Ch Ch Ch Ch Ch Changes

Throughout my adult life I’ve found that when concerning change – when it rains it pours. The last couple months have certainly not been the exception to the rule. Outside the best and most obvious change rocking our sense of normalcy in the form of Layla, I feel like I’ve been in a game of dodgeball and I'm either constantly avoiding the red rubber balls of change, or seeing one that appears catchable, only to have it rock me in the face and seemingly knock me out of the game.

Fortunately for me, God is graceFULL and when I was dodging the wrong ball, he’d lob it at me again – this time slowly and underhand making it completely obvious which ones I’m supposed to grasp on to. I’ll never claim to be the smartest person ever, sometimes it works best to speak slowly and use small words… Silly analogy aside, life looks a lot different now than it did eight weeks ago. Most of it’s good, some of it’s just requires adjustment as we continue to try to settle into us.

We learned a couple weeks before Layla was born that Justin didn’t get the job in Colorado with the wind energy company. It was disappointing news for all of us – it goes without saying I took it the hardest because the opportunity was such a tease – but I’m still extremely proud of my husband for getting as far as he did and dedicating so much time to the process of getting us to Colorado. It will happen eventually, now’s just not the time.

Alanis may find it ironic, but it wasn’t lost on me that days after we found out Colorado was out of the picture, Justin got a call from a different recruiter about a job opportunity in Cleveland with another aerospace company. I went ahead and took the house off the market before he even interviewed – I just knew he was going to get it. Sure enough, the day before Layla was born Justin got the official offer. This job answers all the prayers and meets our financial needs, it just lacks a few mountains in the distance, but that's okay. I'm bummed I can't brag that my husband works for NASA anymore, but he's got a lot more responsibility with this new position and I can't stress enough about the answered prayer financially. So he signed a 12 month contract and I'm now in the process of making our house "ours" instead of the neutered house we had for showings.

Bella's started preschool in September and absolutely loves it. She's thrilled every morning she realizes it's a school day and is very serious about the time we spend going through her school folder as she empties her backpack at night. Still, she's very much a three year-old and each wrap-up of the school day starts and ends with what they had for snack until I prod for details about the letter of the week or what she picked up from story time. Every day it both warms my heart and breaks it a little when I watch her walk hand in hand with her teacher into school. Even though she's only gone a couple (glorious) hours twice a week, I can't get over how much she's already grown and they don't lie... time flies.

Austin has really started coming into his own the last few weeks. He's not that interested in Layla, but it's like the addition of an infant triggered something in him to start making the merge from baby to toddler. *sigh* This has come with tantrums (his I think will eventually put Bella's to shame) but mostly a love of learning new words and small phrases along with following directions (YAY!) and playtime with Bella. He's still all boy and gets into everything with no intention or curiosity outside of just making a mess. And you know those moms that are so embarrassing and have their child on a leash that they've tricked them into thinking was a backpack? Hello, nice to meet you. Aint no shame in keeping track of my son, he's a flight risk.

Just to make sure I'm completely overwhelming myself I'm trying to throw a quality 30th birthday party for Justin. Usually for his birthday we go to dinner or have the backyard bbq with family and friends. Since this is really the first milestone oh-my-gosh-you're-old birthday I really want to make a big deal out of it for him. He deserves to know he's loved and appreciated - and celebrated accordingly. I've decided on a "Nerdy Thirty" theme and along with help from his mom I think this should be pretty legit. The party is Saturday though and there's still lots to do for it, so excuse me while I go breathe in a paper bag to keep the anxiety attack at bay.

Also, speaking of change, a big shout out to my friend Jenn for the much-needed facelift she gave my blog! I've been staring at the same design for about four years, so I was seriously excited for something different. You can check out all her awesome work here.

Miss Layla Grace

Baby’s birth announcement is long overdue, she’s three weeks old now and I’ve got no bragging on my blog. It’s simply unacceptable because she’s completely amazing. So with no further ado (there actually will be more following the picture, but it sounded right) I give you Miss Layla Grace –

Because the placenta previa went away I didn’t have to have a c-section but we still planned to be induced because the majority of my help post-baby and with the two Littles at home, was coming from Colorado in the form of my mom and sister. It was certainly not an easy task to get them here in time. First, they had to change their tickets after the c-section was canceled and then there was serious stress if they’d make it in time because I was dilated 3 cm with two weeks to go and Andrea was cutting it close, not coming until 12 hours before I was set to go to the hospital. I made sure not to even sneeze to make sure Baby would stay cooking until my family arrived.

When the day finally came we made an early start to the hospital and I was sure we’d meet Baby before noon since I was already so far dilated and they say the more children you have the faster labor goes… no dice. It was still a relatively quick day since my doctor is a Rock Star and likes to kick up the pitocin every time she came in the room, but I was anxious throughout the day anyway and the nurses seemed to be moving so slowly. The hospital was on day two using a new computer system and since my nurse was practically archaic with her computer skills, it was an extra long day and I was ready to take part and actually DO something and participate in bringing Baby here.

After the epidural (and I basically washed the med student’s feet with my tears straight biblical style) I asked my OB to check me because even though the nurse said I wasn’t contracting enough, I was pretty sure things were ready to get started. Justin was about to leave for the cafeteria (again) so he was shocked to be called back because I was at 10 cm and we were ready to go! When she asked me to try pushing, the baby crowned, and everything intensified. Three pushes later, we met our new baby girl! I have to say, the moment of the big gender reveal wasn’t as exciting as I was hoping (the heavens opening, light shining on her, “hallelujah” in the background... the usual.) our doctor did hold her up in what can only explain as the naaaa sevenjaaa moment in the Lion King's Circle of Life. Still, in hindsight I would have rather found out the gender at the midway ultrasound.

Even more surprising than finding out it was a girl (I was pretty sure the entire time that it was another girl) was her extremely dark brown, stick-straight hair. Finally, a child that may look like me! At that point we realized none of the names on our list were very fitting for her, except Layla, and it still took over 24 hours to officially name her. I was stuck on the middle name because I’d always assumed we’d use “Elizabeth” after a dear family friend and my favorite character from a novel and movie (Ms. Bennett from Pride & Prejudice is a serious kind of hero) but again, it just didn’t seem quite perfect anymore.

So I turned to Andrea and asked her to help name Layla. It was special because I wanted her to share in some part of Layla because we were supposed to share much more, so I at least wanted to share my daughter’s name. When I found out I was pregnant, I called Andrea to tell her and in true fashion, she let me go on and on about it before telling me she was also expecting and she was due ONE day before me. We were both ecstatic to be pregnant together and deliver so close together. Unfortunate doesn’t do justice to the feeling when I heard from her husband that she’d miscarried a couple weeks later. Again, true to her nature she was more than happy to come to Cleveland to be in the hospital room with us for Layla’s birth. She chose the perfect name to follow Layla – Grace. It already speaks to the strength in her personality and the fighter I can tell she’s going to be. “The beauty of grace is that it makes life not fair” and I see Layla wanting to share that with others. God willing.

country road trip

Because I forgot my camera on the "adventure" Bella, Austin and I went on last weekend, I'm left to tell the story the same way Justin got it throughout the trip, via picture messages. We packed up and took off for a five hour drive on Thursday, made it past Cincinnati and then finished the road trip to Nashville another five hours later the next day... thankfully the trip went much smoother than I thought. Bella was thrilled about going on our adventure, and more importantly the movies she got to watch in the car, so the meltdowns were nonexistent.

who needs a binky? this kid's ready for his first road trip!

they saved all their energy all day for the hour before (and ultimately after) bedtime - it would have been annoying if it weren't so cute watching them play together!

Bella loved getting spoiled, especially with a trip to the ice cream parlor...
she was in her element.

we figured it was the safest way to travel in Nashville...

sharing a bed with Bella at the hotels was an awesome time.

we had a great few days spent in Nashville - Emily and Rob were great hosts and Bella was completely enamored with them both. She trailed Ms. Emily around the house asking question after question (actually it was usually the exact same question repeated 15 times) and then playing Mr. Rob's piano and singing for their friends when they came over. It was nice to spend time with Witt and catch up with her in her element... I miss my friend!

so snow stuck

I’m not sure I’ll be complaining about cabin fever for a bit after last night. In an effort to get out of the house we joined Justin’s parents for lunch about an hour south of us. We’d recently had a few days of sunshine tease us so we were a little disheartened when a light snow dusted the ground the day before, but since it hadn’t snowed all day yesterday we thought nothing of loading up the babies and making the trip. (cue disaster music)

About halfway through the drive on the way there the snow picked up and the travel slowed down. I’m not sure if it’s because I grew up a Colorado resident or I’ve been hit by two semi trucks and feel invincible, but it really didn’t seem like the roads were that bad so I was incredibly aggravated how slow things were moving. I wasn’t driving though so I had to sit passively in the passenger seat as Justin obeyed all traffic laws and was a courteous driver abiding by the 10 mph speed limit the drivers in front of us set. We made it eventually and enjoyed a nice couple hours with his parents and then started the drive back, knowing it would take longer than the hour it was supposed to, but never ever imagining what was in store for us:

It took us 45 minutes to go about 12 miles but spirits were lifted when we reached the highway and assumed we would actually be able to start moving, albeit at a slow pace, we wouldn’t be dealing with the stop and go of a small town in love with stop signs. When we got on the on-ramp J had to brake immediately to get out of the way of a van reversing back on to the road and we saw two semi-trucks chillin on the side of the ramp. We looked ahead and traffic was moving (again, slowly but still moving) so we figured we’d go ahead and continue on the highway. (turn up disaster music)

We made it about two miles before coming to a complete stop for the next FIVE hours. Apparently there were a lot of accidents at one time so the frickin county decided to simply close the highway so they could clear some of the accidents… it would’ve make sense if they also permitted people from entering the highway, but they didn’t, so we literally drove on to a closed highway and it was just a matter of time until we caught up with the location that was halted. It would also make sense to close the if they planned on sending plowing or salting the roads to make it safer for drivers after they were opened again, but they didn’t do that either.

So, for five hours we sat in Justin’s five-passenger car with the babies slipping in and out of meltdowns. At one point Justin’s dismay was obvious when he looked over and Bella, Austin and I were all crying at the same time. haha! It only lasted a minute (my crying – theirs was much more impressive) but I was losing my mind. Luckily we had brought our portable DVD player so Bella alternated between a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Christmas episode and listening to Beauty and the Beast on disc. She made it through both about 12 times. (this only aided to me turning into a crazy person).

Poor Austin wasn’t feeling well and quickly got a fever and was restless and pretty inconsolable unless he was laying on my chest sleeping. The extra weight right on my pregnant bladder did wonders… so at hour 4.5 I finally broke down and told Justin we had to figure something out. We were looking through the car and didn’t see any viable options, plus all the cars around us still had their headlights on so running to the side of the road wasn’t an option either. It wasn’t until I saw the beautiful red gleam from a Dr Pepper can I had put out of Austin’s reach on Justin’s side door that I had hope! Justin pushed as much of the top into the can as he could and I made him turn his head as I made use of my superior skill from peeing in so many cups at the doctor’s offices and filled the can to. the. brim. Didn’t spill a drop, I was pretty proud.

Justin had an easier time figuring out how to relieve himself (so unfair how much easier it is for guys!) and as he simply opened his car door and was beginning to breathe a little easier, someone appears out of nowhere one car in front of us and starts waving a flashlight at us. My heart stopped, I heard Justin catch his breath when we realized it was a police officer. Luckily he had no idea the shenanigans going on from our car and was instead waving us on to try to drive up the hill in front of us.

PRAISE THE LORD! Seriously, I did because I knew my good friend from home, Babette, had been praying for us and we turned out to be one of about 10 cars they let go. Justin was a rock star and got us to the top without much trouble, but some of the cars around us weren’t so lucky so they closed the road again and J’s sister who was about a mile behind us had to wait an additional two hours! So, six hours later and the needle now pointing much closer to E than when we’d started we were finally moving and on the way home.

I’m more than a little nervous for the drive to Nashville I’m going to attempt on Thursday because I think both babies are pretty fed up of the car, but refuse to be defeated before trying… so fingers crossed! Lesson learned though, there will be a box in the back of my car with blankets, food, water and most importantly, better entertainment.

Lets Make a Deal

I haven't written much about the process of trying to sell our house because it was a pseudo-secret for much of the time it was on the market the first time around... that's right, first time around which was a big discouraging fail. We're officially on Round II now and feel much better about it time around. We have a new realtor who seems to be aggressive about helping us sell this house. The whole process has been pretty bittersweet because we truly love our house and our huge yard, but it's unfortunately not in the preferred state, and my heart remains in Colorado. Honestly the best case scenario would be if we could just pick up our house (I'm super strong so it shouldn't be a problem) and move it to the mountains. Not so possible as it turns out so we'll be traditional if we must and try to sell it.

There are about fifty things that have been making this difficult... none of the least of the hurdles is the Ohio house market blows and it's practically impossible to sell your house to break even, let alone make money. We understand that what we may lose here, we can make up for when we buy our next house... but I'm a recent SAHM and we're just not in a place to lose money on the forefront. We decided to list the house for less this time around to garner more attention and the right buyers, but we will literally have extremely minimal wiggle room which makes me nervous that we may actually make it to a place where we get offers but nothing will come of it when they low ball us and we go back to them with basically the same amount we're asking for.

Truly though, not just saying it, in the back of my mind a song my Mother-in-Law sings the babies "My God is so big, so strong and so mighty, there's nothing my God cannot do" rattles around in the back of my mind. I know with 100% certainty that if it's God's will we be able to move home we will. I'm equally fearful that His will is that we stay longer and my heart won't be changed to accept the direction for our family. "My God is so big, so strong and so mighty, there's nothing my God cannot do."

Our realtor sent over a stager to help us prepare the house to re-list and she had some pretty fantastic and overwhelming suggestions. Mostly a lot of painting in the main three rooms you see when you walk in our house. I really like her suggestions too, just makes me want to uproot the house to Colorful Colorado all the more. Conveniently I'm not going to be able to help with any painting since I'm pregnant so, once again, it all falls on Justin's shoulders. ((sorry J!)) Instead I'm going to drive down to Nashville this weekend with the babies to get out of the house and give Justin free reign and four days to get the painting done. I'm really excited for the excuse to visit Emily and am confident the change of scenery will help eliminate our cabin fever.

So, for now, I remain overwhelmed but encouraged.

my eggs are like vaccuums

We were blessed, excited, nervous, overjoyed, overwhelmed and SURPRISED when we found out six weeks ago that we are expanding the family once again and "Baby Gump" will make an arrival around September 10th!

In every way our cup runneth over.

"Ten Things from 2010" Photo Edition

Our Christmas family newsletter (yes, I'm one of those) but complete with pictures...

1. On March 19th Austin Lee was born at 8 lbs 8 oz and 20 inches. The newest addition to our little family quickly filled a void we didn’t know was missing and we’ve settled fairly seamlessly into a family of four.


2. Bella is a fantastic big sister to Austin – she simply loves to love on him. She's so proud of her ability to trap his attention and he's more than content giving it to her.


3. Justin and I celebrated five years of marriage with a weekend trip to Chicago. Joined by my sister, Andrea, and brother-in-law we went on a boat tour, caught a game at Wrigley Field, ate deep-dish pizza, went to the top of Sear’s Tower and spent time on Magnificent Mile shopping. No one could tell we were tourists I’m sure.


4. Bella’s vocabulary increased abundantly and we are the receiving end of her hilarious, rambunctious and independent spirit that’s newly evident through words and phrases she’s learned.

okay, no picture for this, but you can watch her sing "bringing home a bumblebee" here

5. Austin has smiled throughout each and every day he’s been alive and has blessed us with every single one of them. It’s not uncommon to get stopped when we go out from people commenting on his smile.

6. We were blessed and thankful for the opportunity to give the Lord what is His in September when we dedicated Austin at church. It was one of the first moments of truly relinquishing ownership of our child and recognizing that he is the Lord's.

((no photos of this one but the video of his dedication is here!))

7. Because we didn’t have enough on our plates, we put our house on the market two days after Austin was born. We’ve had multiple open houses and a few showings but no love from buyers. If you know someone looking, tell them to buy our house. but seriously…

this was taken the day we bought our house in March 2005

8. Acquiring the attention span to (almost) watch a full-length movie, Bell’s love of Disney Princesses has increased despite Justin’s best efforts. fine, despite mine too.

9. Bella and Dana recently enrolled in Mommy and Me gymnastics (or to Bella: “doodastics”) and it’s become the perfect outlet for her extra energy. She loves it and I love watching her obvious pride of the new tricks she learns weekly.


10. In the middle of November I left the Cleveland Cavaliers and took my talents south to Olmsted Falls, officially becoming a stay-at-home mom. A month later we’re still in the process of adapting to one another on a fulltime basis, but I’m already sure the right decision was made!

Me and Mama Brady

It’s been a week now since I’ve made one of the bigger decisions I’ve made to date… a choice that will affect every member of our little family. It was a pretty tough choice to make, one that I’m still secretly nervous may not end up being entirely the right choice for me personally, but I’m completely certain is the best option for my family, so ultimately it was a decision I’m happy to make. Starting November 18th I will officially be a stay at home mom.

I know this is a dream for many women to be in a place where they can afford to live on one income – we will certainly be cutting back, but thankfully are able to live solely on Justin’s salary – but personally, being a working mom has always been a pretty great dynamic for me. I worked extremely hard to make sure I could achieve my goal to work in sports and entertainment… an opportunity I knew would be hard to come by. I chased down a competitive internship at USA Basketball and applied relentlessly until my resume was finally picked up by the Cleveland Cavaliers. I landed my dream job when I was just 23 years-old and have been incredibly blessed by the opportunities I’ve had here. That’s what makes this hardest, I’ve really enjoyed what I do – and challenged myself to grow a entry level position of a coordinator to a manager.

All that said, I’m not lost under rose-colored glasses. The pay in sports is hardly anything to write home about (believe me, the professional athletes make the dollar bills, not the team behind the team – not that the Cavs are unfair, it’s like this across the board until you’re really high up and I’m not at a place where I want to dedicate myself to climbing the corporate ladder). So when you’re paying to put two kids in day care fulltime, it’s practically a wash. The hours are anything but traditional or consistent during the season, and I had it better than most.

A couple weeks ago I worked 50 hours by the end of the day on Thursday and I still had all of Friday and a quick trip back to work for a couple hours over the weekend. It was clear that it was too much for me at this point. Justin’s off work for over an hour before I get home every day as it is, so tag on the nights and early mornings I’d have to work and I can literally go days without seeing my babies for more than a kiss goodnight. These years are too short to continue down this road.

I’m not sure this is my future as a stay-at-home. I hope in the next couple years I’ll go back to school for a masters in counseling so I’ll have the same hours as my kids, and I can use some of the gifts God’s given me in an area I’ve felt called to since high school. I’m more than nervous that I’m never going to find a good network of other moms in Cleveland… I have this fear that all that’s out there are teacher-sweater moms (the ones that wear sweater vests with appliqués and poms way prematurely) and that finding new relatable mommy friends will be harder to find than a husband, but I’m up for the challenge. Not succeeding at this is simply not an option.

Dear Morfar,

My Morfar (it’s grandfather in Swedish – by the way I’ve always loved that I have a special name for my Mormor and Morfar. something exclusive for me and my cousins with these two incredibly special people). start over… My Morfar is turning 90 years old and unfortunately I’m unable to attend the pseudo family reunion they’re having in Coeur d’Alene, ID to celebrate him.

I was thinking of a gift I could give my Morfar, something that would be appropriate for this wonderful man, and I came up short. Instead I thought about gifts he and Mormor have given me. Every Christmas growing up all the kids would wait anxiously until everyone was home so we could open the package from Post Falls. Immediately after the tape was cut, four heads would simultaneously lean in to smell the distinctive sweet scent of Morfar’s workshop in their basement. We were so excited to see what ornament they sent for each of us (our Christmas tree now is littered with ornaments with my name on them – and accessorized by a couple of Bell’s ornaments because we copied their tradition and get her one a year).

There was a purpose to this post, more than my favorite memories of my Morfar. Start over… because I couldn’t think of a gift good enough for Morfar, I thought about gifts my Morfar gave me – and it didn’t take long to come up with the best one.

I saw this video on a friend’s blog a little bit ago, and while a good amount of it was completely relatable to Justin and I, I couldn’t help but think of my Mormor and Morfar. They’ve celebrated well over 50 years of marriage, five children, 12 grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. They’ve given us a legacy. They’ve set an example for all 24 of us of a solid Christian marriage that has withstood decades. I don’t get to see them often but when I’m able to spend time with them I watch them take care of each other and delight in the company of their family. I’m unable to put into words how helpful it is to be early in my marriage and have that example from my grandparents.

the actual fantasic music video is here - unfortunately they won't let you embed it. nuts.

So, Morfar, on your 90th birthday I have nothing to send other than my love, thoughts and very sincere thanks for the example you have set for me. I wish I could be there, and look forward to the chance to introduce you and Mormor to Austin, and have Bella make memories spending time with you. I love you and remain always, your Dana.

Plays Well With Others

When I was pregnant we were constantly asked how we thought Bella would be as a big sister. We quickly told them our "push 'em or pet 'em" theory - pretty self explanatory - I had no idea how she'd react... she's always been really good with animals and very cuddly, but when my niece and nephew were visiting I had Isaiah in my lap and Bella literally crawled up and tried to push him off. The question has developed into how she is as big sister. We couldn't be more proud and happy how she's reacting to Austin and how he, in turn, responds to her. She loves to love on him. She completely lights up when he laughs or watches her as she reads, or sings her songs or plays with her. She's so proud of her ability to trap his attention, and he's so content having her attention. I quite literally pray constantly that they stay confidants and friends - I tell her to be kind and always love him and I'm already telling him to look out for her and love and protect her.

when I bring Austin down in the morning to join Bella and Justin,
she insists he sits right next to her so she can hold him.

this was is fantastic - couldn't have posed it better if I tried (but totally didn't)

...occasionally she wants to try to feed him, not so effective, but really cute.

I caught this when they weren't paying attention to anyone other than each other.

LOVE it.

((that's it Jenn, I'm committing to a blog re-design. my videos don't fit anymore!))

meu irmão

Over the last few years I have become especially grateful for my brother-in-law Alex. When this 6'7" Brazilian gentle giant married my sister Andrea three years ago she and I had a... difficult relationship. Things have since smoothed over between us, in part I believe, to Alex. Not once did I feel judgement or disapproval as as we mended bridges. He and Justin kept an appropriate distance and didn't hold it against us for hurting each other in the past. Alex and I have developed a friendship and he's more like family to me than some of, well, my family. When he answers my calls he greets me not by name, but as "sister" and I can't remember the last time I answered his call by anything by "brother".

Recently I received some sad news from Andrea - Alex's mom passed away at the beginning of the week and they were on their way to Brazil for the funeral. Unfortunately I never had the opportunity to meet her, she was unable to attend their wedding, but I sort of feel like I knew her if for no other reason than knowing her son.

I know she must have been kind because Alex is quite literally one of the nicest people I've had the pleasure to know. He seems to have this outlook on life that I'm envious of. I know he's been stressed and I've seen him angry, but I've never seen him mean - he keeps it all in perspective. He's extremely generous and gracious and good.

I know she must have been loving because Alex loves fiercely, especially when it comes to his family. I so admire how protective he is of my sister and has an obvious desire to protect her and provide for her. In the little bit that I get to spend time with their whole family, I've seen how proud he is of his children in the way he interacts with them... his smile beaming and infectious.

I know she must have known Jesus because Alex has faith and wants to be a Spiritual Leader to Andrea, Lili and Isaiah. He's heard and heeds the call to be Christ-like. He believes in people and emulates instruction to love others as Christ loves us.

So, while I may not have met his mom, I'm extremely grateful for her and for the son she raised and the husband he is for my sister and the father he is to my niece and nephew and the brother he's become to me and Justin. I love you Alex, and am keeping your family in my prayers.

Oh Lili!

a text from Andrea today: "Lili just ate something she wasn't supposed to and she blamed it on Austin! I told her that's not going to work until he's at least in the same state..."

I love, love, love that girl!

No Slack on the Track

I’m not sure I’ve ever gone this long between posts, but I haven’t completely wanted to write. It’s been a month but I’m not able to write much about it because, however much they affect me, they’re not my stories to tell. While there have been some fun and funny stories to share (including Bella’s birthday party, a couple trips a visit from Emily, and Austin’s ever-growing gassy self) I can’t write all of it and I can't just write the rosy stuff without feeling like the keystrokes are insincere. I need to just find a way to let go of some things that weigh down my heart and that’s been a lifelong battle… *sigh*

BUT there’s something to pull me out of my blogger’s slump – Andrea’s birthday is today and she deserves to know she’s thought of and loved so this one goes out to you Sissy!

Lean on me, when you're not strong
And I'll be your friend, I'll help you carry on
For it won't be long 'til I'm gonna need somebody to lean on

Every time I hear this song on the radio I stop what I’m doing, turn it up and sing along. Seriously, every time to a fault, even if I’m mid-conversation with Justin. But I know you know this because your voicemail box has been littered with messages from me singing to you. If I’m in the passenger seat don’t put it past me to dance along, although it’s just one half of the dance so it’s never as good as it was for our performances, but I think of you and even years ago when we weren’t so friendly, it made me smile.

I can remember vividly making up the dance, all the stellar choreography complete with handstands, acrobats, and the worm and it. was. awesome. I remember practicing in the Baratta’s basement to really wow the crowd for the culmination of the mini talent show. We never felt the need to change it up or make a new dance for the two of us, because why mess up a good thing?! I wanted to dance with you to this song at my wedding, and then was hoping to convince you to break it out at yours…. so now I figure that’s what our daughter’s weddings will be for!

Sometimes in our lives
We all have pain, we all have sorrows
But, if we are wise, we know that there's always tomorrow

My first memory of you you were two years-old and Will and I were at the gumball machine at King Soopers. I’m not sure what happened, likely we didn’t share or teased you for following us, but you stood there defiantly like you didn’t care (even though your bottom lip quivered and you so obviously did) and you threatened us boldly that one day we’d be two again, and you’d show us what it feels like. my takeaway from this… at least I was smarter than you until you turned three!

There’s also the home video of you running out of our shared bedroom crying and tattling on Will and I for not letting you play the 3 Little Pigs with us unless you were the Big Bad Wolf but you didn’t want to be the wolf and we were so completely unfair. There’s so much irony laced in that now, it seems like it should be funny. It wasn’t always me against you though, when we joined forces we were something to be reckoned with… or at least our super hero Barbies were as they took flight tied to the fan above our bunk beds.

Please, swallow your pride

If I have things that you need to borrow

For, no one can fill those of your needs

If you won't let them show

I’m sure you won’t be surprised to know that even now I still secretly sort of (completely) love when we’re around people that don’t see us together often and they gush about how similar we look. And as annoying as it was in middle school and high school when people would automatically assume you were older once they found out we weren’t twins, regardless the tiptoes I was standing on trying to be a little taller, I kind of loved that too because it was our thing. just yours and mine. It was an inside joke, a look between us when we knew the comments and questions were coming.

You just call on your brother when you need a hand

We all need somebody to lean on

I just might have some problems that you'd understand

We all need somebody to lean on

Through the ups and downs of our relationship, I am so happy to be where we are now as friends and confidants. It’s truly been a lifesaver. and I’m so excited to watch our children grow up and become close friends, even if they’re separated by five states and the entire Midwest, or all of Central America. I’m confident they’ll be close because of the friendship that you and I have developed as we've each embarked on this ridiculous journey of being an “adult”. and I must tell you, I'm much better off for that friendship. Happy Birthday Andrea!

Making His Arrival

Austin Lee

8 lbs 8 oz 20"

Lovely Liliana

my three-year old niece Liliana is one of the funniest people I know... she's easily the funniest kid I know, but I can't promise she'll keep that crown once Bella starts talking, I can only imagine ((sorry Andrea, you can have volleyball and sports and superstardom, but I have the humor! or will at least continue telling myself that...)) My favorite last year was when she thanked Andrea for "finally changing my frickin' diaper" and now this:

Andrea was at Starbucks with Lil and asked what kind of milk she wanted - "Mommy, I would like some chocolate milk because brown is my favorite color because I'm ALL brown!"

HA, lesson learned! I can only imagine what kind of albino cow will make the milk that will be Bella's favorite. Oh Little Liliana, you make me laugh!

2009 in Review

I borrowed the following from our Christmas card newsletter, figure it's a good recap of our busy year! (and thank goodness for blogger - I couldn't think of one thing we did each month for at least half of them and had to reference my blog to see how we spent all our time.)

January: Bella started crawling. Life got exhausting! February: Our first family outing to a Cavs game. Bella met Cleveland Browns player Josh Cribbs, turned out to be a bigger moment for Justin than Bella, but that’s to be expected. March: Cleveland tempted Bella with blue skies and she quickly developed a love for playing outside! April: The first project Justin worked on at NASA went up in space! It’s official, he’s a Rocket Scientist! May: Happy 1st Birthday to Bella! One year flew by, this girl rocks our world! Cavs playoff fever took over our lives for one of the craziest busy months we experienced. June: Dana went to Colorado Springs for work and brought Bella to spend some time with her Colorado cousins! July: A trip to Riviera Maya with Dana's family and all the free food and drink turned out to be a little less fun for Dana - WE’RE PREGNANT!! August: Full of trips to the zoo, outdoor concerts and cheesecake for Dana's birthday. September: Our first long family vacation! Joined up with Dana’s sister and kids for a week-long trip to Seattle and Idaho to visit family. October: Bella’s first time trick or treating! Dana bit off more than she could chew sewing the costume, but with some help, Bell was the cutest Alice in Wonderland. no bias. at. all. J ran his first marathon, we're so proud of him! November: our first ultrasound and we managed to refrain from finding out the gender of Baby Bail #2 (B2) it’s going to be such an awesome surprise in March! December: Looking forward to Christmas with Justin’s family in Orlando - Bella's frist trip to Disney World!

Adding to the Roster...

What's one more?! We've been keeping this one under wraps for quite awhile... I'm 13 weeks pregnant! We would have told more people sooner than this, but I really wanted to wait so I could tell my family in Seattle and Idaho when we were visiting in person. totally worth the wait. Baby Bail #2 (B2 as J affectionately refers to it) is due to arrive March 20, 2010. We had some minor complications/scare a couple weeks ago... a blood clot tore from the placenta or something, so there was some spotting and light cramping, but 30 minutes of ultrasound and an experts promise it really wasn't a big deal, left us breathing a little easier. All is well!


We're compromising this time (read: I win!) and will wait until the delivery to find out the gender... everything in me is saying "boy" which makes me almost certain it will be a girl. This pregnancy has been almost entirely different than it was with Bell. Where the first one was ridiculously easy, this has been hard. I never had morning sickness and I couldn't find a vitamin or "fix" for the life of me for a couple of weeks. no throwing up, but constant nauseousness. the first time I wasn't incredibly tired, now I'm usually ready for bed before Bella. Since it has been so different already paired with Justin's hopefulness for a boy, leads me to believe it's likely going to be a hyped-up, curly hair, crazy energy baby boy. we'll see... in 27 more weeks.

Birthday Weekend!

Normally I'm not a huge fans of my birthday, but Justin is well aware of this and consistently goes above and beyond to make sure I have a special day... and since he's extra wonderful he even gives me an entire Birthday Weekend! Saturday started with a morning full of Bella, an afternoon of shopping and then a birthday dinner with friends from work at Cheesecake Factory (delish!) Sunday was my actual birthday so we started at First Watch (my favorite place for breakfast) and after a quick afternoon nap for me and Bella we headed to the East Side for this huge (free!) Christian festival that encouraged families to arrive with a cooler and a blanket for an afternoon listening to Matthew West, Brandon Heath and Jars of Clay - it. was. awesome.

okay, it was awesome, and ridiculously hot. poor girl, she had a good time though!

keeping herself busy between sets...

After the long day Sunday we decided to extend my birthday weekend (like I was going to say no when J suggested it!) and putzed around in the morning before taking Bella to the zoo in the afternoon. it was especially awesome because it was another free activity as our county gets free admission on Mondays, alright! It was less awesome when a terrential downpour randomly came and soaked us to the core (you should have seen us trying to run from one exhibit to another searching for any kind of cover... me jumping over puddles so my flipflops wouldn't get wet - like it mattered since it was raining so hard anyway - and Justin trying to manuever a crying baby in her stroller, it was ridiculous!) and the day concluded with a dinner at Dave & Busters, which turned out much better than we expected because Bella was mostly content just chillin' in her stroller while we played games! Happy Birthday to me!

BIG fan of the giraffes!pointing out the fish once we finally found cover from the rain!
not nearly as exciting as giraffes as it turns out...
she did enjoy squirting the water... all that power in those little hands!
WINNER!
picking out her prize with all our winnings...

can't. quite. decide.

her new fuzzy friend! ...that she's already forgotten about :)

Congrats Cousin!

a BIG congratulations to my cousin Anna on her engagement last week!! I got the text on the drive home from Columbus and literally screamed out loud I was so excited for her! She and her fiancé live in Seattle and he proposed at the top of a mountain during a hike complete with the ring and champagne in his backpack to celebrate! Well done Barclay! I’m seriously so so excited for them and can’t wait for the wedding next spring/summer - we just booked our tickets to go visit my family in Seattle and Idaho at the end of the summer, we’re really looking forward to it and finally giving a congratulations hug and squeal in person!

I think one of the reasons it’s so easy to be happy for Anna is she’s so charismatic and happy that you just love to see good things happen for her. We’ve always loved when the other would visit, she’s literally like the older-sister I don’t have and we always got along really well and gravitate to spend time with each other when the families are together. Growing up we were pen pals and I still have some of the letters she sent me and our dialogue was completely ridiculous, it was awesome! I can still remember the thrill I got each time my mom handed me one of her decorated envelopes after getting the mail for the day, and the fervor to respond as soon as possible about the boy she liked and tell her all about my latest crush. I’m so blessed to have such a great relationship and influence as a constant in my life…

Anna, in celebration of you I’m going to wear the pink shirt, so you should definitely go purple. I love you!

Welcome Sophia!

Justin's brother and sister-in-law in Florida had their baby on Thursday, June 25th! (or as Nate likes to brag... Jesus' half birthday, haha!) Sophia Ann weighed in at 7 lbs 6 oz and 20 inches... we're excited to meet her!