Happy Birthday Buddy!

Last Friday was one of our best buddy's Birthday Party - Oliver turned 4. This was a bitter sweet day for me since it is all part of the count down to our leaving some of the dearest friends I have ever had. But I will leave those sad thoughts behind to focus on the fun.

L- R: Linus, Carter, Caleb, Oliver, Elizabeth and Alli

The breaking of the pinata. Normally once a pinata breaks the kids go diving into the loot to grab as much as they can before another kid stakes his claim. But not our bunch. They were making sure that each kid got a bouncy ball, a squirt gun, some candy, etc. Yes, even Carter was this way, shocker I know!

Richy as always is meeting the kids demands, at this point it was all about being pulled around in the wagon. What a great guy he is. So here I go sentimental again. I think it has to do that Richy has been around my family about as long as I have, since he and my brother have been buddies since elementary school, but from the day we made that connection I have felt like Richy was more of an older brother to me than just a friend. I have a great respect for Richy as a husband, father and just for the person that he is.
Hayden in her party dress. {Bragging Warning} I just think she is so stinkin cute and beautiful. I love her expressive eyes and her big, flirty smile. I just can't get over how awesome she is!

Apparently, I am not the only one that thinks she's totally awesome. Evan couldn't keep his hands off of her all night. :)
But, at the same time, Daddy couldn't either. I love this picture. (BTW, thanks to my buddies for sharing all of your great pictures with me.)


This is one of Hayden's favorite games. It promises great smiles and laughs.
Hayden and her boys: Evan (8 days older than Hayden and 5 months), Hayden ( 1 day short of 5 months), and Callum (3 weeks younger and 4 months)

Our resident crew just chillin. These times when we just hang out and "chill" are my favorites. We end up just laughing and having a blast. Allison, Me, Matt, Dan, and Shelly with Sydney on her lap.

To top it all off at the end of the day we had a balloon popping war. You tie a small balloon to your ankle and then try to stomp on each other's balloons to pop them and be the last one standing. Richy won. Matt, Heather, Me, Allison, Justin, Jake and Richy.

Camera Blues

My camera is currently out of commission and I have been lamenting that I don't have any current pictures of my baby girl who is growing up so fast. I also am lamenting how fast money is being thrown in so many directions with the "trying" to sell our home and the purchase of a new home so I don't feel like I can really go out and buy another camera right now.

So I was overjoyed when Bonnie (my mother-in-law) posted these pictures on facebook. Ahhhh, I love staring at my baby girl.

There's those beautiful blue-eyes again.

Also, she just went to the heart doctor yesterday for a follow up visit from the NICU. The gap in her heart has closed and her heart looks totally normal and healthy. She also weighed in at 14lbs. 6oz (she will be 5 months tomorrow!!!)

This video is over a month old. It is when Hayden first started laughing. Now she's laughing these gut wrenching laughs. It is SOOOO fun!! But since I don't have a working camera, this old video will have to do.

Our New Home

After 2 stressful weeks of looking for a home and 2 offers that fell through, we found a home and agreed on a price the day I flew home to Pittsburgh. Everything was down to the wire, but it all worked out and I think we got a house that will function very nicely for us. We were a little heart broken over the 2nd house that we lost, but this one I think might have a little more that will meet our needs. Matt is very excited about the 3 car garage, and I am excited about the openness of the home and the big backyard.

The kitchen: Matt was set on there being an eat at counter in the kitchen where he can eat his bowl of cereal. And I really liked the family computer desk since we like the computer to be viewed only in open (non-private) areas.

The kitchen flows right into the hearth room so the chef (me) can be apart of all the fun.

This is the entry way. There is a formal dining room just to your left.
The Master Bedroom.
Master Bath - quite the upgrade from our black and pink tile with a teeny-tiny sink.

Finished basement with a full bathroom and a possibility of a 5th bedroom if we so desire. The backyard in the "sea of suburbia" as our friends like to put it. This is a whole different life than Pittsburgh. Overall, this should be a good home for us that we can grow in. The neighborhood is loaded with kids and has an Olympic sized pool and splash park in it. And the house is only 3 minutes by car from Matt's parents. It doesn't really feel like this is all happening. We have been looking forward to this point for SO LONG that it is hard for me to actually let myself feel like this is really happening. Here's to settling down and planting some roots. (After so many years of moving around that almost scares me.)