Happy Father's Day, Jay!

Thank you for taking care of us.  You work so hard to provide for your family.  

And you also have fun with us, cook for us, play with us and take us places!

Thank you for being Abby's soccer-dad.  Thank you for cooking us such delicious dinners.  Thank you for getting us on the the "Fitness Train"!  Thank you for dancing with us.  Thank you for going in the pool with us.  Thank you for keeping our yard & pool so beautiful.  Thank you for making us laugh with your games, songs and tickles!

Thank you for being the best husband, friend, daddy and man I know.

-EAL

Thank you for making waves in the pool for me yesterday!

-AJL

Thank you for the day!

-WJL

I love you so much, thank you for making me your baby!

-AJL

I like Daddy!

-WJL

Each New Year's Eve, for at least the past 8, we have held the tradition of a quiet - yet decadent - night in.

We sip champagne, eat food normally reserved for cocktail parties and guests and reflect on the year we've had and what we'd love to see in the year to come.
Last night, we changed things up a bit.  For 2 reasons.  The first being that our children are coming to an age where being included matters and the second is that we were able to go out, have a wonderful dinner with our very good friends, but still come home and have our quiet evening after the kids were put to bed.  So we were able to have our cake and eat it too, bascially.
We had a wonderful night.  We cooked lobsters and ate appetizers and sipped champagne at Debbie & Dave's.  (My pregnant friend sipped sparkling cider!)
The kids played and chased the cat.
And we were able to toast in the New Year (even if it was barely 8pm) with our great friends.  We truly enjoy being together - our kids are great friends - and the next year promises to be full of more great memories just like last night's.
Sometimes you are just lucky enough to find people in your life that you really, really like and feel comfortable with and the feeling is mutual.  That is what we have with Deb & Dave, and I felt very lucky to be in their home on that special night.

By the way, here's the picture I was telling you about earlier:

So, here we are on Day One of 2010...

The Kitchen TV (the newest and most welcome member of our family since Wyatt was born!) is on the official New Year's SVU Marathon, the kids have Diego (or Dora) blaring in the living room, I am sipping coffee and I am thinking about my last 12 months.

A lot has happened.  A lot happens every year.

My daughter started school.  That was a biggie.

Wyatt is talking.

Jay's new job, while not technically "new" for 2009, really took off and proved to be a risk that showed reward.

I promised to lose 50 pounds, lost about 12 and gained about 20.  (I'm gonna promise that again, btw.)

We spent a fun, relaxing and family-oriented week in Florida.

We camped with our very good friends for 2 nights.

We spent a cold but very fun weekend in Boston.

Abby took swimming lessons and the first class in what will prove to be a lengthy career in Ballet.

Countless visits, parties, celebrations and gatherings.

This year we have lots of plans, dreams and considerations...  and there is nothing more satisfying than a clean slate and a whole year ahead to live, love and laugh.

Happy New Year!

Best.  Weekend.  Ever.

It started with Thanksgiving.
Over the river and through the woods, to Grammy & Grambear's house we went...
The family was all in good spirits, the bird was cooked to juicy perfection and the day was just wonderful.
A few pics:

Grambear had Wywy on the carving board. 
Wywy loved it.

Then, Friday was a lazy day full of Christmas decorating, music listening and hanging out in jammies.  Until a decision was made to head over to Jay's cousin's house for an innocent evening of Lia Sophia for the ladies and cards for the guys.
We were lucky to grab our fantastic sitter last minute and we headed out.
"We'll make it an early night, no big deal."
Cha!
We had a lot of fun with the family.  Jay's cousin just got engaged so it was her first official hosting detail.  It was a delicious spread and a wine-soaked good time!  It was exactly what the doctor ordered - a night full of laughter, good conversation and loving, comfortable company.
There are a lot of good "in-law" jokes but I can't take claim to any of them, I adore my husband's family and we always have so much fun when we all get together!

A very early, dark (and painful) Saturday morning started at 6am.  My wine head (and stomach) did not agree with this hour but the Tailgating had to be prepared!
Jay put together a hum-dinger of a cooler, packed with eggs, bacon, bagels and - most importantly - Bloody Marys!
We arrived at Rentschler Field by 10am with Nana & Papa.  UConn Football!!!
I have never been to a football game.  Unless you count the Brewster Bears, Never.
It was about 30 degrees with a thousand-mile-an-hour wind blowing constantly.  We had the kids bundled to the point that Wyatt could not move and Abby had only her face sticking out and "the air hurt" her.
Jay cooked, I drank a little "hair o' the dawg" and by noon time we were gung-ho heading into the game.
We parked about 97 miles away (thank you useless parking attendants & EHPD) and Wyatt refused to walk. 
We saw the "opening act" (I have no idea what it's called) and I was totally awe-struck.  The music, the noise, the huge amount of people, the Marching Band (they were AWESOME!) and then the player's entrance with the cheerleaders.  It was all absolutely amazing.  I loved it so much!
It made the cold and the crying totally worth it!
Wyatt ate a hot dog, french fries, popcorn and Skittles like he hadn't eaten in days - after the tailgating breakfast.  Abby was totally into the game - yelling "Go UConn!" and "First Down" right on cue.
It was so nice to see my in-laws enjoying my kids so much.  And my kids enjoying their Nana and Papa so much.
Everything about the day was totally perfect and so much fun.
It was cold, I was hung over, the kid was heavy and our seats were 2nd to the last in the stadium (not that you could tell by the ticket price) but I want to do that a million more times.
I had So. Much. Fun.
Some more pics:

On the way home, Wyatt was cool as a cucumber in Papa's shades.

Sunday was Christmas Tree Day!

The pictures say it all:

This season is off to a beautiful start!

Life is Good!

October 20, 2001

I promised to love and cherish you, in sickness and in health,

for richer for poorer, for better for worse,

and forsaking all others, gave myself only unto you,

for as long as we both shall live.

I promised in the presence of our friends and family that I would,

at all times, and in all circumstances, conduct myself toward you as your Wife.

I promised that I would love, cherish and respect you throughout the years to come.

With each year, we reach goals, make dreams come true and nurture a marriage inspired by love, maintained with respect, communication and kindness.

Eight years, 2 kids and countless memories later...

Happy Anniversary, Goob.

I love you.

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

A few things I was reminded of this weekend 

as we celebrated my baby boy's 2nd birthday:

• I am so very blessed with a
  loving, devoted, faithful and gorgeous husband.
  
  
• We are so very blessed with two beautiful, smart, fun and loving children.
  
  
• My heart can feel so full of love, pride and happiness
  that it literally feels like it might explode out of my chest. 
  (and I love it)
  
  
• I am constantly reminded of how lucky I am and loved I am.
  (and so often dismiss it from worry of what is not right or not how I wish it were)
  
  
• I have the two best girlfriends in the whole wide world. 
  (they have been by my side for better than 20 years -
  and they don't have to be)
  
  
• We have the greatest friends and family. 
  
  
• Celebrating the day my children were born are the most satisfying, most emotional, most fun days I have each year.
  
  
• I actually can make a cake and shape it into a Dinosaur.
  
  
• Life is full of joy.
  
  
• No matter how organized I am, I am still a last-minute-Lucy. 
  (I was up until nearly 2am finishing favors
  that could have been done a week ahead of time)
  
  
• We take a lot of pictures. 
  (and I haven't even seen them all yet)

All of these pictures are courtesy of my "Tio".  
You can see his awesomeness here:  
http://picasaweb.google.com/roadking1989/Wyatt2ndBirthday101709#

Happy Birthday to my 

beautiful, adorable, loving, lovable, 

funny, smart, brave, curious, challenging, strong, 

AMAZING baby boy.

Every day that I am blessed with being your mama 

is the best day of my life.

Happy Birthday to the LOVE of my LIFE.

My Best Friend.

Daddy to my Babies.

Ying to my Yang.

33 Years Old,

The past 12 of them with Me!

Summer.

Abby is taking Swimming Lessons at Andover Lake.
The beach is beautiful and the water is among the cleanest in CT.

This is Wyatt on the first day (Monday).
He was not happy with his sister's swimming while he was trapped on the sand with Mommy.

Here is my little froggie blowing bubbles in the water.

Here's Wywy, Day 2.
Considerably more confident but still fully aware of where his sister is and what she's doing.
He waved to her and yelled "HI ABBY" each time he caught her glance.

And here she is, smiling up at us as she and her team "use their team work to make the biggest splashes".
Today on the way home she told me that her cousin friend told her that she will get a trophy at the end of this "season".
I guess we'll have to see about that.

This is truly Summer as it should be.

Today is the first day of summer vacation.
"But Liz," you say, "your children are 3 & 1, what concern could the school year possibly cause you?"
Well, throughout the school year, I watch my friend's kids from 3:30 - 6, after school.

9 months ago I started this gig. Wyatt was 11 months old, a far cry from his now "almost 2" status. Abby was 2 & 1/2, Kieran was 7 and Quinnie was 11. Each day we went up to Jody's and greeted the kids as they got off the bus.

Random day that the kids were off from school - we headed to Pumpkintown!

I could tell you about their exhaustion, their busy schedules, their difficulty adjusting to summer boredom to school craziness - with homework and extracurriculars and sports.
I could tell you how hard it was for me to try to show patience while teaching patience.
I could tell you hard it was for me to adjust from putting dinner on the table each and every night for my family at 6:00 (promptly) and my kids down to bed at 6:30.
I could tell you how strange it was for me to be in my friend's house as a paid employee and not a guest.

One of several "family" dinners.

Instead I want to share with you how much I love showing patience for 2 very tired, very over-scheduled, very smart, very loving, very well-taken care of children as they learn to show patience for my 2 kids.

I want to tell you how much I love helping with homework, projects, peer-pressure struggles and soccer practices.

I want to share with you that a little boy who all but hated having 2 babies in his house each day, touching his stuff, speaking to him in a language he didn't understand, all-around bugging him - how that little boy came to playing with, showing how to use his stuff and straight up offering to help and easily enjoyed protecting those same 2 "babies" within a few months time.

I want to offer that a little girl who is a t time in her life in between "little girl" and "teenager" learned how to laugh at herself, how to shrug off kids who don't count in the long run and how to enjoy and look forward to challeneges that scared her to death in the beginning of the school year.

February Vacation - spent a day at the Lutz.

In 9 months I learned so much about myself as a friend, neighbor, mother and just as an adult - a person who's every word, facial expression & action is studied by the little faces all around and affects each little person in a way, very often, different than intended.

I helped these kids as much as they helped me. We learned from each other.
Getting off the bus to me is not as good as getting off the bus to their own mom, but I like to think it's as close as we can all get. Because that's how it felt to me.

Lunch at Evergreen.

And their mom, my friend. I loved making her house feel like "home" for her when she got home from work. I loved loading the dishwasher, or lighting a candle or starting dinner. I loved making her entrance as peaceful as possible after her long day at work, just as I try to do for my own home, for my husband.
I often joked with my husband that I was the stay-at-home-mom for both households.

Last day of school - Pizza Dinner!

"Next year" (meaning - in 3 months, when Fall unofficially starts and the buses rev up their engines again; when high school kids don their wool sweaters and corduroys fresh off the rack for "fall" only to sweat their asses off as it is actually still quite "summery" for a few months; when the book bags & pencil cases are still full & organized, the books are still neatly covered; when the lunches & snacks are healthy and carefully packed; when the lazy days of summer actually begin to crave the structured days of school... can you tell how much I love Fall? And it's not even summer yet?) - I will take the kids off the bus again.

And I already can't wait!

Just stole this pic from this blog.
Had to.
Sorry, Gina. Love it. What a very fun party that was!

My Day in Pictures
(taken with my new camera!)

I have no idea how to take a "flair" shot, but I tried!

I love how green the trees are and how blue the sky is.
This picture really captures what a gorgeous afternoon it was.
It also really shows how awesome my new camera is.

Wyatt was really happy to have a place to run, climb, slide, fall, swing and scream.

It only took about 17 shots to get a close-up with a smile and open eyes!

Pete.