Happy Birthday, Sweet Nora Bean!

July 5, 2011

Not too sure she really wants to go to school...

My very favorite first photo of Nora and Molly together. Keep in mind that Heed, aka Molly (lookit that great noggin) is 7 weeks older than Tiny...this picture really just sums it all up! I love our babies...so sweet.

June 2008...these baby girls would be inseparable if we'd let 'em be. Though nowadays, Molly would try to mother Nora, boss her around, maybe cut her hair or her clothing, I dunno...I love that they have each other!

On August 26, 2009...my family, Uncle Tom and I were at Lake MI in Holland...so we wrote the Bean's name in the sand to remember her!

Christmas 2010...so stylish!

Christmas 2009 - hanging out in a clothes basket? really? and to think, we just bought you all of those amazing toys for Christmas.

Summer 2009...these expressions...ahhhh, just does not get any better! Molly LOVES celery. oh my, this makes me laugh!

Man, these two make theeee best faces, don't you agree? August 2009. Love these little sillies.

Time to get back to blogging for my loved ones' birthdays...sorry if I've managed to forget yours. (Kara, I'm planning to dig up a pic of you as soon as I post this)

Nora, I will never forget how happy I was when your momma called to tell me that her ultrasound said you'd be coming. A friend for our baby girl, Molly. In November of 2006, when I found out I was prego, I told your momma that she'd probably ought to get pregnant too.

Your momma was always so obedient (shyeah). it was one of my favorite times of my life, being pregnant together, and then finding out we'd both have baby girls. Molly, Gramma and I got to be in the room on August 26th (which just also happens to be one of your momma's best friends birthdays also. Happy Birthday, Amanda!) and it was so exciting when you plopped out. You were so tiny and your mom was wondering where all of your hair was. She'd had bad heartburn the whole time! 5 pounds, 12 ounces of Scott Cunniff glory...you are Cunniff thru and thru, no denying who your daddy is! (that was a close one! whew...ha ha. I kid)

I look forward to all of the shenanigans that you and Molly will get into in the coming years. I'm sure Molly will be the ringleader..

We are so glad to have your squeaky little self in our family. Can't wait to celebrate your FOURTH birthday this weekend, sweet girl. I love you and I'm blessed to be your aunt!

Sunday update...

Becky got $ for the iPod she is wanting to get.

not sure if David got anything. ha ha.

Uncle Tom, flanked by his two blonde nieces. I think they were trying to take his birthday money.

this is how Molly digests her carbs.

Ethan, Will and Mel, trying to digest their delicious Grandma-made lasagna before embarking on the infamous Boyden's cake perfection! Love E's expression.

Beck just proves that being 33 does not require one to be serious and boring! (this is one of her famous "self portraits")

My very serious, nearly 40 year old husband. (he won't greet 40 till this coming Sunday, March 6th)...Hello Chief.

David wanted to embrace these two (I mean, they are employees of his and such...) and Beck thought it would be fun to grimace...David made us re-do it...see below

We gather together to celebrate the momentous births of these 3 amazing people! Three of my favorites.

This girl had a busy day...she went to church with Beck and her family...spent the afternoon playing with the girls and there was no time for her nap between pick up time from Becky's and heading back to Beck's for the birthday party. Needless to say, she was grumpy, frenetic, and over tired. We got home by 9 p.m., she got herself p.j.'d up and tried to sneak past me. I nabbed her, and amidst her protests of "I'm not tirrrrrrred", I pinned her down and she instantly fell asleep. it was niiiiiiiiiice. and quiet. whew. she is quite precious when she sleeps though. I'll give her that. :)

(notice I took her stinkin' paci outta her mouth...I'm trying. I really am.)

So, it's Monday again.

I will bullet point some of the things I'm looking at this week:

~Another month starts, which is cool in a way, and with it brings spring. Our beloved Aunt Sherry & Uncle John (remember the Great Adventure trip, Kansas stop) are MOVING here this very week. Tomorrow in fact. Today is her birthday!

~David will turn 40 this coming Sunday. That almost leaves me speechless. hold on...I need a moment.

~I am 23+ weeks today, can't believe how fast, yet how slowly this pregnancy seems to be going. I am trying to "live in the moment" and enjoy this, as it will be my last one (yes, I know I've said this before but now I MEAN IT. if you've been around me, you have to know I'm DEAD serious.) I enjoy feeling the nameless one wiggle around, esp. after I've eaten...and I'm really trying to soak this up. I just know I will miss it. but honestly, I will be really glad to live through another labor and delivery, au naturel. Can't wait to see this guy's face.

~I guess I didn't have as many things to say as I thought I would.

In other news, Melanie and I really enjoyed a Mother/Daughter time away yesterday morning. My sis took Molly for me and David had the 3 boys. We went down to the Edinburgh outlet, enjoyed browsing without Molly. The weather was really mild (though it's far from mild today, due to thunderstorms that rolled thru last night, bringing with them cooler temps). Mel got a cool new Gap sweatshirt and I found a Gymboree blanket for #6 (the same blankie brand as Molly's) with little crocodiles on it.

got me thinking as to how funny it is that baby girls clothing is all flowers, mermaids, and cuteness, while baby boys clothing is bull dogs, sharks, crocodiles, and earth moving equipment. Very non-cuddly. kinda funny to me.

I will leave you on that note...time to gather my strength for the next 3+ hours out of the house tonight. ugh.

Maybe I'll put the crib up.

guess who's turning EIGHT?

He was such a little kitty of a baby....

hee heee...this makes me LOL!

and you should see him in this sweet outfit NOW....

Levi's 8th birthday is coming up on Sunday, October 31. I find it rather hard to believe that he will actually be this old.

He was just born.

and I'm listening to him out on the front porch, as he plays Go Fish with Mel...whining and saying "I'm telling Mom....."

On this day, and by now, my mom has boarded a plane for California. This was the day last year that we got HOME from our Great Adventure. she's going out to help my bro with his boys. we shall miss her.

Also, today is my dad's 63rd birthday...(raw deal for him but she did leave him a fridge full of yummy food).

Happy Birthday, Jimmy! We love you...

Twin birthdays and easy like Sunday morning...

while taking "ambience" photos, I caught Natalie throwing out the peace sign. There really isn't a much cuter human female than this little momma to be.

David is the guy without glasses (though the eye doc tested him and said he will need glasses again. bummer) and Matt is the guy with glasses. Do they look like twins to you?

Cool Hand Mel. not so much. we might need to get a pool table so we can tweak the kids' pool skills.

The Party was taking place in that upper lofty place...I am really quite fond of the tin ceiling.

Natalie, all glowy and such...and the rest of 'em...Emilie is in awe of her sister, Nick looks like he's picking his nose, though he wasn't...and Will, well....

Sunday morning, we stopped by Matt's uber cool top floor apartment. Here, he is showing us his favorite gift...yes, that is a take and bake Pyrex dish. I was just impressed that it was his fave gift and that he actually knew how to use it and was pretty darned excited about it.

Matt and his lovely lady friend, Katrina.

Twinkies. um, David appears to be taller than Matt here....but as you'll see below...

they are almost exactly the same height...they compare their heights frequently.

Katrina's adorable pooch, Frances, checking Will out.

I won't expound much on the above photos, since I already did.

i will say this...

Molly stayed with Beck and her fam. If you are my friend on Facebook, you surely saw some of the funny photos that B. sent me of Moo in various events. my favorite MMS was the Carwash Horror. I know Moo had fun, in spite of herself. Thanks Beck and Scott. I smooch you...

Levi stayed with my parentals. He is spoiled. That is all i will say about that. thanks Mom, Dad, Tom, for taking such good care of Levner. Hugs to you.

It was nice (stayed in the Drury) and went by too quickly but I'm so appreciative of the help that my family gave...THANK YOU....and for the time we had to just get away. You really realize how much work those littler people take. And how much NOISE. but hey.

We had a great time.

I really shouldn't blog when I'm overly tired. g'night.

Downsizing....An update...

The kids and I were lucky enough to be able to get out of town two weeks ago, to visit David on his Fort Wayne job. Conveniently, our nieces, Abigail and Alexandra, live their with their awesome family. We know their dad well but had not met his wife, Teresa her daughter, Tyra and their little boy Levi, yet. Teresa is one cool chick and we are so blessed to have witnessed their family life together.

Abigail, Melanie, and Alexandra...

Chow time....Patrick prepared a delicious spread of grilled salmon, steamed veggies, tossed salad...yum!

Mel and Levi were glad that they got to have the girls to the hotel for some swim time.

#1-3 with A and A...

and a few days later, it was time to celebrate the late February, early March birthdays...Randy stopped by just in time...he could smell the Boyden's cake from Peoria...

Beck: Feb 27. David: Mar 6. Tom: Mar 9, which also just happens to be tomorrow....and if that wasn't enough...the ol' dude is turning FORTY! couldn't have happened to a nicer fella.

We usually try to just lump all of their birthdays together. They seem to be ok with it. which is good, because none of us need 3 different cake occasions. EVER.

We had a hard time keeping Becky off of the cake...she's all about Boyden's cakes...and apparently, Molly and Nora are as well.

Happy March to you!

We had a sunshine-filled day today...and man, was it nice. I got to take Will to the Y with me before his guitar lesson...we had windows down in the van. amazing. smelled so clean and fresh. After our strength and 3-mile cardio session, we came home and I took Moo out for a 2 mile walk...she fell fast asleep. Fresh air is so good for that!

My hubby is so excited to have Randypants, our oldest boy, working with him on their big install in Michigan City. I really hope that Randy comes to work for us for good...but he's slightly nomadic and newly snagged so that may be difficult to do. So glad that D. can be on an out of town job with one of the coolest cats on the planet.

Otherwise, my next post shall include pix from our quick trip to Champaign-Urbana, Illinois this past weekend. We enjoyed meeting Matt's lady friend, Katrina and hangin' at Crane Alley with an eccentric group of humans.

If you were wondering why my pics are so small...it's in an effort to save MB space...I used up all my free space so I had to buy more. It's so worth it. so glad to be able to keep blogging. WordPress is too new and skeery to me.

Until then, sleep tight and sleep in heavenly peace.

Whirlwind Weekend...

The February birthday brigade...Ethan won't get his birthday party till this coming weekend, due to illness (my poor momma has been super duper sick)...so we had a little impromptu party, since our good friend, Bobby, turned the big FOUR-OH the weekend before. Sandwich ring, Hawaiian bread with spinach dip, champagne, strawberries (mmm mmm good Tam), hummus and pita chips, and Valentine cupcakes rounded out the evening. You really get to know your friends with a round of Apples to Apples too...We love our fun friends! Thanks for the 2 volume set on the American Revolution you got for E!

Birthday Boy Bobby...

This was the group of kids that David and I served at the Kaleo (Invite) Broken Hearts Banquet. We thought we'd have 8 kids, but apparently E can rustle up a crowd and we had 10 kids. 16 pieces of fried chicken didn't go very far with 6 teenaged boys...

Gotcha mid-bite, Mel. sorry 'bout that...just noticed it.

It's safe to say we had the coolest table...

Phos Ontos Broken Hearts Banquet. I forgot my cam so this mobile shot will just have to be enough...We served Chinese food since the Persecuted country we chose was China. Panda Express worked for us!

Whew! glad that weekend is over. Maybe now David and I can celebrate our own Valentine's Day.

But I wouldn't have it any other way, from celebrating with the kids' fellow youth groups to celebrating Ethan, Valentine's Day is never dull. We are so thankful for Mike and Pam...they do such an excellent job ministering to middle schoolers, jr highers, high schoolers. One cannot help but want to get involved in the amazing work they do for Jesus Christ.

Up next, the kids finally were all well enough to take advantage of the powder outdoors. I sent all five kids out to play and boy, is it nice and quiet in here. nice deep breaths.

Peace!

Happy Birthday Month, Beck and E...

Two of my favorite Ethan pix of allllll time. beautiful boy...

My beautiful little sister....

And so we begin...

February hits and Beck reminds us that it is the month of her birth. How could we forget, dear sister?

We can't. We won't. We don't wanna...I'm so thankful for February...for in it, God gave me YOU and my second son, Ethan...what a fine month you are, February.

So we celebrate you and we celebrate Ethan. Love you two.