Shane's World: Shane is 1.5!!!!

Yes, I know that I keep promising to be better about updating, but life always seems to get in the way! I meant to put this post up on September 10th when our little man turned 18 months old! He had his pediatrician visit on Monday so here are the statistics! Shane is 28 pounds and 9 ounces. He is in the 80th percentile for weight. His length is questionable, but measured in at 32 inches, putting him in the 38th percentile. I say it is questionable because our happy, friendly little man was no such thing once he arrived at the doctor's office. He screamed and kicked and acted like he was being tortured. It was a bit embarrassing! The length and width is taken on the scale in the office. Shane is stripped down to a dry diaper and placed on the scale. Then, after a weight is determined, he must lay on the scale with his head at one end. He was kicking and screaming making the process difficult and the data not that reliable. He always has a problem with getting measured so even Dr. Lo says we have no idea how tall he is. He alternates between measuring in the 10th percentile and the 40th percentile so who knows. What we know for sure is that he is the cutest kid ever!!! Though I am not sure that poor Dr. Lo would agree after getting kicked in the gut many times by Shane who could not handle the torture of getting his head measured, his heart/lung listened to, or his ears examined. Dr. Lo suggested Dan join us for his next visit in case we need an extra pair of hands! Dr. Lo said it was a good thing that Shane sensed that the visit could be dangerous for him since he often is so trusting of everyone. He assured me that he was not trying to spin it and that it was a good thing for him to be wary of places like the doctor's office. Fortunately, everything checked out and Shane is a healthy little man! His next visit is not until he is 2! I had the camera at his appointment, but as you can tell, there were no photo opportunities!
Now on to the September update! Shane had a busy start to September as I was in my cousin Melissa's wedding over Labor Day weekend. That meant a bunch of time away from us for Shane. Fortunately, he knew he was in no danger and was thrilled to spend time with his babysitters! On Saturday night, we had a rehearsal and a rehearsal dinner. Our wonderful friends John and Garret agreed to watch Shane. We dropped him off and Shane waved goodbye to us as he ran off to chase their dog Spanky. Here is a picture we took before we left.

Look at Shane's awesome polo shirt! John and Garret brought it back from the Philippines for him. The red embroidery on his shirt is a map of the Philippines. It is so cool! They also brought me a beautiful pearl pin which I wore to the rehearsal dinner! Dan was also gifted with a t-shirt from the Philippines which he did not wear to the rehearsal dinner! :-) Here is a picture of me along with the bride, Melissa, the groom, Jason, and another bridesmaid, Angie. Note the pin. Try to ignore the fact that the strap from my dress is falling off of my shoulder!

Shane had a blast with John and Garret! They took him to Lincoln Park Zoo which he LOVED! They took some pictures so as soon as I get them, I will post them! It was great that they did that and Shane just adores them both! When we arrived to pick Shane up at the end of the night he was so busy playing that he barely even noticed that we were there. He looked at me and started yelling "DOG!!!" Initially I thought he was calling me one, but soon realized he was pointing to his buddy Spanky! Thanks John & Garret! We all love you!
On Sunday, I was up early getting my hair done and had to be downtown by 1 PM. Thankfully, Shane was again thrilled to spend the morning/afternoon with Aunt Debbie! She came over with her dog Ashley and Shane was waving goodbye to us as soon as they arrived! Debbie was wonderful and took Shane to the park, fed him lunch and loved him to pieces! We were so relieved that Shane was with her and having such a great time! Unfortunately, we did not get a chance to get any pictures with Shane and Debbie or Shane and his pooches!
Dan's mom relieved Debbie in the late afternoon and stayed with Shane through the night until we arrived home early the next afternoon! She is a wonderful grandma and Shane is sooo lucky to have her! It was the first time Dan and I ever left Shane overnight and I can say that I did not worry at all! That is a testament to how wonderful Dan's mom is! I love her!
OK, here are a few wedding pictures. Here we are under the Chuppah (the canopy that the bride and groom get married under in a Jewish wedding).

Here I am with the bride! Her dress was amazing!

Here are some pictures from the reception! Everyone had a blast - some (Jason & Jorie) more than others!
I like this picture of Dan and me.

Here is a great picture of my Aunt Joan and her boyfriend Cy.

Here I am with my cousin Andrea.

Here is another picture of Joan & Cy.

Here I am with Jorie & Jason.

Here Jason and Dan are goofing around! Can you believe Dan is this silly with no alcohol in his system!

Jorie and Jason with alcohol!

My parents dancing up a storm!

Jorie and my dad.

My parents again!

Here is my cousin Jennifer, my cousin Phil & Dan

Jason...

After recovering from the wedding, it was time to celebrate the Jewish New Year or Rosh Hashanah! We celebrated at my parents house. Shane and I arrived early with Thunder. Thunder's vet is in Skokie so my plan was to bring Thunder and leave Shane at my parents while Thunder got his shots. The only thing wrong with my plan was that the vet was on vacation for two weeks and the office was closed. Oh well, next week she opens up again so we will go then! Here Shane is hanging out with my dad.

He was so happy to see his grandma that he gave her a big hug!

Shane wanted to take Thunder for a walk. We let him use Thunder's leash to 'walk' his animals. He also had a great time "talking" on the phone!

I would have bet that I took pictures of Shane with Jorie and Jason on Rosh Hashanah, but apparently I did not. Oops... next time! It appears I stopped taking pictures once Dan, Jorie, & Jason arrived.
September has marked another milestone - college football! Dan and Shane celebrated last Saturday in their Notre Dame clothing! How cute are they!

Last weekend we headed to Oak Brook and Shane saw a little boy with a balloon. Shane wanted one too! Of course, the balloon came from a kids hair cut place and Shane is quite a ways from needing a haircut, but they gave him one anyway. Actually, Shane's wonderful daddy went over there and got him one! Shane took the balloon everywhere with him and he didn't even care that the helium was gone. He still loved his balloon!

We have been taking advantage of the beautiful days and heading to the park several times a day! One evening Shane rode his bike over! He loves being pushed while he steers!

One night, he decided to walk!

What he does every day/night is PLAY! He still loves the swing (He likes full blown underdogs!!!), but now he can climb up the slide. Dan or I climb behind him and then we follow him down the slide. He absolutely loves it!!!! Of course our little daredevil prefers the biggest slide at the park! Warning - there are a lot of cute park pictures!

On Thursday Cathy and I headed to KidsWorks - a children's museum in Frankfort. Shane LOVED it! His favorite part was a light room. The room was pitch black and there were blue lights on wires that hung on the wall. The kids listen to music and dance while they draw on the wall with the lights! Shane had so much fun in there that he didn't want to leave. Unfortunately, the flash from my camera lit up the whole room and the pictures do not have the feel of the room.

I took a mini video so you can 'see' what it was like in the room!

The rest of the museum time was spent playing in a dinosaur pit, exploring shapes, and shopping at the market! Shane and Alex had so much fun! I kept forgetting to take pictures so here are the few I took!

That evening Dan, Shane, & I met our dear friend Jen for dinner! I brought the camera, but forgot to take any pictures! UGHHH! Next time...
On Friday we met Kristine and Connor in Naperville for a late dinner (Friday at sundown marked the beginning of Yom Kippur - the Jewish holiday of atonement where we fast for 24 hours and reflect on our sins from the year. I am atoning as I type...) and then we walked next door to Anderson's book store for a book signing. Jamie Lee Curtis was there signing her new book, My Mommy Hung the Moon. She started with a talk and book reading.

After the talk, they started to line people up. We were numbers 52 & 53 so Kristine and I decided to take Connor and Shane for some ice cream while Dan waited behind. Well, as soon as we got the ice cream, Dan called that we needed to come back. At that point the boys were pooped and a bit cranky. We got in line and waited for our turn to meet Jamie Lee Curtis and get our books signed. Shane decided that he had enough of his stroller and started to whine. I picked him up and he started crying and fussing. Thankfully, Jamie Lee Curtis noticed and said, "Can we let that poor woman with the child go ahead." No one objected so we did. She could not have been nicer and personally handed Shane a moon cookie! They also let Kristine and Connor go - phew! The best part for Shane was that one of the store employees also gave him a green balloon! That made his night and he fell asleep in the back of the car gripping it for dear life! He is so funny with his balloons and he holds onto them so tightly! I was the same way as a child. In fact, I remember getting balloons when we got new shoes as kids. My sister was never as careful as I thought she should be with hers and I would insist that I hold onto hers until we got into the house. Too funny! Here are the pictures of Shane and Jamie Lee Curtis.