& Then there were 5

Ballet

2011-09-12T12:16:00.003-04:00

Here are a few pictures from Taylor's first ballet class. She was very excited... even more so than she was to start school. Chris and I certainly have a performer on our hands.

Trip to Grammy and Pop-pop's House

2011-07-18T19:26:00.005-04:00

I know we've sort of fallen off the radar recently. The lack of posts means we're busy enjoying life and not having much time to sit down and write about it. Being under my mom's roof always allows me a bit more time to kick back and relax, so I thought I'd share some photos from all the fun we've been having here in sunny Florida.

There are several more that just won't upload. We've had a perfect trip with mom and Dan. We will all be a little sad to leave tomorrow. We always love time with two of our favorite people and look forward to seeing them again in October.

I hope you enjoyed the post. Not sure when I'll be posting again... we're still here nevertheless.

Home Stretch

2011-04-06T10:22:00.004-04:00

We're in teh home stretch now. One week and two days left until we're all otgether again. Austin started T-ball Monday. Here are some photos I took of the kids the past few days. Sorry I have not updated much. We have been keeping very busy and thank goodness, the weeks have really flown by. Hope to have more photos up soon.

xo Liz

Sights Part 2

2011-03-25T03:36:00.002-04:00

Sights around Doha

2011-03-22T05:58:00.006-04:00

In the Souq

Part of the Souq is a series of restaurants. We stopped for coffee and a snack

Getting ready to drink some good coffee

Nothing noteworthy about this picture. I just thought the architecture is neat.

Downtown Doha, with a Dhow in the foreground

This was a really pretty interior courtyard. That is a fountain in the middle in the middle

This is an area under development called "The Pearl - Qatar" Eventually, this will be the super high-rent district with lots of exclusive shops. Not sure why we went here, I think we had a language issue with our driver. We didn't stay long.

Doha has some unique architecture

Downtown

My Only Day Off

2011-03-22T05:49:00.005-04:00

The entrance to the carnival in the mall

The best part about this mall is that they have these suped-up go karts that you can race. It's really really cool. There's a video below.

This is a huge mall. They have an entire area that is an indoor carnival.

The Aspire Tower, outside of the Villagio Mall. It was built for the 2006 Asian Games. That little platform looking thing on the right is a swimming pool. There's a huge torch on top.

The Spaceship Project

2011-03-14T22:41:00.004-04:00

Just some images from an assignment I had to do for school.

More of the Sights

2011-03-11T07:45:00.003-05:00

Ok, I have to admit, I didn't take these pictures. I borrowed them from someone who has a better camera. Just wanted to post a few more pictures to show some of the sites.

A better shot of the Souqs

A typical shot of one of the shops selling spices. These places have the most amazing smell

Doha was once a huge pearling center of the Middle East. There are still a few pearlers out there but today the major industry is natural gas. This pearl fountain is downtown, across the street from the souqs.

The Doha skyline

If you're into soccer, you might know that Qatar is hosting the 2022 World Cup. They have hosted the Asian Games in the past and this is one of the stadiums they use.

There is a family of camels that live right outside the gate of the base. This is a baby camel.

A Night Out

2011-03-03T13:51:00.011-05:00

I will apologize up front. My camera takes terrible night pictures and even some of the day pictures are getting worse.

I went with a group tonight to downtown Doha to eat and do a little shopping at the souqs. One of the places a lot of groups stop at is a restaurant called "Kabob King." It's pretty awesome. Good food, prices are decent and the staff appreciates our steady business.

Dinner....mutton, lamb and chicken platter with garlic naan, 3 types of hummus, chicken "lollipos" and butter chicken (a little Indian mixed with Arabic)

For those that have never been to the Middle East, they're not big on toilet paper...as in...they don't use toilet paper, nor do they offer it in most establishments. I won't get into the gory details but apparently they've had issues with westerners using paper towels as TP and clogging the toilets. I thought this was kinda funny. Let's just say...it's best practice to use the facilities BEFORE leaving home, at all cost.

The souqs are kind of a flea market if you're not familiar. There are themed souqs, like the gold souq, the electronic souq etc. The one we went to is called the "New Souq" and they sell mostly kitschy things like fabrics, arabic clothing, some food and spices, tea and pets... There's allegedly a part of this souq that sells falcons. I don't think Hannah would be happy if I brought home a bird of prey. She prefers to be the only hunter in the house. Here are some of the sights.

This picture is terrible, I know...sorry. This is one of the aisles, selling fabrics.

More fabrics

This is a cool tower...not sure of the significance, as it's definitely not the prayer tower (minaret).

There was a little song and dance thingy going on. These guys were bouncing up and down like a middle eastern Lord of the Dance

The souqs are open late at night because in the summer no one shops during the day. It will routinely get up to 120-130 degrees with 80+ percent humidity. Apparently this is one of the most miserable places in the middle east in the summertime. It's still pretty cool out at night here right now..but we've already seen 90 during the day in the last week.

This is the Islamic Cultural center. I didn't know it until after I took a picture that we're not supposed to photograph it...oops. It's a cool looking building.

An open air seating area with a couple of restaurants to sit and have tea/desert and....

Hookah!!

When in Qatar, do as the Qataris do....

The imperfect little lives we lead

2011-02-28T22:52:00.005-05:00

One of my favorite images, quite possibly ever, of my brother. She just loves her Bobe.

She is a real wild one... and I LOVE it.

Austin with his favorite buddy Dylan taking a break from playing soccer.

As I waited to collect Austin at dismissal one day last week, I was chatting with a few other moms. They asked how we were holding up without Chris around, and I replied with the usual, "Oh we're fine. We miss him, but we keep in touch via Skype and the stories on the blog."

One of the moms replied with, "You have a blog! I want to read your blog. Send me the link." So I told her that I would have to send her an invitation and that I was pretty sure we were at our max 100 guests, but that I would add her if a spot came available... and this is what she said.

"I just have to read your blog. I love reading blogs because all you see and all you read on family blogs is how wonderful life is. When I read them all I can think about is how I know their lives are not THAT perfect!"

Well... she's right to a degree, but do I really want to share my personal family blog with a person who judges me for the perfect memories I would like to savor in my own little imperfect world? It's been a few days since I last blogged. I was on a role there for a while, wasn't I? Well I have house work to take care of, bills to pay, baskets of clothes to fold and put away, floors to mop, mouths to feed, bodies to wash, and little people who need to be read to played with tickled and yes disciplined. I have papers to write, assignments to fulfill, books that must be read from cover-to-cover and images to be taken, edited, submitted and yes, sometimes re-submitted. The only pieces of perfection that exists in this little life of ours are those two beautiful babies who lay sound asleep as I write this. And even though at times it may seem to others who we invite into our lives that we put on an air of flawlessness, we are far from being perfect.

Mom of the really cute little girl in Austin's class, we are doing okay without Chris, but there's not a single day that passes that I do not wish he were here. We each have our moments, mine lasted for a particularly long time today, of tears and wishes, but it passes because we know how to see the silver lining in this all. We know how to make an ordinary day, magic.

Enjoy the images. Hope to hear from each one of you soon.

:: Liz ::

Amenities

2011-02-24T07:59:00.003-05:00

There's a lot of stuff to do to keep you busy here. A lot of people are here for a year at a time, so there's a constant challenge to stay busy and occupied. Here's a few of the amenities.

This circus tent looking thing is called Memorial Plaza. They show movies here on a giant screen and you can probably see all the tables and chairs sitting out for people to sit around and gab. It's more or less right in the middle of the base and is surrounded by a bunch of other things. The gym, the library, and "The Fox" which I have a picture of below. While Memorial Plaza is its official name, most people just simply call it "The Bra." Any guesses as to why?

This is a look heading from my dorm towards the bra. The buildings on the right are one of the base exchanges.

I have not partaken of the Subway or the Burger King. They're both things I try to avoid while in the states so I'll continue to avoid them here. In this row there's also a Dunkin and a Baskin Robbins.

All of those facilities are in what is called the Coalition Compound or just "CC". On the other side of base, in the BPC (I forgot what it stands for) there are more up to date, modern buildings. Inside one of the facilities is this Starbucks. There's never a line here, despite the fact that it's Starbucks. Unlike most of the other vendors, they increase their prices significantly.
I may have mentioned that we get our "3 beers." This is one of the places where we can come to get our 3 beers. In fact, it's 3 drinks of alcohol which includes beer, wine and 2oz shots of liquor. While the building was here, Fox Sports donated the interior and it is referred to as The Fox. They've got wi-fi, and there's always sports playing.

My friend Chris, having his 3 drinks....all at once.

I have yet to have all 3 beers I am allowed. I'm trying to make something good from this deployment by working out and losing a few pounds...so I don't drink very much.

The True Price

2011-02-19T09:11:00.003-05:00

I've received a number of emails at work since I have been here regarding "Fallen Warrior" ceremonies. Since this base is a big transit hub for the war effort there are constant rotations of aircraft and personnel. Sometimes, all too commonly, those flight rotations include the remains of soldiers who have been killed in the line of duty.

Today, during my work shift, I went over to the airfield and took part in a Fallen Warrior ceremony. It was very simple. The back of a C-17 aircraft is opened up, revealing a single flag-draped metal casket. The sight of that small casket in the back of that huge aircraft will be something I will remember for the rest of my life. All of the ceremony participants are lined up on either side of the aircraft and the honor guard retrieves the casket and carries it to a waiting transport vehicle. As the casket is brought down the cargo ramp, all the participants are ordered by the senior officer to "present arms" i.e. salute the passing casket. That vehicles is then driven over to the back of yet another C-17, bound for Dover AFB, Delaware. The process was repeated in reverse. Finally, the chaplain and the senior officers invited inside all of us into the large cargo bay for a short prayer.

During this time, the usually noisy and bustling flightline all but comes to a standstill. Vehicles stop moving and their occupants get out to stand at attention to salute the casket as it passes. It is still very loud, and the prayer inside the cargo bay is said over the intercom, the chaplain speaking through the intercom headset.

In the week I have been here, I've received a number of emails to participate but many times they are held in the middle of the night or when I am off shift. Everyone on base is invited to come any time they are able. Today's ceremony was presided over by the vice Wing Commander, Air Force Colonel Paul W. Tibbets IV. Col Tibbets comes from a very distinguished Air Force lineage. If you don't know the name Paul Tibbets, do a Google search.

End of the First Week

2011-02-19T06:51:00.003-05:00

While this place often looks like a Martian landscape, there are some strangely scenic things to look at. For one, we do have amazing sunrises and sunsets every single day. I caught this one last night as I was walking to the gym. This fence used to be the perimeter of the base, but isn't any longer. Pretty imposing though.

The dorms that are occupied by those here for 6 months or more

The "Yellow Brick Road" connecting the 2 residential areas of the base

A typical Qatari lawn

Qatari shrubbery

Day 8 :: Little Time

2011-02-18T21:08:00.006-05:00

Me post-run, kids... post major sugar consumption... we were all a little sticky and giddy.

Hannah being obsessed with the ball.

Mmmmm, candy!

Daddy's smile.

I couldn't resist. She dressed herself and yes, those are NOT diapers.. three days no pull=ups, not even at night. I LOVED putting out the trash with no smelly diapers last night. It was awesome and a first since before we had Austin. Wow!

She knows how to rock an undie bulge.

Did I mention that she did her hair too? And put her shoes on? Just the sweetest.

Taylor and I joined Austin for lunch today. We love lunch at WAES.

Lost the diapers, bit still haven't dropped the paci... oh well... baby steps is our mode of operation these days.

I have very little time to post tonight as I have spent most of our days outdoors with the beautiful weather we are having. I got some yard work done, ran outside for the first time in a while, to get my car that was being repaired all the while enjoying myself but seriously neglecting my school work... I have a HUGE design project and a paper all due and not a single thing started... can you say anxiety? All will be well after the weekend though. My mom and step-dad are in town and Chris (brother) and Laura are on their way now, so I should have no troubles keeping the kids occupied while getting my work done. Wish me luck and enjoy the photos from our day.

xo Liz xo

Day 7 :: In Our Step

2011-02-17T18:47:00.005-05:00

What a stud!

The red and black attire was not planned... but I thought it was fancy enough for a photo :)

Taylor loves her bike

The little dude rockin' the scooter.

Wow, what a beauty huh?

Her eyes are just like yours Chris. So beautiful.

The weather here has been AMAZING the past few days... I want it to last until you get home... but I know it won't. So for now, the kids and I have a little Spring in our step and are so thankful for this little gift we've been given.

We strolled over to the playground after school and were pleasantly surprised to have so many of our friends there. Even I got 'play' a little with my pals :) .

Enjoy the pictures. Tomorrow is Friday and over the weekend we will have a house full of guests, always a nice feeling when the house seems so empty without Chris around.

Much love, Liz

The Ride Over (Part 2) or...somewhere near fair Verona

2011-02-17T07:57:00.003-05:00

Thank God for wonderful people. While I was in Germany, I was trying desperately to get in touch with a family friend, Susan Davis. She's a DODS teacher at the school at Ramstein. She kept trying to get in touch with me, but I had no cell phone. Lousy internet service and no idea when my flight was going to leave. On top of that, they kept ushering us in and out of security. Finally, on the day I left, she tracked me down to say hi. It was wonderful to spend some time with her and she even brought me a coffee, which most of you know is the fastest way to my heart! I actually asked her if she had spoken with my mother before meeting me. I hope to meet up with her on the way home.

Incidentally, Susan's husband Bob is a Guiness Book of World Record holder for the "Longest Snowmobile Journey". Read all about Ironman here

After 2.5 days in Germany we were finally able to leave. Turns out the instrument system at Aviano AB, Italy was down and there was bad weather all over northern Italy. We were finally able to land in Verona, Italy where we offloaded a bunch of passengers and gassed up the jet. They made us get off the plane and stuffed us in a hanger for an hour and a half.

Walking away from the jet

Our not so trusty steed, which carried us (very slowly) from Baltimore, all the way to the Middle East

This is one of those, "I have to take a picture of this because it was very funny at the time" pictures

This is another of those "funny at the time pictures." You probably can't see it but as they were loading the aircraft, all kinds of soft drinks started falling out of the cargo hold. It was pretty funny to watch. A video would have been better.

The flight from Verona took about 5 hours and we landed around 130am. We inprocessed the base and they checked us into our rooms. I finally fell asleep around 530am and slept until noon, when I went into work.

The Ride Over (Part 1)

2011-02-17T07:37:00.005-05:00

I had a hard time getting over here. 3 fulls days of delays, 1 in Baltimore and 2 in Germany. Made for some interesting times. As a benefit however, I met some cool people and had some interesting conversations.

The view from the Ramstein AB passenger (PAX) terminal - I spent A LOT of time looking at this view

After the first day of not leaving Germany, they put us up in a hotel...which happened to be 1.5 hours away at what used to be Bitburg AB. Bitburg used to be a big US Air Force base back when you couldn't throw a rock in (then) West Germany without hitting a couple US military installations. The base has been turned back over to the Germans who have curiously turned the old Officer's Club into a techno dance club. There were even (unconfirmed) reports that the old base chapel had been turned into a strip club...hmm? The picture above is taken from my room.

The second day, we sat around again, until they finally kicked us out of the terminal. Starving and pretty well convinced we weren't leaving that day, a few of us ventured over to the gi-normous AAFES exchange at Ramstein. The place is huge! Bigger than a Sam's Club...and tax free! They had several food choices. I chose the weisswurst (below) and of course ein bier (above). Just one...for now. Prost!!!

The view from my room in Darmstadt...second layover night in Germany. Funny thing was, I had stayed in this hotel in 2007. Nice place.

What a difference a week can make...

2011-02-17T07:31:00.003-05:00

I've been having trouble getting my pictures to upload since I got here so I apologize for being a bit behind. It's amazing how much one's scenery can change in a week.

The picture on the left was taken last Tuesday and the picture on the right was taken this Tuesday. Snow to barren wasteland in just a few days.

Day 5 :: The Shuffle

2011-02-16T10:52:00.003-05:00

Austin wasn't really himself yesterday. Had a rough play date after school with a buddy of his... rough as in they kicked the junk out of one another. Hey, at least he'll know how to defend himself.

Sleepy T on the couch.

Hannah misses dad too.

Dinner :: Vegetable soup... new recipe, just so-so. send me yours if you have a good one.

We just kept moving yesterday. It was one of those days where you just don't feel like you stop until you drop at the end of it. I had class last night and typically Chris is home to take care of the kids. They love their special nights with daddy... I'm sure they get a little extra attention when he's with them. Last night we welcomed a new nanny into our home. Courtney is a perfect fit for our babies. She understood them straight away and was still smiling at the end of the night. The kids can't wait for Courtney to watch them next week :) always a relief to find a good sitter.

Well that's about all the news I have from day 5. Today should bring a bit more... root canals, doctor visits, my mom and step-dad arriving.... the possibilities are endless ;)

Love to all. xo Liz

Day 4 :: LOVE

2011-02-14T22:58:00.004-05:00

Happy Valentines Day! Austin kept saying, "I can't even believe today is Valentine's Day!" like it's something I've been hiding from him... he also thinks any holiday is a great reason to ask for a new video game. Alright, you got me buddy, I let this one sneak up on you on purpose :) because I knew you would love the book I got you as your Valentine, much better than some silly game.

Both the kids had lots of unexpected fun handing out and receiving Valentines. We even got a few deliveries from friends in the neighborhood. I helped out at Austin's school party this afternoon and was able to get a few shots of Austin and some of his classmates. He sits next to Jule, a new student from Germany, and he just adores her... finds her language and culture fascinating.

Austin won BINGO at the party and he just cannot wait to inform Daddy of the news. After school, Austin and I headed over to the dentist and discovered my wonderful news :/. After that we went to pick Taylor up from school and over to swim lessons. These swimming pictures are hilarious. Austin's cap is not even that tight, but it pulls his face up so much he looks like an entirely different boy... and I think it might freak Taylor out a bit now looking at the pictures.

Well I am going to bed, enough writing and posting for one night. The pain in my mouth/head/jaw/ear has finally subsided after taking a Hydrocodone pill. It won't last forever though, so goodnight everyone and good morning Chris. You will be up soon. I love you and have a great day. We'll talk tomorrow when you're off work. xo

Day 3 :: Eats

2011-02-14T22:26:00.005-05:00

As I drove Chris to the Airport (the first time) I was thinking of how the kids change so quickly and worrying that he might miss out on something, god forbid a growth spurt, so I jokingly told him that I would only feed the kids really junky-not-good-for-you foods to stunt their growth until he came home. Well, there's no way I could really bring myself to do that and even if I did, it probably wouldn't work. He'd end up coming home to kids with acne and greasy hair, bags under their eyes and... well you get the point.

Yesterday though, we made a few exceptions. We started with edamame and eased into Valentine's Day cupcakes, then ended the evening with a few of our favorite neighbors, some sugar cookies and RED frosting. Good thing we ate a healthy dinner.

As for me, my sweet tooth is not-so-sweet right now. Here's the long and short of it. I am getting braces to correct my jaw and its misalignment. Before fitting me they want to touch up any gray spots that could potentially turn into cavities while I am wearing braces. I had one 'filled' over a month ago and ever since it's hurt. Two days ago it began throbbing. So I called the dentist and they brought me in today, took one look at the x-ray and could see that my new filling just grazes the top of my nerve, shooting pain into my jaw, temple and ear. So to fix it they will be doing a root canal, drilling out the nerve and then filling it and putting a cap on it... FABULOUS! I wish I could say that stuff like this happens when Chris is gone, however, he had been telling me to get it looked at since mid-January, so it's my own stupid fault.

Have more pictures to crop down for you all so I am signing off this post to begin another one. Enjoy the pictures :) :: Liz ::

Hello from an "undisclosed location" in Southwest Asia

2011-02-14T07:52:00.004-05:00

Well, I finally made it in. Arrived at about 130am local time today and was able to get through the customs/inprocessing process pretty quickly. My "people" here took good care of me and made sure I have my own room and am not living in a tent. I'll post some pictures of the area around where I work and live but I am having issues uploading photos so they'll have to wait for now.

The weather is actually quite nice. Upper 50's and breezy at night and in the 70's (and breezy) in the day. Hopefully I'll be on my way home before the real heat starts to ratchet up. The base hit 140 degrees with about 90% humidity over the summer...no thanks. That's all for now. Off to the gym....

Day 2 :: Party Time

2011-02-13T12:28:00.005-05:00

The kids and I headed to Philadelphia yesterday for a party celebrating our two favorite babes. I got to spend some time with two of my dearest friends in the whole world, Abbey and Leah, and we all got to love these two incredible, beautiful, simply amazing little boys. Oakley and Tobias were born on opposite sides of the country just a few days apart, they are so different and beautiful in their very own unique little ways yet they operate in harmony side-by-side and I just feel so lucky to know them.

Austin and Taylor both LOVE the boys and talk non-stop about "baby-Bias" and "baby-Oakwee." I never get enough time hanging out with these two little families, but hope that changes now that we are in closer proximity to one another.

After partying it up with the boys we headed over to Haddonfield for a great dinner with my Aunt Alice and cousins Tori + Will. Austin and Taylor idolize their big cousins and it is always very sweet to see how my kids light up when they are with them. On out last visit, Will and Austin were glued together and we managed to not get a single photo of them. So this time I made it a point to get the 4 cousins together for a picture that I am certain Austin will have on his bedside table as fast as I can print it. Thanks Allie so much for hosting us. It's always so great catching up with you, Tori and Will and always very hard for us to leave. I can't wait for our next visit!

Enjoy the pictures. xo Liz xo

Day 1 - Part deux

2011-02-13T10:04:00.004-05:00

Me trying to get a picture of myself wearing part of the Valentine's Day gift from Chris; a request from Chris... that's as good as I can get right now love.

The little dude.

Sweet Miss Taylor Eve

Running in their Crocs... recipe for disaster.

Austin trying his best to get Taylor to look at the camera.

As many of you know, I am in school right now... yes while Chris is away. I am taking a photography course and I wish it were as enjoyable as I had thought it would be, but it's more of a hassle, uninformative, elementary and just a nuisance at this point. Hopefully that will change when the rest of the class understands how to work Manual mode on their cameras a little better :/.

I took the kids the the World War II Memorial here in Annapolis to fulfill one of my assignments Friday and was able to get a few captures of them as well. I was not expecting inquiries from my little guy as to what the monuments were and why they had been put there... Austin wanted to know all about memorials and WWII... tough time to explain that to him, but I managed to inform him about fallen heroes and war without scaring him. Hmmm yeah ...

Chris emailed me a quick note this morning, informing me that he was in Italy at last, still on the aircraft and preparing to leave for Qatar shortly. No word since 7:30 and no news is good news at this point in the game. I will update the blog if and when I hear more.

Until then, enjoy the pictures :). Much love, Liz

An Update

2011-02-12T15:40:00.002-05:00

Hi All, this is Chris writing from Germany. It's been a tough go since I left Connecticut with delay after delay. It's easy to be a little annoyed and slightly upset with the situation but that doesn't do a lot of good.

I left Connecticut on Wednesday afternoon and as I write this on Saturday evening, I am still roughly halfway. We landed at Ramstein, Germany on Friday morning where we let some passengers off. We reboarded and took off, heading for Aviano, Italy. Shortly before landing, I heard the landing gear of the aircraft lower and then shortly afterwards the pilot gunned the engines and pulled the gear back up. "Missed approach," I thought. Which is weird because they're not all that common among airline pilots. We circled around the airport for a while and then did it all over. Gear down, waiting, waiting...full power, gear up. "Another missed approach!"

At that time they came on the intercom and said that there was a problem with the ILS (Instrument Landing System) at Aviano and we were headed back to Ramstein, about 45 minutes away. We landed and got off the aircraft where they had us wait for buses to transport us to a hotel an hour and a half away. Long story short, they were not able to get into Aviano today either but are looking at options. Perhaps Verona, Italy or someplace else. Apparently their transit passes are only good at certain airports at certain times so there are not a lot of options. Additionally, there are some security issues.

So tonight I am staying in Darmstadt, Germany. A cool little town that I spent some time in 2007. I am actually staying in the same hotel I stayed in in 2007 as well but am too tired to go out. Try again tomorrow... Hope all is well with the rest of you.

Chris

By the way, I have taken some pictures but while I have my camera, the cables to connect it to the computer are in my checked bags, sitting in the belly of an airplane 60 miles away. Yes, I have clean clothes :-)

Tough Day - Day 1

2011-02-11T21:05:00.004-05:00

We were all a little tired today... late night dropping Chris off at the airport, settling fears and drying tears until long past bedtime. This morning my two little bugs did not want to wake up. I was able to capture some pretty cute images, daily sights for Chris and I to love... a sight I know he'll grow to miss seeing and a sight in which I know you all will cherish and appreciate too. I really fancy having this blog private, it allows me to open up more than I usually do in my posts and pictures. Thanks for being devoted readers over the years and even through my not-blogging days/weeks/months...

Enjoy these little memories from our day.

:: Liz ::

Departure

2011-02-11T09:14:00.003-05:00

Chris made it out of Connecticut just fine and as you read in his post, had a layover in Baltimore that lasted well beyond 24-hours. The kids and I were able to hurry down the coast from Connecticut before he left last night. We got 5 hours more together, but saying goodbye the second time was even harder than the first.

I took some photos of him getting ready to leave from Connecticut. No words can be placed with the feeling of seeing him in uniform, walking away in the airport.

I think Taylor put it best when she came into our bedroom around 9pm last night holding her hands up and looking around. I asked her what was wrong and she just said, "There's someone missing mommy. Someone is missing... Something is missing." Hopefully these first few days are the toughest... for us all.

Here are a few images from his first farewell. Will have some more soon from our Day 1 without Chris at home.

:: Liz ::

I Made It!!!...to Baltimore???

2011-02-10T00:30:00.002-05:00

This is Chris, in the first of (hopefully) several blog posts. I left Connecticut today, leaving Liz and the kids there. They're having a great time at Cathie and Jamie's, who have been excellent, supportive and gracious hosts (as always). They'll head back to Annapolis on Thursday. As it goes for military rotator flights, I was scheduled to leave tonight out of the AMC terminal at BWI for Ramstein, Germany before continuing on for Italy and eventually Qatar. As luck would have it, I arrived in Baltimore tonight only to find that my flight was "delayed" for a full 24 hours. C'mon people...seriously?! Thanks for the advance notice...I assume this was a complete surprise...ah...whatever.

So here I am, sitting at an airport hotel no more than 20 miles from home. I considered going home for the night but realized that it was far too much hassle than it was worth, especially considering that the house is empty, and I am tired.

On the bright side, I hope to see Liz and the kids tomorrow for a bit if it works out. Am scheduled to check back in for my flight at 8pm, so tomorrow will be a long...long day.

Another day on the hill

2011-02-08T22:53:00.006-05:00

Chris was able to join us skiing today which allowed me to take a few more pictures of the kids in action. It was great spending time together on Chris' last day before deployment... and what better way than to ski!?

Chris is a much better ski instructor than I am and had Taylor making run after run in no time. Austin was almost to perfecting his stops, but we still have a little work to do on control. We will get there before the season is over I am certain of it.

Enjoy the pictures...

:: Liz ::

Orders

2011-02-08T08:39:00.004-05:00

Hello everyone,

Chris's official orders just dropped. He will be departing tomorrow out of the Connecticut Air National Guard, flying through Baltimore and then over the pond to Qatar. I made a map for everyone who does not know where Qatar is... I did not know when he first told me, I am fully admitting this, yes. So if you did know, I don't mean to be a bore...you are just smarter than me (that's not a tough one), in the military or very smart and in the military... ;)

We are getting a bit of snow while staying in Connecticut. I am certain Chris will get out tomorrow, but not so sure if I am willing to risk driving home with the kids on nasty roads. The good thing about freshly fallen snow, the skiing conditions will be even better today than they were yesterday :).

Enjoy the day!

Snowboarding + Skiing

2011-02-07T22:35:00.004-05:00

Wow! That was great... a little cross eyed from all the excitement.

Post ski shuffle.

He got the cool snowboarders hold down after having to walk up the hill a few times.

so big...

happy to be on the hill

Dude!

Biggest accomplishment of the day... knowing how to buckle and unbuckle his bindings = lots of time on the bum.

I took the kids to Ski Sundown today while Chris out-processed from his unit for his deployment. Austin received a snowboard from Santa for Christmas and we've been dying to get him on the slopes. Taylor is only two, but we decided to try her on skis anyway. They both had a great day on the slopes :) and I couldn't be more proud. We'll beheading there again tomorrow and if I have my hands free I will try to take more pictures. Until then, goodnight.

:: Liz ::

Where we've been

2010-08-18T00:37:00.002-04:00

... missing from the blog world yes, but busy and happy more importantly. It has been a long summer, mostly filled with sun and laughter by a pool, or on a beach, at the lake and among family. We are blessed and really taking it in. I have so many photos to edit and share with you all, but the most important thing for you all to know is that we are doing well.

Austin starts Kindergarten next week and although I find myself reflecting on this milestone in our lives, I have very little time to sit and write about it... until this moment, which is where I will begin. I just finished a final exam for a class that made me question higher education all together. It was a class that I took "face-to-face" and made me really resent the fact that at the age of 30-something, I still have yet to finish my undergraduate studies. I will spare you all the details, as I find it would just sound like whiny jabber... but I will tell you this, I have lots of first hand experience to write my final paper on why education has been stripped of creativity... which leads me into Austin starting school.

So my little boy, my baby, the very first reason why this blog was started will be entering full day kindergarten next week. I know I am his mama, and I know mamas can be biased, but I know my boy is bright and incredibly creative. He starts each day on his own foot and is amazing at creating his day... I am not sure if that makes sense to any of you, so if it doesn't imagine this: a day where all your thoughts, outlandish by public opinion or not, all your dreams and wishes come true. Austin asked me today what he was good at, what was his special talent.

Well my boy, from day one, since the very day you were born you had the ability to put a smile on any person's face. You have grown into a person who is good, no great, no exceptional at everything you love. You are beautiful (although you prefer "handsome" because you're sister and best friend Ava are the MOST beautiful in your book and they are girls) you are sincere and you know what is best for all. Austin Lee you are a caring soul who is on the constant look out for others and you enter each day with the most inspiring attitude any person would be envious over. You learn from others deeds and understand why some other's actions are bad without me ever having to explain.

You feel... thank God for that.

You LOVE your family, even the ones you have never met, and you adore your friends. You are kind to animals and listen to what they say as if you do not speak their language. You are never afraid to show your affection for me and Dad and your baby sister; she is your world.

My dear sweet boy, I don't want one ounce of you to change, but I want you to grow. I can only believe that you beginning your formal education will allow you to grow... more to be delivered soon...

Much love, Liz

Spring shopping

2010-02-23T23:10:00.003-05:00

I love this shirt, but they don't have my size.

The dog's gonna get fat and I may be a bit cranky...

2010-02-21T17:01:00.003-05:00

The blogging rage has fizzled these days with the online craze shifting to Facebook. I found I was on Facebook so often, catching up mostly with my dad's side of the family that I had lost touch with over the past five years, that the sport of updating my status became a nauseating addiction.

So here I am, five days strong into Lent and no Facebook! Go me! I was discussing this silly and in many ways insignificant sacrifice to a fellow blogger, member of Facebook and very close friend of mine. She gave up random web surfing for Lent. We both agreed that without either of our online addictions we find ourselves stumped when on the web... where am I going with this all... not sure, but I know more blogging is in the future.

So the dog's going to get fat. I have this really terrible habit of tasting the kids food before I feed them anything and nibbling up what's left on their plates in addition to eating an enjoyable meal myself. As of Wednesday that stopped. I don't want to say that I am dieting, because Lord knows the grief I would get for just speaking that word, but I am making a concentrated effort to consume good foods, whole foods, foods my body needs. So Hannah might get fat from all the kiddie scraps. So far I haven't heard her complain.

I've been cranky because of this transition. Grrr...

The time that's void

2010-01-29T22:20:00.005-05:00

There's no room to think or write at a time like this. No room for emotion, let down or complaints. As we walk through the days, weeks, often times months, and even some years of separation, the only way to be is numb, grateful and proud.

Very little gets you fired up, yet even the smallest things bring a smile to your face, a pain in your heart or a "thank you God" to your lips. Not all are aware of what is going on, or they are and they really don't understand. And then you remember your brothers and sisters, those who share the worry, pain, joy, pride and dedication. At times you may feel very alone, that while your spouse is away, you have been forgotten not only by friends and neighbors, but even by family. And that is exactly what you want, for every prayer and thought to reach your spouse and not even braise your blessed head.

And circumstantially a neighbor calls and invites you for dinner, a friend would love to take the kids for a couple hours, a kind note arrives in your inbox because there is love. And then ............ you let go of the pain ........... and the numbness sets in ........ and the time ............. it passes ......... and the impalpable is born. You forget about the tears because the man you are so deeply, madly in love with is away, but he is not gone and you are thankful.

You are thankful for each phone call and your mom's voice, that message your brother left, each email, chat, letter, visit from out of town guests, a latte dropped on your doorstep, a few sunny days at the playground, play groups buzzing with laughter and wine, meals made with love, for you and your little ones... your little ones ... those sweet, sweet babies... you are so thankful for them.

And so the weeks have made a month. And now he's on his way home. And you get butterflies in your gut, the same way you did when you first met. Your planning a special meal, picking out just the right outfit, bought a great bottle of Malbec... It's all over again and it is beautiful and the beauty is in you, the beauty is tomorrow.

We're here and we're happy

2010-01-09T16:46:00.002-05:00

Happy New Year to all. Hope everyone had a spectacular and magical Christmas. Will post more adorable pictures of these guys soon. For now, I have writers block... sorry.

Feeling the Spirit

2009-12-07T01:15:00.003-05:00

WooHoo! Legos!

Animated plush snowmen and all. What's this? a note from Ned.

We Believe. How about you?

Austin has been enjoying his Lego Advent calendar. Taylor likes to eat our family elf, though I don't think Ned minds much. He still leaves the kids goodies every day in our Advent tree. He hasn't been all that mischievous compared to past years though I think he understands just how busy I've been lately.

Things should slow down mid week though. Looking forward to baking, crafting and wrapping at home, settling in until Christmas day arrives. I could use some knitting time, some time to read... but first I must get our Christmas cards done.

Still no photos for those yet. The babes are a bit crazier this year than last. My own kids are making me pull out all the tricks. Well you all shall just have to wait and see what comes of tomorrow's photo shoot with my sweet little muffins. For now, goodnight all.

If I could only always remember

2009-11-19T23:22:00.004-05:00

I've been busy with work. So busy that my weekends are filled with shoots, nap times is filled with downloads and previews and after my family has gone to bed, I stay up late into the night making edits on hundreds of images taken of the same, small, beautiful child.

It's rare that a child between the ages of 1 to about the age of 7 actually sit still long enough for someone to realize just how incredibly breathtaking they are. Those eyes... that hair... her skin... his laugh... I feel like I miss seeing my kids in this light because they are always either on my hip or at my side.

The other day I sat Taylor in front of a shape sorting toy she often plays with. I decided to sit with her because I had a moment to breath and why not pass that moment with her. Not even looking up for my approval she places each of the five shapes into their corresponding spots, in about 5 seconds without making a single mistake... I shook my head in disbelief and she walked away.

She thinks she's flying when she's on her trampoline and prefers to only jump on it now while she is wearing her fairy wings. Chris calls her our angel with butterfly wings.

If I could only always remember these things, the way they move when they do them, her smell when she wakes from her nap.

how she moves when she dances...

she sings every note even though she can't say the words...

he doesn't mind stepping aside because he's so proud of his little sister, "She's so beautiful mommy."

"Austin what's Taylor up to in there?" "Oh, she's just being cute..." sigh...

he bites his nails when he's scared...

he's on his 6th night tonight, sleeping alone, even though I know he's so scared, even though I've told him he has the best guardian angel and because I know he just doesn't quite understand and because I know he is so smart and his imagination is so active, so brilliant.

she wants me to hold her when daddy comes home from work, even before he walks through the door so she can see him face to face and then, and only she locks gazes with him will she allow him to hold her.

I am so proud of my little ones. They make me the luckiest person alive. I do my best to capture these moments through images, but sometimes I just need to spend it with them and so close to them that not even a camera can come between us.

Dentists, perfume and my heros

2009-11-12T00:34:00.005-05:00

I am posting b/c I have to. because I know that three weeks is far too long to wait until I update my blog. I have so many adorable pictures of the kids, but no time to edit as my business is, well, busy.

We did get through Taylor's first (and hopefully only) ear infection of the season. Two ear drums filled with fluid, plus her gums looked like she just boxed a round with Mike Tyson... poor thing has black and blue and pain all over her little head from teething... we have a follow up tomorrow and I am certainly going to inquire about this because I have never seen anything like it. They'll probably look at me like I am crazy and say (once again) "Oh, she's just teething :)" I enjoy being crazy but really can't stand it when people treat me as such.

So I'm working on Christmas shopping already, because my life really isn't busy enough... I am about 65% finished and am content with the fact that I really am not wanting for anything for myself. I have it all people. No really, lucky me. If you want to give me something, give me a date night with my husband. This doesn't make Chris all that happy though, he needs inspiration. I think he'll figure it out.

Well there is one thing. I'd really like a bottle of Burberry's new perfume. And a certain $800 jacket, but then again maybe we'll take a family vacation....

I went to the dentist today. The kids and I played at our friends' house while Chris and friend Nathan aerated and seeded 4 houses (that I know of) in the pouring, cold rain. This is what my veteran husband decides to do on his day off.... thank you love, for your service, your commitment and your aerating and seeding abilities.

My other favorite vet, my lifelong hero is no longer around to thank. My dad was incredible in many ways, one being a Vietnam vet. Two tours beginning when he was just 18-years-old. He made a really horrific situation better for everyone around him. He carried that through his life. I love you dad, you are the best. Thanks for serving.

Good night everyone. Hope you have a vet to love today, tonight and always. In the words of my lovely husband, "Don't forget to thank a veteran today. Some veterans also like to be hugged."

Fuzzy Feet

2009-10-21T08:30:00.002-04:00

I just ordered these for Taylor on Piperlime.com

I mean really.... I hesitated purchasing these mainly b/c they are crocs. I got a great deal on them (of course) and couldn't resist. It satisfies my Ugg craving for her for the moment and I know she is going to love them just as much the that adorable little..... well you'll see I got some great shots of her the other day wearing such adorable little article of clothing.

I may live to regret feeding her sweet little desires for really wacky, but very cute clothing. I know she's only a few weeks shy of 18 months... this young lady is all about fashion and I can't help trying my best to make her happy :)

This is how we sleep. This is how we wake.

2009-10-20T00:20:00.007-04:00

Good Morning my little girl.

With the crazy hair and the most joyful giggle.

You are my sunshine.

You are my light.

Good morning my pup who keeps me up all night. I'm sorry am I disturbing you as you rest on daddy's side of the bed?

Good morning my son, sleeping so soundly in mama's bed.

No matter how hard I try to sleep, I cannot. I cannot go to bed early. Usually around 2 a.m. I make my way up there to find my wonderful husband nearly falling off the bed, our animal taking up 3/4s of it and our adorable little man hanging off the foot. I shuffle them around, get Hannah on her bed which is located under ours and carry Austin back to his room. Cover him up, kiss his sweet little head and say a blessing.

Taylor is next and quite the light sleeper so I just breath her in one last time for the day and bless the air around her.

By the time I return to my bed, Hannah is lying on my pillow, under the covers. I like to think she is warming my spot. So I remove her once again and settle in to sleep.

I tossed a lot last night, found there was an interesting star that glowed blue, white, red and green. Actually considered waking Chris, but decided against it. I liked thinking it was my star and not what he would have known it was, b/c he has an abnormal amount of space-satellite-flying-aviation-up-in-the-sky sort of knowledge.

When I finally drifted off it was very early in the morning. Austin woke me, requesting to watch his favorite cartoon on DVR. This is the last year we'll get to do this on school days, so he cuddled up and I drifted back to sleep as the Super Hero Squad gave my little guy a great start to his very busy 4-year-old-day.

I should wrap it up for the night. New posts on the business blog, if you don't check it out often, do! http://lizsaucier.blogspot.com

Much warmth to you and your loved ones.

Cookin' up something good

2009-10-16T00:16:00.006-04:00

I have this super hero.

He makes me do crazy things.

like pour caramel over apple pie

and peel apples without breaking the skin

makes me add chocolate chips to our pancakes

and take his picture w/ his sister on school picture day.

He enjoys snacking on his finger nails and giggles when his sister says "eeeewwww!"

he loves his sister to the point of tears.

and calls his pup Hannah his best friend, his "Bat-dog"

that super guy sure makes me smile.

Hello friends and family. Hope you are all well. The kids and I have been enjoying a few more hours indoors these days. Austin has been learning about nutrition and how to cook at school and has some pretty specific requests as to what he would like to cook with me at home. The first of which was an apple pie. He's so awesome. Enjoy the images and hope to hear from all of you soon.

With love, L

that girl

2009-10-11T00:07:00.002-04:00

she doesn't play with toys

She wiggles when she dances

mostly wears it when he's gone.

she got his eyes

that's daddy's girl

and she drew

2009-10-10T23:41:00.004-04:00

It was a rainy day...

...early in September.

So Mama took out the paper.

And a few colorful crayons...

and Taylor made our day a little brighter.

| Another |

| Artist |

| is born |

.: On Pre-K :.

2009-09-09T14:01:00.003-04:00

new school, new friends, new routine,

Austin started school today.

So much has changed from last year, but one thing has remained the same. Our little boy loves school. I had a very tough time dropping him off today. I have grown used to running him into his school, saying goodbye with a hug and a kiss, a quick chat with his teachers and a nod from him, telling me "I'll be just fine mama." But that changed today for me. A teacher from his school opened the back passenger door and cheerfully removed my baby. No hug, no kiss. With a smile on his face and with his very trusting little heart he held the teacher's hand and waved goodbye to me.

He'll be in school five days a week this year. I'll get a ton of work done I know and maybe even get to spend a little one on one time with Taylor, but I'm going to miss my little man. We'll always have the summers though. Enjoy the pictures. I hope to reflect a little more on this once it's all sunk in and I've gathered my emotions, accepted this all and when I get his side of the story :)

:: While we were out ::

2009-08-28T00:25:00.003-04:00

Visited our favorite farm stand off Crownsville Road this afternoon where we grabbed a bit of local goodness. Their watermelon are by far, hands down, without question the best watermelon you can find on Earth. The kids enjoy shopping open air and I always leave with a healthy portion of summer flavor.

At my lap

2009-08-27T15:26:00.004-04:00

Great changes are in motion. So thrilled with the responses I've gotten thus far. I wanted to post a little information on a class that I will be taking to help me on this spectacular journey I am on.

When I was pregnant with this one

I found Creative Thursdays on Etsy and fell in love with owner and artist Marisa Haedike's work. I ordered her print Ashland Tree of Peace which became the design inspiration for the baby's nursery. I continued to follow her Thursday creations and became even more inspired by Marisa's PodCasts found on iTunes.

Recently I received an email update from her announcing that she would be offering an online course titled In the Fishbowl :: Life as an artist. ONline

I am so thrilled to be entering her world with this class and believe you will see some changes in October because of all the new fun and excited things I'll be picking up from her and other artists enrolled in the class.

I believe there are a few more spots open too. So if you are of the creative sort, I highly recommend looking into Marisa and all she has to offer.

Here's the other babe, the one who will be in school every day! ::sniff, sigh:: while the baby naps so I can have a little uninterrupted, guilt-free time to dabble in the fish bowl.

The babes like to rest their head on my lap while I work, reminding me it's time to paint, walk, run, bounce, jump, play, eat, nap or in this case get dressed for the day.

Putting the word out

2009-08-27T09:21:00.003-04:00

In the past few weeks, I have been caught up in a bit of a personal career crisis.... My life as a photographer is ideal. I am right where so many professionals dream of being with a strong client base, a flexible schedule and income.

All of which is the product of lots of hard work, many nights up well past midnight, 1 a.m., 2 a.m, and up to rise early with my babes. Or getting four hours of work done during the baby's two hour nap. And even sitting down for 15 minutes during snack time, a moment when my little ones stop bouncing, buzzing, moving, to knock out a couple edits, blog a clients preview or put together a print order.

I love what I do!

So why change? I guess it has something to do with career progression, the dream, the goal. At the end of the day, besides wanting my children to grow into healthy, well-balanced, kind human beings, I still dream HUGE. I guess that's the hopeless artist in me shining though. Life is far too short to not be fired up about what I do on a daily basis.

What I'm saying is that even though I am totally in love and incredibly passionate about what I do right now, there's still so much more I want to achieve. So in order to keep up with my own demands, I am working on a few changes. First and foremost is my blog. I have two blogs right now and as many of you have noticed, the blog has taken a back seat, not as many posts, less photos, less writing when I do post. Juggling two blogs is more work than necessary, so I'll be combining my work and personal blogs and revamping the look and content a bit.

The other major thing I am focusing my energy on is commercial photography work. I have been working with a very talented artist, jewelry designer Laura Moore. Hope to share some of her work with you today. Laura has opened my eyes to how amazing it is to work with other small business owners. Seriously awesome stuff.

So as my readers, I'm reaching out to you, putting the word out, to see if you know of any small business owners, artists, musicians etc, who may be interested in my services. I am looking to photograph just about anything or anyone!

As for my my beloved clients, YES! I am still in business and getting busier with fall around the corner. So, I will be posting a few promotions within the next day or so for returning faces and for fresh, new faces. Keep your eyes out for that.

Will post a little more later. For now, snack time is over...

Stomping Beach

2009-08-26T22:15:00.005-04:00

The kids and I took a break from all the summer fun here in Annapolis and headed north to where I grew up. Took the kids to the beach I played at ever summer. Both took to it as I had, loving ever moment from sand castles and flying kites so catching crabs and looking for shells.

Austin and I found an old fishing net someone had tossed, probably a clammer. The net has a small tear at the top and they probably figured it wasn't any good. That man's garbage become my little guy's treasure. He played with it as my brother and I used to with our nets, swooping up minnows and sifting through the sand hoping a baby crab my get caught in the fraying blue net.

Taylor loves the sun and the sand. Swimming with me and watching her brother buzz around. She did try to eat sand once, decided it was much more useful running it through her hair. She almost took a nap right there in the sand, but I scooped her up and put her in the car. The ride back to mom's is just a hop and a skip. Sweet little babe would be sound asleep before we'd even reach the house.

I wish I had more images to share. I was too busy getting wet and sandy with my little ones this time around. Enjoy for now. Have some wonderful photos from a beautiful shower coming soon.

Enjoy the remainder of your summer. Good luck to all our big kid friends heading into school tomorrow!

Hope you are all well. Would love to hear from each of you!

My Taylor's got Chucks

2009-08-17T21:27:00.000-04:00

Aren't they just the cutest Chuck Taylors you've ever seen? And you should see them on this yummy little girl. My baby is officially a toddler, though she doesn't really toddle around the house, she's running. Here are a few things Taylor and her Chucks have been up to:

:: running into my arms now, smiling ear to ear... the best hugs ever.
:: rushing to the door to great daddy tonight when he arrived home from work.
:: Austin and she played tag, scurrying through the house.
:: shuffling through dirt and wood chips while in East Hampton, proving this pretty little princess is more a Tom-boy than anyone would have guessed.

We are here

2009-08-05T22:38:00.000-04:00

Just a quick post with a few pictures to let you all know we are here. I've been keeping busy with my business and the little ones. We have had a lot of sick this summer, but I am confidant that we won't be dealing with any more of that for a while. A little sad myself because I lost a ton of pictures I had taken while we were in Maine. So many memories that we'll just have to keep in our noggins :) I hope you are all well and I look forward to posting more soon!

Oh!!!!! I almost forgot. HUGE news. Taylor is WALKING!!! Like crazy! Has been for a few weeks now, but ahem... we've been chasing one another around! Will post video quite soon.

With love, Liz

Austin turns 4!

2009-07-13T21:31:00.000-04:00

It's been well over a month since my last post and I must say I do have much to catch you all up on. Austin turned four and celebrated with four! separate parties... wowwy-zow! Chris thinks that's a lot of celebrating for one little guy, but I'm all about the parties, friends and family. Here are a few images from his second party. We invited all his closest friends over for a wet and wild time in our backyard. The weather was perfect, the birthday boy was thrilled and all had a great time. Taylor even slept through the entire event for me :) He received so many incredible gifts, lots of Transformers, legos and art projects. Thank you to all his friends for coming and being so thoughtful.

We just returned from a two and a half week trip to northern Maine. We had an amazing time as usual and yes I do have some images to share with you all. For now though, enjoy these. Hope you are all well.

With love, Liz

Friends that are family

2009-06-07T19:04:00.000-04:00

Once in a while you stumble upon friends who just get you. They understand you as you understand them. You balance one another and more often times are not exactly like one another, which is okay because you admire everything about them. They're your speed and on any given night you'd enjoy having dinner with them, even every given night. And as we grew, got married, lost parents and grandparents, started a family, we always had Dave and Heather (and Wilson too) there, just a short drive away. I know we're not loosing them forever, but we are loosing them to Nebraska.

I'd like to go on about how much they mean to us, how many memories we have together, spending more holidays with Dave than most of our family while in Wyoming, but then it would almost be as if I was closing a chapter on a friendship which will never happen.... I'll just really miss the comfort of knowing they're just a hop and a skip away, but know they'll be back, hopefully sooner than later.

Here are a few photos from the farewell party Pam and Walt threw for them yesterday. The Jones always make us feel like family while we're there and we look forward to our next visit up the G-burg.

H & D we're so happy for you guys and so incredibly grateful for you both. We hope to visit you at your beautiful new home soon.

Enjoy the photos, here are a few of little Miss T. too. She's really growing so fast and is so incredibly beautiful (don't mind me boasting :) the best baby a mama could ask for.

With love, Liz

Last Day of School

2009-06-05T17:44:00.000-04:00

Celebrating Summer Birthdays!

Buddy Colin and Austin in their Birthday crowns

The girls in Austin's class just love Austin

Austin w/ Miss Alison on the last day of school

Ms. Barb and Austin

August 2008 - 1st day of school.

Words cannot sum up how far Austin came this school year at St. Margaret's Day School. We have had our ups and downs with things, but all in all there are two things for certain 1. we love his teachers Ms. Barb and Ms. Allison and 2. his tiny class of twelve little cuties have all become like family to us. We will miss St Margaret's and all that it has given Austin. I remember writing at the beginning of the school year

"I love his enthusiasm for school and hope he never looses that... I know it will come, the day when I have to kick him out the door to make the bus in time but for now we shall bask in the lovely, happy little student that he is."

He is still just as enthusiastic as he was the first day of school and was very, very sad to leave the last day of school. I am so incredibly proud of our little man. This year he not only learned all the colors in Spanish, how to count to 30 en Espagnol, he also learned how to spell his name, read his name and write his name. He can write out all of the alphabet (a little work is needed with w and m) and numbers 1-20, he knows his right from his left and he loves keeping an art journal or diary (must draw, color, paint, create every day, this I am in love with and especially proud of :) Our Austin is the shining example of how a big brother should be and surprises us everyday with his character, love and compassion.

We're looking forward to a summer filled with activities: visits to the pool, beach, museums, farms, Maine, more pool and maybe even a week in East Hampton :) Next year will bring us a new school, new teachers and friends and most exciting of all a whole new adventure.

Sorry for the lack of blog posts, our adventures do keep me busy. Hope you hear how you all are doing soon. Enjoy the story.

With love, Liz

A Perfect Mother's Day

2009-05-13T22:38:00.001-04:00

My mom and I spent my first mother's day as a mother together, which was very special to me. She and my step-dad Dan flew in for Taylor's Birthday weekend. We woke up Mother's Day to a great breakfast cooked by my brother and darling husband ;) The we enjoyed a beautiful day in downtown Annapolis together. Finished up with an ice cream a nap and take out... I couldn't have asked for a better way to spend my 4th Mother's Day. Last year will never be beat though. I was in labor and delivered Taylor that lovely day...

A few more pictures from our weekend.

Love to all, Liz

Celebrating Taylor Eve

2009-05-13T22:08:00.000-04:00

We celebrated Taylor's first year of life Saturday with a very joyful, happy, very pink little party. Friends and family gathered for her and for the first time, for the very first time as we were all singing happy birthday to her, she realized that she was the center of attention. Her reaction to this melted my heart as genuine and pure as she is.... she does this to me so often. Here are some images from the party.

My kids

2009-05-04T22:17:00.000-04:00

This one's making onto the wall in our house... at some point.

Austin's loves our Leah.

Out at the water table, first thing in the morning...

...drinking the dirty water

... my kids put everything in their mouths!

When did this one get so big? Such a handsome little man. Grew 2" in the past 4 months.

That's our little cupcake. Almost one and ready to tell the whole world about it.

Can't get over how much she looks like my baby pictures in these. She was eating sand, a first taste for her. Glad she didn't care for it much.

It's been over a month since my last post. I've been very busy with my two little ones and have had computer problems that for now are fixed, thank goodness. The kids are amazing and beautiful and so incredibly wonderful. We have so much to tell, but for now I'll just journal the cute stuff.

Austin ::

Austin is the best big brother any little girl could ask for. He shares his snacks very well. Tonight at dinner Taylor had fallen asleep in her high chair. Before Chris and I could realize she was up and ready to eat, she was eating a piece of Austin's watermelon, very quiet, very content, compliments of big brother. We thought it was so sweet that he took it upon himself to give her a piece all on his own.

Chris took Austin shopping for a gift for Taylor's first birthday. He picked out a Raggedy Anne doll... so awesome! Out of all the toys at Toys R Us, he picked on e of the classics. Very proud of my boy for that one.

Austin painted a rainbow today all by himself and is learning the song "Little Bumblebee" in school.

We were driving to Trader Joes after school. As we were stopped at the traffic light near the hospital, he asked me if I saw that tall building and then told me he wished Batman was on top of that tall building 'and then he could jump down and scare that man on the bridge and then run across the bridge and jump in the flowers and run to us so that he could sit next to you in our car."

Chris is finishing up his MBA program and has had a lot of work to get done. Austin enjoys doing his 'homework' next to daddy as Chris does his. Austin will play computer games next to Chris as he works. He loves his dad so, so much and we are all looking forward to more active play time with dad away from the computers once his graduate program is done in just a week!

Taylor ::

Taylor is growing fast and is on the move. As of late she waits for Chris by the window for him to get home. Each time a guy neighbor pulls in at the end of the day she'll bounce up and down yelling "da-da, da-da!" until she gets the right one ;) I think daddy really enjoys seeing his sweet baby girl waiting for him at the window when he gets home.

The highlight of my day is walking into Taylor's room when she wakes up in the morning. She's always so happy, but seeing her in her true spirit, her genuine reaction to me, first thing, makes every second of that day worth it.

Taylor is trying very hard to communicate right now. She talks pretty much non-stop throughout the day. She tries so hard to be part of the conversation that her 'baby-talk' is quite melodic if you will. She's here to be heard people! Right now she is able to say Hi dada, buh-bye, Pah-pah (or puppy) Buh-buh (brother), ba-ba, ma-ma and Batman... I know it sounds nuts, but really, the baby is saying Batman! And really you wouldn't be surprised if you hear dhow often big brother says that word over the course of a day. I've heard it at least a dozen times from her...

She claps, she waves, she points and scrunches her nose which is probably the most adorable thing I've ever seen, she began doing it all on her own... and Austin and I are working on her giving five and thumbs up.

Here are a few pictures for now. Chris and I will be working on her first year video as we did for Austin. We'll post it once it's done.

We hope you are all well, Swine flu free and happy. Can't wait to hear how you are all doing.

Much love, Liz and the crew

P.S. My next post will more than likely be of T's first year portraits so stay tuned! She looks so fancy all dolled up :)

Been a while

2009-03-21T23:08:00.000-04:00

Holy cow it's been a while since my last post. We are doing SO well! I am hitting the big 3-0 in less than a week now. The kids are fantastic, just amazing. And honestly, we're just enjoying life and one another these days.

Here's a few things going on with Austin right now

1. He introduces himself as Batman, no Lego Batman to everyone he meets

2. He rides his 'big boy bike' inside and outside all day and all night. Fell off while on our ride today and his helmet bruised his head, on both sides, thank goodness he was wearing it :)
3. Austin enjoys telling stories at bedtime after I have read to him. Tonight it was this:
"Once upon a time there was the most beautiful girl in the world, and her name was mommy, her name was Liz. And the beautiful girl went for a walk in the woods, she went for a walk in the forest. And then there was a wolf, and she walked to her mommy's house and the wolf ate her and then she had lunch with her mommy. The end."
Now I ask you, how on Earth can I not just be totally in love with this little man of mine?

4. He calls Taylor 'Little Miss T' or 'beautiful girl' or just 'Cutie'
5. When he does something really exceptional, he reminds me "Mom I am the best big brother in the world," regardless of whether or not it involves his baby sister or not.
6. During bath time, he made up a song for his sister. For those of you who are familiar with "Yo Gaba Gaba" it is to the tune, "There's a Party in my tummy." He just changed the words to "There's a baby in my tubby, so chubby, so chubby." I swear this kid...

And Taylor, well Taylor has so very much going on.
1. Today we found her first two teeth poking through her bottom gums. Yes I know, she's nearly 11 months and she has just cut her first two teeth.
2. She is ALL over the place. Crawling, pulling up on anything and everything, cruising from object to object and walking with her baby stroller walker with Bitty Baby whom she adores. This comes as a great surprise to us as Austin was not yet crawling at his first birthday and walked at 17 months.
3. She calls for Austin in the morning if he isn't up by the time she's eating her breakfast. Taylor has nicknamed Austin "Buba" which may sound like ba-ba to some, but once you spend a couple hours with her, you can tell whether she wants her brother, or a bottle.
4. She loves her boys. There is no one else for this girl. Her da-da and her Buba are her world and only her eyes and smile when she is with them can truly prove this.
5. She is all girl, loves trying on new clothes, getting her hair brushed, having her feet massaged and already LOVES fairies and princesses (but also is quite drawn to her brother's play Bat Cave).
5. She will not eat if she is being fed, she has to feed herself. Loves sweet peas, pasta, bagels and waffles.
6. Taylor is just the sweetest baby. She never stops smiling and has the same gift her brother had as a baby, she just brings happiness to everyone she encounters. So powerful.

And as for Hannah, she's much better now. Not that she was ill, just sad. She did without a play area for as long as we've been here. This week we had a fence put up in the back yard. She and Austin play out there for hours and although she's getting a little gray these days around her snout, she's still our loving, happy, hyper pup.
Look forward to hearing how you all are.

With love, Liz

In my dreams....

2009-02-27T15:47:00.000-05:00

things like this would happen to me every day. My favorite movies growing up were Mary Poppins, The Sound of Music and Chaplin..... I am a sucker for Hollywood, Broadway and yes Disney World. So when my aunt Alice sent this to me, tears welled up in my eyes. I know it sounds dramatic, but it's totally true. I only wish that I had been there to dance with them all.

Munchie-munchkins

2009-02-12T09:49:00.000-05:00

Austin has become a pro with the computer. He navigates around better than I do... not sure how to embrace this obsession of his. I know where he gets it from though :)

These are possible a little more appropriate for the last post, though these were also taken just before Christmas, I believe it was actually Christmas Eve I took these. I just love that little red fleece vest on Taylor. Her memere picked it for her just before she was born. Oh how we love the being spoiled by our grandmothers :)

Austin has really grown to be such an incredible big brother, so much more than we could have ever asked him to be. Even though at times he can be a little rough, he loves his baby (who he often refers to as, my stinky little flower, beautiful girl, Evie girl (from her middle name) and even Lego bat-baby because he is Lego batman) and hugs and kisses her all the time. I told him once that he was going to teach her how to talk and ever since then, he coaches her with specific words. It started with mama and dada and he now asks her to say things like 'garbage truck' and 'pineapple'. Not sure if he really understands when I tell him that she's still too little for such big words. He still loves her, I just don't want him to set too high expectations for her :)

I have been very thankful for another trait Austin has taken a liking to lately. He LOVES! to be photographed. Oh, just typing it I get butterflies in my heart, it just sings to me. He's a natural model too, my little guy, I think he's all about making his girls happy these days.

Okay signing off for now. Enjoy the cutie pictures.

With love, Liz

Taylor at 9 months

2009-02-11T09:46:00.000-05:00

Hello everyone. Our little princess is 9 months today already. Not sure where the time has gone, but before our eyes and in a flash she has developed into the most wonderful little girl. About a month ago she began doing the worm as I like to call it, not really crawling, but holding a surfer-girl pose until she presses her arms onto the floor and catapults herself forward. It's a bit slower than crawling, so I am happy about that, I'm still able to keep up with her.

About three weeks ago she stopped eating, not completely, but she'd just eat a couple bites and then she was done. She wants nothing to do with baby food anymore and has put in several requests for things like fillet minion and sushi ;) We've began giving her table foods, like soft vegetables, breads, blueberries, bananas, mashed potatoes, pasta etc. She's taken to all the big girl food very well and even enjoys feeding herself.

The kids and I just returned from a long weekend in East Hampton visiting Grammy and Pop-pop. While we were there, Pop-pop worked with her learning to walk and I think she's just about got it. I'll give it another month and she'll be off on her own. She's very steady on her feet, very graceful.

Well here are a few pictures of her taken before Christmas. Have a ton more to post, from our trip and just having fun around the house. I hope you will enjoy these for now. I took them of her enjoying a teething biscuit, still no teeth though.

With love, Liz

Wreath Laying

2009-02-05T09:45:00.000-05:00

Chris was contacted just after Thanksgiving, by a distant cousin from Maine, a person he has never met, but one who had spoken with once of his uncles up in our home town. The cousin lives in our neck of the woods now and helps to orchestrate the annual wreath laying event at Arlington National Ceremony. I am unsure of the specifics, but I know that each year a tree farm from Maine donates wreaths to be laid on the headstones of our heroes who rest in Arlington. This year I believe 1,500 wreathes were trucked down from Maine and laid at the ceremony.

Chris was able to lay one wreath that day and helped out in other ways as well. Last weekend he went to clean up and picked up around 100. If he has time, I believe he would like to post his version of the story. He was honored to be asked by his cousin, has been following the story since we moved here and just so happened that he's related to the man that coordinates the event. Funny how things like this always work out for us in mysterious and wonderful ways.

Enjoy the pictures.

With love, Liz

Christmas at the White House

2009-02-04T17:23:00.000-05:00

Here are some photos of the tour we had, thanks to our awesome neighbors and good friends. The kids had a great time. Austin really enjoyed the white chocolate covered Gingerbread White House. Chris was thrilled that we got to see Marine 1 up close. My favorite was the silver eagles holding each of the many, many wreaths throughout the house. I think Taylor really liked the giant nutcrackers that stood guard at the front door.

Just thought I would blog

2009-01-26T07:53:00.000-05:00

I woke up this morning before my dear, sweet husband was up, before the kids, before well most. After a very short and much interrupted night of sleeping, I poured my first cup of coffee, and went to wait at Austin's school fro registration to begin. I just thought I should write about this, this moment that I can look back on in the future and either

a. Thank God I had done all within my power to provide the absolute best education for my kids as Austin takes the stage as valedictorian of his graduating class

b. Tell him that just because I won't let him go to the bonfire this weekend with all the other kids, doesn't mean I don't love him, it means I do love him and that I'll do things like wait in a dark parking lot before the sun rises to be sure he gets into a good pre-K.

c. Be thankful in 15 years, when filling out the dozen or so college applications, that I had so, so much practice doing this when I was enrolling him for pre-k

d. all of the above

Did this all just really happen? I mean you hear of parents looking into great schools before the children are even conceived, but really, seriously, why is it so consuming? My take is this, from the moment that precious tiny heartbeat shows up on the sonogram monitor, you feel so overwhelmingly empowered to do great things with this little life you have been blessed with. You want the best things; clothes, organic food, creative outlets, exposure to arts, sciences, language arts, books, love, oh so much love. You strive to provide never a dull moment, a safe home, a warm bed, nourishing food, and a well balanced family life. You become a creator of magic, a provider of wonder and curiosity. He or she is your masterpiece, your greatest accomplishment. Every moment of your existence is occupied by this little life. And then at the age of 2, 3 or 4, when you decide to place that tiny little heartbeat in an environment outside of your own control, you want to be sure it is able to uphold every effort you have made during this little person's life.

Austin has been in school since he was 2. This will end at some point, I hope. My dear friend Mary once told me that the day she truly realized what worry was all about was the day she left the hospital with her first born. Yes, I do agree and now realize that my friend.

Making up for lost time

2009-01-16T14:00:00.000-05:00

Austin's elf, Ned, arrived at our house the Monday after Thanksgiving. Ned was a very naughty elf this year, sneaky too. Always left presents in the advent tree and special snacks for Austin after school. This is a monster cookie Ned made for Austin while he was at school one afternoon. The rotten little Ned left my kitchen a disaster ;)

Chris has taken a job with the Connecticut Air National Guard, so we've been spending a little more time with the Martin clan. Austin loves! that it snows there pretty much every time we visit. He had a great time sledding with his cousins and cannot wait to hit the ski slopes again with them.

Taylor watching the snow drift down outside through the back door.

There's B looking so cool and like such a big boy these days. He had a blast sledding too, just didn't make the last shot I posted of the boys.

We took the kids to see Santa at our mall on a Saturday.... yeah not the smartest thing we've ever done, however we couldn't be more proud of how well they did standing in line waiting for oh... 45 minutes. Austin is the perfect little gentleman too. Thanked Santa for all the gifts he brings the kids and remembered his pleases and thank yous. He even thought to tell Santa what his baby sister wanted this year. I just know he can read her mind, my brother swears he could read mine when we were their ages.

Look at those two, unbelievable how they smile for the camera. You'd think their mom was a photographer or something.

I've been away from the blog so much lately, I look at pictures I still have yet to post of Taylor and cannot believe how much she's grown, how little she seems in pictures taken just at the beginning of December. Little muffin girl...

Well I have so, so many photos to post and so little time. So here are a few of my favorites from the very first week of December.

Hope you are all doing well, staying warm and allowing the cold to warm your hearts right now. More to come on what we're up to, maybe tonight, possibly tomorrow, no promises, just hopes :)

xo L

Slow down everyone we're moving too fast

2009-01-14T09:36:00.000-05:00

Chris sent this to me from work this morning and it sent chills down my back. As an artist, I do believe that far too often we, the human race, are moving at such a speed we cease to recognized the beauty in art, the way it forces you into the slow, it's mesmerizing qualities and the confirmation it brings that there is magic in this world.

I wasn't one of these people, but had I been there, I would have more than likely slowed my speed a little and continued on, like most of the others. I would feel great shame in myself if I were there. Reading this article has forced me back into the slow.

Violinist in the Metro--- Wash, DC

A man sat at a metro station in Washington DC and started to play
the violin; it was a cold January morning. He played six Bach pieces
for about 45 minutes. During that time, since it was rush hour, it was
calculated that thousands of people went through the station, most of
them on their way to work. Three minutes went by and a middle aged
man noticed there was musician playing. He slowed his pace and
stopped for a few seconds and then hurried up to meet his schedule. A
minute later, the violinist received his first dollar tip: a woman
threw the money in the till and without stopping continued to walk. A
few minutes later, someone leaned against the wall to listen to him,
but the man looked at his watch and started to walk again. Clearly he
was late for work

The one who paid the most attention was a 3 year old boy. His mother
tagged him along, hurried but the kid stopped to look at the
violinist. Finally the mother pushed hard and the child continued to
walk turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by
several other children. All the parents, without exception, forced
them to move on.

In the 45 minutes the musician played, only 6 people stopped and
stayed for a while. About 20 gave him money but continued to walk
their normal pace. He collected $32. When he finished playing and
silence took over, no one noticed it. No one applauded, nor was there
any recognition.

No one knew this but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the best
musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces
ever written with a violin worth 3.5 million dollars.

Two days before his playing in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out at a
theater in Boston and the seats average $100.

This is a real story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro
station was organized by theWashington Post as part of an social
experiment about perception, taste and priorities of people. The
outlines were: in a commonplace environment at an inappropriate hour:
Do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize
the talent in an unexpected context?

One of the possible conclusions from this experience could be:

If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best
musicians in the world playing the best music ever written, how many
other things are we missing?

Merry, merry

2009-01-07T13:49:00.000-05:00

I took the kids back to the same barn that I had photographed Austin at last year for our Christmas cards. The lighting was perfect, but it was freezing cold and my baby was only wearing this tiny little short sleeve dress. It was getting late in the month and I had been spending all sorts of time on other people's cards and photos. So I made the decision to take the cuties out to photograph them despite the freezing cold weather.

I set shot up and had Austin out of the car first. The outfit I had bought for him to coordinate with his sister's dress ended up being far too big. I rolled the sleeves and cuffed the pants and just prayed that he wouldn't wipe his snotty nose on the sweater (this I monitored carefully). He sat waiting for Taylor as I rushed her out of the car, plopped her next to him.... click, click, click, click and we were done. Seriously, it was no more than 45 seconds and I had not just one but four or five winning shots. Oh my kids, my kids how I love you so. Thank you for making your mama's job a little easier that day.

We hope you all had a very merry Christmas, happy holidays and a joyous New Year.

Taylor at 6 months

2009-01-07T13:33:00.000-05:00

Little love turned 6 months November 11th! Here a re a few pictures I took of her in her baptismal gown and then just in a cutie outfit. She's an easy subject because she just smiles all the time.

I have a lot to say about the past 6-months. Things I want to say to her, things I want to say to Austin and things I want to say to Chris. All on our family and its evolution, its beauty, the simplicity of it all and the full, deep, all over and constant love and happiness we feel for one another.

There are many memories, many days and nights filled with laughter. So this may take some time, but it will come and it will be soon.

From the start

2009-01-07T13:13:00.000-05:00

Okay so I am here and I have tons of photos and lots of memories to share with all of you. It's been far too long since I posted pictures of my little ones. I am sure you will all agree that even Taylor is not so little any more. She's gotten so big over the past few months. It's hard to believe our little baby is 8 months already.

These are photos taken on the day of her baptism November 2nd. It was a beautiful day filled with beautiful people in our lives. We appreciate everyone who was there to support our faith, our little girl and our family on Taylor's big day. Thank you to her Godparents Chris and Laura for their never-ending spirit and love. We couldn't be more proud at how well Taylor did. Even the priest mentioned how surprised he was that she was actually enjoying being center stage, cold water on her head and although a priest, a stranger to her blessing her. She's got such a wonderful soul and I thank God for her every day. We are so blessed to have Taylor Eve in our lives and can no longer even imagine what life was like without her. She's my pride and joy, her daddy's girl and Austin's best friend. What a sweet little smudgy face :)

Cathie, you rock at taking pictures. Thanks so much for the shots.

More to come soon!

It's time

2009-01-01T14:51:00.000-05:00

I know, I know. It's time for at least a couple new pictures of the kids. We've been away from home since the day after Christmas. I can promise you all this, I do have a ton of pictures to share with all of you. Lots to say about Christmas day and the week that has followed. Everyone is doing great and once we return to our home sweet home I will be posting the cuties' pictures.

Hope everyone had a happy New Year celebration and wishing you all warmth, magic and wealth this coming year.

Love, Liz

'When you try your best, but you don't succeed'

2008-12-21T09:40:00.000-05:00

It was just like that yesterday. A day of volunteering. One that I thought would be a fantastic team building experience, but it wasn't and my sweet little family was severely inconvenienced and it just makes me wonder if giving my time to others, to support charity is even worth it at all.

Soon...very, very soon...

2008-12-19T16:10:00.000-05:00

I know I've been terrible about blogging lately. I don't know how bloggers like Soulemama and Dooce do it... I guess they do it for lot more money that I do it for, because I do it for no money at all, ahh money, but all the same their raising cuties just like me and are still able to post each day, pictures, stories. So I am writing you all to let you know that I will posting very soon. I have a ton of pictures to post and probably even more stories to tell. This weekend I will post and post and post until I just can't do it anymore. And then I'll post one more, because I owe it to my kids, to tell them their story, a year, two, ten, twenty years from now when they are wondering what went on around Taylor's first Christmas.

Love, Liz

Wondrous Strange

2008-12-14T20:45:00.000-05:00

My favorite Harper Collins editor has a book hitting the stores on the 23rd and I couldn't be more thrilled. I cannot wait to get my hands on this book, especially since I just recently got back into reading teen books with Twilight (can't put it down). Check out this very cool little teaser that's up on YouTube right now.

I am very proud of my sister-in-law to be and all of her achievements. Yes, yes, this is a plug for her and this book that she has poured so much time and energy into. I can tell you with all my heart that her style is intriguing, smart and simply admirable and I believe that anything that has the fortune of being labeled as her work is or will be nothing but glorious.

So please buy a copy of this book, and if you love it buy one for all the girls in your life, for your little cousin, your babysitters, your neighbors... anyone who you think will enjoy it. And let me know what you think! I am ordering one for myself and one for each of my baby sitters. Just click here to order yours now.

Thank you for your support everyone. I promise to have new pictures of the cuties up soon.

Love, joy and spirit, Liz

Getting so bad about this

2008-11-30T23:47:00.000-05:00

I am really getting bad with posting things these days. There's so much going on and so much I want to write about. I think I may ask Santa for a journal because most of my thoughts come to me when I am not sitting in front of the computer. And that's another thing, I have had to really limit my computer use lately as it had gotten out of control. I was on constantly, mainly trying to get Christmas shopping done before Thanksgiving.

Oh yes! Happy Thanksgiving everyone. We had such a wonderful day with family and are all so thankful for our gracious hosts Aunt Alice and Uncle Dennis who have always given us beautiful Thanksgivings rich with tradition and filled with warmth and family not to mention the incredible food. Couldn't have asked for a better day. Thank you so much and we look forward to future Thanksgivings at your home again.

I think I will write a more in depth post on what I am thankful for, because there is so much this year. But I will do it from the comfort of my bed and may just transcribe later for you all to read.

I am so thankful for you, my readers, my friends, my family. All devoted to keeping in touch and informed on what's new with our little family.

I'll be back soon!

xo Liz xo

Halloween Part 1

2008-11-10T00:27:00.000-05:00

I know I'm partial, but really people, have you ever seen a more adorable scarecrow. Very proud to say that I made this costume myself. He loves it and still asks to wear it...to bed...to scare off the raccoons. Where he got that I haven't a clue, but sure buddy you can wear it to bed.

Here are a few pictures from Halloween. We had a scarecrow, pictured here and the sweetest little flower you've ever seen. I can't seem to find the photos I took that evening. These were taken just before Austin headed off to school and at school. Poor guy was off all day and I feared he was coming down with something. He may have just been overwhelmed, nothing more cmae of the funky mood and he was back to normal the next morning.

Hope to have some more pictures of this awesome day up soon. Austin had so, so much fun trick-or-treating this year with cousin Ben. Keep your fingers crossed I didn't delete them from my card. I have to have some of the little flower....

Llama Party

2008-11-10T00:18:00.000-05:00

Pin the tail on the llama

The craft at the llama barn was make your own llama ears, using real llama hair.

the birthday boy

chasing after the ladies already :o)

he would have hugged this guy if he could. I kept telling him to watch out because llamas will spit, that made him laugh.

"hi llama!"

We had a BLAST! at the Llama party hosted by the one and only Sean from school. It was a wet day, but fun was had by all. Happy 4th Sean. Thanks for having us at your party.

Holy Zoo!

2008-11-09T23:58:00.001-05:00

" I don't think so lady!" After waiting in line for 20 minutes to milk a cow, that's pretty much the response Austin gave. Love this shot, totally captures the moment.

My little man

Petting the pigs

Trust me lady, I know how exhausting nursing can be, and I only have one little piggy to feed.

The little pink piggies Austin wanted to take home

My little dude the chick

"Austin don't touch the fence honey, I think it's electrified."

Moo

actually it was a "farm" field trip, but it was more like six flags takes on cows, pigs and has a pumpkin for ya' when you leave. Ahh, the country girl in me is coming out. This was not my ideal fall festival. Austin had a good time, but was lost with the hundreds (I wish I was exaggerating here, but I'm not) of bus loads of children.

He pet a few pigs, chased a couple of ducks and was asked to milk a cow... and yes he got a pumpkin on the way out. I'm hoping for a smaller venue next year, maybe a ma' and pa' type operation.

Upon leaving the festival, Austin declared he wanted to go to the mall... then he asked for a pet pig. Maybe there's hope for us after all.

Skateboarding in Brooklyn

2008-10-28T10:46:00.001-04:00

While out for a stroll in my brother's neighborhood, he and Austin came upon an old skateboard someone was giving away. Austin often obsesses over the older kids in our neighborhood skateboarding and just has had an undying interest in the sport. So Bobe let him take the skateboard home, and taught him the basics. Austin prefers to ride the board on his bum, which is totally fine with me.

He met e few skaters while at the park in Brooklyn and fell right into step with their talk and body language. Definitely one of the cutest encounters I've ever witnessed. He even introduced 'my mama and my Bobe' to the boys. They were very sweet and encouraged him to keep skating. Here are a few pics from our stay in BK.

Hope to have some more pics from teh weekend up soon. We're all fighting the worlds ickiest cold ever right now so I'm a little behind on my work. Must catch up on that first :o)

xo Liz xo

It's been a while

2008-10-22T23:24:00.000-04:00

Taylor Eve enjoying the warmth of her cozy pony blanket. I like to nibble on those cheeks when they start to get rosey like that.

Cuties ready for a walk

Weeeee! Taylor loves the swing

The Apple pie I made from scratch, crust and all. It was so very delicious...

A rare sight to see I know. A picture of ME!!! and my babies, smiling!

Little Miss Blue Eyes

Just being Austin at the park :o)

She's talking now to folks and good luck trying to get her to stop! She's gabbing all the time.

McQueen getting ready to take the slide.

Well it's been a while since my last post. We've been busy, running up to Brooklyn for some fun, running up to Connecticut for a little more fun.... we're glad to be home for at least a little while now. Taylor is growing so fast. She is so ready to crawl, just needs a little more muscle to make it happen. I know she'll be off in no time.

I was just telling Chris how I cannot get over that she's already 5 months old. It sounds cliche, but I feel like it was last week we were coming home from the hosiptal with the newest member of our family. She has such and incredible little personality. She is all girl, when she wants to be heard, though not very often, she lets everyone know she's upset about something. To say that she adores her big brother is an absolute under statement. She watches his every move and I know she just can't wait to tag along behind him as he pings off the wall. He makes her laugh like no one else and when Austin has had a long or rough day, no one in the world can cure the crankies for him the way his sister can.

So glad I can enjoy this sibling harmony for now. I pray it is not short lived but speaking from experience, even the best big-brother and little-sister combo can go bad at times, for my brother and I it was several years :o( The cool thing about all this is that he's still my brother and I'm still his little sister and we will always adore and love one another. He can still make me laugh like no one else!

Well enjoy the pics. Have more from our trip to Brooklyn and Connecticut coming soon.

Our beautiful babes

2008-10-02T23:44:00.000-04:00

My little honey bugs are so wonderful. We are really enjoying the cooler air these days. Gearing up for Halloween with some spooky crafts and darning the knitted hats. The cooler air and changing leaves are very exciting as we enter my favorite time of the year. Did I mention how in love with the lighting I am. Wow!!! Does it help my craft. All of you reading this should pick up your cameras, find the windows in your home that face north, put your back to it and have your kiddo pose, even if they're in their pjs like Aussie here. look at his skin! I mean really it's perfect!!! and those eyes!!! These were taken before he rolled down the last couple step of our stairs and now he has a little shiner. Just looking at these photos make me want to run upstairs right now and wake him up to let him know how incredibly gorgeous he is. What a yummy little guy we have.

Enjoy the pics and the links. The Etsy store I bought Taylor's hat from is Cite Fuzz and they are currently closed, stocking up for the winter months. Their store will reopen on the 5th I guess though. Well worth the wait. I want one in every color. She loves it too.

Love, Liz

Birthdays in the Park

2008-10-02T23:28:00.000-04:00

Had great fun with friends today at the neighborhood park. Taylor took her first ride on the swing. Little buttercup loved it. Enjoyed a happy birthday song and some cupcakes with our buddies Owen and Oliver. Happy 2nd guys!!!

Ready to go

2008-09-28T17:46:00.000-04:00

On your mark...

When daddy's around all eyes are on him, her little face lights up and she smiles like this; a smile only daddy gets. What a lucky guy.

Deep in thought.

Blowing zer-burts at mamma.

Taylor Eve is growing far to fast. She's rolling over (for about three weeks now) and starting pushing herself up a week ago and is already starting to push off, like trying to crawl. She's trying to catch up with her brother.

Slow down baby! You're making your mamma sad, you're so big and so strong already. I fear we haven't had enough nuzzle time yet. Your daddy and I hope your like us and grow to not mind being close to your mom and dad even though you'll be so big and so super cool.

Love you my little lady bug.

Mamma

Yum :: Yum

2008-09-24T23:46:00.000-04:00

She looks so much like my baby pictures here, I just can't get over it.

Yes, our baby is already eating solids. She's also teething quite badly so I decided to try a teething biscuit. Austin loved these things when he was a baby and never even came close to breaking piece off even when he had teeth. I know all you moms out there are thinking I'm nuts for giving my 4 month old something hard to eat...she loved it and my eyes didn't come off her the whole time she gummed away at it. Please don't mind that I don't always follow the rules.

These aren't exactly the most angelic images of our little lady-bug, but a history of her first year would not be complete without a few shots of her first food. Enjoy!

After school treats

2008-09-24T13:44:00.000-04:00

Austin had a rough couple of days the second week of school. Being what some may consider a bully, but Chris and I feel in our hearts that he just doesn't have it in him to be a bully, that rather he's been trying to assert himself in ways that are just not acceptable. So we have made huge progress and he hasn't had any mishaps in 2 weeks! (knock on wood) Each day after school I give him apiece of candy if Miss Barb reports no bad behavior. I think I'm going to have to switch to maybe something a little healthier though....like say a special activity. He asks for candy all whenever he does something good now, which luckily for this momma is more frequent than not. Anyway, here's a couple pics of my handsome little man enjoying a starburst, his grammy's favorite candy.

Verde

2008-09-22T23:31:00.001-04:00

We kept our house plants outdoors for the summer months and when Chris decided to bring the jade plant back in, there was a little fellow that came in with it. We named him Verde and kept him in Austin's bug habitat for a day. We all agreed that he was the cutest bug we'd ever seen, despite his enormous size and beady little eyes.

Here's a picture of Austin holding Verde just before we let released him back into the wild. I think we would have kept him a little longer had it not been for the fact that we couldn't identify him so we didn't know what to feed him and we really didn't want to have a burial for him, being that he was so darn cute and all. If any of you can identify him let us know. We looked online all over...thought he was a leaf bug because he blend quite well in the leaves, but found that leaf bugs look much different from Verde.

All the Spanish Austin is learning in school is paying off. When I suggested we name our lovely bug Verde, he corrected my pronunciation, "No Mommy. It's Verrrrde,"as he rolled the R in Verrrrrde. Good going pal, glad to see you're paying attention to Senor Juan at school.

We're Huggers

2008-09-14T15:03:00.000-04:00

Thanks to my hubs leaving this up on the laptop, I just found my new favorite site.

:: treehugger.com ::

Getting his Kicks in

2008-09-14T11:01:00.000-04:00

Chris and I couldn't be more proud at how well Austin did at his first soccer practice. Besides being one of several hundred kids on the playing fields and getting a purple shirt instead of his favorite color red, Austin did exceptionally well kicking the ball, stopping the ball, dribbling it down the field, he even made a couple of goals. There's nothing very serious or ... organized about the practice, but he's learning the basics and running around like crazy and man alive did he sleep well. Taylor did great as her brother's cheer leader. I don't think it'll take much to get her used to sitting on the sidelines, that is until she's old enough to play. Little sweetie ::

Just gotta love those little shin guards, the smallest they make and they're still a little big on him. The soccer balls the team practices with are too much, I've seen grapefruits bigger. Well it's started, not sure if I'll take the title of soccer mom quite yet...we'll see if he can get past wearing purple again next week. All in all we're really excited with Austin's not so organized first experience with team sports.

By the way, thank you so much for all your well wishes on a quick recovery from the surgery. I managed to loose all but 3 lbs of my baby weight. Chris says there are better ways to loose weight and I'll have to agree with him on that :o) Miss Erin asked if I had a tummy tuck, not an appendectomy.... I wish that was the case and thank you for the compliment but really I was sucking the gut in :o)

Have been working a ton so sorry for the lack of blog updates. Will try to be better about posting. Would love to hear from you all.

Little Miss Muffet

2008-09-14T10:45:00.001-04:00

Taylor's laugh is sounding more and more like a big girls every day. She's rolling from side to side now, onto her belly and can even push herself up onto her hands. I think she works so hard to do this all because she's always got to have Austin in her site. She adores him so much. She's teething quite a bit, chewing on her hand and fingers a lot. Just a little love, sitting soooo pretty.