So, it was a month ago.........

Nicholas is now 19 months, however, we did get his 18 month pictures taken ON TIME. I just didn't blog about it. So now, better late than never, here are Nicholas' 18-month shots. The photo shoot was awful! He had no interest in sitting still, smiling or realy even looking at the camera. It made one thing easy, picking the pictures. This was really the only one we got of him sitting still and pretty much looking.

He is pretty cute, huh?

And then we got this one too. Sort of felt obligated to get at least one more pose, although he's a bit in action here.

He went for his 18 month checkup and is doing great. We had a hard time getting him to sit still on the scale (do you see a pattern here?) so we got his weight at 28-1/2 pounds (75%), although I think it's on the high side. He was 34-1/4 inches tall (90%). He got the last of his immunizations until he's 5. He hated every second of being near the doctor, so maybe since his next well visits will be minus the shots, he might be a better patient. Not holding my breath on it though! That was really it about the visit, short and sweet. Nothing concerning so there wasn't much to discuss. He's doing great, strong willed, stubborn, starting to talk a lot more and all boy!

We also got family pictures too. We actually started out with the family pictures. I was hoping this process would warm Nicholas up to the idea so that his shoot would go better. Good plan, but wasn't so perfectly executed. Although, I'm sure it did make his session at least tolerable, just by then, he was pretty much done. We really only did well when I was in the picture with him. Here is the best one we got of all of us.

And then an OK one

And one of Tony and the kids. Nicholas wasn't too fond of sitting just with Tony. That's another story.....he went through a mommy-only phase recently. I'm happy to report, I think it's finally ending!

And then one of me and the kids

And there you have it! Tony is off the hook for pictures for another year and I'm hopeful Christmas pictures will go better!

catching up....again

First of all, I have no clue what happened to my blog page...I hate how it shifted to the left, so hopefully as I do some more posts, it'll straighten out.

It seems like every post I do this year is about catching up from the previous weeks of blog-lacking! Well, today is no different I suppose. I guess it's a good thing that I'm too busy to sit at the computer and journal our life, but then when I remember that this is used to keep in touch as well as keep stories and pictures to remember, I feel terrible.

So with that, let me begin.....
Kindergarten has been going very well. We've got the new routines down in the morning and in the afternoon and all seems to be going just fine. Hannah missed the bus to come home one day, but it wasn't her fault. I still am not quite sure what happened, but something about being too busy with a game or something and she and several other classmates missed the call for bus riders. But she was safe & sound at after care and they called right away to let me know. All in all, this first (almost) month of school is going great. She seems really happy and is doing well.

Hannah started back to gymnastics the end of August. She's happy to be back in class, but now with school, Tuesday's are a LONG day for her!

Tony started a new diet and work out routine. He's making a commitment to get healthier again. His new diet also helps all of us as well since we're eating more fruits & vegetables and lean meats. I would like to get back to zumba or jazzercise to also get back into shape - need to make more time for that.

My 36th birthday was earlier this month....just another day really, but we did a small celebration that day. Tony got a small ice cream cake, the kids were both a little cranky, but none-the-less, they rang in another year for me with some signs of love and appreciation. I got an MP3 player - yes, I'm probably the last to get one - so I don't have to carry around CD's in my car! I now have to find some time to get some music on it. Again, no time to sit at the compter - maybe after this post?

Anyway, here are a couple of pictures with me and the kids with my cake and gift.

Our poker league started up again. Tony did well our first night by finishing third. Hopefully we can get on a winning streak together and not only pay for our playing, but maybe make a few extra bucks for a rainy day!

I started teaching Sunday School this year. I've got a second grade class. So far, I've got about 6 kids. I like this class because it's small enough to handle, they're capable enough to do things on their own, but I'm still a bit smarter than they are so I think it'll be a good year. I'm co-teaching with Laura too, so it should be fun! I also did this to help me get to church way more often than we had been going...so far, so good. Hannah's batting 1000 since school started!

We celebrated birthday's over at mom's on Sept 11th. It was sure a day to reflect back on the events 10 years ago. Although I missed going to any of the celebrations and rememberance events, we watched a lot of it on TV and I talked to Hannah a little bit about it. I also took some time on my own to just be so very thankful for everything I have and how my world today works.

The birthday celebration for Randy and I was nice, a simple dinner and some ice cream cake. No longer do I get to open of my own gifts anymore, but I'm so glad I have two great helpers to do it for me!

And other than several visits with builders about a new house and lots of looking online at what kinds of homes are on the market, Tony and I are just trying to figure out our plan on how to move up - the right way. We (well, I) REALLY want to build and am very hopeful that will happen some day. In the meantime, we're going to finish doing some things around here to get our home sell-ready so when the time comes, we can do it and hopefully quickly.