{t} in my life....

last post

2010-04-19T01:07:00.001-07:00

with a heavy heart i've decided this will be the last post for our blog. the decision has come during a difficult chapter for our family.

as most of you know, jim lost his job this time last year and immediately a job close to home was sought after. the search ended four months ago when the decision was made that a 9-5 weekly job would be taken over 800 miles from our home in chicago (yes we live in maryland).

i wish i could say this has been an easy transition for our family. for our marriage. i'm sure most of you can imagine the answer to that one. it has been an emotional roller coaster that simply has no end. the waves have ranged from overwhelmed, lonely, to recently bitterness and resentfulness.

our family would very much appreciate any thoughts and prayers and are thankful for each and everyone of you that has followed our stories and enjoyed the photos. i truly miss having the time each day to share them with you. however the plate is full, the load is heavy and i must give my children 100% of what i have left to give.

with much love, tara

embrace...

2010-03-30T11:40:00.000-07:00

embrace the weekend together....
embrace the hunt...

embrace your first sack hop:

embrace scoring lots of eggs:

embrace a little girl time:

embrace dropping your egg:

embrace time with daddy:

embrace bowling birthday parties:

embrace friends who wonder "what is that in your hair?"

embrace piggy toes:

embrace the fact your hair is getting lighter by the day:

embrace blue eyes and dimpled chins:

embrace siblings:

embrace your fear of 2 foot slides that your brother must take you down....

photography props

2010-03-24T10:47:00.000-07:00

before luciana was born, i bought (and bought and bought) photography props with hopes of capturing her teeny tiny newborn self thru my lens.

who am i kidding? i barely have time to make a bow for her these days.

i was recently asked by a local photographer if i would be interested in selling some of my girly finds. it was a hard decision. mostly because i know there will be no more tripoli newborns to photograph them in.

so today i decided, she might not be that itty bitty 6 lb. 3 oz. bebe that we brought home from the hospital any longer.....

but, she is my beautiful rolley polley girl. :) love the chub. and those lips.

then she woke up. and was wondering why....

she was next to the front door?

on the floor?

in a basket, and nearly naked?

because your mama loves you OHSOMUCH!!

she wanted to make a snack out of that ribbon blanket!

and look.... no headband!! luciana has just started sprouting enough strands for her very first clip. oh the sweetness.

i will probably still continue to use headbands for a while. i'm so afraid of her wanting to pull a bow or flower out and some locks too. ouch!

Happpy St. Patrick's Day!

2010-03-17T11:14:00.000-07:00

Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone!
Greyson was ready for preschool in his green this morning!
We can't wait to see you tomorrow Daddy!!!!

Luciana isn't worried about getting pinched.... she is requesting "kisses" not "pinches"

thought I'd share some from last month (since i'm only good at blogging on holidays lately.....) ha!

Greyson received lots of lovin' from his class this year!

Luciana's bff sophia had a valentine playdate party.....

our sweet little valentine!

our weekend

2010-02-22T15:04:00.000-08:00

Our Great Dane Asher got a little trip to Tails n' Tubs this weekend for a much needed bath!

Once spring arrives he will get them via garden hose, which he will prefer! Picture take march 2007. Greyson was so tiny!

Jim and Greyson had their hands full, Asher was ready to get out of there!

Receiving the finishing touches, getting dried off by me.

While there we ran into Amy, Brooke & Bailey girl.

Brooke is almost done her treatments and will hopefully be returning to school soon! Greyson will be SO happy to have her in class again. He loves her so much!

Jim was busy this weekend. Besides bathing our pony :) he put together Luciana's new toy:

Baby girl loves her new fun go round!

This one cracks me up!

She was thanking her daddy here:

Just another weekend that went by way too fast...

wonderful wednesday

2010-02-17T15:04:00.000-08:00

not much going on today, luciana just played with a bunch of trains and blocks while she waited for her brother to return from preschool.
you guys won't believe me, but this photo was not staged! i just think she likes the milk tanker. actually i feel like a "milk tanker" these days.....

finally captured one of those lovely lashes:

a penny for your thoughts lulu:

she spied the "luciana" block tower right away:

and it didn't stay up for long....

yeah, it was a wonderful wednesday!

she's gonna make me

2010-02-15T08:49:00.000-08:00

CAVE!!!!
cave into her wanting to suck her thumb!!! i'm really trying to stay strong with the paci, but just look at this...... i actually promised myself that i would never have a thumb sucker (i don't want to offend anyone it's just a personal preference). when greyson was a baby he too was always trying to find that thumb. i just love the idea of being able to take away the paci when they get bigger and the fact that i know the paci is clean and germ free. lets face it, you can't always say that about their little thumb.
hoping everyone had a fabulous valentine's day yesterday. i will try to take and post a photo of greyson and luciana together later. yesterday poor greyson was in no shape to having his pic taken, he woke up sick with the flu. by dinner time, you would have never guessed he had been ill. he bounces back SO fast that boy!
so i will leave you with a pic from greyson's first valentine's day from Feb. 2005, he was about one month old.

still falling

2010-02-10T10:02:00.001-08:00

We are buried in snow here in Maryland and its still falling! Last week school was cancelled (as well as this week too) after we received 9 inches of snow, Friday came the first blizzard which left us with about 15 inches or so. Today we are receiving another 6-12 inches!! This weather is insane and definitely has us yearning for spring!!! Jim hasn’t made it home since last Monday, we are crossing our fingers hoping he makes it home tomorrow.
Last weekend greyson had a blast getting snowed in with nana & boppie!

(picture taken on a much warmer day!)

He was so happy to have some of his very own time visiting.

But, after four days he was really homesick and was missing this girl.

Monday I picked him up and we had a little date together while nana and lulu hung out. We went and saw the tooth fairy. It was really cute, very age appropriate and funny. Greyson gave it a thumbs up!

this was taken at another movie we all went and saw in january, luciana's first!

Speaking of luciana's first...... she had her first taste of rice cereal this weekend. The first attempt was a go! The next three days... not so much. Then yesterday, she decided it wasn't so bad! Tomorrow will be sweet potatoes!!

Not that I have to find a reason each day to miss Grover by any means, but this snow yet again is making me miss my boy so much. He *loved* snowed!! The way he plowed through it without a care in the world, it always reminded me of a giant bunny.

This pic was taken when he was only four months old, this was his very first snowfall, he loved it from the very beginning.

Hello Six Months!

2010-02-04T09:45:00.000-08:00

Luciana the days are going by so fast! You want very badly to be mobile. When you are on your belly and you want a toy that is out of reach you place your forehead on the rug and press with your toes until you lift your bum off the floor! It's so funny! You also scoot around in circles. Saturday is going to be a big day for you, trying your first taste of rice cereal. Daddy has been in Denver all week and since he won't fly home until tomorrow afternoon, we wouldn't want him to miss out on the action! Ha! Right now you are 100% breastfed. You eat, um.... snack twice during the night. I honestly can't even remember what a whole nights sleep feels like. But, you know what? Those moments after you've nursed and just before I place you back down in your crib are some of the greatest joys in my life. The way you still completely need me. It is effortless to love you all the time baby girl.
You adore Greyson these days and watch his every move.

I'm pretty sure the feeling is mutual. Exhibit A:

He wants you close by, no matter what he's doing....

Bedtime with you is so easy! It seems you have set your own time too, between 7-7:15 every night. You have always been such a still little sleeper, but lately I have found you all over the crib! This morning you had your head raised and were trying to peek over your bumper. Thinking we might be lowering that mattress soon....

You take a wonderful early morning nap, but your afternoon one is all over the board.

You love the bath and the sound of water! You are easily excitable, but startle easy too. You love your exersaucer, and johnny jumper. You are quite the jumping bean these days! You have also become miss grabby hands extraordinaire! You want anything in your sight. Next week you have your six month baby well check. We are excited to see how much you weigh. Two weeks ago you were weighing 13 lbs. 10 oz. You are rapidly outgrowing 3-6 month clothing.

Don't worry baby girl, mama has you covered.....

You are babbling more and more, but will only say "ma ma ma" when tired, fussy or when you want to be picked up. Yes, you could say you have me wrapped. I love how easy it is to make you happy. All you need is for me to pick you up and all is right in the world. If only this could always be the case. I love you and think you are absolutely the most beautiful girl in the world.

Lulu your first six months have been amazing, we can't wait to see what you have in store for us next. It's gonna be a great year!

Luciana New Year pictures:

Greyson's first New Year picture:

Snow Day!!!

2010-01-31T13:32:00.000-08:00

Greyson has been enjoying the little snowstorm that we received ALL day yesterday. Wow, what an interesting Saturday it was. We were lefted with about 9 inches of snow and lost power for seven hours last night. Thank goodness for a gas fireplace! We stayed busy by having a "picnic" dinner on the family room floor, playing chutes & ladders, and hide-and-go-seek in the dark with flashlights! Yes, it was an interesting Saturday indeed! :)

What's that Luciana?

oh, you're bored being stuck inside and watching the boys play air hockey?

you want to bundle-up and play in the snow too?

no problem.....

she looked five times her size in that snowsuit! ha!

next year the real fun will begin when all four of us can have a snow day together!

Top 2 Tuesday

2010-01-26T13:43:00.000-08:00

Taylor from Jimmy Choos & Baby Too is starting a top 2 tuesday topic, and today's topic is our two favorite recipes. OMGoodness! This has been really hard for me to narrow it down to just two! I've decided to pick my favorite pampered chef recipe and one of my favorite cheesecake recipes. If you try either, enjoy you won't be disappointed!

Lemon Herb Chicken Ring
1/2 cup diced red bell pepper
2 cups chopped chicken
1 lemon
3 Tbsp. chopped parsley
2 garlic cloves
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup mayo
1 Tbsp. italian seasoning
1/2 cup grated parm cheese
2 pkgs. pillsbury crescent rolls (8oz each)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix chicken, pepper & parsley, set aside. Zest lemon and add 1 tsp. to the chicken mixture. Stir in pressed garlic, mozz. cheese, parm cheese, mayo and seasoning. Unroll crescent dough, separate triangles. Arrange triangles into a circle points toward the outside of a large round baking stone. Spoon mixture onto dough. Bring dough up and over filling tuck under center of ring (your filling won't be completely covered). Sprinkle with about 2 Tbsp. of parm cheese. Bake 28-30 minutes or until nice and golden brown.

Oreo Cheesecake
4 oz. pkg. oreo cookies
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter, melted
3 eggs
2 8 oz. pkgs. cream cheese
16 oz. sour cream
1 Tbsp. vanilla

Finely crush half the oreos, coarsely chop your other half. Mix the finely crushed cookies with the melted butter and press firmly into a 9 inch spring form pan, set aside. Beat cream cheese and sugar. Blend in eggs, sour cream and vanilla. Fold in the coarsely chopped cookies. Spread mixture carefully over your crust. Bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes or until set. Let cool one hour, refrigerate for three hours before serving.

If anyone wants to take part in this too, don't forget to leave me a comment and let me know so i can add some more yummy recipes!

being sick... stinks!

2010-01-25T11:26:00.000-08:00

sitting here in her bumbo seat, luciana may not look as if she has been battling a little virus or getting over pink eye... but she has. And somehow has managed to remain pretty happy thru it all. we love her sweet little spirit.

here she is before bed this weekend

oops!

getting a little better at "sitting up" everyday. we call this the tripoli tripod

seems she would rather chew the tags....

Here are a few of greyson from the same age:

perfecting the tripoli tripod too

my babies have the bluest eyes! those definitely came from daddy (and grandma). :)

seems like only yesterday he was laying there on the changing table looking back with that sweet face.

Officially FIVE!!

2010-01-19T11:34:00.001-08:00

How can it possibly be that our little man has turned five years old? Sunday was a much anticipated and looonnnngg awaited birthday! Greyson was beyond excited to finally turn five. He definitely thinks the magic number holds its own powers. uh-oh! :)
I have plenty of great pictures to share from his bowling birthday party, but for now just wanted to share a quick one of our family. Greyson sporting his very own number five birthday shirt. While Luciana matched her BIG brother in an a-line dress finished with a huge bowling pin. She of course was much more interested in the yummy ribbons. Maybe cake next year baby girl.....

she sure is greyson

2010-01-12T19:30:00.001-08:00

but, mommy she's "squirmy"!
she sure is buddy! :)

snow playdate

2010-01-08T14:19:00.001-08:00

we woke to about 3 inches of snow this morning! everything was covered in a soft fluffy snow, it was so beautiful! this was luciana's second snowfall, her first she wasn't feeling well so we didn't get to take her picture. today was picture make-up day. ha!

luciana's little friend sophia and her mama alison came over to join in the fun too!

the girl's little noses were starting to turn pink with all the WIND!

first snowballs!! maybe next year they'll be ready for a friendly snowball fight. ha!

time to come inside and warm up!

fifi- thanks for coming over today to play! love, lulu

one for daddy

2010-01-06T20:26:00.001-08:00

seems somebody missed seeing an updated post of a certain little munchkin & cupcake yesterday....

we love and miss you daddy!! Hurry home! XOXO Greyson & Lulu

Happy Monday!

2010-01-04T17:30:00.000-08:00

Here is our little fishy happy as can be and growing out of this bath support. I took this picture a little before bed tonight. She is five months old today, and speaking of growing.....

look how much she has changed from this photo taken at 8 days old. (sniff sniff)

Can I just tell you how excited Greyson was to go back to preschool today? Because it was the first day back since Christmas break? Nope.

Here's a hint.....

See that lunch box? Little dude was excited beyond words that he got to "eat lunch with all my friends". In other words he is an all day preschooler now!! I definitely wasn't ready for him to stay all day in the very beginning of the year. If he went all day everyday, I still wouldn't be ready. But he only attends three days, which leaves two full days for just us! That mama can handle.

When I picked him up, I asked him what his favorite part of his big day was? He answered "taking a rest".

come again?

Yes, that's right! He said a REST!! I can't get him to take a rest here if I promised him candy! :)

All righty then.

On a much more serious note, do you Mommy's out there have one of these infant seats (or know a friend that does)? It's called the Cradle in Comfort Bouncer, a Boppy product (made by KidsII).

If you do, please pass along this frightening story that happened a few days ago to Luciana.

She is very active these days and loves to stand or press upward when her feet touch almost anything. See that center piece on the bottom of the infant seat? She apparently kept pushing her feet on that part, while somehow her chin/neck became stuck on that canopy part. Stuck as in, she couldn't move. The picture above is the only one that I have with her in the seat, it was taken a few months ago when she wasn't as long. She isn't too big/long for the seat, at her 4 month appointment (last month) she was 12 lbs. 3 oz. and is in the 50% for height. I really don't know exactly how it happened, all that matters is that she is safe, and will never use the seat again. The Boppy company was completely wonderful, are sending out a recall AND they are sending us a free "around we go activity station" (that will be available for sale later this month).

We were thankful they were so responsive, excited to get a new toy, but the fact that she could have been terribly hurt (or worse) is better than any plastic toy.

Thank-you for reading and please pass along the dangers of this infant seat. Without the canopy, and of course with a baby strapped in I'm sure the seat would be safe. We just couldn't take the chance.

baby it's cold outside!

2010-01-03T18:20:00.000-08:00

twenty-six degrees tonight to be exact! but this sweet picture of jim reading a bedtime story to both kids (llama llama red pajama) tonight warms me to the core. hope everyone had a great weekend and stayed warm & cozy!

Christmas morning & resolutions

2010-01-02T16:35:00.000-08:00

two of greyson's favorite gifts were his imaginext bat cave and his cowboy boots! the boots were a combination from toy story and wanting to be just like his buddy parker.

he wears them everywhere and with everything! :)

poor luciana has been battling her very first cold. she woke Christmas morning with a fever, somehow managed to open two gifts and spent the remainder of her day in my arms.

Sunday was her Christmas re-do!! She was feeling much better and back to her happy smiley self! She was also wearing her first little Christmas dress that I made! I decided to not go the traditional red/green this year.

Here's Nana (my mom) with her little helpers getting ready to open gifts.

Luciana with one of hers...

2009 was a very mixed year for our family. Losing Grover still hasn't really sunk in on most days. I wish I could say it has gotten easier but the truth is, we miss him just as much today as the night he left our side. The highlight of course came on August 4th as we welcomed the littlest member of our family into the world. Jim and I really needed her birth to focus on as we traveled almost eight long months searching for a job. Two weeks before Christmas the search ended. Jim was offered another position with United Airlines this time not as a pilot, but in management. The adjustment will be that he will be working in Chicago monday thru thursday every week. That's where my new year's resolution comes in....

I'm really going to try hard to take at least one picture everyday and post a little something, so Jim won't miss a single day. Even when he isn't here.

Day one: January 1st, our gingerbread house. Greyson is doing a great job holding up our poor little roof! :) apparently this isn't a project you are suppose to attempt 20 minutes before bedtime. Instead of assembling the house, and *waiting * for the icing to dry..... bedtime was calling so we decorated with as much candy and sprinkles as it could hold and hurried on to bed.

you can guess what was waiting the next morning, a mess! our roof looked as if a big snow storm had hit! oh well, memories were made! :)

Day two: January 2nd, Christmas toys!!!! Greyson gave Luciana this little laugh and learn piggie, which she loves! Although in this picture, she seems to be more interested in the bat helicopter!

Here she is on the tail end of four months. She has discovered her toes and doesn't ever let go!

Hungry Luciana?

Oh the sweetness, I can hardly stand it!

If you have time, leave me a comment and tell me your new year's resolution!

Merry Christmas!!

2009-12-25T13:01:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas from our little family to yours!!!

i'm pretty sure all of our friends & family have received our Christmas card this year. So for all our bloggy friends out there:

the picture wasn't what I had envisioned, and the cards were sent out way later than I had planned .... but I couldn't let a year pass by without mailing out our annual photo card!

Thanksgiving recap

2009-12-02T14:28:00.000-08:00

These are the two biggest blessings Jim & I have ever been given. They bring us more love and happiness than we could ever express. Nothing we've ever done will make us worthy of them, but we thank God for them and for the chance to parent them everyday.

who are you calling turkey?

Greyson enjoying his Thanksgiving day feast at school.

Luciana between my mom's two doggies, Alex & Emma. Luciana looks like she is waiting for a treat too! and no bow!! GASP!!!!

when i saw these pj's at Gymboree, i just couldn't resist! The puppy tooties look just like Alex & Emma! Although, I think Alex would object to a BOW on HIS head!!! ha!

she is just getting too big!

look what arrived at our local pet store. he was really a sweet boy! if our life wasn't completely full at the moment, i think we might have taken him home with us that night! Greyson completely fell in LOVE with him!

and last, here are two pictures from halloween that i meant to share......

yes, a photo shoot gone terribly WRONG!!! :)

school boy, report cards & 14weeks

2009-11-16T12:09:00.000-08:00

It's official we have a school boy on our hands! Today Greyson brought home his first "report card" or pre-k developmental assessment. He received lots of A's (for applying). P's are for practicing, E's are for emerging, and N's are for not observed yet. Seems we need to work on staying on task and demonstrating positive self control. I guess we are all a little work in progress! :)

Look how well Greyson is writing his name!

Here is one from July 2008, he was just getting good at it!

From the same day Greyson & Grover... double trouble. I miss hearing Greyson giggle as Grover chased him. Or was it the other way around? :)

And while Greyson was at preschool this morning, Luciana was good to her mama and let me get some cute 14 week pics.

I bought this fringie off etsy back in june, so glad to finally use it for a few photos. It's really cool, one side is shades of blue while the reverse is mostly pinks and purples.

little turtles

2009-11-10T07:48:00.000-08:00

luciana has been doing so well holding her head up lately. so i decided to go back and find a picture of greyson when he started holding his up as well.
it's amazing how she has turned into a "mini greyson" overnight!

saturaday morning

2009-11-07T07:11:00.000-08:00

hope everyones' weekend is off to a good start! jim and i have just been hanging around sipping on coffee and watching that sweet girl give her big brother smiles. of course as soon as the camera comes out, they disappear...... doesn't that always happen?
now that things have slowed down around here, i'm excited to share LOTS of pictures soon from the past two months. i have been slacking. Greyson is loving soccer and school these days, and has learned to tie his shoes all by himself! Luciana is 13 weeks old, has been sleeping in her crib since 10 weeks, wakes twice during the night, and is super close to rolling over and giggling out loud. I will be back later with more photos, we are off to a birthday party and a soccer game. Here is one from Halloween just before we all left for "trunk or treat" at church. Greyson was originally going to be captain hook, but ended up choosing to dress as a knight. Luciana of course was a ladybug!!

2009-11-03T15:38:00.000-08:00

This is by far the hardest blog post that I've ever attempted to write. Our beloved Weim, Grover lost his battle with Colon Cancer two nights ago. I wish I could explain the void that has been left in our hearts and in our home. Grovey was our constant companion. Always wanting to be where we were, and go where we were going. He was an insanely smart boy, sometimes too much for his own good. And we thought his beauty was that of no other than we've seen.
Life gave us only seven brief years together, but in those moments we gained memories that will last a lifetime.
For Jim and my first wedding anniversary we decided we wanted to give each other a puppy. So, because we don't usually do things simple like going to the local pet store..... we flew from maryland to philadelphia and then on to San Fransisco. Next we rented a car and drove all night to Brookings, OR to pick out our baby. It was love at first sight!

meeting your new brother asher.....

watching you with Greyson....

I loved these ears....

I loved those eyes......

that look...

that one too.

Yes, i did silly things to you....

because you were *loved* beyond measure

even though you were a mere fifty-five pounds, you fought like a trooper to the very end.

saying goodbye was by far the most difficult thing that I've ever had to do in my entire life.

there will never be another dog that could ever replace the part of my heart that left when you did.

happy birthday daddy!!

2009-09-23T08:19:00.000-07:00

we love you all the way to the moon and back!! happy, happy birthday to the best daddy in the world! all of our hugs & kisses- greyson and luciana (mommy too!)

finally home and on the mend

2009-09-06T10:58:00.000-07:00

Grover our 7 year old weimaraner became extremely ill in the middle of the night on Wednesday. By 7:30 the next morning he could barely walk, and was the sickest we’ve ever seen him. Jim rushed him to our vet and was there waiting when they opened at 9am. He called me about 30 minutes later to tell me that Grover was in shock, extremely dehydrated, and his body temperature was dropping but he was stable for the moment. X-rays were taken and it was discovered that Grover somehow contracted HGE (Hemorrhagic Gastroenteritis) He was given IV fluids from Thursday morning until late Friday night when he was finally allowed to come home. He is still a very sick pup, and is taking three antibiotics but is getting stronger everyday.
For those reading that are pet lovers, you understand how upsetting it is when you are close to losing your pet. Not all dogs are lucky enough to make it thru the battle with HGE, we are so thankful that we got him to our vet in time and that God kept his hand on him and saved his life. Count all your blessings today, even those of your beloved animals!
Grover was our very first dog and is still our baby. He is and always will be a special part of our family. Luciana and he even share the same birthday of August 4th!

what we've learned in four weeks (and 18 photos)

2009-09-02T20:17:00.000-07:00

What we’ve learned in four weeks:

that we have a passionate eater, who as of today weighs 8lbs. 13oz.
she loves her baths
is very happy in the morning, always flashing us a big gummy smile
is a big fan of her swing!
tolerates her bouncy seat for brief moments
does great on car rides, as long as she is asleep…
loves her paci
we have learned her fussy spell is between 8-9 pm every. night.
is very serious and quite often gives us “the brow”
eats every 2-3 hours
is a great nap taker, has one 4 hour stretch at night too!
she is going to have an outtie belly button, just like her brother
she is still wearing all size newborn clothing
and while she may keep us on our toes, she has filled a spot in our heart that we never knew was empty with her sweet spirit.
we simply can’t imagine this world without her in it.

two weeks old:

3 weeks old:

our sweet babies

miss bright eyes

i bought so many photography props, not sure i'll ever get to use them all. *love* this little tassel cap

one of the many cocoon wraps

smiles for daddy

relaxing on the hammock

4 weeks old:

two more from yesterday:

our week in review

2009-08-13T14:36:00.000-07:00

this past week has been a mixture of emotions ranging from pure happiness to sadness beyond description. last wednesday we were on cloud nine as we arrived home with luciana. However within minutes of arriving home we discovered that our beloved pediatrician was involved in a horrific car accident about one hour after he discharged luciana. the grief we felt was numbing. then two days later the next crashing moment came as we learned that he had passed away from results of his injuries. i wish i could describe the void that has been left in our hearts for this man that our family trusted and admired so much. he was only 50 years old, and left behind a wife and four sons. please keep their family in your prayers.

Our little angel is doing fabulous. She is 9 days old today and at her appointment this morning she weighed 7 pounds, 5 ounces!! She is in the 25% for weight and height.

here are a few photos from our week. greyson holding his baby sister after we arrived home:

first morning home, 8:20 am both kids "sleeping in"

on the way to luciana's doctor appointment:

two days old:

three days old:

nana visits, day four:

these photos were taken on sunday (my 33rd birthday). we were just about to run a quick errand to the mall so i could pick up more nursing tanks. jim of course stayed in the car with luciana while i went inside. it felt SO strange leaving her for just a few moments!

and here is the sleeping beauty at one week old. taken from another mini photo shoot i attempted. :)

Ava Luciana

2009-08-06T13:59:00.000-07:00

We want to introduce you to our girl, Luciana. She was born tuesday morning at 2:34 am, weighing 6 lbs. 3 oz. and measuring 18 3/4 inches long (the exact same as her brother). Our hearts are so full and greyson is simply taken with his baby sister.
Sorry for the quick post, we have lots more pictures to share! For now we wanted to leave you with a few leaving the hospital yesterday evening. Our first night and day home has been absolutely wonderful! Jim and I set our alarm and woke her every 2-3 hours to eat last night, she is a super little breast feeder and my milk has already come in! This morning both of our kids woke up around 8:30 am!! She seems to love the bassinet and is such a sweet little girl, we just can't get enough of her! From our family to yours thank-you for all your prayers and well wishes!

nursery tour

2009-08-02T19:46:00.000-07:00

welcome to our little princess's room!
i know i promised everyone pictures a few days ago. sorry i have been so busy using these last few days purchasing last minute items and making returns. i feel like every minute/day could be the last. LOL! i will take more pictures and views, these are just a few quick ones. i know baby blue isn't the girlest color for a nursery (and no that wasn't the color when this room was greyson's nursery). however it was the perfect touch to match the fabric we bought to have her bumper made from. enjoy these sneak peeks and i'll take more in the morning when the light is better and post then.

next to the bumper fabric, this is my next favorite part of her room! i think i want a glass chandelier for every room in our house now! :) each time i walk pass, i just look up and smile. it's really pretty at night when we use the dimmer too. luciana's trash can. i bought a plain white plastic one from walmart, covered it in fabric and hot glued silk roses around the edge. i still need to buy about 8 more to finish the back edge. but, wow! even with micheals coupon, 8 will be almost $30. i don't think luciana will notice if i wait a bit....

her first friends!! :) the doll on the left was left in her Easter basket when we were only 23 weeks pregnant, the middle doll was a gift from nana & boppie (bought while vacationing in mexico), and the gap teddy bear was greyson's. who never seemed interested in, until i recently placed it in her chair along with a tutu and bowband....... hmmmm :)

hoping it won't be long before we can whisper these words into her ear as she drifts off into a sweet slumber.....

40 weeks

2009-07-31T22:54:00.000-07:00

honestly i never imagined that we would really make it to our due date and beyond...
thursday morning we had another appointment, apparently i'm STILL 2 cm and still
about 60% effaced. for those keeping track of the expansion, i've also gained a total so
far of 21 pounds. we did receive some exciting news.... they want to see me on monday and
have set up induction for first thing wednesday morning. so if little missy doesn't make her
appearance by then, she just might have an august 5th birthday (or share an august 6th
birthday with her nana).
these past few days especially we can't help but wonder how she will be similar or different
to her brother. he was one week early exactly (ok- so we already know she likes to take her
sweet time) ha! he was born at 6:47 am, weighed 6 lbs. 10.5 oz., was 18 3/4 inches long, breastfed immediately, had blond hair (but very little of it), blue eyes (don't all newborn babies?) and was completely perfect in every way.
Greyson was and has been the joy of our lives, just as i know her arrival will be as well. we
are just SO anxious to meet her and have our family feel instantly completed.
jim took these pictures of the belly last night in our backyard, i tweaked in photoshop. :)
ever since that russian sage started blooming, i knew i wanted to get a few pictures beside it. i absolutely love to garden and watch my plants bloom and grow, but being pregnant this summer
has really taken it's toll on my flowers. hoping to make it up next summer, by devoting a little more time to them. it's hard to imagine this time next year i will have a tiny one year old helping with the watering. i bet she will like spraying the hose just as much as greyson did. those two will probably have me soaked! :)
please keep our luciana, and her delivery in your prayers. we can't thank-you enough!!

while i wait

2009-07-29T01:59:00.000-07:00

for luciana to make her debut, i've decided to bake! a super easy blueberry cobbler. this recipe originally called for fresh blackberries, but since i recently picked 16 cups of blueberries i substituted. i'm sure any of this summer's fresh fruit would work nicely though. sorry i forgot to take a photo of the finished product, but here are the big beautiful berries that i used!

blueberry cobbler

1 cup of self rising flour

1 cup sugar

1 cup milk

1 stick of butter (melted)

1 1/2 cups of fresh blueberries

Blend together flour and sugar in a mixing bowl. Whisk in melted butter, mixing well. Pour mixture into a buttered tart or casserole dish. Rinse berries and sprinkle evenly over top cobbler. Sprinkle with sugar. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour, or until golden and bubbly. enjoy!

check back later today if i haven't gone into labor, i will be revealing nursery pictures finally!! :)for those keeping track, we are TWO days away from our due date. for the first time, i seriously think luciana & i might be sharing an august birthday month.....

6 days until D-day and pregnancy portraits!!!

2009-07-25T11:37:00.000-07:00

well, maybe not D-day, as in delivery day. but six more until our DUE date! hoping we don't have to wait until next friday to meet her. :) everyone is shocked we've made it this far with all the contractions. guessing luciana is just really comfy in there.....
we've been keeping busy with greyson and cooling off alot in the pool! i love our pool, but for the first summer i think i'm officially done with it. i'm just ready to spend some long days inside cuddling with and getting to know our daughter.
i'm SO excited to share a few of our pregnancy portraits. we had these taken three days ago and our photographer just posted this sampling on her blog. we used a small local beach for the location. on the drive there, we spotted this really cool old house that we both knew would be awesome for some shots. the house was rough. there was no dry wall, boards and broken glass was scattered everywhere, and did i mention poison ivy? but, it couldn't have been more perfect! almost as much as our photographer laura. thank-you alison for introducing us, she made us feel so relaxed and was absolutely wonderful with g-man! enjoy!

it's really hard to choose because i'm partial to them all, but i think this is one of my favorites. i think because she captured how i'm feeling right now. excited yet relaxed. just anticipating amazing days ahead as we welcome our baby girl into our little family of three.

this spot was SO gorgeous!!

better late than never....

2009-07-18T12:55:00.000-07:00

well hello there! do you remember me? i don't blame you if you don't ..... after all i have unexpectedly gone missing for most of the summer so far. we are currently TWO weeks away (or less) from luciana's arrival! she and mommy are hanging in there! i've been contracting daily for the last two months, have had several trips to labor & delivery, and have been dialated 2cm for the last three appointments! but, the end is near! we just can't wait to lay our eyes on our sweet girl.
I've received several emails from fellow bloggers wondering how we're doing and reminders from family to please update. so for anybody out there still reading here is a quick summer update in photos:
we completed our second season of t-ball. greyson absolutely had the best time playing this year and he has gotten SO good! just look at those grass stains to prove it. lol!

greyson's very first trophy!!

after dinner out one evening. have i mentioned our boy loves to eat out?

yeah, about every other night he makes a request that goes something like this....

"how 'bout we go out to eat tonight?" followed by at least 3-4 of his favorite places to eat! lol

a little bumper car action at a local carnival. pretty sure a sticky yummy ice cream cone quickly followed this ride.

on the boardwalk at the beach and hitching a ride on daddy's back, love that smile!

I have been a complete mess lately over "our time" coming to an end soon. every wednesday we have had a special greyson & mommy morning to the movies. this week i found myself looking over and staring at him, while he watched alvin and the chipmunks while tears slowing ran down my cheeks. it's hard to imagine the days ahead where it's no longer just him and me. four and a half years is a long time for an "only" and it really saddens me that time & love will be divided, although i truly know with my whole heart that this is one of the best gifts we can give him. the gift of a sibling. hormones, right?

I have wanted to take a shot like this for awhile now and had jim take several yesterday. i ran some actions on it in photo shop and absolutely love how it turned out. thinking i may frame this in our master bath.

and last but not least, here's a belly shot taken this morning at a ripe 38 weeks 1 day!

OMgoodness, can we really be that close? :)

a week in review in pictures...

2009-04-26T21:03:00.000-07:00

last Saturday daddy left for his last trip before the furlough. I had to grab my camera and take a few last shots of daddy in his uniform (looking oh so handsome) with his boy. The boy who can’t get enough of airplanes and superman these days. Guess the two kinda go hand in hand, huh?
Jim has had a few interviews that have gone extremely well. Right now we are just in the waiting (and trusting) stage. We are so thankful and feel extremely blessed for our family and friends during this time. Losing your job 14 weeks before the birth of baby #2 wasn’t quite in our plans. However we rest in knowing that this was always God’s plan A for us.
He has never had a plan B.
He wasn’t shocked by the “April 22nd” furlough date.
and…. He won’t be surprised when another job is granted.
This has been his plan from the beginning.
This has been his plan A all along, and for that we thank him. We thank him for the chance to grow and learn and to strengthen us through this time. I am still anxious as we are traveling down this road, but at peace too.

Before Jim had to fly, we took Greyson to our local zoo. They were having an earth day celebration. Tons of fun was spent jumping in the bounce house, visiting our favorite animal there….hello mr. alligator

and getting our face painted like a lion:

Friday morning we got an amazing 4D view of our baby girl!
I hope this video clip works. If I finally got it right, about 22 seconds in you will see the sleepy girl give us a big yawn! About 38 seconds in, we got a really good view of her face. She looks so much like Greyson did at birth, but where do those lips come from? :) we love 'em!!

And already love her SO much- I can't wait to hold her in my arms. To smell her sweet skin and whisper into her ear how much she is wanted and loved.

(for some reason the video seems to be loading at the bottom of this post-just press play)

Saturday we enjoyed the hot weather at the Salisbury Festival with Nana & Daddy.

and a few rides:

Saturday night Greyson got to spend the night with Nana, he was very excited. Mommy & Daddy were excited too, especially to have an evening out together which included sushi. Spicy tuna, shrimp tempura, and crazy rolls We stuffed ourselves silly!!

Today after Jim & I went to church we headed to the beach to meet Greyson & Nana.
So awesome to have the temps in the 90’s and to spend the afternoon relaxing at the ocean.

26 weeks pregnant belly:

25 weeks & warm weekend ahead!

2009-04-17T19:58:00.000-07:00

Hi guys! It has been sooo long since a belly update...
Today I am 25 weeks pregnant and had another monthly check-up. Everybody is looking great!
Current weight gained: 10 pounds
fundal height is measuring: 24 cm
Even better news today, she is back to moving around a lot and letting her mama know she is a healthy strong girl! Yesterday I hardly felt her move at all, until late last night.
She is already trying to stress me out. :)

Also wanted to include some snapshots from coloring Easter eggs that I promised last week....

the vinegar smells yucky!

plop go the eggs!

ta-da!!

the finished product.....

grover takes part....

asher could care less....

Hope everyone has a wonderful spring weekend!! Looking forward to the warm sunshine here!

the bunny knew....

2009-04-05T20:55:00.000-07:00

to stop at our house a week early! Daddy will be flying a trip next weekend over Easter, so the Easter bunny kindly made his stop a week early. Greyson was SO excited this morning. He found lots of hidden eggs, several surprises, and even a golden egg in his basket.

The bunny couldn’t resist leaving some surprises for Luciana too:

Greyson had such a fun, full weekend! We colored eggs Friday night (I will share those pics tomorrow), had two egg hunts, and even visited the bunny.

I kept thinking how special these moments will be next year with two, but for now we are treasuring the time as our family of three. Happy Easter a week early!

there's no place like home

2009-03-24T12:19:00.000-07:00

I have felt lost not posting daily! Greyson and I went with friends on a ski trip to Utah last week, and I was planning on posting a bunch from our lodge. I did take my laptop, but ended up forgetting my camera and we didn’t have internet service until the third day. Looked like a really beautiful place to ski, although at 5 months pregnant i obviously didn't try out the slopes. I was there to babysit for the kids.
One of greyson’s favorite parts was being able to look out the windows and watch all the skiers coming down the mountain and the ski lifts taking them back up. That was a whole new experience for him! I took a few pics of him outside from my cell, but have to figure out how to upload them to my computer.
Flying back was a complete nightmare. Remind me to never ever fly space available during spring break. What was I thinking? Being an airline employee definitely has its perks, like first class in the 757 going out to Utah –woo hoo!! But on our last flight from Denver to Dulles, it just wasn’t happening. We tried 10 flights and got bumped from them all! We even tried going to Chicago, Baltimore, Washington, and Philadelphia. I told you it was a nightmare. I only halfway keep it together, from all my years of experience being a flight attendant. I do miss that job sometimes.
After 14 hours in the Denver airport, we finally made a flight. Want to guess where we ended up for the night? Hello Cleveland, Ohio (greyson’s first trip to Ohio)

This map is in Greyson's room. His big boy room is a travel/airplane theme. We used a giant US map on the wall for art and place a push pin for every new state he has been to. He is up to 14 so far!

Anyway the only worst thing was that we landed at midnight and had to make the 6am departure or we weren’t getting home Sunday either. Didn't make a whole lot of sense to even go to the hotel but, it was only 10 minutes from the airport, and Greyson got to sleep in a bed for a few hours instead of an airport chair. Want to ask me how much I love spring break? Greyson ended up sick with the flu, during our six hour stay in Ohio. Now mama has caught the bug. It’s been a long week.
I will leave you with a photo that I took before we left at 20 weeks pregnant. Hopefully I will post a 21 week photo in the next few days, she is so strong now!

Sat/Sun/Mon

2009-03-09T12:17:00.001-07:00

Trying to attempt a catch-up post from our weekend. We were so blessed here on the East Coast this weekend with sunshine and warm weather! On Saturday, I actually broke out shorts for Greyson to wear to the beach. Jim was on a three day trip, so Greyson and I went to visit Nana & Boppie for the day. The playground in town was first on our to-do list. We were having so much fun that we ended up shopping at the outlets (i will post all the girly-ness later), going out to dinner, and then spending the night.

Here's our little monkey:

Stopping for a huggins' break!

Sunday morning we woke to more gorgeous weather and went out to breakfast together.

Can you read that temp? Shot taken from my car on Sunday afternoon.... 73 degrees!! The time was actually 12:38 because I forgot to change the time on that clock. I wish Spring was here to stay, but cooler weather is on the way tomorrow.

Monday:

Today was purple day at preschool. Everyone wore purple and made "purple pairs" , these are Greyson & Joshua's hand prints. Boys are messy! ha!

While Greyson was busy mixing red and blue paint at school, Jim & I went to baby girls' 20 week ultrasound. Everything is measuring perfect and she is weighing about 11oz. It is so amazing each and every time we get another peek at such perfection. God is SO good!

just keepin' it real

2009-03-05T15:06:00.001-08:00

just thought i'd keep it real and show you what my kitchen sink looked like after watching five kids today. the sad part is, these were only the lunch dishes. c'mon you know everyone wants a different fork and spoon for their mandarin oranges and their yogurt. duh!

here are the little cuties ranging in age from 2-5. greyson is second from the left.

with only a few hours left to spare....

being that i am turning 19 weeks tomorrow and have not posted a 18 week belly pic.....

here ya go!

want to know something exciting? luciana is now letting her mama know she is alive and well in there, she has begun her gymnastic routines. mama couldn't be more excited!

so proud of our boy...

2009-03-04T12:14:00.001-08:00

getting greyson to write his name or practice his letters has been somewhat of a chore for awhile now. Even though he has been doing both for almost a year. i can't really blame him, he's four and well he would much rather be chasing grover around the backyard or playing dinosaurs (especially sharp tooth ones). but recently something just clicked! this photo was taken after breakfast when he decided he wanted to write our names and his on his art easel. completely by himself!! last night before dinner he surprised jim and i with writing the numbers 1-4 also. neither of us had any idea he has even practiced numbers before. we are so proud of you greyson!

and look what we found waiting in a small little package yesterday? it looks so tiny next to greyson, or he just looks really big! i am completely in love with monograms, embroidery, and personalized baby clothing. a girl is gonna be so much fun....
here's a close-up of the gorgeous detail:

p.s. thank-you to those who have emailed us to says congrats. and who have shared in the love for her name Ava. that will be her first name, but she will go by her middle which is luciana. i'm thinking she might be called luci a handful of times too! :)

Happy Monday!

2009-03-02T11:20:00.000-08:00

Today is a snowy, windy day here in Maryland. We woke up to around two inches of snow! (grandma, papa, aunts, uncles, & cousins in Chicago are laughing hysterically right now) Later we are going to attempt to go out and play for a little bit, but it is just blowing too hard right now. Check back later for snow pictures! Grover our weimaraner and Asher our Great Dane have loved playing out in the white stuff!

Greyson is really itching to get out there too! (having a lazy pj day)

I’ll leave you with a recap of our Sunday. After church we went to a party for my grandparents as they celebrated 60 years of love and devotion.

My cousin Jennifer and I with our babies!

Taylor-1, Greyson-4

Greyson and his pop-pa being silly!

My brother, Dad and me:

My grandparents even renewed their wedding vows in front of hundreds of friends and family.

It was beautiful! They have accomplished so much in their lifetime, which includes 5 children, 8 grandchildren, and 8 (soon to be 9) great grandchildren.

Yesterday I also managed to make a yummy cake for last nights’ bible study. Lemon Apricot Chiffon cake (scroll down for recipe)

Lemon Apricot Chiffon Cake

5 large egg whites

1/2 teaspoon cream of tarter

1 box white cake mix

3 large egg yolks

3/4 cup apricot nectar

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 teaspoon lemon zest

2 Tablespoon lemon juice

glaze: 2 cups 10x sugar

2 Tablespoons lemon juice

1 teaspoon lemon zest

1 Tablespoon apricot nectar

Preheat oven to 325 degrees, place rack in center of oven. Beat egg whites and cream of tarter until stiff peaks form, 2-3 minutes. Set aside. Mix cake mix, egg yolks, apricot nectar, oil, lemon juice, and lemon zest on low speed for one minute. Scrape down sides of the bowl. Increase mixer to medium and beat for two minutes, until well combined. Place egg whites on top of mixed batter. With a rubber spatula fold whites into batter. Pour batter into a greased 10-inch bunt pan. Bake cake until golden brown and springs back, about 50 minutes. Cool cake in pan for 30 minutes. Run a knife around edge of the cake and invert onto a rack to release. For glaze: mix all ingredients and blend on low for one minute. Drizzle on top of cake and let set for 20 minutes. Slice, serve and enjoy!

A few tips.... #1-I use a stoneware bunt pan from the pampered chef. It is very heavy but an awesome pan, nothing ever sticks! #2- Microwave fresh whole lemons for 10-15 seconds and then roll on counter top before cutting. You will extract tons of fresh lemon juice this way! #3- Apricot nectar was found in the latino isle.

Birthday party x 3

2009-02-28T19:56:00.000-08:00

Today was a very exciting Saturday. We had three birthday parties to attend, Greyson had been looking forward to this all week long!
His day of partying started at 11am with a round of indoor mini golf. He was awesome! In eighteen holes, he had 2 hole in ones!! I think mommy & daddy were more
excited than he was. Ha! Here is greyson with the birthday boy jack , who turned three:

hard at his game:

Next was swimming at an indoor water park. His sweet friend Hannah from preschool
turned four.

She reminds me of a beautiful little china doll, so precious!!

our little fishie....

Greyson’s cousin Taylor was the ONE year old birthday girl at our third party.

She was not a fan of her fancy party hat....

but she knew just what to do with her cupcake!

being neat is for sissys. ha!

doing his part, belly talk & questions

2009-02-23T20:24:00.000-08:00

Did you know February is National Bird-Feeding Month? Today at preschool the theme was our feathered friends. Greyson made a little birdie on a nest and a special treat for the birds too! A bagel smothered with peanut butter and birdseed. We will hang it outside tomorrow, it was so windy here today that it would have blown away!

My 17 week belly has had a major growth spurt this week! Baby girl must be busy growing in there.

Ever since we found out that Luciana is infact a girl, Greyson has been even more loving when talking into my belly. During the day he will ask a few times "can i feel your baby?" He wants to rub my belly and then puts his ear flush against it and asks, "what is baby Luciana doing in there?" I tell him she is probably sleeping. Next he will ask "where is her head?" "where is her belly button?" and so on... :) I love his little questions.

Greyson has not started with the "why" questions yet. Just the "where" and the "what" ones. He usually saves them for when he is talking to daddy on the phone (when jim is on a trip flying)

where are you daddy? where in San Diego? where in the hotel? what are you doing sitting at your desk on your computer? :)

it's a GIRL!!!!!

2009-02-20T12:59:00.000-08:00

It’s official we will welcome a baby girl to be named Ava Luciana in five short months. She will be called Luciana, honoring my husband’s Italian roots.
It is still sinking in. I still can’t believe i’m able to type these words "it’s a girl." I believe there are some things that happen in this lifetime that you truly feel blessed beyond measure. Having a loving husband is at the top. Having a healthy, happy little boy is another. Having a wonderful family and a supportive group of friends is the icing. Now, knowing that we will be adding a precious pink bundle in five months has left me speechless. Sometimes I really wonder, what did I do to deserve this happiness? "For this child I have prayed" I Samuel 1:27

My mom went to the appointment with Jim and I today. I was so glad she was there to share and be apart of our exciting news. So glad she was able to capture such emotion in pictures for us. Thank-you mom! In these pictures we are looking straight ahead because the sonogram images are being displayed on a giant television monitor. It was amazing! And the best part is we get to see our sweet girl again in three weeks for her 20 week measurements

If you could please keep our family in your prayers. Jim did receive the official letter yesterday, at the end of April United Airlines will be furloughing around 200 more pilots. He did not make the cut this time. With this upcoming job loss we are facing the possibility of a move, maybe even before the baby. It is a lot to think about. But, I am excited to see what God has in store for our family next.
The good news today was very needed and welcomed. "So I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you." Joshua 1:5

2009-02-19T11:20:00.000-08:00

Yesterday morning I had my monthly check-up. Jim was so excited to have the day off, so he would be there to hear the baby's heartbeat for the first time. I actually heard it on January 23rd for the first time, but daddy was flying on a trip. Every visit and every time we are able to listen to that FAST little swoosh it is so special!

According to my doctor, baby and mama are growing perfectly! Seven pounds perfectly, so far! ;) I can't believe four months have gone this fast. I can't believe i will be 17 weeks tomorrow. I can't wait to post BIG news tomorrow too!

I was definitely looking forward to an evening out with friends last night too. Most of us met for dinner, and then saw the show Oliver. You know the beloved family musical that tells the tale of a young orphan boy in London in the mid-1800's.

I really had high hopes and was looking forward to this show, especially because i never read the novel. Unfortunately it wasn't as good as i had hoped , but the company was way better!

Me, Sara, Margie, Laurie, Becky, and Kellie. We missed you Amy!!!

For those who didn't know, I was asked to go in my friend Amy's place.

She had a ticket, but was unable to attend because she was at CHOP (Children's Hospital of Philadelphia) with her little girl Brooke. Brooke is one of greyson's very best friends (since around the age of 18 months old). Here is a few pictures of them. The first is their very first day of pre school, the second is on Brooke's third birthday. Brooke was barefoot because we had just arrived at the party and she jumped out of the bounce house to come greet greyson. It was such a fun day. Brooke was having stem cells taken today to be harvested and used later for her bone marrow transplant.
Please take a moment and visit brooke's caring bridge website: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/brookemulford

She and her family could really use your thoughts and prayers. Brooke is four years old and was recently diagnosed with stage 4 Neuroblastoma Cancer. She will be starting her third round of chemo next week hopefully. Her mommy and daddy SO appreciated your kind words of encouragement on their guestbook.

pregnancy cravings

2009-02-17T13:10:00.000-08:00

having random urges for strange foods, has been quite funny this pregnancy. when i was pregnant with greyson the only craving i had was for bacon. it was quite a mild craving that didn't last very long. every once in a while a BLT sandwich just sounded good to me. but this time..... wow! i want (need) anything SOUR! the daily list includes: pickled beets, dill pickles, and brussel sprouts or spinach drenched in vinegar!
what kind of pregnancy cravings did you guys have?

Happy Valentine's Day!

2009-02-14T20:27:00.000-08:00

Greyson and I spent a quiet Valentine's Day here at home. Tomorrow we will celebrate together as a family, daddy comes home from his trip. yeah!! Nana & Boppie came for a visit this afternoon and we made valentine cookies. there was lots of powdered sugar, icing, & sprinkles involved. greyson had a blast rolling out the dough, using all the heart cookie cutters, and decorating the cookies. decorating until he grew tired, so nana and mommy finished up. i was so happy to finally see all that dough come to an end. sorry i forgot to take a picture of all the pretty cookies.

valentines from preschool & 16 week baby bump

2009-02-13T21:09:00.000-08:00

these are the treats greyson gave the friends in his class today at school along with valentine day cards. super easy and yummy! here's the recipe:

Pretzel Sweet Treats

1 bag tiny pretzel twists

1 bag of hershey kisses, hugs or ROLOS

M&M's candies

1. Heat the oven to 170º. Spread pretzels twists in a single layer on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, then top each pretzel with an unwrapped Hershey's Kiss, Hershey's Hug or Rolo.

2. Bake for 4 to 6 minutes (the white chocolate will melt more quickly), until the chocolates feels soft when touched with a wooden spoon. Remove the cookie sheet from the oven and quickly press an M&M's candy into the center of each Kiss.

3. Allow the treats to cool for a few minutes, then place them in the refrigerator to set, about 10 minutes. Place handfuls of the candies in clear plastic bags and tie on colorful ribbons

Valentine cards, loot bags & treats from preschool. he told me all about the valentine party when i picked him up, he said the pink cupcakes were his favorite part!

he just couldn't wait to open those sweet cards (and the candy).

so here i am, 16 weeks pregnant today! didn't greyson do a great job taking this picture? he loves my camera and has gotten SO good with it, despite how heavy that lens is!

baby bump close-up

being silly together

realizing the days of just “us” together are going to come to an end. trusting and believing that a sibling will be one of the greatest gifts that we could ever give him. it still saddens me when i think of how easy and carefree our days are now, and the changes to come. Things are about to be shaken up a bit around here this summer. especially our mornings of sleeping in. it will all be worth it, remind me in july! :)

7 more days until we hopefully find out the gender of this little blessing. I can’t wait!!

Another busy week...

2009-02-12T22:10:00.000-08:00

just flew by! We started off by a fun birthday party at a little indoor water park. Swimming in February is always a cool thing to do! It really made me long for spring and summer to hurry so we can swim in our own pool.

Greyson got a long overdue hair cut one evening followed by a stop at coldstone for ice cream. YUM! So far "blue and pink" aka: cotton candy & strawberry, are still his favorite flavors. Daddy always orders chocolate and peanut butter, while i usually have the berry berry.

Wednesday Jim and I were the parent helpers at preschool. Greyson's class had a field trip to the post office. Everyone got to mail Valentine Day cards, stamp their own envelopes to cancel

the postage stamp, and the morning was finished off with a ride on the mail cart. It was a very exciting morning!

Tomorrow he celebrates with his first class Valentine's day party. He can't wait to pass out cards to all his friends. Nothing says I really like you like a spiderman valentine. ha!

Chicken Acapulco

2009-02-05T20:11:00.000-08:00

just wanted to share a quick and delicious recipe from our dinner tonight!

Chicken Acapulco

1 medium onion

2 Tbsp. butter

3 cups cooked shredded chicken

1 can cream of chicken soup

8 0z. sour cream

4 oz. can green chilies- drained

4 oz. jar of sliced mushrooms- drained

1 tsp. oregano

1/4 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. pepper

8-10 flour torillas

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1/3 cup milk

Saute chopped onion in butter until tender. Stir in next 8 ingredients mixing well. Spoon about 1/2 cup mixture into each flour tortilla, roll up and place seam side down in a lightly greased 13x19 baking dish. Combine remaining ingredients spoon over tortillas. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 35 mintues or until hot and bubbly.

wouldn't you love to be four again? back when your biggest worry was fitting all your playdoh in the fun factory? ha!

grover says goodnight!

two years and seven months?

2009-02-04T18:12:00.000-08:00

i have not updated this blog since july 2006. how can that be?
life.
honestly. a day turned into a week, a week turned into a month and so on. i use to love logging on daily to post a few words or a cute picture of greyson for friends and family to see. so here goes nothing. i'm going to try one more time. i really want to update more consistently too.
i love this blog and love the stories & memories that have been preserved here. over the past few days i've read and reread old posts, little things that i had forgotten. some have made me laugh out loud. mostly the ones about greyson have made me shake my head and wonder where the days, where the time has gone.

for those still reading, following, or new to join our little life stories here is a brief update:
we are still here in maryland. jim is still a pilot with united airlines. we pray a furlough isn't in our near future. but, we rest in knowing that God is our refuge & strength and he is our ever present help in trouble. he will get us through any situation this life has in store for us.
Greyson is now four. he is a super happy, and active little soul. lover of all things pirates, cars, swords, soccer, t-ball, spiderman, and the number 5! he has turned into a tremendous eater these days. if we would let him he would eat waffles for every meal and have popcorn at least twice a day! some of his favorite activities include preschool (3 mornings a week), going to the movies, and trips to the library.
last but not least, we made a very special announcement to our friends and family over the thanksgiving and christmas holiday season.......

we are expecting another little blessing this summer!!! we are two days away from 15 weeks pregnant. AND we find out the baby's gender in 16 more days. we are so excited!!!
goodnight! hopefully i'll be back with another post tomorrow. -tara

reflecting

2006-07-02T17:41:00.000-07:00

just reflecting on some summer pictures from last year compared to this year. what a change! jordyn can now write her name, count to 13, will be starting school in three months, and has decided she want pb&j for almost every meal. greyson says more words than i can write down in my journal, counts to 2, says "yes ewe" (aka: bless you) after someone sneezes, knows how to whistle and does it quite well, and sings "Ia-Ia-O" (aka: E-I-E-I-O) from Old McDonalds farm.
Summer 2005 jordyn- 2 1/2 greyson- 5 months
enjoying the blow-up pool on the deck
Summer 2006 jordyn- 3 1/2 greyson- 17 months
enjoying our new pool
greyson and daddy

and look who's on the potty...

i can not believe i just shared my toliet on the internet...... :)

the rare double post

2006-06-16T20:25:00.000-07:00

i found this on another blog, and had to try it too. if anyone wants to follow, leave me a note so i can check it out!

i am: sometimes a bit of an introvert
i want: to raise thoughtful, secure, happy children
i have: more blessings than i can count
i wish: to spend eternity in heaven with my family & friends
i hate: when someone talks over you
i miss: growing up on a farm
i hear: little breaths over the baby monitor
i wonder: if i'll ever become half the perfection that i strive to be
i regret: not making amends in my life
i am not: capable of doing one thing at a time, i must multi task
i dance: to the backyardigans with greyson
i sing: l-o-u-d in my car
i cry: when i look back over greyson's photos
i am not always: on time.... actually i'm rarely on time (awful, i know)
i make with my hands: scrapbook pages to capture our memories
i journal: as to never forget the innocence of my child
i confuse: my priorities in life sometimes
i need: to stay better connected with old friends
i should: get off this computer and exercise
i start: my day with coffee and lots of cream & sugar
i finish: phone calls to my dad with i love you

two days ago

2006-06-15T16:58:00.000-07:00

around 10am, i stood at my kitchen sink washing the leftover breakfast dishes, when i heard a scream from the next room. a scream, like i've never heard before. the scream was from my baby's mouth. i knew that before i started running toward the family room. i found greyson sitting on the hearth of our fireplace with a look of terror on his face. his hand was extended toward me. i scooped up his little body with one movement and found burns on two of his tiny fingers. the pad of his middle finger was almost completely white. i've never seen skin turn white from a burn, until now. at this point i'm completely clueless as to how this happened, because it's JUNE!!! obviously our fireplace wasn't on and there are no candles burning anywhere. there is no fire or flames in our house, so can someone please tell me why my precious angel is enduring pain that he shouldn't have to know exists. but, there is no time for questions. i have to think, act, and remain calm. definitely easier said than done when you're home alone with two children under the age of three, and your entire life in ONE brief second is being held hostage by a tragedy.
next, with greyson in my arms i run back to my kitchen sink and hold his hand under the cold water, as he fights me. he fought hard, and i fought tears.
next, i manage to call our pediatrician office. i felt completely stupid explaining that "i think" my toddler has been burned. who says "i think my child has been burned?" i felt about an inch tall. after some brief questions, they assure me that it will be fine to go to our med. center instead of our hospital's emergency room. i hung up and called jim. he was working out, but immediately dropped everything and was home within 15 minutes. during that time, i keep jordyn calm and held a cool cloth on the burn. as i'm sitting in the family room, i look over one more time at the fireplace... and i see it. a small bluish orange glow coming from under the logs. the same light that caught greyson's attention probably for the first time in his little life. it is the pilot light from our gas fireplace. and there is an opening between the logs, just big enough for one tiny fist. on tuesday morning it happened to be greyson's.
the med center was beyond wonderful. greyson did suffer second degree burns, but amazingly enough it has not slowed him down one minute. not through the bandage changes, not at all. the doctor called him a little trooper. we agree.
i know there was a hand upon greyson two days ago, it just breaks my heart in a million pieces thinking how much worst it could had been.
so to anyone reading this post with small children, i beg of you to check your pilot light on your gas fireplace and turn it OFF until you need it. i wish we had sooner.

somebody is in trouble

2006-06-04T20:53:00.000-07:00

somebody named grover, who happens to be hiding under the table....

because
he
did
THIS!!!!

they were greyson's favorite pair of sandals!! ok- maybe they were mommy's favorite. arrghhh!!!!

on a happier note, here's the munchkin chowing down (yeah!!!!)

notice the shoes? they were nice...
hope everyone had a great weekend!! are you guys ready to start another week? me neither.

memorial day weekend in pictures

2006-05-29T20:56:00.000-07:00

Happy Memorial Day! i hope everyone had a relaxing long weekend. these are a few highlights from our weekend at the beach. i am so glad summer is here, the count down is now on for our pool.... ONE week!!!!!!

enjoying his first ice cream cone. look close... do you see his two top teeth? F I N A L L Y !!!!!!!!

under the boardwalk...

building his first sandcastle

super huge update

2006-05-25T18:59:00.000-07:00

monday afternoon greyson's doctor had us stop by the office for a weight check... we were praying it didn't drop. prayers were answered, he has gone from 18.7 pounds to 20.46 pounds in thirteen days!!! he is now in the 10% for weight!! this is mind blowing!! greyson has never hit the twenty pound mark, until now!! yeah g-man!!
we believe it is a direct result from our new way of meals. greyson gives us his usual five to ten minutes of so-so eating in the high chair. then he wants down. we take him out, give him a 5-10 minute break then for the next twenty minutes he will continue to take more and more bites as long as he is busy playing (anything BUT sitting in the high chair). no, this isn't ideal. yes, this is exhausting and time consuming. restaurants are pretty much out of the question. but the awesome part is: he can do it!! greyson has the ability to gain, with constant attention to every bite he takes in. meal time would be a breeze if we could only sit down, eat, and enjoy. however that isn't reality around here, not even close.
so far, we've had days when i feel that we can conquer this and days where i'm just left drained. we can't have one without the other. the ups and downs of life. as long as you expect the down days every once in a while, it's not so bad. for every over whelming meal i have had, i've had lots more awesome moments. like tonight... he sat in his high chair through most of his entire meal. which by the way, included about 15 bites of peas with melted cheese.
trying to remain strong and taking deep breaths. thanks again for reading and all the support! if you are a regular reader, family, or friends.... don't forgot to leave us a comment, we'd love to hear from you all!

GOOD news & mother's day

2006-05-16T13:15:00.000-07:00

ok, i didn't actually have the news on mother's day but who wouldn't except a belated mother's day gift with news of all test: NORMAL!!!!! i honestly just got off the phone with the doctors office (then daddy) and they relayed the results just now.
i know, it still doesn't answer why he is so little. but, i do feel relief anyway. we will continue with as many calories and extra goodies (butter, cheeses, sauces,etc.) that he will willing except. i say "willing" :) we will still see the GI specialist in july.
i hope everyone had a relaxing delightful mother's day. i did!! after church we met my mom, grandmother, aunt, and cousins for lunch. then headed to the park for some pictures. jim took some awesome ones of us, i just love looking at them all over and over.
thanks for checking in with us, and happy belated mother's day to all you mommys!!!!!!

one, two, threeeeeeee

greyson and his nana having some fun sliding at the park

all levels...

2006-05-09T20:36:00.000-07:00

came back normal from the blood work!! including his glucose (diabetes was a thought).
the other test results will be back to the doctor in about a week. those will tell us what exactly is or isn't being absorbed by greyson's body. keep praying everybody!!

thank-you, thank-you, thank-you!!
jim, tara, & greyson

quick update

2006-05-09T11:13:00.000-07:00

hey everybody! this is the "no news yet" update. :) hopefully today after 3:30 pm...... i will be posting again with the first results of his blood work. the good news is we got a call yesterday and our appointment was made with AI duPont Children's Hospital. we will be seeing a GI specialist in july. it sounds like a long time away, but our pediatrician thought we wouldn't get in until september. the thought still being, that greyson's body isn't absorbing any proteins or fats.
greyson, jordyn, and i headed out after lunch to our local library to get a bunch of new books to read... we found the doors locked and a sign stating "the library will be closed until may 15 for renovations". man! so i loaded everybody back into the car and we stopped for a ice cream cone instead. nothing like a soft serve ice cream cone on a warm sunny day!

thankfulness

2006-05-07T18:22:00.000-07:00

i so appreciate all the kind words in the comment section - thank you from the bottom of my heart.

we were really hoping for a call with any results on friday... nothing.
here's looking to a new day tomorrow. mondays can be good that way.
a new week, a fresh start.

all in all, we're doing good. we've had a fun weekend together. just taking it day by day.

and then there is this sweet boy. dreaming away in there curled up with his favorite doggie in his crib.
looking at him i just want to kiss him hug him hold him. i am so thankful he was brought into our lives.

release

2006-05-05T09:39:00.000-07:00

greyson at six months. the old fashion kitchen scale doesn't weigh correctly. at six months, he weighed 14 pounds.

for those that don't know, greyson is underweight. a lot underweight. between 9-10 months greyson started the first downward spiral of losing weight. it was then, his pediatrician started discussing the possibility of testing. but within three months with extreme changes to his diet (adding high calorie/high fat foods) he managed to weigh in just shy of 20 pounds at his next baby well check. success! it seemed as though greyson was finally on the right track and the battle was over. his doctor told us his body was responding, and for now further test were not needed. we were of course, thrilled.
fast forward three months to the present. may 3rd, greyson had his 15 month baby well check. he will actually be 16 months in twelve days. he weighs 18.7 pounds. he is continuing to loose weight. for months he has been in the fifth percentile for weight. currently he isn't even on the chart.
today we started the first round of lab tests.
i don't know what to hope for, what to pray for.
that the tests reveal something?
that they find nothing?
everything seems so overwhelming. confusing. scary.
developmentally he is soaring. normally at this age, he should be saying 3-6 words.... greyson to date says....55.
makes it easy to think maybe he is ok, and that he is just "little". but deep down there is that feeling i'm fighting and wrestling with, because physically he is failing to thrive.
at times like this the internet is a blessing and a curse. so much information, yet too much information. causing a truck load of worry on our shoulders today.

seven years ago today

2006-04-28T08:56:00.000-07:00

jim and i went on our first date. he took me to a baseball game. we had a blast, we chatted and laughed more than we watched the game! such an great first date, with great memories. we have always considered april 28 "our anniversary" even though we were married in october.
here we are years later. still sharing time, gaining knowledge, keeping our love fresh and alive. being together, thankful for all we have and all to come.

ottawa cananda 1999

aruba 2001

he's a handful, this one

2006-04-26T09:17:00.000-07:00

he probably thinks we're a handful, too.

since greyson has turned fifteen months life around our house has become interesting to say the least. it seems overnight he has become willful, frustrates easily, and tries to assert himself in every situation. all of this i read are signs of growing up and are quite common among toddler boys. please don't get me wrong, i want nothing more than to raise an independent secure child. however, it's just tough when everything turns into a daily battle. everything.
diaper changes, carseats, getting dressed, when it's time to come inside, shopping carts, you get the picture. as soon as he feels pressured or rushed from us -he digs his heels in. the minute i insist, he resist.

at times like these i am so thankful and blessed to be a christian. i know that greyson will still test boundaries but through prayer, God will give us the direction and words that greyson needs. this is the biggest responsibility we have ever been given, but we are encouraged by the fact that God has chosen us as greyson's parents. i'm humbled that out of all the wonderful parents out there, he hand picked us to guide this remarkable little boy through life. the journey is bound to have challenges, but we're ready.
a friend also suggested this book by author jane nelson yesterday. has anyone ever read this one? barnes and noble is on my list of 10,000 things to do today. :)

thursday.... then & now

2006-04-20T18:34:00.000-07:00

finally did another one of these!! i love looking back and seeing how our baby boy has changed in just one short year! looks like the Easter bunny changed a bit too, huh? :)

greyson's 2nd Easter

2006-04-17T19:51:00.000-07:00

hope everyone had a lovely, blessed Easter! friday afternoon greyson had some friends over and we (the mommy's) colored Easter eggs. i love the memories of coloring eggs! saturday we had a super fun morning at church for the yearly Easter egg hunt. there was also pony rides, a bounce house, face painting, a cotton candy machine, and more! sunday morning the easter bunny left greyson a basket and a little tykes sand/water table out on the deck. it was a gorgeous day here in maryland! later that morning we went to church, followed by dinner at my grandparents and we finished the evening grilling out at my dad's. greyson had a little egg hunt on the farm. i think his favorite part was seeing the animals especially the cows and geese.
i just can't believe we just celebrated his second Easter!! where does the time go?

greyson didn't "get" the whole put the eggs in your basket in the beginning of the egg hunt... he was more interested in playing on the playground equipment. finally towards the end, he figured out what was going on!!
the first thing greyson reached for in his basket was the chocolate bunny... that's my boy! :)
Sunday morning after church.

we think because greyson is so use to our 140 lb. great dane, that is why is actually wanted to PET the 900 lb. steer! that boy is fearless with a capital F!!!

april is autism awareness month

2006-04-13T08:22:00.000-07:00

autism.

a word i can't imagine being part of my everyday life.

a word that brings saddness and fear in the very same breath.

for reasons i don't understand and can't explain... i am captivated with learning more about this complex disability.

there are lots of different controversies surrounding causes, treatments, etc of autism. it seems many of them can be overwhelming, confusing, and downright frustrating for the families affected.

my goal is to simply bring awareness.
please take a second of your time and watch this. the photographs of those children will touch your heart and grab your soul. atleast it did mine.

knowledge, may one day lead to a cure. i pray.

a quick little, hello!

2006-03-26T21:16:00.000-08:00

did i leave you guys hanging from that last crazy post?! luckily -no more wild nights at walmart for us. but, i think we've probably made at least a half of dozen trips there, since our little fiasco. every week i promise that i'm only going to grocery shop ONCE.... and it never fails, walmart lures me in for something!! always end up with a bill twice the amount i thought it would be and three times the amount i had on my list!!!! :) does this happen at your house too?

anyway -just wanted to say hello, and post a current picture. sorry it's a little fuzzy! i will try to post some of our St. Patrick's Day pictures tomorrow. we had a fun day with all things green of course!! had a little playday at our house, lots of good food, and surprise green balloons from daddy!!

hope everyone had a great weekend! off to bed for me now!-tara

what a night

2006-03-16T07:23:00.000-08:00

no pictures on this post, believe me you wouldn't want any.
yesterday started as a normal day. i babysat jordyn and dana's little boy parker. greyson acted fine all day. played as normal. ate as normal. although he wouldn't take an afternoon nap for me.
after parker's daddy picked him up, and jordyn's mommy picked her up i decided to take a trip to walmart for a few things we needed around the house. i took greyson & grover along with me. greyson could have stayed home with jim but i figured we both had been home all day stuck inside (we are having some major wind around here). greyson acted fine on the 15 minute car ride, just a little tired since he had not had his usual afternoon nap.
here is where everything went downhill... as we walked into the store greyson started whining a bit. he was in the cart facing me. while still pushing the cart i bent down to kiss his forehead and whispered "don't worry baby, mommy just has to pick up a couple things". that's when i noticed he felt warm. really warm. we made it about 10 more steps, i'll never forget that spot in walmart... in front of the lotions and bubble bath, greyson looked up at me with a scared look on his face, reached up with his little arms, put his head against my stomach.... and just let it go! he continued to be violently sick for what seems like eternity, actually only 30 seconds or less. but he just couldn't stop getting sick, ALL over himself and me. i had managed to unbuckle him at this point and was holding him downward, frantically searching in my purse for my cell phone to call jim. of course, i had left it in the car. (lesson learned) luckily this extremely KIND lady with her little boy stopped, fell to her knees and started helping me take greyson's shirt and jeans off, then she ran and found about three employees for us. she was like an angel, just taking over at the minute i needed help. i am so grateful to her. she even let me use her cell phone to call jim, because the walmart employees had called an ambulance. they said it was their policy if anyone got sick or hurt in the store (especially a child) they had to call. they were wonderful too, giving me several new towels off the shelf to wrap my baby in. his socks and shoes were soaked too, leaving him only in a onesie. a few moments later the paramedics checked greyson's vital signs and everything was back to normal. he was even smiling at them.
daddy was there in minutes with greyson's favorite stuffed animal -his doggie. he kept him close the whole way home and continued to be himself smiling, talking, and laughing like nothing had ever happened.
after we arrived back home, i sat along side the tub watching greyson play and splash in the bath. the muscles in my back and shoulders were so tight, i'm assuming from tensing up so fast, it's amazing what stress can do to your body. i was just so glad to be back in the comforts of our home, with greyson safe and healthy again.
did anyone ever have an experience like this the first time your child got sick? were you as scared as i was? i felt like a new mom all over again.
greyson is 100% again and mommy & daddy have gained more parenting skills first hand.
wow -what a night!

pemberton park

2006-03-14T12:40:00.000-08:00

i meant to post these pictures yesterday... guess i'm only a day late! the past five days have been simply beautiful here. on sunday afternoon jim, greyson, grover, and myself took advantage of the weather and headed to a local park. it has a couple of wooden trails that run along our local river. everything is so quiet, peaceful, and serene there. greyson was taken in with nature's beauty for sure, using all his senses (especially touch with the pinecone) i didn't think he'd ever let that thing go! :) he loved the backpack, and being up high on daddy's shoulders. he kept patting jim, saying "back back". grover throughly enjoyed his time hiking the woods, sure beats an evening walk around the neighborhood! jim and i were just excited for another excuse to spend a family afternoon discovering something new with greyson.
does anyone have these type of local parks in your area? if so, you should take the next pretty day with your kids and enjoy the day too! you won't be sorry you did.

warm weather, round 2

2006-03-08T20:13:00.000-08:00

wow! we hit 60 degrees warm today! definitely looking forward to the weekend, it's going to be 70 degrees!! woo-hoo!! today was a great day. jordyn & greyson had oodles of fun outside with all the good stuff of spring: bats, balls, golf clubs, and of course new sidewalk chalk! by the way, that big ole' tub of chalk was suppose to be in greyson's Easter basket, but the bunny couldn't wait. tommorrow has bubbles in store!!

so nice having another taste of spring... almost here for good!

its been too long

2006-02-28T20:07:00.000-08:00

since my last post! do i even have any readers left out there? :) actually greyson would like to hear from some of you... enough said. heres what we've been up to lately:

trying to cut top four teeth, all at once -ouch!
walking like crazy and faster now too!
says doctor, sorta sounds like "doc-ta"
at any given moment, pats your back says "back" and wants a piggyback ride
and when you ask him what the dinosaur says... he "ROARS"!!!!
i love having a little dude!

Our days are trying to warm up, we played outside today!

hey... where's greyson?

OK -i admit it, i'm a horrible mommy... i clicked a picture, then i helped my son. he just looked so darn cute stuck under his little car!!
don't worry, he bounces back quickly!!

uh-oh

2006-02-16T23:55:00.000-08:00

i think we are both in trouble when daddy comes home...

if you are wondering what the white stuff is -well it's white arcyrlic paint. by the way, does anybody know how to get it out of carpet? i have until tomorrow afternoon to figure it out, or we are both toast!! : 0 -i'm still trying to figure out if i'm going to blame him, or if he's gonna blame me!!!!!!!! oh man, another fine mess we've got into while daddy's away........

happy valentine's day

2006-02-14T11:43:00.000-08:00

greyson enjoyed his special holiday cookies. no - he didn't have them for breakfast, we made them yesterday. we did give some away, and they tried to have 'em for breakfast...... : 0 hope everybody is enjoying their day and spreading some love!! XOXOXO

and here's a look at our little valentine, a year ago

we got snow!!

2006-02-12T19:21:00.000-08:00

we had such a fun afternoon playing in the snow today! we don't get snow often here in maryland, so we were excited with these few inches. just enough for greyson to experience his first sleigh ride, and just enough for daddy & mommy to build him his first snowman! afterwards, we headed inside to warm up by the fire with some hot chocolate. greyson had his first taste, although he was more interested in the marshmallows!! it was a perfect day!

catching up & recipes

2006-02-11T21:38:00.000-08:00

it's 12:40 am sunday here, and since i'm up... i thought i'd leave an update from our house to yours! greyson is having a really tough time with teething again. poor button. it took forever for his bottom two teeth to pop through. now here we go again with the top ones! his little gums are so puffy and swollen. actually he does pretty well during the day, it's just the nights when the pain comes and goes. on another note he is amazing us everyday with his speech! he is just days away from 13 months, and is saying or repeating so many words. some of the ones that come to mind are: mama, dada, dog, bye-bye, dora, blues clues, banana, pop-pop, mom-mom, mail, hello, baby, ball, uh-oh, hot, no-no, meow-meow, boots, & backpack. He has also said the words: socks, stop, up, and tree once. his newest one came just this morning, as he was playing with my watch. jim told him the word and told him what it said, greyson repeated "tick-tock"!! last week at our one year well baby check, dr. alvarodo told us that he was speaking on an eighteen month old level. we were overjoyed with the news!
we had an exciting night, as we took greyson to the circus for the first time. i will post some pictures later. he really enjoyed the animals, lights, and music. oh yeah -we definitely have a dancer on our hands! ; )
we are hoping to wake-up to some snow tomorrow morning, they are calling for several inches here! gresyon will finally get to use his snowsuit and sled!!
so i'm off to bed, but i'll leave you with a recipe i made earlier this week. it's the best rice pudding i've had in a long time! i hope you will try and enjoy it too!

Old Fashioned Rice Puddding
1 1/2 cups of cooked rice 3/4 cups sugar
2 cups milk 3/4 tsp. vanilla
6 1/2 oz. evap. milk 1 egg
1 1/2 tbsp. cornstarch 1 cup milk

In a medium saucepan combine 2 cups of milk, evap. milk, and cooked rice. Bring to a boil. Mix
together in a seperate bowl 1 egg, 3/4 c. sugar, vanilla, 1 cup of milk, and corn starch. Add slowly
to boiling rice mixture, stirring constantly over medium heat, cooking about five minutes or until
mixture thickens. wonderful served warm (i also added a few tsp. of cinnamon).

emotions

2006-02-09T14:32:00.000-08:00

i don't know about you, but when it comes to taking pictures... i like to capture all of my child's personality through my lens. his bubbly side, his curious side, his silly side, and his less than desirable side! :) here is a little proof of that side, from this morning (it was called -i'm WAAAYYYYY overdue for my morning nap)
and here's a sweet one from a year ago... it is thursday you know! ; )

little athletes

2006-02-06T10:44:00.000-08:00

football anyone? we had a relaxing time last night. just hanging out with friends, laughing at our boys, munching on some great food. i almost forgot there was a game going on! :) if anyone is interested, i made some delicious jalapeno cheese squares! the party was at shirley's (my friend Julie's aunt). she is such a cool lady. when dana, julie, & i were pregnant, shirley was our birthing instructor. what a blessing having someone as caring as she is. it is always fun getting together with her, so she can see how the boys are growing and developing. after all, she has known them from "the beginning"!! here's a picture of our little dudes from last night. left to right: cameron, greyson, and parker.
-and here they were last year, at their very first superbowl game. from left to right: greyson(2 weeks old) cameron (8 weeks old) and parker (4 weeks old)

thrusday again...

2006-02-02T12:19:00.000-08:00

here are some more pictures from my thursday... then & now. pictures from greyson's first well baby check and from his one year baby well check yesterday. a year ago he was 6 pounds 4 oz. and currently he is almost 19 pounds.

black velvet and plexiglass

2006-01-29T11:10:00.002-08:00

yesterday afternoon i purchased both and practiced with greyson. here is one of my favorites from the photo shoot. i'd love to hear what you think.

thursday post

2006-01-26T11:58:00.000-08:00

Welcome back to Thursday... then & now! here is greyson a year ago in his infant tub, and some more bath pictures from this morning. greyson is a big boy now and takes real bubble baths! daddy came home from grocery shopping (i'm lovin' jim workin' from home) ; ) on tuesday with some nemo bubble bath. greyson hasn't quite figured out the bubbles though, at times he tries to "eat" them. yuck!
on another note, guess who started walking? yup! exactly a week after his first birthday day he started, and now knows what he's doing. we love watching him perfect this, he is so slow and careful. only taking 4-5 steps at a time, then he plomps down and claps like crazy at himself!!

Thursday... then & now

2006-01-19T21:10:00.000-08:00

happy thursday everybody! in celebration of a years' worth of baby pictures... i've decided to dedicate thursdays to our photos over the last year and present ones too. i'm calling it thursday... then & now. below are some photos of greyson exactly one year ago today. he was two days old, and we were getting him dressed and ready to leave the hospital in the first one. the second picture is of him, bundled up in his infant carseat (his present weight is 18 pounds... he is still in that same carseat, but that's another story) arriving home for the first time! the last one is two nights ago, after his party ended. he was all ready for bed, just playing for five more minutes ; ) no matter how many new toys he receives, he always manages to find his favorite one.

our baby boy is ONE!!

2006-01-17T21:15:00.000-08:00

January 17, 2006. Greyson celebrated his very first birthday at home with his family and friends. i just wanted to share a couple quick pictures from this evenings' festivities, before heading off to bed. greyson is tired, daddy is tired, mommy is definitely tired!
getting a little help blowing out the candle, from mommy & daddy. greyson was a lucky boy... he had two cakes! one big "ONE" and another itty bitty personal cake.
some of the guests: parker, gunnar, greyson, zoie, cameron, & logan. at the party but not pictured in this shot were jordyn and baby jonas. Kyleigh was another friend invited, but she wasn't feeling well. we missed her!
greyson had a wonderful party and a wonderful birthday! he wanted to thank, everyone who came to his party, gave him a gift, or wished him warm wishes!! he is so blessed to have so many friends and family that care about him so much!

birthday girl

2006-01-16T18:47:00.000-08:00

this is jordyn. she is silly, she is sweet, and you know what today is? it's her third birthday!!! jordyn holds a very special place in my heart. i have been her nanny since she was only two months old. i have witnessed a lot of her first, i know a lot of her likes/dislikes, i can make her giggle at any given moment, but i can't believe she is already 3!

3 tags... 1 combined post!

2006-01-16T09:36:00.000-08:00

hi there! i've recently been tagged three times, finally getting around to fulfilling their request! thanks again shannon, chris, & jen!

five weird habits:
1. i put tons of cream (and equal) in my coffee, but i have to have it just the right color before i'll drink it. i also own three tinkerbell mugs and if they are all in the dishwasher, i'll usually skip the coffee that morning. -weird!
2. i have to sleep on the right side of the bed, with one leg out.
3. when i vacuum (which is a lot, bad habit from my mom) i have to move everything! i can't just vacuum around things. AND if i see any dust on greyson's toys... i vacuum them all off.
4. it makes me crazy if my saved emails reach two pages full. i immediately start deleting.
5. i listen to greyson's music in the car -even when he's not with me!

Four jobs i've had:
1. SAHMama & nanny (currently)
2. flight attendant
3. waitress
4. worked in the recruiting office at college

four places i've lived:
1. mount vernon, MD
2. cleveland, TN
3. charlottesville, VA
4. salisbury, MD

four of my favorite movies:
1. when a man loves a woman
2. i am sam
3. the breakfast club
4. gone with the wind

four of my favorite tv shows:
1. the CBS morning show
2. anything on food network
3. the young and the restless
4. nanny 911

four of my favorite foods:
1. veal marsala
2. any kind of seafood
3. any kind of fresh fruit
4. rice pudding

four places i'd rather be right now:
1. on a cruise -with jim & greyson
2. getting a massage
3. touring the Hawaiian islands -with jim
4. when i had greyson. really! i had a wonderful birth, and i'd re visit that moment over and over if i could.

are you free tuesday night?

2006-01-15T11:32:00.000-08:00

ha-ha! just wanted to finally share g-man's first birthday invitation! as most of you know i *love* making cards/invites. i have made our Christmas cards and most birthday cards for years. i love the excuse or occasion to make a new card, and having greyson has given me plenty of new excuses to make them. . . valentine's day cards, thank-you notes, and now birthday party cards! since his birthday falls in cold january, we decided to go with a snowflake, winter ONEderland theme. i figure i'll have plenty of time for the dinosaur, spiderman, thomas the tank engine themed parties! :) we have had SO much fun planning & shopping! the decorations include: snowflakes of all sorts and sizes, balloons, streamers, party hats, noise makers.... the appetizer include: party meatballs, a chocolate chip cheesball (cream cheese), chips/dip, an artichoke and spinach dip... the dinner menu includes: yummy cream of crab soup with bread from panera and chicken noodle soup & chicken nuggets for the kids.... and of course BIRTHDAY CAKE for dessert!! the guests include 9 little munchkins and their parents. i'm so excited and i can't wait for tuesday to get here, but i just can't believe that my baby boy is turning one in TWO DAYS!!!!!!!

Introducing...

2006-01-11T17:11:00.000-08:00

Storm Douglas Hartman. He made his entrance
into the world last night at 8:10 pm. My friend
kelly and her husband, Greg had their second
child. Mommy & baby are doing wonderful, and
are expected to go home tomorrow morning if
all is well! Big brother Avery couldn't be more
excited. A few moments after his brother was
born, he was able to come and take the first peek
at his new baby brother. The nurse was still
cleaning him and poor Storm still had a lot of
"stuff" around his little mouth. Avery looked down
at his new sibling and declared: "he's good at
blowing bubbles!" Yes, sweetie he sure was!! :)

sweet cheeks

2006-01-10T07:53:00.000-08:00

i am so excited! my new lens arrived in the mail yesterday. i waited and waited all day, hoping my UPS man would have a little package for me... and he did! it's a canon 28-135 mm. i really needed a bit more zoom, and boy does it have it! i've been playing around with it since it arrived (taken about 80 shots so far). this, by far is my favorite. i know to some this photo may seem like a reject, but not to me. i love creative photography. capturing the littlest detail. like here: that chin (my chin), those lips, those lashes, and those SWEET CHEEKS!!!!! yes, this one captured my heart.

a thought for today

2006-01-06T12:05:00.000-08:00

We could learn a lot from crayons: some are sharp, some are pretty, some are dull, some have weird names, and all are different colors...but they all have to learn to live in the same box. huh!

future dentist?

2006-01-05T12:27:00.000-08:00

greyson received several baby "tools" for Christmas (ie: hammers, a toolbench, etc.) including this drill. for some reason though, he has decided he likes turning on (it only rotates slightly) the drill in his mouth! either his teething is in major overdrive, or we've got a future dentist on our hands! nana will be so proud (my mom is a dental hygienist)

*please pardon the mac & cheese stain on his shirt, we had just finished lunch! the boy *loves* his pasta!!!!

on another note- has anyone else experienced delays when including a picture on their post today? just wondering if i was the only one.

toothy... two of them!

2006-01-04T08:39:00.000-08:00

i finally got a good shot of the toothy this morning. as of yesterday, we offically have two of them. although his newest can be more "felt" than seen -ouch! just thought i'd share. such an exciting journey.

goals

2006-01-02T20:59:00.000-08:00

each new year brings about an urge in me to be a better person. deep down, i know it's just another day like any other, but i can't control the desire to make lists, to organize, and to feel that i have a fresh start. i've been making lists. i even took every single one of greyson's books off his shelves (all 148 of them.... gasp!) i jotted down the titles, typed them up in word and printed them out. for what you ask? well, i want to make sure we get to all of them, not skipping a single one. why? because my number one, most important goal (btw-i don't do resolutions, i do goals) for 2006 is to be the best mama to my little gman. to read new stories to him everyday. to expose him to as many new (and familiar) words as his little ears can handle. it's that important.

my other goals

to achieve toned arms again
scrapbook more often
splurge on good coffee every now & again
to be a better friend, not just wife to jim
to tackle one or two new recipes each week
to master my camera (stop relying on auto)
for jim & I to do our couples devotions -every night
to make my bed everyday [ drywall mom] :)
stop procrastinating

what are some of your goals for the new year?

Happy New Year

2006-01-01T16:31:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!! i'm here, and finally posting. it's taken me a week to get back to normal, yet i still can't quite seem to get organized! It might be the fact that Jim has been home from work since Dec. 20th. It's been really nice, having an extra set of hands... but strange and definitely not the norm. everyday feels like the weekend. anyway, we had an amazing Christmas. Greyson didn't wake-up that morning until 8:30! it was so much fun watching him crawl up to his new rocking horse. He had a big time opening his gifts from Santa. he received lots of fun puzzles, blocks, books, trucks, and a few ornaments too. i *love* ornaments and try to add a few new ones each year (especially from Hallmark). Christmas day was a very relaxing day, we only left the house once to visit the Disney's. Jordyn and Greyson exchanged gifts, she gave him a super cool tractor and wagon with farm animals. his favorite part of the gift, are the light up head lights! The rest of our day was spent welcoming friends & family at home. Greyson's nana gave him a magically carousal. i will post a picture later. we love it mom! Jim's big gift to me was a sony handycam -awesome! but, my favorite gift from him was... my flute. i know, your thinking a flute. what? well -i told jim earlier this year that i had always wanted to play the flute, but choose the clairnet. back then, :) it was the less expensive instrument. fast forward to Christmas morning 2005... he gave me a flute. I've been so excited, i bought a beginners music book and have practiced almost everyday! so as we have entered into a new year, i just want to take a minute to wish everyone a joyful year. i'm so grateful to everyone that cheeks in here. i *love* hearing your comments and greetings. it's been quite a year for our family -full of firsts! we love to keep busy and being able to share our lives with all of you has been so much fun.

Merry Christmas!!

2005-12-24T20:07:00.000-08:00

Tonight we started some very special family Christmas Eve traditions. We all three took an afternoon nap (much needed by mommy & greyson), while daddy caught bits of the football game. This evening we went to the Christmas Eve service at church. It was such a peaceful feeling, the warm glow of the candles and signing many beloved carols. After we came home, we baked cookies for Santa. Sugar cookies and chocoalate chip. Greyson helped mommy & daddy with the icing and sprinkles... our little monster loves cookies!! Before bed daddy read us the Christmas Story. There's nothing better than having your loved ones close and making memories during the holidays. I cherish mine.
Greetings! Can you believe Christmas is almost here? We have been so busy around here. Wrapping, baking, sending Christmas cards, decorating.... definitely looking forward to tomorrow. We will be celebrating Greyson's first Christmas, relaxing and just kicking back in our new house. So exciting! We can't wait to watch our baby boy experience Christmas morning. Discovering his stocking, and opening the gifts. If i know Greyson, he will be all about the tissue paper, bows, and boxes!!! Just looking forward to a nice relaxing quiet day. Lighting the fire, eating lots of good food, and watching our little man explore and play with all the new toys. Merry Christmas and I hope you enjoy your day with friends, family, and good food!!

first santa visit

2005-12-20T16:06:00.000-08:00

our little munchkin, sitting on santa's lap for the first time! -and you know what? he did amazing! we were so proud. no cries, no tears, no faces of horror. he did look up at the jolly dude in red and touch his beard a time or two though. actually, i was glad for more than one reason that greyson didn't cry... it was the end of the night for "santa" and i don't really think he was in the mood for an uncooperative baby. can't you tell by the look on his face? it's saying, come on already, i've got places to go. lol! another thing about our picture, don't you think all that red is a bit of an overkill? thank goodness i didn't dress greyson in a red sweater! all in all, the visit went great. i think our litte g-man told santa that he wanted a rocking horse, and i think that he just might get his wish!!

hey- i'm just thankful that our picture didn't turn out like the one below! isn't that a stitch? :)

have you taken your children to visit santa yet? if so, post a picture on your blog -i'd love to see!!

NYC pictures

2005-12-18T20:25:00.000-08:00

I forgot to post a couple ones from our trip to New York City, last weekend. Greyson had a blast and *loved* seeing all the lights, sights, & sounds of the city (quite a change from little old salisbury, md). :) As soon as we arrived we headed for the tree in Rockefeller center! The next day we took g-man to a children's art museum, so cool!! -even for a 10 month old! We can't wait to go back for a visit in the spring!

tis' the season....to make a MESS

2005-12-18T06:51:00.000-08:00

our little mess maker in full swing! :)

Happy Friday!

2005-12-09T10:47:00.000-08:00

I can't believe the weekend is here once again! where do the days go? Sorry I haven't updated my blog all week. Last weekend was very full for us, and very special. Greyson's grandma & papa came for a visit from chicago, and greyson was dedicated at church. The service was so special, and it was a wonderful way to gather alot of friends and family to join in for the celebration.

This is a picture from the dedication, it is of Greyson, my mom (greyson's nana), and myself. Look at his smile! He was totally faking it! lol!

If you know his smile, it certainly doesn't look like that. a half hearted smile. nope! Our boy does the full body, full face smile. He actually smiles with his eyes. Evidence below. i guess a mama is kind of partial though.