Welcome Back Part II

Here are just a few more pictures from Thursday. Some are from the airport and some are from Justin's family in Bloomington. We are so glad he is home!

Welcome Home Justin! It has been too long...

Our first embrace in 7 months!

Finally, we are all back together!

Daddy and O at Justin's parent's house in Bloomington.

Daddy and O enjoying dinner together.

Welcome Back!

Here are some quick pictures of today at O'Hare. It was an overwhelming day emotionally. We are just so thankful Justin is home with us! These pictures are some of the ones captured today by my brother-in-law. More to come in the next few days...

O awaiting her Daddy...


The happy family together at last!!

Swimming with the Cousins

After a nice visit with my Tinley Park friends yesterday, we made it back to Nana and Papa's pool to swim with Nana, Papa, my sister Debbie and O's cousins Wyatt, Henry and Lauren. O was, as usual, super happy to be swimming and having a blast with her cousins.
BTW-Justin comes home tomorrow!!!

O posing with her cousins Wyatt, Henry and Lauren and Aunt Debbie.
O with her cousin Wyatt and her godmother Aunt Debbie.
O swimming with her Papa.

Eagle Love

Today, I celebrated my birthday by visiting my old colleagues and friends in Tinley Park. I loved working at Prairie View Middle School and made some incredible friends there. We met at someone's home today and had lunch and visited while our kids played. I was humbled by the many friends who stopped by to see O and me. I miss all of them terribly and am so glad that I can stop and see them when we visit Illinois.

Eagle Love !!My great friend Carol showing off the delicious birthday cookie cake they got me. She set the whole get together up for all of us.

Joan smiling as she is prepping for lunch. She graciously hosted the luncheon for all of us and on very short notice! Thanks Joan!!

Another friend Emily with one of her twin girls, Catherine.

Visit with the Fultons

I went to spend the day with my best friend Katie and her husband, Brian, the other day. Katie and I have known each other since college. We met in our sorority, Zeta Tau Alpha at ISU. She lives in central Illinois and I try to visit her every chance I get when I come back to Illinois. She just had her second child Amara two months ago. Seeing a newborn again sent shivers down my spine. Oh the memories of a year ago:)


Katie putting Amara down for her afternoon nap.

Katie, Olivia and her son Alaric playing with toys together.

Daddy's Favorite Meal

So Daddy (a.k.a Justin) has a favorite childhood meal which consists of frozen fish sticks, Kraft macaroni and cheese and baked beans. He loves this meal and could eat it all the time for dinner. As a matter of fact, he did growing up. Anyways, the meal has continued to be made even after he married me. As some or most of you may know, the culinary world is my nemesis. Easy meals are my m.o. so I was delighted that Justin liked a meal that causes me the least amount of anxiety and/or time in the kitchen. It is funny to now see that this gene has been passed down to O. I made her this meal and she loved it. Ate every last bite! So Daddy, these pics are for you. We love you!!! Come home soon so we can enjoy macaroni and fish sticks together again...

The saga continues! Snakes...On the pavement.

One would think that I have moved to the jungle with how many wildlife sightings there have been since I moved to Virginia. Never have I seen so many reptiles, fox, amphibians, spiders, etc. until I moved here. Before moving, I had seen a snake twice in my life up close and not in a zoo. Now I can say that I have been up close and personal with a COPPERHEAD. Nasty snake if it bites you. Below are the pics of this guy. I guess he crawled out from the pool area after dark (which is creepy considering I had O at the pool earlier that evening). I was out talking to some people and one of my neighbors walked over to warn us he had just run over a copperhead with his car by the pool. I, of course, grabbed the camera as I had never seen a poisonous snake before in person. Well, he was a beauty. Me and a few others gathered around as some grown men in the neighborhood made sure he was dead. As if the car that ran over it was not enough. The snake started to move after he had died. So another neighbor got his rubber mallot and beat it. Then another neighbor got his shovel and stabbed the snake a few times before putting it in a bucket to be thrown in the woods to be some other creature's dinner. I and a few others lamented at it having to be thrown away. We would have loved to have made a pair of shoes or handbag out of it's skin...Here he is! The copperhead that dared mess with the 'hood. He is dead at this point.
It's dead but had it had involuntarily moved itself to this position. It was kind of cool to still see it moving...
Dead snake in the bucket awaiting his fate in the woods...

The Backyardigans

So there is this children's show called "The Backyardigans" about animal kids who create adventures in their backyards. This show is awesome. I used to make fun of it when my sister's kids would watch it until I saw how much it captured O's attention at a very young age. Now we watch it and she sits and stares at the TV mesmerized by their choreographed songs, which are really catchy tunes! I guess this is my formal apology for ever making fun of this show. I love it now just as much as O does and am actually disappointed when they are all repeats. Below are some pics I captured of O watching. She's not a baby anymore...


O wants to dance with them! She's actually trying.

Out with the old...In with the new!

So I decided to use Justin's family/separation allowance and danger pay to do a little home improvement. I took out the carpeting and put in laminate instead. I am so happy with it! O loves it too. She likes to hear the sound of her hands slapping against the floor. She crawls everywhere now. I also added some handmade rugs and did a little interior decorating as well. It is such a wonderful feeling when you feel like your house is put together...

Happy Independence Day!

Well Independence Day is a double entendre in this household! Olivia took two steps on her own today! She knew it was an occasion that warranted exerting some independence and she took full advantage! Below are just some pics of her in her 4th of July outfit! Happy 4th of July everyone! Happy Independence Day Daddy! See you soon...

Chicken Fajitas

So I have finally given in and started feeding O regular table food at dinner. She has been refusing to eat the baby food, watches us intently as we eat our food and has been whining and slapping her tray when we are eating table food. So I have started giving her what we have and she loves it! I think she loves the idea of eating like us more than she ever actually gets all the food in her mouth but it sure has made dinner more peaceful now. I guess the signs were there that she was ready. We started with chicken fajitas which is what the pics below show. She was not at all bothered by the spicy chicken or peppers. I have since fed her roasted chicken, potatoes, green beans, a light cole slaw, and even salmon. All of which she loved and ate all of it. BTW-she eats like a pig. I have to stop feeding her or she would just sit in the chair and nibble all night if she could. For anyone wondering, that is not all I fed her that is depicted on the tray. She is not smiling in the pics but she really was happy to be eating the chicken instead.