tis the season...

on tuesday the 22nd we started the TREK out to st louis to celebrate christmas with the banocy gang. the trip out there was pretty long...especially since it started out with a bunch of traffic...took us 3 hours to get to frederick, md, which normally takes about 45 mins-1 hour! when we got to frederick, we stopped at cracker barrel for dinner. seeing as the kids had each eaten a HUGE snack while sitting in the 3 hours of traffic (only way to keep 'em quiet!), neither of them ate much of their dinner. andrew was also a bit too excited about taking a stroll the good ol' country store...hoping we'd buy him something. of course, the usual fit ensued when we said we weren't buying anything. the best part though, was that we then had to listen to the fit of crying once we got back in the car. must i remind you, we still had a LONG way to go before getting to stl. many movies, diaper changes and cups of coffee later, we reached our destination. it took about 17 1/2 hours...of which jacob slept about 2 and andrew maybe slept 4. WAHOO...we were there though!!!

we took it easy the first day, trying to recover from the drive. i was happy to see everyone, and SO super excited to see jodi, derek's sister, since she was about to pop out her baby any day. she looked great...and was definitely ready to have that baby!!! while jacob put up a bit of a fight at bedtime, andrew proved to us that he was exhausted, when he ASKED us if he could please go to bed. i don't think that has ever happened with andrew! the next day was christmas eve, which is always spent with the extended banocy family. the kids had a blast playing together and it was nice to have a chance to catch up with people we tend to only see once a year. of course, the wine and cookies were a nice addition too :)

on christmas morning we slept in a bit...still recovering from the drive i presume. dorothy was the angel of the morning...having coffee and breakfast ready when we woke up! now that's what i'm talking about!!! jodi, jason and amelia came over a little while later and we opened presents together. it was a lot of fun to watch the kids and their expressions when they opened each gift. (especially jacob - since he could actually open them this year!)

the rest of the week was spent relaxing, reading, decorating cookies, attempting a gingerbread house, watching movies, playing plenty of legos & wii...and most importantly, waiting for baby pom pom to arrive! (btw...baby pom pom is the name amelia gave the baby in her mommy's belly...so cute!)






when the baby hadn't arrived by tuesday, i decided it was time to take jodi in for a pedicure...maybe those people could massage the right part of her foot and move this along! knowing that jodi would be induced the next day, we got our pedicures and then jodi, jason, derek and i went out for what would be jodi's last supper, as a mom of one child! jodi was induced the next morning, and baby pom pom...oops...i mean, henry oliver ward, was born on wednesday, december 30th at 6:22pm. YIPPEE...i finally have a nephew!!! not that i don't adore my nieces, of course. i'm just thrilled that andrew & jacob will have a boy cousin to grow up with!!!

as soon as we left the hospital thursday night, dorothy and i went shopping for henry. i just couldn't wait!!! we then decided to stay one more day...heck, we'd stayed this long...and spend a little more time with the newest member of our family. we stopped at the hospital on our way out of stl to give more h&k to the ward family...and then we were off.

thankfully, our ride home only took 14 hours :) we spent new year's eve on I-70 and got home around 4:30am on january 1, 2010.

it was a great trip, made even greater with the birth of our newest nephew, henry!

i can't finish this post without telling everyone that jacob said "papa" and "gg" while we were there. it was really cute to hear him say both! but...the best was when he would say "mia"...for amelia! TOO CUTE!!!

here's hoping everyone has a great 2010...filled with much success in whatever you choose to do and lots of laughter along the way!

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pumpkin shortage...are they serious?!?!

over the summer months, i heard numerous reports that people should expect a shortage of pumpkins this year. it seems to me that these predictions were incorrect...as i am seeing plenty o' pumpkins everywhere! today, in the 75 degree sunshine, the boys and i made our way to our local farmer's market for what would be our annual trip to the pumpkin patch. i was SO delighted with their cooperation in taking pictures, that i went a bit crazy with the camera. by the time we left, jacob was walking to the car, repeating "cheese, cheese." we had a great time and hope to get back there one more time before halloween...maybe next time with D.

i plan on framing this one...no one is screaming, crying, hitting or pushing!!!

here are 2 pics from last year, just so you can have a comparison of the boys...only one year later!

despite the number of pumpkins available, i opted to not buy any at this particular location, based solely on price alone. to give you an idea, i saw a $79.00 pumpkin!!! wow...you've either gotta LOVE halloween or be ready to make A LOT of pumpkin pies to spend that kind of money!

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mother of all days...

once again, my boys have amazed me! mother's day started off with andrew presenting a breakfast in bed menu to me. i made my selections and he brought the menu back down to derek.

the two of them were then off in search of what they needed to make breakfast. one glitch to the whole breakfast in bed plan though...jacob woke up and needed to be fed (while A & D were out). so...when they got home, J and I were already downstairs...ready for breakfast :)

i relaxed while breakfast was prepared...SO NICE! A & D also surprised me with a vase full of flowers cut fresh from our yard!

once J was in for his nap, i headed out for some time to myself...aka shopping :) when i returned, i was greeted with street art that made me blush. not only did my boys want to tell me how much they love me...they told the whole neighborhood! in case you can't see...it says "UR A SUPERMOM" and has a picture of flying superhero...

in the afternoon, we went out for a nice lunch with my family to wrap up this awesome day.

thank you derek for making my day so special! you 3 boyz are the GREATEST and i love you!!!

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year in preview

i always find this time of year quite invigorating. when i was a little girl, i used to write down my resolutions, seal them in an envelope and address the envelope to god (with an actual address). i would then tuck the envelope in the back of my dresser and not open it until the following new years eve. thinking back, i'm not quite sure why i addressed it to anyone...i knew exactly where it was going?!?!? (side note: mom and dad...did you ever know that i did that?) while i still love the chance to look ahead to a new year...a clean slate...a fresh start...i'm not so much into making resolutions. did you know that on average people break their resolutions within 30 days of making them! so much for sticktuitiveness!!!

while many people are thinking about what happened in 2008 (somewhat of a year in review)...and many are blogging about it...i've decided to focus this post on the future and what's to come in 2009! don't get me wrong, 2008 was definitely an exciting year...we added jacob to our family & andrew has continued to amaze me more and more with each passing day...but for tonight i just want to focus on the future...it brings me excitement and energy to do so...ok?

so...in no particular order...i bring you a list of things i'm looking forward to in the coming year...

living in the present...i know, kind of a funny thing to say, after just preaching that i'm going to focus on the future! what i mean though, is living each day to its fullest. yes, it sounds very "hallmark greeting cardish", but it's true. i find that my days are much better (and more fun) when i don't stress about what needs to get done, and i just focus on these boys and watching them grow and learn! so, i vow to live each day to the fullest...and i'm not talking about my eating habits when i say that!

cultivating my passion for writing...if you are reading this blog, which hey, you are...then you know how much i love to write. it is something i've always enjoyed (i was the dork who loved creative writing class!) and i'm so glad that blogging has given me an outlet to release my sometimes creative juices. i'm also glad that so many of you have emailed or posted comments on this blog about how much you enjoy reading it. i really get so much joy out of knowing that my words brought a smile and maybe even some laughter into your day! so...i vow to continue to write...both on this blog and hopefully on an even greater level. if you know anyone who wants to hire me...please be sure to let me know :)

doing what i know is best for me...i am currently reading a great book which has encouraged me to look inside myself and truly think about what makes me happy. all too often, we forget to take care of ourselves...especially those of us who have the job of taking care of others! i vow to eat right, exercise and do things for me that bring peace to my days (ie...vegging out on the couch, writing, reading a good book, or simply hanging out with friends and family) i vow to find love again...a love for myself that is.

helping others...i want to help more women as they enter the world of motherhood. this is something i am passionate about and would love to do more of. so many women, including myself, enter the world of motherhood with quite unrealistic expectations. we read books that tell us how often to feed our baby...how much they should poop each day...how our lives will be so blissful once our baby enters the world...but no one tells us how difficult being a mother really can be...that your baby might cry for hours on end...that you will most likely feel lonely as a new mom...no one prepares us for those things. i want to help women adjust to the real world of being a mommy!

so...as i sit here at 8:45 on new years eve...in pajamas, with 2 kids asleep and a husband on the couch watching tv...i can feel only excitement and positive energy for the year 2009! i thank all of you for reading this blog and encouraging me to ignite my passion for writing...and i leave you with a picture from our trip to st louis...yes, we are lighting the menorah while sitting in front of a christmas tree...a true blended family :)

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halloween 2.0...the real deal!

what a riot is all i can say! it was SO much fun watching andrew run from house to house trick or treating. and he was literally running...to keep up with the niehgbors we were with...they're all over the age of 7! after a few houses, he mastered the art of screaming "trick or treat" when the door opened and we think we heard a "thank you" at about half of the houses ;) he definitely made out in the candy department...we even had to empty his bucket into the stroller basket, so he could fill up again! when we got home, derek dumped it all into a big ikea bag and we combed through it. kit kats must have on clearance this year, because we had a ton of them! some interesting things we found in the bag...trail mix, fruit snacks, a bag of dinner mints and the funniest of all...a two pack of colored mints (the ones that look like m&m's) in a wrapper that said "thank you"...definitely straight out of a chinese restaurant!

enjoy the pics...

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Halloween 1.0

Many of you know about Andrew's friends/playgroup and my "mom friends", who we met at the New Mom's Group right after Andrew was born. We have been getting together weekly for almost 4 years now...hard to believe! Sometimes we even see each other several times in one week...when things are rough and we just can't be home by ourselves :) We also have an annual Halloween party. What's better than a bunch of kids running around hyped up on sugar, while their parents are enjoying pizza and beer?!?! When Carter's mom brought out the festive orange kool-aid, something these kids definitely don't see everyday, he said to his buddies, "C'mon guys. Let's get all sugared up!" That had to be one of the funniest things I've heard lately! This year we did the party in the late afternoon/evening, since the kids have school during the day. It worked out well, because the dad's were able to join us too. In 4 years, this is the first picture we have of everyone, including the dads and newest babies! Here's a pic of just the kids too...note the look of "Would you quit that cryin' Jacob!"on Andrew's face...

Anna holding little brother Shay, Ben & Carter, Max holding little sis Evelyn, Andrew & Jacob

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Milestone!!!

Andrew slept in underwear for the first time and stayed dry!!! When he woke up this morning, he used the bathroom and was SO proud of himself! The funny thing, is that he really had no choice about the underwear because when I was getting him ready for bed last night, I realized we were out of Pull-Ups! I tried to make it exciting for him and asked who else he knows who wears underwear to sleep. He said with a big smile, "Lauren and Emma-Claire" and that was all it took!!!

Happy Halloween to all! I'll try to have pictures up as soon as possible...hopefully over the weekend!

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