Are You There?

I know, I know... it's been a while. Trust me; we're still alive... we've just been super busy. With hope, I'll be posting pictures and such soon.
Thanks for hanging in there!

Our Official Web Site!

We officially have our website for Story Book Beginnings! Please feel free to check it out: www.shopstorybook.com !

Seven Months Old

Highlights and milestones this month include:

first plane trip (she did great!)

sitting without any support for a long time

picking up tiny objects

smiling at people all the time

mimicking faces

eating Gerber puffs and yogurt melts

splashing in the bath

sleeping through the night... well, most of the time

having an adorable personality!

Cleveland ROCKS!

One of my favorite places ever is Cleveland, Ohio. The Westside Market, Brown Bag Burger, Mitchell's, Rainbow Babies, and Playhouse Square. My favorite part of Cleveland? That would have to be this:

and this...

and this...

and this...
and this...

and this...

and this...

to see this...

and Peanut's first taste of lemon, resulting in this...

and this...

Thank you, Nate, Melissa, Sydney, Macey, and Porter for one of the best weeks of my life!

 

 

(Great pics, Melissa!)

Not pictured, but also highly enjoyed were:

Round Round Dance (well, all the dances!)

homemade hot fudge

vocabulary

Littlest Pet Shops

car shows

Nate's cooking

Melissa's cooking

Pizza night

Amy and Jill (and families)

giggling

snuggles

movies

TIVO

impromptu pary

fries

a giant white tail spotting/adventure

Really, the entire trip was fantastic. Thanks for a wonderful time!

Mega Christmas Boutique!

This is one you don't want to miss!

There will be my cute Story Book Beginnings stuff, Pampered Chef, Kate Johnson Photography, The Busy Bean, and The Christmas Kitchen Bakery. My fabulous friend of nearly 20 years is hosting it, and it promises to be tons of fun! Hope to see you there!

Noah's Ark

This picture has been borrowed from the following site: http://www.muralsforkids.com/images/NoahsArk.jpg

Noah's Ark   

Everything I need to know, I learned from Noah's Ark .
ONE: Don't miss the boat.
TWO: Remember that we are all in the same boat!
THREE: Plan ahead. It wasn't raining when Noah built the Ark.
FOUR: Stay fit. When you're 60 years old, someone may ask you to do something really big.
FIVE: Don't listen to critics; just get on with the job that needs to be done.
SIX: Build your future on high ground.
SEVEN: For safety's sake, travel in pairs.
EIGHT: Speed isn't always an advantage. The snails were on board with the cheetahs.
NINE: When you're stressed, float awhile.
TEN: Remember, the Ark was built by amateurs; the Titanic by professionals.
ELEVEN: No matter the storm, when you are with God, there's always a rainbow waiting.

Club House

This past weekend my sweetheart and darling big kids finished the club house!
What do you think?

Story Book Beginnings

As many of you know, I have started my own business called "Story Book Beginnings". It's blog, although a work in progress, is now up. I'd love for you to check it out!

A Wise Investment

Perhaps the best investment we've made in a long time, Peanut's walker is a life saver; I can occasionally convince her she doesn't have to be held all the time. Yeah, $40 well spent!

Turning Over A New Leaf

I spent most my pregnancy with Peanut rather sick. As an unfriendly result, I was in bed a lot. I lost a lot of muscle tone, strength, and stamina while gaining weight, fat, and bad habits. Don't get me wrong: I am so thankful for our little blessing, I just need to get back in shape.

Perhaps the most frustrating thing about it is that last year, I finally lost most of the pre-babies weight I had gained over the past 13 years. I am confident I can do this again.

Thus being said, I gave myself six months to completely heal from the c-section... which was up yesterday. Today, I hit the treadmill for the first time. Although it totally kicked my rear, it felt great to exercise! Between the treadmill, teaching ballet, and stretching, I feel pretty good. Pilates will start up tomorrow. *sigh* It's going to be a long road, but I look forward to being in shape again!

Six Months Old...

...and just as sweet as can be!

Milestones for Six Months:
grabs or reaches for whatever she wants (especially my plate)
looks behind herself
tries to crawl off laps
says "hi" and "yeah"
sleeps through the night! (knock on wood...)
eats squash, peas, peaches, applesauce, bananas, and rice cereal (does not like sweet potatoes)
has preferences on toys
leans to whomever she wants
pets the dogs

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

Today is my sweetheart's 35th Birthday! He is such a fantastic husband, father, daddy, friend, son, brother, brother-in-law, and neighbor. I love him more than words can say; he just gets better with age! (I've included some of my favorite pictures of him over the past year... enjoy!)

My top 35 favorite things about him are (in no particular order):

1. His eyes. *melt, melt, melt*

2. His smile. *melt, melt, melt*

3. His sense of humor. I tell you, this man is freakin' hilarious!

4. He is a really hard worker. Whether he's building a playhouse, making bbq burgers, or crunching numbers at work, he gives the job 100%.

5. His strong hands. Hubba, hubba!

6. He is the best dad ever! All four kids simply adore him. He spends time with them every day; they know how loved they are.

7. My sweetie loves me. He is fearcely protective of me, and I like it.

8. He is tall; this may be a superficial thing, but I love how it feels to snuggle up to my tall man and look into those gorgeous eyes.

9. I love his silly faces. Sometimes I act irritated by his goofly looks, but really I love it!
10. He makes his family first priority all the time. Period.

11. He loves unconditionally.
12. He is very forgiving. This is saying a lot, because apparently, I'm pretty tough to live with.

13. His sense of style. What a good looking man!
14. My honey is super smart. He is almost finished with his bachelor's degree and has a 3.9 grade point average!

15. He is a fantastic example: it wasn't easy for him to go back to school, but he did it and is nearly done!
16. He is super duper supportive of what I want to do. He never complains about watching the kids when I teach, rehearse, play with my friends, etc. What a trooper!

17. My sweetie is patient. There are so many times I am on the verge of flying off the handle and he calms things down and works things out peacefully. Our kids are extra thankful for this!

18. He is frugal. The only reason we have what we do is because he's so good about balancing what we've got.
19. My honey can sing! (He just doesn't want you to know it.)
20. He loves his parents and siblings and the rest of his side of the family.

21. He love my side of the family, too!

22. He is very generous. He has a huge heart and is super generous about giving to those who really need it.
23. He is great with kids, dogs, etc. You know that means he's genuine! Kids and dogs can tell...

24. I love that he contributes with Peanut. He's been great, especially lately, about getting up with her at night, changing diapers when he's home, feeding her, playing with her, etc. It's so nice!
25. He has great taste in home decorating. I love the styles and color combinations he puts together.

26. He is a brilliant artist! (Have you seen his paintings?)
27. He is a great cook. You know you're super lucky if you've enjoyed one of his famous burgers!

28. I love that he's passionate about fishing. Having a hobby is so great!

29. He is humble. It would be really easy to be prideful when you're so great, but he isn't!
30. He is close to the Lord.
31. He is a great listener.
32. My honey has a great wealth of knowledge about horticulture. He can prune trees to maximize production, get just about anything to grow, and has the greenest thumb of anyone I know!

33. Although we have moved a lot, he always makes friends wherever he goes. He is so likeable!
34. His ability to find out exactly what I want and making it happen.
35. He is the best husband any one could hope for, and he picked me.

I love you, Sweetheart! Happy Birthday!

Laughing

 

 

 

 

 

 

Halloween 2009

Halloween has always been one of our family's favorite holidays; we love dressing up, trick or treating, going to traditional Trunk-or-Treats, and parties. This year was no exception.

Dot was a witch:

  Yakko was General Kenobi:

 

 

Wakko was General Robert E. Lee:

 

 

and Peanut was the Sugar Pumpkin Fairy:

 

Daddy was a good sport and let me draw a lightening bolt on his forehead so he could be Harry Potter. We had lots of fun at all the festivities this year!