Monday, December 29, 2008

Santa's visit, etc.





Okay, time to backtrack a little. Now that we're done with Christmas and the birthdays of this month I have some time to go back.
First, I have a photo of our Christmas tree complete with wrapped presents surrounding it. Next is picture of the snacks we left for Santa on Christmas Eve. Both the boys had questions for him, so they left notes. In the past when Santa visits, he has left a letter for them. One year he had to explain to Justin that some pieces of one of his gifts were missing. Santa was pretty sure they fell off the sleigh in Ohio! Anyway, Santa took the notes from Justin and Kyle and left his letter answering their questions. Justin wanted to know if the elves are adults or children. Santa said both. He said he gets a lot of good toy ideas from the child elves, of course! Kyle wanted to know what state Santa goes to last. The letter stated that Santa starts in Maine and moves towards California. That's Justin and Kyle amongst the toys they received from Santa on Christmas morning. And of course, they started assembling some Lego sets that morning at the kitchen table.
The boys are looking forward to ringing in the new year in a couple days. They don't usually stay up til midnight, so it's a big deal for them. I don't stay up that late either and don't care to just because a new year is starting. I still have to get up early on January 1st to tend to my pets, so I need my sleep.
Starting this blog was one of my accomplishments in 2008. I'm glad I did it! It's been fun and I hope my family and friends enjoy it as much as I do. I plan to keep posting in 2009, so keep checking in!

Sunday, December 28, 2008

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JASON!!!


I'm sure he wishes I would just forget it was his 38th birthday, but I can't. I understand his reasoning, but he's my husband and we have to celebrate. I mentioned before that I met Jason when he was 19. (We started dating a year after we met.) I've known him about half his life! And even though a lot of his hair is gone, he still manages to be like a kid in some ways. For instance, for Christmas and his birthday, he received two video games and gift cards to his favorite video game store. Not to mention the fun he's been having helping the boys assemble their Lego sets the last few days (and there are still boxes that aren't open yet!).
Since Jason had to work today, we gave him his gifts last night and went to the restaurant of his choice. He chose Famous Dave's where he ordered a slab of ribs. He and Justin sat on one side of the booth together eating their rib dinners. Like father, like son. Next month he and I will have another birthday celebration with Jason's family. We'll all be going to brunch when the holiday chaos is over.

I'll try to get a picture of Jason blowing out his candles later, but for now... Happy birthday, Jason! I love you!

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Merry Christmas!!!


Christmas isn't until tomorrow, but it'll be a busy day for us and I doubt I'll have time to post. There are many presents under our tree and snow on the ground outside. We know what we're leaving out for Santa to eat and have oatmeal ready for the reindeer. As we wait for Christmas to start, there are two excited, hyperactive boys in my house!! It's fun to be reminded of the anticipation you feel when you're a child. They'll be tired at bedtime, but won't be able to fall asleep tonight.
We are fortunate to be with spending time with our families tonight and all day tomorrow. This is the first Christmas that my grandma isn't here with us. She is in our thoughts, and I'm sure we'll speak of memories we have of her and my grandpa.

Merry Christmas to all of you!!! I hope you have a happy, healthy holiday!!!

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Dashing through the snow...


Or standing in the snow like Henry is doing here. This is where he usually stands when he's done doing his outside duties. He looks so handsome in the snow until he comes in and I have the chore of getting the snow out of his hairy feet.
So we have the pretty snowfall in the Chicagoland area today. I haven't been outside yet, but it should feel warm compared to the last two days. Today's high is supposed to be in the 20's. Heatwave!

Only two more days til Christmas!

Sunday, December 21, 2008

HAPPY 7TH BIRTHDAY, KYLE!!!!





It just might be the coldest day EVER today, but these are some pictures of a VERY happy 7-year old boy! Kyle woke up hyper today. Jason had arranged to work a half day today so that we could all go to the aquarium together. But that meant we had to wait until noon to drive downtown. It probably seemed like forever to Kyle!
Once we arrived at Shedd Aquarium, Kyle said he was about to cry because he was SO happy to be there. (He can be quite dramatic!) It really was perfect for him to be there on his birthday. Not only did he love being amongst the fish, but we raided the gift shop. He wound up with a small hammerhead shark stuffed animal, a penguin snow globe, a magnet, and two shirts.
So now my little Kyle is seven. I can't be sad because he's such a great kid. I wouldn't change a thing about him. He's smart, funny, sweet, respectful, and kind (to name a few). He makes me proud everyday. He does well in school, has friends at the nursing home where my grandma lived, has a tremendous love for animals, and will just randomly come over to me to give me a hug. And just look at the that cute face of his along with his curly red hair! That's my Kyle. I love him so much and wish him a very happy birthday, which I know he had.

Saturday, December 20, 2008

Through the years of Kyle, part 2






As I promised, here are the more recent years of Kyle's life. In the one of him wrapped up in the blanket we refer to him as "the sausage". He used to come downstairs in the morning and sit on the couch like that. The most recent one from May of this year was at Tony and Natalie's wedding dinner. He just loved dressing up in that vest and tie! (He really did!)
Tomorrow is his birthday and we're off to the aquarium, so I'll post more then. That is if we don't freeze on our walk from the car to the aquarium. The predicted high for tomorrow is around 8 degrees! Brrrrrr.

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Through the years of Kyle, part 1






I better get started on this tribute to my baby since his birthday is only three days away! Kyle was quite chubby when he was younger. He's grown so fast, but still has the same sweet face.
That picture of him sleeping was his first day at home, 12/23/01. He's lying in the oak cradle that my grandpa made when Justin was born. The one in the plaid outfit was one of the first days he walked on his own (1/03). And the one of him lying on his bed was a couple days before his 2nd birthday. We had just gotten his bed and he LOVED it!
I'll be posting part 2 in the next day or two. We'll remember years 3 through 6.

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

It's a girl!!!



That's what my mom and dad were announcing on this day 35 -years ago! Yes, today is my 35th birthday. My only consolation is that people tell me that I don't look that old. Not only that, but I can honestly say that I am happy with my life. I have a husband who loves me to grow old with, two sons that make me SO proud, a nice home full of pets, and many other family and friends that enrich my life.
These pictures were taken when my mom and I got home from the hospital. Back in the old days they made you stay there for a week! (I'm glad that was changed!) So I came home for the first time just before Christmas. That's my 25-year old dad holding me. Look at that bottle!
I think this is the coldest weather I've had on my birthday. The temperature right now is like 7 degrees and below zero with the wind chill! So now I'm going to grab a cup of coffee and sit in my nice warm house by the Christmas tree. And be 35.

Saturday, December 13, 2008

Kyle's birthday party



Kyle's birthday isn't until next week, but we celebrated today. Since his birthday is only four days before Christmas, I like to have his party a little early. An incident occurred that I don't care to discuss, but Kyle had a good time running around, opening his gifts, and eating his chocolate cake from Portillo's.
He also found out that on his actual birthday Jason and I are taking him to the Shedd Aquarium. Jason printed out a "certificate" that he read aloud at his party to announce that we'll be going. We've taken him before, but it's been about two years. Since it costs a small fortune to go there I figured we would make that his gift.
So in a week my baby will be turning seven. Since I can't prevent it, I'll celebrate it by having a countdown as a tribute to him. Stay tuned.

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Sunday, December 7, 2008

Henry meets Santa




Henry had his first encounter with Santa Claus yesterday. Santa Claus was actually my boss! A couple of my co-workers coordinated pet pictures with Santa combined with an open house at our clinic. They put a lot of time and effort into it, and fortunately we had a really good turn out. We asked for a minimum $10 donation for the picture with Santa to help out a couple of local shelters. We also had educational things set up in most of the rooms in the clinic for the pet owners to see what goes on "behind the scenes". There were refreshments and a raffle as well. The Santa room was constantly busy and our visitors seemed very interested and entertained. It appeared to be well organized even though we had never done anything like this before!
Santa wound up placing Henry on his lap. Since Henry is large and not usually in that position, he was a little stressed. The photographer still got some pretty good shots.

Monday, December 1, 2008

Tis the season


Well, here we are in December. I really don't know where the time goes! It feels as though the boys just started their summer break and now they're almost half-way through the school year. Until I invent a way to slow time down, I guess I just have to go with the flow.
With the holidays on the way, this month is a busy time for most people. In our house, busy is an understatement! Not only do we have to prepare for the holidays, but we have three birthdays to celebrate as well! Yes, three out of the four people in our house were born this month. I'm first. I'll be turning the big 3-5 on the 16th!!! My baby will be seven years old on the 21st (sniff, sniff). Again, I don't know how this happened so quickly. Then, on the 28th, Jason will be 38. He was only 19 when I met him, and I recall his 20th birthday (that was the winter before we started dating.) I'm pretty sure that Kyle is the only one that's looking forward to his birthday. And we have some big plans that he doesn't know about.
We did our Christmas decorating this past weekend. The boys knew we'd be putting the tree up on Saturday night, so they were extra hyper that day! We didn't even bother to tell them to calm down because we knew they couldn't. Our tree is beautifully decorated with ornaments that are all different from each other. Every year, Jason and I buy an ornament for each of the boys. They get to pick out the one they want. That's why we have things like a shark, a lobster, a penguin, an ice cream sundae, school buses, and a BBQ grill on our tree! We also have all the ornaments the boys have made over the years. Lots of things with their school pictures on them. I just love those. To top it off we got a couple inches of snow yesterday which made our decorating complete.