Wordless Wednesday

                                         Happy 16 months buggy girl! We love you!

Sweet Home Chicago

Eric made a decision and we are staying! We are staying in Chicago! Thank God! We are so excited something so wonderful came along, allowing us to stay with all of our family and friends. He starts after Thanksgiving, so Eric gets to spend a few more weeks with Claire at home. I know through all the drama that came along with him getting laid off. Staying home and being able to see Claire all day, every day has made things seem a little better. I know he is cherishing this time with her. He is making more then when he got laid off and he is getting a sign on bonus which is a plus. I'm just excited to get insurance again. This is a great opportunity for Eric. What he does is not at every construction company yet and so he starting the       department from  the ground up. He is very excited and I'm super excited for him. I know he is happy.

Halloweenie 2010

Our Halloween was perfect. Perfect weather and Claire was in a perfect mood (thanks to a good hour nap). Claire went as a super cute pink kitty. As last year, I got her costume at Carter's. I think they have a cute selection. We had two days of trick-or-treating. Day one was Saturday afternoon/evening in our town and Sunday night in our friends town. Saturday was great. We started out around 3:30pm and made it until about 5:30pm! Claire got the hang of trick-or-treating relatively quickly. She went to each door, said "hi" and "bye". Most times we could get her to say what a kitty says, which is "mow"! People loved it. She really enjoyed the house that allowed her to pick her own candy out of the bowl, of course she would grab more then one piece. I would quickly say, "only one" to only be interrupt by the owner saying, "no, it's okay - she's too cute".  Saturday Claire had an entourage with her:  Eric and I, my dad and Eric's parents. At first she wanted one of her grandparents to carry her but quickly her attitude changed and she wanted to be miss independent and walk on her own. We let her and she did great! At times she got a little side tracked when she caught a glimpse of a pile of leaves, which she had to run through!
Sunday we headed out to Indiana to trick-or-treat with our friends. All though the night was pretty chilly, Brayden and Clarie did wonderful. There were so many people on one street, we actually had to carry the kiddos from house to house. That was fine for a bit but my little lady thinks she older and can walk all by herself, even when it's dark out and there are ton of people. After about an hour of trick-or-treating, we headed back to our friends house and let the kiddos play. I think they liked trick-or-treating but playing with toys were the highlight of their evening!
I really can't believe that we have had 2 Halloweens with Bug. It's crazy to me. Both years were a success! I can't wait for next year, I know if I thought this year was great. I bet next year will be even better!

Enjoy some pictures from our Halloweenie Weekend:

Our little kitty!

Daddy and Claire trick-or-treating!

Claire and her entourage!

" I LOVE THIS!"

She found leaves!

Our little family - Halloween 2010

Brayden and Claire ready to go!

Katreena and Bean/ Bug and I

Trick-or-treating

There she goes!

Wordless Wednesday

Enjoying a beautiful fall day!

2 Offers Coming His Way...

Well, Eric has officially two job offers coming his way in the very near future! Thank God! One is from a huge construction company in Chicago but they job would be in the Northwest part of Kentucky for a year to a year and a half. The other is for a smaller construction company in a west suburb of Chicago. We are SO happy and can't wait to see what they both have to offer. They both have the same insurance (which I can't wait to have back) so it will really come down to salary and bonus! I can't wait to know. I'm ready to get our life back to normal, so we can focus on other important things! Please say an extra pray for us, that one of the jobs will be "it"!! I will keep everyone posted!!

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween!

I hope everyone has a fantastically fun day! Day 1 of trick-or-treating for Claire went very well. Hopefully day 2 will go just has well! Pictures to come. 

Weekend in Galena

We had a fantastic long weekend in Galena, IL. We relax, shop, eat, laugh, and talk. It's wonderful and it's something I look forward to all year. We go the same time every year because they have an amazing "fall festival" which is a craft fair with over 200 vendors. It's not "grandma crafts" it's actually things you can find on Etsy and stuff you actually want in your home. If you love a good craft fair, then I would recommend Galena, IL in October to you! Besides the craft show, the downtown shopping is so much fun- from kid stores, to handmade jewelry that celebrities have worn, to antiques, etc. Oh and the restaurants, there are so many in one area, take your pick! We love "Durty Gurty's" it's has amazing hamburgers! "Fried Green Tomatoes" is another great restaurant! Claire had a great time, we all did. Weather this year was great. Last year it actually snowed and this year, it was in the 80's! I preferred this years weather but again who wouldn't!

Here are some pictures from our trip! Enjoy!

Ready to hit the town!

The best thing invented - she LOVES to walk but she's not old enough to want to stay with us, she to much of a wanderer!

The start of Galena

Shopping!

A little ice cream break with papa!

Love her!

Loved this tree, it's so pretty.

More Galena

Learning to play poker!

Cable Car in Iowa

Up we go!

Claire, Papa(my dad) and I

The view from the top!

Our little family!