So Lucky...

This post kind of got away from me and ended up being more of a written prayer...

A few months ago in church, our pastor did a series called "One Month To Live." There was a video and book to accompany his series, which we followed in our small group. I thought it was a good lesson at the time...don't take tomorrow for granted, love the ones you're with, TELL them you love them, do what you want to do today, don't wait...etc. Only now, months later, do I really GET it. It seems like people are disappearing all around me, or having extremely close calls and I have learned to take each day as a true gift. Started off with my grandfather dying so suddenly on Dec. 29th...his death was the first close relatives loss I've experienced, and it's been tough. A month later, our adopted grandma here in Florida, my brother in law's grandma passed pretty quickly. A few weeks ago, my great Aunt Eleanor in Boston passed away, then my dad's best friend was admitted to the hospital. A good friend of mine had a close call with her parents being struck by a drunk driver (they are both okay, thank God)....and as she said, you realize you are not immune to bad things happening. Experiences like this just really make you think and appreciate your health and all those close to you. I feel sooo lucky to have my family so close, and healthy. I'm grateful for happy, healthy children and a wonderful husband. And I feel strength in God that He is really with us. I watched Jennifer Hudson, the singer who's mom, sister, and nephew were murdered in Oct. and when accepting her Grammy award, she thanked God for "seeing me through." I am amazed by her faith, that she isn't angry or asking why (and maybe she went through that), but she thanked God. I need to do that more often...Thank God for all my blessings.

Happy Valentine's Day

Katelyn puts her favorite doll, Numvoyu, in Brady's new favorite toy, the Johnny Jumper. Although Brady doesn't really bounce, he swings...


Brady playing at the Valentine party at Brooks' house.



Brady "playing" with the other babies at the playdate.



Doesn't he look like a little boy?? He's lost his baby face. The "tough guy" pacifier adds to his new grown up appearance :-)



Katelyn holds Numvoyu next to Brady. She wasn't happy about wearing this shirt and told me Miss Abbie "wouldn't be very impressed."





It's Valentine's Day 2009, and my two little Valentines are currently napping (hopefully!). We have plans to go to Carraba's for dinner tonight and I can't wait!!






Katelyn just recovered from a horrible stomach flu. It was the sickest I've ever seen her. Should've known something was up when she declined pizza for dinner on Thursday...one of her favorites. That night, she was moaning and crying in her sleep. I went in a few times to check on her and just dismissed it as bad dreams, then I tried to wake her up around 10pm. I could feel she was burning up and once she sat up she vomitted all over both of us, not to mention her bed, carpet, pillow, etc. I tried to get her to the bathroom, but she left a trail all the way to the restroom. I had to give her a bath and she seemed to perk up and was very chatty. She even told me she felt so much better. Bryan and I changed her sheets and cleaned up, got her changed and settled back in bed...10 minutes later...again. This kept repeating until 2am. I slept on the couch outside of her room so she could get me when she needed me. Poor little girl. And I've never seen anyone so pale. The next morning, we had our once a month MOPS meeting where I'm the coordinator. I tried to contact my friend who could take over for me, but she was sick as well and not coming to the mtg. Another mom who could take over was unable to come to the mtg, so I had to bring K with me. By this time, she had gone about 6 hr. without vomitting and was able to keep down tylenol, so her fever subsided. I kept her with me, and tried to keep her away from the other kids, but she kept running up to them, wanting to play. It was a constant battle keeping her away. She was a pain in the neck during the meeting, kept walking up to me while I was talking to the group, interrupting me, calling out for me, getting her hands in the breakfast foods, etc. Ughhh... I'm glad the moms in the group understood.






Brady was invited to his first official playdate with his buddy Brooks, who was born about 2 months after him. My friend Abbie (Brooks' mom) hosted a valentine playdate party at her place and it was decked out with valentine's candy, cupcakes, homemade treats, and punch. Plus every baby got a monogrammed burp cloth and a treat bag for the mom. It was a wonderful get together. Since it was on a Wed, Katelyn was with me. She was the only big kid, I thought she'd have her nose out of joint or be bored, but she was a star. She asked each of the moms if she could put a heart sticker on each baby and sat at the kitchen table on her own and colored quietly. She enjoyed a cupcake and fell in love with the conversation hearts candy.






After going to the Bud Shoot out at Daytona Raceway last weekend, Bryan and I are actually looking forward to watching the Daytona 500 tomorrow. We don't have favorite drivers yet, but had a great time watching the race.

All About Feet

Playing Dora games on Nickjr.com. K is loving the computer!


K's barbies take a dip in the pool.



Mmmm...toes....





Mmm....more toes!




Big sis lets Brady take a bite out of her toes.




Brady has a foot fetish...whether it's his own or others...he loves to grab and shove feet into his mouth. He started reaching for his feet in Dec, but couldn't really hold on to them. Now as soon as his socks are off, he pulls his toes into his mouth. Most of the time, he gets all 5 toes into his mouth! It's so funny!






We have been so happy to have Olivia the pig make her television debut on Nickelodeon. Katelyn has been loving the Olivia books by Ian Falconer for a few years. We have checked out every Olivia book multiple times from the library and know them by heart. Now she has her own show and we are thrilled!! The tv show has stayed true to the books. Katelyn and Olivia are very similiar...both very independent, imaginative, strong-willed with hearts of gold.






Katelyn has been busy with her Barbie dolls and loving playing Dora games on nickjr.com. She's taught herself how to navigate the website and switch games, listen to the instructions, and play. She's made her own music by clicking different instruments, and listens to books read aloud in spanish.






It's been a quiet week...we've stayed in town and enjoyed mornings at the gym and our chilly overcast afternoons at home. It's been nice :-)