All I want for Easter is...

MY TWO FRONT TEETH!

Well, it looks like Reed won't have to wait that long after all. His little teeth have chosen an non-traditional order to appear. After months with just the cute pair on the bottom, two little bumps began to appear. To my dismay, they weren't the front teeth, they weren't the next bottom teeth, no, they were FANGS! Little "Fang" didn't seem to mind and they even began to grow on me (not literally, we aren't a vampire family) as they started to come in. Reed is suddenly cutting what seems to be a mouthful of teeth. There are six teeth making their move now. Two of which, drum roll please, are the front teeth!

Say goodbye to the gummy smile! And speaking of goodbyes, I caught one of Reed's goodbyes on video. It could be just mother's pride but I think it is a wonderful farewell for this blog posting.

Babies and Coffee...

Today Reed and I hosted the monthly playdate with moms and their babies here in the neighborhood. We had a good turnout which meant a full house of tikes mostly between 9-11 months old with a few older siblings. With all these cute faces it seemed like a perfect photo opportunity. From left to right: Benjamin, Reed, Addie, Max, and AnnaLizette. Big Siblings Ava and Caleb also had a good time. Lochen and Adeline also joined us too. We had cookies, some great bread from Herb's Bakery (thanks Sarah!), coffee, tea, and nice conversation. And no meltdowns...a raging success!

And 10 minutes after everyone left Reed was out cold. All that playing can wear a boy out.

A night on the town!

To be honest, since Reed has come into our lives Bob and I have not taken a lot of date nights. It was wonderful to have a night on the town last night with just the two of us (thanks to grandma and grandpa for watching little Reed!). We attended the Landmarks Illinois "Legendary Landmarks Gala" that was held at the Palmer House Hilton, Downtown Chicago. As you can tell from Bob's tuxedo, it was quite a formal affair. We were afforded this opportunity to attend by Bob's company, who supports the architectural preservation community in Chicago, noted Bob's interest in preservation, and offered us tickets. It was a very generous gesture. Highlights of the evening were television personality Bill Kurtis presenting an award, another award recipient Richard Driehaus pledging a million dollars to restore county courthouses throughout the state (http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/theskyline/2009/03/driehaus-starting-1-million-grant-program-to-preserve-illinois-historic-courthouses.html), and a wonderful spread of desserts.
To continue our architectural evening we stayed at the Hotel Burnham in the famous Reliance Building, a building that architectural historians attribute to be the forerunner of the 20th century steel and glass skyscrapers. Not to bore you with the history, but here are some interior photos from our floor. Many of the existing features were restored in the conversion from an office building to a hotel. We ended up with a really great suite with a view of State Street, the Chicago Theater, and the Pritzker Pavilion (Frank Gehry's bandshell in Grant Park).
We had a wonderful night and enjoyed every minute (except that we lost an hour with the time change). You can't win them all!