Trick or Treat!

We took Thomas the Train, huh, I mean Timmy out trick or treating this year. He had a really good time- we only went down a couple of streets- but his pumpkin bucket ended up plenty full! I was a little worried that he wouldn't wear his costume but he did and he enjoyed it. When we were teaching him how to trick or treat, we would pretent to knock on a door by saying "knock, knock, knock" and then say "trick or treat." Well, each time he walked up to a door- he would just yell "KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK!" but not actually knock on the door. It was pretty funny!

Afterwards, Timmy & Daddy had a good time sorting out all the treats. I think Daddy may have been eyeing up what was in the bucket! :)

Tommy came along for the ride- the neighbors needed to meet him so it was a great opprotunity as the temp was in the low 70's.

Halloween Pary 2008

Timmy & I had a fun day with just the two of us! (It's been sometime since we've done that!). The playgroup that we are a part of had a big halloween party. Although Timmy only wore his Thomas costume for about 3 minutes (it was too hot)- he wore his halloween shirt (compliments of Aunt Lois & Uncle Karl!) and fit in just fine. One of his favorite little pals, Isabella (or Bella) was there and the two of them played almost the entire time. Once 1pm hit- it seemed everyone was ready for nap.

We look forward to next year when we can bring Tommy along too- but this year was a good time w/ just the two of us. Enjoy the pics!

Awhile back we taught Timmy to give our (somewhat crazy) cat a kiss/hug but leaning in his head to her. That way she can sniff it and that will be that. But now... that is the only way Timmy gives out hugs & kisses- by leaning his head into you. Here is Timmy giving Tommy a kiss :)

A good time at Gammy & Papa's

We went over to Nancy & Tom's house last night to visit with Greg & Sharon (Tim's uncle & aunt) as well as Maria & Carl "Max" (Tim's cousin-n-law & her little boy). Max and Timmy are only a couple of months apart and they had a GREAT time playing together. And of course- everyone enjoyed meeting Tommy- who was alert and quite interactive.

The Haas's surprise visit

Saturday morning I got a call from our friend Leslie (who lives in New London, WI). Her, the hubby and her two boys were on their way to FL and wanted to stop by to meet Tommy and see Timmy. Timmy LOVES hanging out w/ Colby & Jordan (we went to the Milw Zoo w/ them in Aug). They weren't able to stay real long but it was an absolute delight to see them!!! The play room has taken a serious beating but all three boys had a GREAT time! And Leslie & Mike got to meet Tommy so it was prefect.

There is love!

Timmy is LOVING his baby brother... usually. There are some problems when Timmy would like something NOW but mommy (or daddy) isn't available and he actually has to wait. He's not a big fan of Tommy's crying either. Luckily- Tommy hardly cries.

We put a little stool next to the pack n play (in the living room) so when we are changing Tommy or when Tommy is sleeping- Timmy can check him out or see what is going on. He knows to be quiet and not to wake Tommy. Timmy just LOVES looking at him.

First family walk

We took our first walk today- as a family of FOUR. It felt good to get out of the house and who knows how many more decent days (weather wise) that we have left. Tommy slept pretty much the whole time. And Timmy got to play at the playground which is the best thing ever (don't you know!). :)

Announcing Thomas Karl Reising

Our little boy, Thomas Karl, finally made his well anticipated appearance into our world. I started getting contractions Sunday morning (oct 12) at about 4am. After having a couple of them- I decided to wake up Tim knowing that this was the real thing.

Because Oct 12 was the day of the big Chicago Marathon- we decided to head downtown right away to avoid all the traffic and the different street closures. Papa came over to pick up Timmy and Lucky Dog and off we went.

We made it downtown just before 6am- which was perfect because we missed the major street closures (which would have made getting to Northwestern difficult). We parked and called the doc- who told us to get in right away (contractions were 4-5 min apart and being that I was already 4 cm dialated four days earlier- not much time to spare). We walked in the hosptial shortly after 6am.

To make a long story short- after a whopping 10 minutes of pushing- our Thomas was born at 12:54pm. He was 9lbs 3oz. and 21 1/2 inches long. He is a tall baby- but absolutely beautiful.

Timmy seemed excited to finally meet Baby Tommy- and was worried when the nurse took him out of the room. Hopefully the love continues :)

TRAINS!!!

The Oak Lawn Museum had a model rail road club come in and set up a bunch of model trains for display. Due to Timmy's LOVE of trains- Tim & I took him there to check it out. The set up was small and simple- but that is probably why he loved it so much. He didn't say too much- just the occassional shout out... TRAINS!!

Afterwards we topped it off by taking Timmy to Snackville Junction. I have been there before with the mom's group and after seeing how much Timmy loved it- really wanted Tim to go there with us. Snackville Junction is an old fashioned diner- and a model train comes out of the kitchen and goes along the counter and brings your food to you. And... if you been good- a basket of suckers come out when you are all done. It was a great way to spend what turned out to be our last day as a family of three :)

Take 1... a no go

So... I mentioned to Tim how I seem to have a lot of fluid leaking but I don't think it's that big of a deal. But we decide to call the doctor on call anyway. She tells me I should go into triage to make sure my "bag of water" isn't leaking. Gammy & Papa come over to get our toddler (whom we had just put to bed!) and off we went.

Tim drove downtown with such ease- we made it to the hospital in like 20 minutes! I had a feeling this was a waste of time but knew we should follow the docs orders. I just HATE being told by doctors that everything is fine- go home. (stems from all the times the neurosurgeon I had when I first moved to Chicago kept telling me my CT scan was normal and I should just go home... only to fall into a coma on THREE different occassions afterwards!).

It was our first time inside the new triage... man was it a step up from the old one!! This new hosptial is SSSWWWWEEEEETTTT!!! Long story short- I have an infection (which they gave me a pill for). The baby is in position and ready to go- my body just didn't start the process yet. The doc on call gave us an option to be induced last night. If we would have opted yes- I very well could be holding my baby Tommy in my arms right now. But alas- we are hoping mother nature takes it's course. I have an appt next Tuesday and will set up a time to be induced then- so if that is the route we are going to take- it will happen none the less. But this will give things a chance to happen on their own.

I walked out of the hospital (12:30am...good times) with all sorts of emotions. What do you expect from a pregnant woman?? :) But I came to realize it is a LOT of pressure for pregnant women to know what the heck is going on w/ their bodies all the time. It was good we went in so I could get the antibiotic for the infection- but still felt like it was a big fat waste of time. I've had moments wondering if I made the right decision not being induced but like the doc said- there was no medical reason to do it and none to not do it.

I am just going to hug this baby Tommy non-stop when we finally get to meet him!

Joliet Pumpkinfest

On Sunday (yesterday) we went to Joliet's Pumpkin fest for a few hours. The day started off overcast and it did eventually rain but lucky for us- the community theatre group was doing a performance in a building at the same park. The play was based on the four folk myths (from four countries) that brought on today's Halloween traditions (i.e. trick or treating, costumes...). We made it thru 3 out of the 4 acts before Timmy decided he no longer needed to sit. I was so impressed with how long he lasted!! The play itself was really, really good- entertaining!

I was a little surprised at how "icky" some of the park's decorations were. But Timmy didn't seem phased by them at all. Part of the movie The Dark Knight was filled in Joliet- and they had some of the vehicles that were in the movie there (a squad car, ambulance & a truck).

To view more pictures- check out this link: http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLandingSignin.jsp?Uc=7z4gsrl2.5xajinfm&Uy=ddmbbd&Upost_signin=Slideshow.jsp%3Fmode%3Dfromshare&Ux=0&UV=56771171806_551894082210&localeid=en_US
THANKS AUNT LOIS FOR THE PUMPKIN SWEATSHIRT... IT WAS PERFECT!! (you gave it to us when Timmy was just a wee little guy)