a life beyond running shoes.

because i am behind and i have things i want to share.... i will start with this: sweet pea turned 4.  not sure how that happened but it did.  peanut turned 8.  now, that seems impossible!   and here is our easter:

it is hard to figure out what to blog about.....  so a month has gone by and low and behold another birthday. peanut is 7. he is enjoying first grade. we are all slowly making friends.  it is not home yet..... it will just take time. but we had a great time celebrating number 7. favorite part....the shoes (from princess sweet pea herself). bowling and sushi. (and i did not make the cake..... a new high school friend did). (thanks to mimi who caved on the sushi when learning that he had to choose between the two for a birthday celebration.....oh, what are mimis for?)

she wanted homemade pizza  and a tangled cake. here is the best i could do..... and we had a ball with some of our new friends. three is a big deal. it means she is not small anymore. she is little but not a baby. always MY baby..... but not a baby. she is also sporting a new haircut. super cute... thanks daddy.  (he cute about 4 inches off)

we had a 5th bday celebration right before xmas. little bit was fully celebrated! it was his first birthday party.....  we played a version of pin the tail on the donkey (pin the gator on the football).   had a very rowdy game of tag football. had a very special cake.......  are you seeing the theme here? the boys have loved being in gatorland...... and we made it the theme of the party. and little bit loves football...... especially his daddy & grandpa's team - the florida gators. it was great to see him so excited and see him participate. i was nervous that with all the attention he would get shy and sullen....nope, he loved every minute. (and so did i). it is hard to believe he is five.  his birth seems like a lifetime ago.... and i guess it was. happy birthday, little bit!

happy birthday, daddy!

amazing how when you are in a fog, you don't know exactly how thick it is until you come to the other side. then you can look back and realize exactly how foggy it was..... like when your husband donates a kidney. it was six weeks ago yesterday. definitely a fog. hubbie is back to work full time. he went for his first jog. and is feeling pretty normal.... just gets tired every once in a while. i guess i am feeling pretty normal too. the house is cleaner. i feel less frayed. and i am sitting down to blog..... life is returning to normal. last week we celebrated a six-year-old birthday. with mimi and mr. denny to join the festivities. we had breakfast at chuck *e* cheese. a family day into manhattan (including playing hookie from school). and friends teach us how to make sushi rolls in the comfort of our own home. plus pokemon cake. does it get better?! happy birthday, peanut! ....and happy birthday, uncle bud. the big 3-0!!! you are loved.

and yet, today sweet pea turns two!!! in the midst of it all, we managed to pull off cupcakes. we didn't pull of much more than that....but we pulled off something. happy birthday, little lovie. may you continue to grow in grace and beauty. may you be a woman of noble character with a beautiful heart and love others. you are a delight....even when you act like a two-year-old.

full of bowling, cake and fun presents. hard to believe he is 4. wow!!!

this is just crazy!!! but indeed it is true. he is riding a bike. for daddy's birthday we had steak and roasted beet salad sunday night with flourless chocolate cake (thank you 3 peas) and watched series finale of lost . but monday, we went up to nyack.... rockland state park to try out the boys on their bikes. we tried taking off little bit's training wheels.... and low and behold..... he could do it. peanut finally got the hang of starting by himself last weekend (he learned last summer)..... but little bit's new bike was more comfortable with training wheels. we had to push him to try w/o. this. kid. is. amazing.

his favorite place. (in this photo he had to get up and dance with the mouse..... not his idea of fun but he was a champ and a good sport!) games, tokens, tickets, and a mouse thrown in for fun. he was bouncing around all day. i guess he had fun..... i know i had a ball watching him enjoy the day. here is the cake i made. think it is optimus prime....but i am not totally sure. it is a good thing we don't go big for every birthday. i am exhausted!

while we did not capture a good easter picture yesterday..... we did celebrate big! we feasted for easter sunday, rejoiced over the resurrection, broke bread with friends, and sang heartily. we also had my mother-in-law to help celebrate the big 5 year old. amazing. how did that happen?! 36 cupcakes after church during the potluck...... does it get any better than that? well, maybe..... he gets to go to chuck e. cheese on friday and skip school!

and strip me naked. need a little assistance. yum chocolate. what a love! dear sweet pea - what a year it has been. thank you for being such a joy in the midst of sorrow. you are a blessing we didn't know we would need. you are a delight. you are precious to us. who knew i could like pink, even a little. i am thankful for purple, green, blue & brown. while you are cute in pink, i still love my babies in overalls. you are adorable. you love your daddy. you are funny and have great expressions. here's to learning to walk, getting some teeth, and getting some hair in the front. we love you, baby girl!

can you believe she is one? i can't. it has been a whirlwind of a year. i think i was in a fog for a good bit of it. it has been a journey for our family. but she is an amazing addition for us to celebrate. manhattan children's museum. family adventure. the boys loved the fact that baby sister's b-day warranted a trip to their favorite place. she enjoyed treating them to such an adventure. candles and cupcakes tomorrow.

the day is approaching..... it is saturday, but we made some cookies today with our neighbor, ms. shirley. i'm not sure how it happened. but it did. sweet pea's birthday. she is a funny girl. have i mentioned that she loves her daddy. she tolerates her brothers. only has two teeth. can climb the stairs in no time. and has taken a few steps. she is a delight..... when she isn't screaming for someone to pick her up (that would be someone other than little bit which tends to illicit the same scream). the agenda: friday - family trip to manhattan kid's museum. pizza night (which she actually missed every week since she goes to bed at 6). saturday - family lunch w/ cookies.... she already snuck a couple. thanks, dad. sunday - church. lunch with church friends and cupcakes. not bad for a first birthday!

first, snow fall. walking to church..... walking to pizza for lunch. birthday boy's choice. then, lessons and carols. finally, cake! and there you have a three-year-old birthday. by the way, when i showed him the cake this morning..... exact words: "what is that?"