best uncle ever.

(with apologies to Gary)

I had a dentist's appointment this morning and Jason couldn't stay home due to a meeting. I get charged $50 for cancelling an appointment too many times and this was my 3rd reschedule, so I was desperate.

Ross to the rescue! He braved 2 1/2 hours of Chicago morning traffic to come babysit his little niece. What a guy! It seemed like they had fun together even though Lorelei was a little nervous to wake up and find this tall blonde guy greeting her rather than her parents...

Thanks for taking such good care of her, Ross!

visitors from MN.

What a busy day! After recuperating from Kite Fest, Lorelei got to meet two new people: Great-Auntie Cathy and cousin Bret.

They were very impressed with how alert and strong Lorelei was -- and what a good sense of humor she has!

I was really happy to see them, too, because Cathy has been such an awesome resource for me during these early days of motherhood -- especially with breastfeeding and all the struggles I had early on. So glad that they were able to squeeze us in on their drive to Chicago (Adria, we have to get you out here soon!).

(Note to B and C: if any of your pictures turned out, I'd love digital copies so I could post a few more here!)

kite fest and new friends.

Today is Kite Fest, an annual event held on the open green space (owned by NIU) that starts at the end of our street. It was a beautiful day for it, so we took Lorelei down to see the kites and crowds. While we were there, we met up with a colleague of Jason's, Steve, and his family -- he has an almost-3-year-old son and a daughter who is just a month older than Lorelei. Once again, Lorelei proved that she is a baby force to be reckoned with:

Steve's son ran around and had lots of fun learning to fly a kite while we chatted and got to know each other. We kept saying that it's hard to imagine Lorelei will ever be old enough to actually participate in Kite Fest -- what will she look like as a toddler?

mom and baby love.

(Jason is still learning how to hold a camera steady to take a picture, so apologies for the blurriness.)

sitting pretty.

Jason bought Lorelei a new chair. She really enjoys sitting in it and having a new vantage point with which to view her world. Mom really enjoys putting her in it because, at somewhere over 15 pounds, Lorelei is starting to be a little bit of a backbreaker, and until she can sit unassisted, Mom'll take all the help she can get!

crybaby.

Lorelei was still reeling from the effects of sleep deprivation last Sunday night when we had some surprise guests: Ross and Meredith! Sara whipped up a delicious quinoa salad, Jason grilled mushroom caps, and R + M supplied a wonderful pecan stout pie from the Norske Nook they picked up on the way back from a northern Wisconsin wedding. Despite all this goodness, Lorelei cried during most of her awake time, but our visitors took it in stride.

houseguests.

Just after we returned from MN, we were lucky enough to have some houseguests: the Hannas!

Grandpa Sam unfortunately could only stay for a short time, but Grandma Sara stayed for a few days and we had all kinds of fun! Lorelei really enjoyed walks in the stroller, sitting out on the front stoop, singing songs, going on an adventure to Hy-Vee (especially the part where she got some new toys!), and all of the snuggles.

We also experimented to see what Lorelei would look like if she inherited Grandma Sara's hair.

Looking forward to having them visit again soon!