Look who is 10 months old!

Delilah is 10 months old today!

For as long as I carried her in my belly, she has now been a part of our world! 40 weeks! I felt like I was pregnant forever. Maybe because she took so long to conceive, maybe because I didn't feel great most days or maybe because she is our 1st and I have been waiting for her for as long as I can remember. 

She is full of giggles. Hours and hours of giggles. This girl knows how to have a good time and she now wants/needs constant entertainment. She gets a little nervous at first in front of a crowd and may even show you her bottom lip, but give her a few minutes and she really turns it on. 

She is still crawling at a high rate of speed and practicing her walking skills. She walks all around the furniture and wants to climb everything. When she holds our hands to walk, she takes off running. We have been busy rearranging furniture and opening up as many spaces as we can. 

Her hair is looking more golden to me with a tint of auburn. The blue in her eyes is fading away and green seems to be her dominant eye color. She is still not as tall as everyone thought she would be. She stays around the 50% range with each visit. The pediatrician is still expecting her to have a big leap in the charts every time he looks up at Patrick. She is 18lbs and right around the 20% range which is a increase from 10% at 6 months. 

She still has an issue with dairy and oats and has to go see the allergist. She has 3 teeth which have disrupted her fantastic sleep pattern. We have been trying to get her back on track and I'm sure once she starts sleeping though the night again more teeth will be on the way to disrupt her again. 

Everyday is so much fun with this little one. She has grown and changed so much over the months I can only imagine what 1 year will bring. I'm sad to see my little baby turn into a toddler, but I'm also excited for all that her toddler years will bring. 

9 Months & Fabulous!

Delilah May is 9 months old!

This past month has been full of so much growth and development. 

Delilah has been crawling for some time now, but she has mastered her crawling skills now and is really, really fast. Chasing after her is a real workout. She pulls herself up to stand on anything that she can get her hands on. She can stand up on her own without assistance or something to hold on to and she makes it about 1 or two steps until she falls on her tush. She is fearless and my guess is that she will be walking on her own very soon. 

She still snuggles, but only when she is sleepy and ready for a nap or bedtime at night. I miss our days that were full of snuggle time. Her baby days are turning into toddler days much too fast. We have been so lucky and spoiled to have a baby who has slept through the night from very early on. This past month however we have not been so lucky. We have been waiting and waiting for her teeth and they have finally started to arrive and they are making a loud entrance. 

On September 28th after a long couple of nights, Delilah's first tooth broke though her gums. Her first tooth was a top tooth. It is all the way through the gum and drops down a little each day. A few days later her second tooth arrived this time a bottom tooth right below her new top tooth. Her second tooth is all the way out of the gum and working its way up a little bit each day. Number three and four are on their way out. Delilah is trying to figure out what these new things are in her mouth. She now sucks her thumb on the side of her mouth away from her teeth. She has also figured out how to bite things with her new extremely sharp teeth. The other night she latched onto my nose and it was not fun for me. It was like being attached by a wild animal. She was hanging from my hair, biting down on my nose and kneeing me in the face. Patrick & Delilah thought it was hilarious! Momma took a time out after the abuse. Who knew a 9 month old could beat you up. 

She still has an allergy/sensitivity to oatmeal. By now she should have outgrown an oat protein intolerance so I tried to re-introduce oatmeal into her diet. Same reaction as always, and it isn't pretty. She breaks out in a rash all over her chest of tiny little bumps like prickly heat. The bumps are raised and they get real raw and itchy and they stick around for weeks. Along with the lovely rash, oats give her awful tummy and digestive issues. With an oat allergy/sensitivity we have to really take a good look at all of the ingredients in her foods and body products. 

Patrick has been making Delilah's baby food every night. He is having so much fun coming up with new recipes for her and his meals are delicious. I feed her while he cooks our dinner, yes he does 99% of the cooking in our house, I'm super spoiled. While she eats after every bite she says "momma, yum yum!" It's adorable! Patrick tries to explain to her that he made that delicious meal for her and she just keeps going with "momma, yum yum!" I love it! He might stop cooking for both of us soon. 

On Monday she has her 9 month check up and I am looking forward to seeing our pediatrician, I love him. He is wonderful with us and the baby. I'm interested to see what he has to say about the oat intolerance and I'm excited to see how much she has grown since her 6 month check up. I am not however looking forward to her shots. Now that she is older and more aware I have a feeling it will be much more traumatic for her and me.

 I can not believe that we are so close to her 1st birthday. Trying to plan a 1st birthday party during the holiday season will be a bit of a challenge. Our family is full of holiday birthdays so this isn't anything new for us. I have visions of a winter wonderland party and I hope that we can pull it off. I better get to planning! 

My encounter with Ben Harper

  

                                NATE AZARK, GRAPHIC DESIGNER & PHOTOGRAPHER

Every year when Ben Harper comes to town, I claim that day as my religious holiday. Ben Harper's music is a spiritual experience for me. Being in his presence and experiencing his music live cleanses my soul and renews my spirit. 

When I went through the most challenging times in my life, his music got me through it and comforted me. It gave me hope that all things would be ok. 

In perfect harmony, in some of the best times of my life his music was there to celebrate and keep my spirit lifted. 

Many of his songs hold a very special place in my heart where I hold a memory from my life experiences be it good or bad. The emotion that he puts into every word that comes out of his mouth can only come from a man who has lived a life of love and pain. A man with the heart, soul and courage to feel real emotion and express it. 

I do believe that most things in life happen for a reason and that you can to a certain degree manifest your own destiny. I also believe that there are some things that are just completely out of our control. 

A few years back I was challenged with some of the most painful months of my life. Too many things were all happening at once. The worst of them was my fathers cancer diagnosis. 

I was on a flight back from Charleston, SC after visiting my dad. I was full of emotion and the entire flight home I listened to my Ben Harper albums on my IPod. Zoning out into the clouds in the sky and letting my mind relax. When I arrived in Chicago and made my way to the baggage claim Ben Harper was standing there right in front of me. I was certain that I was definitely hallucinating. 

Once I realized that this was definitely reality, my heart started to race. He was standing there peaceful and all alone. I am not one to make a scene and I definitely did not want to bother him but if I did not say something to him then I was going to regret that for the rest of my life. 

As I walked closer to the baggage claim and closer to Ben Harper so many words rushed through my head. There is so much that I would like to express. I wanted to tell him how much his music has meant to me throughout the year. I wanted to thank him for sharing his talent with the world. I wanted him to know that the music he makes changes lives and makes the world a better place. 

My shyness was taking over, the words in my head were beginning to jumble and I was looking down at the floor. Then the most amazing thing happened. Ben Harper grabbed his phone from his pocket and when he looked down towards the ground he noticed my foot, yes my foot. He looked at me and he said "nice ink".  I know that I thanked him and that I talked really fast most likely telling him all about my tattoo. Then a bunch of words came flying out of my mouth and I'm not really sure how they all came out. I tried to tell him all the things that were running through my head. It must have all come out ok because the conversation ended with a great hug. He was wearing the softest baby blue hoodie and he smelt so fresh and clean like freshly folded laundry. 

Ironically, that night he was in town to play a show at The Park West. The Park West is a music venue that my father opened, owned and operated in the 70's. I knew after my meeting with Ben Harper that everything was going to be ok with my father. Today my father is happy, healthy and living cancer free. 

I have waited a long time for this: PRINCE!

I was driving home from the chiropractor a few weeks ago when this announcement came on the radio, PRINCE LIVE IN CHICAGO! What? How did I not know about this? The show was going to be in just a few weeks on September, 24th, which happens to be our wedding anniversary.

 Prince had booked a last minuet show and I was not going to miss it. Even though I was 5 minuets from home, I called my husband immediately. I was so excited. I told him all about it in my overly excited high pitched 13 year old girl voice and his response was not at all what I was hoping for. He was not excited at all. We already had big plans for our anniversary which included a Ben Harper concert on the 27th. He did however give me his blessing to go to the concert on our anniversary without him. Next phone call, Melissa. We have had many great nights out that included the music of prince. Melissa is always up for a fun night out and her response was exactly what I was hoping for.

 Now I just had to figure out the best way to get tickets. We were going to be in California the day that tickets went on sale which wouldn't have been that big of a deal except that they went on sale right as we had to head to the airport for our return flight. The show was at the United Center and I was not going to settle for tickets in the 300 section like I did for The Rolling Stones years ago. I was able to go on-line and try and get tickets the minuet that they went on sale and of course all that I could get was the 300 section. I passed on those tickets in hopes that I could find better on StubHub. Prince added two more shows. This was great for me because now I could go on another night other than my anniversary, and StubHub now had over 1,000 tickets. I found great tickets. They were the 1st row on the club level which was perfect for two girls with claustrophobia. I will be buying all of my future even tickets on StubHub, they are fantastic.

The day was finally here and I was so excited! This was the last show of his 3 nights in Chicago and I had all of his songs running through my head. I read mixed reviews about the first night, but I knew that I would love every minuet of his performance and I did. His 15 minuet version of Purple Rain rocked my world. White drapes and purple glitter/confetti dropped from the ceiling. This was how he closed the show, before one of two amazing encores.

After only a short pause, Prince returned to the stage and took a seat at the piano. The lights stayed very dark, and it was just Prince, his incredible voice and the piano. This man can sing. His voice sounds even better live. Encore #1 was something so special. You felt like you were in a small room with Prince serenading you. 

When he left the stage after his first encore you just knew that he would return again. The lights came on, the crowd started to thin and then a loud roar came from the fans on the floor. Prince was riding in on a glowing bicycle. He jumped back on stage, his entire band, back up singers, special guests and dancer joined him. They pulled up the crowd from the floor onto the stage and had a huge dance party celebration to end the night. Prince danced with the crowd and then rocked my world once again as he jumped onto the piano and danced on top of the piano as he continued to sing. The ending of the show was perfect. It left you with a happy heart and hope for a better future for our children. Prince's collaborated with a wonderful organization for this tour called Rebuild the Dream. Rebuild the Dream, in short, is working to rebuild our communities and make the world a better place. If you are interested, you can find out more about Rebuild the Dream here: http://www.rebuildthedream.com/blog/2012/09/18/why-prince-is-partnering-with-rebuild/

I hope that Prince doesn't wait another 6 years before he returns to Chicago. Next time he goes on tour, even if it is not local, I will be there. I am hoping for a large production in Vegas someday. If you ever have the opportunity to see Prince live, I highly recommend it.

Our 2nd Anniversary

Today is our 2nd Anniversary

On this day 2 years ago, we became husband & wife. Just like today, it was a beautiful fall day. So much has changed over the last 2 years with the addition of our sweet baby girl Delilah that it feels like we have been married much longer. 

On Saturday we got all dressed up and had a wonderful night out downtown. It was our first late night out without Delilah. It was very nice to have a date night out, but of course we talked about Delilah all night and we couldn't keep our hands off her when we got home. 

Since our actual anniversary fell on a Monday, we didn't plan for much today. My mom has been in town since Thursday and I had a lovely morning with her and Delilah before she got on the road to head back down south. To my surprise, Patrick got home from work extra early. We ended up having the perfect day today.

I was showered with a huge bouquet of beautiful fall festive flowers, a very sweet card and a spa day gift. A few months ago Patrick purchased Ben Harper tickets as an anniversary gift for us. The concert is this coming Thursday, so the anniversary celebrations will continue throughout the week. I like to stretch all celebrations out to a full week rather than just 1 day. 

We headed out to Naperville, had a lovely stroll along the river walk, checked out neighborhoods on our hunt for our new home, stopped into whole foods and came home and Patrick prepared a fantastic anniversary dinner. It was a sweet, simple, peaceful loving day.

I am very much looking forward to our next year of marriage and hoping that we have another blessed year.

September 24, 2010

Delilah: 8 months old!

Our sweet little baby girl is 8 months old and she has grown immensely over the past month. Trying to take her monthly photos has become more challenging the older and more active she becomes. She is constantly on the move and unless she is sleeping, in the car or on a stroll, she has no interest in sitting still. Delilah is crawling forward and backward, rolling all over, pulling herself up to stand and walking while assisted by an object or person. She does pull-ups on the bars of her crib and I'm seriously considering a toddler bed for her very near future. She practices all of her gymnastic moves and stunts in her crib which makes me very nervous. She is a fearless daredevil. 

She babbles, sings, dances, claps and waves. She has the sweetest giggle and loudest girly squeal. She is wild about the puppy and always trying to snuggle with her. Ellie-mae is still not to sure about the baby, but she is very protective of the baby. She loves her fruits and veggies and has yet to turn down a meal or anything new. She recently started picking up yogurt melts on her own and is still figuring them out as they dissolve in her mouth. I was terrified and certain that she was going to choke on the first one. She is becoming more and more independent and growing up way too fast. 

We are still waiting for Delilah to cut her first tooth. Her gums look ready and she certainly drools a lot. She chews on everything including my fingers and her bite is super strong. She moans in her sleep and even wakes up now in the middle of the night and seems to be in discomfort. Thankfully she is very easy to soothe back to sleep. Although some nights she decides to put on a show and giggle and babble for an hour. I cant help but find it adorable, even at 3am. She is a sweet baby girl full of so much love. XO

Dance Party in the SKY!

Delilah took her 1st flight and she was a dream baby to fly with. On our flight to LA she slept in my arms most of the flight.

On our flight home once again Delilah took a nice long nap. 

This time in Patrick's arms.

Everyone loves a sleeping baby on a flight right? Well when Delilah woke up from her nap she decided to become the in flight entertainment and our fellow passengers loved her performance. 

Let the dance party begin!