Par-taaaaaaay!

Let the celebration begin! If you remember last year, Taylor had three different birthday celebrations. Well, it's three weeks before her actual birthday and she already has one party under her belt! Mike has all-day basketball commitments the next two Saturdays and her actual birthday is the following Saturday. I figured she wouldn't get a very good turnout on a holiday, so we had her "friend" party on Saturday. Most of the kids were from her preschool class and she hasn't seen them in three weeks. Her class seemed unusually close, so they were all THRILLED to be together again.



We went with a neutral Luau theme since it was for girls and boys. I'll tell you, I'm absolutely exhausted right now after planning, cleaning, feeding, entertaining and cleaning up after about 10 5-year-olds and their siblings. Whew! It was a great time though and Taylor was just so excited the whole day. She's such a gracious, good kid that you just want to do special things for her. She hugged me and told me "thanks" about 20 times tonight. A few times, I'd catch her staring at me and then she'd just dive on me with a big hug. Makes you want to have a party like that everyday.



The kids ate and played outside, then worked on sand art projects. This was a huge hit, especially for the girls. I bought everything for under $25 too, so it was well worth the price. Next was a treasure hunt, pinata, cake and ice cream and then presents.




The decorated deck, pre-party. We're six for six on no rain during her parties. Thank you, God!

Sand art! Glad I bought two containers of pink sand. :)

Pinata time! Here little cousin Abby takes a swing. Too cute.

Taylor, cousin Haley on the left and friend McKenna on the right.

Taylor getting help from one of her BFF from preschool, Courtney.

Michael and the other handful of boys at the party spent most of their time playing with the balls I threw out in the yard. In that way, boys are easy. :)

Taylor and McKenna later in the day. Look at all of the bruises on their little legs, haha.

Is it just me, or does she look about 7 or 8 here? No that's not Jabba the Hut in the background, it's Champ.

Ms. Social Butterfly had another party to attend on Friday night. Her buddy from Susan's house, Bryson, was turning 4 and had a fun little party at the local swim club.

Bryson (little guy in the middle) and his ladies. That's Taylor on the end.

You'll probably notice that Taylor's hair is short again. I took her for her first salon haircut last week. She got the cutest bob and it's even stacked in the back. It's waaay more stylish than anything I could ever attempt. I also got my hair cut, but have no pictures. :(




She was super excited. My stylist was amazed at how good she was.

The after. She loves it!

Not much about my Main (little) Man in this post, but the Pear is doing great! Loves to have me read books now, continues to amaze me with his daring and athletic ways and just as cute as ever. :)

Until next time,



Mommy Kel

Is the Weekend Really Over?

It's hard to believe that the weekend is already over! We had a fun one, as usual, and have a busy week with preschool graduation, Taylor's school picnic and a high school graduation party. I've also been swamped at work, which is fine.

Taylor went to her first non-family boy/girl party Saturday. A little boy in her PreK class had all of his classmates over. It was so cute and the kids had a blast. We're having a kid party for Taylor next month. I really like some of the moms, so I'm looking forward to it as much as her!

Taylor and Michael ready to leave for the party. Yep, little bro got to come, too.

The little siblings table.

The big kids (and the Pear). Look at him trying to steal that little girl's hotdogs!

Let's see, what else is going on at our abode on Woodside? The family of rabbits that lived under our back deck seems to have been replaced with a family of cats. I spotted a big gray and white cat running under there a few days ago. Yesterday, she was joined by a teeny version of herself. I only caught a quick glimpse of the kitty, but it was soooo cute. I've never been a big cat person, with a few exceptions. My dad's cat is pretty cool and I remember my friend Lea having a pretty awesome cat back in the day. And, my BFF Lauri had Taz, the best. cat. ever. Really, she was special. I did manage to sneak a picture of the mom. The baby stays tucked behind her once they are under the deck.

Champ's nemesis.

Alright, some more random pictures now...

This may be my all-time favorite T-shirt.

We were able to get all of Taylor's hair into one ponytail. Yay!

My baby smelling flowers. He sniffs, then says "Ew, 'tinky." Pretty funny stuff.

I could just eat him up sometimes! He loves to sit on this little step on our front porch.

He doesn't talk much yet, but he certainly gets his feelings across, haha.

The Pear eating pears. He's getting pretty good with the fork. (Disregard the toothbrush. He carries it around everywhere.)

Alright, off to the sack.

Until next time,

Mommy Kel

BUZZZZZZZZZZ!

Mike has often joked that as soon as the Pear got hair, he was going to buzz it off. On Saturday, he got his chance. Of course, I didn't let him shave it, but Michael did need a trim. The sides are growing so slow, but the top and back were getting kind of stringy and I'm in total fear of baby mullet. Mike tried the eight blade first, but it didn't really get anything, so he went with the six blade, which did the trick nicely. We're probably the only ones that can even tell it's been cut, but I think it looks cute!


The Pear, giving his golden locks one last comb.

Let the buzzing begin! You can see how uneven the top was.

Handsome new 'do!

We're always out walking or playing when the weather is nice, so we pretty much know every neighbor on our street. It's been nice seeing some of their faces again now that cold weather is leaving!

The Worm, the Pear and our neighbor Allison.

Taylor with her buddy, Caden. He turns 3 today!

I bought Taylor a pink recorder this weekend, probably my most regretful purchase to date. Oh my, that shrill noise is enough to make anyone go insane. It even makes Champ howl!

Hope you all have a great week!

Until next time,

Mommy Kel

Happy New Year!

Man, where does the time go? I can't believe it's been over two weeks since I've updated. Hope everyone had a nice Christmas! We had a great time visiting friends and family. Mike's brother Pat and his girlfriend Tawanda came to visit on December 23rd. Mike was supposed to have a game that night, but it was cancelled because of ice. We all ended up hanging out, eating pizza and watching movies. It was a much needed day of relaxation!

On Christmas Eve, we went to mass, then headed down to my brother's house. Taylor loves her cousins and Michael has taken a particular liking to his cousin Jacob. Michael hung with his cool big cousin much of the night, which gave me the opportunity to chit chat and have a glass of wine (or three).

Michael and his buddy Jacob and the Mole (my brother Chris). Chris doesn't always dress like that. It's a tradition for him to wear a horrendous outfit at Christmas. He had on his wife's sleep shirt from college and Sponge Bob pants.

The fam, sans spouses and kids.

The cousins - Noah (7), Taylor (4), Haley (5), Jacob (11), Michael (1), Abby (2)

Mike and Noah.

G-pa and Taylor.

Snuggling with a Christmas Pear. He looks thrilled.

Santa was good to the kids this year! Taylor has been asking for a swimming puppy since October and the jolly old elf obliged. He even left it unwrapped, so it was the first thing the Worm saw when she came down the steps. The Pear loved his new wagon, but wasn't so thrilled with his Tickle Me Cookie Monster. He cries every time we turn it on! Other big hits for Michael include his Elmo car, Learning Table from G-ma T and pull-along turtle from Uncle Pat. Taylor loves everything, but has played mostly with her Hungry, Hungry Hippos game, remote control My Little Pony and Jungle in My Pocket set from G-ma T. Thankfully, Taylor seems to get the whole meaning of Christmas and I'm sure Michael will, too.

The beloved swimming puppy.

My little elf with Daddy.

Taylor and I. Yes, I was as tired as I looked.

Trying out Michael's new ride. It was like a double Christmas for Taylor. She played/plays with all of the Pear's toys.

I'm so anal sometimes that I want to smack myself. After about 15 minutes of basking in the Christmas morning glory, I went into cleaning mode and had the living room clear of debris and all toys out of boxes and assembled before 9 a.m. We fed and dressed the kids, packed and started the next leg of our Christmas journey. (Mary and Joseph had nothing on us.) The kids were great during the car trip to Pittsburgh and we made great time. (I say "we" like I actually drove or something. Now that I have a 50-minute commute each way to work, I've pretty much handed over all family driving duties to the Man.) Marilyn prepared a delicious Christmas meal for us and it was great seeing Mike's entire immediate family there. I can't remember the last time that all of his siblings were together! We rested and chatted awhile before taking off for the next destination - Aunt Ginny's house to see all of Mike's aunts and uncles on his dad's side. I really enjoy these guys and I know the kids had a blast. Michael - in typical booger Pear form - wanted no part in being held by his lovely great aunts. Instead, he buddied up with the men and reached for his 16-year-old cousin Matt anytime he was in the room. What a stinker!

"Mommy, I love Matt."

A rare picture of Mike and I.

(Note: I have more pictures to add, but the image uploader was acting goofy last night.)

We headed home the next morning. We really ran around a lot this year and I was impressed with how well the kids handled it. We were all a little grouchy that night from the lack of sleep, but all is good now.

I'll end with some recent pictures of the kids. Enjoy!

What a cutie!

Taylor at her friend's Princess party. She's Miss Social now.

Michael always has stuff in his hands now. It took me forever to get the pine crap off his hands from carrying these pine cones!

We had a few warm days right after Christmas, so we got to try out the wagon.

I love this picture!

Until next time,

Mommy Kel

Happy 1st Birthday, Michael!

It truly is amazing that the Pear turns one today. Really, where does the time go?

I never knew how incredibly fulfilling, wonderful, stressful, overwhelming and emotional having two children could be. God blessed me with this dynamic little boy and I thank him every day for that.
The journey began for the Pear and I back in March '07, yet I didn't know at the time that it had even been planned. A few weeks after our Spring Break trip to Tampa I started feeling a little funny. Could I be pregnant? No way. We tried for months back in the fall with no luck and we were going to try again in August. But silly me, it wasn't my plan, it was God's! The little Pear seed was already planted and was due December 23rd, 2007. A winter baby? In the middle of basketball season? Two days before Christmas? I was floored but overjoyed.

After a pretty uneventful pregnancy, Michael was born via c-section on December 16th, 2007. He was a big boy with a big cry!





The first few months brought tummy problems, reflux and a sometimes a very unhappy baby. The doctors ran tests for digestive problems and even Cystic Fibrosis. I was so afraid that there was something wrong with my little boy. It was my job as a mommy to make him happy, but sometimes I felt like I was failing because he seemed so miserable at times.



As the months past, he got happier and happier. He smiled and played and laughed hysterically when I nuzzled his belly or daddy "boxed" with him. At around 6 months, he started sitting up and really admiring his big sister. We spent summer days at the park, taking Champy for long walks or swimming in the pool on the patio. Those were great times that I'll never forget.



Michael is now a champion crawler and cruiser. He could walk if he wanted to (the doctors are amazed at how strong he is), but chooses not to. He stands alone for a bit and in true Michael fashion, will walk when he sees fit. He babbles like crazy and says "dada" pretty well. I've also heard variations of "mama", "dog", "Tay Tay" and "teddy". He's a pointing fool and loves to point at different objects and have me tell him what they are. He figures things out quickly and is one smart little dude.

The little man has a stronghold on my heart. We have a special connection that will always be there. It's a mommy-son thing that only moms and sons can really understand. I have a special connection with Taylor too, but Michael and I have a just-as-special, but different, bond. I love when he reaches for me when he's feeling a little timid and squeals when I come into his room in the morning. He puts gusto into everything, whether it be screaming bloody murder every. single. time. he gets his diaper changed or burrowing his little fuzzy head into my arms for a hug from mama. I am a better person because of Michael and I can only hope that one day he can say the same about me. Don't let anyone ever tell you any differently, Michael. You will always be Mommy's baby boy!

Happy Birthday! Mommy, Daddy and Taylor love you with all our hearts!

Until next time,

Mommy Kel