4 years

Four years ago today my little guy was born. He completely changed our lives for the better. I really can't figure out what we did before him.

after hours and hours of labor, he was born via c-section. I remember Justin yelling "it really is a boy" over and over. I was yelling "take pictures" over and over... haha. They cleaned up my little guy and Justin walked him over to my head. I remember those big eyes staring at me. Justin was beaming from ear to ear. It was such a special moment.

It was such a great day. It's been a great 4 years.

Now I am off to Chuck-E-Cheese to have a birthday lunch with the family. I will continue this trip down memory lane later today (after pizza, playing, cupcakes, Hobby Lobby (haha), and swim lessons).

happy birthday to my handsome little guy. I love you more than anything in the whole wide world.

***I want to apologize for my pictures- I only had newborn shots in my snapfish/shutterfly albums so I had to save them to my computer and then post them... horrible, I know.

I'm updating!!!

I took Colin on a little photoshoot today. Nothing too spectacular. Lisa and Megan came with us and I got a few shots of little Maggie Moo.

Is it kinda odd that he is tilted? I can't decide. I have way more pictures but for some reason I just loved this one. I promise I will post more about the last month!!! Gimme a day :) Happy 4th of July to everyone!

Memorial Day!!

So I'm a little behind.... Memorial Day weekend was spent with family at the cabin in NY. We had lots of fun! Slip n slides, cookouts, bears, walks, fishing, family..... the list goes on and on.

We also got a chance to visit with more family at the "old cabin" - I took some pictures of the beautiful kiddos but I didn't ask to put them on my blog. So I want to say a cyber congrats to Linda and Tank on little Erin Kelly. She is a doll and I'm so glad I had the chance to see her :)

Hugs n Kisses

So Sunday was our wedding anniversary. 6 whole years! I can't believe it's been that long!

We celebrated by taking our little boy on a weekend away with us. We usually go to Florida every year in the fall, but this year we had to scratch that plan. So we drove to Cincinnati on Friday. We visited the Newport Aquarium, the Riverwalk, shopped, ate and slept in a great hotel. Saturday, my sister met us at King's Island for a day of rides, food and fun!

I'll post pictures later.

But now.... a quiz about my (our) wedding day:

My wedding day!This is all about the day - for better or for worse:
1) What was your wedding date: May 31, 2003
2) How long from 'I will' to 'I do' - 15 months
3) Where were you married: St. Paul's Church
4) What were your wedding colors: blush and bashful (Steel Magnolias?!) but really, bridesmaids wore blush.
5) Who was in your wedding party - siblings and friends - 5 guys and 5 gals
6) Honestly, could your bridesmaids REALLY have worn their dress again: I hope not! I am not sure what I was thinking... at the time I LOVED them.. now, not so much.
7) Did you LOVE your gown: I really really did until I wore it!!!
7b) Would you choose the same gown again: Umm no
8) Flowers - Real or Silk: Real - My FAVORITE part of my wedding
9) Reception - Full meal or Calling reception: Full meal
10) Dance or no dance: dance
11) What would you have done differently: Probably everything - it was 6 years ago and fads have changed.
12) Any disasters? Yes
13) Best gift you received: That's mean - they were all great!
14) Strangest gift you received: Hahaha, I'm not saying... that person could read my blog!
15) Most memorable moment of the day: Seeing Justin for the first time that day, forgetting our birth certificates and having to drive to our new house at 2am to be up and head to the airport by 5am, pictures, everything... I remember it all :)

Dr Appointment

I just had my ultrasound. Our baby is a cutie!! Here's the scoop:

* He's still a he
* He's breech
* He'll be around 7lbs.
* He has a big belly and torso (75th percentile)
* I will most likely have him on September 12th or September 14th. My dr said he might be on call the weekend of the 12th. If not, he'll take me for a c-section on Monday the 14th.

And the best news of the day.... he's healthy and doing great!

Baby Update

I found this pregnancy update on a blog. I deleted a bunch of questions because they were a wee bit too graphic/personal for the internet.

How far along? almost 23 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: How dare you ask...
Maternity clothes? Oh yes... and I'm hating everything.....
Sleep: Love some, thanks.
Best moment this week: Colin asking every.ten.minutes if his brother is kicking me.
Movement: Oh, my, yes.
Food cravings: Watermelon and cucumbers.
Gender: A little boy
Belly button in or out? It's a swimming pool if you must know.
What I miss: bending over, fitting through small spaces, not getting food on my shirt when I eat.
What I am looking forward to: A little baby to love and hold, seeing Colin's face when he finally gets to meet his little brother.

And I want to remember this....
So one day when Colin was playing in my parent's basement, he found this realistic baby doll. I guess my dad told him it was his baby brother and together they named him (Michael Michael - can you guess what my dad's name is - and no that's not a typo, it's Michael twice).

We had to bring Michael Michael home with us. I went and got a little newborn outfit out of the bins in the basement. Together, we dressed Michael Michael and he has been a part of our family ever since. No seriously.

Covering MM w/ a blankie before bed, check.
Goodnight kisses, check.
Goodnight hugs, check.
Including him in our stories before bed, check.
Making sure he is in the car with us when we leave the house, check.

My favorite was the day I saw Colin spoon feeding MM. My mom told me Colin has more of a maternal instinct than I do.

He LOVES babies.

Do I have to think of a title?!

It's been quite a week - our refrigerator started pouring out water! We have towels around it waiting for my dad to come take a peek today. Justin asked me yesterday how I felt about a new refrigerator for Mother's Day. I asked how he felt about a new stove for Father's Day. Ahhh - I hate appliances :)

We visited the zoo a few weeks ago on a beautiful day. We had to renew our membership and so we met Justin's friend and his family for a day out. We rushed and rushed to get there on time and they ended up being very late!! ha. So it was just us for the majority of the day.

Colin is obsessed with sharks. He would rather watch anything on National Geographic than watch age appropriate cartoons. Shark week is his favorite week of the year. Look at how happy he is....

And what's the zoo without a ride or two... he LOVED the swings and told us they were his favorite...

so I pretend to love the zoo for Colin and Justin. They both ask every weekend to go... Am I the only one that doesn't like walking around to look at smelly animals?

Well our little town got a Meijer... This is the most exciting thing since... well since Kohl's opened :) Colin and I are about to run and check it out!