The life I've forever dreamed of...: .catch-up.

I'm beginning to think that maybe my blog will be composed of posts that happen in clumps if I don't start writing when I think to write. Sorry, folks. It's funny because I am constantly thinking of things I'd like to post, and then something else comes up and I don't get to it. I can't really blame it on baby because I follow enough blogs by people who have babies. So, I think it can really only be blamed on scatter-brained me! At any rate, let's get things back up to speed:

This month has been a busy one for us. We went to the Chicago Auto Show the Tuesday after Valentine's Day. It was a lot of fun (though much more exhausting with a 4-month old!). It was so funny to think that last year when we were there, Brian and I found so much excitement in the idea that "Next year, we'll have a 4-month old with us." It was almost surreal to walk around a year later with a stroller and all the provisions an infant requires. Blessed, we are. So, of course, here's a picture or two from this year's Auto Show:

Excited, obviously. : )

One of the many pitstops of the day!

We celebrated Megan's 2nd birthday with the family. It involved some really good pizza, really good company, and lots of pink sparkly things for sweet little Megan. It also strengthened my desire for a little girl for our second child... I loved looking for the little girl stuff! Don't get it twisted, though... I LOVE my boy!! I always wanted a blonde-headed blue-eyed boy followed by a blonde-headed blue-eyed girl, so I'm well on my way! But, of course, besides the fact that our second is quite a time away, I'll be happy with whatever we get! I don't know how it happened that we didn't get ANY pictures of little Megan, but we did get a picture of Jackson with cousin Dante that is just PRECIOUS! Here it is: (c'mon did you think I'd tease ya and not post the picture??)

Last (for now) but not least we took a little trip to San Antonio. Literally. Brian had 4 days off (Sunday thru Wednesday) so we thought, "Okay, let's head somewhere Sunday thru Tuesday." We chose San Antonio because that's where I was born and, for years, I have been DYING to get back. The weather forecast was warm, and we got deals on the hotel and car so it set up nicely. Sunday started out rocky - our first choice of flight was canceled and the chain reaction from that knocked us off the second choice. So we had lunch at Chili's in the airport and hung out in the non-rev lounge for about 3 hours and finally made the last flight out. Of course, the fun of flying didn't end there - we actually sat on the runway for another hour and a half before FINALLY taking off on our 3-hour flight. Jackson was a champ and we finally landed in balmy SA, got the car, drove the short 20-minute drive to the beautiful and historic Emily Morgan Hotel and settled in for the night. Or so we thought. An hour after drifting off, Jackson woke up screaming with a stuffy nose. I felt awful for my little guy. I walked the room and rocked him and sang to him until finally he went back to sleep. I propped up on pillows in the bed and held him since he was sleeping more soundly than he was in a crib. After about 3 hours of sleep he was up again, miserable and moany. So I remembered that the hotel shampoo in the bathroom was rosemary/mint which is similar to what is in ches rubs (I had not brought the baby chest rub because I had no intention of needing it... lesson learned). I stripped him down, rubbed the shampoo on his chest and belly, turned the shower on steam-hot with the head pointed toward the wall and sat down in the huge jacuzzi tub with him in my lap. It worked like a charm and he perked back up a bit. After the "shower treatment" I wrapped him in a warm towel and he went right to sleep. Again, I held him as he slept and tried to catch some zzz's myself before we resumed our morning at about 7. He was much happier (though still not feeling great) so I handed him to daddy and went to get ready. When I came out this is what I saw...

PRECIOUS!

I couldn't resist capturing the moment! After letting them sleep for a couple more hours (I figured, Jackson definitely needed the rest and since he was getting it snuggled with Daddy I'd let Daddy get the extra sleep, too!) We ended up heading out around 9:30, stopped by the Alamo for a second before heading down to the famed RiverWalk where we ate breakfast and spent most of the morning. Then, we headed back up to the Alamo to actually do the walk around - Sidenote: it is crazy to think of the things that happened on those grounds and the people who were there... I mean Davy Crockett??!?! Really??? While we were there the sun popped out and the temperature & humidity headed up and it. was. HEAVEN. Though it was also naptime for everyone. After a quick cat nap in the hotel room, we headed back to the RiverWalk for some drinks at an outdoor restaurant (and, of course, Brian enjoyed his first cigar in San Antonio!). We did more walking around the RiverWalk and had a DELICIOUS dinner at Saltgrass on the RiverWalk. After a better - not perfect - night's sleep we got packed and ready and headed out again for a walk to Produce Row where we ate at one of THE greatest Mexican restaurants we've ever been to, Mi Tierra. With full tummies, we walked back to get our car and hit the road. We decided to fit in a trip to Natural Bridge Caverns just 30 minutes from the airport. What a COOL (well, actually about 77 degrees with 99% humidity) place! 180 feet below ground with rooms that could fit a football field with room to spare! The formations are thousands and THOUSANDS of years old, and it's just amazing to stand in awe of such things! After surfacing, it was back in the car and back to the airport. Shout out to Luis, a friend an fellow flight attendant, who brought us up to first class for the 3hour flight back to Chicago which was amazing.
So, here are some pictures from the trip: