Ahoy, caitlin got her 1st tooth, shiver me timbers

Well, this post is about pirates and teeth....hard to think of a post title!  So instead, I'm translating this post into "pirate"!

Arrr, on Friday, Caitlin had t' go t' Children's Memorial for her throat scope. A pence for an old man o'de sea?  (On Friday, Caitlin had to go to Children's Memorial for her throat scope.  Basically, they put a camera down her throat while she ate.  They were worried she is pushing the food out of her mouth and gagging because she's choking.)

Aye, the tests came back great, gar! (The tests came back great! She is able to eat table food now with the help of a speech therapist!)

Arrr, caitlin is ha'in' a difficult time gainin' weight. Gar. (However, Caitlin is having a difficult time gaining weight.  She only gained 1/2 an ounce in a month, so she weights 13lbs 2oz at 7 mo...she weighed 13lbs 1oz at 6 mo.  So we will be working with a dietician in addition to a speech therapist!  Caitlin just liked to do things the difficult way!)

Ahoy, thursday is the big ear test!!!!, gar! (Thursday is the big ear test for Caitlin.  We can't wait!!!  It will be such a relief when it's over!  We are hoping in the next month Caitlin will start gaining weight, babbling, and eating...and we can just start making normal appointments.  It's pretty said when they ask things like "Who's her GI?  Neurologist?  Etc.  And we have names...babies shouldn't have to have so many doctors.)

 Aye, on Friday, Caitlin got her 1st tooth!!, gar! (The big and exciting news was Caitlin got her 1st tooth on Friday!  It made for a little bit of a crabby baby this weekend, but it's big news in the Wennerstrom household!!!!  When it pops up enough to take a picture, you'll see!!!!!)

Ahoy, it rained all day on Saturday, argh! (It rained all day on Saturday, ruining our plans of heading to Pirate's Cove and the Flyer's Baseball game.  But we made the best of it and had a really great family day!  We got some errands done at Charlestown ghost mall and Abigail rode the merry-go-round. We went to Sweet Tomatoes for lunch...it was like Rob and Abigial hit the buffet jackpot!  Then we spent the afternoon car shopping!  We were very close to leaving with a brand new (to us) Honday Odyssey...but decided at the last minute to walk.  We may be back this week to buy it...we aren't sure if we made the right decision by walking out...we hope it pays off!  We ended the night with a family movie night double feature of Toy Story and Toy Story II!

Ahoy, we headed t' Pirate's Co'e, shiver me timbers!  (On Sunday, the weather cooperated, so after mommy got a long run in, we headed to Pirate's Cove.  I went there as a kid and it seemed HUGE...not so big anymore.  But perfect for Abigail...we are working in getting her independent and it was a great place for that!  I was the most impressed when she went in the jump house with 3 big boys, and jumped right with them!  Of course, Caitlin loved watching her big sister!!!!)

My big girl on the big slide!

Abigail loved the train ride because Daddy was with her...and talked the rest of the day about "Daddy got stuck"...apparently they don't make the kid train for 6 foot kids!

Always happy when she's with her family!

Joe's Festival of the Sun

We celebrated Joe's Fest a little early this year due to scheduling conflicts!!!!

I was gonna post a link to previous Joe's Fests, but it looks like this is my first Joe's Fest post, so I'd better explain!  A few years ago, my dad was thinking about the summer solstice and how the sun is out for the longest time this day.  He said in the winter, he wants to remember this day.  So he made it an unofficial holiday:  Joe's Festival of the Sun.  We're just waiting for Hallmark to pick it up!  Hallmark, if you are out there reading this, call me!!!  The idea of the holiday is to be outside from sun-up to sun-down!  Kids and pregnancies have complicated it a little in terms of the lenght of day outside (the first year, I think we met at like 6:30 am)...but we still celebrate.  Past years we have done: bike riding, strawberry fests, italian fests, trips to the zoo, boat rides, world cup action and lots of fun meals outside! 

It was Caitlin's 1st Joe's Fest...and we couldn't wait for her to participate!!!!

This year, we began our day at Arlington Race Track!  The race track is really a win-win place for families.  The kids LOVED the horses, and the adults love the extra-curricular activities!!!!  And the best part was the streak my dad and I were on...we won 4 exacta boxes....3 in a row!  It was quite amazing!!!!  Abigail also picked the winning horse of the last race for my mom...my mom's only win of the day!  The weather threatened rain all day, but my dad got there early and got us the perfect table!!!!  Rob was golfing so he wasn't there at this point...but it's okay as long as he's outside!!!!

After a great day at the track, we headed back to my parent's house for a shrimp boil!  The first event of this part of the day was to give Rob his b-day present from Joe and Julie, Katie, and my parents.  I can safely say this was the highlight of Rob's day!!!!

"Are you serious???  Blackhawk Stanley Cup tickets?????"

Next activity:  Beer challenge.  Joe said my dad and I couldn't tell the difference between miller lite, bud light, and coors light!  Game On!!!!!  My dad and I were pretty sure we could tell the difference.  We were wrong!  We both got 0 right!

Next, it was time for the shrimp boil.  Unfortunately, the rain began right when it was time to eat....but we moved the dinner inside and had a great time!!!!!  Why?  "Cause we're the Muskovichs (and Wennerstroms and Blandfords)!"  (That was our family motto growing up!)

The boys ended the night in the garage having cigars and beers...and the girls inside having wine!   We also had bday cake for Rob!

It was a GREAT Joe's Fest...and we can't wait for next year when we get to introduce baby blandford to her first Joe's Fest!!!!!  We may even have a destination Joe's Fest!

Thanks to my sister for the pics...I forgot my camera!

7 Months

Our Caitlin Bug is 7 Months Old!!!!!  The 7th month brings lots of fun changes!  She's crawling all over the place!  Which means she is getting into everything!!!!  She also is playing a lot more with Abigail.  As I type, Abigail is "dancing" and Caitlin is cracking up.  Abigail can make Caitlin laugh like no one else can!  Caitlin is figuring out how toys work and knows what to do when she gets to a new toy!  She's still sleeping through the night, but has been getting up around 4:30am lately....we are working on this but we also don't want her to wake up Abigail.  She is beginning to try baby food. She has a big test at Children's Memorial tomorrow to help figure out what is going on with her eating....and then next week is the hearing retest, which we are all anxious about!  Also, we happened to be at the dr this week for vaccinations and they said she only gained 1/2 an ounce in the last month.  It doesn't sound right to us, so they will retest her tomorrow!  I think someone read the scale wrong!  She's still on Nutramigen formula, and she's on a 22 calorie diet (most formula is only 20 calories).  She likes Kramer, but isn't very interested in him.  She has the sweetest smile that can light up a room!  She brings us more joy than we ever could have imagined!!! We'll be starting Caitlin's first "class" in a few weeks...swimming lessons...and I'm really looking forward to that time together!!  Here are some 7 months pics and others to compare:

7 Months Old

2 Months Old

Caitlin at 7 months

Abigail at 8 months

Dear Caitlin, We can't believe you are already 7 months old.  Mommy tells you every night to "slow down"...but in a healthy way!  We are cherishing every moment with you...and watching you grow and change daily!  We hope you know how much joy you bring your family!!!  We love you, big girl!  Now, stay our little girl forever!!!!  Love, Mommy, Daddy, Abigail, and Kramer

She's On The Move

Here's a video of Caitlin crawling! She began crawling on Sunday and is already on the move!

Today she is 7 months old....which will have a post of it's own later!

For a comparison, here is Abigail's 1st video of crawling. This is exactly what Caitlin looked like on Sunday on her first day of crawling. But today, she's already a lot faster! Today's activities involve going through all the toys and getting rid of all the choking hazards!!! Abigail was a week away from turning 9 months in this video...and since she was 2 months early, the girls are pretty much on the same track! And ironically, I labeled the blog posts the same thing without knowing it! (Sorry about the annoying voice on this one): http://wennerstrom.blogspot.com/2008/09/blog-post.html

Where's Daddy????

HEAVEN!!!!!

Thanks to an amazing brother-in-law and family....Rob and his dad are on their way to game 5 of the Stanley Cup!!!!  Probably one of the happiest days in his life!!!!  Just had to document!

Also, Caitlin crawled today for the first time....hoping to download a video soon!!!  And this weekend was Joe's Festival of the Sun....pics to come!

Go Hawks!!!!  Beat the Flyers!

Happy Birthday, Daddy!!!!!!

Happy Birthday, Daddy!!!!!!

We LOVE you!!!!!

Love, Mommy, Abigail, and Caitlin

Memorial Day 2010

It's here...the beginning of summer!!!!!!

Memorial Day Weekend was great!  We started the weekend on Saturday doing the Soldier Field 10 miler.  This was a bday gift for my dad's 60th and the whole family participated (minus Uncle Joe who was out of town) by either running or walking!  After the race, we went out for breakfast and drinks and enjoyed the beautiful Chicago weather!!!

Look how cute Daddy was at the race!

After the race, we headed up to Bass Lake for a great weekend.  The weahter could not have been more perfect...and the company was equally great!!!!  On Saturday, we just stayed around the cabin and enjoyed the weather and all the fun toys the kids have up there (pool, water table, sand box, slide).  Then, on Sunday, while the boys were golfing, Nana and I took the girls down to Uncle Al and Aunt Gam's beach!  Abigail had such a great time doing LOTS of new things!!!  As much as she hates bugs, she loves outdoor activities!  Caitlin also enjoyed the time outside....she's our little beach bum!

Caitlin enjoying the "tub" of water!  (We are trying to keep her out of the lake because the bacteria can cause infections in her tubes).

Nana teaching Abigail how to "surf" with a present from the lake (what we call it when toys wash up on shore).

Stina teaching Abigail how to throw rocks....they had a great time!

Beach Ballerina

Abigail loved the minnow bucket and was reaching right on in to get the minnows to go fishing.

Stina taught Abigail how to fish

The BEST place to nap....the beach!

Swimming + building sand castles + surfing + throwing rocks + fishing + riding in the golf cart = EXHAUSTED

On Monday, we were able to take the girls out on the boat (Caitlin's first boat ride) and enjoy more time outside!

Thank you to all our family and friends for the wonderful weekend.  Thanks of course to Nana and Papa for the great time at the cabin.  Thanks to Aunt Gam and Uncle Al for having us to the beach.  Thanks to Uncle B, Auntie  MoMo, "Luca", Stina (and her friend Carla), and Grams and Gramps for all the fun times this weekend.  And thanks to Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Julie and Aunt Katie for the great start to the weekend...and to my running buddies for the fun run!

So, now it's officially summer!!!!  Swimming pool opens this weekend and we can't wait!