Christmas Picture 2009

I know it ruins the surprise for those who will receive a Christmas card from us, but I was just too excited about this picture not to share it. I can't believe how big they all look, not to mention the fact that they're all smiling! ♥

Jackson's Thanksgiving Letter

Jacks and his classmates all wrote Thanksgiving letters to their parents about the things they are thankful for, and I just had to share his.

You never know how much kids remember or appreciate, but Jackson's list really surprised and moved me. The best part is knowing that he notices even the tiny little things we do every day as part of our "job"...how amazing to be thanked for that! ♥

So here it is, just as he wrote it:

Dear Mom and Dad,
As Thanksgiving Day approaches, I would like to tell you about the things for which I am thankful. When you gave birth to me, I bet it hurt. When you took me to Chucky Cheese and Six Flags, that was fun! When you taught me how to play baseball and basketball. Thank you for giving me food, clothes and shelter. Thank for teaching me how to read, draw and write. Thank you for giving me brothers to play with. When you teach me the good way when I do something bad. Thanks for keeping me safe on my bike. Thanks for reading to me almost every night. I like to play baseball with you mom. And dad, I like to play basketball with you. When my lung colapsed, you stayed at the hospital and never left. When I had pink eye you gave me eye drops and whatever I wanted. I love all the toys you bought for me like legos and cars. I love you both up to the sky and down again. You are the best chefs in the world. You are number 1 and your the best. You are the best parents in the world. I hope you will be alive intill Im in college. Or older.

Love and cuddles,
Jackson

He also made an Acrostic poem with the word Thanksgiving.

The best cousin Quinn
Henry my cousin
Aunt Jessica
Nothing better than Aunt Emily
Kind mother
Sweet brothers
Grandad
Incredible dad
Very freindly Dulci the Dog
Intellagant grandfather Pop
Nice Aunt Rachel
Great Grandma

************

I am so thankful for this amazing little man. He is growing up before our eyes, and he impresses us daily with his intelligence, sweetness and good heart. ♥

And I hope I'm alive until he's way past college. LOL

High Five!

Cody's 5th birthday was a big success! We celebrated with a family party on Friday night, his official birthday (yep, Friday the 13th!).

Cody is obsessed with all things Iron Man lately. He was Iron Man for Halloween, picked out a special Iron Man shirt from Old Navy as a birthday present and ordered an Iron Man cake from the Walmart bakery (I know, how oogy to get a cake from Walmart...but man, they are GOOD!) for his big birthday party.

So I attempted to make him an Iron Man cake for his party at home. Ha! Making maroon icing is hard! But we even added in yellow sprinkles to be like the light in the middle of Iron Man's chest.

So the icing was perhaps a bit pinker than he might have hoped, but I think he got a kick out of it.

Then on Saturday, we headed over to Pump it Up (an inside bounce-house party place) for Cody's official party. He and about 10 of his friends ran around like crazy people, climbing, sliding and bouncing their little heads off!

Cody had so much fun that before too long, he was bright red and drenched in sweat.


Here's Cody with his best buddy, Trevor.


He and Trev are pretty inseparable. Cowabunga Dudes!


Luke loves these ginormous slides. He climbs all the way to the top himself and goes down on his belly. I start breathing again each time he makes it to the bottom smiling. :)


And here is the "official" Iron Man cake!


Though Cody himself has changed in countless ways over the last 3 years, his reaction to seeing his birthday cake hasn't changed all that much at all. Compare this year's:


...to this one from his 2nd birthday party.


Cody had lots of help blowing out the candles. (Is Trevor blowing on Cody or the candles, here? LOL)


Luke enjoyed the yummy cake, too.


Did I mention how red and sweaty the boys got from bouncing? Well, take a look at Jackson with his best buddy, Tyler. He played HARD!


Overall, it was a great party and I think Cody really had a lot of fun.

And still, I'm asking myself....how can he be 5 already? How is that possible? WOW!!!

Happy Birthday Codybear! We love you!

Hey Batter Batter Batter!

This fall, Jackson played his second season of baseball. He has really enjoyed being on the Orioles and playing with this group of boys.

Let me be honest. Baseball isn't really Jackson's sport. He hasn't yet gotten a hit during a game this season, and he still isn't entirely clear on all the rules.

But he tries! Man, does he try! Look at the effort and concentration here. Pursed lips and everything.


And this is my favorite one. How awesome is this? He's ready to smack that ball into the middle of next week! (He didn't, but he REALLY wanted to.)


Each player got a chance to try every position in each game, and I think Jackson most enjoyed playing pitcher (though this league is coach-pitch, so playing pitcher basically means you cover the pitcher's mound once the ball is hit). But here are a few shots of him in the outfield.


I just keep going back to this one, though. You know those motivational posters? I'd like to use this picture to make one with the word PERSEVERANCE. The kid doesn't quit.


And that makes us pretty darn proud. :)

(all photos courtesy of one of the Orioles team moms...thank you, Lisa!)

Jackson's 2nd Grade Picture

Dear Brunck's Photography,

How did you manage to make my 7 yr-old look so much bigger and older than he really is (at least, than he is in my head)? Please refrain from such age fast-forwarding in the future.

Love, Me

Wordless Wednesday

Cody's School Halloween Party

I got to spend the morning in Cody's classroom a few weeks ago, helping out with their Halloween party. We made spider sandwiches out of Ritz crackers and peanut butter with pretzel sticks for legs, carved a pumpkin, and decorated spooky cookies with candy corn for fangs. I even got to tag along with the kids to Spanish class. I really enjoyed seeing Cody interacting with his friends and teachers, and it was nice to spend time focusing on just him with no big or little brothers around. ;)

Birthday Portraits

Here are Luke's 2-year portraits and Cody's 5-year portraits. Once again, our family friend, Chera, did a fantastic job!

November Challenge

Willie Nelson said, "When I started to count my blessings, my whole life turned around."

In this month of Thanksgiving, Jackson, Cody and I are going to challenge ourselves to be thankful for all that we have and for how lucky we are. I thought it would be interesting to count our blessings every day and see how varied our lists turn out to be.

We'll come back every day to add a new blessing for which we are thankful.

Jackson is thankful for:

Nov. 1: food and water, because if we didn't have them, we wouldn't be able to live.

Nov. 2: shelter, because it keeps you warm and it has air-conditioning when it's hot.

Nov. 3: clothing, because otherwise you'd be naked.

Nov. 4: freedom and justice.

Nov. 5: trees so we can breathe.

Nov. 6: Christmas, because you get presents.

Nov. 7: baseball, because you get the throw the ball and catch the ball and it makes you feel good.

Nov. 8: Legos, because you can build it and take it apart and then build a new thing.

Nov. 9: Spongebob Squarepants because it makes you laugh.

Nov. 10: spaghetti noodles because they're good and tasty.

Nov. 11: having a friend over to play.

Nov. 12: playing at the park.

Nov. 13: our new basketball hoop.

Nov. 14: my dog, Dulci.

Nov. 15: winter.

Nov. 16: cars so we have a way to get where we need to go.

Nov. 17: Gramma and Grandad.

Nov. 18: Luke.

Nov. 19: Mommy.

Nov. 20: Daddy.

Nov. 21: Cody.

Nov. 22: my 2 hits in the baseball game today.

Nov. 23: chocolate chip cookies.

Cody is thankful for:

Nov. 1: FJ's, Corvettes, Porsches, Camaros, Z's, Ferraris and Mustangs, 'cept those are my favorite cars.

Nov. 2: candy corn, 'cept that's kind of delicious.

Nov. 3: bounce houses, 'cept they're bouncy and you get to go sliding down.

Nov. 4: cows, 'cept they make milk.

Nov. 5: applesauce, 'cept it's good.

Nov. 6: teepees, 'cept they're awesome.

Nov. 7: Pei Wei, 'cept it has honey chicken.

Nov. 8: bouncing a ball and catching it with my very own hand.

Nov. 9: Thanksgiving food like mashed potatoes and turkey 'cept it's so good.

Nov. 10: my Spiderman blanket from Christmas 'cept it keeps me warm.

Nov. 11: the Hamster Dance song, 'cept it's cool and makes me dance.

Nov. 12: my new camo shoes with 3 straps for school tomorrow on my birthday.

Nov. 13: my Iron Man guy.

Nov. 14: my birthday party.

Nov. 15: my drum lesson. Playing the cymbals was LOUD!

Nov. 16: Daddy 'cept I love him.

Nov. 17: Motrin when my head hurts.

Nov. 18: Mommy, 'cept I love her.

Nov. 19: books, 'cept I like reading Goldilicious but I don't know the words.

Nov. 20: Gramma and Grandad.

Nov. 21: bowling, 'cept there was a ramp to help me.

Nov. 22: pigs.

Nov. 23: my cool dragon belt.

Meg is thankful for:

Nov. 1: a much-needed mother's night out with a good friend which totally recharged me and helped me come back to being a mommy with that much more enthusiasm.

Nov. 2: my baby, Lucas, whose arrival 2 years ago today completed our family and who, as the youngest, has helped me relax into motherhood and fully enjoy it. Love you, Lukey!

Nov. 3: the sun and beautiful fall weather which encourage us to spend much of our time outside, burn off that energy and get some good exercise so we can sleep that much better at night.

Nov. 4: the wonderful teachers at both our preschool and elementary school who educate my boys with kindness, humor and love, and thanks to whom all 3 of my boys (yes, even Luke!) enjoy going to school every day.

Nov. 5: the amazing doctors and nurses who have provided superior medical care to Cody since his brain tumor diagnosis 3 years ago and who have worked with us to protect his health.

Nov. 6: my salary, paid in monster hugs and sweet, sloppy, wet kisses that cure what's ailin' ya'.

Nov. 7: my parents, who have always let me be myself and shown me love and support even when our opinions differ, and who I am now lucky enough to call my friends. Love you, Mom and Dad!

Nov. 8: books, which give me a fun escape from every-day life.

Nov. 9: music because the right song can always change your perspective. So can bootie-shaking with a trio of little boys.

Nov. 10: my husband: my best friend and the smartest person I know, who encourages me to be brave, be silly and be me. And who, after almost 10 years of marriage, still brings me surprise presents like a home-made Christmas music mix CD. ♥ Love you, Lovey!

Nov. 11: the fact that Cody's most-recent MRI results begin with the word "stable." He is now 3 years post-surgery without recurrence or further problems, and his continued good health is a blessing to all of us.

Nov. 12: my oldest little guy, Jackson, who is not even a little little anymore, and who wows me daily with his smarts, his sweetness, and yes, even his sass. Plus, he's the best big brother in the world. Love you, Jacks!

Nov. 13: my Codybear (5 years old today!), whose sweet and mischievous smile always brightens even the yuckiest day, and even though his frequent Eeyore imitations might lead you to think otherwise, he is the happy, thoughtful and loving heart of our family. Love you, Codes!

Nov. 14: yellow cake from a box covered in chocolate frosting from a can. Cake made from scratch? From a fancy French bakery or a gourmet grocery store? No thanks. For me, Betty Crocker makes the best birthday cake EVER. Yummy!

Nov. 15: our new basketball hoop, which we have all enjoyed so much as a family in just the one day we have had it, and the Dallas Mavericks, for getting us so excited about basketball!

Nov. 16: my sister, who has always understood me even when I don't understand myself, has loved me even when I'm stealing the last donut or getting her in trouble for scribbling on a computer keyboard, and with whom I can giggle over ridiculous nothings until there's no tomorrow. Love you, Kate!

Nov. 17: our house because it is truly our home, not just a place where we live. I'm not sure we entirely understood the difference until our move to D.C., but now we know that this is where we belong.

Nov. 18: Festive Vanilla Fig, a new winter flavor from Bath and Body Works. It's spicy and sweet at the same time, puts me in mind of snuggling up in front of a roaring fire with a warm mug of something tasty, and smelling it makes me so excited that the holiday season is here!

Nov. 19: my fellow moms (including my own!), from whom I have learned so much about motherhood and the type of mom I want to be. It's always nice to know you're not alone and that there are others who are going through exactly what you are (or have gone through it before and survived, that's almost better!), and I'm so grateful for the understanding and support!

Nov. 20:

Nov. 21: family time, when all 5 of us do something together and really get a chance to enjoy each other's company (like when we went bowling this morning!).

Nov. 22: the absolute joy and well-deserved pride on Jackson's face when he got not one but TWO hits in today's baseball game and not one but TWO guys out when he was playing first base. WTG Jacks!

Nov. 23: a working dryer. With 4 men in the house, I do laundry every day and I can't live without my washing machine and dryer!

Hope everyone has a blessed month! :)

Happy 2nd Birthday Luke!

It is so hard for me to believe that our baby is 2! The time has flown by, but at the same time, we can barely remember what life was like before he came into our family and made it complete.

It was 2 years ago when we first saw this little face.


And now, we get to see all number of wonderful faces from our littlest man.


Luke woke up pretty happily this morning.


But he got REALLY excited when I reminded him it was his birthday. (This is SUCH an Anthony face, it kills me! Wow!)


Luke was very pleased with his birthday hat, and he was especially proud of his little blinking "I'm the Birthday Boy" button.


But aside from those special accessories, it was a pretty normal day of dropping off and picking up big brothers at school, errands, and playing...until after dinner. That's when the PARTY began!

He picked out this monkey cake at the store yesterday, and he could not wait to eat it. He couldn't understand why we didn't have it at breakfast (and lunch, and snack, and...you get the idea!).


Here he is blowing out his candles, with a little help from Daddy!


Can you tell they're just barely putting up with me for one more picture...they want CAKE!


Luke couldn't wait to dig in. It sure looked tasty!


He tried to get as much of the cake IN his mouth as was possible, but considering the size of the piece on his fork, it was a challenge!


Hmmm, think he liked it? ;)


After cake, Luke opened up a few presents. He really loved these clear Legos from Ma and Pop!


And Aunt Beth, since opening the package containing "Little Gorilla" (about an hour ago) we have read it no less than 5 times. It's a favorite already!

Happy Birthday Lukey! We love you, peanut!