Ty's 2nd Birthday

So, Ty turns two today. I'm very excited about this. He spent last night in his new big boy bed. We have finally taken him out of the crib (our aching backs) and moved him into a modified version of a bunk bed. It's actually just one bed that sits on the floor right now until we can trust that Ty is ready for us to raise the bed up on the two side units. I'm thinking this will take about the next 10 years for me to be comfortable with.


My daughter is the sweetest thing. Last night, she asked Rick and I if she could sleep in Ty's room in her sleeping bag. She wanted to spend his last night of being "one" with him. I cried. She was so sweet. Then this morning, she came into our bedroom and was in tears. She explained that Ty was awake and that he was still "one." We tried to explain to her that no, in fact, Ty was two today. She looked at us like we were off our rockers. So after Rick left for work, she still seemed worried. I asked her what was wrong. She then explained that he was still the SAME SIZE. I had to laugh. I guess she was expecting for Ty to morph into some super big kid overnight. Hence the reason she wanted to sleep in his room, she wanted to be a witness to this phenomenon that would not take place. The things that this girl comes up with. GOTTA LOVE HER!!!

Emily told Rick as he was leaving for work this morning that she was sorry that he wasn't going to be home to celebrate Ty's birthday with us. Rick then explained to her that he would be home this evening (as usual) to celebrate this big event. Emily looked at him in utter amazement, like I have to WAIT UNTIL THIS EVENING?

The kids and I came downstairs to begin our morning ritual of cartoons and breakfast. When breakfast was through, Emily asked for an ice cream cup. I had to explain for the millionth time that we do not have ice cream for breakfast. "Oh man," was her comment. So we hurried through the remaining of our morning (except for getting the kids dressed) so that Ty and Emily could help make birthday cupcakes. Once the cupcakes were done baking, Emily again asked for an ice cream cup, and was again turned down. She was so disappointed. Ty had a blast making the cupcakes and his sister just couldn't wait for the end result. So once the cupcakes were out of the oven, and she finished with her lunch, she got to have a cupcake, but still no ice cream. NO WORRIES, she'll

get her ice cream this evening.

So after a much needed bath, Emily helped Ty open up some bday gifts. I'm still not sure who had more fun.

Freaky Weather

Our daddy is goofy.

Spring time is upon us. It's funny to think that it can snow and rain both at the same time. We had gone out to dinner with a group of friends. When we arrived home, Rick shoveled the walk and then went to the backyard and built a snowman for the kiddos. Emily and Ty had fun watching him from the kitchen window. When he came back inside, he was inspecting his work of art. We soon realized that "Jack Frost's" head was sliding off of his body (due to the rain and snow that was still falling). So he ran back outside to fix it (with no coat). The kids were relieved.

We are so ready for Spring. Emily and I started our garden in one of those green house boxes. It has really taken off. We are just waiting for Rick to get the grass cleared and some soil down so that my daughter and I can get to our gardening. We are hoping that this vegatable garden does as well as my crazy tomato plant did last year. I'll keep you posted.

Gearing up for Ty's 2nd B-Day

We are getting ready to celebrate Ty's 2nd birthday. We are having him a Spider-Man themed party. He actually picked out the Spider-Man idea. We were walking through the store and came across the pinatas. Ty picked up Spider-Man and said "mine." There you have it. I couldn't pry the darn thing from his hands. My mom suggested that I buy an identical pinata, because she thinks Ty will be upset when Spidey is broky. I'm still trying to decide if I REALLY want a giant Spider-Man head and torso invading my family room for the next month or year. I'll keep you posted.

We are going to celebrate this day with family and a few friends. Ty is getting so BIG. It's hard to believe that my little guy is almost 2 years old. It could be because is size doesn't dictate his age. I cannot believe how fast he has grown. He is wearing 5T shirts and 4T bottoms. Who knows where his size comes from???? My little guy is growing so fast. He has so many words in his vocabulary. IT'S AMAZING that they grow so fast.

Emily is distraught over the fact that Ty's BDay comes before hers. She's older she explains, therefore her BDay should be first. I don't know how to explain to her that just because she's older doesn't mean that her birthday should come first. Any suggestions?

Easter Weekend

The day before Easter, Emily started her 2nd round of ice skating lessons. She has improved greatly from the very first time she tried. I might just have a little figure skater one day.

Anyway, that same Saturday, we had my mom, sister, Anthony and Mirinda over for the day. We dyed Easter eggs, chatted, ate and drank. It was a GREAT TIME. So for Easter Sunday, everybody came back over plus Jake and Lacey.

Rick deep fried a turkey, smoked a ham and smoke some beef tips. My husband, the chef. He did a great job. I love you, honey. All of the other food that I, mom and Mirinda made was delicious.

We spent the day, exchanging Easter Baskets for the kids. Thanks, Uncle Anthony, Auntie Mirinda and Jordan for the Easter Boxes. We love our new cups, they go everywhere with us.

Cousins, Jake and Lacey, thank you for the Easter Bags, Emily's been wearing her sunglasses every day and Ty has gone through a ton of bubbles already.

Nonny, papa and Acka, Emily loves the Jacks (Ty, too). Ty loves his new hot wheel cars.


WHAT A GREAT HOLIDAY.

Pre Easter

The week before Easter, I spent the entire day in the kitchen. I learned to bake bread from scratch. Never mind the fact that I was on the phone the entire day with my mom. She was on the other end boosting my confidence in this new endeavor. My bread came out just OK. I hope to have better luck next time.

Emily and Ty also dyed Easter Eggs because Em saw the box of egg dye in the pantry. She JUST HAD to dye the eggs. So I figured since were already hard at it, why not bake some cookies.

Ensenada, Mexico

So the 2nd half of Spring Break, Rick and I ditched the kids. We left them with Nonny and Papa and Acka (Ty's name for Becca). Thank you mom and dad and B for keeping our precious gems. My mom insisted that Rick and I drop Em and Ty off with them on Wednesday night so that we wouldn't have to rouse them out of bed at an ungodly hour.

We were so excited to leave DIA as the snow just really started falling. We missed the blizzard that you all were stuck in. We actually had several friends calling us that morning wishing us well on our trip and were praying that we were going to be able to get out before the snow.

We landed in San Diego on Thursday morning and found our way to the port. I literally gasped. It was soooo exciting to see the Carnival Elation cruise ship just sitting there waiting for us to board. We also got to see several navy ships. That was pretty cool to see them up that close. And just be so in awe of some the history that has taken place on some of those carriers.




We had an absolute blast with our friends Wally and Michelle. We relaxed, ate, gambled, saw several shows and relaxed some more. Oh we drank too (just a little).

When we got into port in we de-boarded for our day in Ensenada. We drove through town to get to the La Bufadora (Buffalo Snore). It was this natural blow hole that was beautiful to see.

We made our way through a flea market and made several purchases and stopped for lunch and tried fish tacos for the first time. I must say they were delicious along side a nice cold mexican beer.


Later that afternoon we found ourselves in this wine warehouse for the oldest vineyard in Mexico. Of course I had to sample the wine. I will have to say that I am now a fan of port. It was Yum-O. Rick really is not a wine connoisseur. As you can tell, he did not have as much fun with this part of our day as I did.





Again, later that same afternoon, we visited downtown Ensenada. We found ourselves a nice little outdoor table at this restaurant and enjoyed several more ice cold mexican beers before we had to make our way back to port to get back on the Elation.


We got to spend an entire day "at sea!" What a relaxing trip. I absolutely treasured all the time I got to spend with my fabulous husband. It's not very often that we get to have moments like this. (Thanks again, mom and dad, B too).



BACK TO REALITY!!!

Spring Break

We started Emily's first Spring Break with a trip to Indiana to see Rick's family and some friends. We had a great time. We spent every afternoon outside with the kiddos. It was hysterical watching Emily, Tyler and Brennon play together. They had a blast together. They played badmitton, rode on Brennon's four-wheeler and played with bubbles. Each night they all just collapsed into a pile of tired mush.

Oh did they have fun with the bubbles. We went through about 6 bottles of bubbles. There were more that were spilled than there were blown.

One afternoon of our vacation, Rick drove us to Carrollton, Kentucky. He was actually surprised to see how it has changed SOME. I think he enjoyed his trip down memory lane. After his trip, he drove us to Clifty State Park. There we did some hiking to see some various waterfalls and caves. The kids actually believed Rick when he told them that wild bears lived in them there caves (Rick's language, not mine). After our hike, we went to the playground and goofed around. What a GREAT AFTERNOON.




















It is funny to watch Emily get braver by the day. All this is thanks to her little brother.

Thanks Grandma, we had a great time visiting you. We hope to see you in June for your Birthday.