Christmas 2011

We had a great holiday season. I am almost (ALMOST) ashamed to say that I still have the Christmas tree in full array! It is just too pretty to take down just yet. Here are some of my favorite moments captured by photo from this Christmas!

Family time

Thanksgiving blew past like a turkey running for his life. And now with the Christmas holiday rapidly approaching, I hope that we will spend more time focusing on showing our love ones how much they mean to us instead of trying to find monetary gifts to do so. I love spending time with family here in Rockford. And wish that my family were close enough for us to do so. Love is all we have--all we need. Don't take it for granted.

It's Fall, Y'All!

Only 5 days after the official first day of Fall, and Rockford has definitely abandoned summer without looking back. The leaves are already changing AND falling. The temperatures are already consistently in the 60s and 50s. And my vitamin D levels are at an all time low. Who wants to lend me their SAD lamp?

Liam is getting bigger by the minute. He has already grown since his three year well check in July! He is 40.25 inches tall and 38.6 pounds heavy! He is a funny little character too. Patrick and I have so much fun entertaining and being entertained by him! Liam is still very much into his dinosaurs, but lately he has really gone back to his true roots of loving farm animals. All day long, if you had our house bugged, you would think we had horses, cows, roosters, and goats for pets.

The sad news that we have just experienced is the loss of our sweet Sammy girl. She was a part of mine and Patrick's lives 6 months after we started dating. So from 1997 to 2011, Sammy lived a long,happy life. She tolerated the addition of a Rottweiler and a child to our family. She endured many moves from state to state--too many to list, really. She will be greatly missed by us and those of you who knew her. Say Hi to Bo for us, old girl. Have fun chasing squirrels with your new legs!

The Beach

This summer Liam and I spent a lot of time at the beach in Naples, Florida. We were there visiting my friend Kate, from Atlanta. We had a great time, and Liam LOVED being on the beach and going out on the boat. Uncle Tommy was a great captain! We had a blast.

Spring

Is it Spring?! Because I had to turn on the heat in our house last night! Brrrrrr!

It is definitely Spring training, though, because we have only seen glimpses of Dada... Go RiverHawks!

We had a great time when Cara visited from Canada! Liam and I took her to the beautiful Anderson Japanese Gardens here in Rockford. I took lots of pretty photos, but for some reason I'm having trouble uploading them to the blog. Another try another day!

Happy Spring, Y'all!

Dancing Machine

blah blah blah :-)

My blogging skills are less than good. I don't know if I slack because I have a hundred other things to do OR if I think the world really doesn't care about the petty details of our normal little life. Anyway.....

For the first time in FOREVER, I am not a baseball player's wife this baseball season. Patrick's plans to play another season with the Rockford RiverHawks were halted when the team moved to another league in which the age limit is 28. So he will now be the hitting coach for the team this season. We will see where God leads us from here, and we are happy for this opportunity.

Liam is getting bigger and bigger and funnier and funnier. His favorite show is Team Umizoomi, a math-based show on Nickelodeon. He still loves dinosaurs, and has a great ROAR! He loves to go for walks outside and loves swinging at the park. We took him to his first movie, Hop. He did great!

I am very excited about an upcoming visit the first week of May from my dear friend Cara. She is coming all the way from Victoria, BC Canada!!! The last time Cara visited me, we were living in Marietta and I was pregnant with Liam. The week after she left, Liam was born. This will be Liam's first time meeting Cara!