Valentine's Day 2015

My awesome Valentines! We made pasta carbonara and everyone loved it. It was the first time the kids have had really tiny noodles like that and they were a fan. Alan got me TWO sets of flowers - tulips (my favorite) and lilys (so we could all see the flower named after Lillian). We also had chocolate cake and strawberries for desert - YUM!

Lillian Hip X-Ray

At Lillian's 15 month visit they wanted us to get an xray of her hips to make sure they are developing properly (the fat rolls on her thighs don't line up and that is an early indicator of a problem with the  hips). As a result we went to Lurie's on Tuesday morning. She cried the whole, slow way to the hospital as we fought through traffic. She was better in the waiting room where there was a tv, other kids and coloring. What she really hated, more than anything else was getting strapped to the board for the x-ray. There was much screaming and many, many 'all done's. After they let us go I let her run around the halls for a while because I felt simply evil having to strap her in to the car seat for the trip home.

Update: She is totally fine. This was cautionary and her hips look perfect.

Sickest baby

Lillian caught the cold that we all had last week. She was so tired she fell asleep in my arms as I was singing her a song before nap. She hasn't done that in a really long time. Poor sleepy baby.

Snow day - February 2nd

Chicago got the 5th biggest snow storm in it's history. These pictures were taken before the real snow storm (of about 20 inches). We've gotten more snow in Jan/Feb than we normally get for the whole year. 

Simon learning to pack a snow ball.

Snow is wonderful - we just walked outside.

Daddy's snow ball is bigger!

Simon and Emily went for a sledding trip down the sidewalk.

Realizing that the snow is very cold, almost done.

Got the hang of snow balls - hit daddy with it.

After the main snow storm - we had been out in it this morning
and you can see the handle of Simon's shovel that he left in the snow hill we made for sledding.

On his way to school on Tuesday (Monday was a snow day)

The first half of the storm, we didn't take a picture after the main snow storm.

Lillian 15 month well visit

We went to Lillian's 15 month well visit appointment. She had quite a bit of energy to burn so when they called us to the room I let her walk herself down the hall and just held her hand. Everyone commented on how cute she was toddling down the hall on her own and saying hi to every nurse.  We had to wait about 20 minutes before the doctor came into the room and Lillian was all over the place in the room - exploring everything and checking all the drawers and cabinets to ensure they were properly childproofed.  When the doctor did come in she was very impressed by Lillian - of course we know Lillian is so very advanced for her age, but it was nice to hear someone else confirm it. The doctor gave me the list of goal achievements for 18 months (they always give it to you so you can get a feel for where you kid should be in the next 3-6 months). Lillian is already doing all but one of the things on the list (I put the list after the jump).

Two things came of the visit that we need to followup on. Frist, an xray of Lillian's hips. The fat rolls on her legs aren't symmetrical and while that can signal nothing it could also be the first signs of hip dysplasia which is much easier to address if caught early. Second, the rules dealing with kids who have immediate family with allergies have changed. We need to bring Lillian to an allergist to do a scratch test. We have that scheduled for the last week of March (as kids allergists book up like crazy). 

Does it push?

Does it pull?

Lillian saying Quiet Quiet Loud Loud!

Lillian says "HEW-WO!"

Followed quickly by the saddest morning ever: