Looking Forward to Seeing My Family

I was going through some files and found this photo of Lexi that my sister sent (or was it Tom's sister?) It is a few months old...Lexi is much bigger now with long hair in pigtails, crawling and standing. This will always probably be one of my favorite photos though. I LOVE it. She is so adorable. I like that is taken from an aerial view of such a sweet moment where she is just hanging out with her big bro and daddy. ;-) Only a few more days until I get to see them! Rachel said Logan keeps saying "Uncle Dan and Aunt Eeah!" (He isn't using L's yet...LOL. I don't care. He can call me whatever he wants!) I just can't wait to hug these little munchkins....

Alexis' Six Month Photos!

My sister just uploaded these to Facebook and I had to steal them and share them here. :) I got her that little outfit for Christmas, thinking ahead to Spring. The matching shoes are the best. I can't believe she is already six months old! Time is going so fast! And she will be 1 year old just a few weeks before Blasty is born! :)

the nef and lil sis glam up for christmas:

logan and lexi:

the nef has a lil' sis!!!

*~* alexis allyn mccaw *~*

born the 2nd of august 2010

6 lbs 13 oz and 19 inches

lil sis munchkin looks just like rach when she was born, with the trademark black hair! :) more photos to come...i'm anxiously waiting...

Logan's Birthday Party

Happy Happy Birthday

Update: The report from Washington said that our video was a success...We achieved our goal of making Logan dance!

Logan's 1 Year Pictures!

He'll be 1 year old March 21st! Where does the time go?

Today at the Coast

Proud Uncle Dan

Look Who I Woke Up To...

That's right, folks. And I'm not in Illinois. Logan's gone west coast! Let me tell you all about this wonderful surprise...

Yesterday morning, Dan left for fishing while I settled on the couch to watch my Tudors marathon; I'm addicted. Dan phoned around 1:30, about two hours earlier than I usually expect him back. He said he didn't catch anything and asked if I wanted him to bring me a mocha. That's it. Nothing really out of the ordinary. I was excited he was home early and thrilled to have a mocha on the way. I kept watching my show.

About a half hour later, my cell beeped and I paused my show to go grab it and see who texted. It was from Rachel, and when I opened the file it was a video. I pushed play and watched Logan sitting on the back of a blue Prius. Did they get a Prius?! Then, Rachel's voice: Hi Aunt Leah...Come downstairs and see me! I shrieked and leapt from the couch with Rocco flying from my lap, then jumped over Hobbes, threw my boots on, whipped the door open, and burst into tears when I saw Rach, Tom, and Logan standing outside with Dan.

They'll be here for a week, so you can expect to see a lot of photos! ;-) Happy Monday!

Highlights from Trip to Illinois

Some of my favorite moments from the trip:

• Flying in over Illinois covered in a blanket of snow
  
• Surprising Hattie at her apartment. She thought I was in Oregon, but no! I was at her door.
  
• Joining Hattie at work the next day and seeing her interact with her students at New Millennium School of Health/Bowen High School. She is a phenomenal teacher and I am so happy now that I can picture her at work while I'm so far away.
• Dinner/drinks with Jim, Kate, John, Hattie, Andrea, Corey, Chris, and Linda. Very cool bar--check it out Chicagoans if you're in Andersonville: T's Bar & Restaurant. Shows all Cubs games in the summer. Ladies pick up ladies if you like.
• That "California" grilled panini - grilled zucchini, artichoke hearts, roasted tomatoes, pesto, fresh spinach and provolone (! yum) from the Corner Bakery
  
• Riding the Metra, reading and listening to music
• Jim & I on a wild goose chase to find my dad in the Joliet mall
• Hugging Char at JC Penny
• Riding in the car with my dad down I55
• Totally SHOCKING the PANTS off my sister and mom! Rachel burst into tears, my mom started crying after about 10 minutes of shock, and then they both started calling friends to tell them. ;-)
• Surprising Megan by showing up at HER door. (I was getting really good at this surprising thing)
• Spending time at my Aunt Connie's and Aunt Joan's
• Sleeping
• In Good Taste deliveries with Harrison and Megan
• Joining the Brents for Harrison's 6th birthday celebration
• Watching the Bears win at Keps with Hattie & Ally, and good ol' times with Hattie and her family--including Steve's bottle of 1998 wine from France. Wow!
  
• Guys trying to pick me us up at Keps and Gracies (I don't think I have ever been approached in a bar and been hit on. My ego swelled.)
• Christmas Eve with the family
• Brunch with Jim, Char, mom, and dad on Christmas day
  
• PLAYING WITH THE NEF
• Christmas evening, coming home to hubby waiting at the airport with red tulips
  

The Nef Meets Santa

Project #4: Growth Chart Keepsake

I wish I could claim creative credit for this heirloom growth chart, but I got the idea from fabulous Miss Natalie. I used the same concept but made it a little Christmas-y with red and white polka dot lining and a green label on top with Logan's name. Every Christmas Eve, Logan will get to measure his height on the hanging burlap strip and record it on a pinned tag. Everything easily folds up, stored in the box until the next year. The trickiest part was finding the right wide burlap strip (ultimately found at Walmart) and hot-gluing the yarn. (Thanks, hubby!) A little birdie told me that my sister is making a blog, so hopefully she will share photos of Logan's first measurement!!

Remember the NEF?

I just got a new photo!
He's growing as fast as a Thunbergia battiscombei!

(How do you like that, hubby?)

[Logan & Porter, his first cousin once removed (wow!) at the Hodel Thanksgiving.]

I love that face, that hair, and those chubby legs! I miss him...!
See other recent photos here.

Missing Lo & Grandpa...

The NEF Rolls!

I'm a Sucka

...for sidewalk sales, cashmere, and small things. The result? I now have in my possession an adorable little hoody by Lucky Jade.

It's a 6-12 months size, so I'm hoping my sister will like it and little Logan can wear it this fall. If she doesn't want Logan wearing a cashmere sweater with pink owls....Then it'll just have to go in the stockpile!

The Nef Returns!

And he has been a busy bee...Swimming, mowing with grandpa, laughing and playing...He just keeps getting cuter and cuter, too.

Logan's Birth Announcement

I was more than happy to design the Nef's birth announcement for Tom and Rachel, and lucky for me, I had this RIDICULOUSLY CUTE photo to work with! We had family photos taken while Dan and I were in Illinois, and little Logan posed up a storm. He was a total professional. We have more photos of him and I'll try to get those uploaded soon. In the meantime, you can click on his picture in the sidebar to go to our flickr account and see the Illinois trip photos.