Birthday Party #2!

What a lucky little girl! Elizabeth was lucky enough to celebrate her birthday a 2nd time, with my family and our friends in the Kansas City area. The party was a great success, despite the awful weather (it was so cold!) and she recieved a lot of very nice gifts. We are so blessed to have so many wonderful family and friends! My mom took a lot of pictures, so I'm waiting to see those, but here are some of the ones that I have....

Birthday Party #1!

We celebrated the first of two birthday parties for Elizabeth this past weekend. We were in St. Louis for a family wedding and decided to celebrate her birthday with our family and friends in the area. It was a beautiful day and we couldn't have asked for better weather! We were able to sit out on my Brother and Sister-in-Law's patio for cake and presents- as you can see from the pictures, Elizabeth had a wonderful time! In addition to all the family and friends that we had with us, we had 3 special guests- my friend Cindy, her husband, Nate, and their daughter, Hannah. Cindy was my phone buddy when we were both pregnant and we shared almost everything, however, this was the first time we'd actually been able to meet in person! What a blessing to finally meet Cindy and have them with us to celebrate this special occassion!

Boo at the Zoo!

This past Saturday, the KC Zoo hosted Boo at the Zoo for all the little ones! I met up with my friend Tawnya and her little girl, Carissa and we took the girls through Austrailia and Asia. It was lots of fun to see all the kids (and their parents!) in costume. There were alot more animals out and about than the last time we were there, so that was really nice. We had a great day and the weather was beautiful! Elizabeth rode the carousel for the first time and she LOVED IT! She got a big pouty face when it stopped and kept bouncing on her horsey to try to make it go again- it was soo cute! We tried to take pictures of Elizabeth and Carissa together, but Elizabeth wanted to crawl off and Carissa (who is walking) didn't want to sit still, so here's the best we could do. All in all it was a great day and a great way to begin celebrating Elizabeth's first Halloween!

Laughter is timeless. Imagination has no age. And dreams are forever....

Today is National Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Day. If everyone will light a candle tonight at 7 pm and let it burn for 1 hour, the country will be aglow with all of the families remembering their lost children.

I know that today, as I ponder the amazing and wonderful creation that is my beautiful daughter, I also mourn for the babies we did not get to meet. My angels are in heaven, with Grandpa Floyd and Grandpa John and all of the infants and children lost by our family and friends.

Hugs to my sweet angels today. You may not be here with us today, but you are never far from my thoughts or my heart. I love you. Thank you for the gifts that you were and are to me.

Love, Mommy

Finally some pictures..

Elizabeth w/ some cousins, Great Grandma and Daddy
Elizabeth enjoying her grilled cheese sandwich!

Sad Day.....

Today, I'm saying good-bye to a wonderful friend and colleague. Her husband joined the Army last spring and has been assigned to duty station in Hawaii. Since they have a 2 1/2 yr old daughter, and the military will only pay for her to move w/in a certain time, they made the decision to go ahead and join her husband in Hawaii now.

Its a wonderful opportunity for them and I wish them all the best. Its just the selfish part of me that hates saying good-bye to someone as caring and kind as Christina. She has been wonderful in helping me transition to my new job, learn new skills and gives great mommy advice! She was there for me during my miscarriage and through my pregnancy with Elizabeth. She was 1 of 2 friends who came to visit me in the hospital while I recovered from my c-section and she has been so open with all her tips, tricks and parenting skills. I will miss hearing the funny Lydia stories and the new things she is learning to say and do. I will miss seeing those little red curls, the sweet little girl hugs and hearing "Baby 'Lizbeth" when she talks about my little girl. Most of all, I'll miss my friend, one of the few people since we moved here that I feel close to, that I've been able to share everything with. Its rare to find co-workers that become such wonderful friends, but I've been lucky to find Christina. She will be missed......

So, Good-bye Christina and Lydia! Know that I will think of you often and be missing you.

Ho-Hum Day...

Well, here it is Monday again! Today we are officially saying good-bye to my supervisor for the last 3 years. Its a bittersweet day- I'm ready for the change and challenge of a new organizational structure and a new supervisor, but will miss the comfort of a boss I've gotten to know so well. She's seen me through buying my first new car, first house and first baby. I've been here for her first grandchild and helped her daughter through career and school decisions. Its definitely going to be different around here without her!

On a happier note, my father-in-law came to visit this weekend and brought me his stove! He is remodeling his kitchen and bought himself all new appliances, so he gave me his old stove. Its newer than the one that came with the house and it is white, instead of black, so it makes the kitchen look so much nicer! We also found out that our new basment flooring will be installed next week and its all cleaned out and ready to paint and decorate! I can't wait for it all to be done so we can start making it truly our own space.

Elizabeth is pulling up on everything-furniture, people, pets! Its is so fun to watch and she's getting brave. She will stand up and then let go with one hand to stand on her tip-toes to reach for something she wants or just wave at whoever is standing around. She loves to wave at everyone (including the dog!) and is such a fast crawler, its hard to keep up with her sometimes! She loves to eat-cheese is her favorite- and she hasn't refused anything so far!

Well, that's enough for now. I will try to post some pictures this afternoon.