A Trip Downtown

Today I saw some of the neatest fish ever. We went to the Shedd Aquarium downtown in the morning. I saw fish in the lagoon and the reef, dolphins and whales in the oceanarium, frogs, blue iguanas, chameleons, and penguins. The penguins were my favorite. I ate my lunch by a window on the lake, so I was able to watch the people go by and the seagulls fly around as I ate. After my lunch, we headed to the Taste. Mommy had some shrimp from one place and bhel from another. Daddy had 2 samosas. We listened to some music and then called it a day. I was getting pretty tired, but I wouldn't close my eyes. Hey, I can't be missing anything! Once we got in the car to head home I caught a quick nap. :) It was a wonderful day!

I'm a Charmer...

Yes, I am. I think my gums were bothering me today. There was no apparent reason for my irritability, but I wasn't my happy self, well at least not when I was alone with Mommy. We went to Kohls, Trader Joe's, and Bed Bath and Beyond this morning all before 10am. I was the talk of the store in all three places. "What a beautiful baby!" "Look at his gorgeous eyes!" "He's so good...is he always like that?". LOL...as soon as Mommy strapped me in the car seat...different story! It's like I have a charm switch, and I only turn it on when necessary.

I had asparagus for the first time today. Mommy pureed a batch up for me and I really enjoyed it. I seem to like these veggies better than the fruits. :)

When Grandma and Grandpa stopped in for a surprise visit this evening, I did the same thing. Mommy gave me a bath after I made a mess of my frozen peach cube in my mesh feeder. She put me on the bed to change me and dry me off, when I decided I had to go potty. So, back in the tub I went for another wash! I was fussing around when I was getting rubbed down with the Aquaphor. Once I saw Grandma and Grandpa, I turned on that switch again. I was quiet, happy, and quite charming!

I make a liar out of Mama!! :)

My New Pool

Today Mommy and Daddy bought me a little pool. Mommy couldn't pass up the 4 dollar deal. Plus, I really like splashing around in the water. I don't understand why she expects me to sit still in the water. My goodness, of course I'm going to splash arouund like a fish! I was fascinated with the grass outside of the pool, so I practically jumped out of the pool a few times. Life would be boring without me!

Moms! Have you used Diapers.com?

Diapers.com has a great sale going on! If you are a Pampers user, and you haven't used diapers.com before, you can get an extra 50 bonus reward points! Also, if you are a new user, you can get $10 off your first order by entering in this code:

MINI8935


Mommy has been taking advantage of their super low prices on their big boxes of diapers. Plus, you get free shipping on orders of $49 or more. She also typed in the code NEW5 for an extra 5 dollars off a first purchase. Go ahead and try both codes...you might get the extra 5 dollars off too! Happy diapering!

Happy Birthday Megan!

Even though I didn't take any pictures with her, today we celebrated Megan's birthday at Pilot Pete's. My cousins and my Auntie Stephanie and Uncle Paul came in to visit from Indianapolis this weekend. We decided to go to Pete's for dinner to celebrate with them as well as with Uncle Peter and his family. Here's a picture of me with Uncle Paul and Luke at Grandma's house. Luke was sharing the talking book with me from Grandma's toy chest.

I Finally Meet Ms. Penner!!

Today I spent the day with my pal Abby. We hung out and stayed cool inside. We danced to some Michael Jackson videos on MTV for awhile and laughed really hard! When the sun went on the back side of the building, we sat outside on the bench in the front of the building where it was nice and breezy in the afternoon. We had a really calm day. Later on when Daddy came home, Ms. Penner came to visit us! She brought me a present from Sara Boo Creek. How cool is this?? An airplane with my name on it! It's going to look great in my room! Thank you Ms. Penner! I can't wait to meet Madigan soon!

Frozen Mango and Fabulous MegaBlocks

Today was another hot one in Romeoville. We took our walk around 7 this morning and ended up sitting by the fountain in front of the chapel again. That's becoming our favorite quiet place. This morning we chatted with Brother Pierre for awhile. I fell asleep on the way home and enjoyed the AC most of the day! Mommy gave me a frozen mango in my feeder and it was a delicious treat. Now I'm just enjoying my MegaBlocks that Megan and Luke brought me over the weekend while I wait for my Daddy to come home. Ciao!

Adventures in Oak Park

Today we took Grandma Chiodo out for lunch and checked out a grocery store in Oak Park. Here we are eating at The Pasta Shoppe on Oak Park Ave. just north of North Blvd. It was a great stop! Then we went to check out some deals at Fair Share on Roosevelt Rd. in Oak Park. We barely left the restaurant and it started to pour. Mommy could hardly see where she was driving. We got to the parking lot of the store and had to wait in the car for about a half hour. We watched the wind whip tree limbs right off the trees, hail and sheets of rain hit our windows, and the bolts of lightning in the sky. Thank you God that we made it through the storm. We had great adventures today!

It's Like A Heat Wave!

Phew! It was a very hot day here in Romeoville. Mommy and I took our first walk early in the day and our second walk later in the evening before my bath so as to avoid the dangerous heat! I fell asleep on both walks. The first time we stopped in front of the chapel. Mommy read her book Why Don't Students Like School? for her online book club while I slept. The second time we just walked around South Campus and I fell asleep again. It was that kind of day! We stayed inside the AC today, which is very unlike us. Mommy just didn't want me to overheat outside. I tend to be a sweaty baby. Here's a good pic that sums up our day: reading! We read many books today to try to beat the heat.

Mmmmm!!! Mango!!

Today I had my first solid piece of fruit. Daddy bought a case of mangos on Thursday night. We made mango salsa for the party, Mommy ate a few for breakfast the last couple of days, and we still have some left. She asked Doctor Renner today if I could eat a mango and she said absolutely! So, Mommy put it in my little mesh feeder and I went to town on it. I was in my walker and I usually am really busy in that. I didn't move much because I was too busy with my mango! It was so juicy and sweet. The best fruit I've had yet. I made a big mess, but boy was it worth it.

Fest Photostory

We didn't get everyone in the video, but we thank everyone just the same! It was a lot of fun! Daddy said Mr. Fred and Mr. Layton were the last guests to leave around 1am. Wow what a day it was!!

Happy Fathers' Day!

Hey, Grandpa! Thanks for this awesome Cubs hat! I really like it! I want to wish my Daddy, my Grandpa, and my Godfather Uncle Peter a very happy Fathers' Day today! I'm going to set up a photostory of the pictures I have from yesterday's festivities. Stay tuned...

I Figured Out How To Move In My Walker!

Yes, here's a video clip of me helping Mommy in the kitchen on Thursday. We were making cookies and I figured out how to get from one end of the kitchen to the other with my feet! I ended up in the cabinet with the Ziploc Containers. :) Hope everyone is having a good night!

Anthony Walker

The Laptop is Back!

Hooray! I can blog again! Daddy brought the laptop home from the IT hospital at LU today. I have been busy enjoying my baby soft skin this week! I never knew how nice it could be to not be constantly itching! I haven't done anything too special so far this week, but I have had a lot of fun hanging out with my Mommy.

Finally, All Caught Up....

Well blog readers, that brings us to today. We got out of the house nice and early and went to 7:30 mass. I was quite chatty after communion and charmed all of the people siting in our section. Then we headed up to Lombard to eat brunch at the Flat Top Grill. We walked around Yorktown and headed to Oakbrook, but I fell asleep on the way. Daddy and Mommy just decided to head home and let me rest. I was fascinated with the fountain at Yorktown. It reminded me of the one here at LU that I like to sit by.

Well, I have to get going. It's nice out and I want to go back outside to stroll and play! Enjoy the beautiful day!!

June 13th...Happy St. Anthony Day!

Saturday was my name day. It's also Daddy's name day. Anthony is his Confirmation name. In order to celebrate the day, Mommy took us to Choo Choo Johnny's in Frankfort. It was so cool there. It's like an old time diner, and your food comes out to you on a train! There was also a train that goes around on a track by the ceiling. I liked looking at that. Plus, they have a whole train set with bridges and everything in the front. I had my bottle and sweet potatoes while I watched the trains and the kids go by. Mommy says St. Anthony's feast day is just as important as my birthday. It's kind of like a second birthday! To all my fellow Anthonys and Antoinettes out there, happy feast day!

This picture of me with my mommy was taken about ten minutes after I took my antihistamine. See how drowsy it makes me? Hahaha...

A Day With Abby

Today my friend Abby came to spend the day with us. I was a little bit of a monster in the beginning of the day. Mommy was making sweet potato baby food for me and I was chilling out on the floor when she came in. I cried a lot in the morning, but got use to everything after lunch. Mommy took Abby and I for a walk on campus and we met Katie on the way. She came over and played with Abby and me too. I can't wait for Abby to visit again!

Back to Dr. Gaye the Allergist!

Well, Thursday we paid Dr. Gaye a visit for my follow up from the testing. She was not happy with the way my skin looked at all, so she put me on a new plan. I have to have a bath every day with Cetaphyl antibacterial bar soap. No more Aveeno for me. Then after my bath I have a whole routine of cremes and ointments that go on my body and face. After that, saran wrap (yes, saran wrap) on two of my limbs per night to help the lotion stay on my skin and not on my clothes! Lastly, I get 2ml of an antihistamine to help me stop itching. That medicine really makes me drowsy! Thursday Mommy and I did some shopping too. It was nice to go shopping at 7:30 am when no one was in the store!

One Chapter Ends, Another Begins

First of all, I am sorry that I haven't blogged in so long. Our laptop is sick at home and we have not been able to use it. Today Daddy took us over to his office so we could use his computer. So, WAY back on Wednesday was Mommy's last day of school. Boy, I was happy that it was the last time I would have to wake up at 4:30 to get in the car to go to Grandma's house. I like visiting them, but I can do without the whole early morning business. I like waking up on my own time. :) When Mommy got back to Grandma's house, we were ready to surprise her. Grandma put a sign in the window and she made Mommy rice krispie treats to celebrate the big day. We gave her a picture frame with a Love Is comic in it that Grandma found in the paper: Love is...being a stay at home mom! How appropriate! So, here is a picture of Mommy with her best teacher friend ever, Miss Lakovski. They shared many early mornings together as well as lots of other good times. Then the second picture is of me with Grandma and Grandpa at our party for Mommy. More to come...just wait!

Mommy Finally Looked Into Swagbucks

You can be rewarded with Swagbucks that you can redeem for gift cards by simply searching the web. I just searched "chocolate" through the swagbucks search page (it's like google) and I received one swagbuck...for doing nothing.

If you are interested in earning free gift cards, copy and paste this link into the web browser.

http://swagbucks.com/refer/minischaef34

Bring It On Ben!

Anthony Nicholas for President!!

Like it? Go to http://www.festisite.com/money/. Thanks to Larry Ferlazzo for the find.

Just In!

I'm sitting on the carpet playing around and watching The Next Food Network Star with Mommy and Daddy. Mommy looked down at me and I smiled just like this at her! Melted her heart...so we had to share it with you!

Congratulations Mr. Fred and Mrs. Andrea!

Hi blog readers! Yesterday Mr. Fred and Mrs. Andrea got married here on campus at LU outside at Time Plaza. It drizzled for just a few minutes but then it turned out to be a beautiful day. I was so good! Here's me in my dress up clothes. This is it everyone! This was a big weekend. I started to hold my own bottle, suck my toe, and use my sippy cup. Mommy has 2.5 days of school this week and it's over! No more getting up at 4:15!!

6 Month Birthday!

Yesterday was my 6 month birthday. To mark the joyous day, Mommy took me for my 6 month check up and shots. I weigh 20 lbs. 3.8 ounces and am 27.5 inches long. 90th percentile for both. I sit up on my own and have hard gums. Dr. Renner says that means a tooth is coming soon! I started using my sippy cup yesterday too. That was fun. I am doing great according to Dr. Renner. I thank God every night for my health.

I visited with Auntie Mandy for awhile outside while the Sodexo ladies oohed and ahhed over me. They were speaking to me in Spanish. Maybe I'll be trilingual by the time I go to kindergarten! Sounds good to me! If Mommy teaches me some Italian, it could even be 4! Oh boy!! Mommy wants me to like words as much as she does...we'll see about that.

A Surprise 30th Birthday Party!

Yesterday we went to Laurie's 30th birthday party. The party was a surprise and it was at her house in Palos Hills. It was really nice in their backyard! I got to see my friend Drew. I can't wait to be able to run around and play with him too! Here I am with Auntie Melissa waiting for Laurie to arrive! Earlier in the day, I sat on my cousins' Megan and Luke's frog. They let me borrow it when I went down to visit them in Indianapolis about two months ago. I'm not quite riding it yet, but I am sitting on it and reaching forward to grab the froggie's nose!