the bovard family singers

bittersweet

2010-07-31T05:12:00.003-04:00

we are heading to my family's vacation spot. the greatest place on earth. this was taken two years ago when we all were together. this year it's minus one. chris isn't coming with us because he has a busy time at work. he's sacrificing his vacation for the good of our family. what a babe!

this blog will (hopefully) be updated daily so we can let him know what's going on with us...it's hilarious, i've been so emotional about everything and he's living the life of a bachelor and loving it. i'm sure he misses us but i'm sure the guitar music, junk food, and beer are flowing like milk and honey. (i'm not making assumptions, i checked the bank account before i did this)

we love you bub...sooooo much!

"'but somewhere in my youth or childhood, i must have done something good"

2010-04-25T23:50:00.004-04:00

we've had a really fun spring. nothing overly remarkable but having the weather be so lovely for so long has been just amazing. we are making some fun plans for the summer. we want to put a deck on the house and get a swingset. so lots of fun things to look forward to.

the most amazing things have been the kids naturally. max is signing so much now. tonite he sat down on my lap and signed "color-what?" (voice off) and pointed to a bunch of different things in the room. he really loves using ASL when he knows what to say. he enjoys it so much. he's getting closer to reading everyday. he totally gets phonics and knows it well but english is such a tricky language...he gets a bit frustrated. he loves star wars and tom and jerry. he plays with his ds as much as he can but would drop all of those things to play outside with his beloved nina. he is developing more and more friendships that he talks about often. he is becoming so dynamic and interesting. he loves to chat and i love listening to him. at times, it's really overwhelming and tough to follow but he's delightful.

little miss T. our joy. our smiley little princess. she cries a lot easier than max ever did but somehow it's working out ok. she's so adventurous. she climbs on everything. she LOVES playing outside. she wakes up and walks straight to the door. she is signing too. she signs "more", "milk", "want", "sleep", and she says "yesh"--(yes). she hugs her babies so hard and then throws them down. she loves cooking and pouring tea. max has shown her to pour hot tea on people to get a reaction. it's funny. she laughs from her gut all the time. she loves reading...FINALLY. she has never seen baby shows. she disregards TV. she rips books like she's paid to do it. she LOVES me! i love how snugly she is. she puts her head on my shoulder as soon as i pick her up. she buries her head in my neck and just lays there. every morning we lay in bed together and chat.

~and of course our honorary kid nina....she has been with us since the beginning so she often feels like ours. she is such a girl...she loves everything pink and frilly. she loves shoes and she is very matter-of-fact--"jessa, that's not the way i always do it!" she likes to wear her hair in a messy bun/ponytail like me--who'd thought someone would WANT that?? it's my fallback. :) she loves people a lot. she treats talia like a little queen. she is bright and sharp and is max's best friend. ~

not excluding sasha...she's a babe too...she wasn't in the picture though...

i was singing my title tonite to T as i was putting her down...from "the sound of music" --and of course, started crying, i love this little family i have so much more than i can explain on a silly blog. but i'm so grateful that they're mine.

spring break

2010-04-05T23:15:00.003-04:00

the best part about working at a school is the breaks. we had a really great time. i had to work on the first monday but we had such a great week. i took very few pictures during the week. i'll post them later.

spring cleaning~celebrating easter on palm sunday with my family~we went to the zoo with carly to celebrate her 35th birthday~we went to johnstown for a day~we threw a shower for stacy's baby vickboy~threw a 35th birthday party~had two egg hunts~a scavenger hunt~played outside for countless hours with friends~had a couple fires~dyed eggs twice~opened three easter baskets (each kid had three)~stayed up past 3am for two nights with amazing friends~caught up on greys anatomy~read a great book~laughed with my kids~rejoiced with dear friends and their third child's birth~sighed a huge sigh of relief when a friend had an ALMOST tragedy~watched chris play surprisingly well in a soccer game~and most recently dealt with sick kids~i'm sure there was more...but i don't remember...what a surprise!

we had a fabulous time and i love the crap out of them.

fun weekend with nina

2010-02-22T00:26:00.002-05:00

francine, hereafter referred to as MIL (just kidding i hate that stuff)

gets professional pics taken of the kids, bc we don't. we love snapshots and have over 5000 pictures of them. so why invest into something contrived? (our opinion)

so she takes them...they are always so cute...

this picture is the reason i posted something tonite. this is the bottom of the archway btn the dining room and living room. there is a blue mouse hole there that i put up months ago for max. he LOVES tom and jerry. A LOT! we limit their TV watching ~probably more than necessary~ but he zonks out and becomes a drone if he is given the opportunity to watch TV...so we watch just a little bit a day. he always picks tom and jerry. we watch star wars the cartoon, together at night sometimes.

so today someone knocked the mouse hole off of the wall. he asked for tape, we were out so he found the duck (duct?) tape and fixed it. it wasn't until later that i saw how he fixed it. i love that he didn't want it to be perfect, he simply wanted it back up. when i made it, we were out of black paper. it had to be blue. i was disappointed. he, on the other hand, hugged me when he found it after his nap. he was delighted. now, seeing the tape like this, in my goofy ways, i went to fix the hole and put the tape behind it. hide the repair work, but i left it. he fixed it.

and now it's perfect.

BOUNCE U

super fun place. we took max on his actual birthday. he loved it. nina loved.

tonite a friend had his birthday there. up late bouncing and eating cake...

is there a better way to spend a friday night?

max has finally agreed to marry her.

i think it's because she loves to WATCH HIM play video games and doesn't request a turn.

that's the life.

apparently, my SIL erin, was nicknamed "erin danger" when she was talia's age. adventurous and fun loving, my favorite story was how she walked right into the pool, clothes on and everything during chris' swim lessons when he was six, she was one! my MIL said that she sunk straight to the bottom and was staring up at her from the pool floor. obviously she's fine but she really gave them a run for their money. that's how talia is. i never strapped max into the cart at the store. he just sat and observed. when she was seven months old, i turned for a minute at the checkout line and she was sitting on the conveyer belt. she's constantly up the stairs, climbing on shelves, up on tables....tonite, she figured out how to get on the couch. she's WILD. she also can cry real tears when you disagree with her plan. she's really good at getting people wrapped around her little finger and then raking them over the coals. she's so sweet though...you can't help but squeeze her...

another year passes

2010-02-13T21:20:00.003-05:00

i have these people in my life. they are small and have changed my life. their birthdays are one month apart and seeing them become older little people has been very emotional. talia turning one and max turning four were both ....well, emotional for me.

as cliche as it is, i didn't know i could love people like this. they both have taken complete control of my heart. sometimes i hold them so hard that they squeak. i get angry with them and a simple look from them of sadness about my displeasure brings me to my knees. i am changed. i have become a mother and the process has changed me.

as full of fault as chris and i are, somehow the best of us has been passed on to them. i feel so incredibly blessed just to know them.

my strong willed gal

2010-02-10T21:58:00.002-05:00

talia eve bovard

i know that you shouldn't compare your children but it's impossible not to a little bit.

max was easy like sunday morning. he always seemed to know right from wrong at a very young age. he never pushed the limits. he just knew somehow...

then there's this one.

so smiley, so sweet, so loving, but WOW!

tonite, she wasn't hungry. we had french toast, which she loves...but for whatever reason,

she wasn't hungry. i thought she was eating slowly-then i caught her.

she was shoving the pieces ~very slowly~ down beside her in her chair.

when caught she smiled. i asked her to pick them up and she did. then she cried.

see her little barrette- not a great picture.

her favorite spot. in this chair reading. hilarious.

here's my other wild thing...LOVE them both.

christmas in review --there is another new one below

2010-01-23T23:23:00.006-05:00

i hope they always adore each other the way they do now.

i'd definitely take 2 of her.

my mom bought them these "guido" outfits...they

actual shine in the light.

LOVE this picture...he's hard core.

we went sledding at night and she had like 14 layers on.

she didn't make a peep. she had a great time.

we were at a friend's grandparent's house,

perfect hill.

we went in for hot chocolate and

the grandma said to max "make yourself at home"

he started jumping on their couch.

i glared at him and he sat down, muttering,

"i do that at home. what the heck?"

happy birthday jesus cake

IMPOSSIBLE to get them all to look--forget smiling...

just 8 eyes on the camera would be a success

never in the history of time has a one year old child been

so grateful for

a gift. we didn't buy her anything and my parent's

bought her a

playhouse for the yard. when she got her first gift,

she held it and stared at it

for soooo long. she just looked grateful for

someone thinking of her...hilarious

my family

max's school production...HUUUUGE meltdown before the show.

we bribed him

with an early christmas gift and he promised to "sing his heart out".

the girl in front of him

was a wild gesturer and he was overwhelmed by her.

as he came down to his seat,

he said

"that wasn't so bad"

we said, "here's your nerf gun!"

last but definitely not least, this is max on the

polar express

we went with friends/neighbors to ohio to ride a train

intended to look like the polar express.

a bit overpriced....

i was looking out the window

at the "north pole" thinking

"wow, this looks a lot like blawnox"

when he looked up at me and said

"i'm really glad we came here. i'm having so much fun."

it was fun...

thanks for reading...leave a comment so i know i still have a fan base...

oh blog, it's been waaaay too long...

2010-01-23T22:47:00.004-05:00

i remember when life was simple, pre-talia, i could blog while max played or after i put him to sleep at night. now that we have miss T, life has dramatically changed. (for the better, that goes without saying, but i will).

as most of you know, we have not been hurting for snow at all in pittsburgh. we have seen a lot of accumulation here...it's been lovely. i am a sun worshipper and despise being cold, wet, snowy and i now know that i felt that way because of how quickly snow melted here. grey days with dirty snow are the winters that i remember. this year, it rarely stopped snowing for days and seeing the windy, tree filled roads that we live near covered with snow was gorgeous. it's all gone now and i'm not upset at all....today was GORGEOUS!! it was warm and sunny--we needed LIGHT jackets...no hats and gloves...lovely...global warming my butt...glaciers formed and are still around on the three rivers...

a sunny day after the snow finally slowed down

our home

my boys are camping out tonite...watching "star wars, the clone wars"

as of right now, 11:21, he is still awake...ugh.

max is like me...LOVES sledding and playing in the snow for a SHORT while

he said and i quote...

"mama, i can't WAIT to swim!"

talia loved the snow and played outside for over an hour. she stands at the door and begs to go out...she doesn't mind rain, snow, sleet, or hail---perhaps she'll be a mail-woman.

"i'm the pittsburgh jedi"

that's what he says...

christmas, christmas time is near....

2009-12-14T01:44:00.002-05:00

well, friends it's been way too long. i just took my math final (LAME) so i'm up exceptionally late this evening. we have had a really great couple months. lots of fun things and watching my talia grow from a baby to a walker...she's right there...she'll be one in two and a half weeks...my baby....

max loves these jumpers...

perhaps you'll remember this from a few years past

"mama, look i got some boobies!"

chris and i are not emphasizing santa claus that much because we really want the holiday to be focused around Jesus' birth. well, along the same time that we decided to down play st nick, we started to talk about a "pez fairy" that comes at night and fills his pez containers...this is yoda, he's broken now...but we are starting a collection...

merry christmas!!!!

proud mama

2009-09-30T23:22:00.003-04:00

my corner office

*i wish i had better pics. it's a great place to work*

"mom dad

talia xam"

this blog is VERY braggy...from a proud mama

a few months ago, around when talia was born, max started becoming obsessed with writing letters. then his name. he loves phonics too. he gets frustrated with "c's" that say "kuh" and other things like that but he loves to write and asks me to spell things all the time. i phonetically sounded out "happy birthday" and he wrote it all, the "th" needed some help but it was incredible. we never even practiced writing his letters. we have magnets and toys, blocks and stuffed letters. he just one day decided to write...it's amazing to see him become BIG! i thought i would show a sample of his writing as well as a picture of my office at work...he loves to play there and as one of our interns commented, "what kid wouldn't want to". since i'm working on my play therapy certification, i have all sorts of great toys, a sandbox, mirrors, books, chalkboard, and loooots of craft stuff....he always wants to come to work with me. he would love it there and of course, they would love him....

whatta summer!!!

2009-08-23T11:56:00.010-04:00

as fall approaches, it is bittersweet. i am headed back to school tomorrow...ugh. max begins preschool in sept. but there is so much to look forward to with the changing seasons. namely sweaters, leaves, playing outside in the crisp change, the time change, and ultimately the holidays...and besides, once christmas comes...summer is right around the corner...

here is a small summary of our summer...last week, my dad got us tickets to idlewild for the rest of the season AND next year...what a great way to end the summer. they are open on weekends until october...who knew??

with the changing of the seasons, comes a change in attitude for me. more on that to come...

idlewild park

such a fun place...and another pool to use!

swimming

the most common activity of our summer

as much as weather would allow

my babies are so gorgeous when sun kissed

the beach

nothing is better than going on vacation to the beach.

the ride down wasn't bad...the ride home i almost drove off a cliff. ROUGH!

that being said, it was a fun week. a lot of sun, no pressure to clean, cook, etc.

best of friends

right now, all they have is love for each other

once she's mobile, hopefully that will continue

fun with friends

bike and scooter

max learned to ride both and we spent A LOT of time on both

planets

he has become so obsessed with space. he knows

all the planets and some facts about each. we are getting

a telescope for christmas. he found this at a playground

and started telling kids about planets...they weren't interested.

blueberry pickin'

fourth of july

we stayed at the hilton, we felt spoiled! it will be our family

tradition from now on. it was so great not having to go through traffic to get home.

rainy days

and there were plenty

library, dinos, science center...

it's hard taking pictures with two kids

proud poppy

keystone state park

halfway btn pittsburgh and johnstown

our meeting spot for our parents

that is...until we got idlewild memberships...

that's going to jazz up our halfway point jaunts

swingin' is her thing

reunion of old friends

slip -n- slide

the solution to hot days before the pool opened

sitter

she's upright! and soon will be fully mobile

soccer

as if the van wasn't enough...i officially became a "soccer mom" ugh...

mamere

hockey

this became a twice weekly event in our lives.

he's really good and SUPER fast...

boo hoo to running. more time off...

my bff's

so great to have carly off all summer with me. we had a blast hanging out. we laughed and talked into the night many times...

stace...married...lovely...and an incredible friend...

i'm the luckiest person in the world.

from family to friends...it doesn't get better than this...

ahhhhh summer

2009-08-20T10:05:00.003-04:00

oh wow...what a morning. i thought since it's a YUCKY day AGAIN...perhaps today would be a fun science center day. typically, i hate trips to places like this because the cost is soooo high but my parents got us a membership for max's birthday last year so we can go for free....great deal!!! $100 for a year OR almost $30 a person per visit...yuck...so i got up early, thanks to talia being sick but i was off to a great start. i had the whole house clean yesterday...but of course after the kids are awake for five minutes it's a wreck...not the kind that typically cares about that stuff...i refuse to let it get me down...carry on..."let's leave at 10" i tell the kids. they are both stinky from playing hard yesterday and without a tubby last night, i fear they will be viewed as "the dirty kids" at the science center. (did i mention nina is with us this week?) well, breakfast, baths, fighting with max over his outfit, talia's nap...it's already 1015 and i'm not showered yet. so our ten o'clock depart time is not going to happen...

as i face returning to work next week with nothing but dread in my heart, i look back over this summer of chaos and missed departure times and i realized so quickly that i got tears in my eyes that i have NOTHING but pure, unadulterated love for these kids. being home with them is beyond the greatest way i could ever pick to spend my summers off. i've never been more tired, dirtier, and less organized but i wouldn't have changed one minute of my summer, except maybe to add six more months to it.

lastly allow me to mention that i walked past max's room and the door was closed...i could hear them talking strangely and clearly playing make believe. i peeked in and he and nina were putting in mr potato head mouths in their mouths and talking to each other. you can't pay for this kind of entertainment.

2009-08-15T05:26:00.002-04:00

this is max when he was younger than talia.

he is hilarious...

tonite he said

"stacy, hey stacy. who do i thank for dinner?"

(we were at her rehearsal dinner)

she said "bart's mom and dad" (she pointed them out)

he said

"hey thanks for the swell meal."

without ANY prompting from me.

accountability

2009-08-13T22:36:00.002-04:00

this is a picture of me (in the red) the christmas before our wedding...ugh, i thought i needed to lose weight...well, i won't post a similar picture of me now...it's NOT due to having babies....i just got lazy...i'm writing this done as a form of accountability...pray that i can kick it into overdrive and get back on track....thanks pals...

party for pirates...

2009-07-31T10:40:00.003-04:00

yesterday we were invited by our friends/neighbors to a pirate party...we dressed up and were ready to get some loot...

here are the girls...talia has red bloomers on underneath that you can't see...she really loves the big kids...nina happened to have this denim corset...coincidence? i don't think so...

this is pierce..max's pal...fortunately we had plenty of dress up clothes for our pirates but he actually WAS jack sparrow...so cute...

is this convincing or what??

couldn't pull him away from fishing things out of this "pond"...love this picture of my favorite pirate...apparantly this is age appropriate...my friend emily's son, phin is on the same beat. right now, we are planning a pirate's birthday..it was all he's been talking about. i want a boat cake, etc...then, after the party, he said he wanted a teenage mutant ninja turtle party...he has one shirt and saw an episode on youtube...now that's his obsession. hopefully it'll come back to pirates...i got some GREAT ideas at this party...

troy hill

2009-07-29T00:05:00.002-04:00

the scariest road in the burgh...

we have been so busy. today is the first time we made it to the troy hill spray park. it is hidden completely. we drove up literally the steepest road in pittsburgh. the park is pretty hidden away...drove past it twice. it was a really great day. the hill was unbelievably steep. and the area was a lot like appalachia. it was an interesting day. super fun but really a run down neighborhood. a little sad and overwhelming...

summer summary...

2009-07-28T23:38:00.006-04:00

talia is the easiest baby to deal with in the whole world...she is so laid back...she so rarely cries and she just is so easy to care for...she loves the water, she loves to play and chew on every thing in sight...she's just so delightful...

max and ella playing in the garbage at the playground. max, of course, found bb's and decided to store them in a popsicle wrapper. he really loves finding them and holding them in whatever he finds.

lucy bindewald. she's hilarious. so cute...she called me "jess" babe!!!!

another picture that will appear in the slideshow at their wedding...

so we get to the waterpark to play in troy hill...i have 800 bags of stuff for my kids...

i forget one thing...talia, aka baldy, her hat. thank goodness chris always leaves bandana's in the car...she looked so cute...

max at the beach...walking home after eating great seafood..

baby pool...super fun...

bw3 had a clown at their restaurant who could make killer balloon puppets. max got a sword and this goofy hat. when he got sick and threw up at the restaurant, he decided that he hated that hat...he's very strong willed...talia wore the hat for 2 hours...

max was SO BRAVE this year. he loved the ocean and wasn't afraid. he really learned a lot about the waves and the animals of the ocean...he is practically swimming.

3 generations of bovard men

to infinity and beyond...max l-o-v-e-s buzz lightyear...

the second bird that fell out of his nest...he didn't survive...it was sad...

four kids under 3...mission impossible to get them looking at the camera...

here's hoping that we can take off the training wheels before the first snowfall...

so cute on his little scooter.

he really loves her best of all...

it's so shocking that she is almost seven months old...

here's emma..my dear friend erin's daughter...i have so much to be thankful for with developing a close relationship with erin...total babe.

blueberry picking...so much fun. didn't get enough berries...it's not easy with little peanuts...max picked soooo many. he did an amazing job.

my guys LOVE hockey. they play either hockey or lacrosse every day...

we have had a terrific summer. max and i have grown closer than ever. he is so sharp and really loves learning about all sorts of things. he is so ready for preschool. he is starting on tuesday and thursday mornings. he is playing soccer and will be taking little classes here and there.

four weeks until i go back to work...not excited about that AT ALL!!! but i can't get a better schedule. it's dreamy...

time

2009-07-23T02:37:00.003-04:00

in the blink of an eye, my son has gone from a brown, huge eyed baby to a big kid. yesterday afternoon i saw him open the elevator, hold the "special" button so the door doesn't shut, and ask a fellow occupant which floor he was going to. when we arrived at his floor, max told him "see ya later". he helped me drag the cooler to the beach two days ago, when i suggested he hand me his shoes, he said "no mama, i'll carry them". he also has mastered jumping into the pool and going under water without holding his nose...as a sun/water worshipper myself...i couldn't be more proud...

it's so cliche to say that time flies, it's almost a completely ludicrous statement but truer words were never spoken... :)

max was JUST BORN!! but he wasn't, talia was...she has replaced him on my hip...but she is nearly crawling...we just bought our house...but it's nearly a year.

and finally, vacation just started and it's nearly over...

it's been a fun week. the kids have loved the ocean and have smiled all week.

that is, until last night. . .

after MUCH discussion, we ended up having dinner at buffalo wild wings...much to my chagrin, mainly because we have a BW3 in pittsburgh...are we REALLY hitting a local chain in SC?? lame...but we did...after hearing max say for the 3rd time that he didn't feel right, he proved it to me by puking on my shoes...so we left and walking into the condo he was sword fighting with daddy, running around...we thought it was over exhaustion...two more pukes later on that night told a different story.

(long story short...it's s 730 am and i am just now released from duty...my mother in law is taking them for a walk...don't think ms talia slept like an angel through all that...she is amazingly good but...everyone has their breaking point...)

so here i am...i just turned 32 this month, i have an unbelievably supportive, loving husband, two amazing children, a job that most people would kill for and yet the complaining appears...

"time, please slow down..."i'll take early mornings with little ones who rise with the sun, i'll take little to no warning about impeding vomit, pacifiers that roll 5 miles away when the holder smiles, awkward comments by toddlers to the tune of "mama, did you see that little adult?", and most of all sticky, slobbery, peanut buttery, kisses that make me know i was born for this...

going to carolina....in-nn my van...

2009-07-17T00:32:00.004-04:00

if it wasn't for images like this....i don't know how i'd feel right now...

i honestly could cry...it was a ROUGH week...this time last week, i was so excited for cepek's wedding. i couldn't wait to see jenn...it was a great weekend. we saw old friends and reconnected, we laughed, we stayed up soo late, and it was a beautiful wedding.

the monday hit...

max was sooo grouchy. his latest "behavior" is when he asks for something and he is told he can't have it immediately he then recants and denies he ever wanted it....it looks a like this:

max: (upon waking up) can i have a lollipop?

mama: sure after lunch you can have one...

max: i don't want a lollipop (cue tears)

max: (after seeing me lift talia up and kiss her) I WANTED TO KISS TALIA

mama: ok, go ahead...(lowers baby to his level)

max: i can't kiss her now (cue pouting)

mama: (baffled, even though she should be used to it - ignores him)

ugh, long week. finally think we broke him of it...i hope. the beauty is...he only does this at home. he doesn't do it with people around. thank God...

he is starting to "hold it" while he sleeps. he has a sticker chart so that he can earn a set of lacrosse sticks. he only has two left to earn...he asks every morning if he has enough and then sheds REAL tears when he realizes he still has more. it's his first behavior chart so it's to be expected!

i called poison control THREE times this week. i haven't ever called them before...the first time was because talia ate a bit of her butt cream...more than a bit...she was fine...then she ate almost an entire oak leaf...(we do watch our kids - it blew off of a tree while she was in her exersaucer. and tonite, max was spraying this foot spray on my feet, thank you stacy for the relaxing peppermint spray for tired feet, he pulled a dumb and dumber and sprayed her in the face instead of my feet . both times fine...but the woman on the phone laughed really hard about this being my 3rd call. she also encouraged me to keep her away from bottles on vacation since people tend to change up bottles to mislabeled or non-labeled bottles...i was a bit embarassed to answer her next question..."how old is she?"

so, following the same theme, 3 major house issues occurred this week as well....

first, water in the basement...ugh. figured it out...the humidifier was leaking. made a phone call to the company...changed the filter...still leaking...today was very hot...humid....yucky to not have the air on...we haven't even used it til yesterday night...

ants, ants, everywhere - thank God not in our underwear...what a sick little rhyme!?! i'm so grateful for those little Bates motel ant traps...

and finally, today water from the toilet was leaking into the kitchen sink...gross!!! i had no dishes in there....rare...divine intervention!!

chris went to the dentist at 545 and come home at 715. in that amount of time, talia had a huuuuuuuuuuuge poop in her car seat (cleaning her, the seat, the clothes), our darling next door neighbor fixed the toilet (it wasn't dripping pee or poop stuff...), i did two loads of laundry, and used the shop vac to clear the humidifier line...yeah, formal dinner DID NOT happen...

all this to say....tomorrow we leave for my favorite kind of vacation...it's not dewey...but it's salt water and sand...THAT'S the important part...i wish my family was going...parents and siblings and nieces that is.

max

2009-07-12T00:00:00.004-04:00

my boy is 3 1/2 years old.

he loves talia so much. he greets HER when i walk in the door. he wants to hold her and squeeze her...
if it's not red or orange...he doesn't want it
he LOVES buzz lightyear. he has a t-shirt with buzz on the front. he hits the button on the shirt and his wings/arms pop up
he loves fireworks but he was exhausted and fell asleep in the middle of the booms. but he told everyone is was the best show he's ever seen...
he is hilarious
he is (almost) always honest...hasn't figured out how to lie yet...
he loves to play outside with sports equipment
he is currently using a sticker chart to get him a lacrosse stick...he needs to wake up dry for 12 nights...then they're coming home to us...
he is staying at my parent's house tonite...he stayed up til 1030 saying "i miss mummy" cute...sad but cute...

in a nutshell, he's a babe!! all in favor say "eye" all those opposed can go soak their head... :)

miss talia

2009-07-11T23:49:00.008-04:00

my sweet 6 month old baby

here is a short list of her MANY accomplishments:

sits very well on her own
rolls front to back AND back to front
looooooves to stand (holding on naturally)
she has taken steps in her walker...mostly backwards but still...
she smiles ALOT so she can warm even the most cold hearted
working on raspberries...we got nothin' yet
almost clapping...

let me tell you...talia is a dream baby...she is mellow, relaxed, sweet...she's terrific. max was easy too. he was the same way...he just slept better than her. to this day he still needs a two hour nap every day. most kids his age that we know aren't napping anymore but he needs it...along with 10 hours at night...he's a sleeper...talia, on the other hand, was up with us til midnight last night...without a peep. we were with some friends at a restaurant...she was FINE! she barely made a peep...now granted, we don't do that often but she is so resilient and easy...dream baby...

i always say to max "why is mommy so lucky?" and he replies with "cause she gets two babies!"

truer words were never spoken...love them both to bits...

sad days

2009-06-30T21:51:00.007-04:00

we have had a rough week...last thursday chris' beloved grandmother fell in her home. she appeared fine but really went downhill quickly...her levels were all off and the drs wanted to do dialysis to get her kidneys back to normal...that time never came and she was reunited with her husband last thursday. the funeral was simple and at her request she was not mentioned at the funeral but the gospel was presented as God was truly the center of her life.

i am glad to have known her. and i'll miss her for the rest of my life.

summer 09

2009-06-18T06:39:00.003-04:00

although it need not be said,

only because everyone knows...

that pittsburgh

(along with being the most livable city -for the second year in a row)

is the

CITY OF CHAMPIONS

steelers and penguins!!!

max took this picture...he got her to smile, which is pretty easy, and snapped the shot...

shane and karrie came to visit!!!

ben 2, elliot 5 months, max 3, talia, 5.5 months, ella 3, lucy 1.5

we had a super fun day with all these babies running around

good friends...perhaps soulmates?? we'll see, no pressure!!

i sewed this cover for this rocking chair...i'm very proud of myself...

talia's favorite activity...swinging...

max's favorite activity

playing duck, duck, goose with his soccer team

my baby is growing up...she started sitting up about two weeks ago...

no consistent rolling over yet...but we're getting there...

this am. talia and i were laying in my bed. i was stretching my legs....she copied what i was doing and pulled her leg up...hilarious...

the prayers of a little boy

2009-05-28T20:56:00.004-04:00

chris just came down and told me about max's prayer that evening. he really loves to pray and he spits out some hilarious stuff....tonite was no exception

dear Lord

thank you for

letting me take daddy's eyes and swallow them

(he loves to "eat faces" because then we can't see or hear or talk)

thank you for

the boogers on the wall

(those that he wiped on the stripes on his wall)

and thank you for

this crazy day....

what a funny guy.

i love the hot weather...

2009-05-25T23:06:00.005-04:00

memorial day parade...talia was so cute but the heat...whew...it almost did her in...

max and his pals playing in the sand...notice the slide that takes them to the beach

memorial day fire...we welcome any reason to have a fire in the yard...

max and his pal pierce at the parade...candy central

i just love this girl. she loves me. she asks her mom to fix her hair like mine. and she wants to be like me when she grows up....it's a huge responsibility to have an admirer. i have to be a better person...not only for mine but my niece too...

i won this huge assortment of games in a raffle....it was fabulous...we have had soo much fun

games, candy, popcorn, dvds, and a $50 gift card to the pirates. (tickets or merchandise)

i was sooo excited...

my little beckham

seniors at wpsd. the home ec teacher asked me to bring talia in to show the child development

class how to give a baby a bath....they were adorable...

chris' sweet grandma...she loves them so much.

these are the random geese/ducks that come into our yard. they are ducks but all the kids call them geese or gooses...they seem a little ferocious...so we keep our distance...

darling talia

2009-05-25T07:52:00.003-04:00

i never thought that i'd want a second child much less a daughter. we were nice as a family of three. max was the center of everything. how could i even love someone as much as max...he had my heart. everyone reassured me that i would but i had serious doubts.

besides girls they just seemed like too much work...fussy, naggy, whiny, etc...boys...low maintenance and super mellow. but max needed a sibling and God chose a sister. well talia is nothing like i'd assumed...she doesn't fuss, she hardly cries, she is SUPER smiley and loves to chill with us...she doesn't require much. when she wakes up in the am, she tosses and turns for about five minutes then she starts smiling. she doesn't like to eat right away so we just lay in bed and she coos and we talk for about 20 minutes. she stares so intently at you and she seems so sincere...tough to explain but she just seems like she's trying to know you...she loves to stand up. she could do that all day if WE had the stamina for it. she's almost sitting and has AMAZING head and chest strength. she was keeping her head up so early...she, like max, hates "tummy time"...so rolling over may come a bit later than expected...when you get close to her, she grabs your face and kisses you. it's fabulous-slimy but fabulous...she is hooked on her big green hospital pacifier. we swore we'd never use a paci with our kids after seeing nina struggle with surrendering it but...you really don't have a choice. she needed it...

tals is giggly, she fakes having a cough for attention, and she has changed our world. we went from muddy fingernails with max to painted toenails with talia. from steelers jerseys to sundresses.

and as i lay here staring at her...i realize that in the midst of life being what it always seems to be in this house, chaos, the quiet moments in the morning make me grateful for the life we have. we are so blessed to have such amazing people in our lives.

sweet wells

2009-05-24T00:07:00.004-04:00

this picture is a year old. this time last year....he was a different kid. he was still the babe he is today but he has definitely developed an edge since last summer. he's sassy...but i love him...

when he was 18 months old he spoke his first word..."wall"...in six months he learned an unbelievable amount of information...he knew colors, letters, shapes, numbers, family relationships, animals, dinosaurs, trucks, etc...he loves things...he loves his sister. he loves us. when he prays i get tears in my eyes. he thanks God for us and for his friends. he is so kind...

he also is rough and looooves to wrestle. he hurts me at least 3 times daily. he really loves to be outside and play hard. he loves go fish and uno. he loves snacks. he loves peanut butter. A LOT....he moves talia's chin to talk for her. his favorite "field trip" is to the dinosaur museum. he looooves WALL-E. he thinks that the story of adam and eve is hilarious because her name is Eve...just like WALL-E. his favorite Bible story is Jonah. he knows it front to back. he loves the library. he loves self checkout in the library. he is only snuggly in the morning and at night...during the day he almost has to be hurt to let me hold him. he loves the steelers. he can name all the lead players by number and name. he calls his pediatrician "dr roethlisberger" even though his name is Dr Romberger. he changes his clothes about 3-4 times a day. he changes when he wants to become someone else...a jersey when he wants to become a steeler, an astronaut shirt, a teenage mutant ninja turtle, etc...tons of "dirty" clothes. currently he is obsessed with planets and fruit snacks. he loves saturn and talks about the solar system...he is incredible...

he says the funniest things i've ever heard....like this....

chris: max do you remember the day when you were born?

max: yes

chris: what was it like?

max: i was like, "where's outside?"

max: hey mum, the flyers suck

chris: yeah, they do but we don't say that word

max: oh, ok sorry

i hate it...i can't remember anything else...ugh...hopefully more will come back later.

long story short I LOVE MY BOY!!!

more review

2009-05-18T23:08:00.006-04:00

well, i have been HORRIBLE about keeping up with the blog...i've been following everyone but facebook is so much easier for quick updates...this is tough to play catch up...so forgive the massive pictures to summarize several months...

first realllly warm day...great fun...

first day back to work...we made a bread bear...super sad day...

chris started playing dek hockey...he's really fast and quite good...

easter sunday...such a cute day...the kids were jumping like crazy...

we were making Easter crafts at our house...we made ressurrection cookies

seriously...what a face...

my jumping tree monkey

babe

she's going to be 2!!! how fast time has flown by...

in johnstown, we have the world's steepest vehicular incline...we brought the kids there the day before easter...great photo op...

max loves letters and phonics...he sounded out our names and picked the letters...granted it's all backwards but i was reallllly impressed...he liked the "i" by the "e"...he is fabulous...

my fam

my mom and sister say she looks just like my baby pictures...i must have been a real babe.

she is the best smiler ever...super sweet and very loving...she gives kisses by grabbing your face and pulling you in. she smiles if you even look at her. she ADORES max. she watches him all over the place. she really loves him sooo much. she just started eating cereal. we couldn't love our kids more...chris was right...adding a kid doesn't divide love in half...it really does somehow become 100% for both...fabulous

maternity leave in review

2009-04-13T15:19:00.009-04:00

my crazy golfer

dress up is his favorite...construction, fireman, etc...

he got this outfit for his birthday....he wore it EVERYDAY for one month

nina's hair

loving each other

valentine's day extravaganza

first bath together

stacy's getting married

my lovely girl

nina is desperate to play with talia

sasha is dying for her to move too...

those eyes...whatta babe

sweet nina

big brother little sister

baptism dress...gap $23 looove it

yep...those are leg warmers...

"arggghhh. i'm a pirate and i'm going to bash captain hook"

see the huge bump on his left eye?? it was scary...like a sty but worse...yikes!!

the GOD SEND pacifier holder!

fishing in the backyard in his "boat"

laughing in the sun

super fun day at phipps with caleb and erin. max still talks about the

"lovely flowers"

coming soon...

2009-03-31T22:44:00.001-04:00

i have soooo much to say about these past few months and hopefully tomorrow during the rainy day when we are TRAPPED inside...i'll find the time to talk about it....put in WALL-E and document my maternity leave....sounds good. hopefully the time will be found...

more pictures of my lovlies

2009-03-08T16:38:00.006-04:00

this is his favorite movie. wall-e. he has the "dolls" and reenacts the movie. it's hilarious.

we watch it everyday...without guilt...TV is NOT the enemy...

for those of you who haven't experienced this phenomenon...this is max spinning at top speed on the zebra. i actually hid his in the basement because he won't play with his other toys when it's in the living room...he spins for long spans of time without consequence.

dr romberger, our fabulous pediatrician, said "wow look how advanced she is...she's five weeks old and THIS is a six week reflex"

chris and i were so proud...

she always looks a bit surprised. this is her other pre-smile look...angst.

i love this picture very much...30 seconds later he pushed her off saying

"she's really heavy and fussy."

(neither of which are true)

"i see dead people"

there first trip down the slide together

one of her first smiles...on film that is...

rita j

2009-02-23T14:26:00.006-05:00

this is my girl talia, she may hate me in about 13 years. just like i hated my mom and she hated hers. perhaps it's because i now have a daughter that i have a NEW respect for my mother.

she is the epitome of emily post....

"never wear white after labor day", "make sure the house is clean before chris gets home.", "what should we have for dinner?" before we've digested lunch.

she knows how things should be done and shares it with whomever will listen...

"do your wash on mondays, clean the house on tuesdays, etc...", "always dust first and then vaccuum.", "when you do your dishes, start with sippy cups and bottles, then do glasses, then dishes, then the pans should be last."

we have been over the coals in the past few weeks (ahem, months). we have lived in pure chaos since about september. roller coaster the entire six months. we haven't had one ounce of boredom. starting with buying the house and now ending with talia being in and out of the hospital all week. (she had RSV-another story for another entry.)

how does this connect? well, my mom and i have always butted heads. i pretty much grew up bucking her "rules" my entire life. she just seemed to have SOOO many "musts" and i can't handle that. before talia was born, i realized how many rules i had made for myself. it was exhausting following them...so i started bucking my rules and it has really helped me define myself in much better ways.

well, where does that leave us? my mother came down to stay with us for the past five days right after talia was finally discharged. i wanted some help but i was nervous about FIVE DAYS. as it draws close to the end of her stay, i realize that i don't want her to go..we did argue at times but i learned so much. even though i knew it before, it became clear about why her rules existed. everything has come full circle for me with what makes her who she is. we had always called her the best housewife in the world because she managed to keep our house in great running order but i didn't realize how hard she worked to do that.

she said something profound today...the baby was crying, max was hungry and begging/screaming for egg (he just wanted one), and i was in the middle of a project with max involving an iron (pictures to follow.) if she hadn't been there, i don't know what i would have done. it was so overwhelming...she said, hold on to your pants,

"you have to anticipate everything your kids are going to want"

i hadn't been doing that. when she suggested "what should we have for dinner?" after lunch, i thought, "geez, we just ate. who cares?" then at dinner time, we have a snack til i think of what to make. PREparation...hmmm. what a novel idea!!

i feel changed. and like i said, i don't know if it's because i have talia now or what but i've decided to put away all my white pants and heels until the season changes. just to honor her a little bit more....for everything she's taught me...

funniest stuff in a long time

2009-01-28T12:53:00.005-05:00

max has been saying some real humdingers lately...with the baby, i haven't had much time to post but two that he just spit out were...

we were doing a little "planet study" because he got some planet stickers. i went to a website to find the order of the planets, i had no idea because highschool was not something i took, hmmm, what's the word, "seriously" that's it....embarassing, i know, but true....

anyway, i was showing him the pictures and he never ceases to amaze me, he puts the stickers down and draws the orbits himself....now, the accuracy left something to be desired but...

me: ok, one planet left...uranus (chuckle, chuckle)

max: do you want to put a planet on the paper mama?

me: that's nice max thanks.

max: you're welcome. where do you want to put my anus (he thought i meant your anus).

(i had to clarify because i didn't think it was clear.)

i almost fell off of my chair...it was hilarious...

he then wanted to play outside, it's really rainy and not fun in the snow weather...so he said

"i want to draw some snow angels. can i have that woodpen?"

"woodpen? do you mean 'pencil'?"

"uh, yeah, pencil."

these few weeks have been some of the funniest days...i'm trying to remember everything he's said but my pure exhaustion has caused some short term brain damage...will have more pictures soon....

milestones...if you will...

2009-01-22T00:06:00.003-05:00

well, i have a million pictures to share and lots of info...but for now i'll be easy and share 2 milestones in talia's life...

1. she is now officially in 0-3 month clothes...i never thought the day would come...she woke up BIG today...all of the sleeves on the newborn clothes were too short

2. she has her first official cold, however, i think she's almost over it...my dear friend patrick called today and said "she's sick!?!? was she born without an immune system??" well, to that i say, "no, she just has been around a lot of kids in her short life and caught the worst from them." i refuse to stay in the house til spring...i just can't do it...

max had croup last week. that was his first really major illness. he has never really gotten sick beyond a cold...he throws up alot but it's all based on his unbelievably large amount of mucous.

this "parenting two kids" thing is a lot tougher than i ever thought...

but in the now famous words of mcdonald's

"i'm lovin' it"

pictures to follow soon...and can someone help me "doll up" my blog...advice please...

presenting...

2009-01-13T00:15:00.003-05:00

talia eve bovard

december 31, 2008

7 lbs 3 oz

19 1/4 in

dearly loved

talia eve bovard

2009-01-12T12:38:00.002-05:00

patrick called this week and said "you still don't have a name??" he apparently never checks facebook....for those of you who are in the same facebook free lives...we decided on the second of january...i just havent had time to post. also, im still having trouble uploading pictures. the files are too large. if you have an apple and know how to shrink files...let me know

should be sleeping

2009-01-07T00:50:00.002-05:00

well, i should be sleeping right now but i have some untapped energy and a strong desire to share with you guys the events of our recent past. i am not going back to november 27 to get you all caught up but i will share some fabulous highlights...

december 12: my best friend since 8th grade got engaged to a great guy and she asked me to be the matron of honor in the wedding. i was thrilled and horrified. she said the wedding was THIS YEAR in august...ugh, baby two due this year too...lots of exercise will be happening in 2009 for me. i am grateful for a motivator...

december 13: our deadline to have the house complete. we have an annual Christmas party for a few close friends and chris volunteered for us to host this year as another motivator to get the house done. wow. for all intents and purposes...it looked done. A LOT was put into the basement. but the house was presentable...what a fun night. charades and lots of treats. great fun was had by all...

december 17: i am 3 cm dialated. flashback to max...dialated for weeks but nothing happens. also, the whole family is diagnosed with strep. we were all placed on different antibiotics...what a ride.

december 18: surprise shower for me at work. two adorable outfits, lots of giftcards, and a HUGE cake...how thoughtful...and delicious

december 19: last day of work. great day...

december 23: max's christmas party at preschool, we decided to cut his year short because of my desire for the three of us to bond together after the baby comes....also, midwife says "looks like we're going to have a Christmas baby!" i don't get my hopes up...max was promised "any day now" for four weeks...

december 24: ten minutes before we leave for church, we find a LEAK in the basement. ugh! fortunately our neighbor is a plumber...we decide to wait til after christmas to bug him. we stay overnight at chris' parents house. fun time. this marks the beginning of max's rebellion against sleep.

december 25: super fun day! chris' parents super generous with christmas gifts and max really is really into it. he had a great day and an surprisingly grateful attitude all day. i crash on the couch at 10 and wake up to an almost empty house. everyone dispersed to family's houses and chris, bob, max, and i are left alone. i am officially nesting. i did all their laundry, cleaned the house, and made food. we had NO CHRISTMAS DINNER. i am a creature of habit and it was not quite christmas without sweet potatoes and pasta. so, we had leftovers.

december 26: great day with my family. great presents for max. he was in heaven. however, we did have one glitch in the completely perfect day. max got upset and he started grabbing at ribbon that nina was standing on and she was slowly about to be flipped over...i had laryngitis and in my attempt to reprimand him, i screamed at him and literally scared the pee out of nina. she peed all over my living room floor. HILARIOUS!!! we were beside ourselves...

december 29-30: chris takes the week off but plans to go back for a short day on new year's eve, i pack our bags for the hospital, and we surrender the fact that they baby will come when she's ready...it doesn't matter how much we want the tax break.

december 31: i wake up with contractions. i had been having them for several weeks but they were painless. 6am -12pm they were painful. call the midwife, time contractions, watch movies with chris, contractions stop....i am a wreck. call midwife again. she says just wait, this isn't false labor the contractions will start again. at 330, i decide we are going to the hospital. chris calls the midwife and she agrees with my decision to come in. she "checks me" and i'm 6 cm dialated. the day, even with the worst contractions, has not been that bad...so she says, walk around we'll admit you at 515. "ok, let's walk to the elevator, ride it up and walk on each floor" i suggest to chris. he says "no! we are walking up all the flights of stairs. we do, NO CONTRACTIONS just heavy breathing. grooossss! i get checked at about 630 and i'm almost 8 cm. WHAT!?!? i accept. so they admit me, and before you know it...i'm at 9 cm. this was not a painfree transition at all but better than i thought. then i stall out at 9 cm for a couple hours. contractions are back but not making my body change. i beg for an epidural and a cute man comes in and does it. that was at 1100 pm. at 1144 my mother -in-law says "you have 16 minutes til the new year." i yell, "get her NOW!" my room clears out and the midwife comes in. immediately i start pushing, she asks me to stop, i say i can't and one and a half pushes later, she was on my chest. so sweet...

that's all for tonite...but there is more...

sweet dreams

proud papa

2009-01-01T02:48:00.003-05:00

at 1148 pm ______ ______ bovard was born. she remains nameless because we

can't fully decide. we will inform you when we know.

7 lbs 3 oz (1 full lb less than wells)

19 1/4" long (almost 2" smaller)

she's dainty...

and we love her so...

the house...

2008-11-27T00:43:00.002-05:00

things are coming along nicely...we are not done yet but everyday we get closer. a dear friend of mine has offered to paint the baby's room and it should be finished this weekend....that's really where we are...get that done and then i should feel a lot better. i have no pictures of anything mainly because i can't find my camera charger...AARRRGGGHHHH!!!. the two things i've been looking for are the charger AND the plate for the microwave...they are probably in an obscure box in the back of the garage...

keep praying....we're getting closer and closer...

interesting weekend...

2008-11-24T00:38:00.002-05:00

we had a really great weekend!! friday night we went to see the light up night fireworks downtown with my brother and his sweet family...sasha is growing up so fast....we had such a nice breakaway from the monotony of unpacking...we went to visit the dinosaurs the night before so by the time saturday rolled around...we were ready to focus on the house. max played at granny's house all day so we were able to fly through a lot of the boxes and living room. we have pictures but i'm waiting til we are DONE to display them...

saturday, my dear friend, denise came down with her family and they all worked on our house til the wee hours of the morning...denise painted, the boys broke out the toys, and eric and i cleaned up vomit a few times...wells had about four or five trips to the potty to poop and he threw up 3 times...of course, i'm concerned about the blanton boys getting sick but denise wasn't concerned. what a saint...

then sunday, my sister had a smaaaalll second shower for me. she said that it's ok beause the gender changed and we needed some pink...and boy did we get some pink...super fun...wells did well when he was with his friends but when we arrived home, he was quite grouchy...he crashed early and now i'm being silly and staying up when i should be sleeping...not good...

click here to see the gift both sides of my family chipped in for....so sweet...

a conversation that i had today

2008-11-20T23:01:00.004-05:00

my friend jen from work and i are entranced by the twilight series. i know it's sooooo bandwagon but i'm hooked. today we were talking about where you go when you die if you're a vampire...i said just into the dust because your soul is gone...she said she thought it was that they went to hell...this conversation started and i haven't laughed like this in awhile....

jen: "what would your personal hell be?"

me: "being trapped in a small room with a lot of pedophiles."

jen: "why? they aren't going to hurt you? what do you have to be afraid of?"

me: "because i 'hate' them so much. i can't imagine anything worse than being surrounded by sex offenders."

jen: "then never go to community basket in aspinwall...they get some kind of tax break for hiring sex offenders...it's like shooting fish in a barrell..."

me: (what appears to be complete silence but really is unbelievable laughter)

i'm so happy to work with some reallllly funny people...

in the midst of the chaos

2008-11-20T00:11:00.002-05:00

i have been reading through my blog and it's been pretty ME focused...the goal of this blog has always been to update folks about our life but i wanted wells to be the focus. he has really dropped down the list....so here goes some FUN quotes from the kid...

"some kids say 'over therw' but i say 'over there'..."

while singing this little light of mine he laughs hysterically when we sing

"hide it under a bushel...NO!! I'm gonna let it shine."

also, chris' personal favorite...

"shine all over johnstown, i'm gonna let it shine." (vbs favorite)

"mop!! MOP!!"

apparently a child in his preschool class yells this word when the teacher mops the floor. wells finds it hilarious so he too yells it, bringing much frustration to the teacher but absolute hilarity to chris and i...

"who's my biggity boy?"

"i'm not your biggity boy anymore...i'm just the big dog."

when i've been gone for awhile, he greets me with

"baby!! i've missed you!!"

and proceeds to lift up my shirt and kiss my belly

and some of our favorites...

"NO!"

"i'm not doing that right now!"

"mama, cool it!"

"daddy, you need to sit for a time out. i warned you already"

"you're making me crazy!"

(that one stung...i say that to him....ugh!)

these quotes are pathetic...he says such "doosies" all the time...i need to write them down more often...

why i love my new house...

2008-11-17T07:07:00.004-05:00

this transition to a new house has not been simple. from the mortgage issues we had to the current sewer issue...but we love our house. we have been so happy here...it's been a lot of work but sooo worth it.

i have a lot of pictures to post but i can't find my camera right now...surprise surprise!! if i were catholic i would have (oops, i forget her name...ironic huh) the patron of lost items all over my house...but i'm not so here's my casual shout out for some help to the Almighty...

ok, i love this house because, it's easy to get everywhere. my big fear with "suburban life" was that we would be so far away from everything...we are about 10 minutes from the zoo...15 from oakland, and last night we went to IKEA and the drive didn't seem long at all...it's crazy...

another reason...i can do laundry all the time...i know sounds sucky but when you can't do it whenever you want....THAT'S SUCKY!!! we had a washer and dryer in our basement for a long time but no electric line hookup. they would laugh at me when i went into the basement....

max's bedroom is fabulous...we finished it last night. it's amazing. he loves it. kids are so hilarious because i thought it would be such a tough transition getting him out of our room...he was thrilled to sleep in there. now he did have a nightmare and woke up at 3 am but he was amazing going to bed. really strong....oh, i just love the crap outta him.

the nursery is small and not at all done...but it's really cute. the ideas are in place and hopefully they will be implemented this week. our room is going to be left alone for now. we want to do something really fun but we don't know what yet so we're not rushing to decisions. the dining room is painted but not assembled. that shouldn't be too long and the living room is almost complete...the basement is good enough for now and the basement is slowly being emptied.

it's hilarious because i didn't realize how afraid i was living in lawrenceville. i triple checked the door, checked the windows every night, and refused to shower at night unless chris was downstairs. two nights ago, i left the windows in the living room unlocked because i was cleaning them and forgot. we were on the second floor in lawrenceville, only a vampire could access them. now we are on ground level and i'm not afraid.

not to mention we have great neighbors, a huuuuge yard, and more space than we know what to do with....it's been a good life so far....max is so happy, we are so happy, and our new pets are happy...more about that to come...

funny news...

2008-11-11T00:02:00.003-05:00

chris and i were watching the end of terminator 2...and they were giving random trivia questions...they stumped us with...

"which actor was turned down for the role of the terminator because the casting agent didn't think that any audience would believe him as a ruthless, heartless killer?"

click here for the answer

i felt the same way...i could never picture him like that...

we're in

2008-11-04T23:37:00.002-05:00

i have some pictures of the new house to share...but my camera is dead. i'm going to wait until we are completely finished with the house to post them...we are really having a fun time...but woah, are we spending a lot of money...as much as you think that you are ready because you came from a house into another house...you still have dramatic needs. curtains, bath mat, new shower equipment, etc...am i complaining? no...we are excited to spend money...but ugh, it adds up quickly...

just wanted to let you all know that we were in and living here...please don't hesitate to stop by and visit...we would love to have visitors...just be prepared...it's not done yet...

today's the day...

2008-11-01T05:32:00.002-04:00

i woke up at 430 this morning, ready to start the day. apparently, i'm the only one that motivated. my mum, sister, and chris are all KNOCKED OUT!!! we went to sleep at 12 am which was about 3 hours earlier than i anticipated. so that was great! we painted the house last night, living room and dining room. tomorrow am, we can't start until 1 pm to move bc of MANY things out of my control, ugh, i hate surrender! so chris, his mum, and bekah are painting max's room. i'm up, so i'm heading to walmart to get some more boxes....that is the actual reason we got into bed so early. not enough boxes!! i had NO IDEA we had so much CRAP here...

yesterday, i bought a little treat for our new home...as i was walking into the store, i got a FRANTIC call from our realtor stating that our money had not been wired to the lawyers, so the check they wrote to the seller was not going to clear. chris was at the house painting and didn't have a phone....the realtor had said, tell chris to stop painting...it's not your house yet. ...after, melting down on the couch and being saved by a friend who happened by, an hour later, everything was resolved.

this has not been an easy 40 days. i have complained, whined, not cried much, SHOCKINGLY, but i am reminded of someone else who suffered for 40 days, to a much worse extent than this, and am comforted in knowing that in the midst of our hard time, He is there.

growing up, my mom had "footprints" the poem (?) on our wall and i never read it. it looked so retro and i wasn't interested...when i finally read it...i memorized parts of it...and now 20 years later, ugh can't believe i can say that about my own life, i hold tight to that. "no, my child, it was then that I carried you." i can honestly say, that these past few weeks, i know that i was carried.

as we come to a close...

2008-10-28T19:25:00.003-04:00

we are definitely closing on friday. well, i should say....it looks much better than it has i feel as though i would like to briefly share the struggle that has been our existence for the past two months....

we were pre-approved for our mortgage on july 31
we looked at a billion houses and the one we finally chose, we had seen in our second night out
we made a bid on the house and found out that night, that the program we had been selected for had been cancelled. we would now have to come up with $x for closing costs. that is not a lot but it's $x more than we were told on july 31. driving home, my sister broke down and in the span of an hour and a half, waiting for a tow truck, our alternator went. ($x later...) not to mention the $x we had just given for "hand money" for good faith on the mortgage.
accepted the bid after some haggling we went through the crazy 15 day rush to get this, that and the other done.
everything was completed but with the credit crunch, the simple paperwork become super complicated and quite arduous....
then we plan to go to IKEA one night and our brakes went!!! it was the worst grinding you've ever heard....(X million dollars later) we still haven't made it to IKEA...
the day before closing, we realize we can't close yet but now have to wait one week for a last minute issue.
chris in the midst of the chaos found out he had two stress fractures and is forbidden to run til january and that his bank was boughten out (that was for yins locals) by PNC...thus placing his future at the bank in jeopardy...
now here we are closing, painting, and moving in two days...

many tears have been shed, mostly by chris :)...but it's over. we are moving to a great house. and His faithfulness is new every morning and we are living in sheer grace right now. overwhelmed and horrified but dearly loved...

"today i consider myself the luckiest (wo)man on the face of the earth"

2008-10-27T19:36:00.006-04:00

i have never been more proud as a mother, person, or woman in my life....

it was an all day struggle....

...it just finally came out.

...max dropped the kids off at the pool....

more news

2008-10-23T19:26:00.002-04:00

well, it's been a really stressful few weeks for us. for those of you who think that this buyer's market means "easy like sunday morning" closing remember that we are also in a mortgage crisis. it has not been an easy few weeks for us. paperwork, changes, emotional rollercoasters, etc...well, it has all come to a head today....we got our final approval and will close next week. we were originally supposed to close tomorrow. however, for reasons that are way toooo complicated and incredibly boring, i'll spare you the details, we are now closing next week.

also, it is important to mention that our beloved "cockageah" may be lost forever....we can't find him anywhere and are desperately hoping he was accidentally packed in a box....he loves this bear...it was a gift his first week of life and he has loved this bear since he was born. we always kept him at home except for transition times to a babysitter...well, we broke our own rule, and we fear he may be gone....please pray for his safe return...

probably my most favorite quote came from wells tonite....

"what do you want to be for halloween...a cat or dinosaur?"

(i found both cheap...cat last year...so cute)

"i don't want to dress up"

"max, do you realize that you will score lots of candy by looking cute and begging for candy?"

"ok, i'll dress up like a big boy and wear gutchies. people will think that's cute...you do."

TRUE AND TRUE

one

2008-10-19T21:22:00.001-04:00

this U2 song has been playing in my head all weekend.

i have always been surrounded by U2 fans and always LOVED them but was not die hard....

after this weekend--i'm hooked. they don't need to release anything else...their old

stuff is sufficient for me...

more hilarity

2008-10-14T22:48:00.004-04:00

we have been crazy for about two months. we've had colds on and off. we made the bid on our house and it was accepted and now...we close in a few weeks, um, well, ten days. it's been wild. i haven't posted many pictures lately, so here are a few of this past weekend. wow, what a weekend. our brakes went all of a sudden on saturday and it cost a fortune to replace...it was rough....but we used public transportation on monday while it was getting fixed and it was quite a ride...we really enjoyed it. we definitely enjoy our car more...

making muffins with daddy...

first day on the potty and the day i hurt my back...this is his bear "cockageeah". he named it that a few days ago. it was crazy...so sweet...

playing with his matreshka doll (russian nesting dolls) a gift from olg...that hat is a size 3-6 months...what? how does that fit? it does fit though...so cute

barrel full of monkeys cheater...

my inlaws have houses being built in their plan and sometimes we sneak on them when no one is working..he loves it soo much...

we had another ultrasound yesterday everything was good. she is growing soo much. max finally asked the question that no parent wants to hear....

"how did the baby get in there?"

...gulp...

"the things i say because my mama is a therapist"

2008-10-09T18:08:00.002-04:00

i need to share some of the recent comments from my son who is clearly being raised by someone who is overly concerned about his emotional IQ...

"mommy, i'm really mad at you right now."

"why?"

"because i asked you for some more chips and you told me that i was all done. i really wanted more but you said "no" and it hurt my feelings!"

"when the new baby comes...will mommy still love maxy?"

"caleb bit my arm and that was NOT nice. he made a bad decision"

watching national geographic kids, there is a video that has a bear trying to catch a fish swimming upstream,

he said "c'mon bear. you can do it. don't give up! keep trying...."

these are a few i could think of but i had a looong list earlier today....so funny.

it's underwear day!!

2008-10-07T23:18:00.004-04:00

i never thought these two sets of words would come out of my mouth...

"thank GOD for elmo!"

and

"wells peed on the potty!!"

we have had quite a ride with the potty training. i vowed not to get stressed out about it...however, last christmas, nina got this potty training video...i remember my sister telling me that she intercepted it from max's gifts so i didn't feel like our mom was pressuring me to get him trained. i was grateful for her doing that because i may have felt bad...like i should have been more "on the ball" with his bathrooming...well, this summer came and went and he was NOT READY. the main thing that stands out to me is his screaming bloody murder when i pulled underwear out of his drawer...he hated it. two weeks ago, he screamed when i put his underwear on OVER his diaper...yikes. again, not ready...all of last week, i would casually mention that saturday was underwear day...he didn't EVER respond to it...he said nothing at all when i brought it up...finally on friday, my sister in law said "is tomorrow 'underwear day'?" she said max had told her that....without fussing...so we went full steam ahead.

saturday morning came and i took off his soaked dippy and threw it away. i put on the underwear and he said "i'm such a big dog now!" (chris calls him big dog) and we set the clock for 30 minutes....the morning was flying by, we watched elmo's video about the potty....30 minutes really goes by quickly...at about 1030, i bent down to pick something up on the bathroom floor and turned to get max to lift him up and SNAP!!!!! my back "went out"...i wanted to cry sooo badly because the pain just SHOT UP my back and i couldn't stand up....it was terrible...that being said, he decided that was the time to pee on the potty....we were so excited...we both laughed and screamed...it was so exciting. we called chris, he was golfing, and he was so excited too..

he has only had two accidents, that really were my fault...i should have let him use the potty before i did...but i'm almost 7 months pregnant...i really had to go...and then one time the first day after his nap...not bad huh??

im finally on the mend from this back thing....i was such a jerk at work yesterday...i can't believe myself...today was a bit easier...tomorrow i go back to the chiropractor...should be a lot better tomorrow morning...

also, i need to tell you about my sweet, sweet son...he asks to pray several times a day. he loves talking to God. it has boosted my prayer life dramatically. he prays for the baby, he thanks God for construction trucks, and he prayed for an ambulance the other day and thanked God the lights weren't on...meaning everyone was safe in the back....what a babe!!

i'm so proud to be his mum!

working in middle school...

2008-10-02T06:44:00.004-04:00

i work with middle school students all day. this is my second year doing that...i LOVE those kids. they are such a neat, amazing, HORMONAL group of people...that being said, articles like this, baffle me more than ever now. the maturity level, in my opinion, could not allow attraction. these poor students are being abused by their teachers in the "name of love" and it's forever distorting their view of relationships. the woman in the aforementioned article said, "We (translation "I") didn't see age anymore...in my mind he quit being a teenage boy...to me, he was a man." this inspired chris to say "it doesn't matter what she saw....what matters is what it was."

OK not profound...pretty obvious...but it immediately caused me to log in and delete my quote at the top of my page from anais nin..side note.....i LOVE her. she has amazing quotes and as we have been contemplating names...that one is a lead dog (a-NYE-iss) but i hesitate because of her "other writings"....questionable at best....granted that does not determine our daughter's future buuut....in ASL when you name a child they say "is she named in honor of" (rough translation but more accurate than "named after".) BACK TO THE QUOTE...it was "things are not as they are but as we see them"....it sounded a little off to me but i still liked it...i chose the route of perspective instead of realitivity...chris hated it...so NOW i see clearly why....

that was a huuuuge ramble but i had to get it out before i got ready to see my MS kids...

some pics of the new house

2008-09-24T21:04:00.004-04:00

here's the house

living room

dining room

bathroom

backyard...

we close on october 24...anyone willing to help us? calling all friends...food, drinks, beer, etc on us...just lend us your backs...i can't lift anything heavy....so anyone who is willing...please let us know...

love your pet without loving your pet

2008-09-22T21:49:00.003-04:00

short tirade....

just when you think the world cannot possibly get any more bizarre you read a story that completely changes your paradigm of normal human behavior. . .

i just read a story about a woman who is going to be serving 15 years to life for not helping when her ferocious dogs mauled a woman to pieces in her own apartment, she actually had the nerve to say that her neighbor should have not been carrying groceries and then pushed the dog's head out of her crotch when she walked past them....she had over 70 bites to her neck and body and the owner did nothing to stop it...i am in shock right now. there were so many irrelevant details in the story that have forever changed my view of people and their pets...

if this offends you in anyway...forgive me and blame it on my hormones...they are out of whack...i just spent 25 minutes doing the dishes and crying....about what?? i don't know...just standing in the silence of my kitchen sobbing. i'm over it...now i'm just disgusted...

a moment of peace...

2008-09-20T15:10:00.003-04:00

max is sick...he has a double case of pink eye, a never ending dripping, running nose, and he is GROUCHY!!! he is such a typically pleasant child...with the exception of

"No! I'm not eating my pancakes" (inserts pancake into mouth and chews) "

"No I don't wanna put my shoes on" (as he's putting them on)

(my personal favorite)

"No...I don't want any ice cream. wait, mama yes I do."

that is tolerable for the most part, typically we just ignore it. but when he's sick he whines everything repeatedly and he wipes his nose on my arm and tells me that "I don't love you today mama." (thanks for that sweet children's book from the library! when i remember the title i'll warn you all!!!) it can be slightly overwhelming. especially since i don't feel super great today myself and i have to face the daunting task of collecting some papers that we needed last week. ugh, its tough to depend on other people. i'm tired. it's beautiful outside and we are all congested and inside. tonite we are doing something fun-ish. like drive past our new house and long for a month from now when we'll develop carpal tunnel from signing papers and becoming official home owners....

generally speaking aside from this yucky sicky time. we are all doing well. max is having a much better time at his biweekly preschool and he has been having the time of his life when they listen to music and dance. i got him the most fabulous little bag that looks like a dumptruck, to the average human eye, but he is quick to inform you that it is "actually a site dumper."

the difference...i don't know but it's definitely big for him...

chris although still hating the bank is making the necessary moves towards graduate school in the fall. he wants to get his MFA in creative writing/poetry so he can teach on a college level. it's such a process to get through but he's doing it...he's writing some good stuff....i'm going to post one of my favorite poems of his called "i wanna be in a bar fight." it's fabulous...he also, has started running again. for those of you who may not know, he had a stress fracture in his shin for about 2 months now. he was suffering a lot but still averaging about 30 miles a week running. he also was biking to work so it was becoming increasingly more painful. well, he's almost healed and back to running again. he's so happy...

as for me, the control freak can not delegate any responsibilities about collecting papers for the final work...so i'm exhausted from it and frustrated with myself for not sharing the load better with chris. i'm starting a yoga class this week. i gotta get rid of this stress better. that helped so much with my pregnancy with wells. so hopefully, that'll be a good solution for me now too....

well, there's my "christmas letter" written in my moment of peace...i just wanted to let yins know what was going on...boring mostly but positive....

i wonder if i write this for you guys or more for myself....i feel better....

creeped out...

2008-09-15T05:54:00.002-04:00

i'm deleting our home post...sorry. i'll put up more pics later. i got wigged out having that up with our address...it's 6 am and i'm over paranoid...

when it rains...it pours....

2008-09-14T23:38:00.002-04:00

i think i forgot to mention in my last post that it was raining the entire night while we were waiting for the tow truck...i think i caught a slight cold...just kidding. i know it's a virus.... :)

yeah, so this is starting out light but gosh...this weekend went from bad to worse-ish. we qualified for closing cost coverage for the house. we were supposed to only have to pay about $1000 for the entire closing because we didn't have a lot of savings. well at the end of the week with freddie mac and fannie mae being "bought out" by the government....we lost our deal...the government closed all those perks down two weeks earlier than planned....so rough. so we signed papers on a house and had to figure out about $2500. ugh!!! hopefully that is solved now but YUCK!!!. that almost did me in completely....

then tonite, we left too late from dan and erin's house. max was pooped but refused to crash...he was exhausted. i ALWAYS get off in oakland to get to our house....ALWAYS!!! but not tonite. i try to be adventurous and try a road that's been closed for several months. it was open but we got half way up bigelow blvd to find about 3 miles of backed up traffic. we left at 1000 and got to the traffic at about 1015. we sat til 11....a tree had fallen on the road and penndot was trapped about four miles behind us....so a group of men went and broke the tree into pieces so we could get through. max was sweaty from his meltdown and exhausted...when we were about 20 ft from the tree, a man decided to help a broken down car and stopped in the one available lane blocking up miles of traffic for about 5 minutes to help....i got out of the car and men were screaming obscenities at each other so i stepped right back into the car....we gave max a quick bath and now he's in bed....we are all bushed and i can't wait for this ride to be over!!!

it is not only figuratively raining but i'm assuming that it will soon be literally raining...thanks ike for the gas prices and all the memories that will haunt me tonite till i fall asleep....

a day in the life

2008-09-12T23:29:00.004-04:00

we received word at 3pm that our offer was accepted for our house. we are now further along in the process of becoming home owners. very exciting. the house is terrific...a bit out of our price range but isn't that to be expected in our "keeping up with the jones'" mentality...clicky here for full tour...

just kidding...our mortgage is slightly above the joke house's taxes....but hey a girl can dream. we got a good deal on a great house. the neighborhood is great. safe, lots of toddlers, quiet street. very cute...we love it. we looked at maybe 40 houses and this one always stood out to us....the kitchen is blah but the yard if fabulous...we are excited....

driving home from the realty office, bekah broke down on the highway. we parked behind her and waited over an hour for AAA. during that time, the natives were definitely getting restless and our nerves were wearing thin. chris was quiet mainly because he was supposed to camping and this was setting him back considerably....during our wait, the honda just STOPPED RUNNING!! we had to call a tow truck too....now i can laugh but those two tow guys who showed up were in shock...my in-laws and christian saved us...so kind...i'm exhausted now but i really wanted to share my whirlwind of a day...

huge housewarming party in december...i hope...

innocent request

2008-09-08T22:27:00.002-04:00

initially i was wigged out by the sitemeter but now i'm intrigued...new orleans, seattle, korea....i'm totally curious about WHO is reading/skimming/stalking our blog...

please leave a comment on this page when you read this entry....i don't care who reads ours...i just am dying of curiousity...

leave a note, where your from and if i know you....chris and i are completely awestruck...

more for me than you

2008-09-08T21:34:00.002-04:00

since i was 25 years old, i have been instructing parents on how to improve their parenting skills. i have an advanced degree in child development and years of experience in behaviorist approach...yet somehow none of this prepared me for parenting. don't be alarmed i love max more than life itself but today was one of our WORST days ever.

we went on a hike today. he was hilarious, he kept running really fast and then kicking his shoes off to get us to laugh. it was funny until we asked him to stop because he was getting into big rocks and we didn't want him to get hurt. he started crying and throwing a fit...we ignored it and he calmed down. then we decided to go home and he didn't want to walk...he wanted me to carry him. so we spit water on him and he calmed down...(we tend to non-traditionalists). we get home and he insists on sitting in the dark playing with his trains. he didn't want lights on. fine. then it was too dark and we wanted to sit in the living room....melt down number 2....

we then, started making dinner. chris made it and i played some games with max. he was in a great mood. he loved the pumpkin game from his highlights magazine. so we had a great time. i offered him some yogurt and he melted down again. who knows why?? ignored...

meltdown at dinner, bath, brushing teeth, and bed time....he got no books tonite...i explained his wasting time...and he said "tomorrow i'll listen and not be naughty." unbelievable. ugh, i could have thrown him out the window if he wasn't so dang cute.

he had a long nap but a horrible night sleeping last night...so all's forgiven...it's all good...i'm alive and so is he...

hilarious morning...

2008-09-08T05:20:00.003-04:00

it goes without saying that the morning that you can sleep in is the morning that your toddler decides to arise at 330!! he didn't have a nap yesterday so he crashed at 630. fortunately, he is well rested and we were struggling...now i'm awake and so far so good, i'm alright.

this morning some of the funniest things ever happened. max laid with us in bed and he really wanted me to "hold him", meaning my arm resting over him. he was doing well but couldn't fall back asleep. my mind just started wondering about our house...i thought he was asleep so i started to doze off. he wasn't asleep at all. if i moved he would say, "mummy, hold me." so i would. eventually, this became exhausting...finally, i said,

"max go play in your room."

"ok, but i'm bringing the baby."

"that's fine. just be careful"

(he loves "taking the baby" from my belly button and playing with her)

"ok, mama. i won't drop her."

"read some stories in your bed"

"ok, i will"

(i hear him reading and doze off. about 30 min later he's upset trying to calm her down)

"oh no, she's starving. what do i do? i don't have milk here. oh, no, mama, she's

crying because she's so hungry. oh my goodness, what can i give her? she's staaarrving"

"max, get her bottle in your toy box"

"she doesn't want it....and i'm hungry too. starving actually"

(we come downstairs, he wants to carry her down the stairs, i tell him that she needs to ride in my belly down the stairs. he holds my stomach the entire way down.)

"mama, she wants some crunch, i mean i want some crunch, she want's some milk"

(i sneak to the bathroom and hear the refrigerator door)

"oops, i hit the baby with the milk. sorry baby."

(i come out of the bathroom)

"i hit the baby with the milk"

"is she ok?"

"yes, but she is starving"

i wanted to laugh so badly but he was so serious, i didn't want to laugh in his face.

i'm so glad i was awake for it...

my sweet boy...

2008-09-07T15:42:00.003-04:00

today we celebrated pop-pop's birthday. i was helping to serve pie and icecream. so i was the last one to be served. i took pie to chris and dan and while i was gone, i heard max say

"francine (granny), please give my mom some pie and ice cream."

what a babe...

one broken nose

2008-09-03T22:16:00.002-04:00

i have so many pictures to post but i need to upload them....i'll do that tomorrow night....however, it does need to be said unfortunately without photos, to spare some dignity, that max spent part of the evening in the clinic....because he broke granny's nose. he was playing on the couch and fell forward onto her face. clean break...snap right down the center....i can't believe that i haven't broken my nose with a few of the headbutts. she was his first broken bone...

I asked him..."did you apologize?" he said, "uh, yeah, three times. she said it was an accident and forgave me..."

big exciting news...

2008-09-01T19:20:00.003-04:00

for those of you who don't know or don't remember....bekah was kicked out of nursing school one year ago because she failed two classes. this is sooooo unlike her but we all thought that she was stressed out because of single motherhood and the fact that nina had so many health problems from birth on....little did we know it was because she had a brain tumor...her main doctor wrote a letter stating that her tumor was in his professional opinion a direct cause to her brain dysfunction that caused her to fail out of school. so last week we found out that the school allowed her to come back this coming june. she will graduate with her RN in december 2009....when she failed out of school last august she was set to graduate in december...the tumor was found in january but had been there for probably at least 10 years even though it had only been problematic since june of last year... so, we were all back in johnstown to celebrate her big news and for labor day. johnstown has an annual folk fest that is fun to attend but always slightly reminds me why i wanted to move away...pittsburgh would be perfect if we could just get my parents down here....

so much to say....

2008-08-31T16:48:00.002-04:00

I haven't posted in a while...nothing significant at least....i must say that i love reading blogs. i check them daily and am quite disappointed when nothing new is posted....that being said, i'm not a crazy stalker like my husband thinks. i just love it...well, nancy (formerly kuhn) FREAKED ME OUT with the sitemeter. wigged out!!! i am in shock. i signed up and was completely horrified that i have looked like a complete stalker...as i get over that...i should resume blog searching again...for now, i'm going to cool it... :)

secondly, wells started pre-school this week. first day he was fine. he adjusted very well to being away from me. he was thrilled to see me and chattered on for a long time about his day. "i had so much fun mama. I played and colored and sang songs. i can't wait to go back..." Day 2--he was odd all morning and fussed a little bit. he threw up at lunch...wow did he love telling that story. "i don't have shoes because i threw up on them at lunch." or "i threw up because i was too nervous and fussy today at school." wow....day 3...he was great!! he loved his day and apparently he was yelling and dancing during the dance class saying "I LOOOVE these songs. i'm so happy." he was in a great mood.

lastly, school is going well. i miss my boy but i think it's going to be a good year. i'll post more later...i'm really going to get better about this....i love reading about everyone but i love sharing info too....

reunited and it feels so good

2008-08-23T17:20:00.002-04:00

max stayed with my parents and bekah/nina for three days this week so chris and i could wrap up the house search at night. we hopefully will make a decision this tuesday but no guaruntees....

i called many times a day because i missed him dearly and he would barely talk to me because he was having so much fun. i was bummed but i know that bunna and poppy's house is a lot of fun...we love coming to johnstown...we like going home too though...

so when i saw him last night, we were equally thrilled to see each other. i cried so hard. i didn't realize how MUUUCCCHHH i missed him. i knew that i did but when i saw his sweet face...it hit me...

so we are reunited again and so happy. this morning it was just like old times. he refused to apologize to nina after he pushed her down and had a time out....for about 10 minutes because of his refusal to cooperate with the apology...so old times....

we had the BEST conversation when he woke up today...he loves talking into my bellybutton to the baby. today sounded a little bit like this....

"hey baby. hey baby! come out and play!"

"maxi, she needs to grow more. she's way too small too play with right now. she'll be out soon."

"baby keep growing. i miss you. i want to hold you...(he rubbed my belly and pretended to pull out the babythrough my skin) oh, baby, i love you. (he then rubbed the "baby" on his cheek) ok hug mama and then it's time to go back in and grow."

two weeks ago he told me

"i know that the baby will come out of your fingers when she comes"

i'm so glad that he stated that instead of asking....

first day of school

2008-08-18T06:28:00.002-04:00

every year, and i mean EVERY YEAR, my dad has given me a "back to school" pep talk. (julie, let me know if those quotes are unnecessary...it just felt right :)

i have a mild anxiety before the first day of school. through elementary, he would come into my room, give me a power pep talk and then again in the morning. throughout college, he would call the night before. and even into graduate school, he would call just to reassure me that i wasn't foolish for being anxious.

so why did i work at a school? i still have the same anxiety. it must be something related to the long break and then the readjustment to a different year. if you work all year, then you don't even realize any kind of transition but having two months off...ugh.

my greatest joy is that my school year is going to be three and a half months. this baby is going to dramatically change my year...YEAH!!

ps i looove wpsd and my co-workers. the kids are some of the best people i know. i have a great job and an amazing supervisor...i have a terrific office. everything spells out perfect situation....but i miss max. all of those perks don't add up to jack if measured against him...i have to trust that this is my calling and i am important to them...

pictures of our weekend

2008-08-11T10:37:00.005-04:00

seriously could he be any cuter????

what else would he wear on his beloved erin's wedding day???

they threw their fighting ways aside and loved each other allllll day at the wedding. max walked out with chris and nina walked down the aisle with me...it took the "all eyes on me" pressure off....when i got to the end of the aisle, he reached his arms out and she ran into his arms and they hugged and he said "nina, nina. i love you." thank God for tension breakers....

i'm framing this one...

she was as cool as a cucumber...no stress at all...she said "i'm just a little nervous because i know that dan is...if he wasn't i think i'd be completely fine."

she was the most beautiful bride i've seen in a loong time...she glowed all day...

what a weekend...

2008-08-11T06:16:00.003-04:00

since last week on tuesday, we have had a crazy week. we've been running around like crazy getting everything ready for erin and dan's wedding. no one in the history of time has invested more of themselves into planning a wedding, than erin. no stone was left unturned. erin was a gorgeous bride and dan was so handsome and was so happy. the wedding was at beulah church in churchill and the reception was at PNC park. it was perfect. we had a great time and max was awake until 130 in the morning. (we had some last minute pictures on the field at midnight!!) he didn't throw one fit or shed one tear...he was great. he did knock out the second his carseat was buckled...when chris picked him up he was like a ragdoll.

saturday morning we got up early, thanks max! and went to chris' parent's house for brunch. then max and i had to crash for a few hours and brave chris went golfing. they played 19 holes and didn't get home until almost 9 that night. we had a great time with the bindewalds, carolynn, callahan, and my siblings with kids. we played at the park and then went to dave and erin's for dessert. if we hadn't napped for 3 hours, i doubt that night would have been much fun for us....

sunday we had church after our huge, hostile congregational meeting last week. wow. i have never been a part of something that tense. but...it's over now and one week later we can discuss it with less emotion...that's a different story for a less public time...

we met up with denise, eric and their three boys again. we went to the science center and out to dinner with my in-laws. so much fun.

the most fun news was i got lots of girl clothes yesterday. denise surprised me with a bag of girl clothes from children's place (all summer stuff for next year--she never gets to shop for girls so i'll reap the benefits of that :) and francine, chris' mom, loves to shop and loves girls so we got a full gap bag for the baby. it was really fun to see what our sweet little girl will be wearing next swimming season....

yes, i'm awake at 630 am. who knows why??? this pregnancy has been so different than max's pregnancy. nothing horrible but sooo different. one similarity would be nice---if the steeler's could go to the superbowl right after her birth....that sounds good.....

i'll post some wedding pictures and i have some MAJOR stories about what happened before the wedding...it was an interesting time getting ready that morning....it's never easy to be pregnant during these times....but it really was one of my most favorite days ever with chris' family....

it's a girl...

2008-08-07T23:46:00.002-04:00

we had our ultrasound today and everything looks good. she is an active baby. we have to go in for another ultrasound to get a full picture of the heart. but it's fine with me...i love seeing that black and gray screen....

the hunt is on

2008-07-31T21:36:00.002-04:00

we got pre-approved for our mortgage, met with our realtor, and started a budget.

we are officially entering the homeowner's world.

we are hoping to find a house and move in to our "dream house" in 60 days....

pray hard...

PETA--where do i sign up?

2008-07-29T17:48:00.004-04:00

i am so glad that you guys checked out CAKEWRECKS. i think it's the funniest thing i've seen in a long time. i laughed til i cried...that being said...i have a cried-til-chris-made-fun-of-me youtube video that i found today. i cry each time i watch this...hormones, maybe....

some background info....these two guys raised this lion from birth til he became to big to live in their home. they introduced him to the wild and went back to visit a year later. they were told that he had acclimated to the wild very well and that he would not remember them. just watch this....

clicky here please

for the full story click here

fun times with an old friend

2008-07-29T17:23:00.005-04:00

my friend denise was in town last week and we got together with her and her sons. max is about 3 months older than her twins, silas and donovan. (don't be angry, fellow pittsburghians but he is named after donovan mcnabb.) also, her older son brady was also along for the ride. anyway, we went to kennywood on thursday and then to the pool on friday. the robl's (her parents) have some hot connections at kennywood so the day was free and free. you can't beat that with a stick so i thought i'd return the "free" favor with a free day at the pittsburgh public pools which we have passes for. i like to go all out for old friends....

this is silas. he's very cute but not too happy on this ride.

this is donovan and brady...

boys are all the same

max loves running so it was great having a pal to run with at "down time"

my water baby at schenley park

little family shot...hope bufe doesn't mind the twins playing with barbies...yikes.

cuuute...

apparently silas loves karate.

is he bufe's twin or what???

i have noticed my beloveds that we all are not posting very often. for some of us it's been MONTHS, some two weeks. i have become addicted to reading about your lives...even for those folks i talk with regularly. i miss your updates. please find time...i miss your blogs...

i don't know if it's just because i'm tired....

2008-07-23T06:25:00.002-04:00

i have tears of laughter POURING down my face right now. i have the shoulder-shaking, eyes soaked, snot running, quiet laughter of my college days. you know that laughter. the kind that you can't explain but something that was said hit a spot inside you like nothing you've ever experienced before. i have had so many experiences like that. mostly in college and beyond. (why do we take ourselves so seriously in highschool...seriously there are so many things to be laughed at during that time)

anyways, i woke up at five o'clock this morning (better than four) when i heard the pitter patter of small feet in my room. i had forgotten to put up max's gate. anyways, i heard them and then he didn't come over to my side of the bed or anything like that so i thought i would check on him. he was sleeping soundly on the floor (not uncommon). i laughed in spite of myself thinking, "wow, i made that up." i turned around and he stood up and walked over to me. i held him for a few minutes and the laid with him on the floor and he knocked back out. incidentally that was enough to wake me up. so i went downstairs and cleaned up the house from a wild playing spree the night before.

then the best thing in the world happened. i opened the computer, went to carly's website and found this link....i just stopped laughing about 10 seconds ago. please, if you have any sense of humor clicky here....

max wellington zane bovard

2008-07-21T03:50:00.002-04:00

well, i know that everyone has a personal bias towards their own child but honestly, without any at all....i can tell you that i have the funniest child ever.

he has been amazing us with his communication these days. he started talking when he was 18 months old, he said NOTHING until he uttered the word "wall" one lovely day last summer and really has not stopped talking a day since. he wakes up and instead of yawning or acting groggy, he proceeds to tell me about what his plans for the day are or what he "dream-ed" about last morning (we're still working on timelines). he is hilarious.

tonite, stacy called and said that she had surprised us by stopping over to see us after vacation and waited a half an hour on our porch. we unfortunately had been at chili's with chris' family and had missed her. i told max and he was bummed out. he said " i really wanna see stace."

so we had him call her. naturally we only heard one side of the conversation....

"stace. i want you to come to my house. nooo, we can't come over there. you have to come to our house. what? is your phone broken? are you talking? i can't hear you. i think we need to get you a new phone. stace. are you coming over? i wanna see you stacy because i love you. are you laughing? you are laughing. you are funny. ok all done, it's for you daddy."

i took the phone and stacy was laughing and tearful. he is so sweet.

chris was walking down my parent's stairs today and was carrying really heavy bags trying to persuade us to hurry and max, in true toddler form, was lolly gagging down the stairs. now, in my experience, trying to rush a toddler only causes the adverse to occur. they become slower....so without pressure, judgement, or criticism i ask max "do you want me to holdya?" he turns around looks at chris who is redfaced at this point and says "daddy. cool it. i need to get my shoes on!" we all cracked up because often times his little toddler fits are dealt with by us telling him to "cool it". ahhh, the statements that are thrown back in our face....

this sparked a story from chris' dad this evening....chris was about four when his family uprooted to new mexico for a job for his mom. his dad started pharmacy school when they were out there and was studying around the clock when he wasn't working at one of his two jobs. so chris' interaction with his was limited due to time constraints but chris being who he is, never misses anything. apparently, chris told him mom one afternoon that he was going to study. he then proceeded to sit down at the kitchen table and yell "dammit, dammit" while pounding both fists on the table.

in closing, i would like to say that i have some amazing pictures to put up of my family but i don't have that much energy at 407 am. why am i awake right now you may be wondering??? this is typical second trimester behavior for me. i don't sleep well. i wake up bright eyed and bushy tailed at about 330 most nights. so i thought i'd post something here. you'll probably see this time on my blog a lot now....

hope you are all having sweet dreams....

back to the beach

2008-07-14T23:00:00.004-04:00

the last time we were at the beach with my family, i was pregnant with max. we used to come every year but since i had grad school for three years and bekah was in school last year...this was our first family vacation for a few years. max has been a little sheepish with the ocean but he is L-O-V-I-N-G the sand. we are having a great time. nina and sasha can't get enough of the ocean. sasha just runs into it. the babies are hilarious. so much fun. yesterday was beautiful. it was overcast today but we got LOONNGGG naps. we needed it because we woke up so early on saturday and stayed up so late. so it was fabulous to have free time. we are having fun and hoping this week lasts forever....

bekah got her staples out today and she bought a really cute wig. i'll post pictures soon.

the beach

2008-07-08T23:19:00.003-04:00

we are headed to dewey beach, de on saturday morning. this is our first family vacation with babies...it should be interesting. all three are at good ages for the sand and water. we are really excited. christian, christopher, and my dad are especially excited for the pizza. we have vacationed at this spot for many years. we stayed in the same place (we mostly stayed in the second villa from the left) for many years and now we are moving to a bigger house type place. i'm not sure exactly what it looks like but i trust my parents.

not too much to report with us. bekah is doing well and we are all raring to go.

of course, everyone is bringing their laptops so i'm sure i can share some pictures while we're there...

here's the surprise

2008-07-03T15:56:00.004-04:00

BRACE YOURSELVES....

SHE HAD ENOUGH OF PATCHES BEING SHAVED...

THIS JUST HAPPENED YESTERDAY

THIS WAS THE FIRST SCAR...OPENED TWICE...

fun summer pictures

2008-07-03T15:43:00.001-04:00

sweet sassy molassy

2008-07-03T13:21:00.000-04:00

my saucy sister corrected me....SHUNT....not shut....

at last....

2008-07-02T21:28:00.002-04:00

bekah had her final shut put in this afternoon. she is going home tomorrow. praise the Lord. i can't wait to spend time with her outside of that "sterile"/dirty environment. today was a beautiful day in pittsburgh....we had such a great day!! we went swimming (my most favorite activity in the whole world) with all the kids and olya. i got some great pictures!!! also, i'm hoping to have a surprise picture tomorrow to share....hold on to your hats....

more info

2008-06-30T23:35:00.002-04:00

at 1030 my dad called and said that the surgery never happened because her white blood count was high. soooo, no surgery. she will have it on wednesday if they can't figure out the source of the infection...i'll keep you posted...

keep praying

2008-06-29T21:19:00.002-04:00

bekah just called. she's having surgery at 715 to place another shunt. we are supposed to go on vacation soon. she is desperate to go and we, of course, will not go without her!! so this may be the solution to her seepage issues.

we've been holding up alright. that seems to be the big question. you guys have been so great with check-ins and everything. thanks...

on a light note....yesterday i hugged bekah so hard when she was leaving for the hospital that she said she felt a gush of fluid from her incision.

KEEP PRAYING!!

like father like son

2008-06-29T14:39:00.003-04:00

i was checking the weather on the computer and max was trying to get my attention. he grabbed the rag that i used to clean up after we painted some pictures and shoved it up the back of my shirt. i screeched because it was cold and he laughed his head off...then in true chris fashion, he saw that the fan was on and threw it into the fan. he's been trying to do this forever...today it happened. he almost (actually did) pee(d) his pants. it hit the blades and flew onto the curtains....he laughed harder than i've ever heard him laugh....so priceless....

how's that carly??? now you have to worry about both of them.....

funny story

2008-06-28T14:34:00.002-04:00

i forgot this story that happened the last time i was in johnstown.

i threw a load of laundry in my parent's house. chris, max, nina, and i were playing in the living room and my parent's were out.

max went to get his sippy cup and said "mama, what's wrong with the kitchen?"

i said "what do you mean?"

he said "there is water everywhere on the floor. i was splashing in it."

we jumped up and found several inches of water on the floor and suds were everywhere. long story short. it took almost two hours to clean up the soap. the lock on the washer wasn't working and it kept gushing open and spraying bubbles everywhere. it was exactly the same situation that mike teevee's mom went through in charlie and the chocolate factory (the original) when she was sloshed with soap on the wonka-car. max rubbed my back as i held the machine shut through the rinse cycle.

some more classic comments from wells:

erin (sis in law and chief babysitter) was questioning him several times about his poopy smells coming from his diaper. he apparently just had wicked gas...

erin: are you sure you didn't poop max?

max: no erin, (very frustrated) i think you did...

mama: max stand up. we need to put your shorts on...

max: stand up, stand up for what you believe in believe in believe in God. He's the one to back you up. He'll stand wif you, He'll stand wif you.

(classic veggie tales song)

daddy: do you want a sister or a brother?

max: a sister named nina.

max: nina's crying

mama: why?

max: i pushed her down really hard.

mama: why did you do that?

max: she took my turn away from me and then

she took my train so i hit her.

mama: go sit for a time-out

we going to the beach and it's gonna be so much fun!!! (jumping up and down)

lets go see bekah in the hospital. i miss her.

i told him to say "bye poppy" (to pop-pop)

he said snickering "bye poppy" and started laughing so hard

because it was the wrong person.

he has so many classic things and i feel like this smattering is a such a disservice to his multi-dimensional communication....

keep praying for bekah.

she's sprung another leak...

2008-06-28T09:17:00.002-04:00

we are all in johnstown. we came in last night and this morning bekah started leaking again. so mum and bek are headed back....please pray. she may get a lumbar shunt....ugh.

sick obsession

2008-06-27T10:02:00.003-04:00

a week in pictures

2008-06-27T09:44:00.005-04:00

nina's hair gets "picked out" every morning. i went a little overboard.

the end result...

isn't she the sweetest little thing...

this hat was a gift from granny (chris' mum) and clearly she didn't consider the recipient's huge head. so...

so chris tricked it out. now he calls him gilligan. but he looks really cute in it.

best friends...worst enemies.

this isn't the best picture of them but you can see the scrape on max's chin and nina's shiner.

both occurred unrelated to the other. max fell and hit his face on a cement bench and

nina fell down the stairs.

they hurt each other often but tend to not leave any marks...

nina's visit

2008-06-27T09:31:00.002-04:00

what a week! bekah, nina, and my mum left for johnstown yesterday. it was so sad, when max woke up from his nap he asked me "is nina still sleeping? shhhh!" i told him that she went to johnstown he started crying. it was heart breaking. he recovered though when i told him that we were going swimming. we then celebrated chris' birthday with his family. we had a fun relaxing night. it was the first night we hadn't been in the hospital for 2 weeks. my poor mum, she didn't leave the hospital but to sleep.

bekah is sore but seems so much better. spending time with nina was such an eye-opening experience. she is so strong willed. my mum always says that she's a lot like me...she is really outgoing and loves people...me too :)...but wow this week, we went rounds. she is demanding...me too....when i was pregnant with max, we went on a family vacation and i was in the back seat on the trip down. i kept saying "hot!" when i was uncomfortable and the air conditioning would get turned up to high. well, my bald brother was driving and he at one point said to olga, "my forehead is numb from the ac." i still get teased about that. WELL, nina does that stuff. it was definitely a taste of my own medicine. whew. i always knew i loved her for a reason. she is me....

in the midst of the chaos, i had another doctor's appt and heard the heartbeat. it was terrific. i just love that wooshing sound. i'll go back at 18 weeks and then have my ultrasound at the beginning of august. really exciting....

i'm in two weddings, august and november. i'm so hoping that i look ok in the dresses....

thanks again for alll the support you guys have given over the past few weeks. i got more VM's and texts than ever before. thanks, we truly felt so supported. a woman told us that bekah was the most popular person at her church. she belongs to several prayer groups and bekah was the focus of all of them. incredible. thanks....

my sista

2008-06-25T17:52:00.003-04:00

last night bekah noticed that she was "seeping" from her incision. at 430 this morning they discovered that she was leaking cerebral spinal fluid. she was sooo upset. she had been desperate to check out today at noon and go home. she was as low as i've ever seen her. she was really cynical and hopeless. she was moody and really grouchy. she didn't sleep for almost 24 hours.

so we cried out to God for mercy and He provided more than we could have ever imagined. she feels amazing! she is happy and cheerful and full of life. she has not been this way for months!! she said "i knew God was telling to get my head on straight! so i stopped crying and went into surgery with a level head and they didn't have to overmedicate me." she says that she had an amazing meal (hospital food?!?!) and she has a newly remodeled fancy single room. she really is doing amazing.

i was nervous that she would be in a lot of pain today but she's not at all....praise Him for giving her the comfort necessary to get her through this tumultuous time.

Psalm 31

"To you, O LORD, I called;

to the Lord I cried for mercy:

"What gain is there in my destruction,

in my going down to the pit?

will the dust praise you?

will it proclaim your faithfulness?

Hear, O Lord, and be merciful to me;

O LORD, be my help"

You turned my wailing into dancing;

you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,

that my heart may sing to you and not be silent.

O LORD my God, I will give thanks to YOU forever.

2008-06-22T12:14:00.002-04:00

this week has been crazy. we have been on the go alllll week. we have been home for a few minutes and then off again. we are so anxious for bekah to go home so she can be comfortable and we can visit her in a place that we aren't all sitting on straight back chairs and chasing the kids around germy nasty rooms. that being said, bekah is being a bit difficult about wanting to leave AMA because she feels her PT at southside hospital is worthless. she says that they say "ok play with this playdough and then take a break". then they leave her for 20 minutes for a break. she said "i can play with playdough at home!" please just focus your prayer around her becoming compliant to what the doctor wants which is for her to stay til friday. she wants to check out on tuesday and we don't want that decision to set her back. ugh..

please pray that her heart will soften to the idea....

ps...nina is freakin hilarious. max and i are loving having her here. my last day of school is tuesday. so we'll be painting this town red. i can't wait....

birthday girl

2008-06-17T06:42:00.003-04:00

"hey, i'm one!"

little sweetpea turned one this weekend on father's day. we had a fun family party. she was hilarious. sasha was born to walk. she used to be a little fussy and as soon as she started walking she became the happiest kid i've ever seen. she smiles all the time. this is a laugh that i caught. she is a sweetheart and i love the crap outta her.

busy weekend

2008-06-17T06:15:00.003-04:00

this is mamere. chris' grandmother. she is fabulous. she turned 80 and all nine of her children gathered for a surprise party for her. she said "wow, i thought everyone had forgotten!" it was terrific. chris' aunts and uncles flew in from all over the country. it was at an aunt's house and it is a perfect party place. there was a HUUUGGGE yard, pond with boats, fishing poles, and bull frogs. there also was a bonfire. i had said the only thing missing from this celebration was fireworks. on the way home we saw some. such a fun day.

here is chris, max, and mikey. mikey and chris grew up together and he has a son that is a smidgen older than max. it was so neat for chris to be with his cousins for the day after they had been apart so long.

this is leah. she is really great with max. she was teaching him how to fish...

this is a thrown in extra. chris and i had been wanting max to have loooong hair for awhile now. so we decided to grow it out this summer. we often pull it into a ponytail, a samurai ponytail, and he had been called a girl many times. but we don't care.

on sunday morning after the party, chris' mom told us that one of the cousin's at mamere's party had LICE!! we were told what the protocol was about searching every inch of someone's hair to ensure that they don't have eggs. it was frightening to think about searching each of his hairs. so....

we buzzed him...

he looks fabulous.

update on bekah...

2008-06-16T20:27:00.003-04:00

well, i went to see her at 630 this morning and she seemed good. we both cried a little but mainly because we were nervous. i left her and went to work. the doctors had told us that she would probably not be out of surgery at 1145 like the schedule read but she was. my dad called at 1151 saying that she was in recovery and that we could see her at 300. i walked in and our friend todd warned me about her state. he said that she was in a lot of pain and that she was swollen. she was...it was tough to see her suffering that way but with a little time and vicadin, she can't have IV meds because they would knock her out, she was able to calm down and talk a bit. she seemed ok for a few hours and then she started hurting again.

as for the procedure, they placed a shunt in her brain and removed part of her skull. she has a titanium plate in her head as a protector where they removed the skull bone. i can't believe that i don't have more details about the actual tumor removal. i'll let you know when i ask my dad later tonite. i completely forgot to ask.

feel free to call her cell and maybe come to visit. she should be a lot better tomorrow.....thanks for praying...it means the world to us...

pray hard...

2008-06-15T22:22:00.003-04:00

tomorrow is the big day. my little sister's brain surgery. for months we have been dealing with the awful tumor and tomorrow is going to be the end of all that. we are believing that

"through His stripes we were healed"

the amazing part of that scripture is that it's past tense. i believe that scripture for everyone who is "afflicted" with any kind of infirmity. but this is my sister!! i want facts, statistics, likelihoods, past experiences, everything that will give me hope! the doctors have been anything but definitive with her outcome. therefore, i must depend on her Creator. he has given me all of those things but yet i struggle with wanting to "see" what will happen and not depend on being certain of we don't see. i have never wanted control of something so bad in all of my life. for those of you who know me well, control is something i like to have most of the time. nothing has compared to this and knowing that my role is to surrender has been so difficult.

please pray all day tomorrow. we don't have a schedule for her surgery yet. it is all based on tests and that kind of stuff so just pray all day. thanks...

silver lining

2008-06-12T20:29:00.003-04:00

the time has come for bekah's surgery. on monday she will have a long day most of which will consist of a few tests. the details will be clear tomorrow. we are believing that a complete healing will take place. please pray for all of us but especially bekah that she will continue to be at peace during this weekend. it'll be a good one for her. she's spending time with her friends at idlewild and then sunday sasha turns 1 on sunday so we'll have a lot of family fun this week. her estimated rehab time is two weeks.

the silver lining....nina will stay with us during the time bek is in rehab.

idlewild park

2008-06-11T22:54:00.006-04:00

bekah wanted to have her birthday party at idlewild park. we had our family reunions at idlewild when we were growing up and it was fabulous. we thought maybe it would be lame since so much changes when you go back to a favorite childhood destination but it was FABULOUS!! we had a great day. everyone said it was one of their favorite days ever! wow...and for it to be bekah's birthday celebration was so much more exciting. it was like 84 degrees. really hot but the kids LOVED the day. the rides, the pool, everything was great. all three babes didn't nap but they were so well behaved and really appropriate. max was the perfect height to ride everything with us. i rode some rides..i know, i know....pregnant women not allowed to ride but i rode everything that didn't have a harness or would be rough. i rode the paratroopers, ferris wheel, that kind of stuff. it was so fun...i missed the rollercoasters and the tilt a whirl. i love that stuff...

sasha and daddy on the ferris wheel...

here is wells on a car that i rode when i was a little older than him. we are looking for the picture. he doesn't look happy but he cried every time the ride ended...it was really sad.

little darling sweetpea was nervous initially but when she saw that max was ok...she joined in

so fun...two steering wheels....those idlewild folks know kids

dang that centrifugal force....better him than her....

he's a fish just like his mama. we had to wrestle him out of the pool to get him to this kiddy play area. he really liked it but definitely preferred the pool. nina and sasha loved this play area...

"uncah topher is hoddin me"

he cried getting out of the pool but fell asleep sitting up in his wagon

she crashed as soon as her bum hit the stroller

she never crashed at all...so hilarious. tired but not grouchy...

If...

2008-06-07T19:31:00.003-04:00

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;

If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with wornout tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: 'Hold on!'

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;

If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run -
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man my son!

Rudyard Kipling