Years in Review
All the news from our past! Click on a year for all the haps:
Kevin Patrick Leeney...1958-2007 ...Live Laugh Love...
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This page last updated on: 2/24/2013
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Happy January Dates to...
Gpa Steve | Kayla (Happy 18th!!!) | Kelly & Terry (Happy 5th!)
Stephie | Joselyn | Stephen
Happy New Year, Everybody! Welcome to 2010! Needless to say, we're looking forward to some exciting happenings this year. Tomorrow is my sister's birthday and she's going to London for 5 days! I'm so happy for her and hope she has the best time imaginable!!!
ALSO!!!! We're set to welcome our newest little Cece at the beginning of April! We couldn't be more thrilled to meet our daughter =^) I sure hope James gets over his headbutting phase by then ;>
So, from we three Ceces to all of you... May 2010 be the happiest year for you yet!
Tuesday, January 5th 2010
Happy February Dates to...
Valentine's Day | Us (10 YEARS TOGETHER!)
Jake | Johnny Fox | Alan | Carlos
Hello, hello! Since the last update, Steph has been to London and back, we had another ultrasound to check on the low-lying placenta situation, and I had another OB appointment.
Steph's trip started ROUGH. The flight was cancelled due to bad weather in London but 13 of their 17 party group was able to get on another flight out that night leaving Steph and 3 others behind. She celebrated her birthday with their little group and had a great time and got on a flight early the next morning. When they got to London, their luggage was missing (thankfully it turned up on their 3rd day!) but they still managed to make the best of the trip and actually had a good time! I am SO proud of her for going and REALLY hope she gets to go again next year!
Our second ultrasound showed the placenta had been moved up and was nowhere near my cervix - YEA! James came in withJohn again this time and was more receptive to me and seeing the Baby on the monitor :) Once Iwas off the table he kept saying 'Baby, baby' and giving me kisses :)))) Gotta tell ya, he could've had anything he wanted then and there if he had asked!!!!! :)
My OB appointment yesterday (2/1) was completely routine. I got the all clear for all restrictions since my placenta looked good. Dr. Risser did say that it was an anterior placenta (attached in front instead of the side) but the only issue that causes is that you don't feel the baby move as early as you might usually (which really didn't seem to be a problem for me, at least not too much). I bet that's why the OB's all have such a hard time finding the baby's heartbeat, too!
At any rate, that's all that's going on here. Things are good. I'm WAY tired and am starting to have trouble getting up and all that super fun stuff. I still just can't believe how quickly this is going this time around!!! Baby Girl will be here before you know it!!!
Tuesday, February 2nd 2010
Steph at Buckingham Palace
London, England | Jan 10, 2010
Baby Girl Cece @ 28w1d
Pronger Smith | Jan 21, 2010
Hi again! Just 2 quick updates for you all:
(1) I posted some (BIG) belly pix of baby & me here. If you mouseover the pictures, you can see my belly with Baby Girl and Jamie. If you click on the pictures you can see them side by side. I am SOOO much bigger this time around!!! :)
(2) We've set up another guess the baby game and want everyone to participate!!! Remember, she's a girl so you've got a free answer there! :> Click here to play Guess Baby Girl Cece! Right under the yellow bar at the top, you'll see the box where it says "Invited Guests". Type guessbabygirlcece in that box and it will take you to the game page where you enter your guess! Can't wait to see who wins!
Sunday, February 7th 2010
GuessBabyGirlCece game
Can't wait to see who wins!!!!
Happy March Dates to...
Kendra & Michel | Debra & Rob (10th!) | Jay | Gma Agnes | Heather
St. Patrick's Day | Carol | Kiki | Ashley | Claudia | Fred | Lori
Well, we're in the final stretch now! I'm technically 35wks 1d today and I can't believe it!! My next appointment is Monday. At my last appt, the OB suggested (because I'm old) that I start having non-stress tests (NST's) to monitor the baby's heartbeat when I come in for my usual check-ups. She says they have you come in 2xs a week for about 20-30 minutes at a time to be monitored. It's not a big deal - I had a NST done when they considered me overdue with James to see if I was having any contractions - but 2xs a week seems a bit excessive to me, especially since I'll probably be going every week anyway after this next appt so I'm gonna see if we can change it to once a week so I don't have to totally disrupt Jamie and Stephanie's schedules. Like I said, she only even suggested the NST because I'm AMA (Advanced Maternal Age) not because of any problem with the baby. As long as I can cut down the frequency, I have no problem with doing it because having this anterior placenta makes it difficult for the OB's to find the heartbeat sometimes and all I want is to make sure Baby Girl is doing good in there :)
Thursday, March 4th 2010
Happy April Dates to...
Easter Sunday | Cindy | Baby Girl Cece DUE! | Gianna
Auntie Gerry | Kendra | Matthew | Tess | Nick | Celeste K | Rob
Happy April, All!
Saturday, April 10th 2010
She's Here! She's HERE!!
Jamie, John, & I are EXTREMELY proud to announce that our little angel is finally here! Catherine Rose Cece was born on Monday, April 12th at 9:48am. It was a CRAZY delivery (which I will expand on when I have a bit more time) but in the end it was a complete success as we have our beautiful Baby Girl here with us at last! The moment I first saw her, she looked EXACTLY like James except she has dark hair :)) Please click here to see her official jennandjohn.homestead.com announcement!
*** Wednesday, April 14th 2010 ***
Welcome to the world Monica Lynn Perez!!!!!!! HUGEST congratulations to my dear CuzEr, Heather, her hubby Carlos, and proud big sister Evelyn! Monica was born Wednesday, April 14th though she wasn't due for another 3 weeks. I guess she just couldn't wait to get here! =^)
Thursday, April 15th 2010
Happy May Dates to...
Cole K | Mother's Day | Deb | Eli (Happy 1st!) |Barb & Rob | Walter | Chrissy
Jay & Kim | Jordan | Robin | Jessica (HAPPY 18th!!) | Andy & Lori | Raquel
Heather & Carlos | Memorial Day
Happy May, All!
Thursday, May 20th 2010
Happy June Dates to...
Jamie | Father's Day | Mom A | Barb
Happy June, All!
Thursday, June 03rd 2010
Happy [Belated] July Dates to...
Billy (Happy 50th!) | Independence Day | Keresteen | Evelyn
Zachary | Cindy & Mark | Grandma Bobbie | Dan M | Ashley & Mike
Hello, Goodbye, July!!l!
Saturday, July 31st 2010
Happy August Dates to...
Chris & John | Melissa | Anne | Kelly | Cora | Ann
Wow has it been FOREVER since I actually updated this thing or what?! Here's what's been happening since Catie was born:
APRIL
Just getting to know our precious little girl. She slept through the night almost immediately (5-7 hours at a time!!) so I COMPLETELY didn't know what to do with myself there!!
April 16th - Catie went for her first check-up. She lost 2oz. Dr. Irizarry noticed Cate had a dimple on her lower back and wanted to sent her for an ultrasound to make sure it wasn't a sacral dimple. If is was a sacral dimple, it could mean problems down the road for Catie in terms of walking and bladder control... Needless to say, that was a HEAVY blow, even though Dr. Irizarry was almost positive it was going to turn out to be nothing to worry about. She also sent us over to the hospital to have another juandice test done. Catie gave a tiny squeal when her heel was pricked then proceeded to yawn and go back to sleep! What a little trooper, and not even a week old yet!!!! (BTW, got the blood test results back the next day - completely in the normal levels! No jaundice!!)
April 21st - We went to Children's hospital for Catie's
ultrasound.. We waited for quite a long time but God
certainly graced us with a patient baby!!! She slept not
only through the whole trip there (Steph brought me
and the kids and John met us as he came from work),
but also through the long wait and the entire scan! We
knew we could breathe a sign of relief right off the bat
when the technician, after getting Cate into position
and preparing to start the ultrasound, looked at her
back and said "Is this what they're calling a sacral
dimple?" When John and I looked where we knew it to
be, we even had a hard time finding it! Afterward, the
tech came back from seeing the dude who does the
premilinary readings (all terms have escaped from my
head atthe moment), she told us everything looked
normal. And when we got the offical results a few days
later, Catie was given a clean bill of back-health!
HOORAY!!!!!!!
MAY
May 9th - Mother's Day was extra happy for me this
year with my beautiful boy and gorgeous girl :)
May 12th - One Month Old!!!! I just can't believe Catie's
first month went by SO quickly!!! It seemed like it took
forEVER for Jamie to turn 1mo!
JUNE
June 4th - Would have been Kevin's 52nd birthday...
June 11th & 12th - Jamie turned THREE!!!! I can't believe
three whole years have come and gone already! Seeing
where Catie is developmentally and where Jamie is
now.. It just seems like a lifetime ago we were doing
these same things for and with him! We had a party at
Mom's house (third year in a row) with us four, Mom,
Steph, and Kikidee. The next day (Catie's 2month
bday!) we, Mom & Steph took Jamie to the McDonald's
Playplace near our house. Steph climbed in there with
him and got him to go a little further and a little higher
than he had the last time :)
June16th - James had his 3y checkup and Catie had her
2mo well-baby on the same day. We waited forever to
see Dr. Irizarry (as they apparently had us waiting in a
room that wasn't hers or she couldn't see us in or
whatever..) but the kids really hung in there! Catie end
up getting 3 different innoculations (1 oral, 2 shots) and
Jamie had to have blood drawn to test for anemia and
lead and they were complete troopers through it all!
James barely batted an eye! I was SOOOOO proud of
him! On his 2y checkup, he had the same bloodwork
done and cried his head off. This time, he watched the
whole thing and wasn't happy but didn't fuss once. We
couldn't have been more proud of our big boy! Or our
little baby girl either :) <3<3
June 19th - The Leeney family (minus the Cuzins) came
over and met Catie for the first time.
June 20th - John celebrated Father's Day as a dad of
two.
June 23rd - I kid you not... Catie has a GREY HAIR!!!!
June 26th - Mom celebrated her 60th birthday!!
June 30th - I FINALLY GOT MY HAIR DONE!!!! What a RELIEF!!!!
JULY
July 1st - HUGE NEWS!!!! We found out my cuzin Alan is having a BABY!!!!!!! Ok, so his GF is the one actually birthing the baby but you get what I mean =^)
July 3rd - Had to cancel our annual 4th of July BBQ last
minute because the kids were sick with temperatures,
congestion, and slight listlessness. Poor Catie, not
even 3 months old yet and already had her first cold.
It seemed to take FOREVER to clear out of the house!
July 9th - Took the new double stroller (or as I call it, the
freedom mobile ;>) out for a spin!
July 10th - First trip to the park in the buggy
July 11th - Bethany and Dennis were in town and
stopped by to see the baby.
July 12th - Catie turned 3 months old :)
July 14th - In sad news, we all went to visit my first grandmother, Agnes Zaper, in the nursing home.. She's in palliative care and fighting a losing battle with cancer... My Godmother (her daughter) Kiki has been beyond a trooper, sitting with her every day, 6 and 7 days a week, in palliative care.. All I pray for is that she not be in pain.. And when it's time that God send His mericful Angels to wrap their wings around her and carry her home.. The Zaper family has been there my entire life. They are my first family. There is nothing I wouldn't do for them, especially Agnes, Gpa Steve, Kiki, Zack, Paul, Gloria, Anthony, and Aaliyah! Please, please keep them, especially Gma Agnes, in your prayers.
July 15th - Found out from my cousin that he & Alicia are expecting a baby BOY!!!! Hooray!!!! Jamie as an ally now in this generation of girls! =^>
July 17th - We rescheduled the 4th for 2 weeks after the
fact and had a nice little gathering of Leeneys (again,
minus the Cuzins) along with Kiki, and Dan & Judy
Murphy. Family gatherings are wonderful for sure.. but
it's impossible not to notice the gapping whole that's
still there with the loss of my dearest Uncle Kevin 3
years ago... He was going to be an awesome Poppa for
Jamie, and Catie, too. Thankfully Jamie still has my
Uncle Rob! He has soooo much fun when Rob's
around cuz he throws James all around and never
seems to get tired of playing with him, even if they're
just sitting down and reading! I truly have THE most
awesome family EVER!
July 20th - I'm trying to get this weight off me. I gained 10 more pounds with Catie than with Jamie plus I started 9 lbs heavier. After Catie was born, I went down 20lbs but that crept back on before I knew it - whoever said you lose weight by breast feeding LIED!!; I gained with both kids! So I got the 'Fat Smash Diet' book by Dr. Ian from Celebrty Fit Club and we'll see how it goes. Wish me luck!!!
July 27th - Noticed a discoloration on Jamie's nose... My
great-grandmother had a cancerous patch removd from
her nose so I always get paranoid when I notice
anything odd! I'm sure it's nothing but I'll definitly keep
my eye on it.
July 30th - Mom, Steph, and I took the kidlets to
Brookfield Zoo for the day. If all we had done was let
James play in the Elephant fountain like we did on the
way out, he would have thought it was the most fantastic
day EVER! On the way home, we stopped by Juice
Tyme so John's coworkers could see Jamie again and
meet Catie :) Even though it was the ride from HELL to
get there, we made it before the office closed and got to
spend a little time showing off the children :)
Now, as for August so far...
We booked out trip for Boston! We'll be in Beantown from Thursday, November 11th till Monday, November 15th. I hope we get to see everyone!!!! And I hope I can convince the immediate family to have a family portrait taken - we're doing it here in Chicago and I would LOVE to have one with John's whole family, too! The best thing would be if we could have one with both our immediate families together... I'm gonna try like heck to get them to come out for Catie's first birthday! It would be SO awesome to have both our complete families in the same place at the same time!!!!
James is starting to spell words!!! Thanks to his love of books and the great influence of shows like Word World on PBS, he's already learned how to spell 'tuba', 'bagel', and 'milk'! He knows and can recognize his numbers up to 20. He knows his letter sounds. His vocabulary grows by leaps and bounds almost daily it seems! His doodles have started to take on a more hieroglyphic quality that looks like the early early beginnings of writing. And we've started potty training (and actually had one small peepee on the potty so far!).
Catie, well, she is just progressing like nobody's business! She's a pro at tummy time all on her own. She grabs on to your fingers and can pull herself up into a sitting position and, if she has enough room, will move into a standing position if you raise her arms up! Obviously she can't support her body weight by any means yet but she does put her full weight on her legs while she's standing. When she's on her tummy, she can scooch her way on her belly towards something she wants - definitely not crawling yet but she's definitely in the rudimentary stages of learning how. She 'talks' up a storm when we snuggle, especially after her belly is nice and full, and as always is never stingy with passing out smiles =^) No sign of teeth yet but she continues to drool up a storm and can't keep those fingers out of her mouth! We're pretty sure she's just about ready to start cereals by how attentive she is when she watches us eat and also by how she can snatch her bottle right out of my hand and get it into her own mouth almost every time she tries!
Jamie is still completely in love with her and Catie gets so excited when she recognizes him and always tries to grab his face, which James of course LOVES! Dear God, may my children always share such a complete love and devotion to each other! Nothing would give me more pleasure in this world than knowing as they grow, they will always have this great love for and closeness to each other!!!!
As for John and me, well, it's pretty much status quo. I'm trying to get more organized around the house and get the guestroom ready for Catie and I to move into - we're still sleeping in the living room!!!! John and Kiki put the crib back together and I've made a lot of progress in the room (but have so much more to go!) If I can at least get it to a point where we can move in, I can work quietly while Catie is sleeping at night!
August 1st - Playtime with Aaliyah. Kiki brought Aaliyah to play with Jaamie. We set up the neat sprinkler Mom got him for his birthday and the had a blast!
August 2nd - Debra meets the Baby. Debra finally got a chance to come over and see tthe baby. When she left, Jamie said "Mommy? I love Debbi." Awwwwww! Hopefully she'll get by here again with the kids so they can all play together before school starts.
Auguts 4th - James spells first word!!!! That God for shows like Word World and toys that teach phonics!!! I was in the kitchen and James says to me from the other room "Mommy, I spelled tuba." I thought he was wanting me to help him spell it so as I'm doing whatever I was doing, I started to help him sound out the letters. I walk into the living room while we're spelling and catch the couch out the corner of my eye.. then exclaim "Jamie! You SPELLED tuba!!!" He spelled it all by himself with his letters on the couch while I was in the kitchen and never asked me for help!!!!
August 12th - Peepee on the potty / Catie turns 4 (months old ;>) Jamie's first peepee on his new potty (only took us 1 hour to accomplish it ;>). HAPPY 1/3-OF-A-YEAR BIRTHDAY, BABY GIRL!!!!
That's it from Ceceland for now! Hopefully I'll keep up better with updates!!!!
Saturday, August 14th 2010
WAITING FOR THE ULTRASOUND
Children's | Apr 21, 2010
MOTHER'S DAY
Glenwood, IL | May 09, 2010
CATIE'S ONE MONTH BIRTHDAY
Glenwood, IL | May 12, 2010
JAMIE'S THIRD BIRTHDAY
Chicago, IL | Jun 11, 2010
LEENEYS MEET CATE
Glenwood, IL | Jun 19, 2010
FATHER'S DAY
Glenwood, IL | Jun 20, 2010
MOM/GRANDMA'S BIRTHDAY
Glenwood, IL | Jun 26, 2010
@McDONALD'S PLAYPLACE
Homewood, IL | Jun 12, 2010
CHECK-UP TIME!
Pronger Smith | Jun 16, 2010
CATIE'S GREY HAIR
Glenwood, IL | Jun 23, 2010
SICKIES :(
Glenwood, IL | Jul 03, 2010
FREEDOM!!!!
Glenwood, IL | Jul 09, 2010
A DAY AT THE PARK
Glenwood, IL | Jul 10, 2010
TABIEROS VISIT
Glenwood, IL | Jul 11, 2010
CATIE TURNS 3 MONTHS
Glenwood, IL | Jul 12, 2010
HAPPY FAKE 4TH OF JULY
Glenwood, IL | Jul 17, 2010
JAMIE'S NOSE..?
Glenwood, IL | Jul 27, 2010
ZOO DAY!!!!
Brookfield Zoo | Jul 30, 2010
Very, very sad news... My first grandma, Agnes Zaper, passed away on Friday, August 20, 2010 around 4am.. She had been in palliative care for nearly 2-1/2 months and finally let go.. Her daughter, my AMAZING godmother, Kiki, was by her side every single day during her stay with few exceptions.
The Zaper family is my first family because they were the first extended family I ever knew. They have been a part of my life for longer than I can remember and I love them all specially and eternally....
This day, the 20th, marked the 3 year anniversary of the loss of my Uncle Kevin.. so.. a very difficult day indeed...
Goodbye, Gma Aggie.... I love you for always....
Monday, August 30th 2010
AGNES ROSE CORSO ZAPER
Mar 15 1923 - Aug 20, 2010
Happy September Dates to...
Andy | Keith & Joselyn (Happy 15th!) | Jack D | Labor Day | Mike
Olivia D | Dani | Jo & Billy | Chicky & Eddie (Happy 50th!!!!) | Michel
Well, welcome September! Fall's almost here! And three of us are down with a cold AGAIN! I think mine is more allergies than a cold, or at least started as allergies, and I think I passed it to the kids between sharing cups and utemsils with Jamie and cleaning Catie's fallen pacies in my mouth (which sounds SO much more gross when you write out the words! ;>). The kidlets are drippy but not congested so THANK GOD for that! Jamie's on his cold medicine and it's made a HUGE difference in one day already. Catie and I are left to suffer as we can't take anything but tylenol :( She was actually doing much better yesterday (today is day 3 for her) and had a drippy relapse today. HOPEFULLY James will stay on course and Catie will be back on track to yesterday. I'd HATE for the gorgeous weather we're supposed to have tomorrow go to waste like it is today :(
In other news: Catie had her first cereal!!!! She had oatmeal on 8/22 and has gone through rice cereal and is ready for barley. Then according to our doctor's suggested schedule, we'll move to veggies, meat, fruit and juices :) We and Mom went to the Shedd Aquarium on the 27th and had a great time! Jamie REALLY liked the big tank when you first walk in and was *sort of* into the other fish. We saw their show, 'Fantasea', and he was inytrigued by that. We ended with a 15 minute version of Happy Feet (the BEST way to watch it IMO!) in 4D and he LOOOOOVED that! Bubbles, snow, things poking at you in the back, it was terrific! We could NOT get him to keep the 3D glasses on so he watched it all crazy looking and he can still see clearly so I guess no harm done :) I KNEW I should have insisted we take him to see Shrek 4 when it was still in the theatre :( He would have LOOVED that! Other than that, three day weekend coming up for John - WOO HOO!!!! Mom's getting new kitchen windows tomorrow. Plans are starting to be formed for our Beantown excursion. We're all happy and (relatively) healthy and you can't ask for more than that =>
Friday, September 3rd 2010
Happy 5-Month Birthday to Miss Catie :) I can't believe how fast this time is going by!!!! This little girl is just the most wonderful addition to our family and absolutely makes us feel complete!
Fun day today. At Target, I got a bunch of clearance clothes for the kidlets (YEA for clearance!) Also bought all the Level 1 veggies for Catie - yes, she moving on from cereal! Her first taste was of sweet potato and she liked it! John has been wanting to get Jamie some Matchbox cars and got him his first on today - which Jamie paid for at the register!! He was a little timid but the clerk was soooo sweet to him and we were SO proud to see him pay like a big boy!!!!
Sunday, September 12th 2010
Happy Birthday Rememberance in honor of my father-in-law on what would have been his 74th birthday.
I wish Jamie, Catie, & I had been able to know you but I know you can see how wonderful your two grandchildren are... We all love you!!!!
Tuesday, September 21st 2010
DAD JOHN CECE sr
Happy 74th BDay Rememberance
Happy October Dates to...
Sandy | Rob R | Our Anniversary (8 yrs) | Jen P
Billy (Happy 18th!) | Bethy & Dennis | Gus | Happy Halloween
October is here!Now, if the fall weather would just stick around instead of summer trying to make a comeback! :>
Well, September sure ended with a bang! To the surprise of us all, my Cuzin Alan married his girlfriend (and baby mama-to-be) Alicia on September 25th at their annual tiki party in St. Louis!!!! They wanted to get ''official' before Baby Boy Schnutko made his appearance later this year and are planning something bigger for after BB's arrival. I've only met Alicia once, swapped emails a handful of times, but I am so SO very happy for them both!!!! From the moment I laid eyes on her, I just kjnew she was a good match for my beloved cuzin, the Luke to my Leia. I just can't wait to see Alan as a Dad! I know he'll be a FUN one!!!!
Yesterday, the chirr'n and I were at Mom's for the annual Pullman House Tour. We didn't do the houses this year but hit a couple garage sales and went to the awesome park around the corner from Mom's (John stayed home to get some work done and to just chill). It was an absolutely beautiful day!!!!
And in further kidlet news: Jamie is doing really well on the potty training. Last week (week 2), we had NO accidents and went 2xs a day on the potty! Today (start of week 3) he actually went FOUR TIMES on the potty!! The last time, he stood up! AND got most of it actually IN the potty!! YEA, JAMIE!!!! Catie is making strides too! 8xs out of 10 when I lay her down to change her diaper, she rolls over to her tummy. Yesterday at Mom's, she sat, completely UNsupported for the first time! And today, she was pushing herself onto her knees while on her tummy (tummy completely off the ground!) for the first time!!!! YEA, CATIE!!!! I'm soooo proud of my children! They're gonna leave me :((((
Sunday, October 10th 2010
Happy November Dates to...
Aaron | Wendy | Ma | Terry F | Alex D | Jo | Happy Thanksgiving
John & Raquel (Happy 20th!) | John | Joanna | Uncle Eddie
A new family tradition has been started! We went to Bengtson's Pumpkin Farm on Oct 17th to check it out and to pick out a pumpkin. What a great time we had! It's like part carnival, part haunted house, part zoo, part farm, and all fun!!!! Big highlights of the first visit: Jamie went on his first ride and Catie had her first taste of a real apple!! I think this is definitely gonna become a yearly outing :>
We had a quiet 8th Anniversary on Oct 18th. The four of us went out to eat and everything was very nice. Jamie even ate so that *really* made it a good day out :)
Halloween was SPECTAULAR! First , John, Jamie, Steph, and I went to McCormick place for Legofest (John won tickets from The Mix; Catie stayed at Grandma's). It was so much fun, after the scary walk down the parking garage stairs!!!! John & I weren't sure how Jamie would react at first, figuring he'd probably just kind hang close to us till he warmed up to everything but we couldn't have been more wrong! He took off to examine all the big staues made from legos right away and was in heaven when we found the activity tables where he couldplay and build stuff himself :) He went in costume (so did Steph!) and really seemed to have a great time. He started getting shy again once the trick or treat parade started (it took forever for it to really get going) but once he got to the people handing out treats, he was totally enjoying himself again :) What a great time!!
After that, we all headed back to our house to go trick or treating. It was Jamie's second time and what a difference a year makes!! He was having a BALL!!!! And Catie! John had to keep a super strong hold of her while we were walking with Jamie cuz she was bouncng around and laughing and smiling the whole time we were out! It was SO adorable!! After TOTing, we headed to the Glenwood Halloween party and I am SO tickled to announce that after 3 tries, Jamie WON the costume contest (one of 2 0-3yr winners)!!!! You KNOW I was beside myself and TOTALLY more excited about it than he was :)
We were in Boston Thursday, November 11th through Monday the 15th and it was wonderful!!!! Jamie and Catie deserve everything they could ever want under the sun for the troopers they were traveling and how great they were with the family! It was so wonderful to see everyone interacting with each other, especially Freddie since this is the first visit we really got to spend time with him :) He's sooo great with both Jamie and Catie :)
Ok, so yes, the TRIP was wonderful but leaving... OH.MY.GODDDDD!!!! What an ever loving nightmare it was getting through the airport and actually taking off! Security was a NIGHTMARE: We had the double stroller, 2 3 suitcases, 3 carryons, 2 children, used TWO scanners, had to send the stroller through separately cuz it never would have fit the scanner machine, had to walk through twice cuz I forgot to take my keys out of my pocket the first time, John went through first and through all the confusion, Jamie was AMAZING and did exactly what he needed to do! Once we got through, trying to gather our GAZILLION bins between the two scanners and bowls and whatnot... UGH! Thank God for the kindness of strangers and patience everyone around us showed! Getting on the plane itself was another drama cuz the plane was FULL and I had to wrangle both kids an 2 bags while John trudged to the back carrying Jamie's carseat and the 3rd carryon to find a clear row. By the time the carseat was set up, we were buckled in, and the plane was finally taxing, I was SOOOOOOOO done and not at ALL looking forward to the trip home! But despite all that aggrevation, our children put teh biggest smiles on our faces as we took off and hey watched and smiled and looked so amazed as we took off :> They LOVED it!! I am SUPER happy to report that, though we were delayed over an hour, our flight home wnt SOOO much smoother! Plus, added bonus, there were only like 35 people on the plane so we had all the room you could want, didn't have to worry about bothering anyone, and hey, got full cans of pop to drink instead of half and extra snacks :) I tell ya, it truly is the small things in life ;^>
While we were in town we had professional photos taken of the whole family together. I have been wanting to do this for some time and now that our family is complete it seemed like the perfect time. Even though we may not get out East as often as we wish we could, at least the kids will always be able to see they are part of a family in Boston just like they are here. We also got to see the DellIsolas for the first time since we left so they got to meet not only Catie but Jamie for the first time as well :) Kim was so wonderful, she actually let Jamie bring home 2 of Alex's old Thomas toys because he was having so much fun playing with them! What a sweetheart <3 He kept asking if he could go back to the house with the toys :) As always, the trip was too short but I'm glad we got to go and hope we can see everybody again soon! BTW, yesterday, we had professional pics taken here with my fam as well so I'll post some of those as soon as we get our orders in!
Only other news is that Thanksgiving's coming up and it's gonna be super small here again this year; just us, Mom, Steph, and Aunt Bobbie and Sandy. The Shutkos are all headed St. Louis way to have dinner with Alan and Alicia... and the BABY! Alicia's going in tonight to be induced! Baby Radish Mowglithor Schnutko is almost here!!!!
Sunday, November 21st 2010
Happy Birthday to my wonderful Husband and Babies Daddy! I love you with all my heart, Honey! Our children are so incredibly lucky to have such a wonderful Dad :) XOxoxo WE LOVE YOU!!!!
Sunday, November 28th 2010
Well, no new baby yet. After a marathon induction attempt, Alicia and Alan went home, 2-1/2 days later with no bambino :( Guess RMTS isn't ready to join us yet.
Thanksgiving was so much fun! Lots of great conversation and fabulous food!!! Chef Mom and Sous Chef John really outdid themselves this year! ;>
My Cuzin Heather came to visit with her family yesterday adn we had Bobbie, Sandy, and Carol over again so everyone could meet Monica for the first time!!!!! It was such a nice visit and all the poor children are blinded from all the camera flashes going off in their faces :) As always, I went into a funky after they left because our the kids have more and more fun together everytime they see each other and I think they would really be buddies if they lived closer.. But hey, at least they have a ton of fun when they are together so that's something. Check out a few pics here :>
Tuesday, November 30th 2010
Happy December Dates to...
Jimmy | Dennis | Chicky | Colton | Bethany | Keith | Anne & Stephan
John H | Kim | Christmas | Walter & Gus | Wyatt | Mark
And Radish Mowglithor has a name! Welcome to the world Fritz Oliver Shutko!!!! HUGEST congratulations to my Cuzin Alan and his wonderful new wife, Alicia!!!! Fritz was born Tuesday, December 7th 2010 at 5:19pm via c-section. Alicia went in Monday the 6th for a no-failure-option induction and still this stubborn little boy wouldn't come out :) He is SO cute and looks JUST like his Daddy! Can't wait to meet you Fritz!! XO
Wednesday, December 8th 2010
And another year ends. More on that to follow....
In exciting December news:
On Friday, December 10th, Steph went to Iowa (drove, all by herself!) for 3 days to work on an independent movie. She had a great time and I honestly can't express how PROUD I am of her for making this trip! Go Stephie, it's your birthday, well not yet but you get what I mean :)
Saturday Dec 18th we had our 7th Annual CLARZ Christmas though now it seems to only be a CAR Christmas. At any rate, it was a FUN evening with the Cece/Askews and the Rogers fam! We SO have to make more of an effort to get together through the year :^)
Friday, Dec 24th we had our wonderful Christmas Eve at Mom's. It looked like it was just gonna be us Askews but Zach ended up coming too and THAT was terrific! I miss him so much and just love when we get to spend that kind of time with him!! I love that kid XO!
Christmas Day was at our house and BOY did Santa bring all the right stuff! The Leeny Christmas is postponed till the new year when Barb & Rob get back from North Carolina. They spent the holiday with Heather & Co. I was gonna have everyone else over to our house but Sandy's sciatica is still REALLY bothering her so she and Bobbie stayed home; Carol's back is still flaring up; and Beth & Dennis were gonna coem but she's been sick for the last 6 weeks! and since we are gonna have another gathering at Barb's on the 8th, we both thought it best they not make the extra trip dpwn from Dennis's family's house adn she get a couple more weeks of getting better in her. So, a quiet but sweet Christmas this year. I can't WAIT to see what next year has in store when Jamie's 4 and Catie's *gulp* 20-1/2 months!
So that brings us to today, New Year's Eve.. My whole family is together. We've welcomed the beautiful Catherine Rose and she has absolutely completed us. CuzinsTNG Monica and Fritz are here; we have wonderful memories from Steph's stories of London, to the anticipation of our Baby Girl's arrival, all the growth in speech, ability, personality, potty training, understanding, awareness, and much more our Jamie has accomplished; the joy of watching the unbelievable connection between our children and how it's grown day by day; trips to the zoo and aquarium, special time with friends, the loss of a special person, new traditions, great visits in person and via technology (first phone conversation with my cousin Anne in Australia tonight!!!!), with faraway family, and all the magic the holiday season brings.... Yes, it's been an amazing year.... And I can't wait to see what 2011 has in store!
May your heart be open to every happiness that comes to greet you in all the forms it takes. May the very best of all things come to you and yours... And may you always know how incredibly special you all are to us!
Happy New Year! See you in 2011!!
Love always,Jenn & JohnJamie and CatieFriday, December 31st 2010
