Memorial Day 2010

Our All American Sweetheart =)

Happy Memorial Day! We took Anna to the Memorial Day Ceremony this morning held at the city circle in our community. Anna loved the band music and she clapped along and said, "Yay!!" We came home and Anna played outside until lunch. We had burgers and apple pie - very all American! Annie had grilled cheese =) It's great to be at home today as a family of three.


We are grateful today for all our American soldiers who fight for us and protect our freedom. Especially close to our hearts are my Army cousins, Phil & Michelle in Afghanistan. God bless them and keep them safe!

Start to Summer

Feels like summer around here!! And I'm loving it. 80's and sun! We have been outside so much the past couple of days. We had a play date today with my good friend Abby and some of her friends from high school. I met some new moms and Anna made some new friends! The kids played outside and had a great time!

On the home front, Anna's new fun adventure is to help me water the plants. She has her own little watering can and she goes back and forth to the hose. We bought her a pair of tiny pink Crocs to wear outside just for this occasion. Well, for anything that involves water! She is having so much fun playing outside! Brent and I are entertaining the thought of a sand box for this summer...

Now that shorts and dresses are in the wardrobe, Anna's knees are exposed :) And yes, she's already fallen and scraped them x 2. She points and them and says, "Owie".

I'm loving our start to summer....filled with sunscreen, sundresses, skinned knees, and sandals.

This & That

We have had a fun and eventful May so far!

I had a very special Mother's Day this year. I spent the day with my two favorites, Brent and Anna. We decided to stay at home this year and just enjoy each other. I had the whole weekend off of work - glorious!! My day started with surprise breakfast from Brent - pastry, strawberries, and hot chocolate. We went to 11:30 mass and Anna was a gem. Father called all of the mothers to the front of the church for a special prayer and blessing. Anna went up with me and she waved at Brent back in the pew. She is such a dear! Then we had a picnic lunch in the front yard and planted my Mother's Day flowers in my new pots for the front porch. We ended the day with grilled chicken caesar salad and cannolis for dessert, my favorite. A wonderful, special day spent with my girl. I am so very blessed to be a mother. And to have my own mother, who is my best friend. And my mother-in-law, who has the best son in the world.

I made a trip to South Bend with Anna the week after Mother's Day. We spent Tuesday through Friday enjoying being with family and seeing some friends. I love visits home! I love spending time with family. And we were able to see so many family members this trip, which was so great. Anna and I were busy bees. Joan and Jenna were in from Indy, we spent an afternoon at Jessie's with Alexia and Alaina, spent an evening with Uncle Scott, saw all the Shields at Jack's baseball game, had dinner with my in-laws, enjoyed a visit with my grandparents (Anna's great grandparents!), visited my mom at work, saw Rob and Ryan who was home from college, and visited my friend Jill and her son Brady. It's always hard to leave, especially my mom and dad, but it's great getting back home to Brent.


Brent took Anna to the zoo one afternoon while I was at work. They had a great time! Anna loves the zoo and the monkeys are one of her favorites! She calls them "unkeys". Joan and Jenna bought her a monkey stuffed animal named Bongo. And he is Anna's new favorite friend! She calls him "Ongo" and carries him around and evens sleeps with him. Ongo the Unkey. She took him to the zoo to see the real monkeys...




Anna loves to play outside at home. She loves the backyard and loves to go out front and sit on the front porch and walk down the sidewalk. Easy entertainment and we're outside A LOT! Here are some cute pictures of her today...

A Little Talker

When we are driving in the car and turn on our street, I always tell Anna that we're home and on Country Club. We have been doing this for a few weeks. After dinner tonight Brent, Anna, Jo-Jo, and I went on a walk. I asked her, "What street do we live on Anna?" And she said, "Con-Con Cub!"

Our little 19 month old talker.