Another Baby party at the Mowry household - this time with dogs too!

On the second Sunday in December, we had another big baby party at the Mowry household in Lakeview!  This time it was with Charlie's friends.  Charlie's friend Craig, who moved from Chicago to North Carolina a couple of year ago, was back in town for the week.  Craig and his wife Allison just had a baby - daughter Harper - in late September.  Our friends Kris and Tina also came over with their baby Tessa, who was born in June.

That put Brady smack dab in the middle age wise.  It was neat to see one baby who had been as small as Brady had been a few months earlier, and another baby who could do more "advanced moves" like sitting up and rolling over!  Brady thought Tessa was so cool that he put the moves on and grabbed her hand!  Slow down there big guy, you guys aren't even half a year old...

The other thing that was really cool was that this "baby party" involved not only 3 babies - but 3 dogs, too!  Both couples had dogs that they brought with them - so we had quite the group running around our house!  Griffey enjoyed playing with Marley (Craig's "big dog") and Kirby (Kris's dog - about Griffey's size).  It meant he wasn't passed over for all the attention, for sure!  If you recognize the name Kirby, you might be thinking of the Minnesota Twins center fielder.  Kris is a Twins fan, so we actually had two dogs in the house named after Hall of Fame center fielders.  Maybe the only household in America to have that as a true statement?  Charlie sure hoped so!

The day involved watching a Bears loss (much to Craig's disappointment) to the Vikings (to Kris's excitement) and then we saw the Bengals lose to the Cowboys (to Charlie's chagrin).  But Katie cooked a great meal for the occasion - Italian Pork and potato casserole that everyone agreed was excellent!  And the others brought snacks and drinks, so we had a great time meeting new additions to our friends' growing families.  It's amazing how many new babies their are - Brady will have many friends to hang out with as he goes through those first few years!

Thanksgiving weekend

Well we are yet again a whole holiday behind on this blog because it is almost Christmas time as we write this one about Thanksgiving weekend.  Since we had just seen both sets of grandparents the previous two weekends, we stayed in Chicago and had a quiet Thanksgiving with just Brady and Griffey.  Charlie had a few days off of work, which was really nice to just relax and hang out all together.  Most people like to go shopping on the day after Christmas but for us this year, we decided to go the day before Thanksgiving on Wednesday.  We both scheduled eye doctor appointments downtown near Charlie's work and then afterwords we went out to lunch and took Brady shopping for his first time on Michigan Ave.  The weather has been unseasonably warm so far and was a great day for walking.  Brady fell asleep right before we went through the Disney Store, which he is too young to remember anyways but we got some Christmas shopping done for the little man.

Thanksgiving morning, Charlie cooked a big breakfast for us but we had a slight problem with the bacon.  After having the heat up a little too high on the burner, the bacon started sizzling way too fast and created a bit of smoke in the kitchen, which set off the fire detector.  It was just a little smoke that cleared out once we opened the window, but we had forgotten that the smoke detectors are linked into the security system and before we could call the security system to tell them everything was fine and no need for the fire department, the Chicago Fire department was already at our door.  We were a little embarrassed and felt bad for making them make the trip for a false alarm, but I guess it is nice to know that if a real fire ever broke out, the Chicago Fire department doesn't mess around.

Since Brady keeps us so busy, Katie decided to make our Thanksgiving meal really easy and order a precooked rotisserie turkey from the grocery and Katie just made the side dishes including Charlie's favorite sausage stuffing (him mom's recipe), roasted tomatoes and mashed potatoes.  This all worked out great and was very yummy.

On Friday, the weather was still very warm so we decided to take the family over to The Lake for a stroll.  One of the perks of living in Lakeview, is that we are only a few minutes from the Lake.

Even more popular than Thanksgiving day and Black Friday in our house, is the Saturday after Thanksgiving because it is the OSU/Michigan football game.  Charlie's best friend from high school, Jason, and his girlfriend, Kate, came over to meet Brady and watch the game with us.  Much to Brady and Charlie's dismay, Michigan lost (26-21) . And then afterwords, we went to a nearby bar - The Crossing (yes we bring Brady to Bars..as long as they are baby friendly)  to get some food and hangout.

(as you can see, Brady gets just as excited as his Daddy when watching the Wolverines)

Wedding in Kansas City

We followed up two weddings on the weekend of November 10th with another one over the weekend of the 17th.  For this one, Charlie's friend Jon was getting hitched in Kansas City.  Brady had his first night away from mom the weekend before, staying with Charlie's parents in Cincinnati.  For this weekend, Katie's parents came up and he got to hang out with different grandparents on back to back weekends.  We stayed in Chicago Friday night and went out to dinner for Katie's dad's birthday.  We went to Crosby's kitchen, which is a restaurant over on Southport Avenue (an area Katie really likes) that we've been wanting to try.  It was very good, and even Brady had a good time, too!  We met another couple who had 2 kids at home and was expecting another on the way, and Katie traded notes :)

Saturday morning we flew to Kansas City.  Jon's wife Katie is from there originally, and we were excited to try some authentic KC barbecue on our trip.  We were with 2 other friends of Jon's, and after the 2:00 ceremony we had some time to kill - so we stopped at Oklahoma Joe's, which seemed to be the most famous of all the (many) KC BBQ places.  Despite the fact that it was 3:30 - not lunch or dinner time - the line was still out the door.

Oklahoma Joe's is known because there's also a gas station and convenience store in the same location as the barbecue.  But it was ad advertised - one of the best barbecue restaurants you could have.  After being stuffed on barbecue, we made our way to the wedding reception which was at the Hobbs building in Kansas City.  We had a great time dancing (and even eating a little bit more) and hanging out with some old KPMG Columbus friends that we hadn't seen in a while.  We didn't stay the next day for the Bengals game - they just happened to be playing in town that weekend - but they did get a win!

We wish all the best to Jon and Katie, and to all the other friends of ours who tied the knot in 2012!

Back to Cincy - 2 weddings in one weekend

During the weekend of November 10th, we had an interesting dilemma.  We had two weddings in the same weekend.  We'd had this happen before, but not in quite a while.  You usually have to pick one.  Luckily, one of the weddings was on Saturday, one on Sunday.

The Saturday one was in Indianapolis for Ryan (Charlie's friend from Miami U.) and Emily.  We met Emily for the first time a couple of years ago at another one of our friends' weddings, and she is the perfect match for "Schwalby".  We had new logistics for this wedding, however!  This was the first time Katie was going to a wedding after having Brady.  We drove down to Cincinnati Thursday night and stayed with Charlie's parents.  This also meant we got to see family (Brady saw his Great Grandfather Chuck for the 2nd time) and we got to eat La Rosa's, Gold Star and Graeter's ice cream all in one trip on Friday.  Brady's first experience at these Cincinnati restaurants was good - he behaved himself at La Rosa's so long as he got his milk when it was time!

Then Saturday morning, we got up and left Brady and Griffey to hang out with Grandparents Tom and Leslie.  Katie was a bit nervous as this was our first night away from Brady - but he did fine.  And we had a good time.  The reception was at the Indiana State Museum in downtown Indy.  The wedding and reception were beautiful, and we had fun seeing so many of Charlie's old college friends.

Despite having such a good time, we were still excited to see Brady and Griff the next morning as we'd missed them both!  Tom and Leslie drove them up to Indy, which was much appreciated, because it allowed us to get back to Chicago in time for the other wedding.

The next wedding was far from the usual church type wedding.  The bride and groom are Chicago residents and very big Bears fans; their first date was in fact at a Bears game.  So they decided to do something unique and have their nuptials at their tailgate before the Sunday night Bears vs. Texans game.  Jay was Charlie's roommate junior year, and he's about the biggest Bears fan around.  In fact, when Katie and Charlie first started dating, Katie thought his last name was "Ditka" because that's what everyone called him.

Katie was going to attend and bring Brady in the Baby Bjorn but once we got back to Chicago, the weather turned cold and rainy, so we thought it would be better for Brady to skip this one.  And instead Brady got to meet one of Katie's college roommates, Maggie (sorry, we forgot to take pictures).

Charlie went to the wedding, however, and got "front row" seats:

The rain stayed away just in time for the nuptials, and then there were 3 or 4 hours to try some of the best tailgate food you'll find and celebrate before the Bears game!

Brady's first Halloween

OK still trying to catch up, so we're actually a whole holiday behind :)

This was Brady's first Halloween as well as our first Halloween in Chicago.  We didn't get a whole lot of love here in Lakeview - in fact, we didn't have a single trick-or-treater!  But that's ok, we dressed Brady up as Buzz Lightyear!  To Infinity and Beyond!

More visits from family, week of Oct 22nd

Toward the end of October, Charlie was in Denver for work on a funds client he has there, and he saw the first snow of the year while there (though it didn't snow back in the midwest).  He didn't get to see much in Denver, except for one night out to dinner with a friend who used to work with him in Columbus.  They went to the Cherry Cricket for dinner - which is now another Man vs. Food restaurant that he's had.  Cherry Cricket is known for a large beer selection and the craziest burger options you can think of - including peanut butter!  Charlie got one with cream cheese and green chili.  He claims it was excellent, so you'll have to take his word for it.

Since Charlie was in Denver for a few days, Bob and Sue made their second visit up to Chicago to help Katie while he was out.  As always, the company and help was very appreciated!  We didn't do much while they were here, but one of the exciting things they did was go to the Lake Shore and take a walk with Griffey and Brady.

The next weekend, Leslie and Abby came up to Chicago as well.  Abby was taking a test in Chicago and Leslie came up with her.  They both stayed for the weekend.  As is the norm with a 3 month old baby, we didn't do a whole lot.  We watched Michigan blow their chance at a Big Ten title against Nebraska.  Abby, Charlie and Katie went out to Moe's Cantina for dinner to watch the first half, while Leslie stayed back with Brady.

On Sunday, we went to brunch and some shopping over on Southport Avenue.  Southport is a cute little area near us that has a number of different shops and restaurants.  And we've seen quite a few baby strollers like our own there!  We put our name in at Southport Grocery & Cafe - which had almost a 2 hour wait.  So we went shopping and then sat down for a great brunch.  The Cafe has plenty of unique and distinct options for brunch - the dishes we ordered ranged from a chorizo omelet to a griddled coffee cake with cream cheese to bread pudding pancakes.

We couldn't try all the options, so we'll have to go back there!  The best thing - Brady was a good baby and slept the whole time!

Oct 19th - First Baby Party

We had a huge baby party in mid-late October!  We'd posted earlier when baby Brady met baby Eli (Katie's friend Rachel's son).  Well, on October 19th a few of Katie's friends from Columbus came up for a wedding, and we had a bring your own milk party at our house Friday night.  At 5:30 we had one baby in the house, but by 6:00 the numbers had quadrupled!

Eli is on the far left, and the other two are twins Elliot and Parker Anderson.  They're son/daughter of our friends Ashley and Craig.  Ashley was Katie's housemate from Miami, and we used to live next to them in Columbus and split Bengals' season tickets with them for a few years.  Elliot and Parker were born a week after Brady (Eli was about 6 weeks after that).

It's funny how things change - we used to be wondering what bar we'd go to with our friends on a Friday night.  This Friday night we just ordered pizza from Giordano's and hung out at our place watching our kids squirm around!  It was fun, though - it will be neat to watch all these guys as they grow up!

We got a picture of the dads with the kids as well.

Our friends Sarah and John were also up for the same wedding, and they stopped by earlier in the afternoon.

We also hung out with them on Saturday at a bar/restaurant called Crossing.  We saw Ohio State come back from what seemed like a sure loss to Purdue.  Brady seemed very interested in the guys next to us who ordered a "fish bowl" (a shared drink with a lot of liquor in a bowl).  Hmmm... at that point it was time to take the baby home.  Charlie stayed a little while longer with some other friends and watched Michigan knock off Michigan State for the first time in four years!

All in all, it was great to see so many of our friends in one weekend!

Oct 12th - Vegas!

This has been the Fall of Weddings for us, and I (Charlie) had another bachelor party in early October.  This one was in Las Vegas - somewhere Katie has been a few times, but I had never been.  This was for my friend Jon, whose wedding we are actually going to this weekend.  This was Katie's first time all by herself with the baby and the dog in Chicago, so I only went for one night - I left Friday morning and booked the last flight back Saturday evening.  So it was about 30 hours of Las Vegas, which is still plenty of time there!

We stayed at the Aria hotel, which was very nice - though as this was my first time there, I've got nothing else to compare it to!

We gambled most of the time there, though the most interesting thing I did was go to a gun range there, which was the first thing we did on Friday.  It's a pretty popular thing out there, as there are quite a few gun ranges, and it was a unique experience.  You basically pay a little over 100 bucks to shoot at a paper target - we did a group package with 4 rounds of machine guns and a contest with 2 handgun shots.  Let's just say I did not win either of the competitions!

Other than that, we played blackjack most of the time there, and I did OK with that.  Actually, I won money if you don't count any gambling after 2AM (when I tried a game called Pai Gow Poker that I pretty much didn't understand) or before 9AM (when I bet on Saturday football games - and my only winning pick was Michigan - Go Blue!).

We went to a couple of casinos outside of the Aria's hotel casino, and the most interesting one I remember was (I think) called Sunset Station - it had a ceiling that was made to look like the sky, so it feels like you're outside while you're there.

All in all, it was a fun first time in Vegas, though I was glad I came back a little earlier than the rest of the group and help out with Brady!

Early October in Chicago - family visits

After Katie spent a little over a week at her parents' house, we had a couple of visitors up here in Chicago. Charlie basically spent his second full week of work out of town in Dallas, but it was good experience for him.  He did get to eat at a really good Tex Mex restaurant, though he didn't get to jump away from work for long enough to go to the Texas State Fair - a 2+ week affair that was going on while he was there.  He was able to get back late Thursday night (instead of Friday as planned) - so that was good.

Katie's Mom, Sue, came back up along with her, Griffey and Brady from Eaton to help us move in and to help out as Charlie was traveling.  The first weekend back up, we had another visitor.  Charlie's sister, Abby, was up in Chicago for a conference, and she stayed with us on Saturday night.  Abby, Charlie and Katie went out for dinner (while Sue watched Brady), and after some trouble getting service at one restaurant we went to Goose Island Wrigleyville.  Goose Island was a craft brewery in Chicago that opened about 25 years ago as a one location brewpub.  It has become very popular and known for being a "Chicago" beer.  Anheuser-Busch has since bought the brewery, so it certainly isn't that small any more.  The second location that opened was the Wrigleyville one where we went.

This was Abby's third time seeing Brady, and he keeps getting a little bigger each time!  (Notice Griffey peaking out to see what all the hub-bub is :) )

Katie's dad Bob came up toward the end of the week to drive Sue back and help do a little organizing.  This was a fun opportunity for more family time with Brady.

Brady enjoyed reading with Grandma Sue...

...and watching TV with Grandpa Bob!

Brady meets Eli

No, this isn't a rematch of last year's Super Bowl!  While Katie's mom was in town when Charlie was in Dallas, they went with Brady to go visit Katie's friend, Rachel.  Rachel and her husband, Pete, had just had a baby 8 days earlier, so we wanted the two babies to meet!

Brady has almost two months on Eli, so our little guy actually looks big next to the newborn!  They had  a great time meeting and have already planned future get-togethers to discuss things like politics and the world economy.

Katie's old roommate Shannon was also in town from London, so Brady got to meet two of the "Labyrinth girls" from Miami University.  Brady really liked Shannon and had a great time playing with her!

Here's one more pic with both babies and all 3 Labyrinth girls!

Charlie's golf trip to Michigan

We've been busy, so we're a bit behind on posts!  The last post, Katie went home to Eaton shortly after our move to Chicago to hang out with her parents.  The reason Katie went home was to get Griffey, who stayed there so he didn't interfere with the movers, and because I had a golf trip the next weekend (September 21-22) with his friends.

After going with Brady on Tuesday, I went to another Reds game Thursday of that week with my friend Bryan, then we drove up to the golf resort.  The group went to a place in western Michigan called Gull Lake View.  The golf was near Kalamazoo, and we play 36 holes both Friday and Saturday - four different courses in all.  Considering I'd played exactly 29 holes of golf this summer, I had a bit of trial by fire.

We split up into two teams of 6, and do a bit of a Ryder Cup style competition with two man scrambles and points for each round.  It rained for a couple of hours on Saturday and we barely got all 36 holes in, but it did make for some nice scenery on the last round.

My team pulled off the win, so I got to take home the "Cup"!

(Eat your heart out, Becker!!!)

Brady meets friends and family in Ohio

The day after going to the Cubs game, Katie took a trip to Eaton to visit with her parents for a week and see some friends.  It has been so nice to live closer so that we are able to make more trips like this.  While living in Jersey, it was much harder to come visit Ohio.  The week was spent mostly just relaxing around their house and taking Brady and Griffey on walks.  Katie's long-time friend Meleah and her daughter, Shaylen stopped over to meet Brady.

And Katie's parents have season tickets to the Miami Redhawks football, so Katie and her dad went to the game on Saturday.  They played University of Massachusetts and pulled off a win.  The game was kind of boring and poor Miami doesn't draw much of a crowd, so after the 3rd quarter, we decided to go uptown to the bookstore and Katie's old employer - Attraction's....or now as it is called Bar 45 East (stupid name if you ask me) .   We just sat at the bar and watched all the young college kids have their fun and reminisced about when I was in college.  We agreed that I had a lot of fun at Miami and my parents had a lot of fun visiting me while I was there.  We couldn't stay too long because I had to get back home to Brady.  My mom was watching him and being a nice grandma despite it being a very sad day for her because earlier that morning, their cat - Sasha - passed away.  She was a really old cat (15 years) and had been sick for awhile but she gave my parents a lot of company and joy over the years.  It was really hard for my parents to let her go, but in a way it was sort of a blessing so she didn't have to suffer any more and she went peacefully in her sleep.  She will definitely be missed and I was hesitate to unload Brady on my mom after having such a tough morning, but she said it helped her keep her mind off of things while enjoying Brady.  I knew Brady was in good hands, so I was able to have a fun afternoon with my dad in good ole Oxford.

                           

Also while in Eaton, Charlie's mom and grandfather (Grumpa) made a visit up to Eaton so that Grumpa could meet his great-grandson for the first time.  It was quite cute introducing them and Brady was as usual a very good baby and enjoyed meeting Grumpa.

Brady's first baseball game

Tuesday September 18th was Brady's first ever baseball game at 7 weeks old (which beat a record of one of our friends sons :) ).  The day after we moved into the house in Lake View, we decided unpacking boxes didn't sound nearly as fun as walking to Wrigley Field!  And to make it even more perfect, the Cubs were playing the Reds.

We bundled Brady up in his Cincinnati Reds gear and Charlie carried him in the Baby Bjorn carrier. This was our first time using the Baby Bjorn carrier and it will definitely become a favorite baby item to use.

Brady with a Cubby Bear

Next to the statue of new Hall of Famer Ron Santo

We originally planned to only stay a couple of innings but Brady seemed to like it so much, that he lasted the whole game.  Wrigley Field even has a First Aid room that mothers can use to feed babies, so Katie took advantage of that.

Brady seemed to love the baseball game, so much that he fell asleep.  Everyone around us congratulated us on having such a cute baby and we even met one guy who didn't have his son with him but told us he has brought his 11 month old son already to 5 ballparks.

It was so much fun bringing Brady to his first baseball game and even though he will not remember it, we will always cherish these "firsts".

Park: Wrigley Field

Score: Reds 3, Cubs 1

Winning Pitcher: Homer Bailey

Brady's Reds record: 1-0

Brady's Home team record: 0-1