Our Tree!

This is our Christmas Tree!

Ceal loves it!

Just kidding...That was our building's tree and this is our tree!

I had a tree just about the height of the one in our atrium and Dan said there was absolutely NO WAY it was going to fit in our place. I didn't believe him, and sure enough we got home, and the little one we bought was touching the ceiling. Ceal, be glad you have a level headed dad. Your mom is nuts.

You must always press the elevator button when we leave our place.

Look at my little pumpkin eating our keys...

Cruz Christian Hayes.

Ceal and I came to visit Aunt Aisha before Cruz was born and what do you know? Aladdin came to visit too. (Seriously, Mackenzie ditch the vest.)

Aladdin kissing Aisha's big belly.

Look at Uncle Kyle. He is so proud. Look at that head full of hair!

Have you even seen a cuter baby? No. You have not.

My precious nephew and Ceal's cousin was born on November 16, 2010. Ceal and I traveled to Indy when Auntie Aisha was having some complications the weekend before the 16th. As soon as we arrived home, Mackenzie called to tell us that Aisha was going in for a c-section on Tuesday. Figures right? I was flipping out, because of course I needed to be home for the arrival of my first nephew, not at all worried that my older sister was having major surgery. Ceal and I drove up real early on Tuesday morning from Chicago. Ceal ran around the hospital, LOVED the cafeteria and played with Uncle Andy, Grandpam and Marm for hours.

I couldn't take my eyes off this beautiful baby who looked nothing like Ceal. Dark hair, skin, lucious little lips...a face to die for. He is so yummy. Ceal does not like me to old her little cousin. We had to be careful, because we never knew when Ceal would actually go from patting him to knocking him out. When we wanted pictures of Cruz and Ceal, she would push him away. "You are not expecting me to hold a real baby right?"

This baby is so precious, you wonder how he came from my eldest sister...jk. Uncle Kyle was so excited, he took one million pictures. I love having a nephew, but this doesn't take away my anxiety I have with a new baby. I thought, "This will be great, a new baby and although pretty much mine, not really mine, so I can have fun." NOO. I flipped out. He started chocking with me and I lost it. I called in the nurse who told me to pat his back, and I took her arm and said, "Listen Lady, I have lots of strengths in life, but with those come my weaknesses and one of them is ANXIETY, so please help me with this baby. I can't leave him with my sister, cause I can't tell my sister he chocked and I can't leave the hospital without knowing he will NEVER choke again." Needless to say, the nurse was super excited that I was the sister and not her actual patient.

Soccer Season.

We had a soccer party at our place to celebrate the season. You know how you hate being held? Well...All the girls fought over who got to hold you! Yea! No, you hated it. They picked you up, danced with you, and tried to play with you. You held your own though. Rachel took over your chair and you sure pushed your way through.

We had a blast. We went to the top of our building and to the zoo.

My girls were believed in, and through this proved their ability to accomplish an amazing soccer season. They have never played with a soccer ball before and beat every other team in the AYSO league. Imagine how many other kids should be given a change to play organized sports. We laughed, cried, yelled, high-fived, encouraged, hugged, uplifted, smacked, ran over, and congratulated each other throughout the season. We laughed when Ashlee would maul a girl for thinking she could kick the ball on the field, or when she told the ref what was really going to happen. We cried when Mrs. Larner, Mills, and Randolph made us run too much which led to throwing up or lack of air supply. We yelled at each other when practice got a little ugly, and we were at our wits end. We high-fived every time we ran laps. We encouraged each teammate to keep going. We hugged each other every practice and game. We uplifted each other when we made a wrong move. We smacked each other when we had to much energy which led to being chased around the field. We were thrown in garbage cans by our coaches when we ran our mouths, mostly about their age. We ran over the poor girls who played against us, to prove our lack of fear. We congratulated each other when we needed it.

I will never forget this season. I love this girls so much. I am so blessed to have met, taught, been taught by, and coached these girls. They come into my room each morning and never leave the day without wanting food, candy, or just a hug. Every morning they will ask, "How is Cealy Mrs. Larner?" and they are 11. It is amazing that they are so mature. I sudo adopted many of them and they call me mom. My dream is to adopt brothers and sisters for you Ceal. It is a dream that I pray will come true.

15 Months.

Ceal is making us work around here 24-7. She is a wild woman. She likes to climb on everything. This includes chairs, the couch, her cart, the walls...pretty much everything. She loves to watch football and show touchdown. She waves to everyone

we pass and you will wave back or she will show you her mean eyes, which are scary.

Ceal says no-no to most everything, because she knows she shouldn't be doing most things. She throws her food and while in motion she says, "No No No No!" Super. She knows where her ears, mouth, nose, hair, and eyes are. In the morning, she will sign milk and food to you the second you walk in her room. Just in case you thought you could get away with something else before she got to eat. She loves reading more than anything in the world. She won't watch TV for anything. If I am cleaning, she will open her books and read until I get done. We have certain books that go to music on my computer. When I play the music, she will find the books and run them over to me. Anyone who visits gets to read to her the WHOLE time. See below.

Mandy is super fun! She always looks amazing, which makes me get out of my sweats before she comes over. UGG. She brings me wine and I make her tacos. I have never cooked anything else for her, and I am pretty sure she thinks this is all I can cook! We love love her, because she is funny, normal, watches the same TV we do, likes to play with you, and is a part of the family. She is your Aunt Courtney's sister in law, which makes her my sister in law, just ask anyone who I run into that she knows...

This is our favorite bridge to walk under.

Why do you feel the need to climb this at the park? Shame on the fool who built this thing anyway. Death trap.

You now like to swing while looking up at the trees and pointing at the planes.

Bath Time and School.

You are so cute in the bath, I can barely take it! You will play for hours. We have to be careful about saying the word, "bath." As soon as you hear the word, you RUN for the bathroom and say "Yes, yes!"

You are the world's smartest one year old. I am sure no other mother thinks this, right? You sign milk, more, eat, food, thank you, and blow kisses. You read books all day long. You can even flip a book over to make sure you see the pictures right, which coming from a teacher is very talented.

You love visiting my class. You love certain students and will play with them until I get my work done. You even attend soccer games on the weekends, which is taking over my life! Soccer is so much fun for me. I LOVE my girls, and I love to exercise with them. We play loud music and run. We have a pep rally Friday for our team because we are UNDEFEATED!! I am so blessed to have these girls. They are a break from 27 seven year olds in the classroom and no aide. I will have gray hair prematurely and probably already do. Good thing I color my hair!

Lincoln Park.

We like to look at the ducks. No feeding for us. I don't love animals that are not on a leash.

I can't understand why this woman likes to feed the pigeons everyday. They are gross and fly straight at us. I have to thank god for this woman, because I would never be this kind. I don't like the pigeons or the geese. I would like to post a sign that reads, "Please don't feed the pigeons or geese, you are prolonging their life." What do you think?

You love to swing. You love to give me anxiety while trying everything by yourself! The ladder really makes me crazy, because I try to help you, and you always push me away.

I am frightened that you are going to be too tall for the baby swing VERY soon. Your legs are going to touch the ground. You best listen to me when you are in the first grade and taller than your madre.

Niagara Falls!

Before the wedding, your dad and I drove to the tip of New York and walked across the Rainbow Bridge into Canada. We had to go through security, and show our passports to get into Canada. When we arrived, we saw the most amazing sight. Niagara Falls is out of this world beautiful. We ran around and took lots of pictures. There were Casinos, Hotels, Resturants, and much more. It was like a mini Vegas! Niagara Falls is on the side of New York, so your view is much better from Canada. The best part was trying to leave. We didn't bring any money! We needed 50 cents a piece to get back. We ran all over trying to get money. Finally, we found a place where we could get money out with our debit card, and then trade it in for money. We ended up losing ten dollars with the exchange. So without a little change, we spent more than we needed of course!!

This is the bridge we crossed to get to Canada! It was so windy.

New York Wedding!

Your dad and I drove from Chicago to Indianapolis to drop you off before our long drive to New York. Auntie Aisha was supposed to take you for the weekend, because Marm was in Florida with her gal pals. Then Aisha was put in the hospital, because she was feeling ill and pregnant with your cousin Cruz. So Auntie Kenz stepped up and said, "Perfect, I get her all to myself this weekend!" Her and Andy took you for the weekend and you had a blast. Luckily, Aunt Jess was there too, so it made for a perfect weekend! You also slept at Auntie Aisha's and Uncle Kyle played with you. You have so much love around you! But enough about you, your dad and I had a BLAST!

We drove to Buffalo, New York at attend a wedding of a couple we love from living in N.Y.C. They came to our wedding, and we love the group of people we get to play with. Everyone is a blast. The wedding was awesome. Hege, the bride, is from Norway. A lot of her family came from Norway, and the wedding was so special. I found myself tearing up at times, and I couldn't even understand some of the speeches. It was their heart. They are amazing people. The wedding could not have been more fun. Everyone was so warm and it just felt like family. Your dad and I listened to a book on tape, so we could get through the drive. At 3am we pulled over to stop at a hotel. It was some kind of hotel. EWW. We laughed and tried to sleep until, the people upstairs started doing gymnastics. It was so loud!! We slept for about two hours, ate some good breakfast at Cracker Barrel and started out for our trip. We laughed A LOT. Such is life. Remember that.

Camping.

We just got back from Bean Blossom, where we camped for three days. It was so much fun. Your dad decided to rent a pop-up camper. It was awesome! He put it all together while we ran around the campsite. There was two double beds and a spot to put your pack-n-play. You slept fine, because the air-conditioner was loud enough to help with the loud noises around you. We ate good food, listened to some fun music, and ran around in the dirt. We also rode in the golf carts and went up and down steep hills. I held onto you for dear life! Marm, Auntie Kenz, Andy, Kristin, Matt, Nick, and a bunch of others came to camp out. Auntie Kenz found her way inside out pop-up camper by the second night! It was great. We were able to walk to food and the bathrooms. The music was so loud, but you were a champ! The second day, dad took you in the showers with him so you could rinse off. You screamed the whole time! I don't think you like showers. Kristin got glow in the dark sticks so you played with those in the dark. Auntie Kenz beat everyone in Bags. She is amazing! We had a great time!

One Bad Day.

You have Roseola! You had a fever for a few days, and your mother's anxiety was out of control. We took you to the doctor several times, but they kept saying it was some sort of virus and you would be fine. Three days later you broke out into a rash all over! Roseola is a virus that spreads from someone having a cold. You are so irritable and tired. So waking up this morning, I new you would be a little upset. I had no clue what kind of a day I was in for. When we woke up drilling started. Now this has happened all summer and I complain about it constantly to the office, but annoyingly enough they say they can't help because work has to be done. The drilling was so loud you and I went crazy. Seriously, I almost checked us both into a nut house. I decided to take us downstairs to do lots of laundry. You were super crabby so I decided to try and put you down. Sure enough you slept for a little. I was able to shower and then the drilling started again, so you were up. By the time I got downstairs someone had thrown all our laundry out of the dryer and onto a table. I was pretty livid. I always wait on people and I have a baby, and still no courtesy was used for us. When we went back upstairs the drilling was so LOUD you started crying because it was scary. I packed you up in the stroller to go grocery shopping. You screamed throughout the first grocery. Yes we go to two groceries. By the second I wanted to pull my hair out. I was crying while walking up and down the isles. On the walk home, I couldn't even hold all the groceries because my skirt kept flying up. It is 90 degrees in Chicago, but you must wear shorts or pants because the wind is out of control. I stopped and put my groceries down. I couldn't walk because of my skirt. That is when I said how I felt out loud, and many people were starring. Our bags were heavy and I wanted to be back in Indiana! Once we got back to our place, I stopped in the hallway to catch my breath and calm down. I slid down the wall and looked at you. That is when I looked up and thanked God. Thank you God for allowing me to stay home part time and watch over our Cealy. Thank you for allowing Danny and I to feed Cealy and keep her safe. And I prayed for all those women who are single mothers with no help. When you are having a BAD day, just thank God for what you have. There are many people in this world with a much more difficult life. We must thank God for ours.

Penthouse Swimming.

I can't stand all this sunscreen!

We are so lucky to have a pool on our roof! The Penthouse on the 43rd floor! We go swimming as much as possible. I like to take you around 5pm, because the shade is over the pool and you can't get burnt! It is still hot this time of day, but sometimes a little windy. I take your bucket with toys, sun hat, floatie, towels, and stroller up to the penthouse. It is a doozie. Mostly because there is only stairs that lead to the pool once you hit the PH, and I have to get you and all our stuff up there. It is such a special time, because we swim back and forth in the pool and then I hold you while drying you off, and we watch the older women who come to swim laps. We look out on the beautiful views of the city and lake. I sure love where we live and our time together.