Impressive!!

Artwork *AND* Photography by Miss Trinity Campins

Millennium Park

Although my week has been *insane* I needed to take advantage of the nice weather. So, Veronica and I (and kids) headed to Millennium Park to shake our booties to the Wiggleworms and splash in Crown Fountain.

Successful belly flop into the water

I am sure you have heard some version of this...

but, I think I will petition the Olympic committee to include a new sport in this summer Olympic Games, trials to be held immediately...Toddler Triathlon!

#1 Dressing Diaper Dash- In this event, the athlete must change a crawling infant / toddler while said child is fussing and engaging in the alligator roll. From there, the athlete must dress the child from head to toe, down to the shoes - -even those pesky Robeez that need a good stretch with both hands - - as quickly as possible. If the athlete takes too long to get the child dressed then said child with crawl / run off at lightening speed never to be dressed for the rest of the day. Extra degree of difficulty added if the athlete can snap the crotch of a Onesie while the toddler is crawling away.

#2 Highchair Handball - In this event, the athlete must not let anything hit the floor that the toddler might, throw, drop or push off the highchair tray. Points will be taken away if milk drips on the floor when catching the sippy cup. Points will also be taken away if food or drink gets into the toddler’s hair or on the wall.

#3 MaMa Marathon - The athlete in this advanced skill event must complete several household chores while the toddler engages a death grip on the athlete’s ankles while incessantly repeating ma ma ma ma ma or whining uncontrollably. Added degree of difficulty will be given if the athlete can prepare an entire meal without cutting, scalding or stepping on the toddler.

Hide & Seek

This is Trinity's new favorite game. We play *all* day long, even in the car when she is buckled in and can't move. (She insists on hiding behind her hands.)
She has become pretty good at finding nooks to hid in the house. I was a little concerned one day when I couldn't find her. I heard giggling coming from the laundry room. When I peeked in, all I saw were leprechaun socks sticking out from under the laundry bin.

Another fav spot is under our bed. She can only get her head under there but still thinks she is completely cloaked from the searching eyes of Mama & Daddy.

Professor

SANDY Beach

I do not know what I was thinking bringing 2 kids to the beach. I am more of a pool gal and typically like to stay away from the sand. But, it was our annual "moms' day at the beach" with our church so I went. Everett was covered head to toe: hair, under the chin, sippy cup, paci, bottle, diaper, fingernails, mouth. ugh! It was a good day though. Despite the work, I did keep a good attitude about it all. Trinity didn't want to go home and I felt like I was doing her an injustice for having to leave because of Everett's meltdown. As a friend reminded me this morning, it is a good lesson for her to know that the universe does not revolve around Trinity. I just sometimes love to make her think it does though.

Look closely at the amount of sand covering this child.

A whole new meaning to America's fav lunch, the "sand"wich

Uncle Jim

My brother was in town for a couple days. We spent a nice afternoon together BBQ-ing. I would say a bunch of nice things about him but he says he never reads the blog so I won't bother. HA!

Unibrow

While our hubbies were coaching little league (congrats to a first series win...do I see a repeat WS championship?) Sarah and I took the kiddos to the Old Town Folk & Roots Fest in Welles Park. We saw a Wiggleworms concert, Samba lessons, Indians dancing and our personal favorite...the band Unibrow. I wasn't paying as much attention to the music as I was Trinity rocking out like she was a hippie at Woodstock. I have never heard of the band before but the name will surely stick in my head.

ice cream face

Woodstock 2008, the movie:

Shish Kabob

Our menu changes a lot over the summer as we grill as much as we can. Eddie made such a beautiful platter that I had to snap a picture.

BBQ

On the 5th we celebrated summer with the Mittino's. Here are some cute shots.

9 months, 9 days

Maybe there is something special about the number 9 in our family. It has always been my favorite number. Wayne Gretzky was / is my fav hockey player (#99) and both Trinity and Everett both started crawling at 9 months and 9 days old. hmmmmm! Here is a short clip of Everett scooting for the second time. His first time was to my sparkly flip flops. They were on my feet so technically he crawled to me first. ;)

Everett went to the doctor for his 9 month appt. He is perfect:

21lb., 8 oz.- - 75%tile

(he drank a 8oz. bottle right after. Maybe he would have been 22lbs. even)

30inches - - 90%tile

Happy Birthday America!

If anyone is wondering where that fabulous skirt came from, I am proud to say I made it. I saw a similar one online for $36. I headed on over to Joann Fabrics and got the materials for $8 and in one hour I had a patriotic get-up for Trinity. She enjoyed getting gussied up for the USA.

We spent our holiday like we usually do: BBQ at Eddie's parents and then heading back into the city for the firework show. You might be wondering if the City has a firework display on the actual 4th. Yes, but unofficially. If you live in Bucktown and have a rooftop deck then you are all set. Words cannot describe the noise and abundance of light shows that go on until all hours of the night on the 4th. Our neighbors had to spend thousands of dollars on the kind of stuff they were shooting off. It surely was professional quality.
This was the first time Trinity actually saw fireworks. She was both terrified and excited at the same time. Excited for all the pretty colors but terrified because some were pretty close, and at eye level. She ended up falling asleep in my arms at 10PM on the roof while the air around her sounded like a war zone.

9 Months

Everett has officially been outside my belly longer than he was in. He has been up to a lot lately and his personality has become more and more fun. His latest tricks:

360 degree spins on his belly all day long;

He is close to crawling. He can get on his knees and can almost push himself up into the sitting position - - he now rests on his elbow, one more push and he is up;

He says DA! on command and tries to say Blah! when we do or when the dragon on Baby Mozart says it. When I say "up?" he says puh puh puh puh.

When you give him a big hug he says "mmmmmmmmm!" I suspect he got that from me since I do it every time I squeeze him.

He has 4 teeth and working on more.

I suspect he is about 22 pounds (we go to the dr. next week).

He is eating chunky stuff and loves to self-feed. He is on the fast track to outgrowing his 12 month clothes.

He loves being outside, going for walks and still loves the swing. Loves the swimming pool and the bathtub too.

He loves Trinity more than anyone and has a very close relationship to our cat.

He laughs if you laugh as if he gets the joke. He has a very serious look about him that melts the second he smiles.

He is such like a boy as he has learned to push, hit and kick anything he doesn't want near him.

He is sweet, cuddly and never likes to miss a good party.

When he is excited he flaps his arms so fast you think he is going to fly away.

Oh yeah, and he is a Cub's fan!

Morton Arboretum

We took a field trip to the arboretum this week. I have heard they have a great children's garden so we went. All my expectations were blown away. It truly is a fantastic place for kids. Trinity had a blast. Everett didn't make a peep all day. He enjoyed a good diaper change in the grass.

Maneuvering through the kid's maze:

Chillin' in his stroller:

Successfully getting across the rope bridge:

Enjoying a grassy knoll:

Happy Father's Day

Why Eddie is a good Daddy, according to Trinity:

He loves me, he likes me

Because he likes to go to the park with me and

go bye bye and

color with me and

play with me and

watch Hannah Montana and

love me and

love Clarkie and

love God and Jesus and

color and

play and

loves me so much and

forever he loves me!

According to me:

He has such great pride in being a dad,

He is great at it,

He doesn't need a break after he gets home. He jumps right into playing, etc.,

He misses them when he is away, even just at work,

He loves the idea of being a family,

He often takes days off work just to be with his family,

He loves teaching Trinity new things: songs, stories, games...

He can't wait for the day that Trinity is old enough to take her to NY for the weekend for musicals, nice dinners and good talks.

He can't wait to coach Everett's little league team.

He dreads the day he has to walk Trinity down the aisle to her husband.

He laughs at all their jokes and funny faces.

There is no better thing than cuddling with his kids in bed.

He provides for them in a way that no one else will ever match.

He hates to discipline them (well, only Trinity at this point) but does because he loves them.

They will always know without a doubt that their Daddy loves them always.

They will grow up to have an open and close relationship with him because of the dad he is.

This list can go on and on...

He is a wonderful father and we are all blessed to have him beside us!

Employee ID Picture

Ballet Debut Video

See if you can find Trinity. This was her big debut!!

Ok, so the whole ballet thing was not a good idea from the beginning. She was never thrilled to be dropped off at class. I should have known that she wouldn't get on stage in front of 600 people and perform.
Eddie and I were gearing up the cameras when we heard "Where is your mommy?" Eddie didn't even have to look to know that the teacher was asking the question to Trinity. She was off to the side with the kids and teacher and did not know we were were. It was in a new building she had never been and way too many people to be at all comfortable with.
I took her out to the foyer and tried to calm her down. In the meantime her class was getting on stage. I brought her to the stage and at least convinced her to get up there. For that, I was very proud. She is very shy and timid so I thought it to be very brave to climb up there with so many people watching.
I have learned my lesson for next quarter. We are sticking to gymnastics and no recitals! She did steal the show however. I find her "performance" to be much more memorable.

Summer Days

We are happy that the pools are open and the sun is shining. (Although I am a little upset about the lack of some good mild 75-80 degree days with no humidity. Do we get Spring in Chicago?)
We have taken the kids swimming twice and had a great time, both times. Everett enjoyed the water as much as I thought he would. Trinity went swimming for the first time by herself yesterday. By this I mean that she finally let go of us and swam by herself with floaties on. She was terrified at first but then love the independence of it all. She even took a dive off the side of the pool into the water and refused to let Eddie catch her. She went completely under the water which she wasn't expecting nor appreciated. After that, she would jump but only into some one's arms. This is a first too, no jumping in last year.
I pray she loves the water more and more and will be able to go under without having to hold her nose closed like her mama has to do!

Silly girls

Going solo

Drying on the side lines

Flexible Child

I have tried to be a little more flexible with scheduling with Everett than I was with Trinity. She always took naps in her crib, in the dark, with her music on and all the bells and whistles I insisted on. If I did that with Everett, I would never leave the house. I have tried to get him in the habit of sleeping wherever, whenever he is tired. I found that this has worked especially when he is bouncing or swinging...or moving anywhere really. I have joked that he would sleep on the swing at the park if I let him. Well, lets just say that he has.

Falling asleep in his bouncy chair: Video

Sleeping in our back"yard"

Bounce

First Trampoline Ride: The Video

Action Stills: