Brooke's Shower

We had a shower for Brooke on Thursday...it was a lot of fun. We played Brooke and Mike Catch Phrase, made some lingerie and ate delicious desserts.

The Condap girls came and stayed with Caleb and I until Erik got home. We enjoyed showing them around Evanston!

Swimming

After a busy day on Wednesday and a boy that did not sleep well...I decided to have a much more relaxed day at home. We played in our backyard most of the afternoon and as you can see Caleb thought it was great!

More sand

I mentioned that I don't like sand...wet sand is even worse...but I am quickly getting over this for my son.

Erik is out of town for a few days so I am a single mom...a single, 8 month pregnant mom! I am realizing now how tired I really am. Today we ran some errands in the morning and bumped into Olivia and Tammy. After lunch with my them and my mom, Olivia came home with Caleb and I. (Caleb didn't take a nap, which means I didn't get a nap!) We took at walk to the beach and then headed to the park. Caleb loved having her around. When she wasn't right next to him he would yell out "ovia" (he doesn't pronounce the 'l'). It was a warm day and as I sit here and type my feet feel swollen and hot, I am reminded of the last days of pregnancy with Caleb. Please let these last 4.5 weeks not be so warm!

sand = bath

Caleb has discovered that he loves the sand. I don't know if he has ever really played in the sand before because I just don't really care for it...too messy! But, now that I have a little boy who could play in sand all day, I have decided to just go with it! I decided that as long as we can get a bath before bed he can play all he wants.

SO GOOD!

Enjoy this little video of Caleb eating ice cream and home made hot fudge!

Erik graduated from North Park Theological Seminary with a dual degree on Saturday (Master of Divinity/Master of Management in Nonprofit Administration). I would also like to mention that he won the "Preaching Award". Great job, Erik...we are so proud of you!

This is my friend Emily, she is due 4 weeks after me...where is her belly?

Brian, Erik and Greg

Erik and Jeff G.

Erik, Benj and Steve

Caleb was sound asleep during the reception.

After a day of celebrating we took a walk to the park as a family.

Hanging out in Evanston

Here we are at the park by the lake...a beautiful 15 minute walk from our apartment!

Mother's Day

Me and my boy.

Our mom and her children that live in Chicago (or Evanston) still...we missed you erin and kyle.

The belly at 34 weeks! 6 more weeks...very hard to believe. I had an appointment on Monday and my doctor said everything looks great. I will go in again in two weeks and then I start going every week! Now that we have the move behind us, I feel a little more prepared but I am still hoping that there is no movement until after Brooke and Mike's wedding!

Our new apartment in Evanston!

So we have been very busy in the Strom household. We moved Friday (I didn't take any pictures!) Thanks again to everyone who helped us! We couldn't have done it without you. We stayed up late that night unpacking and trying to feel a little settled and we have been staying here ever since! We love it here. We still have a lot of work to do, but it already feels like home. Caleb hasn't quite figured this whole thing out. He has been clingy and pretty needed since Friday. His sleeping and naps have all been thrown off, so we are slowly trying to get him used to this new home. These pictures were taken on Sunday morning...each day there is a little more progress. Erik still has a two bib papers to write and then he will be done!

Kitchen looking into dining room and then living room.

Kitchen: door on left goes downstairs, door on right is a big pantry. The flowers are from Erik and Caleb for Mother's Day!

Bathroom

Our bedroom

The kids' room! We will put a bed for Caleb in the nook and hopefully they will sleep well!

Business School Graduation

Erik graduated from the School of Business on Saturday afternoon.

Brooke watched Caleb so we could enjoy ourselves, but came to the reception afterwards.

We will do this all again next Saturday when Erik graduates from the Seminary.

Packing Up

Caleb was a great helper as we packed up our apartment for the big move on Friday.

Boxes everywhere!

Our friends Jason and Trish and their kids, Alia and Elijah are visiting from California. They used to be in our Bible study here at North Park, so we had a little BBQ and let the kids run wild at the park. We had to take a "red head" picture because 7 out of the 16 are red heads! I know it looks like Lars and I are a family...

The whole gang back together again (before we all go our separate ways!), minus Maren who was sleeping and Greg who had to run off to class.

Happy Birthday Erik!

Today we celebrate Erik's 28th birthday. Erik was born on May 5, 1979. I am so thankful that our paths crossed back in 1997 at North Park University. We were engaged and married in 2003 and blessed with Caleb in September 2005. We now look forward to his graduation from the business school and the seminary in the next few weeks, moving to our new apartment in Evanston, starting a new job and welcoming baby number 2! We are so thankful for such a loving husband and father. Erik has two weeks left of school and we could not be more excited, as he has been so busy and spending tons of time in the library. We love you Erik, thanks for all your hard work!