Anniversary Celebration!

Last Friday, Jason and I celebrated 5 years of marriage. In some ways, it seems like just yesterday that we had our fabulous destination wedding in Riviera Maya, yet at the same time, my life before Jason seems like a hazy memory, almost like it happened to someone else. Jason is just such a part of me now that thinking of not having him as my husband is almost like trying to imagine life without my right leg or something. It's just a given, ya know? At any rate, Jason and I decided that we would take a mini-trip to celebrate this milestone. So we went to the place where it all began... the city of love in the story of Alli and J... CHICAGO, of course!
Our weekend was a blast... we ate at many of our favorite places, drank some fabulous wines and beers, got to hang out with a bunch of our old Chicago crew, enjoyed amazing massages at Spacio, rode public transportation like old pros but with a new appreciation, and just enjoyed being together. We also went to the Field Museum to visit one of the most famous Chicagoans, Sue the T-Rex.
It was a great weekend! I really think it is important for Jason and I to be able to spend time together just as a couple and be able to take off the "mom and dad" hats for a bit, whether its for a few hours for dinner and a movie or for a few days to take a little trip. We are so grateful that we have family who support us in that belief and are willing to take responsibility for our little peanut for a few days. I think we missed Miri much more than she missed us... she was having tons of fun with her Gammy and Grandpa. Miri got to meet up with her friend Haley for a playdate (Miri first met Haley when she was maybe 8 or 9 weeks old), went sledding for the first time, and practically ate her grandparents out of house and home. She likes her Gammy's cooking, that's for sure! At any rate, as awesome as our weekend away was, we sure were happy to come home to our little Miri-boo. Sometimes we dream briefly about all the things we would do if we were still DINKs... still be living in the city, travel more, have more disposable income for fun stuff... but it's a very fleeting thought. There is NOTHING in the world as beautiful as coming back home after a weekend away and seeing this face and knowing that, together, you are lucky enough to be her parents.
PS-- jason really needs to do a guest post on what is now "my" blog. There is too much sap, not enough sarcasm going on here. Hint hint honey! ;)

33

Jason is officially in his mid-30s, now that he's 33!! We had a lovely weekend celebrating this amazing man that I was lucky enough to catch. On Friday, Jason, Miri, and I had a special birthday-edition of our usual Friday night pizza. We drove into the Falls to get Papa John's, per Jason's request, and he picked out some special treats from Sendik's amazing bakery. That is a cupcake inside a waffle bowl and an Oreo torte; they were both fabulously decadent.
Here's the birthday boy blowing out his candle:
And here is our lovely daughter enjoying Daddy's birthday treats:
The celebration of Jason continued on Saturday with a date night for us (we saw The Descendants-- awesome, amazing, totally Oscar-worthy-- and then out for dinner) and a very nice Bashaw family/ Rymer family lunch at the Highland House on Sunday. Yay for the birthday boy! I hope this year brings J all that he wishes for... he certainly deserves it. Happy birthday Jason!!!

And here is an adorable video of Jason reading Miri her Sesame St. "Shake a Leg" book before bed on Friday night. Miri's language skills are absolutely astounding to me. At 16 months, she's saying about 50 words on a regular basis and understands SO MUCH of what we say. She follows directions really well (when she wants to, she IS a toddler!), can receptively identify just about any object in the house, knows all her body parts, etc etc. Obviously as a speech pathologist, I have always been interested in language development, but WOW... it really brings it home when you have your own child and can see first-hand how truly amazing language acquisition is. She is just a complete sponge right now, constantly learning everything around her. I think this video really brings it home. Especially when you consider she's only had this book for about a week, and there is a lot of new vocabulary in it. And do I have to mention that she is sooooooo cute?!?!