Wow, August was a pretty busy month.  Especially the second half, and into the beginning of September.  First off, our friends Megan and Bob had their baby boy, Maxwell Robert!  We're so excited that there is another little one in our group of friends from the DG!  We finally got to meet him last night.  Jack T looks so big after seeing a newborn, it's hard to believe he was ever that small.

Speaking of Jack T - he took another plane trip (now his second) to Buffalo, New York.  We went out for the wedding of some friends (Congrats, Heather & Tony!) that used to live in Chicago.  Mary's parents so generously offered to go with and watch Jack while we went to the ceremony and reception.  The next day, we all went to see Niagara Falls.  While we didn't go on a boat ride, Mary and I did climb up to the Crow's Next, right next to the falls, without ponchos.  We were so wet afterwards, we might as well have jumped in the water, but it was a blast!

Last Saturday, we got to visit with some of my cousins that were in visiting from Indiana.  We haven't seen them in so long, it was great to get to catch up with them and a good excuse to grill out on a nice Saturday afternoon.

Sunday we met my sister, Liz and her girls at Wicker Park to check out the Farmers Market, get some lunch, and play a little bit on the playground.  Jack T had his first ride on a swing and went down a slide for the first time!  We also came home with some market treats (cinnamon apple cider, apple cinnamon bread, and a couple other goodies).

After the park, we went out to DG for Ken's birthday.  Nothing fancy, just some food, drinks and babies.  It was really exciting to see Jack T, Ben and Max all in the same room!  Before long, they'll be running around getting into trouble, especially with no little girls to keep them in check :)

Today, we went up to the Renaissance Faire in Wisconsin.  My family used to go a lot when we were kids, and it was just as fun going as an adult (although for very different reasons).  There's nothing like eating a whole turkey leg for lunch!  It was great seeing Annalee shoot arrows, jump on a trampoline (I didn't know they had those in the 1500s), and attempt the kiddie joust.  We also got to see part of a skill joust and Barely Balanced: Acrobatic Daredevils.  Ev and Jack T are still a little small, but maybe in a couple years they'll be running around with wooden swords!

Wow, it's been a long time since we've had an update.  There's no way to cover everything that's happened since the last post, so allow me to summarize...

Jack T is now almost 5 months old!  FIVE MONTHS!  Time is just flying by.  He has continued to amaze us every day with his discoveries and adventures.  He has rolled over from tummy to back many times, he just started eating rice cereal, he took his first airplane ride, he is sleeping 10-11 hours a night, and today Mary saw the first signs of a tooth coming in!  Of course, there is quite a bit more, but that is the summary.

Mary and I also had a little "vacation" to Washington DC with her parents.  Although we didn't have a lot of time to look around at the sites, we did get to see the World War II Memorial, the Lincoln Memorial, and we drove by a few other sites.  I'd love to go back again to spend more time soaking up the history.  Apparently, there is a lot more to our nation's capitol than I saw on my 8th grade field trip.  Oh, we also ate one night at The Burger Joint...awesome burgers!

Another big event was the birth of Jack's new best friend, Benjamin Patrick on March 26! We are so happy that Jack not only has lots of cousins close in age, but also that he'll be friends with some of our best friends' kids. The boys have been in the same place at the same time, but obviously they aren't really aware of each other yet.

Admist all the goings on, we decided to try and sell our condo and look for a home in the burbs. We love our condo and living in the city, but after Jack T was born we came to a realization: babies need a lot of stuff!

Look for videos and pictures to follow!

Hindsight is pretty funny sometimes.  At the end of 2008, after all of our wedding planning and the wonderful day itself, Jack and I had resolved to make 2009 the year of nothing-- just fun times, get settled into our life in our condo and make no major plans.  It turned out to be a much more eventful year than I had thought it would be, but I wouldn't trade it for anything.

After a mellow beginning to the year, we were fortunate to be able to take our real honeymoon- one full week in Maui to just spend together.  Words can't do it justice, but it was FANTASTIC!  It is a trip we both look back on with the fondest of memories and is a place that we hope to return to someday. 

As the year continued, we were able to celebrate the marriage of a few of our very close friends.  Wedding season started with a trip to Florida with friends for Jen & Ken's beach wedding.  What a spectacular time and a unique wedding experience.  A few weeks later was the wedding of my high school best friend, Kristen, and her fiance, Jay.  It was so wonderful to stand as a bridesmaid for my good friend on this important day just as she did for me a few months before.  Other friends of ours (Kate and Jared) got married the same day as Kristen and Jay so we weren't able to attend their big day, but were thrilled for them none the less.  Later in the summer, we traveled to Detroit for the wedding of Jack's college friend, Joe, and his fiance, Jessica.  As Jack and Joe had lived together for a while in Chicago, I got to know both Joe and Jessica and was so excited to celebrate this day with them.

We were also able to celebrate my parents' 40th wedding anniversary- an event truly deserving of a celebration!  My brothers and I wanted to give them whatever kind of celebration they wanted and they chose a small gathering at their house with just our immediate family.  With the help of my brothers, we planned a wonderful day with much food and even more merriment.  Later on in the fall, my parents were kind enough to let me use their house for another celebration.  I decided to throw a birthday party for Jack.  Although it wasn't a milestone birthday (he was turning 29), I wanted to get in a celebration that included both friends and family before the baby was born.  Since Jack and I both enjoy being kids ourselves at times, I themed it "Let's be kids before we have a kid", so the day included games outside, party favors for the little kids in attendance and just a relaxing day for all to lounge outside and enjoy.

In and amongst all the wedding excitement earlier on in the year, we discovered that I was pregnant.  Boy was it ever tough to keep that a secrect until everything was confirmed with the doctor and we had made it to the safe point of 12 weeks.  With this news, our life felt like it took quite a turn- a turn that was filled with both nerves and excitement.  We knew we had wanted a family together, but had planned on a little more time where it was just the two of us.  As the weeks continued though, we both worked to understand that this may not have been in our plan right away, but it clearly was in God's for us right now and that if He felt we were ready, who were we to question it.  That certainly didn't mean that the nerves went away, but I can at least say for me, that that thought always provided some comfort when doubts surfaced.  As the year continued, our focus started to switch more and more towards prepping for baby's arrival- from shopping for a crib, to cleaning out our second bedroom, baby registries, baby showers and just our own mental preparation that our little family of 2 + Bentley, would soon be 3 + Bentley. 

As the year went on, we made sure to enjoy our time together as much as we could, as we knew it wouldn't be like this again for quite some time.  We also tried to just focus on us for a while, something which sounds really selfish as I type it but that we knew we needed to do.  I think we both wanted to feel more settled in our life together in our condo before adding a baby to the mix.  We worked to go through boxes of old stuff, catch up on all the home projects we had on the list for "sometime" and make our condo a true home.  I am thrilled to say that we closed out the year having caught up on much of what we had wanted to do.  Rooms got repainted, stuff was gone through and we combined our two lives into one.

An absolutely wonderful thing happened along the way though.  After we got married, I thought I couldn't love Jack much more than I already did.  I had felt I was the luckiest girl to have found a man who held all the qualities I had looked for, who treated me so wonderfully and was my best friend.  But this past year, I discovered what so many others have said- that I grew even more in love with Jack than I thought I could.  As we combined our lives, it felt so wonderful to feel in sync with someone else all the time.  I know that we both got by for many years without each other, but in this past year, I sometimes wonder how we did and I pray that I never have to know what that feels like again, as I can't imagine life without him.  I am sure much of these feelings came from the emotional roller coaster of us being pregnant with our first child and all that went along with it, but how exciting also to know that the person we have created is going to be a part of a love that is just so strong between the two of us. 2010 is sure to have many new experiences and adventures, the first of which will likely be the birth of Baby Minster (whenever he or she decides to arrive), but it feels good to know that we are ready for whatever happens because we are in this together.

Happy New Year!

Two weekends ago, Mary and I took our last vacation before we have Baby in tow.  Mary's parents were going to be in Seattle visiting family, so we decided we'd tag along.

We made it a long weekend, arriving late Thursday night and staying until Monday. Friday, we got to spend the afternoon hanging out with Mary's cousins who live in Seattle. We drove around West Seattle a bit to catch a great view of the skyline.  Afterwards, we walked around Capitol Hill just checking stuff out. There was no shortage of coffee houses, pizza places, and an interesting assortment of shops and bars. All in all, a very cool place.

That night, we all met up for dinner with Mary's parents and aunt and uncle, who came in from outside Seattle to visit as well, at Salty's. I had grilled Alaskan salmon and Mary had king crab legs. After a nice long relaxing dinner, we called it a night.

Saturday, we decided we'd peruse the Pike Place Market.  We spent a few hours just walking around, sampling pastries, baked goods and smoked salmon, and just generally checking things out.  Mary's mom treated us to a few nice little treats.  One of the more interesting things to see was the fish throwers.  Not a lot of people were buying the enormous fish, but the few that did provided a great show for us tourists.  We also discovered what I consider to be the best cupcakes ever.  They were mini cupcakes from a Swedish bakery.  Mary and I split a chai cupcake and a pumpkin cupcake.  They were perfectly moist and delicious! 

That evening we went to a restaurant called Von's Roast House.  Again, the food was great.  Sunday, after Mass, we made a stop at Bakery Nouveau and were fortunate enough to get a table while we sampled some fabulous pastries (twice baked chocolate croissants, parisian macaroons, passion fruit tarts).  Then it was on to some wine tasting!  I felt bad that Mary couldn't participate, but I guess that just means we'll have to go back after the baby is born.  We only made it to one winery, but it was a good one: Chateau Ste. Michelle.  Despite the fact that it was raining, the grounds were beautiful, and the wine was great

After the wine tasting, we said goodbye to Mary's family from Washington, and had one final dinner with Mary's parents at the Pike Brewing Company.  I don't think I had very high expectations for the menu, it being a pub, but the food was actually really good.  I also had one of their beers, and it was great as well.  I definitely recommend stopping there if you're in downtown Seattle.

The next day, Mary and I had breakfast at the hotel, made a quick stop at the market for another pumpkin cookie, and went straight to the airport.  Althought it was only a long weekend, the trip was so relaxing and easy-going, it was just what Mary and I needed!

I think I figured out a couple of the reasons I have been having a hard time keeping up with blogging.  For starters, many of the things we have been up to lately have included us taking some pictures.  Since it would be nice to share those at the same time as the blog itself, I put off writing the blog until the pictures are uploaded and ready to be included.  This, however, is a process Jack has walked me through at least twice and I continue to forget how to do it (something about saving them to our computer from the card in the camera, then opening them in Picassa to adjust the size of the image to a size I never remember, then from there, I don't remember the rest).  So in the meantime, I put off writing the blog and clearly that has made for a boring WindyCityMinsters site. 

The second reason is that I have been trying hard to catch-up/keep up with regular necessary things to not feel as ovewhelmed.  Even though we are getting close to our one year anniversary, I think we are still figuring out what works for us and our schedules sometimes.  I would love to get a bit more of a routine and although life throws all kinds of curve balls that I am OK with, for my sanity's sake, I have been focusing on our stuff much more than this blog has come to mind.

There is also a bit of news that I think everyone who reads this blog knows by now, but just in case you haven't heard yet, we are pregnant!  I am currently 19 weeks along, all of our appointments have been going just fine and I am feeling good these days.  But knowing that our lives are going to DRASTICALLY change soon, I think we have been trying to focus on us even more and what we both want to do and need to do before the baby arrives.  We've had some fun times with friends, have a couple trips planned that are coming up, and we are working to get some things in order in our condo to make it more like home and to make room for our new addition.

For starters, we are finally repainting our bedroom this weekend.  I am totally excited!  Well, that is if we can come to a final decision on the paint color.  We thought we had it all picked out, but after putting a bit on the wall as a test, we aren't quite sure anymore.  Since we have dedicated time this weekend to get it done, I know it'll all work out.  Jack has plans to take before and after pics, so those will get posted here too (someday).

Otherwise, the last month or so has been filled with a knife skills class that we took with our good friends Kristen and Jay, a July 3rd BBQ at my brother's house, a surprise 30th birthday party for our good friend, Kati, Jack taking a trip to LA for work, going to the movies just the two of us 2 weeks in a row for a mid-week "date night", a couple outings with my girlfriends, a BBQ at Kristen and Jay's, some shopping, Jack taking a 36-hour trip to Michigan for his friend, former roommate and fraternity brother, Joe's bachelor outing, vet appointments for Bentley, an ultrasound and a doctor's appointment for me, and a bunch of the usual making dinners and condo stuff.  I have loved focusing on us a little more this past month and am looking forward to the plans we have before the baby arrives.  Makes me a little nervous to know that our lives are going to change so drastically, but as Jack often reminds me, who is to say it isn't going to be better once the baby is here?!  So, in the meantime, we are living more in the moment, and getting more excited with each day.

Thanks for being patient in between blogs.  Have a great weekend!