Chicago trip

Hello all!

We are all melting here in Seattle. I can't believe that I am such a heat wimp after living in Dallas for so long. It was 90 yesterday and with no air conditioning and a big ol' pregnant belly I was tooooo hot. Luke didn't mind at all having a great time splashing in the small plastic pool in the backyard on Saturday and Sunday.

Posted are some pics from our trip to Chicago last weekend. We got back late Tuesday night and I am proud to report that Luke was excellent on the flights there and back. Kurt got stuck with the middle and did a great job keeping Luke entertained. The picture of Kurt and Luke is from Millennium Park which is one of my favorite spots in Chicago. I just love the 'bean' sculpture and the water features. Luke loved splashing around with Kurt and Paul and all the kids.

The next picture is from Megan's awesome shower. It's Megan's niece Ally, sister Kate, mom and Megan. The shower was fun and delicious. Yummmmmmy. Megan and Paul are in a new townhome that is fantastic and in a great new neighborhood. The area has lots of cool restaurants, stores and bars but also tons of young kids / babies and a really nice playground. We enjoyed hanging with the family and also spending time with our college friends. I ate all my favorites too (Garrett's, Pizano's pizza, Uncle Julios, Wishbone, Vosges Chocolates)!!

Baby #2 now has a semi-decorated room. We are borrowing a crib from our next door neighbor (really nice people) as Luke isn't quite ready to give his up and move to a big-boy bed. We also are keeping the guest bed so we can still sleep all our fun visitors. We got a fun stripped rug and then I found cute linens from the clearance section at Target (my favorite!). We just need a few more things set-up and then we are ready for the little one. Besides feeling BIG and hot things are fine with baby. He is super active doing water aerobics in my belly.

Happy 4th of July!

Weekend fun

Kurt and I had a blast on our respective weekends. Kurt said his time at the US Open golf tournament was "the coolest thing he had ever done". Sounded pretty awesome for any golf player / fan. Lots of nice courses, food and Tiger watching. Sadly they didn't get to see the Monday tie / sudden death round on Monday as they had to fly back home Sunday night.

Carrie visited Luke and I in Seattle. I introduced her to many of my EEU friends, playgroup etc. We did the duck boat tour (around Seattle and then into the water to see houseboats etc.). We went to the Mariner's game (sadly they lost) and did lots of eating, talking and catching up. It was awesome to have her here.

We leave tomorrow for Chicago and Megan's baby shower. We are looking forward to the party, hanging out with the family and seeing all our favorite Chicago things (which for me seem to focus on food - no surprise). No travel planned once we get back from Chicago but we do have some fun visits in July (Kate and Sarah as well as Gina (hopefully!).

I posted a new video with Luke doing stairs that you should be able to see in the video section on the right. They really focused on stairs for the last few weeks at Luke's school and obviously it made a huge difference. Consistency helps! This inspires me to be more consistent with us requiring him to use utensils and sign language. Sometimes it is just easier for us to do it ourselves but clearly he is capable of these things and we just need to push it!

The picture is from Luke today. He was so happy and cute and I tried to snap a picture but he was too fast!

Getting started

So this is my first post on a blog ever. I got inspired by my friend Christa who used her blog to update friends and family on the status of her son's surgery and recovery. It got me thinking this would be a great way to post pictures, videos and updates on our family. It's a great historical reference for me and fun way to keep people updated.

All is well in the Schulenburg house for now. Luke is in his last week of the ITP (Infant Toddler Program) at the EEU. Beginning mid-July he starts an intensive 5-week program (4 days / week) with 7 other autistic kids and several teachers. They will provide significant one-on-one as well as group therapy over the summer. Beginning in late August Luke will begin the preschool program at the EEU (5 days /week in a preschool class with special needs and typical kids, 3 days a week he stays longer for one-on-one therapy with just the autistic kids).

We are so pleased to be able to stay at the EEU for at least 2 more years (preschool)!

Luke's very happy lately and has even started going up and down stairs like a champ. I hope to video him doing this this week and post something on YouTube so everyone can see his great physical progress and smiles. The picture above is from his horse therapy session at Little Bit. We are done for the summer but will start again with the fall quarter. He LOVES it!

One of my best friends from college is coming to visit this Thursday to Sunday. Carrie lives in Atlanta and is making the LOOOOOOONG trip to hang out with Luke and I. We are so excited!

Kurt is headed to San Diego for the US Open golf tournament. He also gets to play 3 rounds of golf, go to dinner and stay in a nice hotel. Pretty nice father's day weekend for him for sure!!

Baby #2 is getting big. We are at 32+ weeks right now. Hopefully he stays nice and cozy as we are headed to Chicago for Megan's baby shower on the 21st. They are due a few weeks after us and are not finding out the sex (which of course makes me SOOOOOO curious!). We are really looking forward to the baby shower and hanging in Chicago with Kurt's family.