I'm Going to Be a Big Sister!!!

Hi Family and Friends!

The big news is...WE'RE PREGNANT!!!! Addy's going to be a big sister!!! My due date is June 8, so I'm 11 weeks now, and we're so excited to expand our family. We've been keeping it hush-hush until we got to spill the beans to both sets of grandparents in person, and now that we've done that - we can share the news with all of you. If we've been out of touch lately, it's because (1) as soon as we found out 5 weeks ago, we quickly decided to move out of our small 2 bedroom apt into a much larger 4 bedroom apt (just a few blocks away from our old apt), so we've been crazy busy with apt hunting and moving, and (2) I've been getting morning & day & evening sickness, so just balancing everything has been a bit rough. BUT, we just happily moved into our new apt a few days ago, which we love (and we live right above my good friend Sunhee whose got a 15-month old daughter), and we're getting prepared for our little one on the way. This time, we're going to be surprised on the day of delivery - we're thinking Chloe or Joseph - either way, we're very, very happy.

As for our summer - sorry that we haven't posted pics in a long time. These are the pics from mid-June til late August. I've got Halloween pictures that I'll add soon. All in all, we had a great first summer in Chicago, so check out all we did and saw. The biggest milestone was Addy's 1st birthday on August 27 - we celebrated a few times over and marveled at the way she's changed our lives for the better over the last year. These days, she's quite the busy toddler - running around, saying about 20 words (including "no!" and "dang!"), and just enjoying life as a 15-month old should.

As a last note, now that we've got a lot more space, you're all welcome to come and visit! Talk to you soon and have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

April-June 15, 2008

Happy Spring to Everyone!

Addy is now 9 1/2 months old (10 months on June 27) and has been enjoying her first spring. At her last appointment a few weeks ago, she was 28 inches long and 18 pounds, 4 oz (so around 70th percentile for height and 40th for weight). She's cruising like a pro and can balance on her own standing up, so we won't be surprised if she starts walking in the next month or so. The pictures are in reverse chronological order, starting with yesterday, our 1st Father's Day. It was such a fun weekend for the three of us. We went to Millenium/Grant Parks, Lincoln Park Zoo, an Italian Pasta and Wine Fest, and to Addy's first baseball game at U.S. Cellular Field (Sox lost, so good for the Tigers :) She's been enjoying her first swim and music classes (very low-key and fun, and I get to meet moms in the neighborhood) and has been experiencing lots of "firsts", including her first steps (about 3 weeks ago), and her first two teeth which popped through together (and now she's getting 4 more on top). You can see in the pictures with her hands raised up...when you ask her "How big is Addy?" she'll raise her hands above her head as if to say "So big!" Didn't seem like such a big deal when we weren't parents, but now that we are - these little milestones are so amazing to watch. And, thanks again for contributing to our March of Dimes walk that we completed with Aunt Bree, Uncle Sean, Grant, and several friends. We raised over $2000 for such a great cause, so thank you very much. In the coming months, we plan on getting to the most important game of summer - a Tigers' game, as well as hitting up all the fun weekend festivals going on in Chicago. Our doors are always open, so feel free to come visit us anytime. Love to everyone, bis spater!

New Noise

Feb 15 - March 24 2008

Hey family and friends - happy spring! Hope life is sweet for all of you. We've celebrated a lot these past six weeks - Danny's 28th birthday, St. Patty's Day, Easter, and on the 27th - Addy's 7-month birthday! I know we say this in every blog, but Adelyn really is growing and changing so fast. Now, she's crawling like a pro, pulling herself up to standing, trying to balance on her feet, eating solid foods (bibs are becoming our new best friends), playing with Dude and babbling her first words. We went to see the Easter Bunny on Sat. with Aunt Bree and Grant, but as you can see in the pictures, both kids could have really cared less...how things will change in the years to come! We've been traveling quite a bit to see family so we might take a break from our road trips after this upcoming weekend trip to Colon to rest a while and enjoy Chicago.

On April 27, we will be joining Sean, Bree, Grant, and some friends in the March for Babies/March of Dimes Walk to raise money and awareness for healthy babies and families in St. Charles, IL. We thank each of you who have already donated to this important cause. If you'd like to help us reach our goal of raising $500 for March of Dimes, please go to: www.marchforbabies.org/staceygrant1

Keep in touch and hope everyone is doing well!

Jan.10 - Feb. 20, 2008

Hi everyone!
Hope this finds everyone healthy and happy. If you can believe it, Addy will be 6 months on Feb. 27! And her dad is turning 28 the next day, so we've got a lot to celebrate. Addy is growing and changing so much - right now, she's sitting up by herself, babbling like crazy (she's currently learning the art of shrieking) and priming to crawl. We went back to Allen Park for her shower on Jan. 11, which was graciously hosted by Grandma Teller and Grandma Grant, and the following day she was baptized at St. Francis Cabrini and annointed at the AP Presbyterian Church. It was a wonderful weekend and we thank everyone for everything! And just last weekend, we had lots of visitors - Aunt Bree, Uncle Sean, Grant-man, our friends Kev and Lise from NY, and Katie and Brad Monhaut from MI all came out to Chicago. Unfortunately, I took zero pictures except for the one of Brad and Addy. But it was a great time! We'll try and post pics within the month...Love to all!

Oct 31, 2007 - January 9, 2008

So it's been a REALLY long time since we've posted any pictures, but here you go! Pictures are from Halloween up through today (Jan. 9). So much has happened in the last few months, it's been hectic but overall - absolutely wonderful. In early November, we moved our lives from Germany to a friendly little neighborhood in Chicago; Danny started his job in the Lt. Governor's office; Addy got to meet her family on both sides, including her newest cousins Cameron Richard and Grant Louis; we've celebrated Thanksgiving, birthdays, Christmas, and New Year's; and now, we're getting ready for Adelyn's baby shower and baptism.

Also, my family has been celebrating the life of my Grandpa Jones who passed away just before we arrived back in the States. If Addy has even a quarter of the zeal for life that her Great-Grandpa had, she's in for one exciting, adventurous ride.

I'll be posting pictures of the shower and baptism, hopefully within the next few weeks. Thanks in advance to Grandma Teller and Grandma Grant for putting this shower on for us. A happy and healthy 2008 to you all!