The first of many sleepless nights I'm sure

Ryan and I closed on our first home on Friday. Everything went remarkably well and quite quickly actually. We were done within the hour. I think we waited around longer for the wire to come through than anything else. We signed our lives away and we are hoping we didn't sign over Paige's in the process. Now that the house is ours, we have begun painting. Paige spent the weekend with Uncle Adam and Aunt Milagro while Ryan and I got some work done. We painted three rooms yesterday and we are feeling pretty good about it. Paige's room is definitely pink. We are hoping that once there is furniture in there it won't look so pink. Regardless, Paige will love it. Ever since we spent the day there yesterday, our to-do list has grown immensly. The place was supposed to be move in ready. Frankly it probably is, we are just very excited to have our first place that we want everything to be perfect right away. Now here I sit at the computer and it is in the middle of the night because I can't sleep. I keep thinking of all the things I need/want to get done for the new house. Not to mention that my body is in tremendous pain from all the painting yesterday. I can't even make a fist with my right hand. Will I ever sleep soundly again?

It's been ages

I know, I know, it has been a very long time since we last posted. In that time we have since purchased our first home. We are very excited (and terrified) of what is to come. We close on the house on Friday. We will spend the weekend painting and then the movers come on Monday. Paige is excited to move and probably most excited about the fact that she can have a pink room. That was her only requirement. Let's just hope it isn't too pink. Ryan and I have been packing this past month in hopes that it wouldn't feel overwhelming but I feel like that is all we do now. Will it ever end?

Here are a few photos of our lives over the past month.

Bought a house

Celebrated Ryan's birthday

The whole family celebrated Mom's retirement

Visit from Grumpa


Paige (Woobie & Baby too) is still wearing her patch once a day


Visited the Shedd Aquarium and got this wonderful family photo outside

Visited the Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati to see the Cubs v. Reds game after a wedding


Celebrated Tessa's 1st birthday

Took Paige mini-golfing

Let's Go Fly a Kite...

The Easter bunny brought Paige a Winnie the Pooh kite this year and she couldn't wait to give it a try. We had a nice day this past weekend (even with those ugly clouds) so we decided to take advantage of the day and let her give it a try. It was a big hit, both with Paige and with Ryan. They started off flying the kite together and then she took the reigns for herself. It probably wasn't as breezy as we would have liked but it worked for her first time. We are now trying to decide if we are going to take her to the Kids and Kite Festival the first weekend in May. I think she would love it but not so sure if our kite would survive.

Paige flying the kite all by herself.

Ryan and Paige trying to keep the kite in the air; not enough wind that day

Doing a great job flyingPosing on one of the rocks in the park.

One of the few good things about CT

As most of you knew, I wasn't a big fan of the time we spent in CT. Granted it was nice to live near our New England relatives, but other than that, there wasn't much. We did make some new friends while we were there are we were very exciting that Lara came to visit during her Spring Break. Lara and I used to teach together at the same high school and now neither of us is there anymore. I was so glad to catch up with her and hear about everything going on in Laraland. Paige LOVED her and immediately took to her. She wanted her to do everything with her from coloring to taking her to the bathroom. I'm sure she was thrilled when I took Paige to the potty instead. We would like for our guests to come back out ;) Lara had never been to Chicago before so we took an afternoon and went downtown and did a brief walking tour of Navy Pier and Millennium Park. We topped the evening off with a nice dinner at Weber Grill. Now we can't wait to (hopefully) head to CT this summer for her wedding!


Paige and Lara coloring.

We went to Legoland so Lara could get a few gifts to bring back home and Paige took a liking to this guy. She would stand in his arms and then flirt with him by looking over her shoulders. Finally she turned around and hugged him and gave him a kiss. Not long after on a trip to the potty she was telling me how she loved that boy in the blue shirt. You can't argue with a man that doesn't talk.

Easter

We had a great Easter. This year we went to an Easter party the weekend before where Paige got to play with Lilly and Nathan. Paige even got to meet the Easter bunny that day. She wasn't so sure about him until she saw the bag of goodies he had to offer. On Easter weekend we colored Easter eggs and then went to Poppa and Gaga's to spend the day with family. All in all, it was a great Easter.

Paige and the bunny

Enjoying her chocolate marshmallow bunny from the bunny

working very hard decorating Easter eggs

Bunny Paige and Bunny Mommy

Looking all pretty in her Easter dress

Cousins Lilly, Tessa and Paige

Hunting for eggs

Family photo - 2 out of 3 are looking at the camera so that is a success!

Oprah

I have spent the majority of my life living in the Chicago area and this is the first time I got to go and see a taping of the Oprah Show. Much to my surprise, Ryan wanted to join me. He said that it was a Chicago experience and I don't blame him. I also think he was really hoping for some free stuff too. When we started to walk into the studio, they asked us to go in a different direction than everyone else. We ended up in the reserve seating. Jamie had mentioned that when we went years ago, they placed any men up front. Sure enough, that is where they took us. We went with Jamie and Milagro as well. They ended up splitting us up and putting Jamie and me in the second row and Milagro and Ryan a few rows behind us. Apparently Jamie and I were dressed brightly and they liked that. The show was on Oprah's favorite recipes and we got the chance to taste all kinds of yummy desserts. We even left with a free mix for one of the desserts. We didn't get any cars or money, but it was a cool expereince none the less.

Outside the studio next to the Oprah sign. No cameras allowed inside so this is the best we got.

Visit with the Farmer's

We were excited to hear that our friends were coming up for a visit. Mandy and Mindy met many years ago while they were both working together in Seattle, WA. We both relocated since then and the Farmer's now live in Southern IL while we are up in Chicago. They were able to bring the whole family to hang out for a few days in the city. Unfortunately the weather was really cold so it limited our options for things to do. The big test was for the girls to have their first sleepover. Paige has had her cousin stay over before but never in the same room. The girls talked for a bit and then eventually fell asleep. Paige did her best to keep Ella awake but no luck. They did surprisingly well. The last day they were here we all went to the Children's Museum and had a great time. We hope to go down and visit them next. The really sweet part is that when Paige woke up the next morning, she wanted to know where Ella was. I love how easily little kids can make friends.

The girls first sleepover. Paige in her bed and Ella on the air mattress next to her.

Paige and Ella having a blast together. Ella loved all the new toys to play with and Paige loved showing them all to her.

Paige and Ella painting at the Children's Museum. Probably Paige's favorite part.

They took out a parachute to play with at the Children's Museum. They will bouncing balls on it and running underneath it. Here are Paige and Ella under the parachute. It caused a bit of static electricity and made their hair stands up. Ella wins the prize for the most hair in the air.

Paige grocery shopping at the museum.

Playing in the water in the museum. They had rain coats for the kids to wear to keep them dry. Worked a little bit but they were all pretty wet in the end.

Weekend and Easter fun

We were disappointed to hear that it was going to be snowing again. We thought we had made it through the winter but it is infringing on our spring. We did our best to take advantage of the one nice day before it got ugly. Paige really loves playing withe Dora ball throwing and kicking it around. Ryan is quite excited to see that she is enjoying sports.
Daddy and Paige looking like twins again


Throwing the ball

GOAL!!!!

Poppa and GaGa came by later that night to join us for dinner. Poppa took the chance to read Paige her new library book "The Little Engine that Could". Notice how Paige has her Sleeping Beauty Princess shoes on. We don't take them off until we have to.


On Sunday, we participated in an early Easter celebration. A friend of Auntie Mimi's put together and day of Easter fun. They got to play different games in the gym, parachutes, hot potato, food, face painting and, of course, the Easter bunny.
Paige playing with the balls in the gym. She really wanted to make a basket, unfortunately she doesn't have the arm just yet.

Paige and the Easter bunny. She wasn't so sure about him until she heard he had a present for her.

Enjoying eating and marshmallow Easter bunny that she got from the Easter bunny.

Paige showing off her face first face painting. She was very sad that we had to wipe it off before nap time.

Family fun

A few weeks back we got a chance to visit with Paige's Great Uncle Eric. He was in town from Maryland to spend time with his sister, Aunt Lori, on her birthday. We were very excited to have the chance to see him. Paige hadn't met him until then. Little does she know, Uncle Eric used to be a clown and maybe next time we'll have to have him break out some of his old tricks. I know she would love it!

Ryan, Paige and Eric


At Lori and Jeff's house, they have a trampoline that Paige got to try out. She has never been on one before and I'm sure she won't forget this one. She thought it was fantastic, especially when Ryan was able to pop her up into the air.
She would lay flat and then Ryan would flop down and up she would go. We got some great giggles out of her.

Jump, jump, jump.


We also were able to help Poppa celebrate his 60th birthday. Poppa thought it would be fun to celebrate his birthday on a caribean cruise. Oddly enough his plans didn't include having us on the cruise with him. We would have made it much more fun but we settled for having dinner and birthday cake with him before he left.
Poppa's helpers, Paige and Lilly. Nothing more fun than blowing out the candles.

A busy few weeks

It has been a while since we have updated our blog. We have had a busy few weeks and the few weeks ahead are quite packed as well. I'll do my best to catch you all up.

One of Ryan's highlights for the year is heading down to Indianapolis for the Big Ten Men and Women's Basketball Tournament. Ryan has the pleasure of provided the on-air reporters with their up to the minute stats information. It tends to be very long days but he enjoys it. This year he only went to the Women's tournament.

This is the view from his seat. Center court surrounded by lots of computers


A shot of Ryan and the on-air people... I believe it is Mary and Mark


In downtown Indy, they change the street signs to match the Big Ten schools. Of course Boilermaker Way is the best.


St. Patrick's Day is a big day for the Kelley's and we like to find ways to celebrate. We were not able to make it downtown for either of the parades but we did go down a little later in the day and we were excited to find that the river was still quite green.
Family shot in front of the green river. Paige was worried she was going in.

Ryan enjoying some green beer while we waited for our pizza. I know, it isn't corned beef and cabbage but we are in Chicago.

After that Mandy traveled for a bit in southern IL and in IN. This is her busy season and it will hopefully slow down in the beginning of May. Ryan and Paige do enjoy their Daddy-daughter time and Mandy loves that Paige talks on the phone with her every night before bed to let her know about her day. It makes being away a little easier.

This past weekend was a busy one for Paige. Uncle Adam and Auntie Go Go (Milagro) took both Paige and Lilly to see Dora Live. It was their Christmas present and they have been anxiously awaiting this day. They all enjoyed themselves and Adam and Milagro made it out alive. I would call it a success. The girls even came home with Dora t-shirts and light up things.

Sunday we went down to the Adler Planetarium. They were showing "One World, One Sky" which featured Big Bird, Elmo and their friend from China Hu Hu Zhu. Paige thought it was great. She was a bit puzzled by the movie being mostly above her but she eventually got it. Now she askes about Elmo's friend a lot. I remember the Planetarium being much more fun as a kid. When we went this time, I was a bit disappointed that there wasn't a ton of interactive stuff. We found some things to entertain Paige but there is room for improvement. We felt OK about it since we got free passes from the library so it didn't cost us anything but parking.

Paige being chosen as the next astronaut. Not sure who that crazy guy is holding her ;)

Paige watching Ryan drive the moon rover.

Paige putting the galaxy back together. Her favorite part was pushing the button to release all the pieces.

Enjoying the planets on the ground.


Now we are looking forward to the next few weeks as we get visits from some old friends.