaney house, we have been getting ready for Christmas by shopping, baking, and wrapping, along with spending time with family and friends. Anabelle has been busy as usual playing, eating, and sleeping. She is become more and more active everyday. She now actively plays with toys, trying to reach out for them, shaking them and putting them in

her mouth. It is very fun to watch. Often when I try to get out the camera she becomes distracted by the camera and stops playing. In the following video, I stayed far away on the couch and just zoomed in to catch her in action playing and just smiling away at her toys.

We also have ventured out into the cold weather to take some walks. We have a wonderful thing called the bundle me for when she is in the car seat, it's like a polar fleece sleeping bag that zips around her whole car seat-wonderful!

But she also has a big fluffy snow suit for when we just go out in her stroller. It is one size too big, but I was worried she would grow out of the smaller size before March which is probably when she'll be able to stop wearing it. Anyway it is pretty funny to see her in the snow suit.

Since Thanksgiving Anabelle has also started a new sleeping schedule. She is now putting herself to sleep, which means that at night we lay her down in her crib and she cries for a few minutes and then falls asleep-all by herself. No more rocking her to sleep, tiptoeing to the crib and praying she doesn't wake up when you lay her down. She tends to sleep around 11 hours without waking up, which I think is amazing at this age. The during the day she takes a few baby naps, and usually one big 2-3 hour nap. I do realize how lucky I am to have a baby who sleeps well. Here Daddy is spending some quality time with Anabelle before bedtime.

Finally here is some video from yesterday, Anabelle turned 3 months old, and we were hanging out on the floor.

This weekend is a busy one, Anabelle and I are meeting my mom downtown to go to Macy's and see Santa, then we are going to the Christkindle Market in Daley Plaza, something we love to do every year; we'll see how Anabelle likes it. Then on Saturday evening, we are going to dinner to celebrate Lexi's birthday!! Hope you all have a great weekend, I am sure I'll have pics from the weekend on Monday.

Smile

Anabelle has really gotten much more smiley lately. It seems that when she is awake, fed, and feeling good she just smiles at you the whole time. I took some video this morning of us just hanging out on the couch.

Thanksgiving in Houston

The Saturday before Thanksgiving I woke up with fearful thoughts of my child screaming her way through our 2 1/2 hour flight to Texas. Even the idea of going through security made me a little nervous. Gone were our carefree days of skipping through the airport with empty arms and plenty of time to enjoy a coffee and look around the gift shop before boarding the plane. We now had a BABY with us -cue the dramatic music.

Getting out the door that morning went much more smoothly than I anticipated. Mostly thanks to my mom who had stayed over the night before to babysit for us and so she was there the following morning to take care of Belle while we got everything ready, and then drive us to the airport. Thanks mom! Once at the airport we were pleasantly surprised to find that everything went quickly and easily. Anabelle was in a good mood, and right on schedule to take a nap during the flight. We were able to get through security without any issues (I wasn't worried about being frisked or anything it was more just the hassle of unloading and reloading everything while everyone around you wants you to hurry along) So we finally got on the plane and I gave Anabelle a bottle as we were going up, she drank the whole thing without a peep and promptly fell asleep. She slept for the whole flight waking up when we touched down and the captain said "Welcome to Houston" She was looking around and checking it all out, and I was relieved. We had made it and managed to not drive everyone around us crazy. We even got several comments on how good our baby was. Duh... I knew that ;) Here is Anabelle on her 1st plane ride.

Our time in Houston went by quickly with Anabelle getting to meet lots of new people, and see exciting things. It turns out our baby travels pretty well, and she did a good job of staying on somewhat of a normal schedule and sleeping well. John's parents live on a golf course which combined with some beautiful weather makes for a great walk. Here Anabelle and I went out to enjoy the sunshine.

Anabelle met her Grandpa Ken for the first time, they spent lots of quality time together.

Here Anabelle's Aunt Mary (his brother Mike's wife) who has had a lot of experience with babies (they have 4 wonderful children) rocks Belle to sleep after a long day of visiting with family.

Anabelle's cousin Taylor holds her while she's sleeping.
Here John's Uncle Kenny hangs out with Belle. He first met her when she was just a few days old, she is much bigger now.
Of course we played lots of poker while down in Houston, and Belle wanted to get in on the action. Referred to as "Chicago Belle" she was quickly realized to be part of an elaborate scheme where she would give a sign as to what her Daddy's cards were by the number of bubbles she blew. Many benefitted from this tell.
While on our visit, we also enjoyed some time on the golf course. I was happy to sit out and watch (I'm not very good at golf), Anabelle and I rode along in the cart. We had a lot of fun watching Daddy, Uncle Kenny, Grandma and Grandpa play. Here John concentrates on his swing.
Uh-oh... I knew this might happen. Most of you know John as a pretty mild manner guy, but put him on the golf course and he goes crazy. Here he is on a rampage after his ball hit a goose on the fairway. Ok not really, but John assures me that this actually happened to him one time at the Village Links in Glen Ellyn.

Anabelle was quite comfy in her Baby Bjorn, while we rode along in the golf cart.
Here Anabelle is sleeping in her pack and play, she did great sleeping in a new place, and really seemed quite comfy. John and I both think this position is funny, and it's how she ends up sleeping most nights.
Anabelle was sure to spend lots of time cuddling with Grandma!
Thanksgiving morning arrived and Anabelle was ready to eat, too bad no teeth yet. She had a lot of fun hanging out with everyone. She was even too excited to take a nap, who would want to miss all of that fun?

Yumm....turkey! Can't wait till next year when I can try some.
Anabelle has 2 Uncle Mike's (my brother and John's brother) Here she is giving her Uncle Mike a big smile. Everyone joked she was thinking "Hey I like this guy, he is bald like me!"
Before Uncle Kenny went back to Chicago we went to lunch at a restaurant on Lake Houston, Anabelle liked looking at the reflection on the water.
After a very full week of visiting with friends and family, and spending time with Grandma and Grandpa it was time to head back to Chicago. Of course I was wondering can our flight home go as smoothly as our flight into Houston? We got through security and to our gate with about 5 minutes to spare, which was okay because the flight was pretty early (7am) so we didn't want to spend any more time at the airport than necessary. We boarded the plane and Belle started to get fussy, uh-oh. She continued to whine and fuss for about 5 minutes while everyone else boarded the plane. It wasn't a full flight, so it was kinda good that she fussed b/c no one sat by us. Then she quieted down and of course someone sat in our empty seat. Oh well. Again Anabelle drank her bottle on the way up and slept all the way till we touched down in Chicago. Yeah we made it without any complications! While in baggage claim, a news reporter interviewed us on holiday travel. Anabelle has already been on tv at only 2 months old. I put the video on my last post if you want to check it out. Thanks Sue and Ken we had a great trip and really enjoyed our time in Houston! It was great to see friends and family that we don't get to see often enough. Here Anabelle relaxes in her Christmas pj's back at home.

5 o'clock news

Flying home from Houston today, we were interviewed at Midway and then put on the 5 o'clock news tonight. Gotta love when they get you on tv at your worst... just flown with a baby at 7 am. More to come soon, I have lots of pictures from Texas to share, just thought I'd get this video up.

2 Months Old!

Anabelle is 2 months old today and I can't believe it! Time is going by very quickly, and she is getting bigger and bigger. Lots going on around here in the last few days. On Saturday Michale and Steph moved into a new place and Anabelle and I drove out to check it out. It is a very cute place and it looks like they will love being there! After all of the moving, Grandma and Grandpa Smith had volunteered to babysit Anabelle so that I could attend a girls night with some friends. So after getting her set up I was off to Roscoe Il to see Erin's new place and hang with the ladies, we had a great time relaxing and chatting. On Sunday there was lots of driving getting back to my mom's and then back home, Belle and I were exhausted and took a nap!

My Aunt Karen was visiting from Texas so on Monday we went downtown to meet up with my mom and my Aunt. Belle had her first El ride, she was looking around a lot, and you could tell she was thinking, "what have you gotten me into mom?" I had her in the Baby Bjorn thinking it would be much easier than navigating with a stroller. It wasn't too bad, but it is definitely more work lugging around a baby and a backpack full of supplies. Not sure how I would do it in the winter when you have to be all bundled up. We met up with my aunt and mom at the Sears Tower, my aunt had never been in it. I hadn't been up there in years and thought, "OK I'll try out that new Ledge thing." For anyone who doesn't know, they have built 4 glass cubes that pop out of the wall on the skydeck level, and you can walk out into them. I am not a huge fan of heights but it was pretty cool to see and after a few minutes of psyching myself up, I was able to slowly inch my way out onto the glass. Harder than it looks, but still fun!

The next few days will be spent getting ready for our trip to Texas on Saturday, yes we will be taking our first airplane ride with Anabelle and we are hoping it goes smoothly :) We are looking forward to some warm weather and spending some quality time with Grandma Sue and Grandpa Ken! Anabelle will also get to meet her Uncle Mike and Aunt Mary and all of her cousins for the first time. We are very excited! This week we also have a 2 month wellness checkup for Anabelle, where she will get weighed and some shots. I am curious to see how much she weighs... I am guessing 13 lbs at the least! I'll let you know on Thursday. Have a great week everyone!

I bought a Christmas cactus and Anabelle was very into looking at it and trying to touch it.

Hey guys I am 2 months old today!

Belle rides the El

My mom, Anabelle and I out on the Ledge at the Sears Tower

Just a cute pic of a naked Belle :)

Dancing to the 80s

We spent the weekend at Becky's family lake house and had a great time! We arrived Friday and spent the evening chatting with friends, eating, playing games, and sitting by the fire. Saturday we woke up to a big breakfast and plans to go to Tanners Orchard. They have lots of animals to see, a big play area for the kids, a corn maze, and a wonderful country store with lots of yummy foods. This weekend was their big open house where they gave out free samples of all of their foods. We ate our way through the store, and it was delicious! Then we decided to walk around a little.

Hanging out by the llamas.

Anabelle eyeing the corn maze and decides to sit it out this year. So we sat in the grass and took a breather while waiting for everyone else.

After the orchard we headed back to Becky's to nap, cook and eat some yummy foods, rake and burn leaves, take a walk to look at the stars, eat smores around the fire, play games, and generally have a relaxing time. Anabelle was a great traveler and had no trouble joining in the fun! Sunday morning we were up early and on the road home. Thanks Becky we had a lot of fun and can't wait to go back!

Have a great weekend!

We are off to enjoy a weekend at Becky's Cabin. We expect to have a great time and enjoy some nice Fall weather-high of 67 and sunny! Hope everyone else has a great weekend too, I am sure we'll have pictures to share on Monday.

Having fun with Morgan

Yesterday was a beautiful day here in Evanston. Anabelle and I went for a walk around downtown to do some window shopping, grabbed some coffee at Starbucks, and then headed to the park to sit and enjoy a nice Fall day.

This morning Anabelle and I were laying on the floor having some tummy time when Morgan decided to join us. The kitties have been kinda funny with Anabelle, usually just sniffing her and keeping their distance, especially when she cries. Anabelle also seems to show no interest in them, I think up until today she really couldn't see them that well and probably thought they were just moving blankets =)

So when Morgan and Anabelle started having a staring contest, I quickly went and grabbed my camera. Of course as soon as I got my camera, they stopped staring at each other, but I did get some cute stuff.

Happy Monday!

Boo!

Hope everyone has a great Halloween. Tonight we will be having dinner with some friends and then watching a scary movie. Then on Saturday Belle and I will be spending the day traveling with Grandma and Grandpa Smith to visit Bonnie in Ohio. This will be Belle's first trip out of state. We are looking forward to seeing Bonnie!

Hot Tamale!

We had an eventful weekend here at the Delaney house. On Friday John worked from home and was able to watch Anabelle for a little while so that I could go get a massage. It was one of the best massages I have ever had, rivaled with the massage we got on our honeymoon. I was telling John how wonderful it was and how good the girl was who gave the massage and John seemed to think that maybe it was related to the amount of stress I have been in and that it was similar to the stress I was in after our wedding, and that that is why it was so good. Yeah, he could be right :)

On Friday night we had some friends over to play poker. Both John and I love playing poker and used to host games all the time, but over the last 2 years we haven't been playing as much poker as we like, so we were really happy to have everyone over. Anabelle chose to stay awake all day and then crash from 8:30 pm to about 4 am, which was nice because John and I could both enjoy playing and not have to be on baby duty. Of course we both lost, but had a great time.

The next day we went out to Zion, IL to a Chili Cookoff Contest Party hosted by our friends Michael and Inga. Every year they host this party and John has enjoyed making his chili and entering it in the past years. He has won 2nd place in the past, so we were excited to see how he would do this year.

In honor of the party and Anabelle being the youngest participant Inga made a onesie for Anabelle with a Chili Pepper on it. It was so cute and thoughtful-Thanks Inga!

At the Chili Party, Anabelle and Phil are deep in conversation

Congratulations on taking 2nd place again John, even though I can hardly eat your chili because it is so hot- it is tasty!

We had a great time at the party, thanks Michael and Inga!

The rest of the weekend was spent relaxing, and enjoying a lazy Sunday. Hope everyone else had a great weekend too!

Pumpkin picking

On Tuesday John was off from work, the weather was beautiful, and we had some fun activities planned. Anabelle had her 1 month well baby visit to Dr. Andy. She is doing great, weighing in at 10lbs 6oz and 22 inches long. She did have to get 1 shot, her HepB vaccine, but she took it like a champ only crying for a second.

After the doctor it was time to go to the pumpkin patch to pick out our pumpkin, we drove about 45 minutes to Didier Farm in Deerfield. It wasn't as good as Quig's Orchard that we used to go to, sadly they closed, but it was ok. We thought it would be less crowded being on a weekday, but we forgot about the school children who were visiting. It made me remember when I used to take my students to the pumpkin patch, those were some of my favorite field trips. Anabelle helped us look through all of the pumpkins picking out a big one to take home. After that we had to stop by the bake shop and load up on apple cider, corn on the cob, homemade cheese popcorn, and apple cider donuts-Yum!!

Anabelle gives her approval of the pumpkin

Hi Grandma Jackson! Look I'm wearing the Halloween shirt you got me, it's so cute!

A beautiful Fall day!