Matt and I just reminisced on last year's Thanksgiving and I wanted to share a sweet memory. After dinner we all went around and said what we were thankful for. Matt put his hand on my pregnant stomach and said he was thankful for me and the little guy in my belly. There were teary eyes and hand squeezes and it was a lovely moment that we played down out of embarrassment for being surrounded by so many people. But we remember. Who knew that I would end up with such a wonderful man? I'm a lucky lady.
I have so many things for which to be thankful this Thanksgiving:
Our lovely little Lukie who has made our life infinitely more special.
My incredible husband who is the best partner a girl could ask for.
A really special Mommy who is always there when I need a friend to talk to.
The health of all our family members.
Wonderful family and friends with whom to spend the day.
There are so many more things to mention (like Pequod's pizza) but I am also hoping to be thankful for the full night's sleep that Luke is going to let me have tonight, so I must go enjoy that (oh please please please please please).
I wish all of you a Happy Thanksgiving!
Love and gobble-gobble,
Lisa (Luke's Mommy)
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
More Good Times in Illinois
We did more than just stay at Trump Towers and take our baby to dangerous heights, and that is what this post is about!
First of all, here is how our child looks all bundled up.
How cute is that hat? Thank you Nonni! He was surprisingly happy throughout the Chicago portion of the trip. (Edith -- Luke, like his mommy, enjoys seasons. Who knew?) He started taking naps again, which was a huge blessing. The best part is that he has continued taking naps since we've been home. Just a side note for parents who cross time zones with their babies, we kept him on CA time during the trip so we wouldn't have to readjust him when we got back home, and it totally worked. He didn't eat dinner until 8pm or go to bed until 10pm, but we had no problem getting back to normal when we got home. That may have been Matt's greatest idea ever.
Back to the trip. There is always lots of pizza eating involved in our Chicago trips, but this may have been our best showing, yet. Five days, four different pizzas. The first night was Joe's Pizza, a little place in Matt's home town, Wheeling. Then we headed to Chicago on day two and ate at Uno's.
Well, we actually ate at Due's. They have the same restaurant on each end of the block. Uno's was first and was so busy that they opened Due's. They are either very clever or super lazy with the names.
The next night Matt's friend Vince and his girlfriend, Erica, came and picked us up (both of them are fantastic and we would spend much more time with them if we lived in the same state) and took us to my new favorite pizza place, Pequod's. Bonus points to those of you who know what that name refers to. We met another of his buddies there, Ryan (10 toes), who is also fantastic. But the pizza was the big star. It has overtaken all other pizzas and moved its way to number one in my heart.
We had Giordano's the following night (with another high school buddy, Phil. He's a movie star in Hong Kong. Yeah, that's how we roll.) Giordano's is an old favorite, but refer to previous paragraph to see where my pizza loyalties lie.
Here is where I reflect on the fact that the four previous paragraphs are about pizza. This may explain why I have not lost all the baby weight. Hmm. Something to think about.
On Saturday we headed back to the 'burbs and Matt's parents house for a family dinner. There were aunts and cousins and brothers and nieces and nephews and friends. Lot's of people and lots of fun. The majority of the time was spent being entertained by Matt's great-niece and great-nephew (I think that is what their official title would be), Morgan and Nathan. Both are so sweet and so full of energy. They very much enjoy having their picture taken and then immediately seeing it on the camera. "Take my picture! Take my picture! Let me see! Let me see!" was pretty much all that was said for a good 20 minutes. Here are some of my faves.
Morgan can do a head spin. That is crazy to me. It also freaked me out a little bit to watch it, but impressive none-the-less.
Luke does not like it when people try to force him to kiss things. He is his own baby and he answers to no one.
First of all, here is how our child looks all bundled up.
How cute is that hat? Thank you Nonni! He was surprisingly happy throughout the Chicago portion of the trip. (Edith -- Luke, like his mommy, enjoys seasons. Who knew?) He started taking naps again, which was a huge blessing. The best part is that he has continued taking naps since we've been home. Just a side note for parents who cross time zones with their babies, we kept him on CA time during the trip so we wouldn't have to readjust him when we got back home, and it totally worked. He didn't eat dinner until 8pm or go to bed until 10pm, but we had no problem getting back to normal when we got home. That may have been Matt's greatest idea ever.
Back to the trip. There is always lots of pizza eating involved in our Chicago trips, but this may have been our best showing, yet. Five days, four different pizzas. The first night was Joe's Pizza, a little place in Matt's home town, Wheeling. Then we headed to Chicago on day two and ate at Uno's.
Well, we actually ate at Due's. They have the same restaurant on each end of the block. Uno's was first and was so busy that they opened Due's. They are either very clever or super lazy with the names.
The next night Matt's friend Vince and his girlfriend, Erica, came and picked us up (both of them are fantastic and we would spend much more time with them if we lived in the same state) and took us to my new favorite pizza place, Pequod's. Bonus points to those of you who know what that name refers to. We met another of his buddies there, Ryan (10 toes), who is also fantastic. But the pizza was the big star. It has overtaken all other pizzas and moved its way to number one in my heart.
We had Giordano's the following night (with another high school buddy, Phil. He's a movie star in Hong Kong. Yeah, that's how we roll.) Giordano's is an old favorite, but refer to previous paragraph to see where my pizza loyalties lie.
Here is where I reflect on the fact that the four previous paragraphs are about pizza. This may explain why I have not lost all the baby weight. Hmm. Something to think about.
On Saturday we headed back to the 'burbs and Matt's parents house for a family dinner. There were aunts and cousins and brothers and nieces and nephews and friends. Lot's of people and lots of fun. The majority of the time was spent being entertained by Matt's great-niece and great-nephew (I think that is what their official title would be), Morgan and Nathan. Both are so sweet and so full of energy. They very much enjoy having their picture taken and then immediately seeing it on the camera. "Take my picture! Take my picture! Let me see! Let me see!" was pretty much all that was said for a good 20 minutes. Here are some of my faves.
Morgan can do a head spin. That is crazy to me. It also freaked me out a little bit to watch it, but impressive none-the-less.
Dynamic Duo
Crazy Flippy Legs
And break time. Luke even needed a drink after all that exercise.
Out of nowhere, Luke decided to begin the "Separation Anxiety" phase of his infancy during this trip. He now must be within arm's reach of either mommy or daddy at all times. It makes me tired but it's also very sweet. We got these pictures with Grandma before it set in and she was no longer allowed to hold or even touch him. Nice Grandson.
Then Luke decided he'd had enough of this picture taking and he wanted the camera for himself. He will crawl over anything that gets in his way, including daddy's face.
On Sunday we went to Matt's friend Edon's house and met his wife, Mel, and son, Logan. Matt and Edon have known each other since Kindergarten, so it was fun to see them together again with kids of their own.
Logan is a doll face.
Luke is also pretty darn cute in his tiger shirt and jeans.
We also met their dog, Gigi. Luke was intrigued.
The grown ups and their sons.
Luke does not like it when people try to force him to kiss things. He is his own baby and he answers to no one.
And sometimes Luke gets so sleepy that he falls asleep while eating in a sports bar during the Bears game.
OK. That's all I got. Great trip, great to be home, long post, Lisa out.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Willis Tower (Formerly Known as Sears Tower)
Matt loves this place. We have been there three times together. He took me there the first time he brought me to Chicago to meet his family, and we took my mom when she flew in with us for our Chicago engagement party, and now we went again because they installed a new feature called The Ledge. It is a section of the 107th floor that is entirely encased in glass. You can stand on The Ledge and see all around you and all the way down to the ground below. It was freaky.
Luke has no understanding of heights or plunging to your death or crazy accidents that happen at popular tourist attractions, so he had no concerns about crawling around out there. I had trouble letting go, but it made for a pretty great picture. And yes, this was followed by lots of baby wipes and Purell.
Luke and Matt showing off their bravery. Luke was more interested in Daddy than the photo op.
And we even got a family shot. So what if I'm holding on for dear life.
And I'll leave you all with a picture of my dreamy husband. I was right, back in the day. He is a catch.
Trump Tower is Swanky
Matt and I had a free night from hotels.com and decided to use it at Trump Tower during our Chicago trip. I mean, why wouldn't we? It's freakin' Trump Tower. Here's what it looks like from the outside.
It was swank. I took pictures of everything because I want to live there forever but cannot currently afford it as I don't have a job that pays money. It only pays in laughs and cuddles. I wish it paid in laughs and cuddles and money, but two out of three ain't bad.
Here are Luke and I enjoying the nighttime view.
And here is just the view.
And here is Luke enjoying the morning view in his jungle jammies. He's the cutest Johnson by far.
Here is the swanky bed,
Matt and Luke enjoying the swanky iPod docking station,
the swanky coffee maker (every variety of espresso that you might desire),
the swanky bathroom,
and even a swanky do not disturb sign.
And here is the swanky baby loving the time with Mommy and Daddy!
They had robes and a pillow menu and a choice of every newspaper you could imagine to be delivered in the morning. We were spoiled and it was fantastic. They also spoiled Luke with a stuffed animal and a rubber ducky, a package of baby essentials (wipes, shampoo, body wash, lotion, 401k planning forms, just seeing if you're paying attention), a backpack with kid stuff that was all to old for him, crib, bathtub, and high chair all in the room. It was super fun and we were sad to leave.
Our next hotel was the Westin on Michigan Ave. It was a really nice hotel and half the price of TT, but they didn't give us refreshing hot towels upon check-in and robes and slippers were not waiting in our room. Needless to say, it did not live up to our newly raised expectations. We did not take any pictures.
Also, I have decided that our future home (including the already designed in my head steam shower in the master bathroom) will only have Kohler faucets. No other faucet will do. I think that Kohler faucets must make water happy because water just feels better coming out of one.
I hope you all have the chance to visit Chicago and Mr. Trump's Tower. Oh, how I miss them so!
It was swank. I took pictures of everything because I want to live there forever but cannot currently afford it as I don't have a job that pays money. It only pays in laughs and cuddles. I wish it paid in laughs and cuddles and money, but two out of three ain't bad.
Here are Luke and I enjoying the nighttime view.
And here is just the view.
And here is Luke enjoying the morning view in his jungle jammies. He's the cutest Johnson by far.
Here is the swanky bed,
Matt and Luke enjoying the swanky iPod docking station,
the swanky coffee maker (every variety of espresso that you might desire),
the swanky bathroom,
and even a swanky do not disturb sign.
And here is the swanky baby loving the time with Mommy and Daddy!
They had robes and a pillow menu and a choice of every newspaper you could imagine to be delivered in the morning. We were spoiled and it was fantastic. They also spoiled Luke with a stuffed animal and a rubber ducky, a package of baby essentials (wipes, shampoo, body wash, lotion, 401k planning forms, just seeing if you're paying attention), a backpack with kid stuff that was all to old for him, crib, bathtub, and high chair all in the room. It was super fun and we were sad to leave.
Our next hotel was the Westin on Michigan Ave. It was a really nice hotel and half the price of TT, but they didn't give us refreshing hot towels upon check-in and robes and slippers were not waiting in our room. Needless to say, it did not live up to our newly raised expectations. We did not take any pictures.
Also, I have decided that our future home (including the already designed in my head steam shower in the master bathroom) will only have Kohler faucets. No other faucet will do. I think that Kohler faucets must make water happy because water just feels better coming out of one.
I hope you all have the chance to visit Chicago and Mr. Trump's Tower. Oh, how I miss them so!
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