Remembering 2009 - January - July

The year 2009 in pictures!!!
Ok, This project was much bigger than I thought it would be and I spent way too much time trying to make it perfect ( for who, I wonder b/c I think it is just for me.) Also, I  just started the blog in November.  In an attempt to make up for not recording the first part of the year, this is HUGE!  This is why I need to try to document during the year.  I also made note that my photo taking is lacking. I certainly have the boys well documented, but not much else.  I am anxious to get this first part posted and my boys are one their way in to "help" so this is it.

January  Markie has just turned one and Andrew is on the verge of turning 3.  The only real photos we have are the portraits taken in December.

February -

Andrew turns 3

His first real birthday party with friends. He loves cars, particularly Lightning McQueen. We had a pinata and he LOVED it. Unfortunately we got no photos of children actually hitting the pinata.

My sister Michelle and family went to Disney world in November and sent us this hat. Mark LOVED it and wore it all of the time.

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Andrew feeding Mark

I had forgotten about this day until I saw the photo. I set Andrew (fully clothed) up outside with a large bowl full of water for some water play. The next thing I know, he was naked and in the bowl.

We enjoyed a great visit from our Illinois friends, the Yocca's. Samuel, Andrew, and Mark had a wonderful time.

March Early march was chilly, but we still enjoyed a trip to the Houston Zoo. The end of March was warm and breezy and perfect for BLUEBONNET photos. It appears to be a tradition here to take photos of your babies in the spring bluebonnets. As long as we are here, we will abide by that tradition. We also went to the Washington on the Brazos living farm.

April Easter 

Here is a photo of the pirate ship that daddy built for the boys in the back yard. He built it back in January.

May - July 
Here is where my documentation of the photos (and my memory) is fuzzy.  Although I have Jan - April files and August - December, May - July is not properly filed.  SO, I am just going to throw in some miscellaneous photos here of the boys.  I know that we enjoyed a wonderful visit from Uncle Don, Aunt Kathy, Taylor and Hayley in July, but can't find any photos.  I'm not sure we took any.

Andrew loves to build things. This is his zoo. He was very proud.

A rare photo of Mommy and Mark (I am usually the one taking the photos). He still loves his bottle and this is his baby, which he sleeps with every night.

Mark loves blueberries. He could eat a whole cup for breakfast.

Markie being Mischivious.

Christmas 2009

Re-posting my Christmas smilebox because when I set up my blog to print into a book, only the cover could be seen. 

Andrewisms and Markieisms

Andrew (eating frozen marshmallows) : "Mommy, would you like a marshmallow?"

Me: "No thank you, I'm too cold to eat frozen marshmallows"

Andrew: " But these marshmallows have the power to make you toasty and warm"

Mark to me as I am drying my hair with the hair dryer: "Mommy, do dat a me?"

Happy Birthday Mark!!

Happy Birthday to my sweet little man. You are such a joy and your Daddy and I feel so blessed to have you in our lives. We love you so much.

Memories of Mark

Mark's second birthday has had me thinking of the last 2 years of his life. How special they have been. Since I do plan on making this blog into a book, I thought I would allow myself to reminisce about the first two years of Markie's life.

We found out we were expecting you the EXACT same day Daddy accepted the position at Texas A & M. What a surprise!! He called to accept that morning and that afternoon I took a pregnancy test and found out you were on your way, and going to be a Texan, no doubt. In our family of four, Bruce was born in Oregon, I in Louisiana, Andrew in Illinois, and Mark would be a Texan.

We moved when I was 5 months pregnant and it was very difficult for me, but we managed. We were so excited the closer to December 17 it came. Naming a child is always so difficult. We started with lists and then it was 3 names: Benjamin, Jude, and Mark. Mommy really like the name Jude because St. Jude was very instrumental in helping Mommy and Daddy find each other. It was decided Jude would be your middle name. Although Daddy and I each liked both names equally, he was partial to Mark and I was partial to Benjamin. One morning Andrew and I were talking and I asked, "What is baby brother's name?" Andrew, who was only 21 months at the time, announced as clear as a bell, "Baby brother's name is Mark." And so you were named Mark Jude.

My doctor had scheduled a c-section to avoid complications from my perforated uterus, which didn't quite heal properly. I remember waking up that morning very early to go to the hospital to welcome you into the world. Just as I did with Andrew, I remember listening for that first cry. Your cry was garbled. I learned a little later that you had taken some amniotic fluid into your lungs and would have to be in the NICU for the next week. After 3 days, I was sent home and had to leave you in the hospital for one night and it broke my heart. Mimi, Papa, Emma, Madeline, and Aunt Rikki were here to welcome you home on December 21.

There was a lot of adjusting for everyone in the house. You adjusting to being out of my tummy, Andrew adjusting to the idea that you were here to stay, Mommy adjusting to having 2 babies to care for, and Daddy still adjusting to a new job. Things were REALLY CRAZY, but with the help of Jesus, we survived.

You were a very laid back baby, calm and sweet. You loved watching brother play all around you. You were always very contented as long as you had people around you. You walked on Christmas Eve, 2008. It was almost as if you were determined to walk that day. You had been cruising on the furniture for few months now, but that day you began letting go of the sofa and taking a few steps. It was amazing to watch. You practiced and practiced. That is about all you did that day. You mastered walking from the sofa to the ottoman, then the sofa to the entertainment center, and finally the sofa to the chair across the room. It was amazing to watch.

Andrew's Happy Birthday Jesus Party at School

Andrew attends Mother's Day Out 2 days a week and he really loves school (except for the "napping part") despite the look on his face in the picture with his teachers. His class celebrated a birthday party for Jesus.

Family Prayer

We have just recently started a new routine for family prayer. Here is a photo of our little altar that we set up. The boys love to help set up the altar. They get the table, Jesus, and the candle. They each give Jesus a kiss. The entire prayer time lasts about 5 minutes b/c they are anxiously awaiting the blowing out of the candle.

We got this idea from a dear friend of mine. We have only been praying this way for about a week, but the boys appear to be a bit more aware of what is going on. Of course, we leave tomorrow for Louisiana for 10 days. Maybe I can find a little area to make an altar for family prayer night while we are there.

I just LOVE this picture. My sweet boys!!!!

My Wonderful, Sweet, Energetic Andrew

Andrew is almost 4. He is very sweet, curious, and ALWAYS moving. He wakes up with energy to burn. He started Mother's Day Out this year and loves going to school, but is having a little trouble with the "sleeping part". I know there are boys in his class, but all he talks about are the girls: Ava, Faith, Zoe, and Emily. It is a 3 year old class with 6 girls and 4 boys. The boys are all younger 3's so I guess he plays more with the girls.

Andrew is very curious and must ask about 50 questions a day. I was reading yesterday and he asked me why I wasn't talking. We talked about how I was reading in my head. We have had this discussion before when we talked about silent prayer. Today he announced, "Mommy, I got Flash (his superhero figurine) from Mark." I replied, "Did you ask him if you could have it." (We've had problems with him pulling things from Mark) His answer, "Yes, I asked him in my head."

There is never a dull moment with Andrew around. He keeps us laughing and on our toes all of the time. He is very interested in letters and numbers right now and is always counting things or asking about letters and words. He wants to know how to spell almost every word. Last night at dinner, I said to Bruce, "I made the gravy with cream of m-u-s-h-r-o-o-m soup" since I knew Andrew would not eat it if he heard that. Andrew said, "and don't forget x-t-o, too."

St. Andrew the Archangel, the Knight

He announces to our guests one evening, "I'm St. Andrew the Archangel, the knight. If a bad guy tries to put fire on your baby, I'll get 'em."

The Blog - Day One

Testing, 1 2 3. O.K. Here we go! Well, I decided to begin this blog for several reasons. None of which is because it appears to be the "in" thing to do now. I want to document our life for my children and share it with friends and family. A virutual scrapbook, if you will. I can almost see the worry on some faces right now. Don't worry. It is safer than you think. So, enjoy!