Indian Summer

Yesterday was a beautiful, sunny, perfectly gorgeous 70-something degree day! Can you say, "Indian Summer"? We had the house completely opened up and Cory played outside in the leaves just about all day. Basically he came in to eat and nap! Today is the same temperature wise, just cloudy instead of sunny.

Things around here are starting to look up. I've had some health challenges lately and they are finally starting to be resolved. It has definitely given me a new outlook on life. I certainly don't take the things for granted that I used to - playing on the floor with Cory is a big one. I will never again grumble about hearing Cory ask repeatedly to be picked up, I will always remember what a privilege it is to be able to dress myself, put my socks on, get in and out of the shower, blow dry my own hair. The list goes on. The point is, my life has been changed forever and I can only hope to grow from the things I have experienced recently. I am so blessed to have a husband and a son who are both so supportive and loving.

My goals for the rest of today include planning out Thanksgiving dinner and making lots of lists to make sure it's all organized and ready for Turkey Day! This year is the very first time ever we will be hosting it at our house! I am SO excited! Mom and Dad will be here, and possibly Sean's dad and grandmother - we're still waiting to hear for sure.

Anyone have any awesome "must try" recipes for Thanksgiving? Any really great holiday traditions? I'm on the lookout for some new ones this year! I'll share some later.

'Tis the Season!

We just had Halloween. It was so much fun this year! Cory really got into it, and I'm very proud to say that he was happier handing out candy then receiving it, although he had a good time doing that as well. He's so cute. He was a puppy this year - the cutest darn puppy I have ever seen! :) Unfortunately he was called a lamb, a cow, and a sheep too, lol. Oh well.

My Dad just spent the week with us. He's been away guiding all summer and hasn't had much of a chance to see Cory so during his week off he flew here! We were really sad that Mom couldn't come too - she was too busy at work, but it was fun to have some alone time with Dad/Grampa! Cory got lots of wrestling and playing time in with him! It's awesome to see Cory interacting with his grandparents. He loves them all so much.

Mom and Dad have decided they will be coming here for Thanksgiving!!!! I am SO freaking excited! I've never hosted Thanksgiving before and I am really, really, really looking forward to it! I'm excited to be able to have all of the yummy food that was always a tradition for our family when I was growing up! I'm also excited that we'll get to fill our house with the yummy smell of the turkey baking away in the oven! Ahhhhhh! It's going to be so much fun! :) Wish my brother could be here too.

I love the holiday season - from Halloween through the New Year. I love the weather, the colors, the warmth, the music, the smells, the tastes. It's all so....loving. And wonderful. I am so thankful for everyone in my life. We truly are blessed.

Let's try this again...

Obviously, I have some issues with actually posting to my blog. I think part of the issue is that I read too many really, really awesome blogs. You know, blogs that make me happy. Blogs that make me laugh out loud. I read some very insightful, thought-provoking blogs that really make a difference in my day. I want to be able to write a blog like that. But alas, I'm just not "cool" in that way and it really bothers me. Sure, I enjoy writing about my son and my husband and the things we do in our lives, but our lives are honestly pretty boring. Maybe if I just keep writing, the "coolness" will come? :)

So, Cory has changed by leaps and bounds over the past few weeks. He is starting to sing his ABC's and his vocabulary is expanding at an extremely high rate. He is amazing! We've been doing a class at the Rec Center about the alphabet. We do crafts, sing songs, and do some really fun activities. Every morning when I go in to get Cory he asks about class. It's so cute.

On Tuesdays we go back to the Rec Center for Play Day - two hours of nonstop playing fun for kids 6 months to 4 years. It's in a gymnasium with millions and billions of toys spread all around. Cory's buddy Owen also goes and it's a blast.

On Thursdays we've been going to story time at the library. It has taken a little while, but Cory finally participates and follows along with the stories. He especially enjoys the singing and dancing. :)

I've been experiencing some physical issues lately that have really gotten me down. I'm completely stubborn about going to the doctor and I have an intense phobia of being on any kind of medication. I've been trying homeopathics but it's just not cutting it at this point. I'm at the point now where it's almost physically impossible for me to take care of Cory and Sean has had to miss work to help me. I go to the doctor's on Thursday and I am hoping and praying for some answers that can help me be the great mommy and wife I know I am. I've been trying so hard to stay positive, but it's hard, especially when your two year old looks at you while your laying on the couch and says, "Get up Mom-mom" and you just cannot do it. :( It makes me cry. Enough about that...

I really hope to do a better job at this blogging thing. I think it could be very therapeutic for me. We'll see.

Cory's Party...and Cox Arboretum

We had Cory's birthday party last Saturday. Everything went exactly as planned, which is always a good thing for a crazy perfectionist such as myself. :) Everyone we invited was able to come and we are so thankful to have so many wonderful family members and friends.

Cory seemed to have a great time and was very excited to enjoy his very first piece of cake! He had a bite of a special "cake" I made for him last year (it was more like apple bread) but didn't want any more than that. Since then he's had a bite of someone elses cake here and there, but never his very own piece. (Yeah, yeah...call me "Mean Mommy", go ahead, it's ok!) He really enjoyed himself, that's for sure.

He also got lots of great presents. There are a lot of new construction vehicles in our home now. Diggers, dozers, and dump trucks galore! He also got a new play kitchen from Pace and Shanti and an outdoor playhouse from Grammie, Grampa and Great Gram! He is a very loved kid. :)

Here are some pictures from the party!

Checking out his dump truck balloons:

Opening gifts with Daddy:

Wow! That is a SERIOUSLY big truck! :)

Listening to everyone sing, "Happy Birthday!":

The cake...made by Mommy, with decorative assistance from Uncle Jeff:

Cory ~ enjoying his very own cake and ice cream:

Checking out his new picnic table:

Today was my Mom and Gram's last full day visiting us (this time!) in Ohio. We took advantage of the beautiful weather and went to Cox Arboretum. The butterfly house was open and we were able to see some newly hatched butterflies! Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures in the butterfly house, but they were beautiful.

Mom and Gram enjoying the pond:

Cory and Great Gram looking for turtles:

Grammie and Cory taking a stroll:

My Mom and Gram fly out tomorrow morning. :( It's been so wonderful having them here! I can hardly wait for August for our trip to Maine.

Special Visitors! And Someone Turned TWO!

First and foremost, at 11:57 a.m. today, June 26th, 2009 ~ Cory turned two! Here is a picture of him waking up a two year old (well...almost, it wasn't 11:57 a.m. yet):




It has been a wonderful, perfect, very special two years! I can honestly say that since becoming a parent I cannot believe how fast time has flown. It's like we had Cory and then the clocks started moving at warp speed! Well, after we were able to bring him home from the NICU anyway. :)

A little bit about Cory at two years old:

Favorite Food: Pizza! He yells, "Pisssssssssah!" :)

Favorite Book: Pilot Pups by and I Love You, Goodnight by. Also, any of his books about diggers, dozers, trucks, or airplanes!

Favorite Snack: Grapes - only red ones.

Favorite Toy: This is hard. It's between his little construction vehicle trucks (diggers, dozers, etc.), his bubble mower, or his sandbox.

Favorite Sayings: "OoooooooooK!" (really long and drawn out when he's excited about something), "No", "Help please!!!!" (usually said very dramatically, lol), "More, more!"

Also, he still takes one nap per day...usually for 2 - 2 1/2 hours. He goes to bed between 8-8:30 p.m. and sleeps through the night without any trouble, usually waking between 7:30-8 a.m. He also loves to watch Mighty Machines, the movie Cars, the Airshow DVD his Pace bought for him, and any youtube video we can find of airplanes, diggers, loaders, dozers and.....blimps! LOL! Yes, he loves blimps.

OK, on to the special visitor part! Months ago I talked to my brother Jeff about possible making a trip to Ohio from Texas (where he is a new Border Patrol Agent) for Cory's birthday as a surprise visit for my Mom and Grammie who were coming out from Maine. Jeff thought it was a great idea, but due to circumstances beyond our control (silly feds and their rules) we were unable to get confirmation that he could actually get the day off that he would need to make a trip here. By the time we found out that he could indeed have the time that he needed, the price of airline tickets were sky high (lol) and it wasn't feasible. I was bummed, but I understood...

Rewind to the evening of June 25th. Sean and I went to bed around 11:45 p.m. We had had a busy day, getting ready for my Mom and Grandmother's visit and for Cory's birthday party. I was exhausted, but unable to sleep due to back to back thunderstorms with very loud thunder and TONS of lightening.

At 2 a.m. Sean and I were still wide awake, talking. Then, Sean got a text message - at 2 a.m.! I asked him who it was and he told me to get dressed, that my birthday present was almost here! (My birthday is June 30th). Excited, I dressed quickly and ran outside just as my brother pulled into the driveway in a rental car!! YAY! I was soooooo excited!

I found out later that Sean called Jeff and offered to pay for half of his plane ticket as my birthday gift so that he could still come. Jeff knew the whole time he'd be able to come, but told me he wasn't as a way to surprise me! Boy, was I surprised. :) It was great! I was so happy that Jeff was going to get a chance to see Cory. It would have been a whole year in August since they had seen each other, and who knows how long until they would have had the opportunity.

It only took a very few minutes for Cory to warm up to Uncle Jeff. As soon as Jeff let him play with his iPhone, any trace of shyness was gone! :) They had a lot of fun for the 24 hours that Jeff was here...unfortunately that was all the time he could stay, but we certainly made the most of it!

Uncle Jeff and Cory watching a Mighty Machines video:

This morning after everyone got up and around, Jeff, Cory, and I headed to the Dayton Airport to pick up Mom and Grammie! Remember...Mom and Gram had NO idea that Jeff was here! LOL! As mom was walking through security she spotted us and immediately her mouth dropped open and she was.....speechless! (Crazy, I know!) It was great! I wish I had remembered to take a picture of the moment. Lots of hugs and kisses later, we were on our way back to our house. I still had lots to do to get ready for Cory's party!

Cory and Grammie (my Mom) playing in the backyard:

Cory's big party is tomorrow afternoon, but tonight we had Rose and Steve over for pizza to celebrate Cory's special day. After pizza we let Cory open some of his gifts. Shanti and Pace (Rose and Steve) gave him a play kitchen. Grammie and Great Gram got him a playhouse for the backyard and Sean and I let him open his bubble mower and new books. Uncle Jeff also gave him a really cool bulldozer for his sandbox!

Playing with the new bubble mower:

Giant Uncle Jeff and the Mini Bubble Mower (LOL!):

Reading the new "digger" books with Uncle Jeff:

Opening more digger books from Grammie:

We didn't do any candles today, but I did let him eat a special treat. He had a chocolate graham cracker that I wrote a number two on with the leftover frosting from his birthday cake. :) He loved it!


It was certainly a busy, albeit FUN day! Happy Birthday, Cory! :) You're so special to us!

Touch-a-Truck

Today we took Cory to an event in Kettering called "Touch-a-Truck" where kids of all ages (and mommies and daddies too!) can get up close and personal with all different types of trucks! There were dump trucks, commercial mowers, school buses, city buses, diggers, police vehicles and others. Cory's favorite vehicle was the the school bus! He played on the seats and ran up and down the aisle for a very long time. It was a lot of fun.

Checking out the dump truck with Daddy.

He loved the tires on the dump truck.

Cory and Mommy on the BIG mower.

Checking out the scoop on the digger.

Cory and Daddy on the school bus.

Memorial Day Weekend

Whew...what a weekend it's been! Friday night Sean and I went to the Richardson's house for a Game Night while Cory stayed home with his Pace and Shanti (grandparents). We all had a ton of fun!

On Saturday Sean went to Baba's house in the morning to help her feed her cats. He is going to be taking care of them for her next weekend while she is out of town. After he came home we just spent a lazy afternoon around home. Saturday evening we went to Cox Arboretum where we had some professional pictures taken. We made a sales goal in our business and the award was a free photo session - sweet! It was super hot and pictures totally stress me out, but we got some really good pictures...especially Daddy/son pics! I'll be sure to post them as soon as we get the CD. After the pictures we spent some time hanging out in the park. Cory played with his dump truck and had a blast...until he tripped and scraped his cheek on a stump. It was sad, but he bounced back quickly!

Sunday morning we made a family trip to the grocery store and then came home and cleaned the entire house from top to bottom! I'm not much of a house cleaning fan (is anyone?) but it always feels soooooo darn good to have a clean house! After nap Cory spent almost two hours playing outside in his pool and with the hose. Rose and Steve came over for dinner along with Aunt Starr and Baba. It was a very relaxing, enjoyable visit with the family.

Today (Monday, Memorial Day) we went to Stubbs Park and played on the playground and watched all the baby ducks. They are too cute! We enjoyed a yummy lunch at Chipotle following our visit to the park -- one of Cory's most favorite things to eat! He loves "chippies" and guacamole!

For some reason Cory decided to take a super short nap today, so we packed up and headed to Magee Park in Bellbrook for some creek walking. I wasn't sure how Cory would do but he l.o.v.e.d. it! He kept throwing rocks into the creek and yelling, "SPLASHHHHH!". I love that kid.

It has been an amazing weekend and we are truly blessed to have had the opportunity to spend it together. I love three day weekends!

Mother's Day

Mother's Day was this past Sunday. Sean and Cory surprised me with a family trip to the zoo! I have been pestering Sean to go with us for a while now and so we went! We seriously couldn't have asked for better weather. It was gorgeous! Not too hot, not cold. Sunny. And I got in for free because I'm a mommy and it was mother's day! Yay! After the zoo we all came home and we ALL took a two hour nap. It was heavenly! :) Following the nap we went to Baba's house for dinner and time with Sean's family. I have pictures, but I haven't found the ambition to transfer them from my camera to my computer yet! I will....soon....maybe.

Even though it was an awesome day, I constantly had the people who are longing to be moms, and aren't yet, in the back of my mind. There are also the moms who have lost their babies too...my heart goes out to them and I pray that next year, Mother's Day will be a day of joy and celebration for them and their families.

Cory's New Tricks...

This has been a week of firsts for Mr. Cory. We have a baby gate in the laundry room doorway that prevents Cory and the dogs from getting to the cat's litter box. The baby gate has a cat door in it to allow the cats through. Cory has recently figured out that he can crawl through said cat door and get into the laundry room...to play with the litter box. Eeeewwwww! Thankfully, thus far, he has NOT played with anything nasty.

Also, he can now climb onto the coffee table with ease. It's become a common occurrence to see him sliding across the table on his belly, laughing all the while. Cute.

Today he figured out that he has the ability to get into the chairs at the kitchen table, which also allows him access onto the table! Super.

AND (he was busy today!) he has also figured out that he can climb into our bath tub! We have one of those big garden tubs and the side he has to climb in order to get into it is pretty high...I'm actually very surprised that he can do it. So now I have to move my razor and keep a constant eye out - who know where he will be climbing next?!? Monkey. :)

Here are a couple more pictures of Cory in all of his cuteness:

Cory and Owen

Cory's buddy Owen came and played for a few hours today while his mommy was in school and his daddy was headed home from a trip. It was the first time Owen has stayed here alone, but he has been over to visit a bunch. The boys did very well together! They actually played with each other - which basically entailed them giggling at each other and running away. It was pretty cute.

Warning: I am going to go off on a tangent.

I am all set hearing about the Swine Flu! Goodness gracious! Yes, it's a nasty illness. Yes, people have died from it. But come on. I am NOT going to live my life in fear of this craziness! What's the point?! Honestly, I don't know a whole lot about it. I refuse to listen to the media or the radio - if they start talking about it, I shut it off. I don't need a bunch of media-laced blechiness (yes, that's my new word of the day!) filling my brain with fear. I won't do it. NOT going to happen! I truly believe in the power of the spoken word. God says that life and death are in the power of the tongue. We need to stop speaking death, disease, sickeness, trauma, depression, and start speaking words of health, healing, wholeness, and stregnth. Seriously. Really. Do it.

OK. I'm done.

Totally changing the subject once again...I just recently found out that my mom and my grandmother have actually purchased plane tickets to fly here for Cory's 2nd birthday!! YAY! I'm sooooo stinkin' excited! That's the best news ever!

Finally...an Update.

OK, so apparently I need to work on my frequency of blogging! I get so sucked in by everyone's stories on their blogs that I run out of time to update my own...not to mention my "story" seems to uninteresting and unimportant compared to the trials and tribulations that others are going through. BUT, in the long run I just want to document the story of our lives, so that's what I'm going to do. This will be the first "official" post of my second go at this blog, lol. Here we go:

Cory is now 22 months old. I can hardly believe that he will be 2 in less than two months! Sigh. I love him. He still fascinates me each and every day. He's totally into airplanes and helicopters, diggers, bulldozers, buses, trains, trucks...basically any thing that moves and makes loud noises!

We recently turned his car seat around in the car, so now he faces forward. It was a HUGE deal for him. He would cry every.single.time. we parked the car. Car rides are no longer relaxing and quiet - he is constantly pointing out buses (which also includes UPS trucks, or any type of delivery truck for that matter), balloons (mostly the ones tied to cars at dealerships), and his current most favoritest-favorite, "DIGGERS!". :)

His vocabulary is expanding daily, which is very nice to see. I was thinking of typing out a list of words that he can say, but I think that would be silly because there are so many of them now! I think my favorite word that he says is "helicopter" because he pronounces it "happy"! It's so darn cute! My other favorite thing his does is when he quacks like a duck...it sounds more like he has a bug stuck in his throat and he's trying to clear it, lol! I have to get it on video.

As for Sean and me, we are very happy to finally be able to get outside again! It's nice and warm out there now and it feels fabulous to get the house opened up and air out all of the nasty old winter-ness! We are looking forward to our summer vacation to Maine and having my family visit for Cory's birthday.

Lately, we've heard some pretty heart wrenching stories concerning friends and acquaintances and their families - we're very blessed to live the life we are living and know that God has many great things in store for us. I know sometimes it can get easy to take our lives for granted and I am grateful for the chance(s) to remember how blessed we truly are.

He's Amazing...

My son, that is. He literally amazes me every. single. day. Multiple times per day. I love this age. It's my favorite stage so far. He's an honest to goodness sponge, soaking up everything. My favorite is when he demonstrates a skill that I didn't even know he had! How is that possible? I'm practically with him every waking moment of his life. He's so smart. And he's so sweet. And he's so loving. I could watch him every second for the rest of my life and be overjoyed. Can ya tell I love this kid? I am one blessed momma.

In other news, the rest of this month and into March look to be rather busy with visitors who will be staying with us! I'm soooo excited! My parents are coming next weekend for a few days. They'll be here over Valentine's Day which will be a bonus for me and Sean! :D And then Jeff is hopefully (fingers WAY crossed!) going to be stopping by for a quick visit on his way back to Texas after his visit to Maine. It will only be a day or two, but I'm really excited about it! Then, Sunday, March 1st, Amy is flying out to spend the week with us! Wahooo!! It's gonna be fun! Albeit a bit strange not having Jeff here too. I'm definitely still not used to the fact that Amy and Jeff are no longer. Now it's Amy. And Jeff. Such is the way life goes, huh?!

Speaking of amazing people, my husband has been exceptionally amazing lately. I always knew I'd married a winner, but he's been proving it over and over again. He's truly my best friend, the man that I am meant to be with. I'm not sure that everyone has ONE person they're "meant to be with" in their lives but I definitely think some people fall into that category, and I believe that includes me and Sean. I love you, Stephen Sean. :)

Snow!!

We finally got a decent amount of snow! I LOVE it! :)

We got 2-3 inches of the fluffy white stuff Monday night, into Tuesday. It stopped for a while and then we got a bunch of sleet/ice, followed by 3-5 more inches of snow on Wednesday! It's beautiful! Sean went into work Wednesday morning but they sent him home again because of the weather...so we had a family snow day! YAY! It was so nice to spend an unexpected day together.

YMCA

Well we finally did it! After months of talking about it, we joined a gym! Sean and I decided that instead of getting each other Christmas gifts this year we would get a family membership to the YMCA, which is conveniently less than ten minutes from our house. We went last weekend for a tour and signed up. I've been twice so far this week and I am so embarrassed about my current level of fitness. Good thing it's getting better daily!

In other news, Cory very obviously, definitely, totally, called me "Momma" tonight! It was AWESOME! Up until now he's sort of mumbled/babbled, "mommmmmooommoommmm", but not anything clear. Before dinner he was sitting in Sean's lap at the dining room table. Sean was tickling him and bouncing him around. In the middle of his giggles he would say, "Momma, momma, momma!" and peek at me from around the chair. It was absolutely adorable! God, I love that kid!!

Chilly, Chilly, Chilly

Old Man Winter is here and in full-force. I, personally, don't mind all that much. Sure, I'd like to be able to wear my flip flops and not have to bundle up to look like an over sized marshmallow, but I do enjoy the winter as well. It's supposed to be a high of like 8 degrees here today, but that doesn't factor in the wind chill, and it's pretty breezy out there! Cory and I went out and ran errands this morning. He was definitely unimpressed by the wind. It also didn't help that he flat out refused to wear his mittens. He had a screaming, crying, flailing fit when I put them on him. He was like a child possessed by the Mitten Monster or something. Good thing we didn't have to be outside for longer than it took to walk from the car into the stores that we went to. Silly boy.

In other news, Grammie and Grampa Young were here last weekend for a visit. They stayed with Cory Saturday night while Sean and I went to a business conference in Columbus. We all had a great time at our respective events, so all in all it was a successful weekend!

Sean and I stayed on the 19th floor of a Hyatt. Our room was in a corner of the wedge shaped building so it was all weird and contorted. It was pretty cool once we got used to it. We had an amazing view of the city but it was mostly hidden on Saturday by the drear and fog that followed an ice/snow storm.

Tomorrow is Friday and I am eagerly awaiting this weekend. I got so used to having Sean around again after the holidays. It will be nice to have some more family time starting tomorrow evening.

Update

Happy 2009! I can't believe how quickly the month of December flew by! We had a very enjoyable Christmas season. We did Christmas with the Fryburgs on the Sunday before Christmas. We had brunch at the Dayton Women's Club followed by presents and dinner at our house later that afternoon. Everyone was there - Steve, Rose, Baba, Starr, Feras, Sean, Cory and myself. It was a very good day. Cory opened his present from us, a tent with a tunnel. He was very excited about it! It was definitely a great choice for a present for him.

On Tuesday, December 23rd, we flew to Maine. We were there through the 30th. It was a great visit -- although busy! I love going to Maine, but sometimes I feel like I need a vacation from my vacation when we get back because of all the visiting and traveling we do while we are there. Cory was a trooper the whole time. Our flight home got delayed in Cleveland (of all places) but Cory's attitude was amazing!

I believe 2009 will prove to be a monumental year for our family! I am so excited to see all of the good things that are going to happen. I am praying for some positive changes in our lives -- for our health, our finances and our professions. Yes, yes. It's going to be a fantastic year! :)

Here are some pictures from our Christmas celebrations: