July so far

Why do I do this to myself? 

I put off blogging until I have a load of pictures to share and just dump them on here.

Oh well. 

Our summer has been super busy with activities and getting ready for this next baby.

So here is some documentation of what we've been up to.

I watched some of my friend's kids that ended up lasting the whole afternoon and into the evening. So by hour 6 I made them sit and watch a movie =) 

 Nothing like wee ones out of a bath.

When Charlotte asks me to make her colorful pancakes I let her pick one or two colors.

When she asks Ben he does an entire rainbow.

 Playing in our side yard with Daddy.

 Then a picnic afterwards.

This is before the days/nights were in the mid-90's.

Fourth of July

 We woke up at 4:45 am and headed out west for a hot air balloon show.

 It was a little chilly.

 But a chocolate sprinkled doughnut helped.

 Later that evening some of our friends invited us over for a BBQ and fireworks.

 It was a little loud.

One Saturday morning we all woke up and had breakfast and then I headed to the gym.

I got back and this is what I found:

Charlotte playing on Ben's phone and Ben fast asleep.

 Dress up time. Arrrrrrgh...

 Ben reads about "have to" places to eat around Chicago that we make our rounds to. We rarely eat somewhere more than once or twice because he's always finding somewhere else to try.

This was a Jewish cafe.

Pretty good.

Our helicopter ride.

 Back in December for our anniversary Ben bought a Groupon deal for a helicopter tour over downtown Chicago.

We put it off until the weather was right and he had time off.

This also coincided with me being 7 1/2 months pregnant...

 A rainstorm over Lake Michigan that we were able to avoid.

 We were able to wave to the people in the Sears Tower.

 Soldier's Field where the Bears play and the museum campus.

 It was pretty amazing.

 Chicago River. Trump Tower on the lower right.

 Navy Pier above, Hancock below

 Wrigley Field

 It was awesome.

And scary.

And luckily I didn't get motion sick until the last few minutes.

 I love how adventurous Ben is. 

It was a great way to celebrate our 7 year anniversary (5 months later).

Best decision I've ever made.
(Marrying him, that is, not the helicopter ride...)

A few weeks ago Charlotte was able to attend one of her buddy's superhero birthday parties.

She was the only girl.

Shocker.

Wearing her sun hat we got her in the Bahamas from a few months ago.

 One morning she brought her pillow in and fell asleep next to me.

Pretty cute face to wake up to in the morning since Ben is usually gone.

Swimming lessons!

 She loves to go. 

It's at an outdoor pool a few blocks away.

She was shy for about 2 minutes on her first day then only looked back at me to make sure I was watching and to give me a thumbs up.

 Waiting in line to jump in.

 Woohoo! And there she goes!

 Practicing kicking.

 Jumping again with the teacher they call Mr. T. 

He's great with the kids and very encouraging.

 It took her FOREVER to go down the slide.

Here Mr. T is asking what the heck the holdup was.

Enjoying an icey cool beverage.

 Ben had an afternoon off and took Charlotte downtown to the beach to swim and play.

I was able to run errands and nap =) heaven.

They left at 10 and stayed until about 4.

She was wiped out.

 Every Wednesday morning there is a kid's movie playing at our local theater for $1.

We've hit it up only once so far, but I love watching her reaction to the huge screen.

She didn't want her friend's to feel left out while watching a movie one afternoon.

As time is dwindling down before our baby's arrival (3 weeks!!) we've been enjoying just having Charlotte around. She is the funniest, sassiest, most tender kid I've ever met.

I love her.

A lot.