...and the greatest of these is LOVE!

Can't wait for baby Ryan's arrival

2009-09-17T23:25:00.005-04:00

We are counting down the days until Ryan's arrival. I have less than a month until my due date. This Sunday I will be 37 weeks pregnant. My doctor thinks that I will go early and have him sometime in my 37th week, but only time will tell. I have been having lots of contractions for the past couple of months and a couple of scares of possible pre-term labor. I am just happy that I made it this far, as 37 weeks is considered full-term. As of now I am 3 cm dilated, 75% effaced, and he has dropped, which is basically a bunch of technical terms to say I am ready to pop any second now. I am farther along then some people who are in actual labor. We finally got all our bags packed and I think we are pretty much ready anytime now. Although I can't wait to meet him and I am getting uncomfortable, I wouldn't mind if he waited a little longer to make his arrival so I know he will be born as healthy as can be.

Here is a pic of me 36 weeks pregnant with Doug and Adam at my sister Erin's 30th b-day party last weekend...

Last week my Mom, my sisters, and my grandparents decided to surprise me by bringing me dinner and some gifts for Ryan. It was a nice surprise, here are the gifts...
On Sunday, my friends decided to give me a surprise baby shower at Olive Garden. It was great!! They are such a great group of friends and I really appreciate the support and friendship that I have with them. Here are some pics from the shower...

They even gave Adam a big brother basket of gifts. I am waiting until Ryan's arrival to give them to him, so he will have some fun new stuff to entertain him.

Here is the beautiful cake, it was chocolate with a whipped, creamy icing... Very Yummy!!

2009-09-17T22:53:00.005-04:00

I try to get on here and update, but lately is has been about once a month, because I have been so busy. Here are some pics that updates what Adam has been up to since my last post.

I took Adam to the Discovery Station museum in Hagerstown and he had a blast with some of his friends...

We went to the Peach festival and he got to sit in a real fire truck...
Adam and his cousin Bella riding the barrel ride at the Peach Festival...
Adam and Bella playing at the park...
As usual Adam had several playdates. Here is one of him driving his friend around in the power wheels...
Here is a pic of Adam on his last day at Little Gym. We are taking some time off from Little Gym until after the baby comes and we get settled into a routine. Adam has been going to Little Gym since he was 4 months old, so he already misses it.
Here is Adam making some pizza at his friend Lexi's house. How fitting since Doug and I met at a pizza shop...
Here is Adam and some of his friends hanging out...
Adam and his friend Jack hanging out at Chuckie Cheese...

Since we live on a street where there is only one other house and in a cul de sac, there is no traffic. Lately I have been sitting in a chair in the driveway and just watching Adam ride his tricycle up and down the street. He loves it. Click on the play button below to watch the video...

Camping at Yogi Bear

2009-08-04T14:30:00.003-04:00

Doug, Adam, and I went camping at Yogi Bear campground with Doug's family. His Mom rented 2 cabins and we were there for 3 days and 2 nights. We had a lot of fun with all the activities that they had during the day, and at night we enjoyed sitting around the campfire and roasting hot dogs and marshmallows over the fire and Adam loved making smores, who doesn't!! Here are some pics of the trip:

Adam loved playing Laser Tag (he called it playing guns).
Actually I'm not sure who loved it more, Doug or Adam.
Doug taught Adam how to be a sniper:

Caving and fun

2009-08-04T14:23:00.002-04:00

We have been so busy in July. We have gone to picnics, parties, had playdates, birthday parties, gone swimming, caving, camping (separate post about that) and Adam even went to the movies for the first time.

Here are some pics of Adam caving. We know the owner of Crystal Grottoes Cavern in Boonsboro, so he let us go through it. Doug, Adam and I went with my parents and a few others. He loved it. He enjoyed walking through the tunnels and being underground.

Here is a pic of Adam and his buddy Aiden at the movies. They didn't last through the whole thing, but they had fun eating popcorn and watching part of it. The movie theater plays free movies for kids a few times during the week in the summer so we decided we would try it with a group of our friends. Some of the other kids actually made it through the whole movie.

Virgina Beach

2009-08-04T14:06:00.003-04:00

At the end of June Doug, Adam, and I went to Virginia Beach for some sun, sand, and visiting relatives. We stayed at my Anut Judy and Uncle Wally's Condo. The first day we took my twin cousins down to the boardwalk and beach to check things out. They had this awesome statue that we took pics in front of. Then we rented a bike and rode up and down the boardwalk, Adam thought that was just great to be able to ride with all of us. Then we went down to the beach and checked out the ocean. That night my Uncle treated us to dinner at one of the best fine dining seafood places in Virginia beach, Lynnhaven Fish House, it was wonderful. The restaurant was out on a pier and surrounded with water and beautiful views. The next day Doug, Adam, and I went to the beach by ourselves and had a blast. Later that day my Uncle took us on the Navy base, he is a retired Naval Captain. We stayed at a hotel on base that night and got to enjoy the private beach. We went to dinner that night at Captain George's which is the best seafood buffet we have ever eaten at, you name it I ate it!!!! Here are some pics from the trip.

Day at the Lake/Beach at Greenbrier

2009-06-19T23:05:00.004-04:00

Today Adam and I met our group of other moms and 2-year-olds at Greenbrier to enjoy the beautiful lake and beach. Well there was one dad because one of our friends just had her 2nd baby and her husband was playing "Mr. Mom" this week with their 2-year-old while she was home with the newborn. We had such a great time and the kids loved it that we all decided to make this one of our regular outings. We already have plans to go next week. You can't beat $3 to go to the beach all day and it is only 15 minutes away. When we got there I knew exactly what would happen and it did happen. As soon as I put Adam in the sand he started yelling "EWWW EWWW EWWW!" He hates getting his feet dirty and this he thought was very very dirty. Luckily I brought us both beach chairs so he enjoyed sitting in those. Actually all the kids enjoyed sitting in them. I carried him down to the water and he got used to the feeling of the water and sand beneath his toes. He wasn't loving the sand on his feet, but he warmed up to it. He would stand in one place and dig with his big shovel in the sand. We put our beach chairs at the water line and he loved just sitting there with his toes in the water and relaxing. It was actually great because I could actually sit and relax at the beach without chasing him around. We both loved it. When he woke up from his nap this afternoon he said he wanted to go back to the beach.

Here is Adam leery of stepping off the towel and into the sand:

Adam finally enjoying playing in the sand:

Adam and friends enjoying snack time:

The Boys catching some rays:

All the kids having fun at the beach:

Adam and I had a great day surrounded by beautiful scenery and great friends:

Busch Gardens and Water Country Vacation

2009-06-17T08:04:00.010-04:00

We just got back from a fun and exciting vacation at Busch Gardens and Water Country in Williamsburg, Va. We had a blast. It is a little less than 4 hours from here and Adam did great in the car. We stayed 3 days and 2 nights. The first day we did Busch Gardens until 10 pm. Adam stayed up the whole time riding rides and loved it!!! He was not scared of anything. He is a little thrill seeker. The 2nd day we got up and did Water Country from 10am until 2:30pm. Water Country is a whole park of water rides, pools, water slides, a lazy river, and a wave pool. I could have stayed there forever. Adam had a blast again and loved jumping the waves in the wave pool. He went down some kiddie slides, we floated down the lazy river and Adam went down on a tube slide with me. After that we went back to the hotel to change and Adam took an hour nap and then it was off to Busch Gardens again. We rode rides until the park closed at 9pm. Adam didn't mind staying up late. The next day we checked out of the hotel and went to Busch Gardens until about 2pm and then came home. What a great little vacation. Here are some pics.

Here is Adam enjoying some rides by himself. He loved them all!

Here is Doug and Adam on some rides. The log ride was the closest thing to a roller coaster that Adam got on. The Oscar's Whirly ride was a pretty big kid ride for a 2 year old, but he got on it like 5 of 6 times and had a blast. The last pic in this series is when we went on the train, Adam loved that.

They have a new Sesame Place at Busch Gardens with big play areas, the Sesame characters, and about 6 rides. Adam had fun exploring that.

Here is Adam enjoying some more rides. Look how small he looks on the big ride with Doug.
Doug is all the way on the right and Adam is beside him. We weren't sure how he would like being strapped down on a ride and going this high, but he laughed and cheered the whole way.
Here is a pic of Adam riding late into the night:
They also had a river cruise that we went on and the captain let Adam push the boat horn. Adam thought that was the best.

Here is Adam and me in the wave pool at Water Country:
Here is Adam and Doug in the wave pool:

The last few weeks in review

2009-06-10T13:22:00.006-04:00

Okay it has been another busy few weeks. Here are some pics to sum it up.

The boys (Doug, my brother-in-law Gary, and Adam) decided to line up their cop cars:

We had several play dates. Here is Adam with Jenna at their friend Chase's house:
I went to my friend Mike from high school's wedding, sorry no pics. While we were there Adam went with my sister Sarah to my grandparents house to watch the Sharpsburg Parade:

He has never missed the Sharpsburg parade, it was his first ever outing. Here he is at the same parade when he was 1 week old:

We attended my friend Christina's sister's wedding. Here is Christina and me with Adam and Christina's youngest boy Jack:

Doug and Adam decided to get a little crazy on the dance floor:

The bride and groom had an awesome car they rode in. Doug just had to snap a picture in front of this 1931 Model A Police Car:

It was a very long day without a nap and Adam decided to cuddle up with Mommy after they served dinner:

Last week Adam had his semester graduation from The Little Gym. Here he is getting his medal:

Here are all the kids in his class:
June 4th my Grandfather celebrated his 80th birthday!!! Happy Birthday Papa!! Here is a picture of my grandparents at his birthday dinner:

Doug has been suffering from a pain in his leg, and he decided last minute to run the Antietam Battlefield 10K (6.21 miles). Despite his injury he won 1st place. He finished in 35 minutes and 25 seconds. Here are some pics the Herald Mail newspaper took of him running:

Yesterday we decided to enjoy the nice weather and went with Shelby and her 2-year-old Jack to the pool. Here is Adam enjoying the pool:

After 2 hours it started to thunder so we went home. Good thing because it ended up being a bad storm. Check out the hail I took a picture of. It sounded like someone was pouring rocks on my house:

It's a...

2009-05-18T20:37:00.004-04:00

One of the first things Doug told me when I told him I was pregnant was that we were going to wait to find out what we were having. At first I wasn't sure that I wanted to wait, but then I thought it would be neat to see how it was to wait to find out. I was all set to wait until the birth. Then Doug said yesterday that he thought he might want to find out. It totally through me for a loop, but then he said he was just kidding. So today we went for the big ultrasound and on the way into the doctors office Doug said he thought he wanted to find out. We went into the room for the sonogram and we told the nurse we were thinking of finding out what it was. Well it didn't matter if we wanted to find out or not, because the baby decided it was best for us to know. Every time she would move the image the baby would turn over and open it's legs and show us. She asked if I could tell what it was and I said, "Oh Yes. Without a doubt, it's a boy". There it was, clear as day. It actually brought tears to my eyes. I was so excited that Adam will have a little brother and will get to have the same type of relationship that I have with my sisters. They will be 2 years apart and I'm sure will do everything together. Doug is already talking about how some high school will be lucky to have both boys on the cross country team together. It is now really sinking in that I am pregnant and it's so exciting. Here are some pics from the sonogram. I'm so in love with my new baby boy!!! We have finalized his name... Ryan William.

Hiding his face:
It's a Boy!
Another shot between the legs:
My little hippie giving the peace sign:
Look at those legs, so cute:

Happy 2nd Birthday Little Man!!!

2009-05-18T19:29:00.005-04:00

May 16, 2007 Adam Douglas was born at 3:06 am. A tiny 5 lb 13 oz boy who surprised us 3 weeks early. My life was forever changed for the better and I love every moment of it. Here is a picture from his first day of life. Look how tiny he was. You can see his tiny foot sticking out of the blanket right below my wrist bands.

Here he is 2 years later on his 2nd birthday.
For his birthday dinner we took him to one of his favorite places to eat dinner, Super Buffet.
We had his birthday party on Sunday in our newly finished basement. We decided to down scale from the big party we had for his 1st birthday. We had just immediate family and his close friends that he plays with on a weekly basis, plus their parents. It still added up to a lot of people, but we had a great time!

It was a balloon theme. Here is the cake I made.
We sang happy birthday and he blew out his candles with the help of Mommy and Daddy.
He enjoyed the cake very much!
He loved all his presents.
I love my little 2 year old!
After his party we took him to Cici's for pizza and to play games in the game room.

Fun: Bowling, circus, carnival, Party & Zoo!

2009-05-13T23:27:00.008-04:00

Adam will be 2 in a couple of days, and boy has he lived up his last month as a one-year-old. Below I have attached pictures of all the fun he has had. Aunt Erin took him bowling for the first time, he went to the circus for the first time, he played a Cello in his music class, he went to a family kids carnival and rode a horse, he has gone to some cook-outs and parties, we tried out a new indoor play place with all his friends (I don't have pics of this, I'll post some when I get them from friends), he got his birthday gift early - his very own cop car, and today we went to the zoo. This is all in addition to his usual play dates, trips to the park, weekly Little Gym class and weekly music class.

Our group at the circus:

Adam with his cousins Bella and Jasmine at the circus:

Adam and his friends at the circus:

My little music man, he loves his music class:

He loved riding the horsie:

Adam helping Granny push her "toy". He thought her walker was a push toy like he has.

Adam sitting in Uncle Gee's Cop Car. Check out my little super trooper:

Adam in his very own cop car. Check out his little radio in his right hand, his laser gun in his left hand and his police hat on his head. He is all set to lock up some bad guys just like Daddy does.

Adam and his cousin Bella on the Metro on the way to the zoo. Adam was so excited to ride the train.

Adam and all his friends getting ready to check out the zoo.

The kids and the mommas.

Check out the chimps walking the tightrope that went over our heads, it was amazing.

Doug, Keeping our streets safe

2009-04-25T12:19:00.003-04:00

This is the 2nd time this week that Doug has made it into the newspaper. Early in the week because of his marathon win and now for his "Crime Fighting"!

This is how it unfolded from my end of the story. Adam was at Doug's mom's house for the day so I could get some work done. It was early afternoon and I was working away on my computer when I got a phone call from my friend Shelby who is a teacher. This is how the phone call went:

Shelby: Hey

Me: How's it going?

Shelby: Hey is Doug working today?

Me: Yeah why? (I'm thinking did your house or Chris's business get broke into or something and you need Doug to come out and do a report)

I notice hesitation in her voice

Shelby: Uh...well...I don't know if you heard, but 2 officers just got shot in Hagerstown.

Me: What! What happened do you know any details. (I start to panic, but maintain a calm voice)

Shelby: All I know is they came across the loudspeaker and said 2 officers got shot in Hagerstown and to be on alert. The kids got out half day, so that is why they just said it over the intercom.

Me: Okay. I'll call and see what it going on and call you back. (Still trying to remain calm)

Shelby: Okay, bye

Me: Bye

I hung up the phone and really start freaking out, there are usually only 6 or 7 officers on the street during the day, so if 2 were shot, there is a really good chance it could be Doug. With hands shaking I try to remember the phone number for the Hagerstown Police Department dispatch. I'm not even sure how my fingers dialed the number, but somehow they did. Dispatch answered and I said I had heard that 2 officers got shot in Hagerstown and I wanted to make sure Doug was okay. He told me that the officers were US Marshals and Doug was okay. I breathed a sigh of relief, and then asked if the US Marshals were going to be okay and he said that they would.

Feeling much relief I got off the phone and then went to the internet to look up what was going on. I pulled up the Herald Mail newspaper online, and what did I see, but Doug's picture plastered all over it. Gun drawn, standing with people with shields, rifles, snipers, all that crazy stuff. I see that the police are in some sort of standoff.

Doug is on the far left with his gun in his right hand...

Doug is on the far left with his gun in his hand, standing behind the guys with shields...

Again, Doug is on the far left, with gun in his hand bent over beside the guy who is kneeling down with a rifle. Doug later told me that the rifle that the other guy was holding was his.

Doug is actually in this picture too. He is all the way in the back in the middle of the photo with his back to the camera...

Just then the phone rang and it was Doug. Here is what he said:

"Can't talk, just wanted to let you know, it's all over, I'm fine and the suspect was apprehended. Love you, bye".

I couldn't even get a word in, but was glad to know everything was okay.

I know that everyday when Doug is at work there is a chance for him to get shot, stabbed, or injured, but I just don't think about it. When you are a police officer's wife, you just can't let your mind wonder there. Yesterday was very scary and I hope I don't ever have to go through that for real. When I tuck Adam into bed every night and we pray, I always thank God for keeping him safe and pray that he stays safe. So now I will clear my mind and not think about the dangers of his job.

As it turns out, the US Marshals were not even shot, when they got into the gun battle with the wanted fugitive who was hiding in the attic, the US Marshall jumped back and fell out of the attic and broke his leg really bad. I'm not sure how the other US Marshal got hurt, but he was not shot either. The suspect on the other hand did get shot.

Here is the article from the newspaper:

HAGERSTOWN — An attempt by U.S. marshals to arrest a fugitive in Hagerstown’s West End Friday afternoon ended with the wanted man seriously wounded by gunfire and two marshals suffering leg injuries, the Hagerstown Police Department said.

The marshals’ injuries were not caused by gunfire and were not life-threatening, Hagerstown Police Department Sgt. Paul Kifer said. One had a broken leg, he said.

Darryll Cash, 35, who was wanted for a weapons violation in West Virginia, was taken into custody and taken to Washington County Hospital, Kifer said. Cash was in fair condition Friday night, a hospital spokeswoman said.

Upon hearing that shots were fired and an officer was injured about 12:45 p.m., city, county and state law enforcement officers responded to the scene in the 200 block of Merrbaugh Drive, attracting a crowd of spectators.

The incident began when a team of eight agents from the U.S. Marshals Service Fugitive Task Force attempted to serve a warrant for Cash at 239 Merrbaugh Drive, Kifer said. Cash was charged in the West Virginia state warrant with being a felon in possession of a firearm.

There was an exchange of gunfire between the marshals and Cash, who then barricaded himself inside the house, Kifer said.

With the help of Washington County Special Response Team members in tactical gear, officers and negotiators went into the house and talked Cash into coming out for medical attention, Kifer said.

Special Response Team members were seen taking a ladder into the house, and Kifer said it took some time to get to the spot where Cash had barricaded himself in.

One of the marshals and Cash were taken from the house on stretchers about 1:45 p.m.

The marshal with the broken leg was taken to Washington County Hospital, then transferred to another facility for surgery, Kifer said. The other injured marshal was taken to the hospital for evaluation of a minor leg injury and later was released, Kifer said.

Police will not be releasing the marshals’ names, Kifer said.

In addition to Cash, two women were in the house at the time of the incident, Kifer said. Both were taken in for questioning, he said.

A woman who lives across the street said about 12:45 p.m. a group of police officers surrounded the house at 239 Merrbaugh Drive and were banging on the door.

The woman, who did not want her name used, said the officers got a battering ram and went around to the back of the house.

Kristy Nikirk, 30, who lives next door, said her friend lives in the house at 239 Merrbaugh Drive and the woman’s on-again, off-again boyfriend sometimes stayed there with her.

Nikirk said from inside her house, she saw a group of officers pounding on the door of 239 Merrbaugh Drive. When she looked outside again, she didn’t see them and figured they had gone inside.

Nikirk said she went outside to smoke a cigarette. While she was outside, she heard three gunshots.

“Next thing I knew, I just heard pew, pew, pew, and I guess it must have ricocheted off of something and landed in the road,” Nikirk said.

“I just grabbed my kids and ran in,” she said.

Officers instructed Nikirk to take her young children to a neighbor’s house, then went into her house and used it as a vantage point for their operation, she said.

The Hagerstown Police Department, which is investigating the shooting, later placed markers next to several bullet fragments in the road outside the house, Kifer said.

A neighbor across the street from the house, who did not want to be identified, said one of the bullets bounced off of his car and one apparently struck the siding on the house next to his.

Neighbors in the community, known as Gateway Crossing, said they were shaken by the incident.

“It’s always been so quiet down here,” said Glenda Castle, 58, who has lived in the neighborhood for about 2 1/2 years.

In December, West Virginia State Police said a Hagerstown man named Darryll Cash escaped on foot after a traffic stop on Interstate 81 in Berkeley County. At the time, Cash was wanted in Washington County and New York on drug and weapons charges, West Virginia State Police said.

Adam and friends are SOOOO COOL!

2009-04-22T14:39:00.003-04:00

This picture was so cute, I just had to post it. This is from Adam's friend Anna's 2nd b-day party. They are all so awesome in their shades!

Anna, Sadie, Jenna, Adam

Doug wins Marathon!!!

2009-04-20T07:43:00.003-04:00

After all my husband's hard work and training he ran the Mountain Maryland Marathon yesterday and won it all!! 1st place baby!!! He is not one to brag, but I will do it for him, because I am so proud of him. He is awesome!!! It was a very hard course in the Mountains of Western Maryland, it had a 10.5 mile incline, so it was very steep. For those of you who don't know, a marathon is 26.2 miles. He finished in 2 hours 44 minutes and 4 seconds. That is an average of 6 minutes and 15 seconds per mile, although some miles he ran as fast as 5 minutes and 40 seconds. Unbelievable, I don't think I could run 1 mile alone that fast, and he kept that pace up for 26 miles!!! Oh yeah, did I mention he won a $1,000 first place prize! Here are some quotes from area newspapers.

CUMBERLAND, Md. — Hagerstown’s Doug Oates pulled away from the field to win the first Mountain Maryland Marathon in a time of 2:44:04 on Sunday.Oates, 30, defeated Paul Walters of Annapolis, Md., by more than 14 minutes to win the $1,000 first prize.

For Hagerstown resident Doug Oates, the marathon festival, presented by Life Fitness Management, was a moment to bask in the limelight of more than a year of high-level training. His winning performance — and a personal best time of 2 hours, 44 minutes and 4 seconds — earned him the $1,000 cash prize and the awe and respect of his wife, Laura, who had surprised him in coming to the Queen City to watch him complete his trek through downtown Cumberland and conquer the 10.5-mile incline along the Great Allegheny Passage.

Adam also got in on the running excitement and ran his first race. He ran the kids 400 meter race which is equivalent to 1 lap around a track. He ran the whole way and loved it. Here is a picture of a future marathon champ running his first race:

Beautiful Day at the Park

2009-04-17T19:22:00.005-04:00

Today was a beautiful day with temperatures in the 70ºs. We met Shelby with her son Jack and Katrina with her daughter Laura to play at the park this afternoon. Adam, Jack, and Laura are all about the same age and love playing together. They had so much fun. The pictures of Laura have been blurred to protect her identity, so no my camera isn't that bad, although my camera isn't that great either.

Easter Weekend

2009-04-15T09:54:00.003-04:00

We had a great Easter Weekend! Adam had a blast with 3 Egg Hunts (one at City Park, one at Doug's mom's house, and one at my mom and dad's house), decorating easter eggs, getting his Easter basket, getting dressed up and going to church, and visiting with family.

Egg hunt at city park...

decorating eggs...
Showing off his Easter Sunday outfit before church...
Adam's Easter basket and eggs we decorated...
Adam seeing his basket for the first time, notice the raised eyebrows...
digging through the goodies...
more egg hunting...
Adam checking out the Easter bunny for the 2nd year...
Adam with the same Easter bunny last year...
On another note Adam read his first word 2 weeks ago. He has a card with a picture of a fox on it and the word fox written out, I guess he memorized it. When we were watching American Idol the Fox logo came across the screen and Adam saw it and said "Fox". I was shocked so I wrote the word fox down on a piece of paper and he read it again. So cool!!!

The next day he also said one of his longest sentences by himself (He has been able to say stuff that long when he is singing songs or something he has memorized, but this was all words he put together on his own). He is now stringing together 5 words. He looked out the window and saw Doug's cop car and without me saying anything he said "Daddy's cop car said woo woo woo". It is so neat to see him adding words like "said" he likes to use it all the time now and tell me what everything says.

My baby is growing up!!

2009-03-27T22:18:00.002-04:00

My little baby boy is growing up so fast. He will be 2 in a month and a half. I thought I would document some of the things he does, considering how much of a slacker I am at his baby book. I haven't written in it since we moved last May.

• Counts to 14 (his favorite number is 12)

• Knows all his colors including white and black (his favorite color is purple)

• Recognizes the letters in the alphabet and will point them out when we are reading or when we are out on signs, or on peoples shirts, etc. He loves to watch wheel of fortune. He can say some of the alphabet, but still misses some letters throughout. (His favorite letters are "E" and "F")

• Knows his shapes (his favorite shapes are triangles and stars)

• Loves to sign songs. It is so neat how he remembers the lyrics. He even knows which songs are coming on next on one of his favorite CDs and will start singing it before it even comes on. He loves to watch American Idol and asks to watch it all the time. I told him Wednesday morning that it wasn't on until later and that it would come on and he could watch it right before he goes to bed. Well when nap time came and I was laying him down he starting crying for "Sing" (that is what he calls American Idol) He had remembered that I said he could watch it before bed. I had to explain that it came on before "night night", not before nap. Toddlers are smatter then we give them credit for.

• He picks his own breakfast. Every morning I ask him what he wants for breakfast and he tells me different things everyday. Sometimes it is rice crispies and milk, sometimes it is oatmeal and raisins, and sometimes it is cheerios, raisins and milk. He always eats an egg and a banana with whatever he picks.

• He loves to go outside, what toddler doesn't!!! He always wants to go and see Daddy's cop car and he says the cop car says "WOO WOO WOO"

• He loves to cuddle and I love it to. Every morning after breakfast we get on the couch and cuddle under our Redskins fleece blanket and watch cartoons for about and hour, sometimes less if we have someplace to go. What a mamma's boy.

• He know all of his animals and what sounds they make, he's known this for a while now, but I know I haven't recorded that in his baby book either.

• Is really talking in short sentences now. He puts words together most of the time. A few months ago if he wanted to put his shoes on he would just say "shoes", now he says, "Mama, shoes on"

• He will repeat anything you ask him to say, and things you don't ask him to say, that you would rather him not say. When Doug was watching the college basketball the other day one of the teams that he had down as wining in his bracket, was losing and he said "That sucks". Adam repeated it like 10 times in a row. We just redirected him to something else because we knew if we made a big deal about it, or even said no, he would just keep saying it to get a reaction.

I'm sure there is more, but that is all I have time for now. Sorry Adam, Mommy will try to keep up with your baby book.

Yes I am pregnant!!!

2009-03-27T22:04:00.002-04:00

Most of you already know, but for those that don't... I am pregnant. On Sunday I will be 3 months pregnant. We are really excited and have been ready for baby#2 for a while now. My blogs have been slacking because I have been soooo tired and have suffered from a lot of nausea (which is starting to get better!!!) Also, I have been very busy with my business, which is a good thing, since we can save up a little extra money so I can take a little time off when the baby

comes. I probably won't take much time off knowing me, after I had Adam, the day I came home from the hospital I was e-mailing some of my clients and finishing up some last details on some projects. Well he was a surprise 3 weeks early so I wasn't really ready. I wonder if this one will come early? We will not be finding out what we are having with this one. We did with Adam, and it will be neat to see how it feels to wait until the birth. I still have a hard time believing I am pregnant, hopefully it will seem more real once I start feeling the baby kick. I felt Adam kick at 14 weeks, so that is just 2 weeks away!! Tonight I decided to get a snack of cheese and crackers and before I knew it I had a plate of cheese, crackers, hot pepper, pickle, broccoli and peppercorn ranch dressing. Yes I am pregnant, bring on the weird combinations of food.

Tough Guy!!

2009-03-06T23:14:00.003-05:00

Adam got a t-shirt from our friends and even though it is a 3T and way too big, he insisted on wearing it and showing off his muscles and his tough guy look.

Percussion class

2009-03-06T23:03:00.005-05:00

Adam has been taking a percussion class through the Maryland Symphony Orchestra for toddlers. He Loves it!!!! They have activities, singing, rhymes, and playing all kinds of percussion instruments.

Playdate for 9

2009-03-06T22:56:00.003-05:00

Sorry I haven't posted in a long time. I've been very busy. Here are some pics from a week ago of a playdate with Adam and his friends.

Valentines Day!

2009-02-15T13:35:00.005-05:00

Last night we dropped Adam off at Doug's Mom's house so we could go out to eat with our friends Chris and Amber for Valentines Day. We went to Nikko Japanese Restaurant. It is a nice, contemporary, sushi and hibachi place. We had a great time. When we were leaving we hung out for a little while at the front area where they have a bar and cocktail tables and benches where people can hang out mingle, and wait for tables. We ran into several people we knew. We had a great time. Here are some pictures from the evening.

Doug and I all dressed up...

The flaming food...I ordered the Fillet Mignon and Jumbo Scallops. It comes with soup, salad, fried rice, shrimp, vegetables, lo main, and 3 pieces of chicken that he tossed in the air for me to catch with my mouth. I only caught the last one in my mouth the other smacked me in the neck and face.Here is Chris and Amber...
Here we all are hanging out after dinner. Thank you Amanda for taking this picture!

My Little Valentine

2009-02-13T21:45:00.002-05:00

I Love My Little Valentine!!!! Today I took Adam to the Picture People and got some pictures of him and wanted to get one of me and my little valentine. We met Katrina and baby Laura there too. After getting pictures we took the kids to play on the playground in the mall. Sorry no pics, I forgot my camera. Then they rode on the Marry-Go-round. We had packed their lunch, so we went to the food court and had lunch and then we did a little shopping.

I hope everyone has a great Valentines Day tomorrow!! Doug's mom is going to be watching Adam so Doug and I can go out to dinner and celebrate. Stayed tuned for pics of Doug and I all dressed up for our "Date"!!

Night, Night!!

2009-02-13T21:13:00.004-05:00

Adam has been in his big boy bed for several months now, so I figured I would snap a few pics. Every night when he goes to bed Peaches likes to sleep at the end of the bed until Adam falls asleep. Here is Adam showing how he goes to bed.

Here is Adam closing his eyes, pretending to be sleeping for the camera.Here is Adam trying not to laugh as he is faking sleeping.

I thought it would be neat to look back to a year ago and compare Adam sleeping. I found a picture from last February, exactly a year ago of Adam sleeping. Love the butt in the air!!!

As I was looking for the picture I came across a picture from last March of Adam and Doug taking a nap together. This is such a funny picture. They were actually both really asleep, out cold, and they were sleeping the exact same way. I remember going in to check on Adam and almost peeing my pants laughing. I ran and got my camera and knew it would be priceless. Don't ask me how they can sleep with their arm over their face like that, but I guess "Like Father, Like Son!"

Little Man

2009-02-09T22:19:00.004-05:00

We had a great weekend. It was so warm out that we took walks everyday and we went to the playground across the street at the school and played. Adam loved climbing the 8 ft. rock climbing wall and he can do it all by himself. Of corse I was right there ready to catch if he slipped. On Saturday night we went to a friends wedding. Here are some pictures of my little man all dressed up. I can't believe how fast they grow up!

Videos of The Little Gym

2009-02-05T13:16:00.005-05:00

Adam had The Little Gym today. Here are some video clips of him showing off his MAD skills, lol!!!

He had so much fun!

Climbing In

2009-01-29T22:27:00.002-05:00

Tonight while I was making dinner, Adam decided that he would help. Well more like go through my lazy susan and pull everything out. He couldn't reach everything so he decided to lean in a bit...

Then he leaned in a bit more...
And before I knew he was all the way in. He loves climbing into things.Very similar to what I caught him doing 2 months ago. And no I was not watching "SNOOP DOGG" that was just a commercial.

And what was Doug doing while we were making dinner? Well it was a cold night, ice still all over the roads and sidewalks from our ice storm we got yesterday. Figure it out yet? Running outside for an hour of course, what else would he be doing, lol!!!

He is training for the Mountain Marathon...1st prize is $1,000.

Yes, he is wearing spandex pants on under his running shorts. As my nieces say "Uncle Doug, you are wearing tights, ha ha ha!!!"

Hot Cross Buns

2009-01-28T12:54:00.003-05:00

As I was just laying Adam down for a nap I heard him rambling on and on in a singsong kind of tone. He takes a binky when he takes a nap, so I removed the binky so I could try to understand what he was saying. I heard him say "Hot Cra Bun, Hot Cra Bun, 1, 2". I realized he was singing one of the songs from a tape that my sister Erin gave us a couple weeks ago that we have been listening to in the car. He was singing "Hot Cross Buns". He even had the correct tune down. He does sing along with this song in the car when it comes on, so I know he can sing it. I was just amazed because we have not gone anywhere in the car today or yesterday, so he hasn't even heard it recently. Somehow it must have still been stuck in his head. I can't believe he remembered the words and the tune. The minds of toddlers amaze me everyday.

Adam's Little Gym Graduation

2009-01-21T23:27:00.004-05:00

Today was Adam's graduation class at The Little Gym. He is now on to the next semester. Adam LOVES The Little Gym. I don't know what he would do without it. Its a great place for him to run, hang, climb, flip, roll, kick, throw, etc. where he can just run free without me telling him no. Although he now thinks he can hang off of everything at home like his highchair, dining room chairs, countertops, bed, my icemaker on my fridge (don't ask), basically anything that he can get his tiny little hands around. He also climbs on Everything at home. I am constantly pulling him off of things, so he is so excited to go to The Little Gym once a week where he can have an outlet for all this energy. Here are some picture from today.

Playing with the sticks...

Climbing up the stair mat to get to the balance beam...
Rolling and flipping...
Hanging...
More hanging...and even more hanging. Notice the face. He is not scared, he is just being his usual dramatic self with all the funny faces...

Climbing up to receive his medal...

Adam and me after he received his medal...

The Wall has a Boo Boo

2009-01-20T10:51:00.002-05:00

I had some Christmas candles that got melted in the attic or in the move over the summer. I stuck them in a drawer figuring I would cut off the top part that was crooked and salvage them someday.

Adam found them in the drawer without me knowing. I heard something banging on the wall. Assuming it was his drumstick I got up to stop him, when I noticed what he really had.

By the time I got over to the wall I see that the red candlestick had made marks all over the wall. I scrubbed the wall and it doesn't come off. If anyone knows how to get red wax off a wall please let me know. Later I heard Adam saying, "Boo Boo, Boo Boo, Boo Boo". I went over to see where he had hurt himself, but he didn't hurt himself. I see him pointing to the wall. He thinks the wall has a boo boo. I guess he thinks the wall is bleeding. Too funny!

2009-01-19T23:04:00.005-05:00

We had about 2-3 inches of snow today, so this was the first snow that amounted enough for Adam to play in it. He loved it. All day he was watching out the window yelling "Snow, Snow, Snow!" After he got up from his nap he was so happy that we took him out to play in it. Here are some pictures of him enjoying the snow.

If you have a good eye, did you notice anything interesting in the photo above. See picture below zoomed in...

...I have a flying dog.

Notice all the footprints. He walked all over the back yard, several time.

Here is a video clip of Adam very excited to see Peaches running or should I say flying around in the snow.

For the video below you will need to turn up your volume. I ask Adam if he is cold and he says "Cold". Then I ask him if he wants to go inside, to which he replies, "No!"

I ended up having to make him go inside against his will. I'm sure when he wakes up tomorrow the first thing he will want to do is go play in the snow again.

Christmas '08

2009-01-18T14:53:00.000-05:00

We had a great Christmas this year. Well I guess I should say last year. I am about a month behind here. Here are some pictures to recap our holiday.

This picture below is when Adam went to see Santa in the mall. Adam was more excited about Santa's dog then about Santa. He did say hi to Santa, and he gave him a hi-five, but he did not want to sit on Santa's lap. He loved to hear Santa say "Ho, Ho, Ho" because every time he sees Santa in a book or on TV he has to say "Ho, Ho, Ho". However, now when ever he sees anybody with a gray or white beard he starts saying "Ho, Ho, Ho". Yes I have been embarrassed everywhere from the auto mechanics, to Lowes, to Church, and to Wal-mart.

This next picture is Adam opening gifts that we got him.

He loves that he can be just like Daddy, with his police hat and gun.

He got a bike from Gram and Grandpa (my parents) and a helmet and knee pads from Grandma and Papa (my grandparents).

He got a drum set form Aunt Erin (My sister) and Uncle Aaron . He loves this, he plays it all the time. Thankfully it is surprisingly not that loud.

Nanny (Doug's mom) went a little overboard, as usual. Can you spot Adam amongst all the gifts?
Adam is starting to get tired from a full day of opening gifts.

He requested his binky and wanted to curl up on Grandpa's (My dad) lap. That is part of my mom on the side of the picture

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

Baby Christmas Party '08

2009-01-17T14:13:00.000-05:00

So this was a month ago, but I thought this would be fun to blog about. Doug and I decided to host a Christmas party for my friends who have babies who are the same age as Adam.

Side note: These are a group of girls and their babies that I get together with several times a week for play dates, shopping, Little Gym, and various other activities. I'm sure you will see

many more posts with them in it. We have all met since we had the babies. I met some of them when Adam was about 5 months old.

There were 8 babies and 8 couples. There was mass chaos of toddlers running all over the place, but I was loving every moment of it... and so were they. Here are some pics from the

party.

There was lots of yummy food...

and snacks...
Adam was being a ham as usual...

We decided to sit all the kids on the couch for a photo, this was the best we could get...

From left to right: Anna, Jenna, Adam, Adrianna, Sadie, Chase, Laura, and Jack

One by one they started jumping off the couch...

I can only imagine what parents of multiples go through to try and get a family photo.

We did a name exchange and all the kids got to open their gifts...

Adam got Handy Manny.

My First Blog

2009-01-17T13:51:00.000-05:00

I finally decided to get a blog. I figured it would be a great way to document our lives and I'm sure we will find it interesting to look back on years from now. I've read a couple of my friends blogs...Christina, Jessi, and Mandy... and I always find them interesting. I'm not sure how interesting mine will be, but I'm sure it will be filled with lots of pictures of Adam. So just a quick recap to start you off. I have been married to Doug for 7 years now...December 15, 2001.

We have a dog, Peaches, who is 5, and our precious little boy Adam who is 20 months old.

I love being married to my best friend and I love being a mother. I am the middle child of 3 girls. I have a great, big, close-knit family and a great group of friends. I am truly blessed. I have my own freelance company doing graphic design, which gives me a chance to stay home with my son.