Where did the time go?

My intent for creating this blog was to keep all the exciting happenings in our family up to date, and enlighten you with the silly, funny and heartwarming stories that happen daily in our home, however, we all know how life goes on and time gets away from us, so I have been neglectful. I will just give a summary of what's happened to this point and add pictures later when I have more time to sit down at the computer.

Since the last post, we have had three birthdays, a graduation,holiday festivities, and a new job!

Setharoni turned 7 on September 11 and we had several of his friends over to our house(boy it feels great to say "our house")for fun and cake. He had a blast and everyone was pretty well behaved...as well as little boys can be! There were minimal damages to the upstairs, like dirty handprints on the wall and a few scratches on the stairwell from toys being thrown up and down, so all in all I would consider it a great party! He is a wonderful big brother and is so protective of his little sister. Recently I took the kids to the park and he walked her all over the playground, took her down the slide, carried her up on the equipment and even told when he thought certain things were too dangerous for her to climb on.

He is in first grade now and doing great! He is so smart and full of life. I love him and love watching him learn and grow every day.

Joe's birthday was November 26, the day after Thanksgiving this year...last year it was the day of and I was ginormously pregnant with Stella. This year would have been much more enjoyable except I had an upset tummy and didn't really enjoy the food. We did, however, have lots of friends over for a feast of our own that Saturday that went splendidly and I enjoyed eating and drinking that evening!

Our baby girl, Stella turned 1 on December 4. It was so hard to believe that we had gone an entire year so quickly. I still remember the day she was born so vividly, when she was a fat little cherub so helpless and innocent and then I blinked. Suddenly she is a vivacious little girl, full of life, walking around with a huge personality. She has enough hair now that we are able to put it in the cutest pigtails!!! She is now starting to say some words, but mostly just babbles. She gives hugs and kisses and pats your back when she hugs you. My favorite thing that she does right now is run to me with her arms open, smiling so big and saying, "Hi!" over and over again. She has quite a fiery little attitude now as well. She wants her way and she doesn't care what you say! She also gives a big grin when you tell her no as if she is trying to tell you she doesn't care that you just said no...because she's cute and thinks she can get away with it. Watch out world!!

She adores her big brother. She is always looking around saying his name when he is not home, and when I get her up in the morning, the first thing she does is point towards his room and say, "Seth?" She says Dada and Seth, but still not Mama!!!

Joe graduated from UNT on December 18th! I was SO very proud of him and so glad I got to witness him walk across the stage. He has been working so hard to graduate for so long. I don't know how he did it. He worked more than full time, went to school full time on top of that, and still managed to take care of us!

Christmas was great this year. The kids had a blast and Stella finally seemed to get the idea of opening gifts, although she enjoyed watching her big brother open them for her more. We enjoyed our time with family and even hosted Joe's family at our home the day after Christmas. It was a complete success! I made chicken enchiladas, macaroni and cheese, mashed potatos with all the fixings and some other stuff.

New Year's Eve, Joe's mom came to our house to stay with the kids and we went to a party at our friend and neighbor's home down the street. We had alot of fun, but I really am starting to realize just how much of a mom I have become. I hate leaving my kids for more than a few hours, even when I really need time to myself and Joe is keeping them, I find myself rushing to get home as soon as I can. I just love them so much and want to be around them all the time!

I hope everyone's holidays were great!

Precious Baby Girl

Stella Grace-my baby girl. I always wanted a daughter and now I have one. She is so beautiful and such a delight to have around. You don't realize how different girls and boys are as babies until you have one of each. Stella is nothing like Seth was as a baby. She is definitely a little diva! But she is my little diva and I will take all these sleepless nights and long days over anything else in the world. Stella looks just like her Daddy and she acts like him too. She smiles the way he does just before she does something mischevious. She takes off crawling and laughing if you catch her in the dog bowl or grabbing at power cords. She sprawls out on her tummy with her feet pointing inward just like her daddy when she sleeps. She is also a sweet little girl and loves to cuddle with her Mommy, especially at bottle time. She can hold her own bottle, but will not do it as long as I will hold it for her. There are many times that I push our grocery cart through the store with one hand, while holding the bottle in her mouth with my other hand like she is a tiny baby piggy. She leans forward and sucks on it and coos as she looks up at me with those big baby blues as if she is saying "Thank you Mommy." When we are at home, she prefers to be cradled up next to my bosom while I feed her the bottle. She grabs at the hair behind her ear while she drinks her bottle, and her eyes get heavy. I think she will be a hair twirler once it grows long enough to twirl. She adores her Daddy and says "Dada". When he walks in the room, she lights up and squeals and gives a big bright smile. She reaches for him with delight. Today, she reached for him and said, "Dada". So, now we know she knows what "Dada" means. It was a very sweet moment. Stella loves her brother too. He is the only one who can get her smiling and laughing no matter how upset she is. He is the one who can keep her entertained for hours at a time just by crawling around on the floor with her and acting silly. Daddy likes to hold her facing Seth and run towards him as if she is chasing Seth. She loves this game and claps and giggles while Seth runs away screaming, "Oh, she's getting me!" She is a precious gift from God and I love her with all my heart.

Mama's Boy

My son is so awesome. I love to see Seth turning into a little man day by day. I even love him when he is being a turd. He tells me some funny stuff sometimes and I love to hear him talking in the backseat of the car, 90 miles a minute, without an end in sight to his conversation. I love that he sings to himself about whatever it is that he is doing and I love that he tells me to turn up certain songs on the radio so he can sing along. I love that he is a mama's boy and I love that he is in love with his baby sister. He thinks she is the cutest baby ever and talks to her and plays with her and hugs and kisses her and if she cries, he is the first to say, "Mom, aren't you going to save her?" Anytime I leave him and Stella at their grandma's for a few hours, or anywhere else for that matter, he has a report ready for me when I get back. Usually, this report consists of, "Stella pouted." He usually says this with much concern, as if pouting is a terrible thing for a baby to do. I love when he says, "Mom, Stella has a stinky!" and waves his hand in front of his nose. I love that he is still an innocent little boy who thinks that a woman gets pregnant from kissing her husband at her wedding and I love that he doesn't question the existence of magical things like Santa or The Toothfairy. I love that he gets excited over little things, and I love that he clings to me when he is afraid. I love that he is so dramatic, even if it is a pain in the butt sometimes. I love that he has his own sense of style. I love that he has some odd quirks like his weird germophobia. I love that dimpled smile and those sparkly green eyes. I love my son and I'm so glad to have him in my life.

My Husband

My husband Joe means the world to me. He is such a great father. I never believed him when we were kids and he would say he was going to marry me, have kids with me and sit on our front porch rocking as an old couple, watching our grandchildren play. He was right. I did marry him. He is my world and my strength. I cannot imagine life without him now. When we began dating seriously, Seth was 2 1/2, almost 3 years old. I was hesitant about letting anyone get to know my little man because he was number one in my life. However, it appeared that Joe wasn't going anywhere, so I introduced the two of them. They became quick friends. Joe took Seth in as if he were his own son, and to see them together today, you would never know he wasn't around for his birth. In Joe's eyes, Seth is his little boy and he wouldn't have it any other way. He is amazing with Seth. He plays with him and because he still has that inner child light burning in his eyes, I suspect they will always get along. He gives Seth the center he has needed being a boy, and is stern, but very loving.

When we found out we would be having a baby together, he was so excited and looked at me in the most loving way. I thought I had seen how much he loved me, but being pregnant with his baby was so different. I knew he would be a good dad already because of Seth, and I was right. He is so proud of his baby girl. She looks just like him and she has alot of his personality already. The first time he held that baby, I thought he might burst with pride. I love to see the way he looks at her when he plays with her and I love that he has given her the sweetest nicknames. Sometimes, he calls her Sugar Bear, and others just Sugars. He loves that little girl so much. He had never had a baby before, so he was a little gun shy at first, and still usually leaves most of the necessities(like diapers, feedings and the like) to me, but boy does he love his little Stella. When he speaks of his children, he is always so proud and happy. I know that our children will grow up to be great loving people because of the way he loves me. I feel that it is important for children to see that their parents love one another and Joe is head over heels for me. You can see it in his eyes when he grins at me and even though Seth always yells, "EW!" when we kiss, he does not hold back his love. He is a great dad and the best husband in the world. Happy Father's day my love!

My Grandpa

My Grandpa was one of the kindest, most honest and all around loving men I have ever met in my entire life. I feel that having known him makes me a better person. I truly loved my grandpa with all my heart and really looked up to him. He was great at math and would drop whatever he was doing to help me with mine. He was God fearing and attended church every Sunday. He was very involved in the church and everyone knew who he was. When I was young, I used to go to 7 am mass with my grandparents and after we'd go to Bailey's for breakfast. My grandpa sat at the "men's" table with all his friends, and my grandma sat at a table with all the wives. He always had biscuits and gravy and I would go sit on his lap when I was finished with my breakfast and he'd give me a bite and proceed to tell all the men at the table how great I was. My grandpa was stern, but loving. If you were out of line, you could expect a swift thump on the head, but you would get a big hug and a kiss soon after. As I grew up, I learned to enjoy my grandpa's long winded stories of his childhood and other things he'd done. I learned that he was what a real man was and I learned that he loved his wife, my grandma more than anything in this world, as well as his children and grandchildren. He passed away when I was pregnant with my son, and a day or two before he passed, I visited him while he was recovering from major surgery in the hospital. When I left the room, he squeezed my hand, told me he loved me, and to "take care of that baby". It was the last thing he said to me, and I have carried it with me since then. I took his picture into my delivery room because I couldn't stand the thought that he would miss the birth of his first great grandchild. To this day, I still get choked up when I think of him. Heaven is a very lucky place to have my grandpa. Happy Father's Day to my beloved Grandpa.

My Daddy

In honor of Father's Day, I am going to talk about the wonderful daddies in my life.

First of all, my daddy. He is the best daddy a girl could ever have. When I was a little girl, I was the picture of "Daddy's little girl". I was always with him, in his lap, following him around outside or in the garage. I went all over the place with him. When we would hang out, I would tell him, "Daddy, you are my bestest friend in the world." He would say, "No, you're my bestest, best friend in the world." And we'd go back and forth like that. He taught me how to ride a bike, he played catch with me during my softball days and he taught me the all important song, "Obs and Gobs of Ooshie Gooshie Gopher Guts". He even let me pick out our new family car once! While we may have had a few rough patches during my pre and early teenage years, I feel that my daddy is probably the best daddy I could have ever asked for. He helped me buy my first car and then worked on it religiously so that it was always in working order and even helped me get a new truck when I went to college. Even though I was only 45 minutes away, he insisted I could not take an old car to college because it wasn't safe. Once, he drove all the way to my dorm just because I told him my check engine light was on. It turned out that my gas cap wasn't screwed on tight enough, but he didn't mind. He has helped me in so many ways and I never even have to ask. All I do is mention something I am trying to do and he is there within the day to do it for me. I recently had a hard time turning the water on at my new home. He drove all the way out to my house, which is quite far from where he works, in the middle of his work day just to help me get it on. He would do anything to make sure I am safe and just wants me to be happy. Although he is a man of few words, I know by his actions that he loves me deeply. On my wedding day, he told me so, and told me I was a good mom and he was proud of me. That meant the world to me. I love my daddy with all my heart. Happy Father's Day Daddy, from your bestest best friend in the world.

Home Sweet Home

Joe and I bought our first house! We closed last week and have been slowly moving things to the new house. It's such a surreal feeling to know that I have a family and a house and it's all mine. We have done so much over the last few years together and I love it all.

The house is out in the country, sort of. It's out in an area that is being built up, but for now, we only have neighbors on one side of our house and none across from us or the other side. There is a huge field, small creek and trains in the distance. Every day we've been out there, Seth has been able to ride his bike up and down the street and play out in the field without having to worry about cars, or strange people. This is the best time of his life and he is finally getting to act like a little boy, running around outside. Yesterday, he found a snake. I would have ran away, but not Seth. He said he stepped on it. LOL. Poor snake. Today, he got stung by a wasp, but he's alright. I can't believe I finally own a home! Now, we can do what we set out to do and raise our family until we grow old.