Our Baby is 2!!!!

Our baby boy, our precious little Baby Colin turned 2 yesterday!!! I cannot believe it! The past two years have been the best of my life and have gone by the fastest!
I started off the morning with participating in a walk for the homeless in D.C. (see my previous blog). Thank you Will for cleaning and doing last minute party preparation! He was so sweet and did a really good job of cleaning and getting everything ready!

Colin is having two parties this weekend. I thought it would be easier to celebrate on two days since our place is not overly big. Today, Grandma Liz, Michael, Aunt Ann, Uncle Jamie and cousins Ryan and Brady came over. We had a lot of fun as usual. I adore my nephews and always have a great time hanging out with Liz and the rest of the family.

I love cooking, so I was excited to put together a menu. I did go more for finger foods (less messy with kids) but I got to try a new recipe (for meatballs) that I got from a friend. She made them for a BBQ we went to and Will and I just loved them, which is weird for me to "love" anything about meat.

Colin LOVED his gifts. Will and I got him a train set. He loves trains, hence the Thomas the Train themed party. He also got a Thomas the train toy from Grandma Liz along with some very cool books (that he looked at for quite some time and a cute sweatsuit. He also got a very cool car case with some hot wheels in it from Uncle Michael (thank you)! Ann, Jamie and the boys got him some legos and a Mr. Potato head...he loves all of them and has been playing all morning with his choo-choos, cars and Mr. Potato head.

Walk for the Homeless

A few of us ladies from work decided to participate in the Walk for the Homeless in D.C. today. The course was a 3 mile path around the mall. It was very beautiful! It was a little cold at first but then it warmed up and turned out to be a very nice day. Amy and Wendy brought Lansing and Shilo...it is always nice being around dogs. I miss mine.

I love that the company I work for is really involved in charity programs and events. I have really enjoyed the ones that I have participated in so far. My favorite was volunteering at a rescue horse ranch in Colorado. I love animals and especially horses; they're such a beautiful animal. I am also looking forward to buying Christmas gifts for some of the local and military families in need this holiday season. This is something that we have done the past few years and I am hoping to get Colin involved this year by having him pick out a few toys for the kids.

If you're interested in learning more about charity for the homeless go to http://www.helpthehomelessdc.org/.

Today is Colin's birthday!! He is 2!!! I cannot believe it! We had a party today (great time) and have another one tomorrow...I will blog more about it later...so tired...

Daycare Fun

Today, Colin went to a farm with his daycare. Ms. Tonya was very quick with posting the pictures, so I thought I would share them...they are so cute!

Colin looking at the pigs.
Colin calmly looking thru the fence...

Then noticing that there is a big SHEEP in front of him!

Colin being his adorable self! Just look at that blonde hair!

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend! We will be very busy...I am participating in a Walk for the Homless tomorrow in D.C. and then we are having a party for Colin's birthday (yes, our baby is 2 tomorrow) and a second one on Sunday. Busy, busy, busy!

27...oh my!!

No More Counting Candles



I am not having a hard time getting older, but man the last few years have gone by fast. It seems like yesterday I was excited to be turning 21...

I have been busy the past few weeks so this will be short and not as detailed as most of my entries, but you'll get the idea...I had a wonderful birthday week!

Will was very sweet to me; cooking dinner, renting chick flicks, letting me sleep in, spoiling me with incredible gifts and just being an overall sweetie! He made me a wonderful dinner for my birthday (pasta Alfredo - still on my white food/drink diet...just a few more days!) that we had with a white wine (that we got at the vineyard we went to the same day as the pumpkin patch). It was delicious! After dinner we had some yummy lemon cake dessert (picture below). They were these cute little squares and yes, Colin tried to taste them all!

Also, some of my girlfriends from work took me to lunch. I have the sweetest friends! I threatened the waiter with no tip if they sang to me. They did not sing. I almost made it the whole day with no singing (I blush easily), but my project group all sang to me before the end of the work day, which was actually very sweet and the cookies were delicious! I guess it isn't quite a birthday without at least one birthday song...even if I blush. Actually, Will sang to me too, so I was lucky enough to have two.

Will 's little dessert creation. Small cake squares with a huge candle that played music!

My little buddy and I. I was saying "cheese", hence the big smile!

Thank you to all my friends and family for the birthday wishes, cards and gifts! I am blessed with knowing such wonderful people...Thank you Will for making my week an amazing celebration filled with many wonderful memories!

Veterans Day

Just wanted to wish a happy day to all veterans out there (the military people who have served and are currently serving our country). I am very proud to be married to a vet and the big sister of one as well.

My hubby was a firefighter in the Air Force for a few years and got out before I met him. I am so proud of all that he was able to accomplish while he was in (and of course once he got out as well). His experiences while serving in the Air Force have played such a big part of who he is today...and I am definitely thankful for who he is today!

My little brother became a Marine after high school and served for four years (traveling between Japan, Australia and Hawaii). A year or two after he got out he was called back and went to Iraq for a year. I am so proud of him and his courage to leave home at such a young age and just try to conquer his dreams.

When I was younger I always liked this holiday because it was the day before my birthday and it meant we got out of school...overtime I have realized what it means to be in the military and what people are putting on the line. Being older and having a better understanding of war has really changed my perspective on this holiday. Even though we should be grateful everyday for what people in the military do for our country, it is nice to have a day where the country officially says "thank you". So, thank you to my husband, my brother and everyone else!

Kicking Off My Birthday Week!

The next couple of weekends we are pretty busy so we thought that this weekend would be the best time to celebrate my birthday (my bday is this coming week). I have not been as excited about this birthday as I have others. I am not sure if it is because I am getting closer to 30 or if we just have so much going on it just kind of snuck up on me. I think it is that I am more excited about Colin's birthday and his just happens to be so close to mine that it just overshadows it. I keep telling Will I am not 27 until 8:00 PM EST, since I was born at 5PM PST. I am giving myself to the last second! Maybe I am not looking forward to 27 :)

Saturday:

OK, to get the point of this blog...Will made birthday plans on Saturday and would not tell me anything! He planned a perfect day for me! Aunt Wen and Uncle E babysat - thank you guys! Will first took me to Olive Garden for an early lunch! I love Olive Garden and it has been a while since we have been there. The food was delicious! I even tried something new...stuffed chicken Marsala...highly recommended!

We skipped dessert and went on to our next thing...ICE SKATING!!!! I was sooooo excited! I love ice skating and it was something that Will has never done. He was so cute to watch. We had so much fun!! Will had a bit of a rough time at first ( I think he regretted not rollerblading when he was younger) but he ended up getting the hang of it and he never fell...came close a couple of times but ended up sticking it out until he found his balance! I do not think that this is the end to our ice skating!

We ended our time as childless parents with a stop at Starbucks (my kind of dessert)! My honey treated me to a white chocolate mocha, delicious! I have been on a clear or white food diet for what feels like forever, so no caffeine...I REALLY enjoyed this drink!

Sunday:

Yesterday, I woke up early to run and workout (the best way to start a morning). The weather was so beautiful. Cool but sunny. Since it was so nice we decided to go on a family walk so Colin could burn some energy. So energetic! We took him to some nearby tennis courts and he ran around and threw his new found tennis ball.

Later I met up with a friend of mine and some of her friends to go to a vineyard. The place was beautiful, the day was beautiful and the wine was wonderful! I still am not supposed to have colored drinks and food so I stuck with the white, but still enjoyed it. I loved the white sangria. I had such a nice time. The ladies had brought plenty of food, we got plenty of drinks and just enjoyed the BEAUTIFUL day! I love this weather!

Such a great start to my birthday week!

It's a Bird...It's a Plane

...It's Superman!!!!

We decided to go a simple route with Colin's outfit this year...there were a few really cute costumes that I wanted to buy (like a dino - it would have been so cute cause he can roar!) but we knew that he would not be very cooperative with anything that goes over his head. Hats are such a hard thing to get him to wear. A while back, Grammie had sent us two cute pajama sets of Superman (cape and all) and Batman (that he had not worn and were a little big but worked)! Yes, Will was very excited when those came in the mail! We thought that Colin would make an adorable Superman and Batman.

On Friday he wore his Batman outfit for school/daycare (they were having a little Halloween party). He looked so cute! Black is not a color that he usually wears and I thought it looked really good on him. Over the next few years, you will probably see more black filtering into his wardrobe! I only have the one picture of Batman and you cannot really see the outfit, but he looks adorable!

On Halloween, Colin did not make it to far with the actual trick or treating, but he did make a few stops. We stopped at Grandfather B's first and Colin charmed all in his Superman costume (he even had Superman's little curl across his forehead - thanks to daddy)! He did not learn to say "trick or treat" but he still lifted his bucket up (while repeating "ball" - the shapes are similar) and got some candy! He was more excited about two little light up toys shaped like a pumpkin and a ghost. They entertained him all night! Thank you Patty!

We then stopped at Grandma Liz's house. We got to see Colin's cousins, Ryan and Brady, who were adorable as Captain Jack Sparrow and a tiger. Liz made a delicious minestrone type soup for us and just had a wonderful night! Colin got his fill of chasing around Rusty (poor dog) who was dressed for Halloween as well. Lil C had his first lollipop, which he LOVED! That was actually the only piece of candy he had all night...daddy got the bulk of it :)

Our last stop was at Aunt Wendy and Uncle Eric's. Our nephews were adorable as Bumble Bee (transformers) and a Clone Trooper (Star Wars). They were both very sweet and gave Colin some of their candy (which made Uncle Billy very happy). He also got a very cool fire truck that makes noise and lights up...this entertained Colin on the drive home...over and over...Thank you guys! Just teasing - Colin loves it!

What a wonderful Halloween, maybe next year we will attempt to trick or treat at homes outside of our family!

So Many Pumpkins!

On Saturday morning the three of us carved and decorated our pumpkins! I drew the design and scooped out the goopy stuff while Will carved our beautiful pumpkin or ball (as Colin would call it).

Colin got to draw on a couple small pumpkins for his grandma and grandpa! He has been very cute since we bought the pumpkins. He likes to organize them all in a line at one end of the living room and then carry them all (individually) over the dining room table and set them on there. He is so organized! This entertains him for quite some time...the whole month :) Cheap toys. He would get frustrated with our bigger pumpkin because it was "stuck".

The picture above is all of Colin's pumpkins and below is Colin organizing them and getting ready to decorate.

"I'll eat you up, I love you so"

Where the Wild Things Are

This weekend, Will and I were lucky enough to get a date night (thank you Wendy, Eric and of course, Aidan and Alexei for watching Colin). It has been a while since we went to a movie, so we thought we would try one. Will is not big on going to see movies in the theatre, unless the movies have a lot of visual effects. So, it is not too often that we go to see a chick flick or anything like that unless I put on my pouty face :) Actually, I do think it is a good idea to be pickier with going to the movies, it can add up and most of the time I would rather enjoy a nice dinner and then rent the movie later and enjoy it in the comfort of our own home. Plus, I have my movie buddy to go see chick flicks with and she likes them! This time I convinced him to go see Where the Wild Things Are. I am not sure why I wanted to see it so much, but I thought it looked really good...and I actually really enjoyed it. Will liked it but he did not love it. I thought that the movie was more geared towards adults looking back on their childhood rather then children enjoying their childhood. This poor kid next to us actually got scared at one point and started crying. I do recommend the movie though, especially if you like the book. The actor who played Max, the main character, did really well and I thought the movie had some interesting themes and a interesting look into a child's psyche...but that could be the psychology major in me that tries to find that in anything I read and watch!

The next day, we ran some errands, watched football and then went to babysit our nephews, Aidan and Alexei. Colin just loves hanging out with his cousins. They are both six, so quite a bit older than Colin, but they seem to enjoy helping us "take care" of him. Both boys are great with Colin and are showing him how to play with some of their "big boy" toys. As Aidan likes to say "When I was a kid I liked to play with...(insert toy being discussed at the moment)", then he shows Colin the right way to play with said toy. So cute! Colin tries to mimic what they do! The boys love to wrestle with Uncle Billy (aka Will), so Colin tries to also. Mostly, he just walks up to Will and then laughs. Adorable.

Colin is starting to show some of the typical two's behavior that every parents dread. He is so happy most of the time that it caught us off guard. He does not do the behavior a lot and it is not out of control, but we do not like it. So, we may have to buy us a "time out" chair!

...but in all a great weekend with the family.

Black Agnes - Band update

So, the band finally has a name (I think one that they are planning to stick with, but we will see), they are now Black Agnes. There is a story behind the name, but I will share that later. I just wanted to give a quick band update.

This weekend the band played a gig at birthday party that one of Will's co-workers was throwing. The party was on Saturday and they got to play close to 4 hours. I think they worked through 3 sets. This was a great opportunity that allowed them to make some good connections. Everyone seemed to enjoy the music and they received really good feedback!

They were able to play some of their new songs from Ray Charles, Green Day, Red Hot Chili Peppers, etc. They even played a song or two that they had not even practiced. Their abilities amaze me! After the holidays Will is going to start showing me a few things on the guitar (even though he plays bass, but he can show me some basic things). I am excited, but I want to get through the holidays first. With all the holidays, work, an energetic toddler and needing to plan a Christmas trip to Oregon...I am pretty busy!