Home Sweet Home

This was the view from my in-law's sun-room early yesterday as I sipped my coffee & enjoyed my last true morning in the wintry wonderland of Illinois.

Today was an early morning with having to catch our 7:30am flight back to Tampa. Thankfully we had a wonderful flight home & Cam was an angel again & even slept on my lap for about 45 minutes. Cam NEVER naps on me & when I say never, I think the last time he did was when he was a newborn. So, needless to say, it was a treat to snuggle with my love & smell his yummy baby smell.

With my obsessive-compulsive ways, I thoroughly cleaned the house & did all the laundry before we left 11 days ago, so we arrived to our spic & span home. And now as Cam naps in his own crib, I lounge on the couch in the comfort of my own home & feel happy to be here. We had an AWESOME time in Illinois as always & it was so great to catch up with friends & family, but there's no place like home! I look forward to being home with my hubby & my baby for the next four days before starting back at the usual insane pace of work & daycare.

What A View!

We had a wonderful time enjoying the views of Chicago from the top of the Sears Tower Skydeck on Monday. Some may be intimidated by the idea of hanging out 103 stories up in a small, glass cube, but I thought it was quite awesome!

Catching Up

The beauty of having old friends (not as in age, but as in the many years we've shared a bond!), is there could be a large span of time in between seeing each other, but when we reunite, it's like no time passed at all.

Saturday we headed out to the stomping grounds we lived when we were married until we moved to Florida. We spent the afternoon at Mike & Jaysa's & were able to see Jaysa in her glowy pregnant state before Ben arrives in early February. We also got to see Lesli & Mark & the thirteen month old version of Adelaide since we hadn't seen her since she was four months old.

It was a great day of chatting, eating, relaxing & just catching up with some old friends.



The girls!



The soon-to-be Mommy & Daddy (Ben's still cooking in the belly!)



What a good looking family!

White Christmas

Christmas morning, I was very bummed to see that it had rained overnight & all the snow had melted. It wasn't to be a white Christmas after all.



But then come nighttime, what to my wondering eyes would appear, but large snowflakes fluttering about!



And it was a white Christmas after all; a Christmas miracle! Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!!

Hoping everyone is having a wonderful Christmas with lots of laughs & hearts full of love & happiness!

The Weather Outside is Dee-light-ful!

Snow Day

Baking Holiday Cookies

Fancy Cocktails

We wanted to scope out the new Trump Hotel while we were in the city so we stopped by Rebar for a fancy-smanchy cocktail while overlooking the Chicago River. It was an awesome way to ring in the evening!







It takes a confident man to sip a martini that's this pink! You'd think this drink would be sweet based off its look, but it was actually very smooth & almost cucumber-y.



This drink here was called The Scrooge & was made with jalapeno-infused vodka & ginger; very spicy!



And this was the martini I ordered; very fitting for the season with peppermint creaminess! It was such a pretty drink with the contrast of the white with the bold, blue sugared rim.

A Day In The City!

Yesterday morning we hopped on the train & headed to the city for a little getaway while Cam stayed home with Grammy. We had a blast walking around, sightseeing & enjoying the cold weather that put us in the perfect Christmas spirit!



This is my absolute favorite part of the city! Fills my heart with happiness!







Absolutely adore the quaint Christkindlmarket in Daley Plaza where we chowed down on some potato pancakes, brat with sauerkraut & curry sausage which I'd never tried before. We also warmed up with hot spiced wine.



The pigeons had the right idea with staying warm by the Eternal Flame in the Daley Plaza!

Sharing a Candy Cane!

Flying With My Love

I must admit that I was a tad nervous about flying with Cam for the first time. I was hoping he'd be cooperative on the flight and he ended up being an absolute angel.

We had such a nice time playing at the airport & enjoying breakfast before boarding our flight. Cam watched a couple of Baby Einsteins on the portable DVD player, ate a TON of snacks (he polished off an entire container of puffies!!) & played with some toys.

Grammy & Papa were waiting at the airport with open arms for their little boy! Looking forward to having a wonderful vacation with some time to relax and do NOTHING for a change. As I sit by the window typing this, I'm enjoying the sight of flurries in the air & a soft layer of snow on the ground.

Here's to the start of our Christmas vacation! Horray!

Brotherly/Sisterly Love

Stella is always trying to sidle up to Casper to get some of the kitty lickings she lives for. It's so funny to watch her prance up to him & bow her head in hopes that he'll give her a nice bath. We usually joke by saying, "how many licks till he gets to the bite?" since Casper will usually commence his licking sessions with some playful nips.





And her wish was granted Monday evening as Casper licked away! We have such odd pets!