Good Friends and Cute Kids

This past week (before the fever thing) one of my best friends was in town from Long Island, NY.  Her husband is doing his medical residency there and had a conference in DC so they decided to make it a little road trip for everyone.   I have known Melanie for probably almost 12 years...and I know that she is a friend who I will always consider to be one of my closest.     She has two absolutely adorable kids,  Zanna and James.  Damon and James were actually born 10 days apart.   I am so glad that we got together and that our kids were able to have so much fun.....I feel so lucky to have such a sweet friend.  It makes me so happy to have such great friends just up the road...well....4 hours up the road  - but still!  

                                James, Zanna, Damon  = gosh, they're cute. 
                              Damon and James, their unique way of doing the see-saw.  As you can see - this is an awesome park. 

They all had so much fun in this maze!  I could barely get pictures of any of them...they wouldnt' stop running! 

                                                     me, blah ...and my gorgeous friend Melanie.  Love you! 

Look Familiar?

Well...to all my girlfriends in DC....it was Damon's turn to catch the fever that basically all of your kid have had over the last few weeks.  I really thought that we had somehow avoided it.  His fever was almost 105 at midnight last night...but has gone down this morning....Why are kids extra cute when they are sick?

As I was putting in a movie last night for him...(in which he is usually obsessed with putting the DVD in and pushing the button) - he  just layed on the couch watching me and said "I can't push the button cause I'm sick".  It was so sweet.  

This picture was actually taken when he was feeling a little bit better.   

Thomas Days!

For an early birthday present for Damon, my good friend Sue and her daughter Taylor, took Damon and I up to Baltimore to the Thomas Days  Discovery Tour....It was the day after Damon decided he wanted to be potty trained...so that was an adventure...running across the huge museum every 30 minutes to the bathroom.  I think he went 8 or 9 times!

I don't think I got one good picture the whole day because they were so distracted with everything else that was going on around them.  The pictures I posted really were the best ones that I could come up with.  

Despite the lack of good pictures...we had so much fun with Sue and Taylor.    What a great birthday present!

In the car on the way to Baltimore...wearing their cute new Thomas hats!  Thanks Sue! 
Taylor obviously was not a fan of the camera in this one....haha. 
Just a funny picture of them...

Waiting for our turn on the Thomas Train ride
Damon could have played in here all day
Taylor spent most of her time looking for Damon...she's so cute.  

A New Bike!

One more way to prove that Damon is just like his dad.....he loves bikes.  We got Damon this new bike last Saturday...it's the new kind that doesn't have pedals, so it teaches kids to balance and they just use their feet the push themselves along.  It's actually pretty cool.  

He was pretty nervous at the bike store, but definitely started getting it when Mike took him to the park that afternoon.  

I took him out today to ride it, and it is scary how confident he is on this thing.   I can't believe it.  He stears it around and lifts both feet up and coasts down the parking lot (the safe part without many cars- don't worry), and doesn't even tip!  It is so fun to watch him figure it out! 

I'm in the process of getting a video uploaded to add to this post....

Being A Mom

Just felt like writing a quick note about being a mom.   I constantly wish that I was a good writer, and that I could think of really great ways to say what is on my mind...but I'm just not.  So it comes down to simply saying that I love being a mom, I love holding my little bug, playing with him, laughing with him, and just talking to him.  I love tucking him into bed, giving hugs and kisses good night, and watching him fall asleep.  I love going on walks with him, taking him on errands with me, and picking him up when he falls down.  I feel like the most blessed woman in the world that this little guy came down into my life.  I don't know what I would do without him.  

I'm having issues with some pictures lately...so hopefully I can get a picture of my mom on this post...

I want to tell her how much I love her.  She's the best mom ever.  It's days like yesterday that make it really really hard to live 2000 miles away.   Those are the days that I really want to be there to give her a big hug, to just be around to take care of anything she needs.  Mom, I miss you and love you.  Happy Mother's Day.  

tagged

So I guess this is the latest tag, and I've had 2 or 3 friends tag me, so I guess I should do it...I wish I was more interesting...

3 Joys

3 Fears

3 goals

3 current obsessions / collections

3 random / surprising facts

3 joys

- DAMON BEING POTTY TRAINED!  

- my family

- road trips

3 fears

- obviously - anything bad happening to my family

- (i don't remember which one of my friends listed this as a fear, but it cracked me up because i have the same fear!) - doing a cartwheel! 

- mice - alive or dead - just ask Tiana

3 goals

- to lose weight

- to continue to scrapbook - even though I have a blog now

- run a 1/2 marathon next Spring - maybe if I tell people I'll do it...I'll be more motivated to actually do it

3 current obsessions 

- when I'm home I get obsessed with checking my email (for some dumb reason)...but when I'm not home,  I don't even think about it

- trying to spend a lot of time outside before it gets poopy and humid

- going to bed early (boring, I know...but I love it)

3 surprising facts

-  I won the school spelling bee in 5th grade 

- I broke my wrist roller-blading down a canyon....the funny thing is that I wasn't even roller-blading when I fell.  I was just standing waiting for something, and my feet slipped from under me.  (I don't ever tell people that part of the story). 

- I love doing dishes in the morning. 

I tag whoever feels like being tagged!

  

Happy 4th Anniversary! (last week)

This post is dedicated to my one and only man...Mike.   So the last 4 years might have been the hardest 4 years of our life, but there isn't anyone I would have rather spent them with.   I love you so much and feel so lucky to be your wife.  You encourage me to be a better person, and always try to make me laugh.  You are a great dad and best friend to Damon.   I love you so much and I am so grateful for your love and companionship.  You are super handsome, goofy, smart, ambitious, spiritual, encouraging, and all mine.  What more could I ask for ? 

Here are a couple of my favorite pics...(if I was smart, I could figure out how to scan in some wedding pictures)

Delicate Arch, November 2003
Bald Mountain, Uintah's.  July 2003