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Splish Splash

Summer has arrived!  Sort of.  Officially it's not until June 21st.  But unofficially, the summer season in Chicago gets under way Memorial Day Weekend, rain or shine.  And it started off pretty rainy, to say the least.  In fact, both Saturday and Sunday were complete wash outs.  But, Monday was beautiful, and it has continued to be beautiful every day since then (with a promising weekend ahead!).  We spent the inaugural weekend up at the lake house in Michigan.  Not only was it Charlotte's first time up there, it was her first time swimming.  She LOVED it.  And we all had a blast sharing the experience with her. 

Check out my ride!

 Me and Mama

 I love being thrown in the water as much as I do out of the water

Lunch Break

 Having fun with Auntie Kelly and Uncle Dave

Even grandpa got in on the fun!

The aftermath...

It's On!

Last week, I ran my first-ever official road race.  It was the the JPMorganChase Corporate Challenge.  3.5 miles.  I ran for Team Raymond James.  I only started running again about two weeks prior, so I was a bit rusty.  And it was cold.  I mean COLD.  42 degrees, I believe (wind chill somewhere in the 30s).  So, let's just say my expectations weren't high.  My goal was to finish in under 45 minutes, and I expected to stop and walk a few times.  Well, I surprised myself big time by running the entire way and finishing in 35:40.  And considering there were 23,300+ other runners, I probably could have done it even faster (the course was a bit congested, especially at the start).  So what can I say?  I'm proud of myself.  And now I have the itch to run more races, b/c yeah, it was kind of cool.  So we'll see.  Some new running shoes are definitely in order.  We'll start with that. 

With coworker Laura after the race

A Facelift

In honor of the recently (finally!) improved weather, I decided to lighten up the look of blog.  I think you'll agree it was looking kind of drab.  Hope you like it!

Beautiful Sintayehu

Many of you who know my dear friend Leslie know that she and her husband Jake have been in the process of adopting a baby girl from Ethiopia for a Very. Long. Time. The process was dragged out longer than anyone ever though imaginable, and it was a arduous journey for their family. Well, just a few weeks ago, Leslie & Jake finally got to bring their beautiful baby girl home. And, just a couple of days ago, I got the pleasure of meeting her. And let me be the first to tell you, she was worth the wait. Sintayehu (Sinta) Anastasia is beautiful, sweet, adventurous, and heart warming. It has only been a matter of weeks that she has been with her new family, yet you would never know it. She fit right in and seemed pleased as punch to be a Klipsch. As I watched her explore her home, delight in the comings and goings of her new brothers, and snuggle up to Mommy and Daddy, I had no doubt that this child had come home. I am over the moon for all of them and cannot wait to watch this little girl grow.

And thank you to Leslie & Jake for letting me stop by and feeding me dinner on what was very short notice (on a weeknight, no less). It was lovely as always!!

Introducing the girls to one another
I mean, look at that face!
Playing together

Sinta with her proud (and might I add, equally as good looking!) brothers, Oliver & Eli


Being treated to some lovely piano playing by Oli

Siena Turns 1

You may remember meeting Siena for the first time in this post. She is the daughter of my dear friend Erika and one of Charlotte's BFFs. We had the pleasure of helping celebrate Siena's first birthday this past weekend. It was uncharacteristically warm in Chicago, which made if perfect for an outdoor BBQ. We had a lovely time and snapped a few good photos along the way. I can't believe it's been a year!!

The Birthday Girl

Proud Mama and Papa

Priceless

Hanging with another BFF, Zeina

Me and my little gnome

Get Your Rear in Gear

This past Sunday, we participated in the Get Your Rear in Gear 5k. This is a race benefitting colon cancer, which my mother is a survivor of. I had aspirations of running it, but I never did manage to get myself in shape enough (in fact, I never even attempted a run until the day before). Add this to the fact that Matt is still recovering from knee surgery, and we decided it best to walk . It was a very ugly day, what can I say? But we made the best of it! Poor Charlotte spent a good chunk of the walk covered up, but she seemed fine with it...it was morning nap time anyhow.

Mom volunteered, and we ran into her along the route where she was directing racers/walkers. Only she could get away with that rain bonnet!

My sister, who is a tad more dedicated a runner than I, actually competed. While she just missed a repeat performance of last year, when she came in first in her age group (this year she came in second!), she did win an award for most money raised by an individual at more than $1,000. Now that's impressive (on both accounts).

Mother's Day #1

Well, my first Mother's Day has come and gone. And it was a delight. I got breakfast in bed and gifts from Charlotte and Matt (framed photos from Charlotte, diamond earrings from Matt!!). Could a girl be any more spoiled? And then we spent the afternoon having a lovely meal with my family (mom, dad, sister, and her boyfriend, Dave). Drank a bit more wine on a Sunday afternoon than any of us intended (there was, indeed, a run to the liquor store to get more!), but hey, it was a lovely spring day with lots to be celebrate. I can't even believe how blessed I am to be a mother to this most amazing child. I am truly thankful every day. I am also incredibly grateful for my own mother, not only for bringing me into this world and raising me to be the woman I am today, but also for her unending love for Charlotte and willingness to help out with her whenever we need it. We couldn't do it without her. Thanks, Mom!

Moving Right Along...

So, yes, in my last post, I made all these promises about my renewed dedication to blogging. And then I disappeared for nearly a month. What can I say, life is crazy. I came down with bronchitis and pneumonia, Charlotte got sick (though just a cold, thank goodness), Matt had knee surgery, I moved to a different office building (which has added another 10 minutes to my commute), and the list goes on. This is not to suggest these past few weeks have been awful, though. It's just my meager attempt at explaining my absence. There have actually been some great things that have happened in the past weeks, as well.

We've learned to sit up on our own and sprouted two teeth!

We've firmly taken on solids.

We've walked in a March of Dimes charity walk in support of our dear friend Harrison (and raised $695 doing so thanks to the generous donations of friends and family)
We've cheered on Auntie Kelly at one of her races

We've gone on walks with Daddy and enjoyed the (somewhat) improving weather.


We've hung out with friends.

And, yes, we've gotten a little chunkier. We are weighing in at 16 lbs 3 oz as of last week.

Life is good.

Remember Me?

Hello friends! This morning, as I was examining my precious daughter's gums for further signs of the tooth that has begun to erupt, I started thinking that it's really a shame that I've been so lazy about blogging since she came along (and, as such, about chronicling her life). It actually isn't the first time I've thought about this, and while there have been many milestones over the past six months, something about the first tooth made me realize that this whole journey is flying by and that I'll be really sad with myself down the road if I don't document this stuff better. So, here I am solemnly pledging to be a better blogger! I am currently trying to decide if I want to send this particular blog to the blogger graveyard and start a new one that's more "family directed", but in the meantime, I'll be posting here.

So, yes, Ms. Charlotte is nearly six months old. More like five and half. She's teething. And experimenting with solids. And nearly sitting on her own. And she's a whopping 15+ pounds! There have been many adventures (as well as misadventures!!) in the past six months, and it's been an amazing ride. Matt and I feel truly blessed to have such an amazing person in our lives. And the fun's only just begun! Over the coming weeks, I'll post about happenings both past and present, but for the meantime, I'll post a few of her more recent photos.