A Baseball Thrill for Owen!!

Last Friday night I had a huge thrill that I’ve been waiting for since I was a little kid.  I CAUGHT A BALL AT A WHITE SOX GAME.  Many of you may be saying, “he caught a foul ball and that’s a thrill???”.  Well, being a diehard baseball and White Sox fan, I’ve always wanted to catch a ball in the stands.   I’ve been close but never close enough to touch or catch the ball.  I’ve watched a home run ball land two rows in front of me during a playoff game in ’05, I’ve watched a guy 4 seats down from me catch a line drive foul ball with his face and watch his nose spew blood but I’ve never caught a ball.  Please know that I’ve been to hundreds of games and this all started in 1983 when my Dad took me to my first Sox game.   So there I was on Friday night, Section 135 Row 31 Seat 14 which is just to the left of home plate.  It’s the bottom of the 4^th inning and AJ Pierzynski is at bat.  All of a sudden, he fouls off the ball, line drive coming straight at me.  Without even thinking, pure reaction, I just caught the ball.  And no, I didn’t bobble or drop it.  (The crowd went wild….OK, maybe they didn’t go wild but in my head they did!)  The crowd did give up a bit of an applause and the guys around me and Donna gave me high fives.  One of the guys said that my eyes were huge as saucers watching the ball come at me.  I was absolutely pumped!  The Sox ended up beating the hell out of the Mariners for their 9^th straight win too!  So that is a great night in my book…..I had a date night with Donna, I was at a Sox game and saw them win and I CAUGHT A FOUL BALL.  A great night!!!!

View from our seats

Well, looks like another month has passed since we've updated the blog.  Owen has been busy traveling for work.  We've both been busy being the parents of our three crazy little girls!

Charlie had her last day of preschool today.  I think she really enjoyed herself and even learned a thing or two.  Her teacher, Ms. Kathy, sent a personalized note home with each of the kids with a short recap of their year with her.  Here's a little piece of what Ms. Kathy said about Charlie, "Charlotte is such a joy to have in class.  She has such wonderful manners always being polite when speaking to her friends and teacher.  She is a good listener and participates in group time."  It took me some time to pick my jaw off the floor when I read it.  I couldn't believe my little girl has good manners and she listens.  Those are two things that are lacking when she walks into her own house.  I'm glad to know that she has learned at least a couple things at home!  Maybe because she is our first born but Owen and I have decided that she is our favorite!  

Gwyneth turned 15 months old and had her 15 month well check up.  She's still growing at a steady pace and is now 32" tall and 25.9lbs.  She's right on track developmentally.  Overall, she's the easy-going one of the three.  She smiles and laughs a lot  I think it might be her chubby cheeks but she's our favorite!

Pretty sure it won't come as a shock but Lillian had her 15 month check up too.  She's growing at a steady pace too and is still a bit smaller than Gwyneth.  She's 31" tall and almost 23 lbs.  She's right on track developmentally too.  You can still see the wheels turning in Lillian's head of how to get into trouble.  Most of the time it's because she is climbing on something.  We've turned our backs for a couple seconds to turn back to Lillian on top of the kids' table.  Lil may give us a run for our money but she is our favorite!

All the girls are really starting to play well with each other.  It is so much fun to watch Charlie make them laugh and be a good big sister.  Don't get me wrong, it's not always pretty.  Actually, most of the time we are just playing referee to make sure that everyone is treated fair and no one is getting intentionally hurt.  Bumps and bruises happen on a daily, if not hourly, basis around here.  I've noticed that Gwyneth and Lil team up on Charlie every once in a while and drive her crazy.  Pretty funny to watch them gang up on her!

March for Babies

It is that time of year again.  It is the season of charity walks in Chicagoland which means it was time to for us to walk for premature babies everywhere.  As a family of five we walked a 5K and raised $650 for research to help future mothers have healthy, full-term pregnancies.  The March of Dimes is working on research regarding prematurity as well as the overall health of newborns.  The money raised will help with research regarding:

Brain: Premature birth - baby’s brain needs at least 39 weeks to fully develop

Smile: They have identified a gene responsible for oral cleft and are working on preventions.

Spine:  Folic acid education means fewer babies are born with neural tube defects

Eyes: They are developing treatments to cure vision defects  
 
Lungs: Surfactant and nitric oxide therapies save the lives of many premature babies


I thank the March of Dimes for the research that they have done over the past 60+ years.  Their hard work has given us three healthy baby girls!

We lucked out with the weather today.  The temperature wasn't too warm but it wasn't raining.  We walked at Potawatomi Park in St. Charles.  As when we walked before, the mood at this walk is an overall happy mood but there is some sadness.  You know that there are families that are walking in memory of their little angels instead of walking in honor of them.

We saw a family that had three little kids that they were pushing in strollers on the walk but wore shirts that said 'In Memory' of their little guy.  I can only imagine the pain that they feel walking knowing that one of their babies is not there.  After the walk I saw the husband holding the wife as she cried.  Images like that stay with me as I realize how easily that could have been me.

For those of you who see me on a regular basis, you know that images like that are not with me all the time.  I lose my patients with Charlie more often than I should.  Yell at her more often that I should.  Get frustrated with her more often than I should.  I will try to keep that image of that grieving mother with me more so I remember how lucky I am my little girl is here.

Charlie is starting to realize that the main reason that we do the March for Babies is because she was born early.  As she gets older it will more rewarding to do this with the girls since there is a personal reason why.

Gwyneth, Lillian, Charlie, and me

The group before we started the walk

Our little preemie all grown up.  They had some muffins before the walk started so you know Charlie had to have a couple!

Lillian liked being pushed in the stroller but wanted to stretch out her legs when we were done.

Gwyneth was happy to get out of the stroller too!

For all of you that donated to the March for Babies, we thank you.  Your contribution will help families welcome healthy, full-term babies into this world.


Just a fun little note...Owen and I joke that we are the freak show when we go out in public with all three girls.  With the amount of twins in the world people still seem to be intrigued by them.  Today we saw a lot of multiples but it didn't seem too overwhelming.  As we were walking we saw another family that takes the cake on 'freak show'.  I know they get tons of looks all of the time so I didn't ask to take a picture but this is what their stroller looked like.  Please say a little prayer for the "Freak Show Family of Four" tonight.  They need all the strength, wisdom, and patience that they can get!

  

Anniversary weekend in Austin

This past weekend Donna and I took a trip to Austin, TX to celebrate our 10th anniversary. Why Austin, you ask? Well, we were looking for somewhere in the same time zone and fairly shorter flight so we could the most of our time. Neither of us had been to Austin for fun (I've been there for work but didn't get to enjoy the city fully) so we were bound for the great state of Texas.  We didn't take very many pictures so I've included the websites of places that we went to so you can check them out.


Before we get into the details of our trip we'd like to thank the Robeys for watching our three girls (in addition to their two) for the weekend.  They came to our house on Thursday night so we were able to leave on an early flight on Friday morning.  Thanks also to Nan and JoJo for sharing your parents for an entire weekend!  We can't thank you guys enough!!

We arrived in Austin a little before noon so we weren't able to check into our hotel yet.  What better way to start out trip than to get some Texas bbq.  We ended up at  Salt Lick Bar-B-Que which was rated pretty highly from a few TV shows and the web. And yes, the bar-b-que was very good and we had our first Lone Star Beer.  

We stayed in a hotel that is in the heart of downtown.  We were only a couple blocks away from 6th street which we learned is Austin's entertainment center.  Friday afternoon and night we took in the 6th street scene.  The weather cooperated the whole weekend so we were able to walk almost everywhere.  We wondered around during the day checking out some of the local bars.  At night we went to Iron Cactus for a great Tex-Mex dinner in their outdoor patio.  After dinner, we wandered around 6th street as it became busier and busier. People watching is extremely interesting! We decided to have a another few drinks while listening to some live music at the bar, Blue Moon Rock N Blues. The music scene is great and we really enjoyed it!

On Saturday, we started our morning with a visit to Round Rock Donuts. I saw this place on TV and since it's vacation, a good excuse to indulge. Amazing the size of the line for donuts so we knew they were going to be good. While in line, I met a Delta Sig alum from UT (YITBOS) and the wait was worth it. Nothing like a few donuts with some cold milk to start the day. We spent the afternoon wandering around the University of Texas campus. Their football stadium is HUGE and it was nice to just walk around. We decided to spend the rest of the night just wandering around 6th street again. We ended up in an Irish bar, B.D. Riley's for a few drinks and an appetizer.  I schooled Donna in pool and air hockey (much to her dismay) at another place and then it was off to a few more places to listen to some live blues music.

Sunday morning came too quickly but we needed to hit one last restaurant that I'd heard great things about.  We went to Juan In A Million for some good, cheap Tex-Mex breakfast food.  I know it seems like all we did was eat and drink but isn't that what vacation is, trying new places?

It was a great weekend.  It was nice to spend a few days just bumming around and being able to sleep in a little bit every day. But we were both looking forward to going home to our 3 little munchkins.

It's been 10 years and so much has changed. One thing that has stayed the same is that Donna and I still have a great time just hanging out and enjoying each others company. Let's see what the next 10 years brings!

Celebration!

This past weekend we celebrated our babies turning 1!  I know that it's a big deal for the girls but I'm giving Owen and myself a majority of the credit.  We made it a whole year with no major injuries to any of the girls.  I figured since we are out numbered that it was inevitable that someone was going to have an injury that required an emergency room visit.  I guess we get to look forward to that in year two!

Gwyneth is now 30.5" and 23lbs 9oz.  Lillian is 29" and 21lbs and 4.5oz.  They're developing normally so nothing to report there.  I'm working on getting the girls to use sippy cups all the time so we can stop washing bottles.  We're also working on getting them to walk.  I know that will create new challenges but it'll be nice not to have to carry them everywhere!

Here are some pictures from their party.

Owen and me with Gwyneth & Lillian

Gwyneth enjoying some birthday Mac & Cheese

Lillian eating up some lunch too

 Gwyneth & Lillian hadn't really had sweets before their cupcakes.  Both seemed to really enjoy them!

We had a great time celebrating the first year of Gwyneth and Lillian's lives.  We could not have done it without the love and support from our family and friends. Thank you for cooking us meals, babysitting, the words of encouragement, the shoulders to cry on and the numerous beers that kept us going.  We appreciate everything that you have done.

Goodbye Artu

Tonight was one of the hardest nights we've had in a long time as Artu has left our family. My bud, my companion, my friend, my office mate and the member of the family who was always happy to see me. As I sit here and write my thoughts down, I still can't believe he's gone.

I was on my way home from Indianapolis after a meeting around mid-afternoon when Donna called me concerned about Artu. She said that he was having trouble walking and was just laying on the floor. When I had left this morning at 6:00, he had followed me downstairs as he always does to say goodbye, I had scratched his head and told him to take care of all my girls. He wagged his tail and watched me drive away. So, I had a hard time believing that something was wrong when I talked to Donna. As the afternoon progressed, it became apparent to Donna that Artu was feeling worse and worse. She took him to our regular vet who told us that his anemia levels were really low so Donna took him to the emergency vet. I met Donna at the vet where the doctor told as that Artu was bleeding internally, most likely from a tumor that burst on his spleen or liver. The doctor calmly told us that there was a very high chance that it was cancer and given his age.....and we knew what was coming. I had promised him that I would not put him through another surgery like we did 3 years ago and we felt that it was best for him to make the decision we dreaded. I've done my share of hard things so far in my life but making the decision to put him down and spending his last few minutes together and watching him fade away, well....that was one of the hardest things I've done and will remain imprinted in my brain.

Artu was my first dog and before him, I never understood how people became so attached to their dogs. I learned quickly after he came home with us that I was heading down that path. Over the past 5+ years, he truly was a part of our family. Everyone feels that they have the best dog but I couldn't have asked for a better one. He was everything I thought having a dog would be and than seeing how awesome he was with Charlotte, Gwyneth and Lillian just brought constantly smiles to my face.

Now, this is the same dog who I never wanted in the first place. Growing up I never had a dog and when we bought our house in Bartlett, it was a condition of mine that we get a dog. Two weeks after moving in, we headed to the Boxer Rescue to find the Burritts a boxer. I told the rescue that my one requirement was that I didn't want the dog that they had pictures of on their website, the one who had one eye and just looked a bit odd. When the rescue brought out boxer after boxer to see which ones may be a best fit, especially the one that jumped so high that his butt hit me in the chest, I was wondering if maybe the boxer breed was the wrong decision. They wanted to show me one last dog, and they brought out this boxer who ran two huge laps around their yard and than came sat down waiting to be pet. And yes, that dog that I said I didn't want the one who just looked up at me, was Artu, the one eyed dog from the website. Since than, he followed me all around, we took daily morning walks and he was my all around pal.

Artu loved us all unconditionally. He wagged his little nub when we showed him even the smallest amount of attention. He never complained. He did what we asked and what he was told to do. I hope he knew that he impacted all of our lives in such a positive way. We might have said our final goodbye to Artu but he will be with us every day in our hearts.

We've used this blog to use as our personal diary and update friends and family on the ongoings of our life. This time, I used this as much to let you know about Artu but also so I could put my thoughts (maybe ramblings) down on paper.

Thanks Artu, you were all and more a family could have asked for. We have pictures and videos of you from the times it was just us three, to the times you showed such excitement when we brought babies home for the first time.

I love you buddy......we all do!

Not sad to see it go...

With Gwyneth and Lillian fast approaching their first birthday they are outgrowing things at lightning speed.  We've gotten rid of their swings, bouncy seats, play mats, and a slew of other things.  It's hard to see them go knowing that we are not going to need them anymore.  Knowing that the girls are growing up and we will never have a newborn again.  It's nice to have more room but there is still a little part of me that hurts when we get rid of their "baby" stuff.

There are certain things that I've held onto of Charlie's because I want to remember the time when she was a little baby.  But there are certain things that I can't wait to get rid of.  I have been waiting for months for Charlie to give a sign that she had outgrown something else.  About two weeks ago she FINALLY said that she was ready.  WE GOT RID OF THE CHANGING PAD!  Charlie is potty trained!!!  Hallelujah!  I know that ultimately this is Charlie's accomplishment but I feel like the true congratulations go to Owen and me.  We have been trying to get her to go on the potty for months but she finally decided she was ready.  Charlie said she needed to go on the potty and hasn't looked back.  She hasn't had any accidents during the night, during naps, or even at school.  I couldn't be more excited!  It's so nice to know that she won't be going to college in diapers!  It's a good thing that she figured it out because I don't think the changing pad was going to last much longer!

Our Weekend Adventure

This past weekend we met the Robeys in Bloomington, IL for a winter-weekend getaway.  We had planned this a while ago and we were all looking forward to getting out of town and enjoying a fun weekend.  I'm sure most of you have already put the weather of this past weekend out of your minds.  In case you forgot, here is what Friday night looked like.


     (Maybe it wasn't this bad - but it was bad!)

As lifelong Chicagoans, Owen and I figured that the roads wouldn't be that bad and we would be fine.  Um, that was not the case.  Kyle and Teri were nice enough to take Artu for the weekend so we needed to drop him off at their place in Villa Park.  About 40 mins into out trip Owen and I decided that we would drop off Artu but then go home and head down to Bloomington in the morning.  It took us three hours to drop off Artu and get back home.  We were extremely lucky that Gwyneth and Lillian were quiet the whole time.  Charlie was a different story but one out of three's not bad!

The drive on Saturday morning was a breeze and we made it down to Bloomington in no time at all.  We, and by that I mean Owen, unloaded the car so we could get ready to go to the childrens museum in Normal, IL.  The place was a hit with all of the kids.  We knew Charlie was having a good time when she didn't want to leave to get lunch.  The girl never turns down food!

Lillian checking things out

Gwyneth playing around

Charlie practicing for her first job.  

Lillian and Gwyneth

Charlie painting on the glass.  Loved that she could get some of her creativity out and I didn't have to worry about the mess!

 

After the museum and lunch we headed back to the hotel for some pool time.  I'm happy to say that it seems like Gwyneth and Lillian enjoy the water just as much as their older sister and Mom.

This was the first time that we stayed in a hotel with all three girls.  Needless to say, our room was a little crowded but everyone slept through the night and we survived.  We had a great time and hope to make this trip an annual event.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year everyone! Yes I know, it's a few weeks late but wanted to reach out and say hello. 2012 has started great in my opinion, hey who can complain about 50 degrees in January?!?!.... even though the real January just showed up this week. As you can see in this picture, my girls seem to see snow a little differently than I do. I can read their minds "ohhh, look at the beautiful snow, I want to go out and play" while I just think about the driveway that I need to shovel.

Gwyneth, Lillian & Charlie

Charlie and I brought in the new year with smiles and looking forward to 2012!!

Dad/Grandpa Has Surgery

So, today my Dad had what you would consider major surgery as he was at Mayo for open heart surgery. My brother and I traveled to Rochester to spend the time with him and my Mom during his surgery. I don't know all the medical terms and given that it's a bit late and I'm exhausted, I just thought I'd share what he went through. As I write this, the surgery went as planned and he is in the ICU and doing well. He will get his breathing tube out later tonight and should be awake tomorrow and be responsive to visitors. When I saw him earlier tonight, he looked good for someone who just had major surgery. He does have a number of tubes and wires hooked up to him but he just looks good. I held his hand for a quick minute and it was just really good to see him and know that he'll be awake tomorrow.

Surgery
6:00 - Dropped Mom and Dad off at hospital for his preliminary tests
10:00 - Has Angiogram which shows 2 partially blocked arteries that they will "fix" during surgery in addition to other issues
1:12 - rolled into surgery
2:40 - Working on releasing vessels so can be rerouted Not on heart and lung machine yet. A double bypass is reported
3:30 - Aorta vale will also be repaired/replaced
4:10 - Put on heart and lung machine
5:55 - Off bypass
7:00 - In ICU, normal rhythm without a lot of meds. Will be on ventilator for 4-5 hours.

Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers. We really appreciate it as it was an emotional day for all of us and I know my Dad will need the positive vibes as he recovers in the coming months!

9 Month Stats & Predications

Gwyneth and Lillian went for their 9 month check up last week.  The doctor said that both of the girls are growing pretty much right on target. 

Gwyneth
Height: 28.5"
Weight: 21 lbs. 14 oz.

Lillian
Height: 27.75"
Weight: 19 lbs. 14 oz.

I know that I'm more relaxed with Gwyneth and Lillian's development than I was with Charlie.  With Charlie I knew what she was supposed to be doing developmentally every month.  With Gwyneth and Lillian I figure that they will do everything in their own time.  It's such a different experience being able to truly enjoy them at this age.  It's nice not worrying if they're 'on track'.  If Charlie taught me anything it's that kids have their own schedule and they'll do things when they're ready. 

So far Lillian seems to be a trailblazer.  She has been the first to babble, crawl, pull herself up, cruise around furniture, and clap.  Gwyneth is doing all these things too but she seems to pick them up after Lillian.  Nothing seems to scare Lillian or slow her down.  If you turn your back for one second she is half way up the stairs!  I know that a lot of you have heard my predictions but based on her personality now, I think that Lillian is going to be the mastermind behind all of the girls' shenanigans.

 

Charlie loves her little sisters so much and loves to play with them.  Every once in a while she gets a little too rough with them but for the most part she is great.  She loves to read and sing to them and LOVES to make them laugh.  Charlie will be right by Lillian's side when Lillian is hatching a plan.   Owen doesn't like when I say this but I'm sure that Charlie will have a mug shot some day.  I feel that this mug shot is going to be a direct result of one of Lillian's ideas. 

Now for our sweet Gwyneth.  Her chubby little cheeks and her chubby little thighs make her so kissable!  She is overall a very happy, smiley baby.  Based on the low key personality she has now I see her as the voice of reason when Lillian is planning something.  She is going to try and convince Charlie and Lillian that it's a bad idea.  But since she is a good sister and doesn't want them to get into any trouble, she'll drive the getaway car! :-)

A Minor Scare

Since Charlie has been born, Donna and I have found out that not everything happens as they show it in the movies or how you read in the books or hear from friends. Well, on Halloween we took some pictures of the girls in their cute costumes and while looking over the pictures that night, Donna noticed a little cloudiness in Charlie's left eye. While I thought nothing of it, she went back and looked at some other pictures and the "shadow" was there again. Apparently, Donna had heard of this before as she became concerned and explained to me that it can be something very serious and that she needed to go to the eye doctor as soon as possible. After listening to Donna's concerns and what's she's read and seen on the internet, I fully supported her idea to take Charlie to the pediatric eye doctor. So, this morning off they went at 7:15 to get her eyes checked. I am very happy to say that after a full examination, there are no tumors in her eye. BUT, Charlie does have an astigmatism and will have to wear glasses full time. Yes, she inherited her Mom and Dad's terrible eyes, something we had hoped maybe, just maybe she got lucky and we didn't pass that down to her. So she will be getting glasses as the doctor said that if she doesn't wear them her eyes could get much worse and lead to other vision issues.

So from this minor scare, I again learned more about being a parent. I learned how much I already worry about my little girl and just the thought of anything happening to her makes my heart ache. There was a pit in my stomach for the the last few days thinking that something could be wrong with Charlie. I realized that IF anything happens to her, how fast I will willingly trade places with her if I could so she doesn't endure any pain or unhappiness. Seeing her smile has become one of the best parts of my day and I will do anything to keep it that way.....except buy her a pony!

I also have to say that I learned yet again, how parenting really is a team effort. I never would have thought anything of the "shadow" that Donna saw in the pictures. I just chalked it up to our cheap camera and nothing more. I joke with Donna all the time but it really is true how lucky I am and they are to have a Mom that is so in tune with them.

So on with my day I go and happier now that everyone seems happy in the house again. I will call it a blessing that it's just glasses knowing that it could have been much worse. Again, something else that reminded me of how lucky I am to have such a wonderful family.

(And yes, this is a bit sappy but that is what daughters can do to a man........so in other news, how about those Tampa Bay Buccaneers!!!......Better?)

Additional info added by Donna...Major Scare!
So, I just wanted to add a little bit more info to what Owen posted to give more reason why I took Charlie into the doc.  Like he said, I noticed some glare/shadow in Charlie's left eye.  The first picture I noticed it in was taken about two weeks ago but I only looked at it on the camera so I just thought it was a weird glare.  When I put that picture in addition to other pictures from Halloween on my computer and looked at them on a bigger screen, something didn't sit well with me.  Tucked in the back of my brain I remembered something about a certain cancer being detected by parents after looking at pics of their kids.  Well, Detective Donna was on the case and it didn't take long to confirm the info that I remembered.  There is a very serious cancer, retinoblasoma, that shows up in young children.  Retinoblastoma is a rapidly developing cancer that develops in the cells of the retina, the light-detecting tissue of the eye.  I found some pictures of other kids that have been diagnosed with this disease so see if it was similar to what I was seeing in Charlie's pics.  Here are the two pics of Charlie and a pic that I found on line of a confirmed case.

There have been other things that I've perceived as "wrong" with Charlie but I've never had this type of gut feeling that something just wasn't right.  I told Owen what I thought and he said to get it checked out.  Unfortunately, the doctor couldn't see her until today.  Longest wait ever...or so I thought.  Went in this morning and saw the doc.  When I showed her the pics I had of Charlie she said, "oh yeah, we need to check this out".  Oh shit!  I was hoping that she was going to call me crazy and send us home.  They had to dilate Charlie's eyes so the doc could get a better look.  We had to wait 30 mins for the dilation to be in full effect.  That was the longest wait ever.  All I could think of is that this doctor could change the course all of our lives within the next hour.  When we got back into the room, the doc looked into Charlie's eyes, then she looked at me and said that there are no tumors.  You have absolutely no idea how relieved I was.  I didn't really pay attention to what she said for the next couple mins b/c I was trying not to cry.  The reason that Charlie gets the glow/shadow in her eye is because she has amblyopia.  She will need glasses to correct the amblyopia and astigmatism in order for her eyes to develop normally.  Glasses?  No biggie!  And, don't let Owen fool you.  I'm pretty sure that if Charlie asks for a pony, he'll get her one!  

Happy Halloween!!!

This year for Halloween Charlie dressed up like Strawberry Shortcake and Gwyneth and Lillian were strawberries.

Strawberry #1 - Gwyneth

Strawberry #2 - Lillian

 Strawberry Shortcake and her posse

Charlie really couldn't stand the pink hair.  She was much happier when we took it off.

We were able to get a family picture with our girls.

My little Lilly-Pie and me

Charlie didn't get too much candy this year but the Great Pumpkin is going to come tonight and take her candy and leave her a toy in its place.  The candy will then be donated to the troops overseas so they can enjoy a little Halloween too!  The bag that Charlie has is the one that she decorated so the Great Pumpkin knows where to put her toy.

.

Charlie's 3!

Charlie turned three this week!  I can't seem to remember what life was like before Charlie so it's weird to think she is only three.  We had a small family party for her last weekend.  This was the first time that she understood that it was all about her and the presents were for her.  Based on her reaction, we are in trouble at Christmas.  She'll be up bright and early to see what Santa brought her!

Relaxing in her new princess chair before her party. 

 Princess Charlie ready for the party to start.

So excited that everyone is singing to her!

She actually blew out the candles with out spitting on the cake too much! :-)

 Our little princess loves cake!!

With every birthday comes a fun visit to the doctor just for a check up.  When I took Charlie today it was an adventure.  She has wised up to what happens at the doctor's office and was crying before we even got into the waiting room.  By the time we got into the room to see the doctor it was pretty ugly.  I tried to calm her down, the nurses gave her stickers but nothing worked.  Luckily, she only got the flu shot so the full-blown screaming didn't last too long.  As far as her height and weight Charlie is right on target.  She is 37.25in. and 32lbs. 

As some of you know, Charlie is not the best sleeper in the world.  Actually, she sucks as sleeping.  Since last November she has been getting up at least once a night. We have tried everything from earlier bedtime, later bedtime, no naps, naps, warm milk, tea, different routine - you name it we have tried it.  We kept saying that it was a phase but since we are coming up on a year of this "phase" I brought it up with the doctor.  She said that it sound like we have tried everything so she referred me to a sleep specialist.  After all the therapy that Charlie has already gone through (some without any success) I'm a little leery of another specialist.  Plus, I think I've finally figured out why she is not sleeping well.  Who can sleep like this? :-)

Job Hunt is Ova'

As many of you know, at the end of June I was laid off and became part of the unemployed statistics we see every night on the news. Since that time I've been relentlessly on the job hunt talking to companies and recruiters on a daily basis. I am very happy to let everyone know that as of a few days ago, I have signed my name on the dotted line and have accepted an offer with another small technology company for their Director of Business Development ....... a fancier word for sales guy. I truly believe that everything happens for a reason so hopefully I will look back on the past few months and smile. On the brighter side, I was able to spend some extra time with the family enjoying time this summer with them. Charlotte, Gwyneth and Lillian are growing so fast that I was able to take a breath and enjoy the time. Enjoying a few days at the splash park, seeing Gwyneth and Lillian sit up for the first time and taking Charlotte to her first day of preschool are just a few things that I was so glad to be around for.

I just wanted to thank all of you for all of your thoughts, well wishes, prayers and crossed fingers in my hunt!! The passing positive comment or the short email kept me going!

So, now I start my new adventure and as you've all heard me say before....if it wasn't an adventure what the hell fun would it be!!!!

Carpe Diem!