Lilypie Fourth Birthday tickers

Lilypie Fourth Birthday tickers

Lilypie Second Birthday tickers

Lilypie Second Birthday tickers

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

"Two" much fun!


Yup, Tara's shirt says it all! She is going to be a Rockstar someday! Oh and a big sister! She wouldn't cooperate when I wanted her to (surprise!) so I took a picture of just the shirt because I think it's adorable! We are expecting a second child at the end of September if everything goes well. I can't wait for Tara to be a big sister and I am eager to see how she handles it. I think she will be a big help and enjoy having someone else to play with besides mom and dad! Of course after the last pregnancy I have been nervous that something might go wrong and my first trimester was spent checking to see if I still had "symptoms" of pregnancy. I had 3 ultrasounds in the beginning and then heard the heartbeat at 12 weeks after what seemed like an eternity (the nurse had a difficult time finding it and then kept saying that my heartbeat was interfering - it was probably only 3 minutes but it seemed like an hour!) After the last ultrasound I feel much more confident that this one will make it the whole 9 months! Although I am not looking forward to a fat and sober summer, I know it will be worth it. I may also like that I can cover up my post-baby body with sweatshirts and sweaters in the winter! Of course, I have vowed to eat better and exercise more this time around. Some things are easier said that done... I am hoping that the hot weather and being home with Tara all summer will keep me busy and away from the food! We shall see!

Sunday, April 19, 2009

April

We have had a busy month so far in April. We have been to birthday parties, traveled to Tennesse, celebrated Easter, and welcomed a new nephew! It has been a pretty good month! We have even had a few nice days weather wise. I actually got a little red last Saturday. (I may have laid out while Tara napped...)

First we'll start with our goddaughter, Reagan's 3rd birthday party.


Reagan got some great gifts!

Tara enjoyed the party favors!




This is one of Mike and Kelly's friends' little boy, Denver. He was too cute trying to help Tara put her shoe back on. It was like the Prince Charming and Cinderella! The shoe fit! Yea!



Uncle Mike helped Tara play some baseball with the other kids.



I can't wait to sign her up for tee ball!


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Cookies and Tennessee





I made cookies with my special little helper for the trip down. Lately, she is in to wearing her winter hats around the house. I think she has been watching her Uncle Matt too much! Really, I just think it keeps her hair out of eyes when I don't have time to pull it back. Regardless she does like hats. I ended up buying one in TN. You'll see pics of her wearing it.



The night before we left George was working on his RC airplane while I was cleaning up the house. I was dusting in the bedroom when I heard Tara singing the "Teamwork" song from Wonder Pets while she was helping her daddy. It was so precious. I wish I could have had it on video but it was already packed so I grabbed the camera! Tara loves her daddy's airplanes. I have no doubt that she will one day be flying with him! I guess it didn't matter that she was a girl. He is going to have to share his toys anyway.
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Our trip down to Tennessee went quite smoothly. Tara was awesome in the car and even slept through the night once we got down there. Of course there was plenty to do during the day to tire her out. It was nice to have Papa and Mia there to help. Tara also knew exactly where to go when she wanted something!

We watched movies. Mostly Wonder Pets and Max and Ruby.

We sang songs and pointed everything out on the road.




Tara had to stop and smell the flowers. It was so nice to see color down there! MI shouldn't be too far behind.

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The Vineyard



We went to a winery one day and tasted some pretty good wine! It was a neat place. Most people would buy a bottle of wine and then sit in the picnic area to hang out and drink. I wish we were closer to places like this in MI.


Tara striking a pose!



My mom and Tara walking up the hill.



My dad and Tara walking down the hill.



Uncle Kyle showing Tara how to squat. Really she was just copying him and it was too cute!



This is Tara showing Uncle Kyle where to go.


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Tara's favorite part of the trip was going swimming in the hotel pool. She either wanted to go swimming or ride up and down the elevator. She was not content just hanging out in the hotel room. We spent a lot of time doing both! The first time we went in the pool it took her a few minutes to get warmed up but it wasn't long that she was telling us that she wanted to do it by herself! I didn't bring any floaties with us so the next day we went to Target and bought one. It was actually a "learn to swim" floatie and it might just work out! The next time we went swimming she was "doing it by herself". She was so excited and so were we! She loved the water and being able to swim without someone holding her. I can't wait to take her again!



She swam with Papa.



She splashed everyone!


George trying to sneak out of the hot tub without getting caught by the camera!



Uncle Kyle swimming with his niece.
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On Friday it stormed and a tornado actually touched down about 10 miles from where we were. We decided it would be a good idea to go check out the Grand Ole Opry Mall. We did some shopping, ate lunch, and then headed back to get ice cream at Coldstone.


George wanted to take Tara on the carousel before we headed to lunch. She sat on the horse long enough for me to take this picture.



She spend the next few minutes like this.



Then George found a bench to sit on until the ride was over.


Tara decided she liked this ride a little better!
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We also got to meet Kyle's good friend's new baby. His name is Brendan and he is the sweetest little guy.




Tara loved him too and wanted to take him home. I would have taken him home too! It's not too often we get to see little boys in our family.
We left Saturday morning after visiting the liquor store since prices down there are a little cheaper. Whenever Kyle comes home or someone goes to visit they always get a list from the family of what to bring back! We arrived back in Michigan around 8:30 which was just in time to get Tara settled into bed. We had a great time in Tennessee and it was great to see Kyle and where he lives. We will definitely fly next time even though the drive was not too bad. We'll have to decide a little sooner that we're going and look for the good deals.



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EASTER


Sunday morning we got up and my mom came over to help color eggs. Tara did not want to be gentle with them. I think she cracked every single one! She was practically throwing them in the dye. Oh well, it was probably more fun that way!




We celebrated Easter with George's side of the family. We traveled to Eastpointe to his cousins' house. It was great food and Tara had a blast playing with the kids and hunting for Easter eggs.





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Caiden Miles Tencza



Two days after Easter we welcomed a new nephew into the world! Caiden Miles Tencza was born on April 14, 2 days before his big sister's birthday. He weighed in at 6 pounds 14 ounces. He's just a little guy compared to what Gavin and Reagan were. We went to see him Tuesday night and he is absolutely perfect! I hope Mike and Kelly are surviving with 3 kids and Caden is not getting overwhelmed too much by his older siblings (as well as other family members!) We can't wait to see him again!


I'm a proud Aunt!



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I think I covered it all so far. I hope I didn't leave anything out! Last weekend we celebrated our little buddy KJ's first birthday but of course I forgot my camera so I will have to get some pics from his mamma. He was feeling a little under the weather and wasn't too thrilled about the cake or the company. We hope he is feeling better now. Why does it seem that so many kids are sick for their first birthdays?? Maybe it's their defense mechanism for people to leave them alone...George used to pull the same thing every Christmas. I think there were like 3 x-mas holidays in a row when he had the flu. If you know him, you will know that he hates bouncing from house to house around the holidays and is a total Scrooge!

Hopefully the next post will be sooner than later and not quite so long!