aches, fever, chills oh mi

the flu right?

everyone has it?

first comes the headache, then the whole body aches, you get the chills, run a fever, start shaking...run to the bathroom to take a 800mg ibuprofen prescribed after delivery...wait for it to kick in as you continue to shake...sweat...and start over again

my sister and I had identical symptoms and she HAD the flu just this past weekend

BUT

she isnt breast feeding a 7 1/2 week old

she doesnt have a big red blotchy spot above her left breast

she didnt have a sore left breast

she didnt have MASTITIS 

i conquered one of my mommy breastfeeding biggest fears.

i got mastitis

you know the good ole BREAST INFECTION

i admit. im lucky. i got the "easier" version of mastitis compared to most of my girlfriends.

no real pain, just feels sore and bruised and of course the aforementioned flu like symptoms above that can be managed as long as ibuprofen is taken regularly.

two doses of antibiotics in me and already life is good.

thank god im not contagious and thank god it doesn't hurt to nurse

happy friday! 

oh and my sweet little asher slept 8 HOURS STRAIGHT LAST NIGHT!

by hour 7 i went in to make sure he was still breathing despite watching him on the video monitor. holy moly child, i love you. im wired i got so much sleep!

product review

***these are all my/our personal opinions and do not reflect that of anyone else***

im the type of person that will tell everyone and anyone about something if i like it or believe in it. it must be the salesperson in me

dont run into me at trader joe's or any supermarket for that matter...ive been known to stop people and go on and on about something that taste's sooooo good. go figure, me and food always.

so i finally decided its time to review some products that i am quite pleased with and in some cases NOT so pleased with

i will start off with two and add more over the course of my weeks/months/years as a mother

if you want me to review something specific let me know and if i own it i will tell you my thoughts

if i dont own it ill tell you why and my thoughts

one area we splurged on and many people do now that the technology is available is a:

video baby monitor

Summer Infant Best View Handheld Color Video Monitor with 2.5" Screen

its pricey i confess, we used gift cards, waited for a big sale and the registry completion coupon

it was worth every penny we paid for it and you can find it on amazon for less than $150 right now

i honestly DO NOT know how people can and did live without one (well I can, but now that its available its worth your sanity...or mine at least)

we love it

ours can pan and zoom the room

it has night vision and color day vision

you can add additional cameras

its digital so no creeps can tap into the feed or the audio

it doesn't conflict with Internet and phone

it holds charge fairly long, but we keep it plugged in when we are not using it

we can watch each other feed the baby, change the baby's diaper and/or watch the baby sleep and wiggle and turn counter clockwise in his crib (yes he only moves counter clockwise for some reason)

the screen is fairly bright so we leave it off at night unless he is stirring and then we turn it on to see what is going on

his room is fairly far from ours so this saves us lots of time and energy in the middle of the night and during the day

i love you video monitor.

nail clippers

safety first baby sleep nail clippers

our baby is a wiggle worm and its typically easiest to clip his nails while he is nursing or sleeping

the safety first nail clippers with the light are perfect for our night time feedings

not only is the room dim but the light on the clipper helps you see their tiny little nails

there is also a guard so that you dont clip their skin

totally worth the price for the little light

nail clippers are a must around our house

asher loves to scratch and grab philip's chest hair

asher loves to grab and scratch my nipples

both hurt A LOT

this lovely invention and a trusty emery board make our lives a tiny bit more less painful

upcoming reviews:

stroller travel system - Chicco Cortina KeyFit30 

Huggies Pure & Natural Diapers vs any other natural organic biodegradable diaper

boppy vs my breast friend

Vicks Flexible Comfort thermometer

pacifier's

sling vs the ergo

I'm cute

Overdue photo post. 

All from this past weekend/week.

This kid is pretty darn cute and he smiles constantly now

We can't get enough of him.

There is something about those lips!

I love to smile and am learning to laugh

I cant help being cute!

You know you want to hold me in your arms

I love to stick out my tongue

especially in the bath tub...to catch the water droplets

I absolutely LOVE my spa bath. It is one of my favorite things to do!

Daddy loves to spray the water all over my head

My first Bumbo experience with Nana!

Date night!

Philip and I are going to try to do date night fairly often. It is important to us to keep our marriage strong and spending quality time together is one way we like to do that!

We have no excuse...with both sets of parents dying to watch him.

But before we get to date night I must highlight my gem of a husband. 

As you have read things have been a little bit of a roller coaster for me with my "anxiety".

Philip knows exactly how to handle every situation with the right words or gestures just enough to set me at ease. One of the many reasons I married this wonderful man. 

Friday I decided to take some ME time and dropped Asher off at Softa's house. I went and got a manicure pedicure with a gift certificate from Softa for my birthday 4 months ago. It was great to have a little ME time. As I was sitting there I saw Philip walk in the door of the nail salon. I thought to myself..."what a wonderful surprise!" He wasnt the only surprise! He brought me a single red rose to brighten my day and to tell me he loved me. I was the luckiest girl in the world at that very moment. I sure do love him!

...so back to date night...

The date was on the calendar back in the 2nd trimester. 

Joe Firstman (Fuerstman is how he really spells it, but Firstmas is his stage name) was coming home from LA to perform at Neighborhood Theatre. Philip grew up with Joe. They used to run the streets together... no I am not lying when I say this. Despite his mother's wishes they would walk up and down the some of the not so safe streets in Charlotte together at a young age cutting up. 

Philip and Joe after the concert

Joe getting his groove on...

Everyone on stage. The mandolin player was a special guest just for the Charlotte show!

Joe has amazing talent. He has produced several albums, toured and most recently he was the house band on the Carson Daly show for the past several years. Every summer he makes a stop in Charlotte on his tour and we love hearing him and his band. 

So it was a date. Asher was 6 1/2 weeks old. I was dead set that I was going to put him down to sleep. It was 7:00 PM. He usually goes down between 9-10. He hadnt had a nap all day, partially our fault for planning a busy day, so I knew he would sleep and was ready for bed time at 7. Everything went smoothly and he went down perfectly. Nana and Poppy came over and watched movies while Asher slept and mommy and daddy had some big kid time. 

We didnt really eat dinner so we stopped at this cute coffee shop and we got a smoothie and a Frappucino. Then walked back across the street to go to the show. We sat in the front row at the concert....and I really enjoyed singing along. Im a huge fan. We bought his new CD...which is fabulous. The concert was over at 11:30... I was tired and engorged (yup... I said it!) BUT... we had heard about this 24/7 French Bakery called Amelie's that was only a mile away.

It's date night... so we found the bakery! It was 11:45 and the place was packed. They are open 24 hours, 7 days a week, 365 days a year! This place is amazing. The pastries and the desserts are to die for (wow, I sound like my grandfather). We brought my parents home an Eclair and a Chocolate croissant thanking them for watching Asher. We also bought a caramel brownie, Eclair, Blueberry Cream Cheese Muffin and Twice Baked Chocolate Croissant for ourselves. AMAZING. If you are in Charlotte. Find Amelies.... located off N. Davidson and Jordan. Worth every calorie or gram of fat... and available any time of day.

Asher was a peace. He slept the entire time. We went to bed at 12:30 and he woke up at 1:30. He slept 6 1/2 hours!!!!

Date night was a success and was much needed.

And of course I wouldnt be a good friend/wife if I didn't pitch Joe Firstman and his music. Go check it out. His style is folk rock and it always puts me in a good mood!

http://www.joefirstman.com
http://www.myspace.com/joefirstman
http://www.ilike.com/artist/Joe+Firstman

Sweat!

I have previously mentioned that I love to sweat...but hate sweating. 

I cant stand to be "sweaty" or "wet".

Somehow I gave birth to the world's sweatest child and I have a feeling he doesnt like it either!

Yeah this could be a real weird blog post...but I promise I wont go there with it.

Asher sweats like nothing I have ever seen on a baby. Oh and by the way, babies dont typically sweat. Granted I havent seen millions of babies, I am not a pediatrician (even he said they dont usually sweat) or expert but this is no joke. Almost EVERY time he gets into his car seat it looks like this within in minutes. 

And I blast the air conditioning! You pull him out he is drenched. Back of his neck soaked with sweat, clothes saturated. No fever... just hot and sweaty. He would prefer to be naked or only in a diaper at all times, but of course I bought all these cute clothes that he is already outgrowing that I want him to wear. The battle against the the sweat.  I've lowered our house temperature 4 degrees from what we used to keep it at for him... and he still tends to sweat while I freeze!

I cant wait to see what happens in the winter. Be on the look out for a baby wearing tshirts and shorts in December or shoot maybe even his bathing suit, that will be Asher...! Only our child!

He definitely got this from his father.

Cloth Diapers!

Everyone wished me luck or laughed when I mentioned I was going to use cloth diaper's.

I think cloth diaper's are one big misconception. Particularly those from the generations "before us". Everyone still thinks pins, cloth and a service.

I am not sure if it was the nayser's or the environmental/cost reasons why I pursued it so intensely, but I did.

I admit the first two weeks of Asher's life I was real nervous about transitioning to cloth because this boy HATES being wet or dirty. You instantly know his diaper is in need of a changing!

Initally he was too tiny for the 25 cloth diapers and 40+ inserts that I purchased.

Instead we used Huggies Pure and Natural for Newborns. I confess. 

I loved them. But they are so expensive. Although I have started collecting coupons because I am obsessed with them.

After his 4 week appointment I decided it was finally time. He was over 10 lbs. He was going through 14+ diapers a day and endless wipes (we use cloth wipes at home too!). The diapers were sitting there screaming "USE ME! USE ME!" Philip encouraged me...constantly asking when we were moving to cloth. After all, we invested some decent money in our cloth diaper stash.

The cloth wipe warmer.

You can even make special recipes for the wipes.

Right now we pour 2 cups water, 2 tbsp of Olive Oil, 2 tbsp of Earth's Best Body Wash.

It smells delicious!

We cant say enough great things about the cloth diapers. Even my initially anti-cloth mom uses them when I bring him over to her house. It is much easier than dealing with all of that trash, running back and forth to buy new diaper's and we never run out (that is unless I don't do laundry for several days!)

So far my favorites are the velcro style diaper's. 

They allow for more adjusting in the waist and they don't bunch like the diapers with snaps.

Our velcro diapers include Bum Genius One Size All in One 3.0, Happy Heiney's One Size and Dry Bees Pockets Small and Medium. 

Mommy's Favorite the Bum Genius 3.0.

They are the least bulky and the fit the best!

Happy Heiney's!

Softa found these cute diaper's at a boutique in Black Lion.

We have bears and monkeys and they fit fantastic!

Dry Bees Pocket Diaper

Mommy found these buy one get one free while she was pregnant and snagged four. We have two blue and two in black and white cow print. We love these and so does Asher as you can see below. They come in Small, Medium and Large. We have two smalls and two mediums. 

I have about 15  Fuzzi Bunz's which is what he is wearing below. They have snaps but at his size they just don't fit right in my opinion. I have several friends that use them and love them so I think eventually we will use them more often. I sure hope since we have the most of this diaper. You can tell Asher is just as thrilled as mommy :) 

The wonderful thing about cloth is that you can leave the exterior diaper on for more than one changing... just change out the insert (as long as the exterior isn't wet). Less laundry and less work! I dont stuff the inserts in the pockets. I just lay them against his skin. I got this tip from a cloth diaper junkie. 

Philip even loves it...although he is always at work when the poopy diaper's go down. He has yet to deal with that mess...but again its NOT BAD at all. 

AND

You don't have to do all this crazy washing etc people tell you about.

I do a rinse spin cycle and then a regular normal cycle...and everything dries quickly in the dryer. Right now I use Seventh Generation Baby detergent but have been told by other cloth mommy's that other brands work just as good that you can buy at Target and are safe for babies with sensitive skin. 

Half of our cloth diaper stash....but no inserts

So, don't be afraid. Give it a try. You can save a lot of money and help the environment!

And it's OK to use an occasional regular diaper! We keep a stash of Huggies Pure and Natural around the house in the right size. You never know when you will need one.

Oh and if your curious... we wont do overnight travel with Cloth unless we have easy access to a washer dryer. We do however use cloth when we leave the house. We use biodegradable trash bags that are powder scented to store the inserts or diapers until we can get home to wash them. 

And just for good measure...Me and My buddy Bella after a long day of changing in and out of cloth diapers so mommy could take photos of me! Look at that clef chin!

All the way from Texas

Great Uncle Bill...

Uncle Bill, Papu's Identical Twin came to visit us from Texas for 6 WHOLE DAYS this week. Softa was out of town for the week with her girlfriends so Uncle Bill came in to town to hang out with Papu! We enjoyed barbeque at Jim and Nick's, they ran lots of errands, played pickle ball at the JCC, played Golf and ate at the Big View Diner...

This was the first time he got to meet Asher! We missed Aunt Hilda but someone had to hold down the fort at home!

As always...Asher got passed around like a hot potato.

First Papu... (he had just woken up!)

Next up Nana and Poppy...

Then of course Mom & Dad...

Oh and by the way... he is wearing a 6 month outfit at 6 weeks and 1 day.

Yup. We have been busy doing laundry to catch up with his growth spurt!

Thanks Great Uncle Bill for such a great visit. Aunt Hilda.... don't be jealous!

Clarification & Relaxation

With every bad there is a good.

I know my Anxiety blog stirred up a great deal of response...support...concern...and wonderful advice. I guess that is what a blog is for. I was very touched by all of the response especially the anonymous poster's...

Things with me tend to be black or white.

There isn't much of a grey area (unless it comes to making a decision as to where we are going to eat dinner or what we will eat, if that is the case forget about it).

I felt it was very important for me to blog about what relaxes me and has been relaxing me to offset my anxiety/chron's stomach problems. I liked to be balanced like that.

But, before I do that I need to clarify, explain or just plain educate. I dont want everyone worrying about me, although I love knowing I have an amazing support system out there in real life and blog world.

My anxiety isn't what is getting the best of me. Its the chron's reaction to the anxiety. Most of the poster's probably know what Chron's Disease is...but if not read here if your curious or interested.  ***Warning too much info*** The anxiety is brought on by the thought of being stuck in the bathroom (while my child is unattended or screaming with gas) because my stomach is so upset from being anxious about trivial things. This isn't anything new. This has been going on since I was 16 years old. You can ask any high school friend or confidant. Friday night football games ... you would find me in the bathroom with a stomach ache. To add to the fire I have IBS and am Lactose Intolerant. I also have a very high pulse naturally thanks to my anxiety, usually around 110. My Chron's is supposedly inactive (or at least was prior to getting pregnant). I am unmedicated and am used to dealing with the consequences of both... I will be OK.  As of today my pulse is in the 90's which means I am learning to cope and manage my anxiety day by day. This is a huge feat and I believe partially due to breastfeeding. As many of you mentioned I am a very strong person. Most people never know anything is ever "wrong" with me or about any of the medical "conditions" I have or have had...I'm just not into living a life of pity or suffering. I like to live a healthy active life!

Most people are surprised how relaxed we are with Asher. Its amazing how I can have such anxiety, yet I am so relaxed. 

So with that in mind these are a few of the things that relax me to offset everything else:

• Philip's daily phone calls to tell me that he misses me, loves me and can't wait to see me when he gets home (he has done this since we got married and now does it even more because he misses both Asher and I.)
  
• Knowing that my parents live in our neighborhood and my inlaws live 2 miles away. We can call on them for anything... trust me we have and they are willing to help in a flash!
  
• The sounds that Asher makes when he nurses.
  
• Our night time feedings, just the two of us, bonding.
  
• His new found smile when we talk to him.
  
• Sleeping ...believe it or not even though he has stomach problems he sleeps at least 4-6 hours at a time at night!
  
• Daily shower's (I hate feeling dirty...and breastfeeding is a workout...it makes me sweat!)
  
• Working out, walking outside or doing some physical activity that makes me sweat (but of course I hate feeling dirty...must change immediately after!)
  
• Supportive and loving friends and family
  
• Sitting on my back patio listening to music and admiring all of our hard labor in the yard
  
• The smell of Philip's aftershave
  
• My cleaning lady once a month
  
• Our faith and prayer
  
• Maxi dresses
  
• Sitting in the sun
  
• Spending time in Asher's nursery
  
• Watching Asher sleep peacefully
  
• Cuddling with Philip
• ...the list goes on...

I find comfort in the fact that I can come up with so many more things that relax me than make me anxious. This post is a little more timely. I wrote it today, published it today. My Anxiety post I wrote and posted about 5 days later. We are now jiving. We are getting a routine. We are learning how he works and he is learning how we work. The fact that I have had this much time today to write this blog is a big deal. The reason being is because we have started putting Asher down in his crib before he falls asleep in our arms. Unswaddled. He plays on his own coo'ing and wiggling to the music on his ipod. In due time he falls asleep. Its bliss. He is such a happier baby and we are happier parents! We have learned this is what he likes.

I am finally feeling human and with that I continue to pray that each day we learn more and more about each other... in this amazing time of our lives as parents! We are so lucky.

Anxiety

There is no doubt I'm an anxious person.

There is no denying that I have Chron's Disease.

The two make for a terrible combination...

....one that is spinning out of control post pregnancy.

No, this is not postpartum depression. Just anxiety.

I hate anxiety.

The feeling I get in my stomach when its in knots

or when my heart races.

It suffocates me.

It is becoming routine again. 

ugh. 

I so didnt miss the stomach part during pregnancy.

For some reason I didnt have any stomach issues my entire pregnancy.

I felt normal again.

now...

I eat. I feel sick. I get sick (Im not bulimic). 

Then Im hungry again and still anxious.

Vicious cycle.

I am anxious about finding a nanny that we can afford for the days we need.

I am anxious about going back to work

I am anxious about Asher's reflux

I WAS anxious about getting the 100+ thank you notes finished...but they are done

I get anxious about whether or not I will get to shower or eat a meal during the day

I am anxious because my one and only little sister is getting married in 3 months (this isnt a bad thing, just makes me anxious)

I am anxious about not working out as much

I am anxious about my tear not healing properly...resulting in other issues

I am anxious.

Yup. I just laid it all out for you.

Do what you want with it...

I know there are many of you that read this blog that I dont know read it.

Closet readers!

Or many of you that I don't even know period.

That is fine. I am obviously not a private person.

I am sure I am anxious about other stuff too...but its not on my mind right now.

I need some natural herbal remedies for this anxiety....pronto.

Any suggestions?

I do plan to go for a massage and have a glass of wine.

Daddy Blog!!!!

Hello everyone. It's time for another Daddy Blog! Please, again the views expressed in 'Daddy's Blog' do not necessarily represent the views of Mommy. It's been a little while since my last time blogging. Some things have changed since my last post, i.e. I have a son now. .

Fatherhood has been terrific. I finally feel like I'm past the days of trial-and-error'ing and that I am now officially parenting. I never tire of answering to people, "no, we're getting our sleep. besides some gas pains, my little boy is perfect." And he is. He came out screaming, he was springboarding out of peoples hands on day 2 and loves to lift his big #@$ head to look around the world. His favorite thing to look at is the biggest thing in the world, the sky. He smiles and knows who his mommy and daddy are. . .he has begun to mesh the voice he hears to the big, round face inches from his own, and we're working on his spanish speaking skills now.

So, in keeping up with our young stunner, I've attached some video footage for all of you. To set the scene, mommy was downstairs suprising daddy with some breakfast in bed on Saturday morning (which is so unnecessary because of all the effort she makes to raise our child day in and out. but thank you mommy. I loved my biscuts. ). Ash-dogg has been trending to take some of his morning energy and roll over. The other day he rolled 4 Times! Renee alluded to it in her last post that he rocks to ease into rolling over. This morning, Saturday July 18 the kid rolled over 8 Times! 6 to the left and 2 to the right. Add ambidexterity to his list of accolades. you can't imagine the mad-daddy-dash to the vid camera just to capture these priceless moments. The roll you're about to see is his 5th of the morning, approximately his 13th overall. He also averages 4.9 rebounds per game, too!

So without further adieu, please enjoy the peice.




p.s. we've been told our little overachiever rolling over isn't necessarily a good thing. Renee and I (and bella) agree. It's nice to see and makes for great video. But it is a sign of inevitable things to come and an older Asher. I miss the days of Asher just laying there being cute, stationary and helpless..and brand new. Those days aren't even over yet, and I miss them already. He will never be this young again. you know what I mean.

Blue Bird

For our 3 year Anniversary Softa and Papu bought us a bluebird house.

The owner of the store came out and installed it in the "proper location" and warned us that it was fairly late in the season and most likely too late for a nest. 

Thankfully, he was wrong.

Within 2 months we noticed pinestraw filled the house.

Next thing we knew there were eggs in there. BLUE EGGS!

We started to get a lot of action at the house and eventually even saw little bluebirds inside waiting with their mouth's wide open for the mom to come back with food.

This evening Philip was watering all of our plants and realized there was a blue bird sitting in the in the hydrangea bush (which is no where near the bluebird house!) The poor little one wasnt developed enough yet to fly...but he could hobble.

I caught these two photos of him. 

He hopped the fence right after this photo...

Ironically the mom was flying above trying to find him with a worm in her mouth.

She didn't want her photo taken. 

Hopefully they found each other, but it was such a bittersweet moment for us!

We can't wait to enjoy this for many more years to come...

New life is all around us!

When mom's away the boy's play...

This is what goes down when mommy runs out to walk the dog and pick up dinner...

First Daddy puts me on the ottoman.

Thankfully he stands there watching me (except to take this photo) so I don't fall off.

If mommy was here she probably wouldn't let us do this!

I like to test the waters so I rock from side to side getting momentum to roll over.

For your viewing pleasure a side view of the "rock"

You can't have all this going on without some classic tongue action...

...and some funny faces (after all this is hard work!)...

...see guys, I can lift myself up and I am only 5 weeks old...

...mom and dad, you are in trouble...

Asher has made us clearly aware of his strength at the mere age of 5 weeks. 

As you can see he can lift his whole body up on his own. He can roll over from tummy to back and does this regularly now. 

We are in trouble...You would've thought with a head in the 95th percentile that it would've been too large to lift... WRONG...more reason to throw it all around!

Announcing...

Oh yeah... we had a baby...

Here is the announcement that went out 2 weeks after Asher was born.

I decided I wanted to take the photo to use on the announcement and design them myself. 

My wonderful neighbor Miguel helped teach me how to carry out my vision in Photoshop. We designed them several weeks before I was due and when Asher was born Miguel patiently waited for the photo and the information before before he sent them off to his commercial printer. I was over prepared. Before I was due I stamped and addressed all 175+ envelopes to be stuffed once the announcements were printed. 

It was a 5x7 card with a glossy finish.

We love the way they came out and they were a STEAL OF A DEAL!

Our travels...

I'm a slacker.
Or just a busy and overwhelmed first time mom trying to figure out what the heck I'm going to do now that two potential nannies have fallen through...
Yeah, find another one.
Someone is out there that doesnt want more for part time care than someone else wants for full time.
Is it that hard to find someone for 3 days a week that isnt going to cost me more than day care would full time? YUP.We are 100% positive based on our research what we are looking for is reasonable and possible.
You would think people need work these days?

Mary Poppins is out there and I know it will all work out in due time.
Patience... (update: I began writing this post on Monday, its now almost Thursday and I am getting it published... go figure, slacker again! The good news is I think we have figured out a nanny situation...details coming soon. There is a god!)

Anyway ... I must catch you up on an overdue/late post.

Asher is already a world traveler.

At the mere age of 2 weeks and 4 days he traveled via plane to Chicago to attend Ben and Lisa's wedding. Ben is one of Philip's best friends from his childhood (and even practically lived at his house for several months growing up) and we just couldnt imagine missing this wedding. Softa and Papu went with us and we honestly couldnt have made it without them on this trip...(reasons why are not blog appropriate, but needless to say my recovery from my delivery was less than pleasant).

In the Charlotte airport waiting for our plane!

Let's just say he was a peach. A very sweet one at that.

He was perfect. Slept anytime we were in the prescense of anyone and barely made a noise on the plane. We couldn't have been more lucky and he came home perfectly healthy, 

No Swine Flu.

The Levine Family at the Rehersal Dinner

Our new Family at the Rehersal Dinner

Touring Chicago with Softa and Papu!

Funny side note: Try outs for "The Biggest Loser" were going on at NBC outside our hotel. Actually not funny. Really sad.

While there we got to have brunch with Liz who is a friend that I grew up with in Raleigh and Philip and I both have known for over 10 years. She and her husband live in Chicago and it was awesome to see her. Asher especially liked her.

We had a great time... Unfortunately due to my sickness from delivery complications, Philip's time being consumed with wedding activities and having a 2 1/2 week old... we will definitely be going back to really enjoy Chicago at a later date. We felt we didn't get to explore nearly enough of the city and what it has to offer. The weather was AMAZING. Perfect temps, sunny skies. I am already, ready to make another visit...but we are broke :)      

Let the wedding weekend begin!

The Bride and Groom

               

Four Course Dinner!

Softa and Papu (our lifesaver's on the trip!)

Our new family at the reception on the River!

The "must have" best friend photo. 

Ben and Philip have been best friends since elementary school and we have a similar photo from our wedding with the roles reversed!

Asher's precious seer sucker polo outfit... and monogrammed satin shoes that Gin Gin bought him for his Bris. This was Asher during the wedding ceremony!

Mommy with Asher right before his blow out diaper which forced us to change his outfit...

Clean outfit...some how we managed to match my outfit and the back up outfit/sling! Genius!

The gorgeous view at our hotel of the River

We were so thankful to have made this trip to Chicago and witness Ben and Lisa's wedding!