Happy....something!

If you would like to see what pure, unadulterated joy looks like. Here ya go! This past week I started up school in earnest. It was a good week and I'm starting to figure things out and enjoy my new position. The boys have adjusted well to having Daddy day (Monday), Michelle day (Tuesday), and Bampa day (Wednesday). I also noticed I actually missed being with them, so we did lots more fun things than typical on Thursday and Friday.

On Friday we went to visit my former employer, Bonnie McBeth Learning Center in Plainfield. It was great to see all the wonderful people who work there, and they were happy to see the boys as well. It was a little bittersweet to see a place I've grown to love over the last 6 years and to know I am not working there now, but it was good. AND, since they had a superhero themed start to the year, there was plenty of leftover goodies for Noah. One of our administrators steps into her office and says, "wait I think I have some stickers" and comes back out with these balloons. It was a fun car ride home and both boys were laughing and poking balloons while I was trying to change lanes blindly. But we got them home (along with about 400 stickers) and everyone was happy!

Back to life, back to reality...

So, tomorrow I head back to school, well not really "back" since it's a new school, but you know what I mean. I'm a little nervous about a whole new district, a whole new age group (K-5), and a whole new set of rules to learn. But I'm hoping it goes well. Meanwhile, this week I've been squeezing in some last minute fun with my boys. Teaching them the joys of football...!Our fun plans were a bit thwarted by a stomach bug that ravaged poor Sam. I'm pretty sure a 20 lb, one year old was not meant for a baby bjorn. But after a day of holding him, I couldn't do it anymore so there we were. He's slowly on the mend, starting to eat a bit more and no barfing for 2 days thank goodness. So here we go, off to a new school year!

Family of Four Pics!

We managed to squeeze in a family photo shoot at Penneys awhile back. It was mostly to capture cutie Sammy at one year old. But also to get a couple family shots as we are now a family of 4! Noah kept asking why we needed a family picture, and I explained that we didn't have a nice one with Sammy in it. He was so happy today when we finally hung the family picture he kept saying, "yeaay for Sammy!" I think they turned out pretty well, but I'm biased!

August already?!

We have been enjoying some much needed down time, recovering from vacation. But it seems we've still been busy, oh well! Sam is chugging along, making some really nice progress in his gross motor skills. He is now pulling to stand and even attempting some cruising on furniture or his walking toy. His one year stats are in: 20 lbs even, 28.5 inches. 15th percentile for both, he's a peanut, and quite a bit smaller than his brother was at this age (Noah was nearly 3 pounds heavier and 2.5 inches taller). But he's making great gains and cracking us up each day with his goofy antics.The boys and I hit "Taste of Roselle" for the first time this year. It's our local summer fest and we've never made it before due to lake trips or nap schedules or whatever. It was a lot of fun. Sam was happy to eat his way through some delicious fair food. And Noah was a HUGE fan of the face painting. "Itsa Me, Mario!"
The kitchen remodel is entering it's (hopefully) later stages. We got the granite countertops last week and love them (except for a small crack that they are coming to check out). Final pictures to come soon. Mike spent a night last week up till midnite installing the sink/disposal/faucet. Here he had some help with the PVC last night as he addressed some issues involving the draing being in a different spot.
So, hope you are all enjoying late summer! We're trying to enjoy the last week before I go to work at a new job in Hinsdale!

Missed one...

Somehow in my furious blogging from the trip, I skipped over this adorable picture. Aunt Meera read to Sam and he was entranced. Sam has the cutest, deepest, most pensive baby looks I've ever seen. It was just the sweetest thing ever...

A week at Diamond Lake

Not to miss out on a moment of summer fun, we started our family vacation the morning after Sam's birthday party. We hung around the house in the morning that Sunday and cleaned up from the party and after party. Then we packed up 3 cars, 4 children, 5 adults, a dog, and a cooler full of beverages and headed up to the lake. Here Noah gets a chance at Uncle Cliff's tablet before we left. We dove right into the card playing the first night at the house. My brother and Meera felt that poker hats were necessary. I'm not sure who looks more ridiculous.
Noah became a tablet expert, and played Angry Birds on Aunt Meera's Ipad. He's better than I am!
On Monday, Meera made the BEST STEAK EVER. I'm not kidding. It was magical. It was the sauce. This delicious red wine/cheese/heavy cream sauce was magnificent. I had to take a picture of it before I ate every last bit of it. Must have recipe.
We took the kids to the sandbar area of the lake. It's an area of the lake that ranges from 1-3 ft deep and it's perfect for the kids to run around. Here the adults are actually seated and the kids are playing "Marco DoDo" (name changed by Noah due to his affection for donuts).
What did Sam do whilst the big guys played? He ate, he LOVES eating. And Ellie loves cleaning up after him. It's a win-win.
There was lots of napping. This is what Sam's hair looks like after an epic lake-nap.
The 3 year old crowd tried their hands at fishing. It went pretty well for their first attempts. Here Bampa lends Kirin a hand with the art of reeling in the line.
Kali girl was the first to get a bite! She pulled in a small blue gill and was followed soon by the boys, everyone pulled in multiple fish, it was a great first trip out.
Noah and Daddy proudly display his first fish caught ever!
Daddy is not too excited about the prospect of getting said fish off the hook. Thank goodness for Uncle Jason.
Poor Kali, so cute, so sweet, and surrounded by such crazy boy-ness. Look at her pretty girl smile with those devil boys. Don't worry, she managed to hold her own just fine.
And even tried to smootch her brother. Look at the "loving" look he gives her, ha!
Nothing like the wind in your hair on the pontoon boat! The kids all loved boat rides.
Bamma and Bampa bravely took on all 4 children one night so the parents could have a nice dinner out. They taught the kids the "tooty ta" song. We got a performance the next night which was adorable. Here Noah teaches his brother the first step (thumbs up!).
All attempts to get 4 kids in a picture ended thusly. Seriously, this is the best I got.
Boys, Boys, Boys. Nothing but trouble I tell you!
One of the rainy days we took the kids bowling. It was Noah's first time and Daddy helped him get the finer points of the approach.
The kids all loved the ball ramp, perfect to crank the balls down the alley with a bit more force than the old fashioned way. Kirin was so quick, it's a miracle I got a picture at all.
Noah was very slow and deliberate...
And Kali was the group cheerleader! The kids all beat me, that's how bad I was!
Such cute eyelashes, such a naughty pumpkin face!
Ellie was also along for the trip and managed to get some good snuggle time with her family. Yep, her other family that pretty much adopted her for the week. She was a happy girl.
One last horsey ride before the California crew boarded a plane for Minnesota and a family reunion.
It was an awesome trip that we all enjoyed. The Rodriguez bunch was so sad to say goodbye, but there were promises of Skype and web cams that helped ease the pain. Hopefully we'll be joining them on another trip soon! For now, we are back home getting some sleep and catching up with the local crowd!