Museum Day

Last week we were fortunate to have Christian off work all week (which was especially nice considering he's in Berlin right now, was in London earlier in the week, and will be gone a total of 7 days!!) One of the days home we desired to go to a museum in the city. We sought out free days, planned to hit up the Shedd Aquarium on Tuesday, and then got invited to go with our friend Kate and her boys to the Museum of Science and Industry on Wednesday. We had gone to the MSI when Reid was close to Gemma's age 2 years ago (just took a trip down memory lane looking at that post!  Very similar experiences with Reid and Gemma this time around.) and loved looking at all the Christmas trees, so why not go again?  We figured it'd be more fun with friends, so picked the MSI instead. Little did we know that Reid wouldn't nap on Tuesday...and because of a planned no nap on Wednesday for the museum, he was a WRECK! There's no other way to explain it, but he melted at everything, was super unhappy to be told what to do or suggested a different thing than his own little desires and spent lots of the day in the stroller or being held because of such behavior. Oh - and he was also asleep within 5 minutes of getting in the car and slept hard for a full hour head buried in to his neck!! Oh well...memory makers for sure :).

Micha's Pre-K Pictures

I did not realize how adorable I would find staged, back-dropped pictures.  But when your child is sitting in those shots, looking cute as can be, it's hard to not fall in love with them!  

Gemma's Dedication Day!

Today was one of the best days we get as parents - presenting our children back to the Lord and pledging to raise them to seek after Christ, with Him as the center.  It's a joy to look back at Micah's and Reid's dedication days with such fondness and we are now able to add Gemma to the mix :) Grandma and Grandpa as well as Nana Kay and Papa C were able to join us for the special day, and we're so grateful to have family that supports us and cares for us and our children!

The girl of the hour!

Momma and her baby girl.

Daddy and his boys.

Reid insisted that I hold him, most of the day...

Sweet boy.

Pastor Michael Escamilla held Gemma during the dedication.

The boys loved seeing us up on the screen.

Praying over Gemma to raise her with Christ as the center.

Our sweet family!

We have been blessed.

Our family with grandparents on both sides...again, we are very blessed!

The one smile we were able to get our of her during pictures.

She's like, "what?" :)

My parents - isn't it a sweet picture?

After a big morning, Gemma took a solid nap thank goodness!  Post nap she was happy and ready to roll, play and fly!

We love you so much Gemma Jams!  You are such a sweetheart who just melts our hearts and you've captured all of us with your sweet smiles and contentedness.  We pray you grow up knowing Christ as your savior and you have a desire to keep Him as the center of your life.  Love you baby girl!

Randomness

Just a couple photo documentations from Christian's time with the boys while I stayed back with Gemma.  Love his involvement and dedication as a Daddy.  Love watching him love on the boys (and girl) and love that he's my life partner.  The first place they went was a park in downtown Batavia.  Chilly night, but they boys had fun!  The second place was to Ball Factory - a frequently visited location during the dreadful winter months in Chicago.  The last two are just of Gemma sleeping...sweet baby girl...