We're Back!

...or at least i'm sure gonna try to be better...after an eventful summer, and entirely too much time spent on facebook, i have decided to get back to blogging! thanks in part to my wonderful blogging friends and family, and one new blog in particular, that i stumbled upon while looking into ideas for josh's birthday party...it is called ashleyannphotography.com/blog. she is one busy, talented and totally inspirational mom-there is so much to say about her, but my favorite part is how she reminds us to cherish those little moments and appreciate the mundane every day, well almost every day...;) (and coincidentally, patrick and i were at a wedding this summer, and were asked to write down some advice for the happy couple...and that's just what i jotted down on the card-"cherish the mundane"! ;) i'm still needing reminders to do that myself.....
check her out if you get a chance!
and hopefully i will be back on tonite with some of josh's birthday pics...first to get ready for a soccer game in the rain...celebrate the mundane, celebrate the mundane...;)

18 Wonderful Months!

all dolled up for the boys' piano recital
accessorizing is a favorite pasttime
enjoying the boys' old bounce house
thanks, Oma, for snapping this great shot!

How is it possible that little girl is 18 months already?! She is SO much fun, but hard to keep up with-in every way! Just when I think I have a nice list for a blog post, she goes and adds lots of new skills and words to her repertoire!
Her words are coming fast and furiously-at this point, there are too many to count! She can mimic almost any single word we say now, or comes out with something pretty similar. She's getting really good at naming the members of our family, and lots have a cute nicknames: nicey=nini; oma=moma; ali=lala, todd=ta;sara=sasa

and just tonite, she climbs up on the couch and exclaims, "te-te, on! te-te, on!" apparently she wanted to watch sesame $treet...:) the girl knows what she wants...;)

her favorite color is yellow...actually "yeyo!" is her word to refer to yellow, and sometimes any other color, as in, "give me some of those m&m's!"

she's also getting pretty good with her animal sounds...hope this video will load....


she had her 18 month check-up yesterday, and since school was out, the boys and i took her in together. they were a nice distraction for her, and she was SO brave! she was a perfect little patient for all of it, (except for the "tooth count". she hadn't seen a tongue depressor before, so she wanted no part of one being in her mouth. she squeezed her mouth shut just as hard as she could, and turned her head left, then right, then left again, to avoid that strange object-it was really pretty comical!) she did have a petrified look on her face for most of the time, but she was able to hold back the tears until it was time for her shot. she cried for about a minute at the most, then proceeded to ask for her lollipop...."pop-pop? pop-pop?" that's my girl! :) and the women behind the counter are so cute-they always offer stickers first, unsure if they should offer a lollipop from the huge bucket they have on the counter. i want to say, "Yes! Give the girl a lollipop!" after all she's the third child....
here are her most recent stats:
height: 32" (55%ile), i was surprised by this one-she seems SO tall lately! weight: 22lbs, 14 oz (30%ile) and head circ: (90%ile)!
happy 18 months amazing grace! please stay here awhile...

easter sunday 2010

here we are on good friday, coloring our eggs. first time on the deck, in 80 degree weather!
gracie was really into it!

checking on her egg...
the finished products....



Easter Sunday-looks like he's been here!
the kids were thrilled with their baskets....(and were shirtless due to such warm weather!)

she kissed everything that she took out of her basket...:)here she is with her new toothbrush...


ok, so, the rest of the morning/day didn't really go as planned. while trying to get ready for 20+ guests, dressing and prepping the kids for church, patrick was putting some finishing touches on the playset that we had just re-stained. he stepped onto the deck barefoot, right onto a bee! his reaction escalated and after he threw up, he decided to use his epi pen (finally). i placed a call to p's parents to let them know that we wouldn't be joining them in church, and before i knew it, they were knocking on the door, asking if they could help. here he is, layed out on the couch for the morning....finally "stabilized" ;)and here's gracie, when we thought we were leaving for church, scarfing some skittles ;)


i love this one-look how intently they are reading the instructions for their new toy in this one....






then the cousins arrived, in time for the egg hunt...




the girls in their easter best....


the boys in blue...patrick has no recollection of me taking this picture....



after dinner, it was time to celebrate nana and uncle terry's birthdays...nana made her traditional lamb cake, but this year she made a chocolate one, too! mmmmmm!



all in all, it was a wonderful easter day with family. patrick's incident was a gentle reminder of the fragility of life and our health....and then in the evening, we were reminded AGAIN of this with a phone call from work. the health center and the medical community lost a wonderful resident on this easter sunday...dr. o'connor, you will be missed more than you'll ever know. our only hope is that you have now found the peace that you were seeking..........

16 months!

~16 month update~

how she measures up: 26%ile for weight, and 75%ile for head and height

our girl is getting more fun by the day!!

we were in the pediatricians's office and there was a mural in the exam room depicting the bible story of jesus talking to zacchaeus up in the tree, and gracie points to the picture and shouts "je-je!"

here are some of her other recent favorite words:
monkey=ooh,ooh,ah!
cat=NEOW!
dog=rah
popcorn, poop and potty=poop-pop
swing=tee-tee
slide=whoa!!
bug, bike, button=ba-ba
hummus, ketchup and/or syrup=dip-dop
cookies, treats=smacks her lips
please=ya, YA!! (sounds totally swedish at times)

knows most of her major body parts and will point to them when asked...
favorite characters:
elmo=yaya
dora=de-de-de-dededa
ernie=ne-ne
big bird=bi-bir

everyday she is saying more and just this week started putting words together: "bubba ball", "more juice", "nana drink"







bug-bug!


enjoying her tea set

just after enjoying her first fudge pop :)

she must have learned this one from her brothers....;)

SO. much. fun!! and more to come.....

Benjamin

Well, kiddo, I am finally getting around to writing you your birthday letter-only a few months late!
You are becoming such an incredible young man-a great friend, a fantastic teacher and a wonderful person. You are so kind, sensitive, funny and of course, so very bright. You are such an amazing big brother-exceptionally kind, protective, and fun. To see how much you enjoy spending time with your baby sister makes my heart overflow with happiness. But one of the most remarkable things about you is how fine you are to not be the owner of all the attention, to not be the winner (for the most part), to not be the best at everything...oftentimes, you are just content to be...and that is a wonderful lesson for many of us.
Forgive me for pushing you-I can't help but see your unlimited potential.
So far, so good, my baby boy...you. are. awesome.
Have a fantastic 9th year! We love you more than words!

Christmas Day 2009