Reese’s Story

Over 2 years ago I thought the pain in my heart would never go away. Then I remembered with my son, if we had not set the sadness aside and chosen to walk out into the unknown, the odds of making a profound difference in his life would have been pretty low. So we chose to do it again. To find enthusiasm and move forward. As you watch each video segment, there is a mother behind the camera with a heart slowly healing. So happy to be at this point in the journey and incredibly grateful for modern day miracles!

Click video to view.

my valentines

between the craziness of ski season, overlapping with basketball, lacrosse, scouts, piano, violin and school work we squeeze a little time in for crafts.

the kids valentines went from….

this…

to this.

we can only handle so much craft time in this house so on to after breakfast card games.

a concerned brother watches as she checks for aces in her deck.

she is all about a fair game.

except when she doesn’t win.

then on to the dancing. naked of course. glad she kept the diaper on this time.

picture perfect static doo. 

and off goes the diaper behind the camera. smart move girl. you at least have some modesty.

these new couches are my valentines gift,

and anniversary and birthday……

love them.

and him.

happy valentines day!

Blessed and Grateful for 2012

 

i kind of really like the Christmas card this year. 

maybe it is because we were able to highlight yet again the beautiful area we live in.  last year it was the beach of north carolina, before that lincoln’s monument and the year before that the washington monument.

maybe it could also be because the kids are still in their cute, young stage of life.  love their faces.

for our family it was another one of those really eventful, life changing years.

we are grateful for ever single bit of 2012 and for those near and far who we got to share it with.

 

Halloweenish Time

“Did everyone see that? Because I will *not* be doing it again.”

Captain Jack Sparrow in full character spent the evening with us.

If you were missing your pirate booty no need to hunt too far…

“Me? I’m dishonest, and a dishonest man you can always trust to be dishonest. Honestly. It’s the honest ones you want to watch out for, because you can never predict when they’re going to do something incredibly… stupid”.

It could have been Captain Sparrow stealing the candy, but it was Reese who stole the show. After eating all of Captains Sparrow’s treasure she threw up all over me. Twice.

Candy overdose!

The week before Halloween was full of our family traditions. Pumpkin patch visits, carving the pumpkins and a visit to chipotle dressed in costume for a free burrito.  A new tradition we’re adding to the list is Aunt Tami’s delicious donut party.

Until next Halloween!

Birthday in the City

A handsome, kind and incredibly creative boy turned seven!! 

This was a party he said he will always remember.

His favorite friends joined us at our condo in the city to celebrate with him.  The place was filled with excitement, none of his buddies had seen Reston from so high up.

Their favorite party memories were playing water gun battles in the city fountain, water relay games and the scavenger hunt through the 40 floors of the high-rise condo.

The boys crammed in the elevator. Fun.

The winners of the scavenger hunt!

He’s in heaven now that he’s SEVEN!!

What we love about you:

You’re a peacemaker. 

Your eyes smile when you talk. 

Your quick wit, and unintentional humor.

You do push-ups when you can’t sleep. What are you going to do with all your muscles?!

You taught Alexander how to armpit fart. (That was from Alexander)  He is so proud of his new trick.

You have passion.

You’re a willing learner.

Your sweetness is contagious, and your little sister truly appreciates it most.

We are incredibly proud of you!

foto shoot

 

it’s true my nieces and nephews take the cake on cuteness, and so does their grandpa. 

happy father’s day dad!

you are kind, incredibly generous and most of all a joy to be around.

thanks for your example!

sweet little baby

with a new kitchen to prep and bake in i was dying to throw a party..

a baby shower for a dear friend was the perfect excuse. it also gave us the motivation to get all the finishing touches on the kitchen complete.  leave it to us to wait until just hours before the party to finish hanging cabinet doors and to replace the existing kitchen light. 

awesome.

this baby will be loved by the most talented parents. we are so excited for them to welcome their baby girl. her nursery is the perfect pallet of gray, yellow and white with accents of coral.

what a stylin’ babe and she is not even here yet! oh, and just wait until you see all this baby’s swag.

the gray/yellow framed alphabet was a gift for her nursery.

my thought was to use the ribbon to hang it on the wall.

a brunch was the prefect venue for our large group of friends.

thankfully i had two of the best lady friends i could ask for to help pull the party off without a hitch.

my dad would have been so proud of the flower arrangements.

we all took a shot at making “brain squeezers” for the baby.

the cute bucket above was eventually filled with pretties for the princess.

happy baby hillary!

i’m sure we were laughing at my hair.

it’s never a good idea to pull your hair back without a mirror.