Visitors

Aunt Ashley visited this week. We had the most wonderful time at the beach, Giordano's (thanks to a suggestion from Angela Grisham!), and the Lincoln Park Zoo. Mary Lu and Jim are coming this weekend so James will have even more exciting visitors!

First Steps (sort of)!

Here is a fun video of James starting to learn to walk. Know that Lori and Mary Lu will enjoy this. One of the nice things about keeping this is that it makes it so easy to share photos and videos with you two!

Video!

Bennison's

Think we may have started a new Saturday morning tradition. After spending an hour at the Evanston Post Office getting Jamester a passport, we dropped by Bennison's and picked up breakfast. If you want to watch their kitchen in action, click here.

I first tried their baked goodies at the Farmer's market. Also, when we buy James's first birthday cake here, it will come with a little mini cake for him to eat!

Second City

Last night, we went to the Second City comedy club with a group of Kellogg students and their wives. It is a very cool venue where many famous comedians have gotten their start including Steve Carell, Dan Akroyd and John Candy. Some of our new Kellogg friends are from Holland, Canada, and Mexico City, and it was funny to try to explain some of the jokes to them.

I fully expect to see my college roommate, Kate Hendricks, appearing onstage there very soon! She is a comedian in NYC and the funniest person I know - check out her blog here!

Nine Months

James had his nine month check-up yesterday. He is now 19 lbs. (30th percentile) and 29 inches long (70th percentile)...but his head is still in the 96th percentile! We think that just means he will be really smart. He loves trying new foods these days and is always starving. We literally cannot feed this boy enough. Some of his favorite new foods are spinach, avocado and blueberries. He likes anything he can pick up with his hands and feed himself. He is at the most fun age and is such a joy, always smiling and giggling and learning so many new things every day.

This is of James trying prunes (which he did not love...) on our Shamblin family vacation to St. John this summer.

Isn't this Vandy bib the cutest thing you ever saw? It was from Elliot's favorite person in the world: Worth Turner.

And sometimes, it's easier to feed him in just his diaper...because he misses his mouth so often these days!

Spotless Strollers and Seats

Austin native and recent Kellogg graduate Jennifer Beall is in the process of launching a company to clean strollers and car seats. Yesterday, she and her interns cleaned two of our strollers and our Graco car seat and they look brand new! I wish I had before and after shots to post; our Maclaren stroller was covered in sunscreen and sand from all of our beach trips, and it is truly spotless now. Her company has been featured in the news, and I can't say enough good things about her eco-friendly cleaning service.

Check out the website here. I am helping write the copy for the site so be sure to support her new company if you are in the Chicago area!

New Rides!

We got bikes this weekend. James loves all of it but the helmet...:)

Our Little Monkey

James is such a boy - he is into everything these days. We cannot turn our backs for even a second without him crawling into Elliot's crate, pulling up on the coffee table or trying to eat Elliot's food! Here are some recent pics of the little man.

Of all his playmates, Elliot is his very best friend right now. He gets so excited to see him every morning! :)




He loves to swing!!







He crawls into Elliot's crate with him. haha.



And he loves doing dishes.

Kellogg Beach Babies

We went to the beach again today. Here is a fun video of James hogging the beach toys!

Happy Fourth!

The 4th of July parade in Evanston is massive. There are more than 150 floats and the whole town turns out to cheer for America. Locals secure their front row vantage point days before the parade; in fact, by city ordinance, you can set up your lawn chairs on the sidewalk beginning on July 1. My favorite float was the "North End Bunco, Parchesi, and Weight-Dropping Auxiliary."

Afterward, everyone goes to the lake to grill out and watch fireworks.

Evanston Farmer's Market

The Evanston Farmer's Market is legendary. There are four different locations that open each Saturday and flocks of people head down to purchase flowers, eggs, produce and more. A local band entertained the shoppers while we perused the tomatoes and mushrooms. It is such an institution that two separate strangers asked us if we were headed to the farmer's market while we were walking over to the square.

We bought mushrooms and asparagus and made this risotto recipe; it was delicious! (We added the mushrooms in with the onions.) Here are a couple photos:







Shouldn't Illinois child labor laws protect children from parents that make them play in folk bands on the local farmers' markets tour?



And it's nap time...

Welcome to Evanston!

Our first two weeks in Evanston have been quite an adventure. After 15 hours in the car with an eight-month old, we made it to our new home. Evanston is an adorably quaint little town north of Chicago home to Northwestern University, where Jordan will receive his MBA. We live a mere four blocks from Lake Michigan and the locals live outside on the beach during the summer. The weather is certainly a far cry from the Texas heat to which we have been accustomed.




Unfortunately, there was a slight mix-up with the movers and we did not receive our furniture and belongings for a week. During this interlude, Jordan, James and I had a slumber party on an air mattress and portable crib respectively. We did manage to hit the beach though and here is a photo of James and his new friend Jada.