First Dance Recital

Our little lady had her first dance recital on June 7th. She did such a good job. She was enrolled at the The Dance Workshop this year and had her recital at the Rialto in Joliet. She loved dance and loved her class. The class was a combo ballet/tap class but, her recital number was only to ballet ....Broadway Baby. She loved being the star that day and showing off everything she learned to her family....such a big girl!!!!

Starting an exciting journey...

As most of our family and close friends now know, we have begun our adoption journey. We are excited and overjoyed to bring a little boy into our family. It seems so surreal. I'm having a hard time accepting the fact that after all the discussions, research, and prayers for guidance.....we are actually in the midst of "the process". So excited!!!! We will keep this updated both for our memories and to someday show our little boy the journey the three of us experienced to bring him home to us.

In other news, our sweet G had her tonsils out on May 4th. She was such a brave little girl. I was so nervous leading up to the surgery. No mother wants to see their child in pain and I was imaging her being in this excruciating pain and refusing to eat. But, her recovery was nothing like that. She had mushy food for about a week and lots of Popsicles but, is now pretty much back to her regular diet. I had heard stories of how difficult it was to watch a child come out of anesthesia. I must admit that day overall was the most difficult. She was sick and "loopy" (as the doctors call it) but, really nowhere near as bad as I expected. The nurses advised us to keep her from running, jumping and screaming for a full 14 days. She has been feeling really good and hardly complains of throat pain anymore. The hardest part has been trying to keep her from playing and screaming. I must admit I am failing at that one but, who can complain. I'm so glad she's feeling better and looking forward to day 14 when she's in the all clear.

We also are anticipating the arrival of a new cousin for Gracie in November. We are so ecstatic that Uncle M and Aunt A are expecting their first child. Yippee!

Holidays 2008

The last months of 2008 were busy and exciting.

The Holidays started out with Thanksgiving at our place. KJ planned a fishing trip with M O. They were to leave the Friday after Thanksgiving at 4AM........(Yeah, I know...4am in the Cold Cold weather). Anyways, we figured since he would be heading out so early it would be a good idea to host here, instead of traveling someplace else. My mom (aka Neena) helped me do most of the cooking. We had a nice full table including lots of family. It turned out to be a wonderful night.

G received some dress up clothes from her buddy Logan earlier in the day. She became totally attached to the full Tinkerbell costume and decided to wear it all day including, during Thanksgiving dinner. You can do that when your almost 4 :-)

We were excited for G's first Christmas progam at school. As you can see for yourself, our little princess looked beautiful in her red dress. She performed like such a big girl up on the stage with all the other preschoolers.

G was all about Christmas this year. She was so anxious for the big guy in the Red Suit to bring her presents. She specifically asked for a ballet bag and clothes for her American Girl doll, Julie. We started our Christmas celebration at M&A's the Saturday before. M &A headed to Iowa for Christmas eve and Christmas day. For our celebration at their house, A made us a delicious dinner. As usual, she whipped us some unique and very tasty dishes. We spent the evening laughing, eating and opening gifts.

On Christmas Eve, we headed up to Grammy's for dinner. This was a particularly exciting night for G because Santa himself showed up after dinner. He brought the girls each a gift. As most of you know, for the past two years, G has wanted nothing to do with Santa. Well, she isn't terrified of the big guy anymore but, she chooses to keep her distance. She stuck close to mommy but, was glad to take her gift. The night was good and very festive. We loved spending it with Grammy and family.

The year ended with a big change for our family. KJmade another career move. We are so proud of Daddy and how he takes care of us ;-)

G's 4th Birthday Party

Yes, G turned 4 this December 13th. It's just crazy to me, 4 sounds so grown up. Not a toddler, far from a baby, but, 4 years old!!! She was very excited to invite family and friends over to celebrate with her on her actual Birthday day, which fell on a Saturday this year. We were trying to think of a theme or something a little "fun" to celebrate with. She suggested a PINK party. Of course, that's a great idea. It's easy to decorate and lots of fun for her. As it came time to create invitations, we decided to change it to a PINK and RED party so the boys wouldn't feel obligated to wear pink (even though daddy did). We all had a wonderful time celebrating with Family, Friends and Neighbors, a Tinkerbell cake, plenty of gifts, and most importantly tons of fun. It was a great and special day for our sweet 4 year old.

G's first, second and third Birthdays :-)

Siesta Key, Florida

In the beginning of November we took our annual 7 day trip to Siesta Key, Florida with K's family. K's dad and stepmom spend two weeks there each November. We've gone to stay with them every year since G was born and each year seems to be more fun for her. This year was the first year she swam on her own. She wore a swimming vest and floaties but, was off kicking and splashing all by herself. She even put her face all the way in the water all alone. This is a big deal for an almost 4 year old! This year was especially fun for her because she not only had her cousin A (who was there last year with her), she also had her cousins there too. We had beautiful weather and got to spend a lot of time on the Beach and in the pool. Can't wait for next year! (it's 4 below outside today)

Halloween 2008

So, Halloween is already over and it's November. This year G had her heart set on being Tinkerbell, which I thought was a great idea. However, I was hoping for something a little more original. Tinkerbell is very popular right now. A couple of weeks before Halloween, we headed to Michael's (store) to pick up some wings. She noticed some white bunny ears and just like that dropped the Tinkerbell idea and decided to be a bunny. I loved that idea. So we bought a white shirt, white pants and made a carrot. Nice and easy. G's Halloween party at School was the Tuesday before ..( I've included some pics of the preschool parade). I was a room mom. The party was fun and G had a blast. On the actual day of Halloween, G got all dressed and seemed pretty excited to go Trick or Treating, until a little boy in a "Jason type" mask showed up at the door. That was the end of Gracie's excitement. She ran upstairs and wouldn't come down until trick or treating was over. She is not a fan of masks. Oh well, there's always next year.

I've included pics from Halloween 2005,2006,2007 and this year.

Annual Bonfire

As you most of you know, my mom and Ern have a bonfire/family gathering every October (10/11/08). This year the weather was perfect and the family turnout was great. There was a ton of food, lots of friends and family and as usual a huge fire. We had a blast eating, catching up with everyone and enjoying being outside before the cold arrives for the season. Here the only picture from that night that I could get uploaded. Thanks to Greg and Rach. (I forgot my camera)