My funny Valentine

Jade and I started our morning off with a mommy daughter donut date at Dunkin Donuts. We were there for about 45 minutes as Jade leisurely ate her donut, smiled, waved and said hi to basically everyone. I can't believe how old she is seeming. She just sat there (not in a highchair for the first time) like such a big girl. I was able to enjoy a cup of coffee and for a few minutes even forgot I was out with a 22 month old! :)

Cheers!

Smiling at everyone!

Loving that chocolate sprinkle donut, just like her Mama!

We spent the rest of the day opening some Valentine's Day gifts and just playing and being silly. Nate had to work all day, but is currently on the 7 am -3 pm shift at his new job in Orland Park (YAY!) so we enjoyed having him around for the evening!

Cheese!

Pouring me some tea! I LOVE her silly faces!

Cute card, McDonalds gift card and...

Disney Princess stickers from Grammy and Grampy!!

Cute card and...

Mickey and Minnie stickers, rubber ducks, heart bracelets, Bubble Guppies panties and some chocolate from Mama and Dada!

Now, I'm off to enjoy a home cooked rib dinner with the hubby! XO

Chuck E. Cheese

On Saturday we attended my dad's company sponsored family fun day at the Chuck E Cheese in Crystal Lake. This was Jade's first time at Chuck E. Cheese and she loved it! Didn't take long before she had established favorite rides and games. Mom and I spent a lot of time taking Jade around spending her tokens while Nate worked on getting us as many tickets as possible and Dad chatted with his clients and their families. Once most everyone else had left, Dad was able to take Jade around to spend some final tokens. Jade waited so patiently for her Grampy time!

Here's a little video of Jade playing her favorite game, all by herself!

Jade and Grammy

      Jade really enjoyed this spaceship

 Lunch break!

Clapping along to the fabulous Chuck E. Cheese music

Riding the little carousel

We got our picture with Chuck E. Jade was very shy as you can tell. She did end the encounter with a high five! :)

Between Nate and Jade's hard work, they were able to rack up 510 tickets! Jade was able to get 4 different bracelets and some stickers! I have a feeling we will be repeat customers of Chuck E. Cheese in the near future.

Jade is happy to say....

So far Jade seems excited to be a big sister, although I'm not sure she 100% understands. :)

She loves looking at the ultrasound picture!!

The big sister to be!!

We couldn't be more excited to share this news. I found out I was pregnant several days before Christmas, so keeping it a secret has been so hard!! So glad the secret is now out! :)

The Children's Museum

We got a family membership to the DuPage Children's Museum in Naperville for Christmas this year, which we were all super excited about it. It's a great activity for cold snowy days and Jade just loves it! Here are a few pictures of the things Jade enjoyed most today!

 

Giant black light board

Playing instruments

Coloring

 The gears, she is looking at the flags flying above when you spin the gears

 

The wind tunnel with daddy

Today was the first time she really wanted to go in the wind tunnel, and she loved it

Driving the big train

 

We had a great morning at the museum followed by lunch at our favorite Mexican restaurant, Front Street Cantina, in downtown Naperville afterward! The opportunity for us to do something as a family during the week is so rare, so today was a treat for both Jade and I!



Snowed in

It has been absolutely freezing cold and very snowy around here. Although we haven't actually been snowed in, it sure feels like it. We have hardly gone anywhere the last few days. To say we are ready to get out is quite an understatement. We are however, very thankful for our very generous family and friends who gave Jade so many new toys to play with!

 

 

We did go outside for about 20 minutes so I could shovel and Jade could finally play in the snow! She loved it, and of course, didn't want to come in!

 

 



Christmas, just us three

Every year, Nate and I love driving around looking at Christmas lights. We discovered that Naperville has a website with all the "must see" houses. So this year, on the night of the 22nd, we got Jade in her jammies and headed out to look at as many of these houses as we could! Jade seemed to enjoy it, and stayed awake the whole time.

 

 

This was our favorite house on the tour!

 

Nate had a couple of very busy days at work between that night and Christmas Morning. Luckily he got home around 8 in the morning on Christmas Day, just in time to open presents and enjoy a cinnamon roll breakfast!

Santa came!

Love this one of Jade opening her present!

 

More presents!

 

Showing off her new stuff!

Trying to figure out her new potty...

 

Haha ;)

 

The Princess Castle was a big hit!

 

Santa

Today we took Jade to see Santa at the Bass Pro Shop as we did last year. They have a great setup that includes a free picture with Santa, coloring, a carousel and lots of exhibits. Here are a few pictures from our morning!

Coloring a picture!

Mailing it to Santa! 

Admiring Santa from afar.....

But not up close!!

Finishing up the experience on the carousel!