Baby Drew arrived on September 12, 2013!

What a fun and crazy transition it has been! More to come...

Read more...

Countdown has reached 1 day...

In just over 24 hours, our family of 3 will become a family of 4.

I have no idea what to expect

which is both scary &

soo fun!

TJ is absolutely ecstatic

(so are we, of course)

and his countdown

has finally arrived.

Hooray for BROTHERS!

Read more...

1st Grade!

I can't even begin to write about how AWESOME first grade has been for TJ this year...and we're only on day 4! TJ is absolutely loving school and has so much to tell us each day that he comes home...and throughout dinner...and after dinner...and at bedtime too. And then we have to do a countdown in the morning until it's time to walk to school. It's incredible to have him be this excited and makes me so much less sad while he's away. (I said "less sad" people. This is super hard adjustment for me - again. But it's amazing how it's easier when he's so happy!)

Here are a few pics we took last week and then today...

Heading to a birthday party last week... (TJ picked out his outfit).

First day of first grade with Daddy!

 

And Mommy too! Today, at Meet the Teacher Night, she called all the kids to the carpet and said that little brothers and sisters were welcome to join the kids on the floor. TJ pointed to my belly from across the room and "motioned him over" with this goofy excited look on his face. It was awesome. 

I'll never forget that!)

I saw this in his notebook today. And loved it. Had to share!

On his second day, they filled out this sheet. I asked him who the 6 people in our family included. He said, while counting on his fingers one by one, "Mom, Dad, Grandma and Grandpa, Bondi and Poppy..." Of course! My favorite part is the picture he drew of what he wants to be when he grows up. Basically, he wants to be Dad. Is that a dream come true or what? Notice the bluetooth headset on his head. : )

Little Man at his locker. Hooray for school!

Read more...

According to TJ...

According to TJ..."You can never love somebody too much cuz your body keeps making more love. Like blood." Oh my gosh, be still my heart. When he said this two nights ago, he was nearly asleep and we were spending the night in Lakeside. I had to text it to myself before I fell asleep so I wouldn't forget it.

He followed it up with, "It's easy to make sand...but how do you make shells?" The boy never stops thinking. I love it!

I have two more REALLY cute stories to share...and many pictures too. Will do so tomorrow - hopefully. What a treasure this boy is to me. To us.

Read more...

KO's in baseball?

Are there knockouts in baseball? There sure are...during backyard catch!

TJ's wiggly tooth was officially knocked out by a toss from Daddy in the back yard two nights ago. And T is very proud of it. We were finishing up before going in for the night. Tim threw it and TJ caught the ball in his glove right in front of his face. The force of it, however, made the glove smack back into his mouth. T looked at me and I shouted, "good catch!" like an idiot hoping he'd see me not react and brush it off. But it wasn't brush-off-able. A second later, there were tears but only because of the blood. He said it didn't hurt. So after rinsing his mouth out with water into the grass, we asked him to smile and Tim picked his tooth up out of his mouth. Easiest way to lose a tooth, I guess! He was super relieved to be able to eat without it getting in the way too. Of course, we had a celebration snack before bed.

T talks differently now and it's really cute. And more grown up actually. Which is sweet and sad at the same time. I love how proud he is of it. That little gap in his teeth. And his whistle and lisp when he talks. Sweet! I hope the giant tooth takes awhile to come in.

Read more...

School's out...it's vacation time!

The school year ended and we jumped right into vacation mode by going to Florida and Disney World! Despite the fact that TJ had a super high fever and an insane, constant cough the first two days, we had an incredible time. After getting sick in Downtown Disney's Lego Store 5 minutes after arriving, we had to leave ...but it was all uphill from there.  : ) Below is a pic of TJ at the pool as we waited for our hotel room to be ready. He was so hot and feverish, but he felt freezing. So he slept under the umbrella in long sleeves and towels (and my sunglasses) for awhile...poor guy. He never even complained! 

This one is of TJ dancing in the streets just before Disney's Electric Light Parade. Once we were all feeling okay, we hit the parks as much as possible and closed them down almost every night!!! 

T and Tim were the greatest ride partners. It took TJ a very long time to enjoy the rides but once he tried them, he loved them! He had tons of questions about each little ride and we heard, "is it short?" and "is it dark?" about 100,000,000 times this trip. : )

It was only sunny the first and last days of our trip but it made walking miles in the park much better than if it had been super sunny and hot. This pic was at Epcot as we waited out the rain and lightning in a gift shop hoping the Light Show would still happen. It did! Even in torrential downpour and we loved it! 

I love this one of them!

Back at the Lego store and feeling much better! Hulk SMASH!

Patriots...with their wooden rifles! (And powdered sugar on their shirts from a funnel cake! Mmm!) 

We were blown away by The Sea part of Epcot and the amazing aquarium there!

The magical castle and Magic Kingdom and the Sword in the Stone!

It'll be several years until we go back but we've got enough memories of it to last us until then!!!

Read more...

Just sittin' and talkin'

Today was another mild day in terms of temperature here...and after hitting up some garage sales with Bondi, eating donuts and spending time reading books like crazy under a sheet in TJ's room, we went for a bike ride...and ended up at the corner store. TJ loves to choose a few little candies there and sit on the front steps with me. I think I love it even more than he does.

So today, as he ate his Laffy Taffy he said, "Mom-o, when I'm old enough, I'm going to walk up here by myself or with a friend and get some candy. And then I'll call you from my phone that I'll be old enough to have and you can pick me up." It came across so precious to me and it warmed me up all over. Why? Because he's NOT that old yet. He's still my little tiny boy. And he's happy with that...and also looking forward to the future. As quickly or as slowly as it comes. My hope is for slowly. I love this time.

A few girls rode up on their bikes too as we were finishing up and one of them was in TJ's class this year. She and TJ were super happy to see each other and once they were inside, he told me he wanted to show her he lost his front tooth. I told him to go for it and that I'd wait outside. He wanted me to go with him but I gently encouraged him to do this one on his own. He did. I PRAYED this little girl would care that he lost his big front tooth and I watched his little neck through the glass as he walked over to her. I couldn't hear anything past the first few words but he DID get a reaction and then she wiggled her front tooth and they laughed. Another sentence or two and he was back out with me. It was awesome. He was all smiles when he came out and we rode our bikes home with a little plastic bag full of wrappers and mini tootsie rolls.

Read more...

Field Trip to Lake Farm Park

TJ braved the school bus for a pretty long hike up to Lake Farm Park yesterday. What a trip! He was so nervous but incredibly excited. I met the bus there to help chaperon the classes that went. We had a great time milking cows, planting potatoes, watching the border collie round up the sheep and more! I have to say my favorite part was the piglet drinking Diet Dr. Pepper ( my favorite ) although the bottle was filled up with milk instead. ( Not my favorite ). T's favorite part was the bus ride. Yesssss!

 We were lucky enough to have Grandma meet us out there!!!

 Planting potatoes...eyes to the sky!

  

Border collie doin' her thing!

                                      

 CHICKENS!!!

 Digging...

 

Wool sample! Getting back on the bus...

 Hello blue sky! (And freezing temp in mid-May)

 Brave enough to milk that cow!

Wilbur!

Read more...

Little Artist

For quite some time, TJ has grown into LOVING art. He's always liked doing crafty things but drawing has been his passion. Especially lately. We go through reams of paper like nothing!!! Admittedly, I have a hard time figuring out how to display all our favorites! 

A few weeks ago, we signed TJ up for a drawing class after school. It's once a week and he loves it! It's fun to see what he brings home! Well, two weeks ago we received a letter from the school stating that two pieces of his artwork had been selected for the K-12 Art Show to be displayed at the College for a week. So cool! Yesterday was the reception and opening day. T decided he wanted to wear his "work clothes". These are dressed up clothes like Daddy wears to work. : ) He looked so nice! Unfortunately all the pics we have show him in his coat too. Because it's mid-May and we're still wearing WINTER COATS!

As a fam, we walked into the building and it was a sight! Tons of people, all the artwork displayed, refreshments and slideshows dressed it all up. It didn't take us long to find his painting...entitled "Home".

It was special to go as a family and see him excited about having his art selected. Something he loves to do that was acknowledged by someone outside of the family. : ) He was proud! Go TJ!

 He likes to "illustrate" bigtime too.

Moses!

Read more...