A bunch of updates all squished into one!

We've had a busy few months around here, and I feel like I haven't really had a second to stop and take it all in! We've had birthdays, birthdays and more birthdays!! We've been remodeling bathrooms, taking some short trips and, trying to remember to breathe every once in a while. Life's good!
Liam turned one at the end of January (cue minor heart attack!) and is just becoming the funniest little guy :) He laughs at everything, including himself. He's starting to really try to talk and says the normal "Mama, Dada, uh-oh, hello, bu-bye" etc. He just started saying "aya" for Ava and putting a few words together like "bu-bye dada". He's still the most laid back kid that I've ever been around, but has such a fun personality. Everyday I see more and more of Jon in him. He really is Jon's little mini-me! Big news too...he FINALLY started walking!! He took his first step a little over a week ago while we were in Houston and now he's taking more and more everyday. He's trying to push himself up to stand from the floor and go from there too, and has managed to do it a few times. So, go Buggy!! 'Bout time little dude.
Ava turned 4 at the beginning of February and while I was hoping she would magically wake up and be done with the terrible 3's (because whoever came up with the terrible 2's clearly never met my daughter), but 4 had been just as challenging so far. She does have some redeeming qualities though, so I'll work with what we've got for now. According to her sweet, wonderful teachers at school, she is polite, helpful and always on her very best behavior. I am convinced that I'm sending a different child to school than the one that I bring home. At least she saves the drama for me...and I'm so thankful that she knows to leave it at home. Right now that kid's social calendar is harder to plan around than any of ours. She's playing soccer, taking ballet and swim lessons and is already pretty much booked up for the summer. I mean, seriously. But, she's happy and active and that's a good thing. She's been asking for a while to go out running with me, so I talked to her Pediatrician about it and he said go for it. So, we bought her 1st pair of running shoes and we've been running around the neighborhood together. I'm running a 5k in a couple of weeks and they have a kids fun run that she's going to do! She's so excited and it makes me so proud that this is something she seems to really like right now. I hope she enjoys the whole race experience so I can continue to encourage her :)
Jon and I both turned the big 3-0 and had a joint "60th" Birthday party last month to celebrate. It was so much fun and so many of our friends and family came. I have to say that I was pretty excited to finally be in my thirties. I was so over being 20-something and feel like and official grown-up now for some reason. Of course I still do completely immature things like buy $10 sunglasses because I can't take care of nice ones, and buy music by girls with $ymbol$ in their names because I like to listen to it when I run....you know, to make me feel young and all ;)
Speaking of running, I ran my SECOND half marathon a couple of weeks ago! I was having some problems with my hip, which looks like it might be IT band issues, and really followed a pretty pathetic training schedule...but even with all of that I managed to take a full 12 minutes off of my time from the 1st one in just 3 months! With the exception of my hip, I also recovered so much faster. I took a couple of weeks off and I'm going to try a short run tomorrow and see how I feel. I am surprised at how much I've missed running lately. Never thought i'd say that ;) It will be nice to run just because I want to for a little while, and not because I'm training for anything. After the half I did something ridiculous (blame it on Andrea again!) and entered the lotto to run the New York Marathon in November. Not sure what I was thinking. I've had it in the back of my head that I'd like to run ONE full marathon, and if I'm going to do it, I need to do it this year. We find out in a little over a week if we got in...so we'll see! I'd say wish me luck...but I'm not sure how much I want ;)
So, that's our story for now!

Catching Up...

I feel like we've had a whirlwind couple of weeks here! Starting with our good friends Travis and Andrea's Wedding, which was an absolute blast. Andrea looked amazing, and it is always so wonderful to see two people you care about starting their lives together. The reception was so much fun that I got home and realized I never even ate any of their gorgeous wedding cake. WHAT?!?!?! I love wedding cake...it's my favorite food group! I guess I was having a REALLY good time! The very next day we had the birthday party of all birthday parties for the kiddos. It was for all of the cousins, and they loved it! There was a bounce house, petting zoo, pony rides...too much fun. Ava, Liam, Hannah, Hunter and Aidan all have birthdays within a couple of months of each other, so we just threw it into one big party! A few days after that we packed up and headed to Houston, dropped the kiddos off with my Dad and Pam, then Jon and I left for our Anniversary trip to Key West. The day after we got back, he left for Charlotte, and threw me back into the real world. WHEW!!! Now here I am trying to catch up on everything from laundry to photos to finally getting all of my Christmas stuff packed away (totally mortified that I'm admitting to it still being up in the middle if Jan....but we've been kind of busy!). It was a fun couple of weeks though :)

Here are a few pics from the kiddos party!



Absolutely adorable cakes that my super talented friend Jennifer made for each of the kids!



Ava coming out of the bounce house for the zillionth time.



Liam on the pony! Ava wouldn't ride it until she saw her brother on it ;)



Kiddos about to dig in to their cakes!



...and a cheesy family pic.

5 Years Ago Today...

I was standing on a tiny little beach in Key West, with 50 of my favorite people, marrying the best man I've ever known. Half a decade, a house and a couple of kids later...life is pretty damn good! Happy Anniversary Babe! Love you and can't wait to be back :)

Meet Ellie...

Ellie the Elf came to live with us last week. Santa sent her to make sure Ava was being a good girl (as in I went to the store, bought the infamous "Elf on the Shelf", and have been using it to bribe the Monkey ever since!) Money well spent so far. So Ellie goes home to the North Pole each night and tells Santa how Ava was that day. Then she comes back and is in a different spot the next morning. Being the totally stellar parents that we are, Jon and I forgot to move her on the 2nd night, nice huh? We had to come up with a good story. I have to say that it's been fun coming up with places to put her, and Ava gets so excited when she finds her. She needed a little help on this one!

Weekend in Asheville (aka: Angie and Nick got Hitched!)

Oh, where to start?!? Last weekend, we spent an amazing few days in a gorgeous town with some of my favorite people ever. Oh, and my best friend got MARRIED!!!! We got into Asheville late Thursday afternoon, and headed out for pizza and beer (more of each than you can imagine!). Then the girls and guys headed off in separate directions. We kicked off our night with key lime pie martinis, complete with graham cracker rimmed glasses! From there we made friends with a pirate mannequin, got creative with an impromptu toilet paper veil and witnessed Angie get an "E for Effort" lap dance from some locals. It was such a fun night, and much thanks to Angie's sweet mom Debbie for making sure we all got home safe and sound!
Friday Jon and I wandered around Downtown for a bit and found a little Latin cafe called Chorizo. So, so good...and not too shabby when you are needing a good hangover cure! Then I met Angie and her sister, Lauren at the salon for a manicure, which was nice. My nails haven't seen that much attention in a while. After our mani/pedi's we headed to the rehearsal, which is when I saw the wedding site for the first time. I have to say that it took my breath away a little. It was so gorgeous, and you would never even know it was there. Let me just take this time to also say that this was the first time I became aware that I was going to have to walk what seemed like half a mile down a steep gravel hill with people watching while wearing heels. Thoughts of tripping, falling and rolling immediately entered my head! After a smooth rehearsal, we left for the rehearsal dinner. It was at this adorable little restaurant and the food was amazing. It was just such a sweet and funny evening complete with a sentimental slide show, heartfelt toasts and a little performance of Chuck Berry's "My Ding-a-Ling" by the Groom himself.
I'm going to try to describe Saturday without being too cheesy or sentimental, but that's going to be hard! The day started off with a brunch honoring Angie and was full of delicious food and treats. Angie, Lauren and I then went over to the salon to get our hair and make-up done. That in itself was so much fun, I want someone to come do it for me everyday! When we were all beautiful, we left to get dressed. When we walked into the bridal suite, Angie's dress was hanging up, and I started to get all choked up. There are no words to describe that dress. I remember when she first tried it on, it literally took everyone's breath away, and Angie said "I don't want to take it off". That was sooooo the dress!! It's funny to hear her talk about it because it's the complete opposite of what she pictured. She thought she'd end up with something simple and this dress is the most elaborate, "fancy" dress that you can picture. In the words of my 3 year old, "She looks like a Princess in it". Once we were all dressed we went out for a few pictures and headed down to the grove to wait for the wedding to start. Oh, I should mention that the weather was amazing...too good to be true!! Before we knew it we were making that long walk down the gravel path and all managed to make it down like pros :) We waited anxiously for Angie to walk down with her Dad, Donnie. At one point I looked over at Nick and his knees were moving back and forth a million miles a minute. He looked so anxious, but in the absolute best way possible. The second I saw Donnie's face, I had to hold back tears...which I apparently didn't do so well. I don't think I cried at my own wedding, but everything about that day got to me. Not only do I love Angie, but I adore her family and absolutely do not think that she could have married a better guy. She and Nick are the sweetest, funniest, most down to earth couple you will ever meet...and it made me so, so happy to be standing there, watching their wedding. Enough with the cheesiness...onto the party!! And what a party it was! I cannot remember having more fun at a wedding reception. There was great food, amazing cake (red velvet, carrot and pumpkin chocolate chip to be exact) and good music. All of this, along with wonderful friends and one huge dance party made for a seriously fun night that I will not soon forget.
Sunday morning Jon and I reluctantly got out of bed, packed our bags and checked out of our hotel. We made a not so quick stop at the Tupelo Honey Cafe for lunch which was so, so good. There is usually a pretty long wait, but it is so worth it! We didn't get to do most of the big tourist-y things (no Biltmore on this trip), but that just means that we have to go back soon!
Thank you Ang and Nick for including us in your amazing wedding weekend. We feel blessed to have been able to share it with you! Love you :)

Click on the top picture to take you to the album...enjoy!

Asheville-Nick and Angie's Wedding

Finally back to normal...mostly.

After feeling like I was knocking on death's door (which looks a lot like my toilet bowl, if you are wondering), Pukefest 2009 has officially come to an end in our household. Saturday, Liam came down with whatever nasty stomach bug has been going around. We were hoping it was something else when we talked to the nurse, because it seemed to come and go within a few hours. Turned out that was not the case. By that night, Ava and I both had it and Jon had a house full of sickies to take care of. Then he got sick Sunday night, and while the kiddos were a little better...I was still feeling like death. Jon and Ava seemed to get over it pretty quickly, and it took Liam about 48 hours. Me, three freaking days! I swear these things try to kill me. Poor Ava basically had to fend for herself on Monday. She was a serious trooper. I guess it was inevitable that we were going to pick this up somewhere, since everyone we know has had it. Plus, we passed it along, which completely sucks. Now I plan to spend the next few days disinfecting and de-germing everything in my house. I should buy stock in Lysol and Clorox wipes.

I'm sorry, WHAT?

That was my response when my daughter, who is obsessed with all things pink and princess...twirly and girly, informed me a while back that her new name was...are you ready for it: SPACESHIP ROCKS! Huh? I kind of blew it off at first, because she does have a slightly over-active imagination. She has not one, but at least two full time imaginary friends that we are aware of. Then, of course, those friends have friends, siblings, and so forth. You get the picture. While I was surprised at the name itself (I mean "Princess Fancy Pants" I wouldn't even bat an eye at), I was even more surprised at how adamant she is that I use it. I'll ask her to do some simple little thing and her response will be "But Mommy, my name is not Ava." I have found that there is no sense in arguing, because as soon as I ask "Spaceship Rocks, can you pick up your room"...voila, you can see her floor! Who knows how long it will last. I'm sure it's just another passing phase, and at least it's an amusing one. I think Jon and I are the only people that are required to call her this, and it's at random intervals. This officially confirms my theory that all kids have multiple personalities from birth, well into their teens :)

Rain, Rain, Go Away....No, Seriously!

I am SO OVER all of the rain, drizzle, gray clouds, and overall gloominess. I love a good storm and we needed some rain, but enough is enough already. I have a stir crazy kid, I think we're all getting cabin fever. Ava has decided that if it keeps raining, we are going to have to build an ark. Even my dogs have gotten the memo and haven't left the back patio in a while...fine by me because I'm not exactly a huge fan of cleaning up their muddy paw prints. The silver lining here is that I *think* all of this nasty weather may finally cool things off a bit. I'm officially ready for summer to be over. I'm ready for a break from the heat, plus I love fall!! I'm looking forward to running in the cooler weather. Speaking of, running in the rain and mud and puddles has been a bit of a mess. I used to think those people who were out running when it was pouring down rain were C.R.A.Z.Y. Then, all of a sudden that was me. I have to say that except for one slightly disastrous run last weekend with Andrea, where we had to turn back because of all the mud, running in the rain was actually kind of enjoyable. Did I just say that? My shoes, however would not agree. They have suffered from all of it, and this is what they look like after a week or so of sloshing through puddles.



I'm scared to wash them, because I love them and don't want to ruin them. At this point, it would be like throwing my wedding dress in the washer. They will just have to stay dirty, I suppose.

Has anyone seen the Remote?

I was going back over and looking at old posts yesterday (noting the long span between many of them!) and remembered that I started this thing when Ava was just turning ONE!! She was still a BABY! Then realized that in less than 5 months, that will be LIAM. Cue me freaking out, and holding back a few tears. How do I slow this the heck down?
Ava was just a little munchkin, and before I know it, my little dude really will be a little DUDE. The baby phase goes by so fast, and I love it so much. I love all of it really, but if you've ever heard the term "Baby Rabies", well that's me in a nutshell. I love everything about them. Except for the being knocked up part, and I'm not ashamed to admit that. Don't get me wrong, I love the IDEA of it, and there are a few months in there that are okay, enjoyable even. The rest, not so much. If someone would just give me one every few years, I'd be good! Even now, when I have no intention of having another for a little while (No, I'm NOT DONE!!) the thought of not having a baby in the house makes me want to cry.
Although, I absolutely love the stage he'll be heading into pretty soon as well. That early toddler stage where they're into anything and everything, but everything is so new and fresh...and it's all a big adventure. It's like they KNOW you can't keep up with them! But watching them figure it all out it so worth it, and so much fun. I remember Ava being there, and it was never a dull moment! I treasured every single second of it. It's times like this when I'm even more thankful that I have a husband who works his ass off so that I don't have to miss any of it. I have all of these memories of her, and get to have them of Liam too...I didn't miss a single thing and even on days when they drive me batty it is SO WORTH IT.
I'm even managing to see the good in the terrible 3's. Just FYI, whoever coined the term "terrible 2's" was an idiot. There are days where I want to put her on the curb w/ a sign that says "3 going on 30. Free to a good Home". But watching the little person she's become over the last 3 years has me truly amazed most days. She is SO smart...and not in that "smart because she's my kid" kind of way. I think she's going to know more than I do before she's in High School...then what? Plus I SEE so much of myself in her (good and bad!). It's different when they are babies because they are just developing their little personalities, and it's mostly about who they look more like on any given day. Now I look at her and literally see myself. It's so crazy, and amazing, and scary...all at once. If my grandmother were to read this, she would simply say to me "Retribution Veronica, retribution". Oh, but I love that child , both of them, more than I can describe in any amount of words. There simply are no words. I think that Jon is going to have the same reaction to Liam in a few years. I just have this feeling that he is going to be an exact little replica of his daddy! He's going to look at him one day and just go "Holy crap".

There's no real point to all of this, other than the fact that I'm still amazed at how fast it all flies by. Even with all the warnings everyone gave me about how "fast it was going to fly by"!

...And I'm still looking for my DAMN Pause Button.