Denver

While Kurt had to spend a few days in Chicago for work, Henry & I decided to take a much needed vacation away on our own to Denver, Colorado.  I hadn’t been to Denver since I was little and had been wanting to go back especially now that Kurt’s sister, Lindsey, and one of my best friends, Kelly, both live there.  I was nervous for the long plane rides, layovers, and 2 hour time difference but Henry did great even after missing our flight home.  The flight attendants even gave him his first set of wings.  Kelly and her husband Bryan were such great hosts to us all.  We visited Lindsey’s work, did some shopping, stayed home and made chicken paprikash one evening, spent a day in Boulder, got the kid a much needed 2nd haircut, went to Gymboree, saw the JonBenet Ramsey home, went out to a local brewery for dinner, walked around the Mile High Flea Market, and did a lot of drinking, relaxing and talking!

One of the coolest things about Denver happened after our dinner out at Vine Street Pub.  The food  delicious and very inexpensive.  I wanted to treat everyone to dinner and as I was going to pay the bill, the waiter informed me that they didn’t take credit cards but that he would give me a “trust envelope” which was an addressed, stamped envelope so I could just mail them a check when I got back home.  I could hardly believe it, where else would that happen??  I love the laid back vibe of Denver and am already looking forward to taking Henry on ski trips in the future.  His Aunt Lindsey is already convinced he’ll be a snowboarder though.

Click here to see all the pictures from our trip.

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Filed under Family, Friends, Travels

Getting around

At 8 1/2 months, Henry is definitely getting around on his own.  He’s been crawling for about a month and now pulls himself up on everything, is starting to furniture walk and is attempting stairs.  His favorite things to do are climb up on Brownie’s bed and try to get into her food bowl.  On the bright side, this has helped Brownie’s anorexia issues as she gets so nervous when Henry goes after her food that she gobbles it all right up.  Here’s a video from March 9th of his first crawling days.

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Birthday poll

I’m already getting very excited for our little man’s 1st birthday in July.  Due to a family event, we are going to have 2 parties for him.  One for adults and one for kids.  I am really struggling to find the perfect theme for his kid’s party.  Once again we are asking our friends and family for help.  Please let us know what you think by voting on our poll.

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Filed under Family, Friends, Henry, Holiday

March Sadness

There is always next year.  For now we are cheering on the Dayton Flyers as they take on the U. of Illinois in the NIT Quarterfinals tonight.

UPDATE: Congratulations to the Dayton Flyers for beating Roy Williams and the North Carolina Tar Heels in the 2010 NIT Championship game!!

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Bay Village named #2 on Forbes list

A lot of Clevelanders have been upset about a recent Forbes’ article,  “America’s Most Miserable Cities”, that called Cleveland the most miserable city of all. Although Forbes may be wrong about that they did name Bay Village to another list - “Where Home Prices Are Rising”. Forbes ranked Bay Village #2 among cities where the median asking price for houses jumped during the past year.

The report analyzed list prices in cities where at least 100 single-family homes were on the market. The top-performer was Lexington, Mass., where the median asking price rose 36 percent.  According to Forbes, the median list price in Bay Village is $240,015.  That price was 32 percent higher than a year before. And when measured by the square foot, prices rose 8 percent — meaning that sellers were asking more for their homes, not just putting bigger houses on the market.

Buyers and sellers in Bay Village are becoming more confident. The market regained some balance last fall as first-time buyers snapped up homes. Those deals freed up sellers, many of whom are moving to other houses in the suburb. Demand, particularly for homes priced between $200,000 and $400,000, is outpacing supply.   A local realtor even said, “I’ve actually resorted to sending letters to people asking if they have any interest in selling their home.”

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Sick day

I took Henry for his first sick visit last week because he was coughing quite a bit.  The doctor said it was probably from teething and excess drool and sent us home.  For the past few days the cough has only gotten worse and he isn’t eating near as much as normal.  Since Henry normally eats like a little garbage disposal I knew something was wrong.  He was scheduled to get the 2nd part of his seasonal flu shot today as well as the H1N1 vaccine but I came into the doctor’s office a little early to have him checked out again first.  This time the doctor said he was wheezing and said he most likely has RSV.  RSV or Respiratory syncytial virus is pretty common this time of year and although it can be serious in some infants and older people most children will have it at least once before the age of 2.  The doctor also said he has an ear infection in his right ear, gave him a breathing treatment in the office, wrote a couple prescriptions, postponed his flu shots, and said to be cautious about having him around other kids for a couple days.

Being quarantined at home with a 7 month old should make for a long week but I just hope he starts to feel better really soon.

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“Gimme a bone”

Brownie is the best dog in the world.  She is so gentle and good with Henry.  Even when he gives her a hard time.

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Cleveland Restaurant Week

Even though Forbes thinks Cleveland tops the list of “America’s Most Miserable Cities” there is a wonderful restaurant scene here.  This past week was Downtown Cleveland Restaurant Week.  On Wednesday I went downtown to meet a friend of mine, Joy, from Kansas.  We met at D’Vine Wine Bar for some dinner & drinks and of course talked a lot about the Jayhawks and March Madness.  It was so nice to have a girl’s night out and I look forward to seeing Joy more now that we both live in the same town.

On Saturday  as a Thank You for babysitting Henry we took our friends, Steve and Grace Nowak to the Greenhouse Tavern.  Greenhouse Tavern is hands down my favorite restaurant in Cleveland and supports the farm to plate movement.  I’ve been there several times and have LOVED everything we’ve ever ordered.  Their fries are even going to be featured on Food Network’s “The Best Thing I Ever Ate” this coming week.  And for Valentine’s Day, Kurt surprised me by enrolling us in an upcoming cooking class at Greenhouse for both of us.  We had a great evening out and they were more than welcoming to us coming with a 7 month old baby on a Saturday night.  Anyone who hasn’t been there yet, definitely needs to make the trip to East 4th.

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Filed under Cleveland, Friends

Rub a dub dub

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Filed under Henry

Friday Fish Frys are back!

The best part of Lent is back – the Friday Fish Fry.  We started this tradition back in Chicago but found that Cleveland overall has much better fish frys.  Last year we tried Amber Oaks, Around the Corner, Jake on the Lake and Sokolowski’s.  Around the Corner was the best and Sokolowski’s was the worst.

This year we have lots of new places we’d like to try including Sterle’s, St. Raphael’s (our church), Grovewood Tavern, The Pub, Inn on Coventry, Trolley’s and Red Lantern.  We are open to any suggestions again this year if anyone thinks they know the best fish fry in Cleveland.

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Filed under Cleveland, Holiday