Horrible

I'm so horrible at this. I have so many pictures and stories I don't know where to begin. So right now all I'm going to say is I need to download all those pictures, when I do you'll be the first to know.

My Little Man

It's been awhile since I've done a post about Zeke and he is doing so much that I figured I better get on it. He's 7 almost 8 months and I can't believe how fast the time is flying by. He is a very happy content baby and is always laughing. He doesn't sleep great but at least he's happy. He is crawling all over the place and sometimes I can't keep up. I forgot how much work it is to have a crawler in the house, especially with my girls small toys laying around. He has two teeth on the bottom and one is breaking through on top. He loves his sisters and is always laughing at Genna. When Andrew is in sight Zeke just lights up. He adores Andrew and all Andrew has to do is look at him and he gets a huge smile. He also says dada and baba. He is now pulling himself up into a standing position, he sits on his own and will hold his bottle. He is bringing so much joy into our house and I'm so in love with my baby boy. Now I just need him to say mom.

This is for you Ang.

So I was out with friends last night and my good friend Angie told me that if I didn't update my blog soon she was going to dump me. So this gave me the motivation I needed to finally start blogging again. So much has happened over the past few months I'll just do some quick summaries.

November for Thanksgiving we went to North Carolina to visit my brother Ryan and his family for two weeks. With a little side trip to Myrtle Beach SC. It was so fun for all of our girls to be able to play together. We always miss them so much and wish we lived closer to them.

December was our normal hustle and bustle of Christmas time. Lots of shopping and lots of family parties. The girls didn't ask for much and I think its the first Christmas that we didn't go absolutely crazy. We decided that less is more this year. They always receive so much that they get completely overwhelmed. From Santa Genesee got a princess vanity/desk. It's really cute, it turns from a desk to a piano and came with a few instruments. Kameryn got a guitar and she loves playing it, especially with Andrew. He told her one day that he would tune it for her and instead of her hearing tune she heard toot. So now she is always asking him to "toot" her guitar. She told me the other day she couldn't play her guitar because no one has tooted it for her. So funny! Zeke had a good Christmas as well but pretty oblivious to what was going on.

January we got to go to Orlando to DisneyWorld and Universal. We went with Andrews family and had SO much fun. It was especially fun this year because our girls are tall enough to ride just about every ride they wanted to and they loved almost all of them. We took them on Tower of Terror. Genna was terrified the first time and then ended up going about 5 more times. Kami was a bit hesitant to go on the rides and a lot of them really scared her but she was brave and tried just about every one. Zeke made me proud he is a really good traveler. He would sleep for a few hours everyday when we'd get to the park and would just chill all day in the stroller. He also did amazing on the flights to and from Orlando. He's a great baby.

And in February just a week and a half after we got home from FL. Andrew took me to NYC. We had such a great time. Other than our honeymoon we've never been on a trip just the two of us and this trip came at a great time for that. I had so much fun just spending time with him. We've both been to NYC before so there was no feeling of we have to go see this or that. We did a lot of sleeping in and relaxing, we went to Little Italy and Chinatown for the bargain shopping, we did a double decker bus tour of uptown and downtown, we walked through Central Park, saw a few movies (we never get to go to movies), had frozen hot chocolates at Serendipity the same place as in the movie, ate the BEST hamburgers at the Shake Shack, ate AMAZING steaks at Ruths Chris and Andrew was convinced that Hulk Hogan and his daughter were sitting behind us (I promise it wasn't, but he doesn't believe me), hung out in the hotel room and watched the Superbowl, went to the Bodies exhibit.. that's a must see if you can, went to Dylans candy store the biggest candy store I've ever been in, went to ground zero, went to a sinful restaurant Max Brenners full of chocolate desserts, and then we had to stay for a few more days because of the storm they called Blizzard of 2010. I think when it was all said and done we had cancelled or rearranged six flights, spent probably a total of 8 hours on the phone with a number of airlines, spent an extra $1000.00 for flights and hotel, was part of an FBI investigation on the flight to Denver, and slept in the Denver airport. And I wouldn't change a second of it. I had a great time!!!

Another few updates. Andrew has started a new business with his best friend Cam and they are doing extremely well. I'm am very proud of him and all of his time and effort that he's put into it so far and hope that he continues to succeed.

The girls are loving preschool. Kami is still excelling in her reading and we just registered her for Kindergarten this fall. They both have made friends and insist on having playdates almost weekly. I love listening to what they each learn everyday. Genna was telling Andrew and I about the president Aberton Lincoln and when she says the pledge of allegiance she says United Stakes of America. Neither of us correct her because it's just too cute.

And finally I took Zeke to his six month appointment. He weighs over 18 lbs and is 27 inches long. I thought for sure he'd be in the 80th to 90th percentile for height and weight but surprisingly he was only in the 50th. Crazy. He is growing up so fast and I can't believe that he is now 7 months old and has begun to crawl.

I've tried posting pics but my computer is being stubborn and I'm giving up. Sorry no pictures for now.

Halloween '09

This is belated but that's no surprise to anyone I'm sure since I'm so late on all my posts lately. On Friday the 30th the kids and I went up to my parents and celebrated early. My mom had some really fun games prepared for the girls. We did pumpkin bowling and the girls decorated the pins, decorated sugar cookies, doughnut bobbing, a candy corn race, and we went out to dinner dressed up. The girls had so much fun.

Kami was Barbie Mariposa and Genna was Tinkerbell




On Halloween we went to dinner with Andrews family with all the kids dressed up. It was fun to see all the kids in their costumes. Later we took the girls trick or treating. They loved it! They raced to each house and Genna was so excited about every piece of candy that she got. Zeke was a little dragon, but we ended up staying home most of the night it was a bit chilly for him. When they got home they were just as excited to hand out candy.

Drake arrested Andrew and put him in his pig cruiser (side note Drake was just in D.C. and asked a secret service agent where he parked his pig cruiser..too funny!)

Kami, Dawson, Drake, Genna

All the kiddos. That was a task getting them all to stand still.

My sweet lil Zeke

The girls outside our friends Scott and Jodi's house.

October..really really long

I could say that I'm so busy that I haven't had time to update my blog but I've just been lazy and now I'm feeling the pressure of updating and have a lot to write about.
Zeke is now 3 months and I can't believe how fast time is passing. He's smiling all the time and this past week he laughed for the first time...my favorite. At his two month appt he weighed in at 14 lbs 1 oz and 24 inches long. He is getting so big. Kami was 19 lbs at one year. He is a sweet baby and loves to cuddle he wants to be held all the time. The girls still adore him. Genna cannot keep her hands off him. Always touching his face and kissing him. It makes us crazy sometimes.

The girls are in preschool again and loving it! They are both doing really well in their classes. Kami is still learning to read and is doing so good. She impresses me. I'm proud of her. She loves to write notes and make pictures. She's very creative. Genna loves her class and hopes she is the special helper every day.

They are growing up so fast it makes me sad.

We made our annual trip to the Mabey Farm for pumpkins. Its something we have done with my family now for the past eight years and its something we all look forward to.

Uncle Shaun

Grandpa Rich and Grandma Terry


Kamis creation. She painted then we carved.

Sweet Sis.

Nothing Better

It doesn't get any better than this. I love my kids!!!!

Sorry if that made you a bit sick, Kami wanted to hold the camera and wouldn't let me help.

Potty Joys

One of the joys I have found with having small kids is the fact that you can NEVER go to the bathroom without someone either following you in or finding you before you have a chance to sit down. Today was no exception, I thought I had a few minutes so I made a bathroom break. Of course Kami found me and knocked on the door. Here's our conversation.
"Kami I'm going potty what do you need?"
"Mommy I wanted to show you something I made"
"Ok, when I'm done I'll come see"
Then there was a few seconds of silence.
"Mommy, are you ok?"
"Yes Kami I'm fine." I thought this was funny because I always ask her the same thing
"Mommy do you need help?"
Even funnier. "No Kami I'm fine, thanks for asking."
Oh how I love my little ones.

A Bit Too Helpful

Tonight while I was doing dishes Zeke woke up and started crying. I asked Genna to go in and talk to him until I could get in there. I was drying my hands and realized that Zekes crying seemed to be getting closer. I started walking out of the kitchen and saw Genna walking down the hallway holding Zeke. I about had a heart attack. It was one of those situations where everything in you wants to freak out but somehow you remain calm in order to keep the situation from becoming worse. I walked over to her and took Zeke out of her arms and told her that I was proud of her for wanting to help but only mommy and daddy can pick up Zeke and carry him around. She was so happy that she had helped me out. Thinking about it I can't help but laugh and be sick to my stomach at the same time. I can only imagine what it looked like her trying to pick him up. I think its cute that she wants to be helpful and was so proud. On the flip side it makes me sick that at any point she could have dropped him. Ugh. Lets just say I'm really happy that as of this Friday we will be back home and Zeke will be in an actual crib so there is no way she'll be able to do that again.

Life with Zeke

Life with Zeke has been good. He's been a typical newborn so far...sleeping, pooping, and eating. He has a cry that wakes the whole apartment building I'm sure of it. When he's really mad his cry makes my ears ring...no joke. He knows what he wants and he lets you know. The girls absolutely adore their baby brother. Kameryn is always MORE than willing to get the binky or anything else that I'm in need of. She gets so excited when his eyes are open. Genna loves to tell me how cute she thinks he is, "oh mommy he is so cute," "He's a super super cute baby mommy." I think its really sweet. I've been breastfeeding and decided to switch to the bottle. I wish that I would have just done the bottle from the get go. He was very upset with me at first and didn't do very good switching, we had a really long night the first night. Once we figured out what bottle he likes he's been much happier with the switch. We are all adjusting well and enjoying our new little Zeke.



His big sisters love to play with him


Grandma Terry...he was trying to find something to eat.

His hair was styled like Andrews but its hard to see. You can actually kindof see it in his shadow

Andrew is trying to teach him young

This pic just makes me laugh

So sweet.

Our baby boy!

Our sweet little baby boy is here!!!! Ezekial Andrew Grose was born July 31 2009 at 11:30 PM weighing in at 8 lbs 7 ounces and 21 inches long. He is healthy and doing great. We already love and adore him!!

Seriously!?

Why is it when people see a pregnant woman they have the uncontrollable urge to say out loud whatever stupid comment they are thinking???? I know that my belly is large and I do stick out A LOT. It does look like I stuck a ball up my shirt. Look at me from behind and you don't know I'm pregnant, I turn around and BAM where did that belly come from. BUT...I will never understand why random strangers who would never even consider uttering a word to you otherwise feel like they need to make comments to a pregnant girl that is already fully aware of the stares and comments that are being made around her. When a creepy man walking past me says while laughing "You're going to pop!" I want to punch him in the groin. Or when I'm walking out of the doctors office and I hear a patient say to another "WOW she's huge" Seriously you can't wait til the door is shut and I can't hear you....

Did I mention pregnancy makes me irritable.......

Ryans visit

My brother Ryan works for Braun Racing which is a Nascar team and on the 10th there was a race in Joliet IL which is about 30 min from us. He had told me that there wasn't any reason from his job stand point to come out but he had worked it with boss and was able to come out anyway. I wasn't going to complain. He flew in on Wednesday and we had all day Thursday to play. He had never been to downtown Chicago so I figured it was a perfect time for him to see it. I had looked online and debated doing the boat tour but I don't feel that you see that much of the city. Its great for seeing most of the buildings but you don't get the feel of the city. I found one of the companies that does the double decker bus tours. I thought it was funny at first I always chuckle a bit at the tourists sitting on top snapping pictures and I thought of the movie The Breakup with Vince Vaughn where he is a tour guide for a double decker bus company..too funny.

We decided to try it out. It has 18 stops throughout the city and we could get on and off as we pleased. It seemed like a great way for him to really see the city. It was perfect!!! I would recommend it to anybody, and you definitely have to sit on top. The girls loved it, I loved it and I believe Ryan loved it. We saw and learned so much of Chicago. The only downfall was my camera battery died just after we started so I couldn't be one of the tourists I chuckle at. At one point we were at the front of the bus by the guide. He asked Genna what her favorite part of Chicago was she told him riding the school bus. She also loved the fact that he had handed her the mic to hold on to while he walked to the back of the bus. Kami was ticked that he hadn't talked to her. She said to him "Don't you know I'm here too?" Oh, I love my Kami. Kami also started her random humming and the tour guide thought it was really funny and had her hum into the mic. Everyone clapped for her, it was cute. It was a lot of fun.

At the "Bean" in Millenium Park

Friday was the day of the race. Ryan had arranged pit passes for Andrew, Cameron, and Scott. Cameron was as giddy as a kid on Christmas, Andrew was excited and Scott needed some convincing. Apparently Scott didn't realize it was a legit Nascar race and didn't think it was going to be as much fun as they had. His father in law is a huge fan and they had Scott call him to get his opinion, apparently his father in law was incredibly jealous and that convinced Scott it was going to be a fun thing. So funny! They got to wear the headsets that the crews wear and could hear the conversations between the driver and the crew the whole race. They got to meet the drivers, stand out with the teams before the race and were in the center of all the excitement the whole day. They all had a great time and want to go again. Thanks Ryan for doing that for the guys!!!!

Happy 4th of July!

I know this is belated but I still wanted to write about it. Every summer since Andrew has started this job I just know that we won't spend it together, and if he says "I'll try to be home early enough to do something," I don't hold my breath. I know most of you who read my blog understand what I'm talking about. Anyways, this year I wasn't even sure that the girls and I were going to be able to do anything either the weather was horrible. I was a bit bummed because I had found a couple parades in the area but it was raining and I didn't think it was worth trying. We were just hanging out in the apartment when I heard police and fire truck sirens. It was really close and I wondered what in the world was going on. I walked outside and was shocked to see that a parade was going right through our apartment complex, we were able to watch right outside our door. It worked out perfect, I couldn't have been happier. We hung out for most of the day not doing too much. I was really excited when Andrew called and said he was on his way home. We were able to go out to eat and watch the fireworks together!!!!! Even Kami was brave and sat through the whole display. She hates fireworks. Cameron had bribed her, he told her if she was brave and sat through the whole thing he would give her a dollar...it worked. If only I could do that every time I needed her to do something. All in all it turned out to be a great 4th.

Sweet Taya!

Ashley and Taya. The girls were able to enjoy some pops before the fireworks. Thanks Ashley!

Kami took this pic for us.

Baby Update

I just wanted to give everyone an update on the baby. The last few times I've gone to the Dr. he's been really sweet to tell me how big I am and that he thinks the baby is going to very big as well. Something I love to hear. NOT! Every pregnant woman loves hearing how huge she looks. Although as much as I try to deny it, I really do think with this one even more than with the girls, I am big. My belly seems to stick out quite a bit more. Anyways, my Dr. has brought up a few times about inducing me because my delivery with Genna went so fast that he doesn't want me to miss getting an epidural..thank heavens for that. Today at my appointment I brought it up and asked if by chance we could set a date and to my pleasant surprise he said yes! He checked his schedule and we are set for August 4. Its so nice to have a date to look forward to. I'm glad to know that I will not go past that date and maybe just maybe our little one will decide to come on his own before that.

Happy 8th!!!

Monday June 29th was our 8th anniversary! Its been a great 15 years.. oops I mean 8 it just feels a lot longer (just kidding!). I didn't think we would do much because of the hours Andrew works and it was a Monday. Andrew never takes a day off in the summer...its rare if he does. Andrew called me and said don't make plans for Sunday and you'll need to pack all of us an overnight bag. YEAH! I was so excited and I absolutely love surprises. We got up Sunday morning and left it was about an hour away and we ended up in Gurnee, IL at the hotel Key Lime Cove. Its a resort hotel with an indoor waterpark. We checked in and went straight to the water. It had a pool just for little ones with small slides, a huge hot tub, a wave pool, lazy river, waterslides and a playground with all sorts of water buckets and waterslides that the girls could go down. Once they realized they could go and go on their own that was the end of it. They had a great time going from one slide to another. Andrew mentioned to me that this probably wasn't the way I wanted to spend my anniversary with the kids and all but to me it was perfect! I loved it. We had a great time. I would recommend this place to anyone. We played in the arcade..Andrew and I really liked the Deal or No Deal game. Which by the way I won more tickets than Andrew. We also took the girls to storytime and they got to color and play games. We ended the day with ice cream at the ice cream parlor. So tasty! After we put the girls to bed Andrew introduced me to a new game on facebook which is now my new addiction. Bejeweled Blitz. I cannot stop playing and I'm not that good. Its horrible. He and I played it together for a couple hours and had a lot of fun. Might sound lame but that was probably one of my favorite times of our weekend. Monday morning we woke up, ate breakfast and hit the waterpark until Andrew had to leave for work. It was an awesome anniversary and I'm so thankful that Andrew planned something like that for all of us. After 8 years I love him more than I ever thought I could, I love my kids, and the life he has provided and is providing for our family. I am very lucky to have him in my life, he's a great and thoughtful husband and a fantastic dad. Happy Anniversary Andrew!