Xander turns THREE at Chuck E. Cheese's house

Xander went through a phase of loving Chuck E. Cheese -- like, he didn't just enjoy going there to play the games, he loved seeing Chuck E. Cheese whenever he'd come out and interact with the kids.

He even called it "Chuck E. Cheese's House"

So we thought it would be fitting to have his birthday party there, bearing in mind that it would likely be INSANE and OBNOXIOUS for the parents, but wildly amazing and fun for the kids.

Invitation design by none other than Terlie Design Co.

The sample cake was MUCH nicer than the one we got :P

Xander and all of his friends :)

The birthday boy had a blast...

...and some AWESOME gifts!

A big thanks to everyone who showed up and helped make Xander's 3rd birthday party a fun one!

Spring with my men

Spring in Chicago got off to a quick start, but summer took a little longer to make an appearance.

It was important for me to take advantage of any opportunity I could get, to spend time outdoors with my little Xander man.

Helping grandma in the garden

 We visited numerous parks and playgrounds all around the suburbs

We visited the Brookfield Zoo for the first time, but got there pretty late in the afternoon and only stayed for about an hour and a half

This is his first mold-a-rama experience, which would eventually lead to a future addiction..

We went up to Milwaukee and spent some time with dada during the week.  Got to go to AJ Bombers, where they have the best peanut delivery system I've ever seen....

Oh.. and they have POUTINE

Officially my favorite restaurant in all of Milwaukee ;P

 While up there, I took Xander to the Milwaukee Zoo where he got to see a lot more animal friends

More mold-o-rama fun, and four less dollars in my pocket

Back down to Chicago.  Bri started playing in an outdoor soccer league, so we would go to cheer him on (and to kick a ball around in the open fields)

We visited the Graylsake flea market at the Lake County Fair Grounds, just a 5 minute drive from our new house

A couple weeks later, we headed back up to Milwaukee to soak in the rays at the beach...

 Aaaaand to celebrate THIS guys THIRD BIRTHDAY!

 How lucky is Xander?! The staff at the aLoft hotel made him a little birthday package :)

Enjoyed a fun date-night with the hubby at Just for Laughs in Chicago - got to see some talented comedians and laughed our asses off

We were delighted to receive an invitation to a birthday party for our friend's son Carter.

Xander got to make PIZZA! at California Pizza Kitchen in Oakbrook.  He had so much fun and made some friends along the way :)

Playdates are always fun when it involves these two kiddos:

We met with our friend Lucille and her girls Ryler and Baya, for a fun day at the Buffalo Grove splash pad.  

 It was a little cool that day, but this was no problem for little X -- he figured out that the cement was warm, so every time he got a little chilly, I'd find him on the ground like this:

So this was just the beginning of our adventures... Spring stretched itself out as long as it could, and Summer eventually showed up to the party --  that's when the fun REALLY started!

Spring Break 2013 - Xierra visits Chicago

As much as I hated leaving Winnipeg after my brief visit, I was super excited to get back to Chicago with Xierra, to spend Spring Break with her.  We only had a week, so we crammed as much 'awesomeness' into it as humanly possible.  Here's a summary:

Last time we flew together, just the two of us, was when she was 2.5 years old!

We love breakfast!  Especially when the pancakes are shaped like Mickey Mouse!

Brought the kids (and grandma and grandpa) to Monkey Joe's for some bouncy fun with friends

Visited the Kohl's Children's museum -- this was Xierra's second time going, but Xander's first.  Fun when you're 2... but still fun when you're 9!

One of Xierra's pre-vacation requests was to eat at an "Authentic Italian Restaurant" -- so that she could order "Fettuccini Alfredo, with Spaghetti noodles"... um.. okay.

Spring Break landed on the week of Easter, so what better way to get the kids excited than to decorate Easter eggs! Grandma and Grandpa were nice enough to host the egg dyeing party.  Look at these gems:

And her visit wouldn't have been complete if she didn't get a chance to see the rest of the Schmid family -- Easter brunch at our Aunt Jennie's house was delightful and delicious

a rare family photo

We went up to Milwaukee for a couple of days, to hang out with Brian during the week -- did some swimming, brought the kids to the movies, did some shopping, made some crafts at the hotel and Xierra discovered Culver's -- which is now in her top 5 favourite places to eat (that darned grilled cheese sandwich is just soooo goooood)

At the Fox Bay Cinema -- super oldschool theatre with table service.  The kids loved it :)

Braved the crowd on the Easter long weekend, and brought the kids to Legoland in Schaumburg.  Such a cool place but it was crowded as hell.. Whelp, at least the KIDS had fun..

The last hoorah consisted of a one-night-stay at Key Lime Cove -- a hotel -slash- indoor water park -slash- resort.  Whatever you want to call it, it was effin awesome, and I'm so glad we did it

Hey! We know you!  We just saw you at Walmart a couple of days ago!

Water slide fun!

Our sweet family photo

A final visit to Nibbles Café for some breakfast, before the little diva and I headed to airport for her drop-off

Big sibling hugs xoxo

This was Xierra's first time flying as an unaccompanied minor, so we made sure to get to the airport SUPER early to take care of the extra paperwork that's involved.

She did perfectly fine on her flight back - the airline took really good care of her.  What a brave girl :)

It was so much fun hanging out with my little Yaya Monster for her Spring Break.. but a week just wasn't quite long enough!