Family Traditions:

My family has been making trips down to Little Italy since I could remember; first stop Tufano's for their calamari, Tufano's salad and of course their eggplant parmesan or lemon chicken. Kim and Lou are bound to run into several people they know be it family or old friends; not to mention the owners are good family friends as well. During the summers our trip to Tufano's are always extra special because we get to make a second stop at Mario's Italian Lemonade for watermelon Italian ice and lupini beans.

Over the years my sister, my parents and I have shared this family tradition with others and when we are at a loss as to where to celebrate a birthday Tufano's it is!  That being said it didn't take me long to share the Tufano's experience with Matt and per usual when the weather gets nice Mario's is always a must.  Oh, and sometimes I drag Matt out of the house just to take the drive to Taylor Street for the Italian Ice and Lupini Beans (he is such a trooper).  Standing in line around the block on a hot summers night waiting for $2 Italian Ice (which Matt believes they should charge more for) and people watching has become a tradition in our household; and last night we shared this tradition with our good friends Sara & Joe!

Trips to Taylor Street will continue to be a family tradition; we are looking forward to sharing it with Baby Murray (by next summer he will be ready to try his first Italian Ice)!

Baby Bump Updated:  I'll be 30 weeks this week and for some reason I feel like this is a milestone! The little guy is all on my right side and he is sitting on my lungs (not fun).  I have good and bad nights as far as sleeping goes but I know that is just my body's way of preparing for the lack of sleep that is to come.

7 Month Bump!

 

84 more days till our due date (not that I'm counting)!  I have hit the third and final trimester and my excitement to meet baby Murray is off the charts.  Accompanied with the last trimester is the feeling of being  REALLY pregnant!  Workouts are becoming more difficult (aka I'm a lot weaker then I used to be) and my energy level is is a bit lower....not to mention I'm just moving more slowly these days (sorry Matt, I just can't keep up on our walks anymore).  Luckily, I am still feeling good and staying busy.


Although we still have no word on the house in LaGrange we have decided to move forward with "decorating" the nursery.  When I first found out we had a little one on the way I saw a picture of a nursery that I fell in love with.  I have been using it as an inspiration for Baby Murray's room; we have both the crib and glider ordered; good thing both take up to 12 weeks to get (maybe we will know where we will be living by then & where to have said furniture delivered).  I am sure no one is surprised but the main color of the nursery will be grey and accented in fun colors such as blue, orange, etc. I also plan on pulling different patterns and textures into the room.  I can't wait to see it all come together (and which house it will we setting up our inspiration in).

Fun Event this Summer:  A few weeks back the girls and I had Caroline's Kitchen Table come cook for us!  Caroline is a friend of a friend and she does Supper Club Events; she catered an amazing seasonal menu for us (Baby Murray kicked like crazy after eating the best dessert I have ever had) and picked up the ingredients from local farmer's markets and grocers.  It was such a fun night catching up with the girls enjoying fabulous eats.  A big thanks to Caroline for the meal and Melissa for hosting! Matt and I hope to host another Supper Club with friends after we get settled with our little man.

A Garden Kind of a Weekend!

Matt and I visited the Chicago Botanical Gardens last Saturday with Jean and Darrell!  We were all very thankful for the early start because by noon the gardens were packed.  The Chicago Botanical Gardens are a little piece of serenity just 20 minutes away from the city and I'm excited to share some pictures with you.   A big thanks to Jean and Darrell for picking such a wonderful place to spend a Saturday morning. 

We spent the remainder of the weekend getting all our ducks in a row; checking out gliders for the baby's room, shopping for the mom to be (I needed to add some maternity gear into my wardrobe) & of course cleaning and preparing the condo for its listing debut.  Our weekends have been filled with more work then play these days but we are hoping things slow up going forward and we can relax a bit and enjoy this wonderful Chicago weather!

6 Month Bump

It is hard to believe that we are at the sixth month point!  I'm still feeling great which is a bonus because Matt & I have been busy.  This past weekend we staged the first floor our condo and de-cluttered in efforts to get the house ready to list.  A big thanks to my parents for all their help (we needed it)! We just have to focus on the bottom floor so we can get some pictures taken and get the process in motion. No word on our potential home in the burbs but we might have some new news by the end of the week.

Matt & Dad spent Father's Day golfing and watching golf on TV (Matt's dream day for sure).  Mom and I hit up Buy Buy Baby for the third time to try and finish up Baby Murray's Registry.  It is kinda remarkable how many things the little guy is going to need and it is a bit overwhelming trying to predict what we will need for his arrival.  Luckily, we made progress....

I've been feeling the baby more and more and love every time I feel a little kick or movement from him!  I've been trying my best to get workouts in here and there and have found that walking is an activity I enjoy these days.  Going forward this mama to be is getting pedicures; painting my toenails isn't as easy as it used to be. I'm sure as the months progress I will run across other tasks that are more difficult to do.  I'm not craving any foods but I am finding that I have been eating more meat then usual (pasta just isn't as appealing) and will jump at the chance to eat frozen yogurt.

Galesburg: Erica & Jason's Wedding 

A Walk in the Park...

It was a beautiful weekend in Chicago and Matt and I took full advantage of that on Saturday!  We hit up the Green City Market and picked up some fresh cilantro (which was pretty fabulous in the black bean & corn salsa we made Sunday night);  then we headed north to the Lincoln Park Zoo!  Many of the animals were out and about enjoying the day as well as many families (we can't wait to take our little guy to the zoo next summer).  We also did the Nature Walk which is part of the zoo as well; all the walking had made us hungry and wanting a rest which lead us to our next stop.. Dunnley's for apps and "drinks" (my go to drink these days are virgin bloody Mary's).  Even though we had tons to accomplish Matt & I put all of that aside and thoroughly enjoyed our walk in the park and a beautiful day in the city!

  

House News: Matt has been working hard on our condo; we thought we were going to put it on the market last week but it appears that every accomplished project leads to more work.  We have new tile in the downstairs bathroom and Matt is in the process of painting the baseboards and the bathroom door.  We have another flooring guy coming out this week to do some more finishing touches.....  I guess we aren't in a huge hurry since we have no new news on the house we put an offer on last month.  I still have a good feeling about it but as we approach my due date I get more concerned about where were are going to be living.

Baby News:  I'm 23 weeks and the little one has been moving around more (or at least I can feel him more) which is so exciting!  Matt even got to feel him the other night; just 121 days till we get to hold the little man.

Aunt Mia was in Lawrence and picked up Baby Boy Murray's March Madness 2013 outfit!  I can't wait to deck him out in Jayhawk Gear.

It's A BOY!!!!

Last Friday we had a small gathering for the big announcement; we had our 20 week ultrasound a few days before and had them seal Baby Murray's Gender in an envelope.  I handed off the envelope to Kristina from Pops By Kristina to make some gender reveal cake pops (it took all of our will power not to rip open the envelope but we successfully handed it off without taking a peak).  

Friends and family guessed baby Murray's gender; and Matt and I were the first to take a bite out of the cake pops revealing... BLUE cake!  I had a feeling we were having a boy but I think Matt was pleasantly surprised (he totally thought we we having a girl).  Matt and I are thrilled and can't wait to welcome the little guy into our lives.  Gosh, this is going to be an adventure for all of us...all things boy and all things blue.  Matt & dad are already talking about buying Baby Murray his first set of golf clubs; luckily they will be in charge of teaching him how to play as well.

Jenn guessed blue & Matt guessed pink!

Grandparents to be ECSTATIC about the news <3

Moving On Up!

We had our 20 week ultrasound this week and we couldn't have been more anxious about it!  It has been two months since I was diagnosed with placenta previa and told to lay low.  We were all keeping our fingers crossed that I could resume normal activity once again and start taking out the garbage for the love of God!  Today, we finally got the news we were waiting for....the placenta moved up! I am no longer a high risk pregnancy & I can start working out and being a bit more active.   That being said in the last week or so my baby bump has really popped (people are actually starting to ask me when I'm due); so we'll see how active I am able to be!

During the ultrasound baby Murray was being a bit stubborn (I wonder which one of us that comes from)!?!?!  The ultrasound tech was unable to get the baby in a position to see it's face; she poked my belly and tried talking to the baby but both tactics were unsuccessful!  While this was going on I was laughing to myself and telling the baby "I know, I don't like her either."

5 Months & Getting Bigger....

We want to thank all our family friends for sending positive thoughts our way and for all the extra help we received.  We feel so lucky to have such wonderful people in our lives who are there for us always.