A long overdue update

Hello folks!

This update is long overdue! What can I say? Facebook ate my blog? I have been posting lots of updates there so the blog has been neglected for the past few months. Also, things have been busy busy around the Nemec house, so I will do my best to catch you up.

First things first...

Leo's going to be a big brother! To a little brother! 

I am 21 weeks pregnant baby boy #2 due April 9, 2012. We are super excited and think Leo is going to be a great big brother!

Lil bro, I will teach you how to be cool.

So far, my pregnancy is going great. I was super tired in the first trimester, but now in the second trimester, I am energized and feeling good. Now that we know we are cooking a little boy, it is time to get down to business -- picking a name and painting the nursery (will be the second upstairs room, formerly known as the comic room, which has moved to the basement). I think we may also paint Leo's room too, we'll see!

A quick photo montage from the past few months...

JULY: Leo turned 1!

Birthday trip to the zoo

Sesame Street themed birthday

AUGUST: Leo @ 13 months

Leo channels Bret Michaels

Happy guy after a bath

SEPTEMBER: Leo @ 14 months

Reading with Mom

Ready for football season! Practicing running the Oscar.

OCTOBER: Leo @ 15 months

Leo does Honolulu!

Beautiful beach babies

Family photo op on the beach ... even baby #2 is there in the bump!

Leo the pumpkin trick-or-treats!

Hi Grandpa!

Leo gets candy. Grandpa gets a hug.

Leo says "What is this for again?"

Leo with Grandma and Grandpa

NOVEMBER: Leo @ 16 months

Dad and his favorite Chicago Bear

No more bottles for this big boy! (Leo, not Daddy)

A Saturday morning nap with Daddy man.

Checking out the tree -- he loves it! And loves the "choo choo" that goes around it.

Masse family Christmas: A little under the weather but still found time
to snuggle with Pepere for a story.

You were right Memere, this carpet IS nice!

10 of the 15 Masse cousins!

Dad instigates the horse play at Memere's house and Leo is glad to grab
a pillow and join in the merriment!

Leo is growing up so fast! 

He is such a joy. 

At 16 months, we are off the bottle (hooray!) 

and will be working on loosing the pacifier 

over Christmas break.

He is saying lots of words --

aside from the normal ones,

some of our favorites are:

Cookie (as in Monster), Elmo, Zoe, Big Bird,

turtle, yak, shoes, socks, hat, coat 

AND

poo poos and pee pees! 

We are not pushing potty training

but Leo is starting to tell us when

he goes, so that is a start!

He's still doing great at daycare and

surprises us daily with new things

that he learns.

He loves:

Elmo, books, flash cards, trucks, Elmo, puzzles,
Elmo and baths! (I can hear him splashing

around with Dad now!)

He is going to be a great big brother!

He kisses Mom's tummy and we are starting

to talk about his little brother each day.

In other news ...

We are really enjoying our new basement and

have finally unpacked most of the items that were

stored in our garage. Daddy has moved

all his comics down in to his new room and 

is loving it. We have a little more decorating

to do and hope to share some pictures soon.

That's all for now!

Love,

C, A, L and baby boy 

Leo on TV (maybe)

A photo from Leo's one year photo shoot.
Photo by Christina Bailitz Photography.

If you live in the Chicago area, and watch the morning news, you *might* see Leo on TV on Wednesday morning! I submitted this photo for NBC5 Chicago's First Birthdays. I hope Leo makes it on the air for his birthday!!

Happy birthday little guy! We love you very very much!

Love,

Mom + Dad

The Basement is FINALLY done!! Hooray!

Wow. I am so exhausted.

And I usually like to post pictures of big projects

after everything looks perfect.

But, I now understand that, when you have a child, 

getting to perfect in your house takes a lot longer.

So ... I will post what we have now!!

To sum up this project:

It used to look like this (scroll down in the linked post for pics).

It took twice as long as the contractor promised me --

was told 4-5 weeks, took about 8-9 weeks --

but we are happy with the end result.

And we now have our basement back as 

livable, enjoyable space with lots of room for 

playing and hanging out!

Hooray!!

The tour:

Staircase down. Yes, the two corner stairs need the carpet
put back on (see! not perfect!) They were temporarily
removed to get our new couch down the stairs.

At the bottom of the stairs. An open living room / playroom area.
The doorway you see behind the couch goes to a small bedroom.

Another view at the bottom of the stairs. Left door goes to a bedroom.
Right door leads to a full bath. The bookcases in between are from
my former office. We're adding doors to these so we can hide
some of our stuff.

Another view. New 47" TV. Ikea TV stand from Craigslist.
The taupe chair swivels so it can face the TV or Leo's play area.
That is a big closet with sliding doors in the back by the play area.

Leo's area. To be filled with toys soon enough.

More of Leo's area.

Bathroom. Yes, there are still tags on my rugs.
Wanted to see if I liked them. I am kind of
scheeved out by a toilet rug ... but it keeps
your feet warm. It is a basement, after all.
What to do, what to do?

Shower stall. Off white subway tile inside.

Ikea vanity with two big drawers. Blue-y grey towels.

Behind the door.

Close up of bathroom floor tile. It is a greenish grey with brown edges.

Door from main area into laundry space.

Laundry room. New tile floor in shades of brown. New back door. 

Storage cabinets. Doors on wall lead to storage that is under the staircase.

Laundry! That nook back by the electrical box will eventually be
Adam's workbench/tool area.

The giant dehumidifier that keeps our basement dry.
Bifold doors lead to the water heater/furnace.

The soon-to-be new comic room!

Little nook by the door will be perfect for a display case.

A wall of closet that will house Adam's comic boxes inside.

Open doors. Adam's comics will be in here eventually.

We'll share more later as we decorate and furnish!

Ta ta!

C + A +L

Leo: Eleven Months Old

Hey friends!

Meowie wowie! Leo is 11 months old!

Actually ... um ... he is ONE DAY AWAY

from TURNING ONE!!!

*sniff sniff* *single tear*

I am a little behind here, clearly.

But, better late than never!

Here is what has been happening with the little dude:

Walking? Who needs it! 

Leo likes to run!

Although he got some new shoes

that will slow him down temporarily
until he gets used to them

He is saying "Ya! Ya! Ya!" 

and "done" (I think)

Lots of "oooooo"ing these days

and fun noises with his tongue (see video)

Does a good pattycake with the "rolling" motion

Trying lots of new foods
And seeming to like to organize things

And after nine months with his fabulous babysitter

(Thank you K.C.!)

he started day care / school today

and did great!

Here are some pics and videos

from the past month! 

Enjoy!

Still as cute as ever

Started swim lessons

Keep on swimming!

Taking a break with mom.

Uncle Tony and fam came for a visit

He's so silly

Dinner time

Kisses and laughs with mom

Father's day

With his best bud

New sandals for summer

Watering plants with Grandpa

Filling the can

Snuggling with his buddies

Say what?

First parade - 4th of July 2011

Saw some fun things ...

And some scary things ...

Leo says Ooooo fun

Then Ooooo scary

More fun!

With his twin

Father and son; Yes, I know, he looks like his dad.

With his buds Lyla and Evan

Pattycake!

Running on the new basement carpet

A visit from the armpit monster

First day of school. New backpack (thanks Auntie Christine)
and new kicks (thanks Grandma)

Ready to make new friends!

That's all for now!

C + A + L