ONE moment in time

First gift; a sound book from Joyce - She LOVES it!

Thomas enjoyed himself at the party

Annie's cake

Maddie enjoyed a cupcake (see remnants of the sprinkles)

Annalise Renee is now one. One year ago today I was still in labor. She was born at 6:53pm Friday September 29, 2006. So about 2pm I was probably 5 centimeters just hanging out in the shower at the hospital. No big deal. :)

We just finished up her party, which started at 10am. We had several special guests. My Aunt Deb and Uncle Rich joined us, Ron Sr., Mary and Ted, our friend Joyce (Seve had to work) and the Hunts (Scott, Marcie, Ethan and Caden). It was a wonderful brunch. Ryan made a great quiche, fruit, pasteries, and for dessert we had cupcakes (Madeline sprinkled them with candy dots), cheesecake squares and Napoleon Torte from the Lithuanian Bakery. Everyone was very full. Anna enjoyed her cake delicately by poking her index fingers into the whipped frosting and picking off the fresh raspberries. Madeline enjoyed doing the same.

She is now playing with her fun new toys and book. She got a few clothes to wear this winter and next spring as well. She is truely loved! The only thing that could have made the party better would be my mom and dad, but I believe they are celebrating from above.

Weekend Fun

Madeline enjoying some ice cream

Annalise had her own "birthday" ice cream cone from Grandma and Grandpa

The new ceiling fan

Anna munching on the cone

We're just a few days from Anna's first birthday and the busy-ness has not let up. Work has been busy, Madeline has homework almost every night (but she really enjoys it) and Anna is preparing to take her first steps. Last Friday we had our friends Scott Marcie and their son Ethan over for dinner. Caden stayed at home with his Grandma and Grandpa.

Saturday Madeline had dance class and we had our hair done for family pictures. Minnie did a great job with Maddie's hair. Pictures went okay but Madeline had trouble smiling for the pictures. This was in part due to the fact that the photographer didn't do well with children. The other part was, of course, Madeline can be a real stinker sometimes. :) Ryan installed the new ceiling fan Saturday afternoon. It's very modern. Clear blades, remote wall controller, silent and when it's running you can't see it because it's invisible since the blades are clear! We love it.

Sunday was the first day of Sunday School for Maddie. She's excited to be back with her friends. Madeline also attended a birthday party for Milo from her school. I was chatting with three other moms (all of boys in Maddie's class) and when I told them Madeline was my daughter they all said "Ooooh, Madeline, yes, we hear a lot about Madeline" "The boys all really like her" "She's very popular with the boys". :O Ryan said he was going to have to have the boys over to show him his (squirt) gun collection. LOL Of course mentioning the words squirt gun caused Madeline to want to have a squirt gun fight so Ryan and Maddie did that Sunday late afternoon. Grandma and Grandpa came over to celebrate Anna's birthday a week early at Sherby's where Anna enjoyed her own cone. She couldn't eat it all, but did manage to do pretty well.

Annie at the zoo last Sunday

Pictures

Baby shower cakes. Chocolate cake with ganache icing.

At Caden's birthday party last weekend

Julia's shower with Holly, Kelly and Karina

The wine and part of the desserts

Part of the hours de ouvres

Maddie at the pool party opening her birthday present from Aunt Mary

Annie at the pool party

Eight and a half bottles of wine later, the baby shower was a success. Everything went off without a hitch and everything seemed to go right on time. Shower ended around 915 and people mingled until nearly 10. Julia got lots of nice gifts and now we get to rest!

Busy!

Diaper cake

Cookie favors

Prizes for games

Clothing bouquet (made of socks, bibs, pants, shirts and onsies)

Pool Party for work (Maddie is off swimming)

Last weekend Maddie had a birthday party for Tony at her school, then Saturday she had her first day of dance class with Katherine and Jane (from her old school), a work pool party and then, as if that wasn't enough to do, we had a first birthday party for Caden a friend of ours son. Surprisingly the day went really well and I never felt rushed.

Tonight I am hosting a baby shower for my friend Julia and her future baby boy. It should be fun. I am attaching a few preliminary pictures for the shower. I need to post pictures from last weeks events and add shower pictures too.

Tomorrow we're going to dinner at the Tasting Room with Joyce and Steve. It should be a nice quiet dinner with the four of us. Kiddos are goin' to Grandma's :)

Olivia, Zane and Annie "playing"

Madeline and Claire working on a meal

Elina and Madeline

Maddie working on a bubble at the State Fair bubble contest

Madeline's favorite fair activity: the birthing barn

We were busy last weekend, as usual. Saturday we had a couple of Ryan's co-workers over with their kiddos. We had lunch and the kids played together.

Sunday we went to the State Fair where Madeline had fun petting sheep, holding baby chicks, eating cotton candy and funnel cake, playing on the playground, watching a band, eating ice cream. We did a lot of eating :) Then we headed down to the mall and had lunch at Noodles. It was a fun day. We did stop at Ashley and Audrey's on the way out of town and visited Margaret our old neighbor.

Monday we took the girls to a movie: Ratatullie (or however you spell that). Annie did well. She got a little ansy near the end but overall did great. We loved the movie. It was a fun holiday weekend.

Confessions of a reader

I have a confession to make: I read obituaries. The unfortunate reality is that I often find names I recognize. So many, in fact, that I keep a stash of sympathy cards in my drawer at home. I've seen realtives of friends, my own friends and other people I've known throughout life. I wouldn't call it curiosity anymore, now I feel like it's an obligation to my friends and family to stay abreast of these events so that I may extend my condolances at any given moment. It's always shocking to see infants and young children in the obituaries. It frightens me, in fact. The thought of losing a child, or even my spouse is gutwrenching. Far too many people in the obituaries are young; in their 20's, 30's and 40's. Often I find myself reading an obituary of a 90 year old person thinking "they lived 30 years longer than my mom, or 40 years longer than my dad". Then again it's equally sad to say "they lived 20 years less than...". I don't know when our number will come up, but can only hope that my own children are not faced with the same reality. I hope they can say "my parents lived 40 years longer than..." and I truly hope that my own children live long happy lives as well. I guess reading the obituaries helps me to maintain perspective. Perspective that life is long for some and short for others. Not knowing which will be our own fate, we should live life daily and to it's fullest. No matter what our fate may be, we will never live long enough.


The idea of death haunts many people, rightfully so. Ironically enough it's the greatest unknown of life. We are constantly haunted by those we loved who've passed on before. Unspoken words haunt us daily. The grim reality is that nothing can change the past and once our loved ones have passed on, we no longer have the luxery of speaking to them face to face. We never know if they hear our words or feel our pain. There is no acknowledgement of anything from our loved ones. We are only left alone, feeling isolated. We combat this isolation by focusing on our family; our children, spouse and other living relatives. Protectionism permits us only to truly love those closest to us; our remaining immediate family. It's easier to hold on to those who, we feel certain, will outlive ourselves while focusing on our own health in order to allow us as many years on Earth as possible. So this week I say a prayer of thanks for my family, hope for those who've gone before and those I still hold close in my arms and pray that someday the haunts of my previously departed can let me rest.