And by you I mean Mike.
Matt was so geeked that this came out so I thought I'd add it to the blog. I think Matt loves this camera more than I do!
So most of you know that Jessica and her girls came to visit us a few weeks ago. The girls wanted to go to the American Girl store that is in the city for their birthday and Alice and I were more than happy to go along with them. Unfortunately the day we went was by far one of the coldest days we've had all winter (and the weather has just gone downhill since - did I mention I'm ready for spring??) and "the city of wind" also lived up to it's name. We took the train in and so we didn't risk arriving late we had to arrive in the city an hour early - not the best idea we ever had since the store wasn't open yet. Thankfully our cabby had the idea to go into the hotel across the street from the store and see if they would mind us camping out in their lounge while we waited. Thank the Lord they were happy to let us stick around!
The store was interesting to say the least - I know I would have loved to go there when I was younger and obsessed with my Kirsten doll. It was so neat to see them all decked out in the same clothes I dreamed of being able to afford for my doll when I was a kid. They have about five times as many dolls now as they did then though so we were certainly in doll heaven. I very much wanted to get one for Alice, but Matt and I decided that she'd get better use out of one when she's older. And for what they cost she'd take care of them better then too.
The one thing I was not impressed with, however, was the store lay out. They had such a small coat check area and it was right next to the escalators. That leaves you with an itty bitty space to put stand in line and put your coat back on. I was less than thrilled with the other customers too. It seemed like 99% of people left their manners at home - quite a few adults even let Lily hold the door for them while we were leaving. Jess and Kate were already at the cab and Lily and I were left holding the door for strangers. Needless to say I mumbled something under my breath and pushed through with her. Overall it was a very good day though.
The next day we went to the Dupage Children's Museum in Naperville. I hadn't been to a place like that since I was a little kid visiting Grandma and Grandpa Rice in Memphis. It was a very interesting place with tons of incredibly interesting toys and whatnot. By far Alice's favorite thing was the gigantic Light-Bright. It's basically a large pegboard in a frame with a piece of plexi on one end and black lights all around the inside of the frame (the general area of the place was also lit in black lights). Then they had several colored plastic pegs that appeared to glow when under black lights. SO FREAKING COOL! I had to pull Alice away from it several times to her dismay. In the gift shop I finally found a classic toy baby bottle with magic milk in it for Alice. I've looked everywhere and all I've been able to find requires batteries (seriously)!!! I wasn't sure if Alice would understand it yet, but it's quickly become one of her favorite toys.
All in all it was a wonderful visit! I know Alice misses the girls. Whenever I say "Lily" (Alice was very fond of her and she still says her name every now and again) she immediately goes for the door. Come and visit again soon!!!
I don't have many pics from the American Girls store, so Jess if you've got some post to your blog!! :)
The extended family is still sick, so that meant spending Sunday indoors with the fam. We did brave the sub-zero temps to hit the camera and book store, only to find out that Wolf Camera sucks and Borders didn't have the book I wanted. So we had to resort to playing with the baby and the camera for entertainment. Oh what ever will we do.
I adore spending so much time indoors with my baby, but I'm INCREDIBLY sick of winter. Spring can't get here soon enough!
Matt's getting good use out of his sick days. As of tomorrow he'll have used three in two weeks - that's three more than he used last year! He got in to see the doctor today and turns out he's got strep throat and isn't allowed to go back to work until Monday. Let's hope he keeps his germs to himself.
The freaking coolest camera I've ever owned, that's what!!! So Mr. UPS man came today and dropped off the most spectacular package I've ever received - my order from B&H! So I went a little overkill and got a better camera then I was originally going to get, but I didn't go over my budget, does that count? :) Anyway, I haven't had that much time to fiddle with it since it was nearly impossible to read the manual and play while Alice was awake. Plus by the time I got it the good light of the day was nearly gone. Here are my first shots with my beast of a camera! They're not the best, but hey it's pretty damn good for being in full auto mode. 
ANYWAY...we had the most overly hyped up winter storm come through here today. We were supposed to get 10 inches by morning, then it was 10 inches by 6pm tonight. Well we ended up with a lot of slush and about 4 inches of snow on top of that. It was supposed to be the worst storm we've had all winter (we've had far too many for my taste) and it turned out nothing like they had anticipated.
On another note, we took Alice to the doctor today just to make sure she didn't have fluid in her lungs. The doc said she was on the mend and said to keep up with the vaporizer. He also mentioned that she'll sound worse than she really is b/c her nasal passages are much smaller than ours so that's good to hear. Her first sick visit and she wasn't even sick enough for meds! :) I'm glad we went though b/c I'd rather be safe than sorry, especially since my MIL's turned to pneumonia.
Matt seemed to dodge the bug for the most part, at least he didn't get it nearly as bad or for as long as I did. Then he came home from work tonight and looked like the walking dead. I knew he had a fever when he couldn't get warm with sweats, four heavy blankets, and a heating pad. Sure enough it was 102.5*F. I'm betting he'll be home with us tomorrow, and if that's the case he's going to the doctor. Let's hope he gets over this soon!!
What do you get when you combine a vaporizer and curly hair? BABY-FRO! The whole family has been sick including Alice so yesterday I decided to put her vaporizer on while she napped. When she woke up she had twice the amount of curls she had when she went to sleep. I can only imagine what it will be like on humid summer days.
FYI - Alice has a doc appointment for the cold. We're trying to be cautious so that it won't turn into the pneumonia that my MIL has. Also, the man in brown (UPS) should be here tomorrow with my loot! I'm so excited!!
After seeing the fam for Thanksgiving, GG decided that Alice needed a popcorn popper to help her get the confidence to walk. She didn't get the hang of it until after she took her first steps, but we just had to tape her so GG could see her gift in action. Thanks GG!!
Early January 2008
On a side note - I just spent far too much $$$ on a camera and accessories today. I'm sure I'll be posting more often as soon as it arrives! By the way, thanks to those of you who gave me $$$ for xmas or my bday this year and last. You and Uncle Sam helped make my purchase possible so thanks a bunch!
