My Chubby Baby Doesn't Like Food

He makes this face every time I feed him.
Apples, pears, sweet potatoes, rice cereal, bananas -- he doesn't seem to like any of it.

I don't know what to do with this finicky little man.

The Story of Our Strawberries

On Father's Day, we went strawberry picking at Stade's Farm in McHenry.

We picked about twenty pounds of strawberries (which is a lot of strawberries).

We took our strawberries home and got to work.

We made strawberry shortcake.

We made freezer jam.

We froze some for later (maybe a smoothie in September?)

Now we are waiting for raspberries and blueberries. I highly recommend putting your little pickers and jam makers to work. A totally delightful experience -- from start to finish.

The Tried-and-true Terrarium

Ever wonder how to make your own terrarium? We made one and it is pretty cool (it even has dinos living in it). Learn more about terrariums in my story in the July issue of Chicago Parent.

Self Portraits

Our Father's Day art project.
(Mini-canvases and easels from Blick Art Supply.)

For Me?

My birthday was last Saturday. I received many thoughtful and generous gifts. But this is my very favorite gift. Behold the Flower Castle Nuk Box, constructed by Eleanor and Brendan (with some help from their babysitter Nora).

I don't know how I lived life without my Flower Castle Nuk Box. No more searching the house for pacifiers when it is time for Colin to nap -- now I know to simply look in the box.

Genius.

The Making of My Middle Child

I wrote a guest post for the On Parenting Column on the Washington Post.com about Brendan's transition to being the middle child. I would love for you to take a look.

Introducing Wee Windy City!

I have a new blog called Wee Windy City! {Squeal!} Go have a look (and maybe even leave a comment to help a girl out).

Wee Windy City is a part of the soon-to-be-officially-launched site called Chicago Now. You probably haven't heard of it yet -- but you will be hearing a ton about it soon. Chicago Now is a being described as "Huffington Post meets Facebook." The site is going to aggregate news headlines, your favorite local blogs and social networking in one place. Sounds pretty cool, right?

I am going to be writing about the best family-friendly activities that Chicago has to offer. I am thrilled to be a part of this innovative media project. I hope you will have a look from time to time to learn more about great local activities for your family.