Chicagoland with the Sis and Cuz

I just wrapped up another great week with family here in Chciagoland. My little sister Krista and my cousin Hailey came out to stay with us for a week during their spring break, and it was such a blast hanging out with these two lovely young ladies. And Madeline enjoyed lots of love & attention from Krista and Hailey while they were here –they watched her while I worked throughout the week and she had so much fun getting to know them.

As I sit here typing this out, I realize I am exhausted because we did a lot this past week! In between my work schedule and James’ crazy week of comprehensive exams, we spent a day at the beach on Lake Michigan, had a picnic at Cantigny, strolled the river walk in Naperville, hung out on campus quite a bit, and spent a day in downtown Chicago. We had record streaks of warm, sunny weather while the girls were here: high 70’s and mid 80’s with sunshine almost every day! I’m still in shock with how warm it has been, and it has caused everything to bloom 2 months earlier than it did last year. Some pics from our week:

Sunday afternoon at the beach on Lake Michigan:

Picnic at Cantigny:

Downtown Chicago, starting off at The Signature Room which is on the 95th floor of the Hancock Tower. Normally you can see sweeping views of the city of Chicago and the Lake Michigan shoreline from this restaurant, but the one day it was cloudy, rainy and foggy was the day we were able to spend in Chicago. I was a bit dissapointed that the city was covered in fog and that we had to brave occasional downpours, since this was both Krista and Hailey's first time to Chicago. But we made the best of it! The city actually looks quite beautiful covered in dense layers of fog.

Walking through Grant Park, which is the main park downtown Chicago.

Here is Millenium Park, and the Frank Gehry building framed by the blooming cherry trees and tulips. It smelled incredible!

And we took lots of fun pics at "The Bean," which is this funny massive bean-shaped sculpture that has become a famous Chicago landmark. Madeline is currently enthralled with mirrors and windows, so she loved checking out The Bean.

Unfortunately James was swamped this week with his comprehensive exams for his program, but we did manage to snag him for some great games of Settlers of Catan, Chicago deep dish pizza, and a little sweet sixteen viewing.

We had such a great time with you, Krista & Hailey! You are both becoming such beautiful young women. So glad you both could come out, and we can't wait to see you again this summer!

Madeline's Second Month!

Madeline turned two months a few weeks ago, and I’m finally getting her two month pics posted. I just finished up a really busy (but great!) work week, and am quite tired so my editing chops are lacking - thus here comes a deluge of photos. But I'm sure the grandparents won't mind!

Madeline’s personality really took off in her second month – she started smiling A LOT, which made her parents smile A LOT. But it is very hard to capture her sweet smiles on camera – she’s less inclined to smile with a big black box in her face. Nonetheless, I did catch a few sweet smiles from my girl:

And she was full of smiles when I took this picture:

Little Miss M also got out a lot more in her 2^nd month of life. We went for lots of family walks with her bundled up in her little snowsuit:

She went to church regularly, dressed in her Sunday attire, and slept through most of the services like a champ:

We visited Daddy and his philosophy 101 classes – Madeline brought Shamrock cookies for good luck as Daddy handed out his midterms. (Daddy was hoping the Baby/cookie combo would help with course evaluations – ha!).

She also spent a little time with Daddy in his office, catching up on the latest metaphysical news of the day.

And by far the most exciting event of Madeline’s second month was a visit from her Ama Lois!

We loved every minute of her stay. She came during my first week back to work, which made the transition back so much easier. Lois finally got Madeline to take a bottle, just in the nick of time! She made us yummy breakfasts and dinners, and she really got Madeline to chat it up. The two of them had several long convos - it was so fun to hear Madeline "talk" to her Ama Lois. She also got Madeline her first big toy - a play yard! Madeline LOVES it - she loves grabbing and gazing at all the fun little toys, and we can see her working on her hand coordination and fine motor skills as she plays.

James and I continue to marvel at what a blessing Madeline is to us. It has brought out all new and wonderful aspects of being married, and we are so grateful to be her parents.

What's in a Blanket?

I love family heirlooms. This is probably because I love history and tradition and family stories. And I am realizing that one of my favorite types of family heirlooms are quilts. Not only are they beautiful and the patterns and colors so interesting, but they are also practical. You can use a quilt on a bed, as a throw, to wrap a baby, or even as a wall hanging. Quilts are also such a distinct part of American history – all of the quilting bees and societies that have existed for hundreds of years. I don’t know a ton about this, but I’d love to learn more about the history of quilts in America.

James and I have developed a bit of a quilt collection, especially since Madeline has come along. We have some very special people in our lives who have spent hours picking out fabrics, designing, sewing, and quilting some beautiful blankets for us. Every time I use one of these quilts, I am reminded of who made it and the love they have for us. What a special gift, right?

Here are some of the quilts we have received:

Lois made this quilt as an anniversary present for James and me. We love it - it's beautiful, warm, and full of the prayers she poured into this quilt as she made it for us. Lois is an incredible seamstress, but this was her first quilt project. Pretty amazing!

My dear College friend Emily and her mother Janet made this quilt for Madeline. The colors go with the nursery colors we picked – navy, pink, and white. I love everything about this quilt – the cool prints, color scheme, and unique design are all perect! It’s not everyday you see a quilt with fun circles on it – it’s a fresh, modern take on quilts. And this quilt even has a name: “Madeline’s Day at the Beach.”

My aunt Kerri made this quilt for Madeline. Such fun prints and colors, right? I know Kerri picked out these fabrics knowing my personality - it looks like a quilt you could find at Anthropologie with its fun and whimsy.

Madeline’s great-grandmother Houghton (Lois’ mother) knit this blanket for her. It’s not a quilt, but it fits in the blanket-family-heirloom category. I love the simplicity of all white with clean lines on this blanket.

And Madeline’s great, great, grandmother made this quilt. But she made this quilt for James when he was a baby. This quilt was made by Lois’ maternal grandmother, grandma Loewen. Lois said she made dozens of quilts, all stitched by hand. It doesn’t show as well in this photo, but the hand quilting on this blanket is beautiful. And how special to have a quilt from your great, great, grandmother!

And this is a quilt my Nana made for a crib bedding set for my younger cousin. I'm so glad that Madeline's nursery has my Nana's fingerprints on it. She wasn't really a quilter, but she was an incredible seamstress. I wish I could have done more sewing projects with her - I had some really beautiful dresses made by her when I was a kid.

I've been slowly entering into the quilting world. It takes a lot of time, skill, and patience to create quilts and I'm not sure how far into this world I'll enter. But I do find it really satisfying to give a gift to someone that you've taken time to create just for them, and try to spend time praying for the recipient when I make a quilt. Well, let's be honest, the blankets I've made so far aren't really quilts. They are very, very simple. But I am currently working on a quilting project that will be a bit more complicated than the last ones I've made. Here is a peek at the fabrics I'm using:

I'll have to let you know if it turns out!