Benji – age 2.5!

Benji has grown up so much in the last 6 months.  He’s 2.5 years old today! It’s so exciting to see him grow and learn.  What has he been up to lately???

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-He’s loving sharing a “big boy room” with Joey.  They wake each other up each morning and spend almost 30 minutes playing Legos in their closet until, eventually, they want the same piece and begin fighting.

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-He’s super coordinated (riding his scooter, playing sports, etc.)

-He loves cars, pirates, ninja turtles, firemen & policemen, playing hide-and-seek, racing and sharks.

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-He LOVES taking a bath (although hates getting his hair washed)

-Favorite foods – anything sweet!  He’d eat fruit (especially grapes) and cookies for all three meals if it were allowed.

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-He’s attached to Mommy, more and more now that Baby Goodman is about to arrive.

-He’s talking up a storm and some of his sayings leave us cracking up.

-He goes potty on the toilet each night and is so proud of himself when he earns a “pee pee sticker.”

-He LOVES his bongie and cuddles before bed – always requesting “2 more minutes.”

-He’s been packing a suitcase daily and requesting to go to “on a plane to Gampa’s house.” Fortunately, “Gampa” is headed to town this week and will be here for several weeks!

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Last Weekend at the Lake as a Family of 4!

We’re homebound now, waiting for the arrival of Baby Goodman.  Last weekend, we rolled the dice and ventured up to the lake one last time.  We had a blast, despite the weather not being great.

The boys REALLY wanted to go fishing.  Zeyde went and picked up worms and the kids lasted for about 5 minutes before they were on to their next activity….

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One of Joey’s favorite activities was playing with the water squirters.  He was able to sneak up on Zeyde and soak him….

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Zeyde definitely got his revenge….

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The little boys spent a bunch of time in the water, splashing around and jumping off the dock.
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Playing in the new sandbox

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On Saturday night, we were able to get out of the house for dinner and the Hawks game once the kids were down.  We settled on the Grand Geneva after the boys scouted a few local sports bars.

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Posted in Benji, Joey, Lakehouse, The Burnetts | Leave a comment

Navy Pier

The boys met Aunt Val, Grandpa, Grandma & Deb at Navy Pier.  They had a blast playing at the Children’s Museum and having a turn on the rides.  We even squeezed in lunch before we needed to get home for nap.  Thanks for a great morning all!

Riding the ferris wheel with Grandma and Grandpa

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Posted in The Goodmans | 1 Comment

Joey’s 4th Birthday Party

Joey had such a fantastic 4th birthday celebrating with so many friends and family.  He decided months ago he wanted to have a Ninja-themed party and we found a great kickboxing gym near our house that could accommodate his request.

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Ninja-themed Apps!

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Cake!

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Ninja Joey
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Super Benji

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Ninja fruit
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Grandpa and Poppy

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Time for Cake!
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Thanks for the awesome cookies, Sari!

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Posted in Birthday, Joey | 1 Comment

Happy 4th Birthday, Joey!

Joey’s been anticipating his birthday for more than a month now.  He even created a countdown calendar so he could keep track of how many days remained until the “big day.”

We got to celebrate a week in advance with the entire Wax clan.  There are so many birthdays in the months of May & June that we did one large celebration.  Lisa and Bill graciously hosted and pulled off another fabulous brunch!

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He was so excited to have his family at school that we even made it there early.  We started as “challah helpers” and then helped Joey’s classmates celebrate.

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Greg read a book to the class (The Book with No Pictures), the kids sang happy birthday and shared with Joey a book they made just for him.

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Finally, Joey was chosen as “Morning Meeting Manager” so he was able to get up in front of the class and lead the morning meeting.

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Benji had a hard time sitting for the festivities so he kept busy with Ms. Naomi

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Joey’s been talking about having his birthday at the lake for months.  We knew his school friends wouldn’t want to make the drive so we did the next best thing – Shabbat at the Lake.  In route to the lake, we met Nanny, Poppy, Great Grandma Poo Poo, Uncle Dickie and Zeyde at “Zeyde’s hot dog stand.”  Joey and Benji had fun playing games – so much fun they barely ate their lunch!

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We made it up to the lake in time to attempt a nap for Benji.  This, of course, didn’t happen but he was a trooper anyway.

Everyone else arrived via train just in time for dinner.  Bubbie helped create a “Hot Wheels” themed party per Joey’s request.

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We had a perfect weather day on Saturday and spent the day on the boats!

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Aunt Cari successfully got Benji down for a much-needed nap. She fell asleep alongside (and before) him.

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We had such a great time at the lake and are sad our time up there will be limited until Baby Goodman arrives! We’ll see what the doc says but I imagine we only have 1 or 2 weekends left!

Posted in Benji, Birthday, Family, Great Grandma Pearl, Joey, Preschool, Shabbat, The Waxs | 2 Comments

Spring Break 2015

We had such a fantastic time visiting Grandma and Grandpa this year.  The kids were at the perfect age to go away and Breanna joined us which made it all a bit easier!

The kids even had a blast at the airport watching the planes load up and take off….

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They did pretty well in flight.  Joey was happy on his iPad and eating snacks.  Benji was a little more restless but did well!

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We got to Grandma and Grandpa’s new house just in time for Shabbat.  Grandma made quite the spread, of course!

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Cupcakes for dessert!

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On Saturday, Benji was in the pool by 7AM.  He LOVED the water!

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After everyone else woke up and had breakfast, we headed to the train museum (one of their favorite places) for a morning of fun.
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Best buddies
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Enjoying the sand

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Benji was all about the carousel while Joey was happy watching and eating a snack.

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Back to the pool post-nap!

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On Saturday night we went out to dinner with Ron & Bev while the kids stayed home with Breanna.  The quiet time was nice!

On Sunday, we headed to their country club for the annual Easter brunch.  The kids had so much fun racing up and down the hill they didn’t need anything else to keep them occupied…

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Benji checking out the baby chicks

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Photo Opp

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Not in the mood for any more photos….

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Pizza making on Sunday night!

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On Monday we went Wildlife World.  We were expecting a zoo but it was much more interactive and hands on for the kids.  They had such a great time!

Getting a sky-high overview of the park before we really began exploring.

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Peacocks were running around the park.  This is as close as Benji would get to them, though.

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Checking out the alligator

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Greg feeding the giraffes (neither kid was interested in trying it themselves)

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Joey and Benji really loved the turtles and couldn’t believe how big they were.

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Taking a tour of the safari park.  The not-so-friendly-ostriches got up close and personal.

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Benji kept telling the driver to keep it moving….

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Lunch with the sharks
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On Tuesday and Wednesday we checked out the different parks and pools in the neighborhood.

The zero-depth pool was great and both kids spent a few hours in it.

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We were all having a blast until Benji pooped in the pool….
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Benji napping in a big boy bed!

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Picnic in the park before heading to the airport

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Taking a stroll with Grandma and Grandpa

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Thanks for such an awesome week Grandma and Grandpa!  We can’t wait to see you again soon!

Posted in Benji, Joey, Pregnancy, The Goodmans, Vacation | Leave a comment

Special Friends Day at Sinai

The kids celebrated “Special Friends Day” at school last week.  Nanny, Zeyde and Bubbie came to Benji’s special day and Aunt Cari & Bubbie made appearances for Joey’s special day.

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Joey insisted on putting his frame up in his room….

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Posted in Benji, Cari, Joey, Preschool, The Silvermans, The Waxs | Leave a comment

Enjoying the short-lived spring weather

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Giggles comes to Visit

Giggles (Joey’s classroom mascot) can to stay the weekend with us last weekend.  Joey’s been waiting all year for his turn and he could barely contain his excitement.  At the end of the weekend, we had to write all about Giggles’ adventures.  It took way longer than anticipated and gave me a glance into future homework….

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Posted in Joey, Preschool | Leave a comment

Purim 2015

We celebrated Purim at Shabbat on Friday night.  Bubbie bought all of the kids costumes and they even went on their own parade through the lobby.

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Joey had been learning about the holiday all week and celebrated with a parade and hamentashen.

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Posted in Benji, Holidays, Joey, Noah, Shabbat, Sophie | Leave a comment

Benji’s latest obsession – Marine Life

Ever since visiting the Shedd a few weeks ago with Abby & Alex, he’s become obsessed with sharks and fish.  Alex is now in Arizona for Spring Training and Benji continues to insist on Face-timing him to discuss sharks.

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Bubbie & Zeyde got him some new marine life for the bath and he’s having a blast playing!

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Posted in Benji, Suarez | Leave a comment

February in Review

The kids had so much fun with all the snow!

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On the days it was too cold to play outside, the snow came in!

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Red cheeks

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Baby Goodman #3 had her 20 week ultrasound.  She’s growing well and in the 50% (the boys both measured large).

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Benji checking out his little sister

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3D view

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Celebrating Noah’s 2nd birthday

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“Helping” Noah open his presents….

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Posted in Baby Gogo, Benji, Joey, Noah, Sophie | Leave a comment

Joey’s Name

They started signing in at school this week and Joey’s done a great job learning to write his name!

Day 2

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Day 3

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Valentine’s Day 2015

We always try and make Valentine’s Day a special day in our house, just as our parents did.  The night before V-day, Joey asked if it was the balloon holiday.  We hadn’t planned to do balloons this year but we ran out to Target and bought a bunch since it was clearly important to him.

Heart shaped breakfast

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Reading all of the cards

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Hours later, still enjoying the balloons!

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Greg and I had an adult night out.  We had a great dinner and began the “name game” for Baby #3.  We’re down to our “top 5” and we’re trying them all on for size….

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Suarez Wedding

Abby and Alex were married this weekend.  The wedding day was so special and executed perfectly!

Prepping for the big day….

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The rehearsal dinner was at Harry Carey’s.  It was great because the restaurant was attached to the hotel so we were able to meet before dinner to “rehearse” and walk right over.

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Sisters!

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Cari gave an amazing speech that left not a dry eye in the room….

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We had a nice and relaxed day as we got ready for the big event!  Abby had the most amazing 2-story bridal suite that we lounged in….

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First look!

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Selfie on the bus to the venue
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Wedding Party!

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Wedding photos from family members over 3 generations

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Beautiful flowers
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Bubbie and Joey

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Family photo (the best we can get)
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Ketubah signing

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Our handsome boys….

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Enjoying the sheepskin rug….
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Family photo

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Ricky and the boys goofing around

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Game time!

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Its official!

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First dance

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I stopped taking photos after this point….

We had a tough time getting out of bed on Sunday morning but made it to the brunch in all of the snow.  The kids had a great time running around the hotel and playing with the other kids….

Posted in Abby, Alex, Benji, Joey, The Burnetts, The Panozzos, The Silvermans | Leave a comment