I'll try to make this short... Lyla, Chicago, Valentines, Heather and California

Well things are going really well for us at the moment.  We made our move to Chicago and we are finally settled in.   I still haven't taken pictures of the place but when I do I will post them.  Anyway, we LOVE our ward and we have made a lot of friends already.  We have just really been enjoying ourselves here (except for the weather).  

Lyla is doing so much better with her brace... she just looks so dang cute in it!  She is smiling all the time and is starting to chat up a storm.  Also, everytime she cries it sounds so clearly like she is saying "mom!".  I just love her more and more every day.  I feel like our relationship as mother and daughter is growing more and more every day.  She will just stare at me for the longest time and just smile and coo and I just can't get enough of it!  I love this little girl!  

For Valentines Day, Nate and I went to Rainforest Cafe and we had a lot of fun!  I got him 3 shirts and he got me Madagascar 2, the Mamma Mia soundtrack and a box of chocolates!  

We love the aquariums at Rainforest Cafe.  Nate and I just stared at the fish and tried thinking of who of our friends and family looked like which fish.  (Did that make sense?) Anyway, don't worry, we couldn't match anybody to the fish.

Holy Croc!  

Fun!

Nate and I taking pictures of ourselves... mostly on my request.

Nate getting tired of me taking pictures...

Nate dodging my kiss... 

...but he finally gave in :)

Lyla looking cute in her outfit!

So on Monday morning, 2/16, my brother Scott texted me and told me he didn't think his wife Heather was going to make it through the day.  So I hopped on the first flight and flew out that evening.   Heather was doing MUCH better that night than she was earlier that morning, so happily my reason for flying out to California was no longer valid.  WOOHOO!  Instead, I got a week full of visiting and fun in the SUN!  But a quick Heather update, she just kept improving all through the week and was able to move to a rehab center to get good physical therapy since she lost a lot of her movement from all that her body had gone through.  So she is now improving a ton and is starting to be able to get up and move around a little.  They are planning on taking her home in the next few days.  Here are some pics of the California trip...

Me and Lyla with one of my best friends, Lizzy.

We had a poster-making party with the family to welcome Heather home.  

Here is Aaron, Heather's son, who fell asleep while making his poster.  It was so cute!  

My niece, Ryann, and her poster.  She put an 80's picture of Tom Cruise on there... she is awesome.

Zoey, my other niece, and her poster.  

My sister-in-law Jen and her poster.

Hannah, Heather's daughter, and her poster.

Nephews, Riley, Connor, and Gehrig and their posters. 

Me and Hannah.

Mikey and his poster.  He is so funny.

Me and my poster.

Jeff and Nicky's poster.  Jeff drew this picture of them in like 5 minutes and it's pretty dang accurate!

Lyla was really patient with me and all the places I wanted to go.  I guess she didn't mind as you can see from the picture below... she was totally out!

The night before I left we went to go visit Heather in the rehab center.  She started losing her hair from the radiation and so she asked Rik to shaver her head for her. 

Me and Heather.

My mom, Rik, and Lyla.

Anyway, I had a really good time the past week.  I flew back Sunday and it is really nice to be with Nate again... I missed him.  Anyway, I guess that is all for now!