Were you Merry or Bright???

I'm pretty sure I had both going on! I hope everyone had a rockin' Christmas! Filled with friends and family and food and warmth. Who cares about the gifts these days right? We're just lucky to have peeps to share it with.

(YES I still have to get the OTHER back-dated stuff up, and I will. BOTH kids go back to school on Tuesday! CELEBRAaaaaaaaa-TE good times! COME ON!!! In case you were not aware, I'd totally be dorky enough to make that cool).

Just thought I'd pop in. I heard I got the hopes up of a few with my last visit here, and let everyone down with no photos or video...sorry. I'll put a disclaimer at the beginning from now on. How's that?!?! haha

Our Christmas was really good. I took it a little better this year. I do fine through out the year, it's just certain times, mostly the holidays that I really wanna be with all my peeps. I feel like such a tittie baby too. "I WANNA SEE MY SISSY!!!!!". (I'm totally gonna get it for that one!).
I assume that'd be a normal reaction for anyone else, to wanna see their whoever, but it's still a bit foreign to me ya know.

Anyway, the Kade's school had several programs going on for the season, I'm sure all the teachers and staff were exhausted!! It was really neat though how involved everyone gets. Then on Christmas Eve we went to our friends home for dinner. We had a nice ham and the boys exchanged gifts with their buddy Tyler. It was still pretty icky out with lots of snow and slush on the roads and we had to get back to do our Christmas Eve rituals so we didn't get to stay a long, long time but it was a nice evening. We had to fight Co to stay awake, I think the addition of even MORE dark to the days and the fairly busy schedule had him worn out so he'd been sleeping a lot. We got home though and opened up our Eve gifts of a set of jammies and a movie. I could not find Christmas jammies in this whole entire country! I'd tried to order from the states, but unfortunately...Kade is too big for the awesome Old Navy ones and Co really is just about. I don't like the big boy ones and looked other places...their size, I swear has ALWAYS run along the masses of other kids the same size I guess. There will be piles of what I want in every size BUT the one I need. It's been that way since Kade was born. It's annoying as hell.
So...I just got them jammies. They really needed more jammies, so it didn't matter. ;o) They didn't notice there was no reindeer or penguins on them. We baked some cookies and watched Mickey Mouse Christmas and wrote our letters to Santa. Cody was too tired and grouchy, so he just scribbled all over it. Kade, oh did I just MELT or what?!?!, wrote his ALL by himself and it's seriously AWESOME. So we got everything out and put out carrots for the reindeer, b/c Comet needs to eat healthier (The Santa Clause 2). Then off to bed they went. Cody was pretty insistent he was going to sleep on the sofa so he could catch the big guy in the act, but we finally got him to believe no one would really come if he didn't get in HIS bed. (isn't that argument not supposed to start for like a few more years?!?!). Yikes.
Sooo....then Mike and I hurried up and got ourselves in bed so Santa could get here!!! Man, it's hard to sleep on Christmas Eve, even when you're a grown up.
As it was, well...my kids have somehow gotten their Dad's early riser, morning person genes so they didn't get up any earlier than usual. If they had...it would've been ugly. ha!
It really is my favorite thing I think, when they first walk in the living room on Christmas morning. Of everything, all year long...nothing compares, to first reaction on Christmas morning. I think next year, I may set up the video to record automatically so I don't have to rush ahead of everyone and try to tape it and photograph it etc....
Its that expression though, that I love to grab. It's the same of kids on Christmas morning, or when I shoot weddings. (I am the lame-o who tries to dissuade couples from seeing one another beforehand, regardless of the "new" way of doing it). I HAVE to get that first expression. It's the best. :)
Anyway, Santa...that ol' softy, he was pretty darn generous this year. For all of us. :o)
Due to his generosity, I was able to finally get a new lens!! I've been DYING without it! Seriously. Torturous!
The kids, as always got way too many things. They are so spoiled already, but we're all about to sit down and THEY are going to pick several of their toys to donate to less fortunate children. Best of all? They got LOADS of jammies!!! Its ridiculous how excited me and Mike were about that! ha! We just love it when they have pretty, matching jammies. We're just weird I guess.
Between Granny and Aunt Stephanie and Santa, those boys are totally decked out in jammies! Love it! I haven't had to scrounge for something suitable at all!

After we did our gifts and played with our toys and got things put away, we had some friends over. I'd made chicken spaghetti. My second attempt since we got here, the first one was edible...but so not great! This one however, freakin perfection. I've eaten myself sick on chicken spaghetti! I did awesome and I totally don't mind bragging on myself at all. ha!
We wish a few more of our friends could have joined us, but they were unable to do so...it's okay though. They know they were in our thoughts. 8o)
We had a fab time though. The kids all played great together with the new toys. The dads kinda took the lead with the kiddos so Mamas got to have a fewwwww drinks. hehe! It was really nice. I enjoyed it very much!

So, even though we were not able to be with our extended family. We were with our own little family and tried to open that up to anyone that needed a few more people around them on Christmas. Next year we will be on base, so I'm pretty sure the guest list will be much larger. Good thing that chicken spaghetti recipe makes so much (and Shannon will laugh hysterically, Mike asked me if I should double up on the recipe! hahaha).

So. Now, today we face the end of the year. I've seen so many people saying how they can't wait for 2009 to be over, it's been such an awful year. While I can totally relate...I have to say that actually, its been a pretty damn good year for me. Sure there are trials and tribulations always, but comparatively to what soooooo many others have gone through. I don't have a single damn complaint. Not one.

Resolutions? Well...you know I hear people have issues with the word resolution. I resolve to do something, does tend to sound like something I wouldn't WANT to do, but I must. However...anything I need to change, are things I WANT to change and I hardly care what time of year it is. So last year, when asked, rather than coming up with ways I could do things for myself really, or these totally unrealistic goals that few ever reach "lose 40lbs, write a novel, marry a prince, win the lottery...."
Yeah. Okay.
So anyway, last year I said that in the year 2009, I wanted to laugh more. I think I did that. I wanted more smiling and laughter in my home, to spread that virus on to others. Whether I did that or not, who knows. My huge goal was to get more of a handle on me and my home. While I still have a LONG way to go, there's been loads of progress and for that, I couldn't be happier. I call it a successful year.

So this year, I again seek even MORE laughter. Less fretting. More togetherness, better health, more activity for the whole family. I promise I will let my imagination and my creativity run away with me. I will not do anything artistic half way, for fear of the work to go into it, or it being too....whatever for anyone else. I will set it free, and not hold anything back. That is what I expect out of myself this year. On one hand, I see that could seem a bit selfish, but it will, just as laughter is, be contagious. There's at least one other creative monster in this house that is screaming to be set free, so now that he's got the bug up his butt and he is, rather obsessively, coloring and drawing anything and everything at the most random moments...he will only see, that you should never hold back your art. Whatever it is. That is the lesson I want them to learn this year. I want myself to learn it and feel it.
I imagine it feels as good as being horseback, in a big open field and letting go of the reins, yelling, "GO!!!". That's an amazing feeling in itself, so I look forward to feeling it again and sharing that.

So, that's where I'm at, for the year of 2010.
I still crack up and SO wish, as I wish many things like this, that someone had saved my old school projects. Papers and drawings etc... I remember throughout my elementary years being asked what we thought it would be like in the year 2000. We were all in flying cars and space suits etc... I think back to that nearly every year now and still laugh on the inside.

Oh, and absolutely nothing to do with new years or resolutions etc...
I've quit smoking. 8o)
Yes, its only been a few days and perhaps people will doubt me. Do not. Remember I am but a strange creature and know how I am when I make up my mind. That is something about me, that is sometimes to the disadvantage of others, but advantageous to me. It may take me a long, long, LONG time to get to a point. When I get there though, and it is pretty randomly decided without much forethought at all, I am there and there will be no reconsideration.
I've gotten sick a few times before and thought, "what a good opportunity to quit." but usually would slowly go out and smoke as if I had no control over my actions. Quite pathetic actually. Which, any sort of out of control, pathetic behavior on my part always pisses me OFF. I am not so cool with feeling weak in any manner you know. Smoking is a weakness. Just as not exercising, eating like shit....whatever your vice may be. Those are several of mine.
So, smoking is, as quitting any sort of addiction, be it a dietary, chemical or emotional just a habit. Something that ANYONE can do, you just gotta tough it out.
I mean, its not like quitting freaking meth or something, come on! Is it hard? Um...yes. Of course it is. It's easier TO smoke. To be a bad example for my children, nearly guarantee myself a tank and tubes to carry around when I'm older, smell nasty, spend LOTS of money...yeah I mean that is easier than stopping. However, I have quit LOTS of things, made LOTS of big steps that have made me a better person several times over in my life. I'm fairly sure that cigarettes are pretty small in the grand scheme of things.
So I got sick this week, didn't smoke for many hours and thought, "oh hell...this is it. I"m done." I have now made that announcement on here and my facebook where at LEAST 600+ people have seen it. I absolutely will not wimp out now. No way could I allow myself to look weak to that many people. ;o)

So. That is what is going on here.
Next big thing??? Bring on another 30-something year! I'm can handle it.

Now.
Photos.
No Captions. My office has been invaded too many times and now they won't leave (and we SHOULD be leaving very soon for our appointment with bob the barber).

do you hear what i hear?????

it's the sound of my bad luck, that then appears more like GOOD luck kicking in yet again.
and let us all say a HUGE thank you.

why? well, i'm sure a few have really worried WHY i have not shared my Kade birthday blog among any other random things for ages.
well...in the middle of typing up my Kade birthday blog, the power went out. the power goes out at this STUPID house daily, if not more often. (i hate hate hate this house. check that, i love love love my house, just hate hate hate my useless landlord/letting agents).
ANYWAY. yes blogger DOES save as i type, however...i'd JUST began the typing portion. prior to that was collecting all necessary thoughts and stories to share and of course, photos. so by that time, the power went out and i lost it. my patience that is.
fast forward. finding the time and "place" to write again wasn't happening as it should've with all the holiday cheer (craaaazy schedule between school etc...). then, of course what else could happen? yeah...i got the funk. i mean my computer did. ya know, i didn't renew my norton and went with another one recommended to me by SEVERAL computer guru's and well, lets just say it's time i made up with norton b/c i'm so less than impressed. 8o
NOT a fan of AVG. HEY! it did finally find that it had a trojan on it, when you might ask? ooooh...when i'd run a couple of "killers" on it and had downloaded a new malware program and it was halfway done scanning (which took nearly 3 hours). if AVG were a real live person, i'd have really and truly (and not just SAYING it, i REALLY woulda) walked up to them and kicked the shit out of them right in their shin. perfectly projected to that ONE super tender spot on the shin.
yeah, thanks for NOTHING!
at any rate, my good luck is... the crisis is now averted. files and computer seem to be intact.
i just got scared and turned it off for a few days until i could get my bearings straight and do some research on how to do it properly. thankfully, my ADHD keeps my organization to a minimum and i've got 4 external hard drives full of photos and the times i've zapped that poor computer with improper voltage, i try not to keep much on it (poor thing). so it was just a little bit of stuff that i think was not backed up, so while it would've been heartbreaking, it could've been much much worse!
so.
yeah.

i was just getting worried and finally had to build up my guts and just do it b/c now all my memory cards are FULL and they had nowhere to go. (long boring computer nerd story as to why i can only do pics on one computer).
i've got LOTS of snow pics. we got about 8" of snow and its still covering the ground several days later. all you fellow texans know that is unheard of! ;)
we MIGHt just MIGHT have a white Christmas and i'm SUCH a little kid i'm just giddy! the other night i was bouncing around with excitement, yeah...REALLY, about the snow while Mr. Grumbly Bear was complaining about having to drive to work in it! I guess it's a good thing we do have little kids to revel in the small things with me. :) we can get damn excited about snow and santa and chocolate together.
so needless to say, i've got a LOT of photos of them! it's kinda slushy gross and REALLY cold out right now, so we've not been out in it yet today or y'day at all. our snowman is holding strong though...

the boys are out of school until jan. 5th. i was terrified of it, but i'm actually enjoying it already. (see this same subject NEXT week). i was able to think ahead a smidge and bought some little nifties at the craft store on base (OMG i SOOOOO miss hobby lobby and Michaels and think they BLOW CHUNKS for not having online shopping). so we'll have a few crafty days and then well, after they open all their goodies on Friday morning, i'm sure they'll stay pretty entertained.
i'm having fun with them. i love their ages right now. 3 & 5. WOW. how cool! :) they're so much fun and so big and just freakin awesome. i'm in a lovin' mood lately i guess. something crawled up my fanny and reminded me to REALLY look around when i try to get grouchy lately. my kids are freakin AWESOME. my husband is AWESOME and our dog is even AWESOME!
life is good. 8o)
i guess i'd gotten pretty down in the dumps for so many pretty BIG things happening at home and again, its just certain times (holidays included) that it is pretty tough to not be there. but we make the best of it and i'm certain everyone knows how much we LOVE them and we'd be there w/out a second thought if it were remotely possible. we WILL be there in 2010 though.
we're also going over some big decisions we've got to make within the next year or so and we might be possibly maybe going a different direction than originally planned when we came over here. we are not going to close any doors and things can change for sure, but the idea of it being more of a possibility is exciting and a relief to me i think.

as an update to my lens situation. well...it's just a goner. the shop had it for 4+ months and then when they finally got the INFO, not even the PARTS it wa going to cost 5x what it was originally which would end up being a good bit more than i'd even paid for it new. i just took it there thinking it would save some time rather than sending it back to the states for warranty work. so i guess i will ship it off there now. but...i've got the hook up on the lens situation FINALLY and well, i think that being up in the air for so long was really weighing on my mind.
its really really really hard to be a "--------------" (insert whatever you are at heart) and not be able to fully do that. an artist w/ canvases but no paint or a musician with a guitar but no strings. you get the idea. to be a creative person with no creative outlet, or to only be doing a sub-par job with whatever you can find. well it SUCKS.
it is dis-heartening.
nonetheless i've built up quite the catalog of things and places i need to shoot. some stuff that i always wanted to do, but never did. it is the year (2010) of letting my creativity run free. no more excuses. however lame they were. no mas.

when the boys go back to school, co will be in 4 full days a week! YIKES! they only did mornings on mon/tues and were able to open up those afternoons and he said he wanted to do 4 instead of 3. i can do fab entertaining him for one day alone, but seriously, by day 2 we're running on low. (high maintenance kid here, don't knock me till you contend with him). haha. so he's really excited and i think it makes him feel like that much more of a big boy to go almost as much as kade.
i am hoping and praying i can find SOMEWHERE fo rhim to go to big boy school in September. he's totally ready for it in everyway. i will not get into debates about it either. i know people are speaking from their own experiences, but i speak from mine and the fact that i know my kids. people continually tell me how much better it is to let them start later. but i disagree very much. if your child is not ready, then OBVIOUSLY it is best to wait. however kade is one of the younger ones in his class and he's doing great, teachers all around brag on him when i'm there. about how well he does. he's reading so well! yes READING! fully? well no of course not, but for his age? he can totally read some books all by himself. its awesome! anyway, knowing my kids like i do...b/c they are mine and all and from my own experience as a child. to me, in my humble opinion... holding a child back when they are fully ready due to what society says, what the "average" rule says etc... is hurting them just as much. i'd have done soooooo much better had i been able to move forward and experienced a lot more challenge. my kids get JUST as bored. when they get bored...guess what they do? they are disruptive, destructive, obnoxious etc.... (in other words i, in no way, entertain them nearly well enough at home!haha). so anyway. that rant...is just that i'm trying to find somewhere for cody to go to school, where it is a good mix of curriculum and structure with free play as well. he's ENORMOUS. intelligent. and easily bored. we need to challenge him all the way. haha

kade has been thriving in school. absolutely thriving. it's been soo good for him and i'm amazed by him all the more. i've got myself one hell of an artist on my hands for sure and i LOVE it. he's got that totally insane balance of middle brain going on like me i think. he is not what i'd call totally ambidextrous, but can use both hands accordingly such as me. he's not 100% one thing or another like me. he's very artistic, but extremely logical at the same time. it's a gift and a curse all at once. but hey, at least i will be able to identify with him right? i never knew there was an "in between" when you got into the whole right brain/ left brain thing, but apparently there is and i have finally found my place. haha
more on kade in his bday blog though.

coming.
soon.

and here i was just gonna come on and say "hey" and "more to come'
HA!!!
don't we all know better????

Tripping over this milestone -- FIVE years old?!?!?!

I knew this day would come, I imagined it so long ago. I tried to picture what you would look like at this age, I knew it'd be damn cute regardless. Trying to think back now, did I get your smile right? Your hair color? Probably not. ;o) Those eyes are still unmistakable though!

Kade, today you turn 5 years old. I cannot believe how fast time has gone by. I feel so anxious about it, wanting it to stop, slow down...just let me make sure I'm doing this right! Let me make sure I get in all the things I want you to remember. Fun things, special things, things that made you happy. Have I taught you enough to be five already? Are you ready for this? I might be out in left field, but to me turning five is the first big deal birthday you get when you are young. You're not a baby, not a toddler, pre-schooler or anything else anymore. You are a KID now! A full blown big boy!
I don't know if I'm ready for you to be a big boy yet, but I guess there's just no stopping it either! The good thing is, and the thing that maybe you won't want the world to know in a few years, is that you are a Mama's boy. You still crawl up in my lap and cuddle like nobodies business. If my arms are feeling empty, it takes but one simple request and you readily fill them up.
You are such, and have always been, a loving boy. That is probably my biggest worry for you. Letting you out into the big bad world, you will soon find that everyone is not as loving as you are. They are not all kind-hearted and caring. The thought of you realizing that, breaks my heart just a bit because I fear it will break yours just a little as well. Perhaps it has not been the right thing to do, but I have just wanted you to be a kid and nothing more. It is still what I want for you and your brother. Just enjoy being kids because it's a really short amount of time you get that privilege and then you have to grow up. Only when you are a grown up, do you find...it's really not that fun at all. It pretty well sucks most of the time, except for getting to do neat things like raise little boys.

I just want to keep seeing that look on your face that I have always seen, and I still see so very often. That look that tells me your body might be right here, but your imagination has you a million miles away. I think that when you are there, wherever it is, you are free and happy and never know a care in the world. I hope that you are always able to go there, whenever you need to. Whatever this wonderful place is, it is yours and yours alone.
Your intelligence and imagination absolutely amaze me. Your imagination never stops. Never stops and that makes me smile.
I smile when I walk up to my car and see you've drawn a smiley face on the door in the dirt. When I walk around to the back of the car and find a whole scene of stick people going to work or making dinner. I smile when I find 30 million pieces of paper all through out the entire house anywhere and everywhere anyone could ever imagine, that are all drawings, scenes, words, letters and/or numbers that you've drawn. You've gone to nearly obsessive but I will certainly let you. :o) Most definitely let you let your imagination pour out of you freely.
I love it so much, that I do something I probably should not and perhaps your dates will be horrified by it when you are older...but I let you play with your food. So when you are 26 and don't understand why these girls get these crazy looks on their faces when you take them out to dinner and then don't return your calls. This is why. Well, truly though, it's a blessing in disguise I am sure, because until you take out the girl that truly appreciates your ability to replicate the Eiffel Tower with 4 pretzels, some broccoli and a piece of bread, she's just not your soul mate. No, until you take out the girl that leans across the table and adds her own monument in mashed potatoes, you just need to keep searching.
I let you play with your food because for some reason, your imagination goes wild when you eat and you've constructed some of the truly neatest damn things with your food. To add to the weirdness of our family, I then try to grab my camera and photograph your masterpieces before they are crushed, eaten or otherwise mutilated.
You are the boy, that any mother would be overjoyed to have as a son. You are the boy that I dreamt of. You are the boy, that I smile about each time I realize that you are MINE. That I was blessed to have you, to be your Mom and to get to spend nearly EVERY single day of your life with you until you go off on your own.
Some ways you leaving home is so far off, but in the same breath, I know it's really not going to be that far off in the grand scheme of things.
So since we know I could gush on you for hours on end, I will close here and just say, that I love you. I am so very proud of you in every way imaginable and I am so very, very lucky to be your Mommy and watch you grow up. You are the greatest brother, such a beautiful and loving son and a great friend to everyone.
Happy Birthday baby boy.

To end...a slideshow. Five years of Kade, in no particular order. Almost, but not precisely... ;o)

Thankful to be so Thankful

Well, it really will be a quickie b/c it's past my Thanksgiving bedtime. However I felt I could not go to sleep without popping on to wish everyone a very SAFE and HAPPY Thanksgiving. By now I'm sure most of you have had your eats and are sitting around getting sloshed watching football or something.
Hook em' Horns.... :o)

I have so many things to be thankful for and I'm really most thankful, that I can see that.
So a few things to say I am thankful for - granted I could go on for an hour, but I won't.

1. My beautiful amazing sweet little boys. They think their Mommy hung the moon and that's alright with me! :o)

2. My beautiful sweet loving husband, I never in a million years thought I'd be lucky enough to find someone as wonderful as him...yet here we are all (yeah ALLLL haha) these years later still as crazy about each other as we were way back when. ;o)

3. My AMAZING extended family! I have a hard time calling my "extended" family "extended" to be honest. That sounds a smidge too impersonal I think. I'm talking like, Steph and fam, Mark and fam and Pop and Shannon. I think we're all closer than "extended" to me. I'm so so so thankful for them all. For all the times and all the ways they've been there for us each or individually and most of all, for loving our little boys the way they do. That's most important to me.

4. Of course, while it STILL sounds impersonal, my really extended family! Yeah, ya know to be sorta "orphaned" in a way...I've really got an ENORMOUS family, both sides and including my in-law family too. Holy hell we could all fill up a football field almost! ha!
I love that there are SO many of us, but no matter how long its been between seeing each other, the hugs are just as genuine and we can sit down and talk for hours like we've not missed a day! I think THAT is awesome!

5. My fabulous friends. I can say, beyond all the other ways I am so blessed, this is truly one way I feel extremely blessed because I have something in friends, that I feel few people get. You hear so many SAY they are thankful for their friends, but I really really am. I *think* most folks are very close to and very thankful for their families and a friend or maybe two. I am blessed to have many, many great and very dear friends. I confuse the hell out of people when I say, "My best friend....." because they tend to think my one best friend leads an insanely busy life. ;) haha

6. I am thankful for the opportunities I've been given in my life. No matter what path I've gone down, no matter how it turned out or seemed at the time. Good or bad. I am thankful for all of it. That could sound seriously mental if you knew how bad some of the bad was, but I can truly say, in my most serious manner, I would go through it again to be where I am and who I am. The good has so out weighed the bad, it's always worth it.

7. I am thankful for the chance to share, well this can only come out corny I guess I can't word it correctly, my soul with the world -- whoever sees it anyway. I think so many people walk around with so much in them that they are either too afraid or too busy or whatever... they never share it. So I am thankful, to be someone that cannot hold it in. My pictures are just a reflection of the way I see things and it comes from deep down. It is one of the few reasons it is sometimes difficult to do that for a living, because it is really so personal, even when the photos are ones I've been asked to take - the way I portray what I see is very personal and it is difficult to put a price on that, much less the times when people want more for less and just cheapen how much heart I put into it. Perhaps there will be some more writing and other expressions of creativity to come soon.... ;o)

8. Here's a good one...I'm thankful for ADHD meds and a dr. that finally listened to me all the way through rather than cutting me off b/c I did well in school as a child (small child mind you). This has opened up an entirely new world for me and it's taking a LOT (and I mean a LOT) of hard work to get where I want to be for myself and my family, but I will do it and I AM. SUre there are slip ups and I slide backward, but the important thing is...I keep on walking right back up that slippery slope. Insistent, persistent and completely determined to the day I die, to get to the top and stay there.

9. I am thankful for the many miracles I've seen in my life. When I can sit down and put it on paper, which I really ought to do that soon, the things I've seen in my life that I view as miraculous - its really pretty amazing. Since I"m not one of those people that's watched the sunrise from the top of a Tibetan monastery or walked on the moon etc... I've just seen a lot of everyday miracles. A lot of not so everyday miracles. Births, deaths and healing that seemed impossible. There are many more to come and I'll take them all and soak it up and NEVER forget.

10. Of course I should add a conceited one. WHy not? It wouldn't be very "me" without would it? In all seriousness though, whatever divine intervention we shall believe in. I can obviously only say it had to be God that did it. ;) I am thankful that I am me. That probably sounds stupid, or insanely narcissistic but...well, maybe you just have to BE me to understand it. I am glad I am the person I am, wherever I got the resiliency that I've somehow come by, wherever some of this all came from. I am thankful. I am thankful that I keep on going no matter what. I am thankful to not walk around bitter about things I cannot change everyday. I am thankful that I can accept my past and the actions of others as simply that and still just be happy to be me. I am thankful that I can accept others and our differences, granted sometimes it might take me a bit of thinking but I do always come around, and still love them and/or forgive them. I am thankful that I am no longer afraid to be heard. I am thankful that I can have a sense of humor nearly all the time about nearly anything.
So, with so many other possible scenarios of what might have been for me...I am DAMN thankful this is the one I got. I shudder to imagine how the simplest decision could have put me somewhere very far, from the someone I am now. I am truly thankful, that I don't use the "where I came from, what I've been through" bit as an excuse for ANYTHING.
(Again, that all might SOUND all full of me, but...you'd just have to know a LOT about me I guess. Only a few others can really grasp it I think). ;)

11. I am thankful for the beautiful happy smiles that wake me up each morning.

12. I am thankful for the little fingers that tap me on the back lightly when I'm getting a hug.

13. I am thankful for haircolor. ;o)

14. I am BEYOND thankful for our health. Words can hardly say it enough.

15. I am thankful for the little surprises that come my way sometimes, when I least expect them!!!!!!

16. Most of all, I am thankful. For the full tummy I've got tonight. The warmth coming from the radiators. The snuggles I will get when I climb in my bed in a minute. The roof that is keeping us dry. The car I've got to drive. The bills that are paid. We should all ALWAYS be thankful of that, but I will say these days...we should be THAT MUCH MORE thankful for it.

I hope that everyone, no matter how dismal things may look to you today, can sincerely find something at least one thing, they are truly thankful for and pass it on. Reminding others of what YOU have to be thankful for, might sometimes be construed as bragging, but I think instead, it reminds them of what THEY have to be thankful for and thus begins a domino effect. Everyone is walking around thankful rather than wishful.

Please enjoy your meals or company or the very breath you take today. Drive safely and smile! :o) If nothing else, be thankful you can do that! THere are people on this earth that can't even do that. So be thankful yoU CAN!!!!!!

I was not going to really cook anything traditional today. We were going to cook a meal and sit down to eat together, but I had no intentions of making an actual Thanksgiving meal.
However...on making a couple of turkeys for Mike's shop luncheon, I found that my son is a freakin NUT about turkey! Kade was going bananas over the fact there was a turkey in our oven!
He would NOT get out of the kitchen for HOURS! He talked at Steph-speed (that's really fast talking just so you know) about how he loved turkey, he wanted turkey, was the turkey done yet? he didn't want his dinner, he wanted that turkey b/c he loved turkey...and yeah it went on for AGES. I decided then I should probably go buy the poor kid a turkey. So...yes, there's ME (and sadly I was nowhere NEAR the only dumbass out at 7:30pm the night before) at the commissary last night getting a turkey and trimmings.
So... we did it!
I feel like a total grown up now. Is that weird? I should still feel like a "kid" per se b/c we went elsewhere to eat every year? Well, for whatever reason it really made me feel like a REAL grown up and a REAL parent!
Together Mike and I made (insane I tell you) turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, gravy, green bean casserole, cranberry sauce, corn, rolls, pumpkin pie and my fab chocolate banana pie. So okay really some of the key things there were not from "scratch" but does that REALLY matter? no. The dressing was some fancied up stove top, the pumpkin pie was frozen...but everything else was REAL! We did it in very little time too.
We sat down and had our big meal all together at our table. We had wine glasses and the fancy plates out too! ha! The boys had apple-pomegranate cider and we had wine. They thought they were pretty cool getting "grown up drinks". The teacher wants Kade to talk about Thanksgiving tomorrow, I'm sure there will be mention of his grown up drink and that might not look so great..... I should maybe put a note in his bag. ha!

Otherwise we are all doing great! Just waiting on a couple of last minute items to come in the mail so i can get all of our packages sent off, I'm SO excited! I love buying gifts!!! I'm so so so into decorating this year too. I've never ever gotten very carried away with it, but I would sort of like to...I think. Maybe that's more of that grown up thing? How can I have been so "old" for my years all this time, but not feel like an adult for so long either? Somehow cooking a turkey and putting up some garland seems like it might be a rite of passage into my real womanhood.
Wow, there's a book title... ha!

So, um...yeah. So much for short. We all knew better though.
I have the gift of gab in type. What can I say?
I can say good night........


xoxoxox

Favor - I really don't think I ask for those often...do I?

So here I am again. I know, it's mind boggling isn't it?
Well, I am on at the moment to ask for something. I don't think I really ask for help often, and well it's not something that would really put anyone out at all I don't think.
If you might possibly remember, from my photog-blog, last summer JUST before we came over here one of my best friends found out her little girl had brain cancer. Emma is the same age as Kade, her birthday in a couple of days, she'll be five. She had brain surgery last year, she did 6 weeks of radiation where she had to go under general anesthesia every single day for treatment. She had to re-learn how to do pretty much EVERYTHING again, as the surgery messed up her fine motor skills etc... I'm talking about walking, talking, eating...the whole nine yards. She then had a follow up surgery to correct some damage done to her eye from the surgery. All of her scans came back clear.
She was vibrant, healthy and back to her old self. Back in dance, soccer, running and playing and laughing and being 4 years old.
She had another scan in September and much to everyone's shock, it was back. It was very small, this has been a slow growing, non-aggressive tumor all along. They had some time and were going to do another scan in November and were looking at other treatment options. So, she went in for her scan the other day...it's grown 10x its size since September and is now causing mild hydroencephalous due to putting pressure on the spinal cord. They MUST do surgery immediately.
Last time they could not get ALL of the tumor because it was attached to her spinal cord, for fear of the irreversible damage it could do they left 1% of it there and would kill that off with the radiation. This time, they --so far as I am aware, it may have changed today-- have to take all of it.
They got the results of the scan on Saturday, they had an appt today with the neuro-surgeon and oncologist and were told they would probably admit her on Tuesday and do surgery on Wednesday. I've just learned that...they won't even be waiting THAT long. Surgery is tomorrow.
The thought of what all is going on with them makes me physically ill. This is such a beautiful little girl, she and Kade were buds instantly. The family also has a younger girl, just a smidge younger than Cody who is just as precious.
So that in itself really gets to you, but there's even more...Em's Mom is pregnant and due any day now. Yes...that is right. I believe she will be able to have the baby at a hospital adjacent to where Em is having her surgery, so that will be good shoud little boy decide to come now, let us hope he will hang out another week or two where it's all nice and comfy.
I cannot, in all honesty, comprehend being in their shoes right now. It's extremely difficult now, as it was last year, not to BE there for this. Whatever I could do...
At any rate, my purpose is this, I ask simply that if you pray to please pray. If you meditate, or send good vibes, dole out karma...really, anything you've got, please I ask that you include this family. That is all she has asked for from anyone is prayer for the doctors to be steady handed and to find a miracle, for a speedy recovery for Emma and as little damage as possible.
So, please, as you say your bedtime prayers, or head off to church or are just thinking about sending good thoughts, please think of the Maltbie family this evening and tomorrow and anytime beyond that too of course. ;)
It is also a cause for me to stop short when I get frustrated with my boys for acting wild and crazy. I'm just so damn thankful that they can and it hurts so much at the same time knowing that Emma won't be able to fight with her sister for awhile again.
(If you didn't happen to notice it, and I'm not asking but if there were something more you wanted to do, there's a link up to the top left hand side here to help out if you wish. Keep in mind, that's just there to be there, I'm not here asking for money, just for prayers lots and lots of heartfelt prayers). 

I love you guys so much and wish there was something I could do and I hope you will let me know if there is anything at all that comes to mind. You can call at ANY time, or email and let me know you are calling or something!

six years ago today...

Six years ago, on this very day...I married my best friend. I can still remember the day itself so vividly. My sister (bless her poor soul, what a trooper!) running around with me like crazy trying to get last minute things and getting our hair done and I can even remember that fateful trip to Fazoli's. Oy, word from the wise girls, don't eat lasagne on your wedding day! Too many carbs, bloat...it took an army to cinch me into that dress!!!
I am to this day so very thankful for ALL the people that pitched in SO much help for our wedding. Everyone, I think of it and I think of all the weddings I have shot now and really, we were so very blessed to have so many folks help out doing so many things. I knew it then and I still have not forgotten!

I remember being a ball of nerves. Not for marrying my sweet husband, but I think because of all the people that were there. So many people came, I was really blown away. So many folks came out to wish us well, to share in our special day...people we'd not seen in years, people that drove a LONG way, people we'd just seen the night before. So many people were there to support us and see this wonderful thing take place. I was, in itself, surprised that many people came at all for the weather was SO nasty that night and the church was such a long drive for most. It really meant so much to both of us though. It still contributed to my nerves though!
Who knows why I can stand in a crowd and talk to 100 people and not once think twice about it, but man...put me in a dress in an aisle with 200 people staring at me...YIKES!!!! I'm still astounded I did not fall. No really...

At the other end of that aisle though, was the most beautiful smile in the world. What I thought never existed in this world, what I thought people only wrote songs about or love stories or sappy movies. How wrong I was though, because here I was, walking toward him. There he was, waiting for me to get there. He took my hand, and I held his tight...

The rest of it all just floated away. We were getting married. Finally. This amazing person, was actually saying these vows? To me?? Why yes, yes he was. Nothing else mattered anymore, we were getting married and life was for us, just about us and what we had.
What we had and still to this day have, is something that I honestly am sad to say I think very few people get in their lives. I knew it then. I still do.

Our life together has, no doubt, been a whirlwind! For thinking we had it all planned out and under control, boy were we EVER wrong! It's certainly one of those moments when life laughs its ass off at you and says, "oh yeah ya think??? well how 'bout THIS then...???".
Regardless of anything and everything, we've gone through it ups and downs together. I mean think of it if you will, however your own relationships have gone, we've seriously had big thing after big thing after big thing the entire time we've been together. I sit and wonder now, what it could possibly be next? In all honesty, it kind of feels like things should calm now, the boys are getting older and don't need so much coddling, we're here for another 3 years so we KNOW we're not moving for a bit, I can't get pregnant anymore, unless I really AM that much of a freak of nature. So...I almost feel like I'm sitting around with a baseball glove just waiting to catch the next thing. Good or bad, I'm always ready. :)

Just four short months after our wedding day, we got pregnant with Kade, then just after he turned one, the BIG shocker, Mr. Uh-Oh Cody! So then that would be precisely 22 months to the day later, we had two kids! Holy crap! We sold our house, moved to Merkel, opened and closed a studio, Mike studied and gained two more ranks, we had another enormous shocker regarding pregnancy that really took its toll and then my surgery and then when we all thought FINALLY, things will calm down now...we moved to England.
Suffice it to say, I'm a bit hesitant to relax very much!

Through it all though, through all the ups and downs that any marriage has, although I think we've had far more ups and hardly any downs, we've stood by each other and supported one another through every single thing. Whether it was a nudge to follow a dream or a shoulder to lean on when things got too heavy. We've been together, there for each other. That's what it's all about anyway. So how could we have possibly gone wrong? We didn't, not at all.
Now, it's no secret that I'm a looney and firmly believe in fate, and karma and all that jazz. The timelines, the stories we told each other, the numerous times we could have met prior, the ways we could have almost not met, or not ended up together are so crazy, there is such a fine line...we both can only say it was truly fate that brought us together.
(if not two grandpa's upstairs in their coveralls manipulating things just a little...;o) ).

We are truly, truly blessed with two gorgeous, precious, intelligent, HEALTHY little boys. With friends and family abound that love us to pieces and are always there for us. We're living an opportunity that many only daydream about here in Europe. We have food in our bellies (maybe too much sometimes... ;) ) and our health. We've got each other everyday (for the most part) and that's all anyone really needs in life.
If I could wish something for everyone, I don't think I'd ask for World Peace (haha) I think instead I would ask, that everyone gets to have what Mike and I have, and that they can SEE it when they have it. I'm so thankful that WE see it and have always seen it from our very first date.

I am in the mood to be thankful for so much and what started all that I have to be thankful for...is my husband. Of course, I am thankful for loving myself enough and being strong enough to get to where I was to meet him, but beyond that (while it's certainly ENORMOUS) he is who I must thank. He's loved me like no one in this world ever could. He's been patient with me, he's understood me and most of all...he's accepted me with all my eccentricities. That in itself, tells me but one thing...he really does love ME. He can laugh at the dumb things I do, and when I am so angry at myself for flaking on something or forgetting something...he can make me laugh at myself too. I love that about him more than he probably knows. I love that he's always called me a fruit-cake, b/c it's an endearing term, that just tells me he really loves how off the wall I can be sometimes.

He's helped me to become more of the person I was striving to be, and still am. He's given me something I literally NEVER thought I'd have in my life, and that is two little boys who think their Mommy and Daddy hung the moon.

He is the hand that I hold, and that really says so very much more than anyone can ever likely know. There is nothing and no one that could ever come between us, of that I have no doubt. It is hard to say, and perhaps silly of me in many ways, but I think that people really know when they love and are loved REALLY REALLY to the core. I know that we do, each of us, no matter what fortune or fault. That is why, on this date, six short/long years ago...something fabulous happened because two people that really, really meant it, said their vows from the very depth of their souls.
He is, the only person, I've ever been able to picture myself old with. Ever, ever. I've never been able to picture myself old (and we'll be honest here, I don't think it's gonna be all that graceful for me) but I can see us, gray ....er...well okay I'll probably still be coloring but anyway. I can see us older, we'll say that because seriously I'm vain enough I'm sure I'll have my own suite at the plastic surgeons all in good time, and together. Still holding hands and laughing. That is what I see in our future, together and holding hands full of laughter. Now, it may well be us walking off to the funny farm together...but hey, we're still together. ;)

So to my husband, I love you...till my last breath to the very bottom of my soul. I still fall more in love with you each year, each month, each day.

(good gosh do I miss that figure though! *sigh*) hehe

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

See? I'll always be dorky with you! 8o)

Twick-oh-Tweat!!!!

Yes Happy (belated) Halloween all!
Hi, I'm Aimee and I'm the world's crappiest blogger. Okay so I still hate sitting at the computer. I'm trying!!! Really I am.
This year the boys picked their own costumes, much to my dismay. Nah, not really it could have been WAY worse for sure! Just leave it to Cody to go out in left field, but he was insistent on his and I really don't know WHERE it came from either! Gotta love it!
Kade was dead-set on being Woody. I've been DYING for us all to dress up like Toy Story characters for ages! So I thought this HAD to be there year! Alas, Cody wanted to be Spiderman. Uh...???? Only b/c we don't really watch Spiderman, we don't have many spiderman toys and honestly...they've just not given much thought to spiderman ever. I asked him numerous times though and he still insisted that is what he wanted. Never in a million years did I think he'd wear a mask, nor did I ask him or mention it, but out of the blue he went on in great detail how he'd wear a mask and again, I am lost on where all of this came from. At any rate, I ordered his costume...spiderman. Mask included.
Kade, had to be Woody. I asked if he just wanted to be a cowboy or if it was specific to Woody the cowboy. It was WOODY the cowboy and nothing else. Well...maybe I'm mean but I could NOT bring myself to buy that costume. If I could've found the set w/ just the shirt and hat etc... (in time b/c I did later) then fine. However the little jumpsuit thing was just WAY too cheap/froofy for me. I couldn't do it. So last minute miracle mom here, found a rockin cowboy costume in Cambridge! Yeah those are oddly hard to come by in England...wonder why? ha!
Anyway, he was overjoyed with it, while it wasn't ACTUALLY Woody, it was a cowboy and he was Woody damn it. He loved it.
To top it off, their lame parents dressed up too! Yep, MIKE got himself a costume as well. Shocked aren't you? I am!
So we were, Mike the Daddy Cowboy, Woody, Spiderman and Mom the Witch. Yeah I know shocker to some of you eh? ;) ha! Someday my dream of dressing up like Wonder Woman WILL come true! One of these days....
Anyway, the weather was MUCH nicer this year thank Goodness! We nearly froze our fake Incredibles muscles off last year! We met up with friends at the base and all went together. We had a kangaroo, 2 Spidermans(men?), 1 ladybug and 1 Woody. Quite a group!
It was pretty nerve wracking though, I guess we started so early last year we really missed the crowd, I had not realized that the base opened up and let locals on as well. So it was a mad-house by the time we all got over there! Cody had tried to change his mind and not wear his costume, but we coaxed him into it, everything but the mask (imagine that) I'm so glad he didn't wear it though, b/c it turned out his crazy signature Cody hair helped me keep track of him in the midst of candy chaos!
They did really well though and I can't believe how BIG they are still sometimes! They had a blast! I also love that they are young enough that just going to a few houses is more than satisfying for them!
I only took my small camera this year, which is fine anyway b/c it's not like I could get artistic shots in that mess anyway. My lens is STILL in the shop and I am about to flip b/c of it! I bought a replacement finally and got it here and was thrilled! I actually got it on Halloween to boot. Stuck it on my camera and "ERR99" pops up. Which in the world of a canon that's bad news. So...yeah all this time mine was supposed to be ready WEEKS ago, and I called again to find they didn't even have the PART in yet (I took it in sometime in AUGUST) and then to buy another that was similar but nowhere near as good and it not work! I'm going nuts here!!!
So, here's just a couple of snaps of them twick-oh-tweating. (That's Cody speak by the way, I just loooooooooooove the lack or "R" to be honest. Freakin precious!).

Here are all the kiddos lined up outside the bowling alley. Can I just mention that the only child younger than Cody is our little ladybug? Yeah...he's a MOOSE!

Here's Co and his good friend Tyler (who's wearing a vintage Kade costume :) ) just before we went out for candy. :) They are just a few days apart in age and soooo cute together!

 The first victims...er I mean house we stopped at! I just always feel so proud to hear them say it all by themselves and then finish with a big cute little kid voiced "THANK YOU!!!".

And here's the whole fam. My tights were supposed to be purple, but they were out, so then I asked for green. I think I looked like a bumble bee in a witch hat. Oh well... they were pretty reflective, so I mean in the name of safety I guess I could make a sacrifice or two. ;)

Co really was having a better time than it appears. I guess he just has that expression b/c we made him pause for a photo....

 

Here is Kade and our friend McKinley, he never leaves her side when she's around, she's a doll! :)

 

Cody and Riley the bestest Spidermen(mans) ever! :)

 

 Kade and Tyler - I just love this pic!

And the "buddy-system" in full force! I found us kind of humorous, and there were all those silly (really damn smart) people with wagons and what not! HA!

Anyhoo....there you have it! Proof that we get dressed up in crazy costumes and pretend its Halloween and knock on people's door begging for candy in the middle of June.

Cody's asked me about 9,038,288 times to go trick or treating again... is it next year yet???

When did he grow up???

To top off my baby turning three this month...my first baby also started "big boy" school! He is going to British school and he has been beside himself to start! Granny bought him all his uniforms when she was here so he's been set for quite awhile. I was so sad to send him off to school though, even though he was so looking forward to it, and of course, I was too in many ways. It's still hard too.

 They start out going until noon for two weeks, then they go until one for one week and then, if they are ready they go until 3:15. I'm sure he will do just fine, I have no doubts. He is so ready and has been for months! He felt so special when he got dressed this morning and was just ready to GO!

So here he is eating his first day of school breakfast, per his request...Cocoa Puffs and toast with apple jam. (don't mind my laundry behind him...I LOATHE having a washer in the kitchen!!!)

Here he is, all ready to go in his adorable uniforms! He just makes that uniform look GOOD doesn't he???

Kade and Daddy on his first day of SCHOOL!

Kade with baby brother (who was in no mood for this barrage of photos) on his first day of school!

Here you go, a photo of me having to cut the cord just a little more... my beautiful sweet precious boy!!! Off to school with all those big kids!!!! Such a happy, proud, sad, sickening feeling all mixed up in one!

(no I actually did not cry either, shocker eh?)

Of course I had to add this one...Cody REFUSED to get out of the car when we got home. He didn't get to go to school and we left Kade there. He said he was just going to sit in the car until it was time to go get Kade. Then, " Moooo-OOOmmm...can you bwing me my choco-whut meee-olk please?"

So yeah, he was just going to hang out in the car sipping his milk until it was time to get Kade. Dad finally coaxed him out though. :)

beautiful birthday boy

My sweet little Cody...
I cannot believe that you are already THREE years old! On one hand, you seem so much older and then I remind myself that you are ONLY three and barely at that and you are suddenly such a baby to me. You've always been much older than you really are, perhaps a curse of heredity since I seem to always have been as well. Sure it's cool in your teens, but hit your thirties and tell me how you feel! :)
You are often a force to be reckoned with, but it is that strength and determination that I know will take you so far in life. Of course it is a headache for me quite often, but you quickly flash that smile of yours at me, and I am reminded that you are just you and you will never be one to lay down for anyone.

You were a blessing I did not know I needed, a surprise, a gift that I did not know I wanted for. Yes, you were a surprise for us, but what an amazing surprise! The best I've ever gotten! You were feisty in the womb and I knew you'd be that way when you got here...I was not wrong at all! I was already under the assumption you would come out swinging and thought of warning the doctors to watch out for a sucker punch!
The sweetest sound I am sure I've ever heard was you. I did not get to hear Kade's first cry when he was born, though I'd dreamt of it for months. When I found out about you...I again dreamt of what you would sound like, what it would be like to finally hear you make a noise, rather than feel you fighting to get out! It was so surreal when I did finally hear you that I thought it was someone else having a baby in the next room. My heart leapt from my chest when they exclaimed that it was indeed MY baby that I heard crying! Then over the curtain came this mass of thick black hair and I was overcome with love and joy. I wanted to hold you so badly right then, but I had to wait. Your Daddy held you to me so that I could kiss your forehead for the first time.
You have always been a Mommy's baby, and even though you go through phases and tell me you are Daddy's boy...I know deep down you will still run to me and snuggle down in my chest for a cuddle.
You are the epitome of tough and sweet all rolled into one precious little boy. You are by all means, the very definition of boy as well! All trains, planes and cars. Dinosaurs, dirt, sand, running, falling, laughing really loud and screaming at the top of your lungs. You are non-stop play. That is all there is to it. It takes a stranger all of 60 seconds to deem you, " always busy" and they are so right. You do not sit and stare at pictures or books, you do not sit and watch TV or watch the grass grow. You are always on the move, even in your sleep. It is unfortunate, that your Mommy and Daddy do not have the energy stores that you do...how we wish we did!

You have the most fun personality and you share it with everyone! You LOVE music and love to dance! We dance together quite often and that is one of the things I will forever look back on and smile at every time for the rest of my life. You love all music, but your favorites have always been reggae and pop/hip-hop. However for the past several months, your favorite song has been Footloose and that is also your favorite movie! When we watch Footloose I have to replay the beginning at least 5 times over and over so you can mimic the feet. You've nearly got it down to the second now! It was one of my very favorite movies when I was a little kid too though...so how can I blame you?
Sometimes, I think I get a bit too defensive in your honor. That is my right though, but sometimes people only see how high strung and intense you are and they do not see that angelic little boy that is really under all that independence and determination. You will fight and scream, kick and hit to open the door BY YOURSELF, but then instantly cry and hug my leg apologizing. You hide behind me when strangers speak to you, but then run off and play and tell them stories and show them bugs you found.
Everything MUST be your idea or you will have no part in any of it. You refuse help nearly every single time it is ever offered to you, no matter how much you need it...often coming back seconds after an epic battle of wills and ask for the help you were offered in the first place. While my impatience really wishes you'd just let me do it for you to start with, I do try with every ounce of my being to let you figure it out on your own. Your famous words, " NOT YOU!!! Me!!!!! I WILL DO IT!!! NOT YOU!!!!!" . In case you might not remember someday when you are older and read this, you have possibly one of the loudest screams known to man. I swear some days that I will be more deaf than your Daddy after he's worked on jet engines for 20+ years! If I make it out of your toddler/preschool years with my hearing intact it will be a miracle!
The thing is though, I know no matter where you go, or what you do...you will be heard. You will make sure that you are not left behind, overlooked or pushed aside. You will ALWAYS fight for what you want and not stop until you get it. So I know, that even as I see gray hair after gray hair pop up, that you will take life by the proverbial horns and throw it down if it does not go your way. That is something any mother can take comfort in.

If there is nothing else in this world at all that I want for you and Kade...it is that you will always go after what YOU want and not let anyone else ever change your mind. You must be proud of who you are, what you do, what you love and who you want to be and NEVER be intimidated by those who are too afraid to do that themselves.
You might be afraid of "lightenin-ing" and extremely loud noises, but you are not scared at all of life and living it for all you can get out of it and that makes me smile.
You achieve far beyond what is expected of you and never expect much fanfare for it, as much as I try ;).

Your smile, your beautiful crooked smile. It can nearly bring me to tears sometimes, even to think of it. Your smile could bring world peace I think, if everyone in the world were exposed to it just once a day...they would forget all their troubles and just smile right back. You can have me frazzled and fried and turn that smile on and it is all instantly gone away.
I love how you snuggle up with your animals, Ralph and Bob every night. They must speak to you before you go to sleep, give you kisses and I have to tuck them in just right or you cannot relax. :0) You always ask Ralph and Bob if they want to go with you next time when they ask about what you did that day. I love how you wake up in the middle of the night, usually too early in the morning, and quietly crawl in our bed and snuggle up with me. I love how you scold others for not saying 'thank you' when it's necessary and you never ever let your brother go off to school without giving you a hug first. You absolutely adore your older brother and he adores you right back. I love that you guys insisted on sharing a room and freak out at the mere mention of ever not sharing. You love being together and always say you are best friends.
You will never allow us to even mix up your nicknames, for you quickly correct us that YOU are not a monkey, you are a bug...thank you very much! ;o)

You are, the most precious little boy, the greatest gift and the perfect surprise. You completed our family and your zest for life and action and going, and doing and seeing, and telling is something that always keeps us on our toes and always will. You are our little energizer bunny, and we will always run to keep up with you!
You are the thing I never knew I needed until I had you in my arms and I cannot imagine a single day without you. You are the chaos and entertainment of the family and we absolutely adore you for it. You are the baby of the family on both sides and luckily, you've yet to realize it! ;o)
We love you, and are so very thankful for you and hopefully the days don't go by too fast before I've got to write you another birthday letter!
Happy Birthday my sweet little bug!
We love you with all our hearts!