My Little Olympian!

Kaylea graduated her Level 1 Seal Pups class and received her gold medal! Here she is posing with her gold medal and her classmates and the second one is with her swim instructor Ms. Alexa. She was very proud. They played Olympic music and had them stand on the podium and gave them each gold medals and certificates. It was all very official! Tonight she moves on to Level 1-2 with a new class but same instructor! Go Kaylea!

Make a Wish Kaylea Style

Eric and Kaylea were in the car and listening to sports radio.... (hmmm I wonder who chose that station?)during one of our hurricane season downpours this week. Anyway, a commercial came on for the Make a Wish foundation. It had multiple little kids coming on air to say what they were making a wish for.... and went on about how the program helps make these kids wishes come true etc etc. Kaylea believed it applied to her and said, "I'm making a wish that I can go the park with my Daddy!" (I know so sweet!) But, Daddy reminded her that it was storming and they would have to go another day. And Kaylea reminded him that the commercial said it makes kid's wishes come true! :-)

Kaylea's Seal Swim School Picture

Here is Kaylea's School Picture they took at her "Seal Swim School". It turned out really well so we bought it and they even gave us the original digital file so we can get it blown up for her wall! She really loves her swim class. You never know.... you all might see her at the Olympics one day! :-)

The Big 3-0!

Well my friends I did it. I turned the big 3-0 yesterday. This morning I woke up and went to my fitness bootcamp I've started to work off the Chocolate Cobbler I had from Cracker Barrel last night lol. (I'm so tired!)

To celebrate my birthday, Eric took Kaylea and I to Daytona Beach for Saturday night and Sunday. We stayed at a little place called the Hawaiian Inn and it was nice and relaxing. It was very family oriented... not the Ritz, but good enough for us. What was great is the view from our balcony - right onto the ocean!

Saturday night we went to a Luau that they do there. It is a show with Hula dancers and Hawaiian music. I got to go up on stage and learn the "Huki Lao" (not sure the correct spelling) in front of everybody, and then later they brought Eric and Kaylea on stage to do some dancing too! Getting Eric on stage to dance with a Hula Girl pretty much made my night (he's not one to go on stage). So it was a great time! Kaylea practiced her swimming and we had a chance to relax as a family. Daytona is a lot nicer than I expected it to be. I always pictured it as a dirty beach and a party town, but in fact where we were was very clean, clear water and family oriented and not crowded. We want to make it a point to do a one night getaway every couple of months. Its great bonding time for all of us and relaxing time too... gets you out of the reality of the world as you know it and takes your mind off stressful stuff! You should do the same! :-)

Here are some more pics from our trip to Daytona Beach.

3 Year Old Responsibility

This morning I headed to the gym at 6:30am. Usually when I go to the gym, Kaylea knows she has to wake her daddy up and that is a big task. Waking Eric up can be a very hard thing even for an adult to do... you have to practically pull him out of bed lol.

Well this morning Kaylea woke up and realized Mommy was not there, so she walked over to Eric's side of the bed and started to tickle him and said, "Tickle, tickle tickle!" in her cute little girl giggly voice. It wasn't working I guess, so she piped up and in a very serious tone said, "Daddy you have to wake up! It's my responsibility to wake you up!"

That got Eric up and laughing. I wish I had been there because I've never heard a three year old say the word "Responsibility" before! :-)

She has a better grip on her responsibilities than most adults! I just love these adorable moments... these little phrases just melt your heart away!

Eric's 30th Birthday Dinner at Molly Goodheads

http://picasaweb.google.com/kayleasmom/EricSBirthday

Summer Meets Bill Rancic

So here was the highlight of my trip. It was Monday night and Eric had already flown back. I was planning on going back to my hotel and ordering a Giordanos pizza for dinner and watching their limited television stations. So, I walk out of the McCormick Place Convention Center and I see Bill Rancic. I'm freaking out thinking, "Wow thats Bill Rancic!" I know you are asking yourselves "Who is Bill Rancic?" Well I will explain that later.

So there is a long line for cabs so I have time to waste. I go nearby and try to get a couple of pics from my cell phone. Then another girl comes up and says is that really Bill Rancic? Both of us wanted to talk to him but neither of us had the courage yet. Then I decided why not. What's the worst that can happen? So I go up and introduce myself and hand him my card.

Now who is Bill Rancic? Bill (now that we are on a first name basis lol) is the very first winner of the TV show "The Apprentice" hosted by Donald Trump. He won a job working for Donald Trump in Chicago. He still works for Trump by helping him with the TV show Apprentice, but has also written two books. Prior to the show he had started his own online Cigar business called Cigars Around the World and it is now a multi million dollar business. All that said, and "HE IS HOT!" :-) And married to Giuliana DePandi (Rancic) from the E Television Network and former Miss USA.

So I hung out with him and chatted for about 10 minutes. Told him my name, company and explained what I did for a living. We talked about wine for a little bit and then he asked me where I was staying. I couldn't say "Ramada Inn in the ghetto" so I played it off and said, "somewhere off Lakeshore Drive in Hyde Park". He said, "oh. ok. Well next time you should stay at the Trump!" Yeah I think so too believe me!

So he asked me if I was going to the dinner party that night. Didn't want to seem stupid so I just said, "I'm not sure yet." (In my head I was thinking... what dinner party and where?) The VP of Marketing with the VIP checklist obviously noticed my confusion and came over and non-chalantly whispered in my ear... "You wanna go I can get you on the list?" Um let me think... YEAH! So I waited with the group of 40 VIP guests to go on the double decker bus to the Nine Steakhouse in Chicago.

I've never ridden a double decker bus till now. I walked up the steep stairs on the bus with Bill Rancic right behind me. The whole time I'm thinking... "Don't trip or do anything embarassing and Bill Rancic's face is at my butt's eye level! Ack!" So we rode the bus to the Nines and were escorted upstairs to the VIP room that overlooked the entire restaurant (which was very hip and trendy by the way). Bill Rancic spoke and we had a fully catered dinner and open/free bar! I ate dinner with the E-commerce girl and VP of Lowe's Home Improvement (these were the types of people at this dinner party!) Little ol me hanging out! I even got a swag gift! A box of Harry London Chocolates and a USB jump drive

SO to sum up this long story... I was in the right place at the right time. I got to eat a free dinner at an exclusive steakhouse with Bill Rancic and other Business VIP, ride a double decker bus and get free stuff! Amazing night I will never forget.

Today I called Bill's agent and got his address so I can ship him a bottle of wine. Oh yeah! :-)

Back from Chicago!

Well we are back from Chicago! Actually Eric came back on Monday and I stayed at the conference Monday through Wednesday. I went to attend the Internet Retailer Conference for my company. Since Eric's birthday was that week we decided to fly Eric up with me on Saturday and spend the weekend in the city before the conference started. We had alot of fun!

Our first day in Chicago we spent walking.... walking and walking around the Navy Pier and some of the city. The Navy Pier is really neat with lots of little shops and restaurants. We managed to fulfill every Chicago tradition in one weekend. At the Navy Pier we stopped at "America's Dog" and got a "Chicago Dog" and an "Italian Beef Sandwich" both of which Chicago is known for. The Chicago Dog was really good. The only thing strange about it was that it had a whole dill pickle cut up on top of it, which made it pretty hard to eat. But it was definitely yummy! The Italian Beef Sandwich (I got mine with hot peppers) was really like a glorified French Dip to me... like a French Dip Sandwich that had already been dipped. It was ok... but not nearly as good as the Chicago Dog.

After pigging out... literally! We decided to walk it off. We had a couple of hours to spare until the show we were going to see "Cirque Shanghai" (a Chinese acrobat show). So we walked more around the Navy Pier and the nearby parks and city. We got our picture taken with Bob Newhart (actually just the statue of Bob Newhart), and we tried on some really cool Afro wigs! I tried to convince Eric we should buy these but I guess we needed to spend that money on something better. (What could be better than some 70s afros? Really?)

So after walking the city we went to see the Cirque Shanghai show. It was absolutely phenomenol! I've never seen anything like it. They balanced tiny little plates on wires while doing cartwheels and making human pyramids. At one point a girl actually balanced 10 chairs on her knees while another girl balanced on top of them! It was crazy, but so neat. Kind of like Cirque de Soleil but this was called Cirque Shanghai. It was a really cool show and makes me want to go see the Soleil now.

After the show and the Navy Pier we headed to see a movie. Yeah I know why see a movie when you are in a town of all kinds of fun. 1.) it was pouring rain 2.) we never get to go to the movies together cause we have a 3 year old! So we went to see the movie - "Forgetting Sarah Marshall". Absolutely hysterical. I don't think either of us has ever laughed so hard at a movie before. We both recommend going to see this movie for some good laughs... but be warned of its funny yet graphic nature! (I can't say any more)

After resting our feet and laughing till our sides hurt, we took a cab back to the hotel and ordered a Giordanos pizza. Now my friend Mari told me we wouldn't be able to finish a "small" pie. But neither Eric or I believed this. Its a 10 inch pizza. Come on we could each eat two! Until we got the pizza and realized it weighed ten pounds! No joke! It was like 2.5 inches thick and filled with sausage and pepperoni and cheese and the sauce on top. Sounds weird like an inside out pizza, but it was AWESOME! (PS - just saw a sign for a Giordanos opening up here!)

Because this is getting so long, I will make the next day short. We went to the Lincoln Park Zoo - a free zoo imagine that?! Then we went to see yet another movie (tired feet). We went to see the Zohan movie with Adam Sandler (I'm a huge Adam Sandler fan).... and actually it wasn't that funny. The Sarah Marshall movie was much funnier and made with unknowns! :-)

So in short folks, on our trip to Chicago, we took the bull by the horns and had a lot of fun!

Here is a link to the rest of our pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/kayleasmom/Chicago

Our Little Seal!

Kaylea kicking her feet with the teacher Ms. Alexa

Kaylea has started her summer lessons at the "Seal Swim School". She took swim classes there two years ago when she was just turning 1 years old and did well, but of course there is only so much a one year old can learn.

Well this year, she is doing awesome! She is in the Level 1 class and this time without parents being in the water with them. They put her under the water almost immediately... this class is obviously more advanced than her previous, but she is loving it. She hasn't cried or fussed, but instead smiles and claps and even screamed out, "I can do it!" Its so fun to watch her in swim class and the instructors there are the best I have seen as far as interacting with kids. They have alot of enthusiasm and are great with the young ones like Kaylea. I will post more pictures and/or video as she progresses this year!

Ms. Alexa guiding Kaylea to the wall while swimming underwater. It looks scary but she was all smiles!

Kaylea's Graduation

Our little girl is growing up! She sang at the PreK graduation last week. Sorry I haven't had a chance to post pictures till now. She did more standing and looking at the other kids than singing but it was cute none the less. Things I did not catch on video were her dancing with the little boy in the front row with her and Kaylea standing in the front row pulling her dress up (aaack!)

It was a really cute graduation and I know when she gets to do the whole cap and gown bit I am going to cry. Afterwards we headed to the gym for some cake - then we hit Bob Evans! :-)

Mimi and Kaylea at PreK Graduation

Kaylea's 1st Haircut!

We have debated about whether or not to cut her hair for a long time. I think if Eric or my mom had their way they would still not have her cut it. Her hair is so long and beautiful! But, I wanted her to get it trimmed just to get the dead ends off and keep it healthy. So, we took Kaylea to get her very first haircut yesterday (June 1st, 2008). She really did a great job. She was very nervous about going and kept saying she did not want to get her hair cut. We made a deal with her that Eric would get his cut first then me then her just to ease her into it. Well, Eric had to go to work so I made a deal with her that she could watch them cut my hair first then she could go. Also I promised her I'd take her to get a donut afterwards as a reward.

So she agreed and then as her turn got there... she got excited about it! She was thrilled to sit in her own special booster seat and have a kid's cape on around her. She smiled the whole time, and it ended up being fun (not like she expected!) She got to keep a little piece of her hair in a card that had the date on it.


So I did as promised and took her to Dunkin Donuts where she picked out a chocolate frosted donut with pink sprinkles. As we walked out of Dunkin Donuts Kaylea said, "Mommy! Did you see all those people in there were lookin' at me! They thought my hair was beautiful and they were lookin at me cause my hair is so pretty!" I busted out laughing. So cute! And the rest of the day she just kept saying how beautiful she was with her "new hair". :-)