New Digs (Kind Of)

This week has been really nice. We haven't had any huge things going on but we've been doing things as a family, which makes me happy because... I have a family. It feels a little strange to type it or say it but it also feels so awesome. I don't think you need to have kids to be a family, not by a long-shot, but since Matt and I have always known we would have kids our family seemed incomplete until recently.

Lily was cuddling on Matt's chest and somehow wiggled sideways so her face was in the crook of his arm. She was apparently pretty comfy there because she started to fall asleep. BTW, the polka dot diapers are an experiment in generic brand diapers. I figured if I bought clothes, food and almost everything under the sun from Target that diapers would be okay too but I'm not really loving them. The tabs aren't as sticky as Huggies so they tend to get baggy around her waist, causing some messy situations. I think we'll revert to Huggies with the next batch.

This next batch of photos is from earlier this week. In about 45 seconds, Lily went from

highly skeptical of me, to

really bored with me, to

sort of amused with me, to

really amused with me! Her smile in this photo is almost exactly the same as my baby smile was. I never thought I'd be such a narcissist about my baby but it really does make me happy to see myself in her. I know it shouldn't matter but I guess it just reminds me of how connected we are.

The next batch is from a few days ago. She was looking progressively surprised at something.

These are from yesterday. She gave me such a nice smile!

And then she fell fast asleep!

Here's Lily in the onesie that Vita designed for her at my Chicago baby shower. I'll post pictures of all of the onesies as Lily becomes old enough to fit into them.

I had grand plans for yesterday: we were supposed to hop on the 151 and head to Harvest Days at the Farm-in-the-Zoo at Lincoln Park Zoo for some pumpkin decorating and petting zoo fun. Unfortunately, the weather disagreed with my plan and it ended up raining instead. We managed to squeeze in some time at the local farmers' market in between showers and were convinced to try some raw sweet corn. It really was yummy and we bought some to cook up soon (I'm thinking I'll make some homemade Cincinnati style chili, biscuits and corn tomorrow night).

Lily was not as impressed with the sweet corn as we were.

Today we woke up uncharacteristically early and took a road trip to Malta, IL (near DeKalb) where we met Jess & Travis at Jonamac Orchard. It was the farthest outside Chicago that Lily has been. In fact, it may be the farthest outside of Chicago that I've been (excepting plane trips, of course). We picked apples and pumpkins (well, Matt and I watched Jess & Travis pick apples and pumpkins), had fresh hot cider and enjoyed returning to nature in the Thoreauvian (meaning temporary) sense.

We read about farms on our way through farm country but Lily wasn't so interested.

She slept the entire way there but still looked adorable in her cashmere hat from Aunt Kim.

Jess & Travis indulging in some forbidden fruit.

It's pretty rare that I'm actually in photos these days so I had to post this one.

I told Travis and Matt to look masculine near the thresher (is that what this is?) and this is what they came up with. I'm not even going to comment. ;)

Jess picking the perfect pumpkin.

And Matt and I with our perfect pumpkin.

Lily slept through our entire adventure and didn't even wake up when I posed her amid the pumpkins. She also slept the entire way home and is now asleep again. I have a feeling it's going to be a long night!

There was a petting zoo at the orchard, which featured, of all things, an albino kangaroo. We couldn't believe our eyes at first; an albino kangaroo in nowhere, Illinois is quite unusual.

After the orchard, we indulged for lunch at a local Steak and Shake. It was good but the after-effects reminded me of why we usually preferred Cheeseburger-in-Paradise when Matt lived in Bloomington. The shakes were quite yummy though!

We don't have anything scheduled for this week. Matt is going to be busy with school and I'm hoping to get a jump-start on some home projects. I'm also in desperate need of a hair-cut (I think I was in my 2nd trimester the last time I had a trim) so I'm hoping to squeeze that in too.