Happy Holidays (an update)

I've missed you all!  These last few weeks have been so busy it's unreal and my blogging time has been limited.  To catch you up to speed real quick.  While on maternity leave I decided to close my home daycare - a very hard decision but, it felt right for the entire family.  I'd invested six years into my business, one that I was very proud of but, with Izzy in Kindergarten now my passion to be at home wasn't as strong and I felt it was time to move on.  I was very excited to be hired back at my previous job returning to my position as a dental assistant.  Also during all of this Jason and I came across a house that we fell in love so, we've purchased a new home!  We moved in a few weeks ago and are getting settled day by day.  It's been a crazy few months and then throw in that we were right in the middle of the holidays and ... Yikes!!  Things are all falling into place.  We are adjusting to the new schedules and LOVE the setting of our new home - we've been blessed.

Ryan (L) Mason (R)

As for surro news, things have been fairly quiet.  I stopped pumping for the twins late November which is always bittersweet.  It was the end of me nourishing them and providing for them but, I'm happy to have my body back and be able to focus on me again.  K&S and the boys came out for a visit and final milk run early December and I was able to get in some snuggles.  Ryan and Mason are lil chunky monkeys full of smiles and cooing - just adorable.  (click pic to enlarge)

They all spent their Christmas in Minnesota visiting K's side of the family and made a few stops along the way.  One of those was to the ER, poor lil Ryan wasn't well so they spent the better part of a day in the hospital while the staff observed him and ran some tests.  It turned out to be a UTI, poor guy!  It sounds like after lots of TLC from mom and dad and antibiotics he is doing better.  We'll be seeing on another again in just a couple of weeks when Jason and I head into the city for K's bday - we plan to stay overnight and I can't wait to get in some cuddles with the boys that next morning before we head home.

I've been checking in on Giovanni and family this holiday season as well.  They spent Christmas with family in the area and have headed out to Myrtle Beach for their annual vaca.  They'll only be home for a short while before they travel to France end of January.  I'm hoping we can all connect soon and have them out for a visit after they return.

A year ago this time I was starting meds for the cycle that would bring about the twins - it seems like just yesterday.  This has been an amazing year for many reasons and I feel very blessed to have two beautiful surro-families and so many other loving friends and family.  Thank you all for a beautiful 2012 and can't wait to see what the new year brings!!

Happy Holidays and wishing you all the best in 2013!!!

Thankful for these Little Turkeys

How can Thanksgiving pass us by without a post of how very thankful I am for my surro families.  These lil faces and Mr. G's  are so very special to me and I feel so blessed to have the three boys and their parents in my life.

Catching Up with A&T and Lil G

I had a great visit with A&T and my first lil surro-guy this weekend.  We had a nice warm (although somewhat drizzly) November day to visit the local apple orchard.  I really enjoyed following Lil G around watching him play, climb and explore.  He's full of energy and your typical on-the-go two year old.  We said hello to the animals, snacked on some delicious cider donuts and checked out the big barn full of more yummy treats.  After awhile we headed back to our house for a simple dinner - we ordered pizza since our house is kinda torn apart right now getting ready for our upcoming move.

Giovanni and the girls played well into the night while the adults laughed and enjoyed several bottles of wine. We filled them in on all the latest; the delivery of the twins, our new home and my "new" job back at the dental office I worked at previously.  They've been busy doing some unplanned renovations to their condo, working, gearing up for the holidays and looking forward to a trip to France early next year.

We probably won't see one another again for awhile so I'm glad we snuck in this visit before our schedules got crazy.  It's always such a treat to hang out with my surro-fam.  I can't believe that this past week marked five years since we were matched by the agency and our lives were all forever changed.  A&T, thank you again for the opportunity to help you build your family and for the very special relationship we continue to share. 

Check out the photo album for a few new pics. :)

Surro Love

OMG look at this lil chunk!  I just love the full round cheeks and the squishy muffin top (his is much cuter than mine).  This is sweetie pie Mason sporting the onsie I made for the babes at the baby shower.
~ Love ~ 

Happy "Half" Birthday - 2 1/2 years already!

Can you believe Giovanni is 2 1/2 years old already!  He's a pretty typical 2 year old.   He loves Thomas the Train, Cars and Toy Story and to make daddy proud he'll bust a move to the Eurocup theme song. Some of his favorite activities are playing with the stones at grandmas, watering flowers this summer with mommy, bathtime, and he's enjoying the of the new "Wiggleworms" play and music class he started recently.

He's a hearty eater and some of his favorites are any kind of fruit, pasta, tomatoes, hot dogs, prosciutto, cheeseburgers, and meatballs.  He's not the chunky baby that he once was.  He's sprouted up and is a lean lil man.  He's hit 30lbs and is 36 inches tall.

Giovanni is a smart cookie.  He's got a great vocabulary and is very chatty.  Mom says he's got his numbers 1-10 down and will recite his alphabet but sometimes get stuck on "g" and "p".  He also knows his colors and most of the shapes.

He's recently decided he doesn't want to sleep in a crib so the transition to a "big boy bed" is in progress.  I'm interested to hear from mama how that's going.  He's not a fan of "timeout" but let's be honest, what kid is?

We've got some plans in the works to see one another again but they've been dealing with some home renovations and with our upcoming move ... not quite sure what we plan to do.  Oh did you catch that?  We are moving!  We're pretty excited and can't wait to get settled and enjoy the holiday in our new space.

So that's the update.  I don't have any new pictures but hope to have some to share soon so stay tuned.

1 Month Old Surro Cuties

The surro cuties are a month old today!!  I got to love on them for a couple of hours while momma was in town getting their birth certificates from the courthouse.  Mason (right) is growing like a weed and chunking up.  Ryan, although the "big" brother is still the lil guy.  Aren't they just the cutest?!?!

My heart is full.

photo by momma K