Bitter Sweet Year

Ask anyone in my family and they'll probably say they can't wait for this year to be over with. Medical problems top the list. So very ready for a fresh start. Clean slate. Healthier outcomes. Best thing about this year is adding this little guy into our clan...

and showering this one with lots of needed TLC...


Here's to simplifying life in 2008. Be safe tonight. Peace.

Noah Balboa

Pics were taken back in Oct when he was 3 months young. He'll be six months in 2 days. Still same great smile just a little bit balder and a few pounds heavier. He can now roll all over, hold his bottle, eat cereal, sleep all night and chew his toes. Such a happy baby... we are blessed.

Happy Christmas

"May the spirit of Christmas bring you peace, hope and love."
God bless.

too cute

no doubt about it...

Growing up

"In quietness and in confidence shall be your strength"

love you little man

i *heart* fall

Noah is learning to roll. Josh is fascinated with tunes from the Sound of Music. Both have a cold. Life is good. Crazy, but good.

looking forward...

... to Halloween

as long as we can avoid meltdowns like this one...

Can't wait...

for Noah's first Halloween...

and Josh's third

:)

A golden birthday

Ten on ten/ten... so cool! Happy Birthday Jake! You are a riot! For ten years you have been nothing but pure joy to be around. Love your sweet humor. Love your sweetness. Love the fact that I can always depend on you for a hug and kiss. Don't ever change. Welcome to double digits. Enjoy your video games! Love ya to pieces!

You two...

... have each other and life is good.

for keeps

I love you rich. Happy 4th!

Recent faves

Layout sketches from NYC Scraps.

hello!

Our computer is running low on memory and I can't download from my camera. I have a really hard time deleting pics from our hardrive so until we purchase extra storage, it may be awhile until I add a bunch of new pics (including a ton from when I had a get together with my college pals... hi guys!). In the meantime, enjoy some of these taken a few weeks back.


Here's Rich playing the Beatles "Blackbird." A great, nightly routine in our home.

I called Josh to sit and eat his dinner and he sat... in the middle of the kitchen floor. He thought he was so hilarious. Such a ham!

And this one... simply pulls on my heartstrings. So handsome.

soakin' in last few days of summer

Sun-kissed

Our Josh at 8 months...one-a-half...

and two-and-a-half.

Time flies way too fast... must slow down and enjoy these moments.

Enjoying the last few days of summer with a trip to the zoo and beach all in one day. A first for Noah to both spots. He slept through most of it though. Josh called out "mongoose" and insisted he ride the kiddie train at the zoo. Once at the beach he got a lot of play time with Daddy. Josh simply loved tossing sand into the water. Couldn't ask for better weather. It was picture perfect and before we knew it... almost six hours had gone by. Wish I could just bottle up days like these. Don't you you just love summer?

"No Neck"

Simply... adorable.

Look who turned 12 yesterday!

Yeah that's my nephew Colin. Isn't he handsome?!! And the best part is that he's a great kid too. So smart. Athletic. Considerate. Loyal. Respectful. Honest. Classy. And so much more. Love his relationship with his family especially the way he watches out for his yonger siblings and cousins. Hard to believe when he was first born he was so tiny you could hold him in one hand and now just look at him... at the brink of his teenage years. Love you Colin! Thank you for always bringing a dose of sunshine into our lives. We are all so proud of you!

hangin' out with the boys

Pretty quiet week. Josh is just about potty trained... now if we can only get him to keep his undies on... any suggestions?

Noah turned 2 months yesterday. He's hearing a lot of "You're so fat! What's your mama feeding ya?" Yes, I agree... those cheeks look mighty scrumptious! If you want to bite 'em, get in line :)

And Colin turned 12 yesterday... happy birthday!!! More pics to follow.

Anyone...

... wanna box???

Photo shoot...

• Rich and I took the boys to get their pictures taken last weekend. So glad he was with me since they were a handful (thanks boo!). Josh was totally absorbed with the alphabets used for props. Couldn't get one decent shot with him either looking or smiling at the camera. We tried having him pose with his favorite letter M. That only made him ignore the camera even more. So perhaps this picture of him with the letter best captures him at this stage... a two and half toddler simply content and obsessed with M.

• Noah is smiling more and more these days but of course when it came time for his first photo shoot... no smiles. I purposely scheduled the shoot right after his nap and feeding but that didn't help. He too ignored the camera. And when the yawns started coming, it was hopeless. I was glad the photographer took one decent pic without him making a funny face (last one above). With that big forehead and chubby cheeks... he's definitely an Austria. That nose is from Rich's mom. Josh has that nose also. I *heart* my boys.