A quick weekend-recap...

We practiced sitting up and began planting seeds of musicianship...

We visited our good friends Kate, Andrew, and their new baby James Carlisle...and we couldn't get over the fact that Thomas used to be much smaller than that!

We had a little too much fun at the Sweet Corn Festival as Thomas fell asleep in the baby carrier...

We actually hit up the festival twice this weekend...everyone's looking a bit more chipper for this photo...

We spent time with our dear friends Erin, Henry, and Will...Will was living the high life devouring some tasty corn in his trendy red stroller.

Other notable items: We discovered this weekend that Lauren has a knack for making lasagnas as she made three within and hour or so; Drake's going to have a mean jump-shot this season if he continues to practice basketball as much as he has been lately; and Thomas seems to love oatmeal even more than rice cereal...yum!

A Taste of Fall...

Thomas driving the Cool Bus...

Debi, me, T-man, and Adam...

Happy (though squinty!) parents, serious baby...

Ok, so for some reason I can't get text to be above the photos...so below will have to do for now. This past weekend was filled with fun fall-like festivities (how's that for alliteration?), and it made me really excited for the cooler weather months to come. Saturday morning we spent some time at Portrait Innovations getting some 6-month photos taken of Thomas...and he was such a little ham! It was really fun, and he did a great job despite all the different posing and positioning. We got some really cute prints, and I can't wait to put them up around the apartment. That afternoon we headed to Curtis Apple Orchard with Adam and Debi...it was so much fun, and we got some great baking apples. I'm excited to find time to spend with my Kitchen Aide mixer in hopes of producing some tasty treats! The three photos above were taken that afternoon...that certainly was not our only trip to the orchard...I'm sure we'll be going several more times in the upcoming months!

Sunday morning was spent at mass of course, and Drake cooked up a delicious brunch for us when we returned home. We then split up for a few hours...Drake worked on some things around the apartment (including putting all of our books on our newly painted bookshelves...they look awesome, and I was admittedly pretty proud of one of our first DIY projects!), and I took Thomas to go run some errands. When I returned home, I checked the mail because I hadn't done that the previous day...we received a letter from Provena Hospital with the final decision on our application. (A quick re-cap: we had 3 accounts going with them and owed several thousands of dollars even after insurance...after talking with one of their reps, I decided to fill out an application to see if they would help us with any of the costs). Our accounts had been on a "freeze" until a decision was made...and as it turns out...we owe them $0. Zero. Zilch. Nada. They've covered ALL of our expenses. I was in COMPLETE shock, and I'm overwhelmed with thankgiving to God for this. I really feel that God has blessed our openness to life in so many beautiful ways - it's an unbelievable blessing to say the least.

Later that afternoon, we headed to Monticello for a softball cook-out...it was good to spend time with families and hang out with some of the other kiddos. It was a bummer that Drake had to miss the very last game of the season, but he's looking forward to basketball with the St. Matt's dads this fall!

Here's hoping we'll have more fun adventures in the cool autumn days ahead!

Family Reunion

This past weekend was a great (though busy!) one for our family. We headed up to the suburbs to visit both sides of the family. Friday night was spent at Grandma Eileen's house - I wondered how well Thomas would sleep considering that he slept the entire drive...but after some play time with Grandma, Mom, and Dad, he was wiped! After a good night's sleep, we all awoke the next morning to prep for the long-awaited potluck bbq. Several months ago, I talked with Eileen about the possibility of having a big family gathering in the summer...she is one of 6, and the more extended families don't see each other at all except at Christmas! Crazy! So, after a few emails and some organizing, 30 of us got together...and it was great! The night was filled with tasty food, games for the kids, some intense Cubs/Sox bashing, and was topped off by an oreo-eating contest. Yum! Thomas did really well with all the busyness and meeting so many new family members - it was fun to introduce him to everyone, and we're excited for when he's running around with the other kiddos! Looks like we'll have to wait for next summer's gathering for that! Here are just a few photos from the ultra-competitive oreo contest...and I'm proud to say that Drake was the big winner!

Sunday morning, we awoke very early to head out to Batavia for a visit with Nana, Grandpa, and Uncle Adam...we met up at mass at Holy Cross and went out for a nice breakfast before Grandpa had to work. We spent the next few hours at the Clifford house with Nana, Adam, and the pooches. Thomas was definitely the center of attention and showed off his rolling over, laughing, squealing, and overall adorable nature. We left in time to get back to Urbana for our family adoration hour and came back to the apartment for dinner with our dear friend Adam who has recently moved back to this area to start up a Masters program. We're looking forward to more time with family and friends in the upcoming weeks!