Soon, all your questions will be answered

Stacy went to the doctor yesterday. He told her everything looked fine, and that things were moving along quite nicely. As she does at every four week visit, Stacy got to hear Baby Lewis's heartbeat again. This time, however, the doctor shared some information with her. He prefaced this with "its an old wives tale," but at this stage in the pregnancy, if the the baby has a faster heart beat it points towards it being a girl. If it has a slower heartbeat, a boy. Faster or slower than what, I don't know. But our baby had a slower heart beat, which prompted the doctor to predict a boy.

We've had contradictory predictions recently, though. At the Ritz Carlton, we had our picture taken before dinner, and the photographer there immediately said "its a girl." Personally, I have had many dreams about the big day, and its been an even split of boy babies and girl babies. Personally, we don't care either way as long as he/she is healthy and has ten fingers, ten toes, etc. But it is nice to know that the waiting to find out is almost at an end.

On Friday, January 23rd, 2009 we go in for our twenty week ultrasound, and provided the baby doesn't have its legs crossed or anything, we will know. Stay tuned for the big announcement!

Fun from Fort Myers

Who would have known I would find something to blog about at Aunt Bette's condo on Fort Myers Beach. In looking to see where we might find a Karaoke bar on the beach (my family loves a good night of karaoke), we picked up the local beach paper, The Island Sand Paper. Looking though it to find the entertainment guide, we stumbled upon the back page.

The back page girl. If you read the description, it introduces you to this weeks back page girl and tells you a little bit about her. For example, this weeks girl's name is Stefanie. She is a student, and she works a the Channel Mark......wait a minute. It tells you where she works? This is unreal. They put up a picture of a beautiful girl in a bikini for all to see, and then tells you where to find her? Its like a guide for stalkers on the beach! Where were all these articles when we used to visit Grandma and Aunt B all those years we were single? "Here you go Patrick, here's the exact place to find this gorgeous girl. Have fun." It would have made those Spring Break trips to Fort Myers much more enjoyable.

As if that wasn't enough, if you pick up the other local beach paper, The Beach Bulletin, you can turn to the back page and once again see a beautiful girl and find out where she works. However, they don't call it the Back Page Girl....

Show us your tats. SHOW US YOUR TATS! They really put up a picture of a beautiful girl in a bikini, and label it Show Us Your Tats. Am I the only one who finds this intriguing? There is just something very wrong (and perhaps very right) about this.

To the youth of America looking for a place to find a beautiful girl for Spring Break 2010, might I recommend Fort Myers Beach, Florida. Just pick up the local paper, and you have your girls.

Christmas in Fort Myers Beach

Let me start by saying for all of you who enjoyed your Christmas in the snow and cold...SUCKERS!

We spent our holiday at the beach in the 80 degree weather. Every morning, we woke up to look out over the ocean. Every afternoon, we sat out by the pool. And every evening, we slept with the sliding doors open. It wasn't too bad for Patrick and Stacy.

Let me tell you a little bit about Aunt Bette's condo. Its called the Coquina, however due to its location, it has been renamed the Co-gina. Its down the beach from the Master Bait and Tackle, down the road from the Publix, and across the street from the Munch Box. We had three condos to stay in, and it was a blast. Walks on the beach, lounges at the pool, and games at night. It was quite the enjoyable Christmas.

However, it wasn't the perfect Christmas. Keep in mind, I wasn't able to get a photo of the following in fear for my life, but try to imagine. My dad had picked up a bottle of wine from Costco, and when Robbie went to open it, the cork crumbled in the bottle. My dad tried to fix the situation. We handed him a knife and went back to preparing dinner. Next thing we heard was my dad screaming for help. We turned around to see his eyes closed, and red wine all over his face, shirt, the walls, and the ceiling. In trying to fix the cork, he managed to splash the wine out of the bottle and all over. We all thought Christmas was ruined for sure. Needless to say, my parents owe Aunt Bette and new coat of paint in the condo.

For Christmas dinner, we all headed out to Naples for a dinner buffet the likes of which you have never seen. The Ritz Carlton, Naples, puts on a dinner with more delicious food than you can imagine. There was a bread and spread bar, a seafood bar, soups and salads. There were side dishes of mashed potatoes, wild rice, califlower. And for main courses, prime rib of beef, turkey and sage stuffing. Then the desserts. Oh God, the desserts. I cant even begin to describe the desserts, and the pictures do not do it justice. There were puddings, creme brule, cookies, key lime pie, and ice cream stations that served made-to-order bananas foster and a molten chocolate cake. Out of this world.

The rest of the trip was enjoyable. We spent a few hours at the outlet malls, and a few hours shopping in Naples. The only downfall was the travel situation. Due to the weather in Chicago, we didn't arrive home unil 4 am. Other than that, Stacy and I had a very merry Christmas at the beach.

We hope you enjoyed your Christmas just as much, and that you have a very happy new year!

Merry Christmas From Our Family

Stacy, Wrigley, and myself would like to wish all our friends and family a Merry Christmas. This will be the last Christmas without a little one running around for us, and the last one where the presents are focused on us as well. Next year, we will have a 6 month old to spoil.

This Christmas Stacy and I are joining the Lewis clan in sunny Fort Meyers Beach, FL. This is something new for Stacy to experience. The Lewis family has been going to Florida off and on for years now. While it may take Stacy some time to adjust, I know she will have a great Christmas with us there. This experience is a must if she is to truly enjoy a Lewis Christmas.

To the rest of our friends and family, we hope you enjoy your holiday wherever you may be. 2009 will bring more updates as the due date grows closer. By the end of January we should know the sex of our little one, and the updates will become more frequent. Until then, Merry Christmas once again from the Lewis Family!

June 11, 2009

That is what we were told today. That is what we calculated on our own from the beginning. What we don't understand is, if we are only 9 weeks along, then why did we hear the heartbeat on Monday? From everything we have been told, you can't hear the heartbeat until around 12 weeks. So either we didn't really hear the heartbeat, or something has been calculated wrong. After hearing the heartbeat, the doctor told us to get the early untrasound to get a size calculation. So we did. When Stacy called today, the nurse who answered the phone said the results were in and we are due June 11th. Now, maybe she didn't really look at the results. Maybe the results hadn't even made it in yet. Maybe she just saw June 11th on the chart from before. Maybe the baby really is due June 11th, and just has a really strong heartbeat. I can't say for sure. We have our next appointment on December 1st, and will speak to the doctor then. For now, mark your calendars. June 11, 2009. We can't wait!

Yes We Can!

A popular sentiment these days, granted, but I am not referring to our President-elect in any way. This exclamtion of joy is referring to that question that was on everyones mind these past few months...."Can Patrick and Stacy conceive a child?"

YES WE CAN!

About 5 weeks ago, Stacy found she was feeling a little under the weather and thought to herself, "could we?" So off she rushed to the bathroom, and sure enough...Yes we can! Needing to tell someone right away, and me not being home, Stacy confided in Wrigley, who was very excited to hear she would become a big sister. Either that, or she thought she was getting a treat. We can't be too sure. Stacy decided to come to work and tell me the great news. She rushed off to the mall, and stopped by the Sports Fanatic to make a quick purchase. When she arrived at my office, she handed me the present she had just purchased. A Chicaog Cubs onesie. "Why did you buy this," I asked thinking we had agreed on no baby clothes until we were sure we were pregnant no matter how cute or cheap they may be. Stacy just looked at me. "Why do you think," she exclaimed. My eyes lit up and I asked, "Could we be?"

YES WE CAN!

I know the next question everyone wants to know is, when is the big day. Well, we still don't know. The wonderful insurance from school district U-46 won't let our doctor do the ultrasound, so we had to swing by the hospital today to get that taken care of so they can estimate the date by the size of the baby. But wouldn't you know it, the hospital has to send the info to the doctor in 2-3 business days, so we wont know until Wednesday or so. But please check back for the updated info then.

After that, the big question will be, boy or girl. About 20 weeks is when we can say for sure. Let me preface by saying, either way this child will be the most loved child in the world. I am feeling girl. Sally is PRAYING for a girl. Brad is convinced girl, after his half-assed Fremd High School theory. Can I do it? Can the first of a three boy family actually produce the daughter my mother has always wanted?

YES WE.....hope.

See the first picture of Baby Lewis below and draw your own conclusions.

Wedding Pictures Are Available!

For anyone who is interested, we finally have all the proofs from the wedding in our possesion. If anyone would like any pictures from the big day, email either Stacy or myself and we will email any picture back to you.

Costanza!!

Did anyone see the espisode of Seinfeld where George pretends to be a tourist in order to meet women in the city? I think that perhaps my father was trying the same trick on our way to the Statue of Liberty. I am not sure how I feel about that.

The Lewis Boys Do New York

This past weekend, the Lewis boys visited New York City. We left O'Hare on a 7:05 am flight to begin the whirlwind two day trip. I wouldn't have thought we could squeeze so much into two days. Our hotel was at Grand Central Station, which worked out well. We were able to see Times Square, Broadway (Dad and I saw Spamalot), the Ed Sullivan Theater, China Town, Little Italy, the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, Ground Zero, Radio City, Rockefellar Center, Central Park, and Yankee Stadium. Thats a lot for two days, and believe me we felt it. Dad even had to turn in early both days to nap, leaving us crazy kids on our own in the Big Apple. We had dinner the first night at a delicious little place in Little Italy, where we had two bottles of wine between the four of us. For lunch the next days we had a slice at two different pizza places. Joe's Pizza, recommended by Kelly Ripa (yes, of Regis and Kelly) and seen in the hit film Spiderman. We also tried Ray's. Now I know what you are asking yourself...is that Famous Ray's or Original Ray's? Well, it was Famous Original Ray's. As much fun as we had, I still think that Chicago is the city of cities in this country.

Will the "Curse of the Lake" hold true?

We just returned from Minocqua, WI today. We had a short, but fun, weekend with the Lewis family and their significant others. Now, if you are reading this and are unfamiliar with what the title references, let me help. My mother is convinced that there is a curse of bringing girlfriends up to the lake, and that immediately following the lake trip, the relationship will come to an end. If not, the relationship will hold. Now, so far Stacy is the only one to survive this curse. It remains to be seen whether Britney or Christine will survive.

It was a weekend of crappy weather. It was overcast almost the whole time, with just spots of sun every now and then. However, we did upgrade the fire pit, as shown here, and the weather was quite nice if sitting by a hot fire was on your agenda. It was nice to get away, even for just a couple days. This was the first time that we were all at the lake together in some time. Next year, we will plan ahead and be sure to pick a time when the weather will cooperate a little more and we can enjoy the boat, and not bundle up before getting on.

Wrigley makes a new friend

We have started to feel bad for Wrigley lately. She hasn't been the best traveler in recent months, so her playtime with Aunt Maggie has been greatly reduced. We've tried to find closer friends for her to play with, but that hasn't produced the best results. Well, tonight, Wrigley made herself a new friend. She was shy at first, but after a few minutes, she really to began to warm up. To think, we had a friend for Wrigley in the house all along. Hours of play time just waiting to happen.

You think I am a Star Wars nerd....?

Many of you will find this video disturbing, while a select few may find it, well, we won't talk about you. One thing is for sure, as far as Star Wars nerds are concerned, at least I have not gone this far.....yet.

Dr. Horrible's Sing-along Blog

You may or may not know this, but Joss Whedon is a television god. His shows are always critically acclaimed and some of the best entertainment on TV. Well, when the writer's strike happened a couple months back, Joss was board and decided to write an internet show/musical. It was going to be a bunch of no names having fun, but Neil Patrick Harris, Nathan Fillion, and Felicia Day were bored, and joined in the fun. The result: one of the funniest, most entertaining 45 minutes you will ever see. I encourage all of you to check out http://drhorrible.com/ and see for yourselves. I swear you will not regret it.

Theme Park Hijinks

Your tax dollars hard at work

Stacy's sister and brother-in-law are in the Marines. They both are going to be studying in Japan starting at the end of next summer, and therefore will be spending the next year learning Japanese. So, what do your hard earned tax dollars go to, you ask? Well, the Marines have taught Lexi how to sing "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes" in Japanese. Enjoy your money hard at work!

Jack Sparrow and Davy Jones invade theme park attraction

For those of you who may not know, Disney has updated its long time favorite ride, Pirates of the Caribbean by adding Johnny Depp. Here are some clips of the newly added character. This is one change Disney has made to a classic that I actually enjoy.

When You Are Calm, At Peace...

When I saw Rob sitting on this rock on the top of the mountain, I kept waiting to hear Yoda's voice instructing him on the ways of the Force.

Not Very Long Ago, in a City Not So Far Away....

On Monday, Robbie got us the ultimate hook up. Rob has a friend who works for Lucasfilm, and we got a tour of the new facility in the Presidio. All I can say is...AWESOME! This facilty is where Lucasfilm, LucasArts, and ILM are all housed. We got to tour the grounds, see a ton of props from movies like Star Wars, Pirates of the Carribean, Ghostbusters, etc. There were matte paintings from Hook and Empire just hanging on the walls. This place was neat. We got to see the crew screening room theater, where Clone Wars was just shown to the staff last week. And finally, got to shop in the company store. We bought a few things from there. A Lucasfilm t-shirt, and then a bunch of items left over from Indy IV. T-shirts, hats, and a lunchbox that were only given out to crew on the set of the movie. The few that were leftover we sold at this store. Talk about owning something very few people can ever hold. I got a lunchbox from "DOOMTOWN, USA" which is the nuclear testing town from the movie. It says Indian Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull Crew on it. A nice piece for my collection. I kept hoping I would turn the corner and Geoge Lucas and Steven Speilberg would be walking around the corner, but alas, they never showed.

....Be Sure To Wear Some Flowers In Your Hair

You know what they say. "If you're going to San Francisco..."

The second part of our trip took us to San Francisco. Now, I know they claim San Fran is in California, but the weather would make a claim that this isn't the truth. It was cold. not sunny and warm like LA was.

On Saturday morning, we once again rose bright and early, and met Stacy's friend Ted up in Sonoma to do some wine tasting.

(Sidebar: You may not know who Ted is. Stacy has a friend named Brad, which is the same name as one of my best friends. I would always get confused when she told me about talking to Brad, wondering why she was talking to my friend. So to avoid future confusion, I renamed her friend Brad, Ted)

We went to two vineyards, recommended by my dad: Ravenswood and Arrowood. At Ravenswood, we took a tour of the grounds, and even got to sample a few wines right from the barrell, which was really cool. We took it easy on the tastings, since we still had a long night ahead of us.

After Sonoma, we headed to my old Orlando roommate, Megan's, parent's house for a "Summer Fiesta." Now, I am a Disney nut, but even I felt awkward in this place. There was so much Disney I felt like I had returned to Anaheim when I walked in the front door. The house was very nice though, and had an amazing back yard with a pool and hot tub. There, we met up with the rest of my Orlando friends that were in for the weekend: Mike and Meredith, and Kristi and her boyfriend Tyler. It was nice to catch up with friends I had not seen since last summer. Living here in Illinois, there has been a piece of me missing without this huge group of friends I used to hang out with everyday. We had a blast. At the end of the night, we spent a little time in the hot tubs, just like to good ole days in Orlando.

On Sunday morning, we were once again up and out early. Who needs to sleep in on vacation? We met everyone from the night before at Muir Woods National Monument. We got to hike up the side of a mountain, and see Redwoods, and even play a little Return of the Jedi in the forest. Stacy's Aunt Connie, sister Lexi, and brother-in-law Rob also joined us. (Yes those are all their real names) We had a lot of fun playing in the trees, hiking on trails, and keeping an eye out for Sasquatch. (we think we may have heard his ipod playing in the distance) We got to see some of this country's natural beauty firsthand.

We spent the rest of the day at Fisherman's Wharf, Pier 39, and North Beach eating and shopping with everyone. All in all, it was a great weekend with friends and family, and wish we could do it more often.

The Lewis' California Adventure Begins...

What is it about vacations that make you come home more tired when you left? Can it really be called a vacation then?

We began our trip to California, arriving in Los Angelas around noon local time, and immediatly knew that our trip was off to a good start. When we arrived at baggage claim, our bags were already waiting for us. Tell me the last time that happened at O'Hare. We boarded a bus to Disney land, and the "vacation" could really begin.

Lets talk a minute about Disneyland. It is definately not Walt Disney World. If you have ever checked into a resort at WDW, you know that there are plenty of agents waiting to check you in. They are all wearing the same costume. Everything goes smoothly. This is not the case in Disneyland. When we walked into the Paradise Pier Hotel, there was a line of maybe five people. There were only 2 agents working the desk, and neither was moving very quickly. After a while, two more agents arrived, and began helping, however, they were not wearing the same costume as the others. I already knew that I would miss WDW terribly this trip. After finally checking in, our room was not ready, so we left our things and began the walk across the street to Disney's new theme park in Anaheim, Disney's California Adventure.

As we walked across the street, passing through Disney's Grand Californian Hotel, we noticed another thing you wouldn't see in WDW. Cast members off work, waslking through the hotel grounds with their costumes untucked, unbuttoned, and just plain sloppy. Wow. Not very Disney.

Finally, we arrived at DCA, and entered the new park. This was pretty exciting for me. My first ''new" Disney in a long time. From what I understood, the highlight of this park is the Aladdin show, so thats where we headed. As we walked through the park, I was suprised at how much space there was. Not from the size of the park, mind you. But from the lack of people. Where is everyone? We found the Aladdin show didn't start until later, so we checked out the rest of the park. Overall, not very impressed. We were able to ride all the rides we wanted, and see the Aladdin show in just over 4 hours. The rides were neat. They have a coaster called Califnornia Screamin' which was really cool (and long for a coaster). We rode Soarin' Over Califrnia which is incredible. The Tower or Terror is actually cooler that in MGM in WDW. They hit you with a drop before you ever would expect it. And the Aladdin show was phenomenal. But thats it. Nothing else much to do. A bunch of small rides that you can get on at any Six Flags, and a few kids rides. Not much of a Disney theme park though.

After DCA, we went back to get in our room and had some dinner at Downtown Disney, which was again in walking distance. We then headed into Disneyland to see the fireworks. While waiting, we tried to check out a few other things. This is when I found out where everyone was. Disneyland. This place was packed. We decided we didn't want to fight crowds, sowe headed into the Jungle Cruise, which is great after dark if you've never been on it then, and headed back to Main Street for fireworks. Another difference presented itself to us. The pen you up like cattle here. Ropes and blocked off aisles and little enclosed areas to stand. It was nuts. However, the fireworks show made it all worth while. It was a great show. Well worth the crowds. After this, we decided to call it a night.

The next morning, we headed back to Disneyland, and found that the park was celebrating its 53rd birthday. That was cool. We also found that the park was empty first thing in the morning. We rode everything. Indiana Jones, The Matterhorn Bobsleds, Mr Toad (yes they still have Mr Toad!) I even tried to pull the sword from the stone, only to be denied. I later some some little kid yank it out as if it were a feather. Needless to say, that kid won't be attending the Magic Kingdom again anytime soon. Around noon, our cousin Mike and his girlfriend Julie came to meet us. They had been to the park several times in the past months, but we were able to ride some things that they hadn't been on before. After about 6 pm, we were beat, and all decided to call it a day.

Disneyland that day was a complete turn around from the day before. If I had to choose, I would take Disneyland Park over the Magic Kingdom in WDW anytime. Its bigger, the rides are cooler, and there is something to be said about walking down a street that Walt Disney himself wasled down. Everything about that place is Disney, and we really enjoyed ourselves. Stacy even bought herself a Mickey Mouse sweatshirt, something she swore she would never do. (I even have video proof).

Mike and Julie then took us out to their home in Venice, and to a little restaurant by the beach for dinner where the first bit of relaxation on our vacation finally occurred. Overall, LA was a nice little trip, however I am not sure anyone would consider what we did those two days a vacation.

Summertime is for the dogs too

Everyone enjoys a cold treat on a hot summer day. Well, after spending the afternoon in the yard with Stacy, Wrigley was allowed a tasty Cool Whip treat. Problem is, once it gets on her nose, she's not quite sure how to get to it.

Memorial Day 2008

This year, we did a little something different for Memorial Day. Instead of spending the weekend with the parents in Minocqua, Alyssa and Steve came in town for the first real trip to Chicago.

Saturday started off on the slower side. Stacy's sister and brother-in-law were also in for the weekend, so her parents had a little get together at their house. There was food, drinks, and fire. Everything the boys could want. While the women folk visited, the boys took side trips to Best Buy looking for Wiis, XBox 360s, and He-Man DVDs. When a little landscaping needed to be done, leave it to the boys to rip that dead tree right out of the ground. Once the sun set, we had a bonfire in the backyard, roasted s'mores, and the boys played the game of Life....Indiana Jones life that is.

Sunday, we decided to take Lyss and Steve to Navy Pier. We took some awesome pictures, had some lunch, and then took a boat ride out on Lake Michigan...on a pirate ship! On the way home, we stopped and picked up some Chicago style deep dish pizza, and came home.

Finally came Memorial Day, and what better way to spend it that at the Friendly Confines of Wrigley Field watching the best team in baseball, the Chicago Cubs. It was the first game of an 8 game homestand that saw the Cubs win them all!! After the game, Lexi and Rob stopped by and we played a few games back at the house.

All in all, we had one of the best Memorial Day weekends I can remember. It was great to see Alyssa again. Now that she lives in Clevland, we are hoping to see lots more of her as the years go by.

Surprise!!!

After months of planning, several contingency plans, and a lot of hard work, we had a surprise 30th birthday party for Stacy on Friday night. While Stacy knew that there wassomething in the works, I had done my job well of at least pushing her into thinking that "something" was coming on Saturday night instead. Stacy was all dressed up, thinking that she was going out for dinner. We stopped at my parents house to "pick up a bottle of wine for dinner". Being that it was pouring rain, Stacy did not get out of the car, so the surprise that was waiting just inside needed to be modified. So as I went back into the car to "leave," everyone moved on to the front porch. As we backed out of the driveway, Stacy saw everyone waiting for her on the porch. It was a fun party, and Stacy was surprised. Hopefully, it will be soemthing she remembers for many birthdays to come.

"Next Year" is here

With baseball season finally upon us, being from Chicago it is impossible to not feel the burden of the 100 years since our Cubbies have won a World Series title. But, as we say every April..."Next year is here!" The Cubs are built to win this year, or never. With the addition of Fukudome, the Cubs finally have an outfield to contend with. With Kerry Wood closing, we finally have the domination we've lacked in the ninth. Could this be our year? I don't know. But it is going to be a fun ride. So dust off your Sandberg jersey. Turn your Cubs hat around. Dig out your believe bracelets. History will be made this year. One way or another. Go Cubs!

Wrigley visits Cousin Walter

This weekend, Wrigley wanted to take a road trip, so she took us to visit Cousin Walter in Michigan to surprise him. After the surprise wore off, the dogs took us to the dog park for some fun in the mud. Wrigley and Walter terrorized the other dogs, and enjoyed the muddiest water you have ever seen. If you take a close look at some of the pictures, you may even notice how Walter made an escape from the confines of the doggie park into the great beyond. Mud and slobber aside, I believe a good time was had by all. There are more pictures available by following the links on the left to our photo site.

Hoppy Easter!

Our wedding and honeymoon pictures are here!

This is something I have been meaning to do for a long time. Finally, I have compiled all the pictures from the wedding on to one source for everyone to see. This is a site that I plan to maintain and update as Stacy and my family grows in the future. but to start, I figured we could share all of our photos from the wedding and the honeymoon with all of you. So, please follow the links on this page and enjoy the photos. Also, there is a website available to view the actual album that Stacy and I had made for us. If you would like to see this, just cut follow the link below.

http://www.essencepv.com/customeralbums/lew7501/

I hope you enjoy the pictures!