Noah's Birthday Party

Friday night we had our immediate family over for a birthday dinner for Noah. Noah planned the menu with some of his favorite foods.....Maid Rites, Mac n Cheese, Zucchini, Sun Chips, Deviled Eggs, a Fruit Tray, and some A&W Root Beer.

We had a few silly games to along with his bug theme. Drew found a game called "Caterpillar Crawl" where you had to get in a sleeping bag and slither you way through an obstacle course. They kids enjoyed this one. Here comes the birthday boy with Ellie cheering him on.

Aiden came through for the second time and took a breather.
They also played Hot Potato with a Very Hungry Caterpillar. Noah planned a few little "centers" as he liked to call them.

So heartwarming to see father and son cuddling on the couch. :)

Then it was time for gifts. Our family sure knows what he likes. He was so excited.

Noah can't wait to put a picture of the two cats in this frame.

Drew printed a picture of one of the Bakugan guys and put Noah's face on it. I think he liked it!

Noah cracked me up when he was reading this card. He pronounced nephew

as nee-fu. Love him.

Me and my Godson/Nephew. I can't believe he's a big 4 year old now also!

Noah decided on a Very Hungry Caterpillar cake, er cupcakes... I think it turned out pretty cute.

He blew all of his candles out in one breath.....I wonder what he wished for!

My niece Ellie is in love with our two kitties. She's been asking daddy for one.....

Hint, hint Matt.

It was a fun evening with the family. It always amazes me how six cousins can make the noise of 100 people......

Happy 8th Birthday Noah!

My sweet Noah, your smile brightens up the dreariest of days. You are such a sweet kind soul, you always seem to care about making everybody else happy. One day you told me that you love everybody else much more than you love yourself. That really upset me because there is SOOOO much about you to love. If you love yourself (and I know deep down you do) then you'll have even more love to give others. I love that you and I make the perfect cuddle. I've always been able to wrap myself around you just right, no matter what your size. I'm glad that being 8 isn't going to stop you from giving me that special love. I love that when you have your nightmares (way more often than I think you should have them!) you think that having me come sleep in your bed will keep you safe. I hope I can always make you feel safe and loved.

There are so many things I love about you Noah.

You can ALWAYS make me LAUGH.

You have the sweetest of SMILES!!

You melt my heart.

You are such a lover of animals.

(I'd be really surprised if you didn't become a veterinarian someday!)

Last but not least, you give awesome CUDDLES!

Happy 8th Birthday Noah! I hope it's everything you want it to be!

"I Think This Is The Beginning Of A Beautiful Friendship"

"I Think This Is The Beginning Of A Beautiful Friendship"

Can't you tell how thrilled they are that I woke them from their nap???

Awww, seriously, I know they were just sniffing each other but it does look like a little kissy, kissy.I wish I had my camera a couple of hours ago. I caught them cuddling on the couch and Grayson was licking Jack, giving him a bath. It was so fatherly (although it's usually a mother thing, but they are both males. LOL). It was so sweet it melted my heart but it also told me that they are loving and accepting each other. They've been sleeping next to each other quite a bit the past two days. We have the two best kitties, I just love these guys. They are certainly even more wonderful to cuddle with during this chilly weather.

Hunting Season

Hunting season has arrived much to the chagrin of wives everywhere who become hunting widows. Drew isn't quite ready for deer season but Grandpa Ken, Uncle Scott, and his Daddy have been giving him some practice with squirrel hunting. A few weeks ago they went out to give it a try. I was a little nervous but I guess somewhere along the line, I said he had to wait until he hit the double digits to start this stuff.......I think back then I thought that would give me a lot of time!!

Anyway.....here they are getting ready to leave. Aiden had to put on his camou hat too and get in the picture.

Grandpa Ken giving Drew some tips.

Drew doing some target shooting. Apparently shooting a can and an apple off the target was a piece of cake for him. Lord, help me.

His first squirrel. He's so proud. I feel a little queasy.

Additions to the Zoo

The zoo keeps growing. For Aiden's birthday Grandma Tunie and Grandpa Ken gave Aiden these african tree frogs. They are so awesome and fun to watch. I think I've enjoyed them as much as the kids. You only feed them twice per week and change their water 1-2 times per year. How easy is THAT?? Aiden feels big having his own pet since Drew has his gerbils, I have Grayson, and Noah got his birthday kitty.

Yes, you heard right, Noah finally decided on a kitty. He obviously takes after his mother because we just could hang out at the Humane Society all day and we found multiple cats at both locations that we wanted. It was a very hard decision. I had to be good and not try to sway him towards any of my favorites. This little furry wonder won. He has been a blast in the 4 hours we've had him and so friendly. I hope that lasts. Him and Grayson have been together almost constantly and only a few hissing battles so they are starting out better than I anticipated! After MUCH deliberation, Noah decided to name him Jackson, Jack for short. (or Jackie, sorry Dad)

This was one of the better shots I could get of him. He never sits still very long!

This picture cracks me up because he was running right at me to attack my camera strap.

The two cats were just lying on either side here waiting for the other one to attack. They were playing good for awhile and then they were being stinkers.

I know I'll be taking many more pictures. I'm a sucker for cats, kittens, and pictures of them. I wonder if either of them will sleep with me tonight.......

Aiden's Party

Is this the face of a happy 4 year old?? I think so. He had an awesome birthday. I think he likes being 4 because the next morning, he came running into the kitchen when he woke up and the first thing he said was "Mom! Am I still 4?" I've had to reassure him a few times since that he will never be 3 again.
Drew came up with some games for the kiddos. Here they are playing Lion, Lion, Hyena which is like Duck Duck Goose. Whoever is it, has to wear the lion tail and whoever ends up being the Hyena has to chase them around the circle and try to get the tail. Ty has the tail in this picture. I love his face.

I just love Aiden's face as he runs around the circle here. (Yes, my basement lighting sucks and yes, that is me stuffing my face with cake in the background!)

Aiden and his jungle cake. Him and Todd pored over pictures of cakes and he decided he wanted the hill with the waterfall coming down off of it with his Diego and jungle animals on it. I think he and Todd did a great job!

Making his 4 year old wish! He got those candles on the first try!

He was so excited about all of his gifts. He'd yell, or shout "It's just what I've always wanted". This picture cracks me up b/c he came running over to me to show me what he got. He was one excited birthday boy!

I knew he'd be excited over this toy. He wanted to buy this in Disney World with his money but then got in trouble and had to leave the store. Todd got it so we could put it back for his birthday.

He's been dying for this Orca Whale.

Saturday we got to celebrate his cousin Ty's birthday which was a blast. Now we have to get used to having 2 four year olds in the family. I wonder what this year will bring!

Happy 4th Birthday Aiden Sunshine!

September 24, 2005

(still my favorite family picture ever)

Aiden, you woke up today in complete awe that you were really 4 now. You said to me "Can you believe I'm 4 today?". No, my sweet baby, I cannot believe you are 4. Where did that time go? Where is my little baby?? There's something very bittersweet about seeing your youngest growing up. You know that you are going through all of these fun (and not so fun) stages for the last time. It makes my heart twinge. But I see the big boy you are becoming and I just smile. You want to be just like your big brothers. You want to do what other big boys do but at the same time, you want to be my baby when you need to be also. You have always had an attachment to my hair and when you are upset or needing any comfort, you cuddle up to me and rub my hair. You told me and Dad last night that when you turn 4, you can't play with mommy hair anymore. I couldn't believe you said that. You told me that again this morning. I guess we'll see if that really happens! :)

Happy Birthday Aiden. I hope you'll always be my baby.

Happy 14th Anniversary Todd!

1994

Who knew back in 1994 where our lives would lead us to? We were just a boyfriend and girlfriend going through our senior year of college, not knowing what kind of job would be waiting for us after, sometimes questioning where we were going. January of 1995 we knew one thing, we got engaged and promised to spend the rest of our lives together. We had our dreams, our goals, our shared values. I had no idea what the future would bring, only that we would share the journey together. September 23,1995 we made it official. I see where we are now and know that things are just as they should be. Everything we have wanted, we have worked and planned for. What more could we ask for?? Not much. We have three beautiful boys that amaze us every day, a comfortable roof over our heads, plenty to keep us busy, and there is always time for laughter. It's still hard to know what the future holds for us, but I look forward to continuing the rest of our journey together, now a little bit older and wiser! I love you!

(if you can hear the music playing, this was Todd and I's song that we danced to at our wedding)

Meditations.............

While we were at Riverfest yesterday, we ran into Noah's 2nd grade teacher. She pulled me aside and said she had a funny story for me. She then asked me if I ever do yoga. I said yes and wondered where this could be going. Last week at school, the kids took the Terra Nova standardized tests all week. As they were getting ready to take one of the tests, the kids were really squirrelly and wound up. She told them all to just calm down and relax. She then looked over at Noah who had his legs folded up in yoga position, had his hands by his side holding his two fingers together, eyes closed, and was taking deep breaths. She said she didn't say anything to him but she was cracking up. I was dying laughing just picturing Noah sitting there looking for his happy place. I joked that we have become really New Agey at our house. In reality, we have Wii Fit and one of the workouts on there that he loves is the yoga so I'm sure that's where it came from. I just love that kid, he can always make me smile. It's also nice that I've known his teacher most of my life so she knows my family!

Tri-ing To Help

One of my last posts of the summer. Todd was Race Director again for the 2nd annual Tri-ing to Help Triathlon put on by the Quincy Multisport Club. Drew raced in the kids race again this year and Noah's friend Ben raced for his very first time. Noah was going to race but was invited to a slumber party instead the night before and decided to do that with his friends instead. It was also back when he was still having the problems with the leg pains so I think that had something to do with it. Drew did incredible as always. I love watching him race, he just amazes me. This year he did the swim, bike, and run in 14 minutes, 39 seconds! Wow, you go Drewdles!

Here he is hopping into the water to start the swim portion.

He's improved on his swim time, he's getting so much stronger at it.
Coming back in from the bike, he's 3 third kid on the bike.

Coming back in from his 1 mile run. Almost finished!!

Dashing across the finish line! Congrats Drew!

I just love this picture of Ben and his sister Ella. So cute!! Ben is a good friend of Noah's and Ella is my sweet Goddaughter.

The Two Triathletes!

Ben was so surprised to get 1st place in his age group!!! Way to go Ben, especially for your first race!

Drew placed 2nd in his age group! Awesome job Drewbie!

Aiden had to pose with a medal too. He keeps reminding me that next year he'll be big enough to race.

The race had a bigger turnout than last year and Todd was so happy by how smoothly it ran. They were able to raise a nice amount of money for a local high school girl that had throat cancer. She plays volleyball for the high school and it was so nice to see all of the players come out to volunteer with the race and support her.