Lolek

good thing I have him...he'll never grow up...right?

7 1/2 Year Old Boys Are Funny!

Happy Anniversary!

11 years and going strong!

Michael's 1st Communion

The 1st Communicant!

Fr. Nguyen & Michael

Michael and his 1st Communion banner

Damien says "Thumbs up to Michael!"

We were so lucky to have Grandma & Grandpa drive up for the weekend. The kids were so excited to spend time with them. They were a HUGE help wrestling Damien during mass.

Mom, Dad & Michael

Abby is very excited to get her first communion (when she is in 2nd grade).

Damien says "What do you mean? I was a perfect angel during Mass."

Michael received an array of wonderful cards and gifts.

Thank you Grandma & Grandpa, Nana & Dziadiza, Great Grandma, Uncle Jim & Auntie Val, Uncle Bob & Aunt Dianne, Uncle Msgr. John, Uncle (aka Godpapa) Pat, and Uncle Paul & Aunt Susan for helping us make this such a special day for Michael. :)

Mom?

I was watching "Bobby Flay's Ireland" on TV last night. Michael came in and snuggled in next to me. He watched the segment on the organic farm and cooking school...

Michael: "Mom? Will you teach me how to cook?"

Me: "Yes, I think that is an essential skill for you to have."

Michael "Mom? Will you teach me how to grow our own food?"

Me: "Yes, we can learn that together."

Michael: "Mom? Can we grow tomatoes*?"

Me: "Of course!"

Michael: "Mom? I really want to grow Oranges."

Me: "Hmmmmm, how about apples?"

I love that he has an interest in these things. I love to cook and I aspire to have a killer garden. I've been pouring over garden designs for the new house and picking out the perfect spot. I am going to give Michael and Abby their own little garden to plant 3 things they want and they will be in charge of tending it. I think this is going to be a really great summer!

*his favorite food - and thank god something I can grow with little trouble :)

cousins!

We were lucky enough to have my SIL and her children visit us at the beginning of February while my brother was on a business trip. They were here overnight and there was much fun had by all!

Having a birthday dinner for Abby. Homemade Mac n Cheese and Ceaser salad with homemade dressing - complete with anchovies (shhh! don't tell the kids - they LOVED it).

My Anna Banana - She and Damien had a couple go arounds. Once I went to the bonus room and she was saying "No baby, no no baby" and Damien was sitting on her. He looked at me like "what?" She is an absolute delight! She is also my phone buddy. She calls me on her moms cell phone and we talk...her mom did NOT know she was doing that by the way...she thought Anna was playing 'calling Aunt Mimi."

Jack Attack! My Godson. Love him. He had so much fun playing with Michael (whom he worships). Being an only boy he needs that quality male cousin lego time!

Lexi is such sweetness. Damien adores her. There is a picture of her on my phone and Damien likes to find it and smile at it and talk to it and then show it to anyone that is around...including strangers at the store.
Kaitlyn...is 10...how on EARTH did that happen? Her mom was pregnant with her at our wedding! It was nice to spend time with her and listen to all the wonderful things rolling around in her head.

mmmmmmm cake

The birthday girl - she was so excited to share it with cousins.

The kids thought it was awesome that it is so windy here. They were pretending they were going to blow over (or not pretending...it was pretty windy that night).

We all went back inside and someone was upset he wasn't in the picture. So we went back out....can you guess who it was?

There was much playing with cell phones. It was quickly determined that Aunt Susan's iphone was WAY cooler than mommy's LG phone...I agree...I agree...

The 4 older kids had a camp out on the floor of the bonus room. We really can't wait for them to come back to visit. :)

Our Baby Girl is 6!

New School

We are very lucky to have a beautiful school within walking distance from our house. It just opened this year and is amazing. The kids LOVE it. This was taken on their first day of school. See all that yummy morning sun on their faces? It is sunny 6 out of 7 days here...LOVE IT!

...I will also note that it can be insanely windy here too...

comfy?

Michael has always liked...well odd...positions to read/play/sit. I have found him reading upside down and crammed into small areas. I was unpacking and found Michael reading in the guest room like this. Later I found him behind all the boxes. I need to take pictures of all of them and make a book "The Various Reading Positions of the 7 Year Old."*

*My mom originally had this idea and it is a great one!

secret rooms and hiding places

When we arrived at the new house the kids had fun exploring it without any furniture. They found a secret room under the stairs (that is finished!) and lots of nooks and crannies.

The room under the stairs. It is shaped like a big 'U'. When it is not being used for storage it is going to be a secret hide out for Michael with a little couch and bookshelf. He is very excited!

Everyone loves the new pantry. Just right to fit little people. Damien likes to 'hide' in there and play peek-a-boo.

The cats were pretty freaked out by all the hubbub from the last couple months. They pretty much hid all the time. It became a game to find out where they were. Damien found them in the cupboard in the laundry room. He liked to sit in there with them and shut the doors. He even brought some of his hot wheels in there so he could play.

just keep swimming

[click on the cuteness for the full effect]

We made it! We are in Washington! I can't believe two years of unemployment, planning, graduate school*, heartache, hopefulness and anxiety are over! Somedays I didn't think I could do anymore but I kept reminding myself of Dory from 'Finding Nemo' and had to "just keep swimming."

Many times I had to let things go just to get through the day. One of those things was the blog. I had great intentions but no motivation....but now that we are here in our new beautiful home I am so excited to share with you all that we are doing and how the kids have grown!

That picture of Damien cracks me up. It was taken by my cousin, David (aka daveydave! aka proxy godpapa), at Christmas. Damien adores him.

*Ben got his Masters in Chemical & Nuclear Engineering - which is actually his 2nd Masters - he also has his MBA...can you tell how ridiculously proud I am of him? He worked so hard and it all paid off with this new job that he absolutely loves! And since I'm bragging about him I'll also say that people at his plant have been surprised at how young he is for his position.

Goodbye Franklin

The kids had their last day of school at Franklin on Friday, January 21st. Michael's class had a friendship circle at the end of the day to say goodbye. Each kid said something they liked about Michael and a wish for his future. Michael asked me not to come but I heard that the kids had just wonderful things to say about him and a couple kids cried. We loved our time at Franklin and will really miss our family (real family - that is where their cousins attend and the music teacher is my aunt and our Franklin family).

Mrs. W (Kindergarten teacher) and Abby

Mrs. Free (2nd grade teacher) and Michael

(Mrs. Free had a hard time letting go - she really loved him)

Owen wanted to get into the picture too.

Owen and Abby are best friends. Owen has declared that he will marry Abby and they are going to live across the street from his parents. His mom told me that when Abby would come over to play and Owen would get in trouble Abby would defend him "Well Miss Katie...Owen didn't really mean to do that." :) Owen asked his mom sadly "But who will be my best friend when Abby leaves?" :( Good thing we will still be able to visit!

...moving on...

This was our home.

We moved into this house one month after we got married, Ben was 22 and I was 21. Our history with this house, however, goes back much further. My older brother used to live here and the first summer Ben and I dated ('97) Ben stayed with him when he came to visit me. It was in this house, one summer evening, that Ben and I first exchanged "I love you"s. We didn't imagine that we would buy that house a few years later and live there for 10.5 years!!!

When we moved in we had a full size bedroom set, a couch, a bookshelf, a chair, a TV, a throw rug, a futon, a very small dining table and chairs. I remember sitting in our living room imagining hearing little feet thundering down the hallway and a small face peeking around the corner. We discovered we were going to be parents four times in this house, we brought 3 babies home to this house....we lost a baby in this house...we, in a sense, grew up in this house...so many memories...so much laughter...a few tears...it seemed so weird to leave...

...but it was time for us to move to the next chapter of our lives and let another family create their memories in this house...

we were so blessed to have as our realtor my brother, Jim . He did a great job and 15 days after the house was placed on the market we had a great offer. We actually knew the family who bought it, although we didn't know it until we got the offer. They will take such good care of the home and have plans to update a few things (the flooring & the kitchen) I had always dreamed of updating - until the layoff. They have invited us back to see all they did to the house when we are in town and I am very grateful for that.

I need to see if Jim still has the pictures he took of the inside for the listing. It looked SO good!! :)

Happy 2nd Birthday Damien!

from this...

Damien - 2008 (moments after birth)

to this...

2009 - 1 year

to this....

2010 - 2 years

Life with you is full of joy and never dull! We love you Lolek!

Happy Birthday!