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March Madness

March is just a crazy birthday month. Aaron’s birthday (11th), Nora’s Birthday (15th) and Ben’s Birthday (31). So far we made it through Aarons and Nora’s birthdays. Nora had two parties, one at school and one at Uncle CJ’s house. The party at Uncle CJ’s was a princess movie party. Nora wanted to have all things princess and dressed as Cinderella for the day. She enjoyed it all, the craft, lunch, snacks, piñata, snacks, movie, snacks and presents. Ben said, at the end of the day, I just can’t wait for mine! Enjoy the pictures from both. March 2009 Pictures and Nora’s 3rd Birthday and finally... Ben's 6th Birthday to finish out the month!

Finally, some new updates!

I’ve changed my picture layout because I can’t keep up anymore! So now I’m just going to dump the pictures in by month “blog style” So far we’ve had January which has been a huge month! Ben and Nora are both back in school. They also both started swim lessons at Pitt. The classes are at the same time and this is Nora’s first lesson. Ben is on the verge of getting it and Nora thinks that she is a princess ballerina. Ben attended a kick ass birthday party with his kindergarten buddies and Nora tagged along and loved every minute of it. January 2009

Now that we are into February we’ve already had two huge events…First off, the STEELERS WON THEIR 6TH SUPER BOWL! (In case you missed it, Pittsburgh changed their name for the day to sixthburgh) And DANNA HAD BABY MAX on Saturday, February 7. He is healthy and big! She is doing well, Max is doing well, Vinny and Josh are adjusting, and we are missing her terribly! Oh yeah and we attended the Royal Ball held by the Children’s Gemini theater which was a blast! Gosh, I don’t think I’m going to make it to Valentine’s Day… February 2009

And by the way, I did put some Christmas photos in the gallery, good luck finding them!

Halloween and More...

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

As if Halloween weren't enough, we did it again...another Tae Kwon Do tournament. Aaron and I really feel like we have jointed an adult fight club. Ben this time around really caught his stride in the pattern and sparing competitions and was able to stay strong the whole time. Nora came along and had a blast watching and playing with all of the kids in the gym. We had lots of family support with Aunt Lynn, Grandma, Grandpa and Betty. Enjoy some photos. TKD Tournament

This month we also marched in the Tarentum Brackenridge Parade. It was quite cold, but a lot of fun! Parade Photos

First Kindergarten and Pre-School Twos!

In August we went to Canada and had a great time at the cabin. Canada 08

Ben started Kindergarten the week before Labor Day. His teacher is great, he is enjoying his classmates, and buying lunch using his “super secret lunch code”. We are walking to school most mornings. So far Ben likes it all! Ben has also started soccer this fall. He was in a skills building class over the past three years and it really showed on the field. His first game is coming up! Ben starts Kindergarten

Not to be outdone, Nora started pre-school this week. She is in a classroom with 11 other 2 year olds and she LOVES it! She was so ready to go to school that she almost pushed Aaron and me out the door on the first day. Her claim to fame so far is that she was the first kid to require a diaper change on the first day! (that’s my girl). Nora starts Pre-School Twos

July Vacations!

We just returned from a family vacation. Five nights in Ocean City, Maryland and three nights in Washington, D.C. The kids traveled pretty well given the amount of time in the car, dinner in restaurants, and sharing a hotel room! They played in the sand with lots of toys, swam in the pools (in D.C. the pool was on the roof!), and took in the sites in D.C. We got a tour of the capital from our Congressman’s Office. We also got a tour from Kelly Garmer at Quantico and saw the President’s helicopters!
July trip to the beach and D.C.

I’ve updated a few pictures on Nora’s page. She has been a busy girl this summer. She can run and jump. Her vocabulary has exploded and we love teaching her new words. Nora and Ben have become real pals!
Nora this summer

Before our family trip, Aaron and Ben traveled to Idaho, through Oregon, to attend Mike and Courtney’s wedding ceremony. They had a great time seeing all of Aaron’s family, beautiful country, and a wonderful event!

Summer Time!

Today is June 1 in Pittsburgh and Summer is finally here. Ben Graduated from pre-school on May 21. He knew all the songs and grabbed his “diploma” with gusto! Nora enjoyed Ben’s graduation and she said over and over “me school too?” Ben’s Graduation

Earlier in May, Ben, Aaron and I competed in an inner school Tae Kwon Do tournament. Believe it or not, we all had fun and left the competition with three medals! (all silver in case you wondered) Enjoy the fun pictures from that day… TKD tournament

Over Memorial Day weekend we went to the Christy Family reunion. The food was good and lots of family to visit with. The kids had fun playing games and catching up with their cousins on Grandma Harper’s side of the family.
Christy Reunion Pictures

Spring is Here!

Spring is here and we are loving it! Ben and Nora had a wonderful birthday party at the Center for Creative Play. Lots of their friends and family were there to celebrate Ben turning 5 and Nora turning 2. Our friend and neighbor, Marty, was the entertainment for the day wearing his clown get up and doing some great magic tricks for the kids. We also had Aunt Barb visiting because it was her birthday too!

This month Aaron, Ben and I all tested for our green stripes at Tae Kwon Do. Aaron had to break two thick boards and was successful! Ben did great during his pattern testing. We are looking forward to all competing in an upcoming tournament in May!

Check out the new pictures:

Nora Pictures this spring

Ben Pictures this spring

Nora is 2 Years Old!

Nora is 2 years old today! The poor girl is sick, Ben is sick too. Other than being sick, she is an awesome kid! Her vocabulary is really sprouting (even if she is not :-)) She did grow this year, but is still a bit of a pip squeak! She is keeping up with Ben, loves to play games, walk outside, hang out with friends and family. She is so much fun to have in our family!

Grandma gave Aaron and Ben a trip to Disney World for a Christmas gift this year. In January Ben and Aaron flew down and met Grandma there for 4 days of Disney mahem! Ben had a blast, so did Aaron, and Grandma did too! Nora and I didn’t mind staying behind and enjoying some mother/daughter quite time at home (I taught the word “mall” to Nora). Disney World

We all packed into our cars in March for a quick weekend trip to Splash Lagoon in Erie PA. An indoor water park that has cornered the market on winter kiddie fun! This year Nora was able to ride down the kiddie slides all by herself. Ben road almost every tube ride that allowed him on it. His favorite was the hot tubs that allowed him to practice his swimming and chill out at the same time. We faced a blizzard on the way up, but it didn’t stop us from going! Splash Lagoon

Winter 2007

Time has just flown by! I didn’t get anything up on the web before Christmas and then the season just blew by us. So much has happened since Halloween, I’ll just recap a few highlights…Thanksgiving was at Grandma’s house in Natrona Heights. Ben had his first sleep over at Grandma’s house the night before and was all geared up for the day when we arrived. Grandma and Ben both looked like they had fun and could use a long nap to recover. Ben’s first sleep over was a hit! Then I had my Birthday and for my gift I got lazer eye surgery! It was a little scary, but now a month later it was totally the right decision! I’m glasses free since I was in grade school! (another reason why I’ve not updated the web site, I’ve been resting my eyes from the computer at night) Aaron, Ben and I have continued to enjoy Tae Kwon Do twice a week as a family and we tested for our 2nd yellow stripes in December. We all passed and had fun doing it. Ben did particularly well for the 4 year old age group . He really loves to wear his sparing gear and take a good hit on us during class! Then Ben had his Christmas pageant at school where he was in a handbell choir and also sang songs on stage. After that he was Wise Man #2 at our Church Christmas Pageant and had to memorize three long lines. (ask him, he can repeat them in his sleep at this point we practiced so much).

Following all this activity we finally made it to Christmas. Ben really believed this year that Santa was coming. He made his cookies carefully, prepared the house with stockings and the tree, and was generally in a very good mood all month! Christmas 2007

Nora has really changed over the past two months. In November we started keeping track of all the words she can say. At the beginning of December she had over 25 words. Now in January she has over 50 words. She has all the B words down (baby, bubbles, bounce, blue) but today she said “big/small” and is starting to make sentences like “daddy home” and “me turn”. Her favorite word continues to be “no” but she is developing a good “yes” (said like “wess”). Nora was also an angel in the Church Christmas Pageant and did a great job of stealing the show for the pictures! Nora doesn’t miss a thing that Ben does, copying his every move! She continues to be the best eater and sleeper in the house, even when she is fighting a cold. Nora Pictures in Winter

Well, that is as much as I can do for now. Sorry it took so long for me to catch up, but we are a busy group! Next month watch for Ben, Aaron, and Grandma’s trip to Disney World (Ben’s Christmas gift from Grandma!) and can you believe we are going to Ben’s Kindergarten orientation in March?

Fall Fun

Fall in Pittsburgh has been very warm. Our trees didn’t turn colors until this weekend! (October 20) The warm weather let us hang out in the city, visit friends, go to a pumpkin farm, play soccer, and more. Nora has mastered the steps in our house and can pretty much go wherever she wants. She is getting close to a lot of words, but not totally there yet. She definitely has Mom, Dad, Mine, No, (Pl)ease, and (th)ank (yo)u. She has been a real joy this fall! Nora in Fall

Ben is recovering from a bout of croup. He is really enjoying pre-kindergarden 3 days a week this fall. He is learning like a sponge, close to reading and spelling words, simple math, and lots of games. He seems to enjoy going to Tae Kwon Do 2 times a week with Mom and Dad. We are all getting nervous about our next yellow stripe test coming up soon! Ben in Fall

Here they are... Halloween Pictures!