Our Family Adventure

Happy birthday Evan!

2010-03-20T19:25:00.001-07:00

Evan turned 5 on Thursday and we had his party today. He chose a dinosaur cake that I had a gal make for us. He loved it! I cant believe hes 5 already. Wow. Hes such a cool kid.

I am so far behind!

2010-03-17T14:57:00.001-07:00

With facebook Im finding I keep forgetting to update the blog. Spring is finally here. However they are now calling for 7 inches of snow this weekend.
Heres some new photos. Some are from the wedding in October but we just got them!

Happy Birthday Ryan!!

2010-01-30T19:56:00.000-08:00

Ryan turned 9 this week. Makes me feel old that my first baby is that old! He had a great party with his family and also took a friend and his brother to see "The Spy Next Door" at the theater. We love you Ry!
He had Pinewood Derby for Cub Scouts last weekend too. He won Dens choice for the second year in a row. Not the fastest car but the boys choice for "coolest" car.

Happy Holidays everyone!!

2009-12-22T15:42:00.001-08:00

I tried but I guarantee I forgot some people when sending out Christmas cards this year. Sorry! Here is the scanned version of our card. All 3 dressed up for Auntie's wedding in October.
Our family photo was taken on the cruise. Evan and Nora have goofy "cheese" faces but all in all a decent family photo so we bought one. We so rarely have all of us in one shot as Im usually the one behind the camera.

Carnival Dream

2009-12-21T12:20:00.001-08:00

Last week we got to sail on Carnival's newest ship, the Dream. We had a group of 15, 9 adults, 6 kids. We had an amazing time. In Cozumel we went to Paradise Beach where they had huge inflatable slides and such in the water. Isla Roatan, Honduras was very pretty. We took a private tour and saw much of the island. We stopped to hold and feed monkeys and birds. The kids then LOVED the glass bottom boat tour. Many different kinds of corals and fish. They even got to see sea turtles and scuba divers. In Belize it started out windy and the kids got some play time in at Bannister Island before the rains came. Jim and I went snorkeling and even in the pouring rain it was awesome. So much so close. Very very cool. Lastly in Costa Maya we went and viewed some Mayan ruins.
Now its back to the cold reality and rushing to get ready for the holidays. Merry Christmas everyone!

Winter is here!

2009-12-05T06:39:00.001-08:00

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving at Sara and Rob's. The kids are loving the first snow. In 1 week we will be sailing the Caribbean.

Happy Halloween!

2009-11-01T14:50:00.001-08:00

Ry was a ninja. Evan was Jango Fett from Star Wars. Nora was Belle and Dumbo. The gym had a party on Friday and the princess gown was not warm enough for night time trick or treating here in Wisconsin. So Dumbo was free and warm.
Ry likes seeing the kids dressed up but would still rather hand out the candy than eat it. Evan tried his hardest to keep up with the big kids. Nora LOVED trick or treating this year. Kept saying "more candy" and sounded so cute with her trick or treat and "dank you".

Wedding

2009-10-11T19:10:00.000-07:00

Congrats to Cindy and Rich. Ry rocked. Nora wouldnt walk down the aisle and held daddys hand. Poor Evan then didnt know quite what to do but he was so cute. We have CUTE kids.

Ry's first day of third grade

2009-09-02T15:06:00.000-07:00

School started Sept 1st. A third grader already. He says he likes his teacher and although I know the homework will be harder, in general I think hes truly happy to be back at school.

Got creme puff?

2009-08-19T19:02:00.001-07:00

No visit to the Wisconsin State Fair is complete without a creme puff. Nora LOVED it.

Nora and her foster sister

2009-08-19T18:56:00.000-07:00

The family who took care of Nora for 8 months also took care of another baby girl. Their birthdays are 5 days apart and they went home about the same time. The family that adopted Annabelle lives outside of Chicago. We are so very lucky to have finally met them for the first time. The girls didnt seem to recognize each other but it was still very sweet. How awesome that we could bring these girls together again.
Heres pictures from our adoption agencies annual picnic. The boy on the slide is Annabelles brother (biological AND adopted by the same family).

Silly kids

2009-08-12T06:18:00.000-07:00

Nora is now in her big girl toddler bed. Little monkey kept climbing out of her crib.
Evan makes us giggle every day. He got his hair cut yesterday and now wants it in a mohawk.
Ry is enjoying being off of school but cant wait to get back either. He had a great time at day scout camp last week.

Happy Birthday Nora

2009-07-27T11:16:00.000-07:00

Nora turned 2 yesterday. She enjoyed the cake and kept asking "more please" when opening her gifts. Our little girl is growing so fast!

Summer is half gone

2009-07-20T14:11:00.000-07:00

I worked July 4th weekend so not many photos. Jim pretends he cant use a camera. He says its because he has no photography skills but I remind him you can computer edit alot.
I took the kids to the zoo today. A rare nice summer day AND I had off of work. I took them into the Wings Down Under bird exhibit. Ry was okay until the birds really started flying down on us. He was afraid he was going to get pooped on. Evan was the bird magnet and loved feeding them. Nora was fascinated by the birds but kept trying to bop them on the head with the birdseed popsicle stick to try to get them to eat.
The tshirts they did at the gym childcare. The boys wanted them to be red and blue. But we didnt have alot of time and it was hard to really tie dye with all those kids and only 3 buckets. So they quick dip in the blue and red of course made them purple. They decided to make Noras plain yellow so that was easy.

Back from Arizona

2009-06-23T12:49:00.000-07:00

We got back from our unplanned last minute trip to visit family in Arizona on Sunday night (actually 1am Monday morning to be exact). The kids LOVED playing with their cousins they hadnt seen in a few years. We took them on some hiking trails around Phoenix and basically just relaxed by the pool most of the time. Temp was about 100 every day. Now the boys are BEGGING us to get an inground pool so they can learn to swim better they say. Now we are slowly getting the house organized again. We need a vacation from our vacation!

Muchos fotos

2009-06-15T11:47:00.000-07:00

Random pics from the last couple of weeks. Ry's dance recital photos are by Frophoto and scanned in.
Hard to get a pic of Nora lately. She either doesnt want to look at the camera. Or shes talking or her eyes are closed. Sometimes I just give up and take a picture of her having a fit. :)
On Ry's team all players switch off positions. Yes hes a lefty.
And Evans just been a crabby busy body. Hes got a bad case of the 4 year old whines.

Recital

2009-06-04T13:05:00.000-07:00

Ry and his group did great at their recital last weekend. The lil' cowboys danced to Cotton Eyed Joe. It was just the four boys ages 7 and 8. They had a good time!
Weather is slowly warming up for good so Evan and Nora have been getting outside play time. Last day of school is June 11th.
Baseball has started. Ry's second year of coach pitch. Hes playing on the Orioles. Games twice a week thru June.

River

2009-05-22T06:36:00.000-07:00

River got real sick and we chose to put him down yesterday. The decision was a bit hard but it was harder seeing him so uncomfortable. He was 13 years old. The boys were a bit sad but they are doing okay. Canyon seems to look around a bit but even she seemed to know it was River's time to go. This photo was taken the day before.

Zoo

2009-05-16T10:53:00.000-07:00

I took Evan and Nora to the zoo this week. Was trying out my new camera again a bit.

Happy Mothers Day

2009-05-11T18:42:00.000-07:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful Mothers Day weekend. I worked ten hours both days. I did get my new digital camera so I can finally post more pics again!

Florida vacation

2009-04-21T07:08:00.001-07:00

We got back Sunday from a 10 day vacation to Orlando. We drove down and stayed a week in my parents 3 bedroom condo with some friends and their 2 girls. Had a great time! We went to Universal Orlando 3 days and Clearwater Beach where the dads and Ry went fishing in the Gulf but only caught 2 fish. The weather was nice and only rained 1 day. We had dinner at Disneys Animal Kingdom Lodge one night and shopped at Downtown Disney but otherwise this was a Mickey free trip. We just went to Disney World in August so decided to take a little break and try something new.
Back to work now and reality with this great Wisconsin weather.

Holy Week 2008, Antigua

2009-04-01T14:35:00.001-07:00

Evans 4th birthday Slideshow

2009-04-01T14:28:00.001-07:00

Happy Family Day to us!

2009-03-26T06:40:00.000-07:00

Nora came home 1 year ago today and we became our little fiesta of 5. She was a tiny 8 month old and now shes a sassy 20 month old.

Evans party

2009-03-23T10:32:00.001-07:00

He chose Wall-E theme. Simple family party at our place. He liked all his presents and playing with cousins.

Fun day

2009-03-19T17:33:00.000-07:00

Evan and Nora got to play with friends at the Lotza Fun room here in town today. They had a great day.

Happy 4th Birthday Evan!!

2009-03-18T18:30:00.000-07:00

He had a good day. He had preschool this afternoon and I was parent volunteer. He had cupcakes and the kids sang to him. Then for dinner he had crab legs at Reb Lobster (his choice). He got to open presents from us. He was SO excited to get Pixos (as you can tell in the photo). Its the one thing he REALLY wanted for Christmas but Santa didnt bring because hundreds of tiny beads in the house did not sound like a good idea. But a small set was on sale so I caved. Tomorrow we are meeting some of his friends to play then family party this weekeend.
Super E is 4!!!

Happy St. Patricks Day

2009-03-17T08:02:00.000-07:00

Or Happy Evan's Birthday Eve as we say here as we arent Irish. :)
Bumpa has been yelling that I havent put any new pics up so here are a few. I tried taking more today but my camera battery is almost dead so everything is fuzzy.
Ry started Spanish classes one day a week after school and is really enjoying it. Hes finishing up Cub Scouts for the year and cant wait for the 3 day camp this summer. Hes doing really well in school.
Evan is just a charmer and so funny as always. Hes going to one afternoon a week presschool of sorts now.
Nora is 19 months and will have been home a year now next week. She still isnt saying many words but gets her point across pretty well.
I started a new shift at work starting at 1pm and its working out pretty well. Jim started a new position at work and its pretty hectic. At least we have jobs. Vacation over Easter cant come soon enough though.

Happy Valentines Day!!

2009-02-13T11:04:00.000-08:00

A day early but hey. The gym childcare had a V day party today so I got Nora all dressed up. Evan refused to wear red and insisted on his blue shirt. He still looked cute.
The pics of Ry are from his first Pinewood Derby in January. He didnt have the quickest car but his den chose him as "Dens choice" for favorite car design so he got a trophy. He has it proudly displayed on his new desk in his room he got for his birthday.
All 3 kids had a bad GI bug last week so that was not fun for mom and dad. We got out of it relatively unharmed though but have done so much laundry its unreal.
I started my new hours. Im working less days but longer hours each day. Only 8 days a month vs. 14. So far so good.

More Ryan

2009-01-29T15:27:00.001-08:00

He had a blast at his Monkey Joes birthday party on Sunday. Then today he had a concert at school and wanted to dress up. Our handsome little man.

Happy Birthday Ryan!!

2009-01-25T10:00:00.000-08:00

Ryan is 8 years old today. He had a family party last night and now we are off to Monkey Joes to play with his friends.

Heat wave

2009-01-21T17:57:00.000-08:00

Sad that its actually warm out at 20 degrees. :) Nora decided to empty out her bottom drawer for fun yesterday. Putting the clothes away I decided to do a little photo shoot with her swimsuits (and to try them on as we are going to Florida in April).
As I was making banana bread with Chef Ry today I glanced out the back window. I quick tried to run get my camera before the dogs and kids scared them off. We had 6 deer in the backyard. Ry and Evan sat there watching them while Nora was smiling and clapping in awe.

Happy 2009!!!

2009-01-06T12:54:00.001-08:00

Jim had off of work last week so we were busy trying to reorganize parts of the house. You know, desks, drawers, closets and such. He got the wine room downstairs painted and the floor in.
Evan has been taking photos with my camera yet again. I go to upload photos Ive taken only to find about a dozen of interesting things such as toys and walls.
We had a playdate today so that kept Evan and Nora busy. And Ry is back to school and starting to get into a routine. All in all, so far so good for 2009.

Merry Christmas!!!

2008-12-26T14:15:00.000-08:00

We hope everyone had a great holiday. Nora had a wonderful first Christmas at home. Its pretty busy and hectic with 3 kids but we toned the activities down a bit so we could just relax and enjoy. The kids all loved their gifts, every single thing. Ry loved all his new legos but his favorite gift was his new Nintendo DS. He was so surprised he was speechless. Hes been asking for one for years but we told him not until he turned 10. But hes been such a good big brother this year and with our long Easter drive coming up we decided it was time to let him have one. Evan loves his WallE computer, his r/c car, and his pizza chef playset. I dont think he could pick a favorite as he thought everything was just "awesome"!! Nora was totally into opening presents which was cute. You would hand her a gift and her eyes would get all big and she would get a little half smile and just tear in. Shes 17 months old today and saying about 15 words.
Life is good. LOTS of pictures to look at. I took quite a few. Its very hard to get photos of kids though and trying to get multiple kids in the same shot to look at the camera was next to impossible so I think these are about the best we could do.

Snow storm

2008-12-19T12:19:00.000-08:00

Ry has off of school today. Thanks to Uncle Cory the driveway got cleared this afternoon as Jim had to go into work. I work tonite again. The trio had to go outside of course when Uncle was over. Poor Evan kept getting stuck in the snow it was so deep. Nora thought eating it was tasty.
Im putting up some recent pics of Nora. Shes dressed up for a little family get together we had last weekend. Shes giving her signature diva glare that Nora is famous for. Then her riding poor ol' man River again.

Evan

2008-12-10T12:50:00.000-08:00

Got to go to two birthday parties this past weekend. Both were friends from his preschool. One was outside at a petting zoo. Yes outside in Wisconsin in December. They got to feed ducks, chickens, goats, pigs, and even a llama. It was cold but it wasnt snowing or really windy and the kids had fun. Santa was there and Evan walked right up and plopped on his lap. His buddy had to quickly jump in though too. His party was the day before. :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-27T12:33:00.000-08:00

We wish everyone a happy Thanksgiving! Stay healthy and safe!!
Today also marks Nora's "Crossover Day". She came home on her 8 month birthday. She turned 16 months yesterday. Today she has been home with us longer than she has been with anyone else. We are very thankful for her and our 2 great boys!
(Will update with pics later. We are going to dinner at Uncles house!)
Nora woke up with a teething fever thus her face is really flushed in the pics. Her meds kicked in quickly though but by then none of the kids would sit for pictures.

First snow

2008-11-24T09:15:00.000-08:00

Nora loves the snow! She didnt like that her boots kept getting icy though and she had a hard time standing. Evan thinks sledding is great. Nora was happy just laying there. Evan hopes the snow stays now so he can build lots of snowmen and do more snow angels!

Nora's first haircut

2008-11-22T12:18:00.000-08:00

We got Nora's hair trimmed just a bit this week by our stylist Jilayne. She sat quietly in Jims lap and didnt fuss at all. It still looks the same but just cleaned up a bit.
The cake was Ry's addition to his Scout's sport/Olympic themed bake sale. Its our Michael Phelps cake with his 8 gold medals.

Cute kids

2008-11-11T12:43:00.000-08:00

Had to pull out the winter coats, hats and gloves this week. The 70 degree weather from last week is long gone.
Finally got Ry's school pictures back. He has a bit of a goofy smile in it but its better than usual at least. Evans preschool did a professional photo shoot so we got those too. He's getting so big. Nora had her 15 month appt. Shes just under 31 inches tall (50% for age) and 21.4 lbs (25% for age). She only got 1 shot and didnt take it too bad. Shes trying to talk more which is cute.
Jim and I went to a costume party as knights. The boys thought us dressed up was pretty funny.

Trick or Treat

2008-10-27T13:52:00.000-07:00

The kids get to go to 3 trick or treats. Grandparents time two then our own. We only do a few houses at the grandparents as 3 kids accumulate a ton of candy.
We did get to the pumpkin patch last week with Evan and Nora at least. They loved exploring and Evan was so intent on picking out a good pumpkin. We carved them this weekend. Jim did a good job.

October is almost over

2008-10-20T14:53:00.000-07:00

We have yet to buy pumpkins. Ryan hates cleaning them out so mom and dad get all the dirty work. The joys of parenting. :) They are looking forward to Trick or Treat in their new costumes though.
Heres Evan in a borrowed costume and Nora in Evan's old Stitch outfit from when he was a babe (yes its Stitch the alien NOT Eeyore).
Ry is excited he has his big Cub Scout bonfire at county park tonite. He brought home the praying mantis he took to school for their insect science project. I guess if you keep them inside for the winter they can live longer. We bought some crickets from the pet store as the mantis has to hunt and eat live bugs. So now we have a new "pet" for the winter they call Master Mantis. Joy.

Howdy

2008-10-06T13:14:00.000-07:00

Cool weather is here. Nora is cutting 6 teeth at once now. Shes snotty and wheezy.
Ibuprofen is mommy and daddys friend (and Noras too). We went to Cirque de Soleil on Sunday with my parents. They bought us tickets for our birthdays and we brought the boys. It was a great show. I highly recommend seeing a show if you ever can.

Evan's E's

2008-09-29T13:28:00.001-07:00

He was practicing his E's today in his room. Hes getting pretty good at E at least. Only 3 more letters to go for his first name.
Nora has been walking around with her Cinderella doll alot lately. Very cute. Im getting used to the girly stuff.
And just a random one of Ry during lunch at Chili's on Saturday.
Happy Birthday to Bumpa and Mema. :)

Zoo

2008-09-23T12:02:00.000-07:00

Evan started dance class last week. There was one other boy (who didnt really participate in class and may drop out) but Evan didnt seem to care at all. He had fun pretending to be a frog and jumping on one foot.
We went to the zoo on Sunday for my moms work employee party. Beautiful day. Nora loved the train and carousel! Ry is such a loving big brother but sometimes acts a bit too daddy like and gets SO worried about her. Its sweet though.
And a pic of Nora climbing on the old man River. I think he likes it. He turned 13 last week (Canyon shares the same bday as River and shes 11 now).

Cub Scouts

2008-09-15T16:45:00.000-07:00

We let Ry sign up for Cub Scouts this year. He likes doing hands on projects and the den group is small so he should have alot of fun. Hes pretty excited to be a Wolf Cub. Parents have to go so it gets him some one on one time with either me or Jim so thats a huge bonus. Hes doing dance again this year in the all boys jazz/hip hop class which starts the end of the month. So far so good at school.
Heres the other 2 kiddos who are much more camera hams. Evans asking all the time for me to take his picture. Usually with some odd object in hand (like the play frying pan). And Nora is just all smiles the second she sees the camera. My friend Debbie made this sweater as a gift. Its so cute!

School days

2008-09-08T11:01:00.000-07:00

Ry had a nice first week of school. Evan LOVES being back at preschool one morning a week with his friends. Very cute. Heres Ry and Evans first day of school pics and then one of Nora from the weekend.
I got this email from a friend and thought I would post it because they are all so true.

I Believe...That just because two people argue, it doesn't mean they don't love each other. And just because they don't argue, it doesn't mean they do love each other.

I Believe...That we don't have to change friends if we understand that friends change.

I Believe...That no matter how good a friend is, they're going to hurt you every once in a while and you must forgive them for that.

I Believe... That you can do something in an instant that will give you heartache for life.

I Believe...That it's taking me a long time to become the person I want to be.

I Believe...That you should always leave loved ones with loving words. It may be the last time you see them.

I Believe... That you can keep going long after you think you can't.

I Believe...That we are responsible for what we do, no matter how we feel.

I Believe...That either you control your attitude or it controls you.

I Believe...That heroes are the people who do what has to be done when it needs to be done, regardless of the consequences.

I Believe...That money is a lousy way of keeping score.

I Believe...That sometimes the people you expect to kick you when you're down, will be the ones to help you get back up.

I Believe...That sometimes when I'm angry I have the right to be angry, but that doesn't give me the right to be cruel.

I Believe...That maturity has more to do with what types of experiences you've had and what you've learned from them and less to do with how many birthdays you've celebrated.

I Believe...That it isn't always enough, to be forgiven by others, sometimes, you have to learn to forgive yourself.

I Believe...That no matter how bad your heart is broken the world doesn't stop for your grief.

I Believe...That our background and circumstances may have influenced who we are, but, we are responsible for who we become.

I Believe...That you shouldn't be so eager to find out a secret. It could change your life Forever.

I Believe...Two people can look at the exact same thing and see something totally different.

I Believe...That your life can be changed in a matter of hours by people who don't even know you.

I Believe...That even when you think you have no more to give, when a friend cries out to you - you will find the strength to help.

I Believe...That credentials on the wall do not make you a decent human being.

Going private

2008-09-03T19:27:00.000-07:00

I think I will be changing the blog to invite only. If you would like to get updates and photos please email me at ERMamaA@aol.com

Harvest time

2008-08-31T14:08:00.000-07:00

Our first grape harvest. It may not be Napa Valley but we are hoping the wine tastes good. The vines are 3 years old and Jims put alot of work into them pruning and trying to reduce the Japanese Beetle attacks. The wine wont be ready until next spring so we wont know much before then if the wet spring and dry summer affected them badly or not.

1 pony, 2 pony, 3 pony, please Mom no more!

2008-08-28T13:35:00.001-07:00

Her hair is long in some spots, short in others so I decided to experiment today. Moms not so good at doing girly hair.
Heres the Pebbles look.

The piggies.

Call this the alien sprout look.

So whats your favorite? :)

Back from Disney

2008-08-27T10:38:00.000-07:00

Tropical Storm Fay made it rain most of the time but we had fun anyways. Nora was in awe of everything. Its a Small World was her favorite ride I think. She just stared and pointed saying "doll" (or her version of pronounciation).:) She loved the costumed characters but wasnt too sure of the real princesses.
Evan was the total ride kid this trip. He was so young on his first 2 trips it was almost like a new experience for him this time. He got to ride lots of new stuff. Hes brave but if he doesnt like something he will tell you hes not riding it again but didnt freak or cry. He didnt like Big Thunder Mountain but Splash Mountain was okay. Test Track was as he said "totally awesome". Both boys got to ride in the front of the monorail and see how the pilot drives.
One of Ry's favorite things was actually eating at Teppen Edo which is in the Japan pavilion at Epcot. They do hibachi and he loves watching them chop and cook. He also loved the new Toy Story Mania ride. Its a cute 3D moving carnival ride of sorts and we rode it twice. We also went on Mission Space (green version which is the non spinning one) and he thought that was really cool. Ry got to be the "driver" of the boat during the Jungle Cruise and even though he had a huge smile on his face when he was done he said he was "embarrassed".
I have a ton of photos but heres a sampling.

Readoption day

2008-08-15T10:14:00.000-07:00

Today was our appt at the courthouse. Although shes legally ours this is what we had to do in order to get a Wisconsin issued birth certificate vs just the one from Guatemala. This also legally changes her first name and adds her middle name. It was short and quick. There was another Guate baby girl there too for her readoption. I decided to put her in her dress she wore for Embassy day in Guatemala. The boys behaved really well. What better way to celebrate than going to Disney World for a week. :)
We met up with my aunt and uncle he had not seen in years last weekend.

State Fair was fun. Nora loves to watch people. She liked the cream puffs. She takes dainty bites while Ry drives right in.

One morning Nora decided to crawl up onto Evans bed and wake him up. She thinks shes big stuff being able to climb up the stepstool he has. Shes doing better walking the last few days too. Its starting to be her primary way of getting around.

The first time we saw her face

2008-08-07T13:16:00.001-07:00

One year ago we "met" our daughter for the first time. We had been anxiously awaiting a referral and I just knew it would happen that day. Our agency called us shortly after 9pm and while on the phone emailed her photos and medical info. Jim and I looked at them together and both decided the same thing, she was cute and she was ours. We got several photos that night. Heres just one of them. We were so glad to see her so alert.
Shes growing so fast. She was under 5 lbs in the first photos and now weighs 20lbs.
And a picture from today. Happy after her nap and practicing walking.

And shes off!!!

2008-08-06T19:29:00.000-07:00

We have a walker. Finally. Kids were playing tonite before bed. I turn around and Nora lets go of her push toy and starts walking across the living room with a big smile on her face. You can tell shes so proud of herself.

Service with a smile

2008-08-04T18:40:00.001-07:00

No I dont make him scrub the toilets but he felt like helping today. Dont I have a cute housekeeper?
Evan is always funny. Nora got a little white baby doll from Grandma Judy for her birthday. Well Evan decided the other day that the babys name should be Sacajawea. Ok buddy, the doll looks nothing like her but alright! (His favorite movie is Night at the Museum and shes a character in the movie).
Heres Nora sporting more birthday gifts. Ry and Evan picked out these Wall-E jammies. I took them to see the movie last week and they loved it. Evan said it was the "best movie hes seen in his whole life" but he says that about every movie. :)

We went to a Guate kids party not long ago. Someone from our agency has a party at their house. The kids had a blast. It was alot of fun to see all these cute kids.
Nora thinks her brothers are loco (crazy).

Pretty girl (still isnt walking)

They had a great blowup slip and slide Ry thought was awesome.

Ry was trying to hide from Angie's camera (she hosted the party) but she got a cute shot anyways. :)

We got Nora a Cabbage Patch Doll for her birthday. Her hair changes color. Nora loves baby Rosa.

Shes ONE!

2008-07-27T13:32:00.000-07:00

Nora turned one yesterday. We had a nice little party here at home. She was a bit overtired and overwhelmed but I think she enjoyed it. She really liked making a mess of the cake.
We are so lucky to have this little girl in our lives. I have lots of pictures to share from this weekend.
Thursday was my birthday and I got the best present. A letter from the courthouse with a date for Nora's readoption. Its mostly just a formality as shes legally ours with a birth certificate from Guatemala with our last name. But we are changing her first name and giving her a middle name so this court date will do that along with giving her a Wisconsin issued birth certificate. Having that will just make things easier for her in the future.
Enjoy the photos.

Busy busy

2008-07-14T11:21:00.001-07:00

As usual. Getting a few things ready for Noras birthday party. Ryan picked out her "theme" for plates and such. Just a small family gathering on her actual birthday. Aunt Cindy will be out of town so she gave her gifts already. The boys had to have her open one. She immediately found the button which makes the music turn on. Very cute, thanks Aunt Cindy.
Heres Nora playing with the boys in "Little People Town" in Evans room as we call it.
And pics I took of River and Canyon too. Hope everyone is going to enjoy the hot, HUMID Wisconsin weather it appears we will have this week.

Happy 4th of July!

2008-07-06T10:03:00.000-07:00

And Happy Birthday to Jim! Im working all this week/weekend, Nora threw up a few times (all over daddy each time), Ry is slowly starting to get some sleep after having some insomnia for over a month. So we chose to lay low at home with just us 5 for the holiday. Jim did some fireworks and sparklers with the kids which they love.
Hope you had an enjoyable and SAFE weekend!

Weekend fun

2008-06-30T11:30:00.000-07:00

Busy weekend. Saturday was baseball then grandmas house to swim with cousins. Sunday was a classmates birthday party for Ry then all of us up to a fellow Guatemalan babes1st birthday party. Happy Birthday Isabella!

Nora is 11 months

2008-06-27T12:45:00.000-07:00

And has been home for 3 months now. She very much knows who mama and dada are. Shes a total drama queen when she is hurt (even if shes really not hurt). She mimics lots of words/sounds. Stands up on her own and will take steps if you hold her hands. The boys love walking her around the house. She gives out kisses on her own and will do it when you ask for "besos". When shes tired she will rub her head and snuggle into us. Shes so darn cute and we love having her in our lives!

Odd phone call

2008-06-25T11:41:00.000-07:00

We get home from dinner last night (Bartolotta's in Tosa, SO GOOD!!) to find a voicemail from the Centers of Disease Control. I guess they called 3 times and I told my hubby to call them back asap as it sounded legit.
Person he talked to last night said they are contacting people on a flight but my husband wasnt on the one she said (from Ohare to Fargo).
SO, today we get a call from the US Governement on our caller ID so I pick it up. Actually she got part of her info wrong. The flight originated in Munich to Ohare and it was the flight my husband was on last month.
Ends up someone on the plane had rubella and they need to follow up and ensure all the passengers were immune. So if my husbands doctor doesnt have record of a vax or titer they will contact the local health department who will set up a blood draw to see if he is immune.
They said 50% of people with rubella do NOT have any symptoms so he may not know even if he did pick it up.
Odd phone call.
The boys in their matching (they picked them out) outfits. Ry's face does look funny but that was better than it had been. Hes sensitive to bugbites and one on his forehead had his whole forehead,nose and eyelid swollen for a few days.

Lil' Brewer

2008-06-20T12:39:00.000-07:00

First of all, my new camera is fixed so I hope its taking better photos now. I only had it 2 months and it seemed all the pictures I took were a bit blurry and grainy. I sent it into Canon for service (free, they sent a shipping label) and got it back in a week. They said the optical assembly was inoperative meaning my focus and everything was not working properly at all. Glad it wasnt just my eyes.
Ry loves playing baseball. Hes so excited to be on the Brewers. Here he is in uniform. They had lots of rain this season so many of his games were rained out and we have to make them up now. You can see the ponds of water in some of the pics.
By his choice, he is also taking a 4 day class on how to play tennis. Hes actually pretty good at it!

Happy Anniversary!

2008-06-20T12:35:00.000-07:00

We celebrated our 14th wedding anniversary on June 18th. We both have our faults but luckily we can tolerate with each other. :)
I was playing around with the camera settings the other day. We are so lucky to have these 3 little ones in our life.

Happy Fathers Day

2008-06-16T10:33:00.000-07:00

I hope everyone had a nice Fathers Day. We had a relaxing day. We went to a small local parade then had dinner at the inlaws with some swimming. Ive taken lots of photos lately but the kids are just too cute. Nora LOVES the water (as long as its warm).

Schools Out FINALLY!

2008-06-12T10:58:00.000-07:00

Today is Ryan's last day of school. All handsome this morning.
Evan and Nora enjoying some fun in the sun (and sand) last week.

Ryan is little but strong. Nora weighs almost half of what he does. :)

Wet weekend

2008-06-09T11:04:00.000-07:00

Yucky weather but no flooding or water damage here. The storms woke the boys up but Nora has been sleeping thru the night now for almost a week. YEAH!!
We went to my uncles house on Saturday night for dinner and Evan thought it was fun to spin around in the rain. Poor kiddo was drenched!
Ryan had his first baseball game of the season (he had to miss the first few because of dance conflicts) and he did good. Hes so excited his team is the Brewers this year. He is #2 so daddy had to get a matching #2 Bill Hall tshirt for the games. He plays on Thursday nights and Saturday mornings. Its coach pitch baseball for the 7-8 yr olds but they do have outs and keep score this year.
Nora LOVES being outside. Its the first time weve had a crawler in the summer months so thats a bit new for us. Weve been putting our pack n play outside but she will only stay in it for so long before wanting out. We have to watch her though when shes in the grass because she still puts everything in her mouth! Shes been having some bad hair days. Weve been calling her Don King because it always sticks straight UP! Even with shampooing and throwing tons of water on it some days it just doesnt stay down. So I gave up and starting putting in the ponytail on top of the head. Theres not much to it but it looks better than the Don King 'do. Our sweet little Watermela. :)
Jim and I went to see A Midsummers Night McGivern at the Stiemke Theater downtown which was really funny. Jim is taking a class on How to Tell Tales and its taught by John McGivern so he gave his class free tickets to the matinees so we went on Sunday. In July Jim is going to have to get up on stage and tell a 7-8 minute story. Last week was his first class and they wrote down somethings that were important in their lives and other fond memories. The class then chose what each person would be doing their story on. Its a free show on July 7th. It should be fun hearing everyones stories.

Ryan's recital weekend

2008-06-01T08:19:00.000-07:00

Ryan loves to dance so last fall we signed him up for an all boys jazz/hip hop dance class. Hes the youngest kid in the class but has alot of fun and tries his hardest. Well this weekend is recital weekend. He did a show last night and then another this afternoon. He is SICK (fevers of 102) but still insists on going. Motrin is helping and he has no other real symptoms but being tired. Up on stage you can tell he is nervous but hes trying and the whole group looks cute. They dance to a song from High School Musical 2 "Bet on It".
And I promised to post more photos so here some from this month. Nora really does love the swing and isnt scared like she looks in the photo. She thought the bounce house was great on Memorial Day. Evan loves playing in his sandbox and getting dirty!
My new camera isnt working great so I have to send it in for a couple of weeks but I have my backup camera.:)

WELCOME to our new family blog!

2008-05-28T21:04:00.001-07:00

I really enjoyed blogging during Nora's adoption process but shes home now and we are settling into being a party, or shall we say, fiesta of 5. If you want to find our adoption journey blog its still there...www.adaughtertolove.blogspot.com
For those just finding us, heres us in a nutshell. Im Amy, wife, mom to 3 great kids and a crazy nut myself (so I get told alot). I work part time as an ER/trauma nurse. I love my job but I love even more than I can work hours that allow me to be home with the kids all day and only be away for a few hours while they are sleeping. Im not crafty. I hate to clean. I love taking photos. I love to travel. Im a bad cook so hubby does it (he could be a chef hes so good). Hubby Jim is a manager in a manufaturing factory. Hes growing grapevines in our yard to make his own wine. We live in Wisconsin and yes theres grapes that will grow here. We arent perfect but we are learning along the way.
Ryan is 7 and finishing first grade. He's a great kid. Just wants to make people laugh (even when it gets him in trouble sometimes). He's been our challenging kid from the start but couldnt imagine him any other way. He has an awesome imagination. Right now he says he wants to be an archeologist or scientist when he grows up. He has received special education thru our public school district since he was 3 and hes done an amazing job and come such a long way. He is the BEST big brother around.

Evan is 3 and too smart for his own good. Not exactly a book smart kid (although hes pretty smart there too) but this kid is constantly making us laugh with the things he comes up with. His verbal responses to the world will be making their way here often Im sure. He loves being outside and playing with friends. He wants to do everything big brother does. Its monkey see monkey do at our house 24/7. He is so sweet and just a real lovebug.

And last but not least, Nora who is now 10 months old. She was born in Guatemala and has been home for 2 months. She is adjusting amazingly well. Not sleeping thru the night but down to waking up once for a bottle pretty much. She is an explorer and into EVERYTHING. She has 7 teeth and everything she finds ends up in her mouth. She eats more than kids twice her size. She is crawling and pulling herself up to standing. She has the cutest dimple (just one) and is just a pure joy.

So this starts our family blog. I plan on updating and adding photos pretty regularly now. I promise!!!!