Last day of 2007

I love this day of the year. It's fun to watch all the news shows as they recap the year's events. Of course, I don't like when they show all the bad stuff that has happened over the course of the year - there was enough news coverage as it was happening, and I don't need to remember that. But none the less, it's still fun to watch all the other more happy stuff.

Here's my 2007 Year in Review:

My 2007 started out pretty slow - mostly because that's how I moved around. I started out the year with really bad morning sickness, which lasted well into April. We had a huge scare at the end of February with a mass on the outside of my placenta, which caused a very not fun trip to the emergency room. Thank goodness, everything turned out okay - the baby was just fine. The upside of all of that was that we got to have my ultrasound a week early - and on February 27, 2007, we found out we were having a girl.

I saw my first snow on Easter this year - although, it probably snowed on Easter when I was a child, but who remembers that?

We took a fun road trip in May to Atlanta to see our good friends, and old next door neighbors the Vorobels. Emily had a great time seeing her old buddy Hailey. We also got to see the Bok family who live about 45 minutes away from George, Terry and Hailey. On our way home to Michigan, we stopped for the night at my Aunt Lindsay and Uncle Ed's house in Tennessee. It was good to see them and their new house. Eric got motion sickness from a racing game that he was playing with my Uncle Ed - so we had lots of time to visit and catch up.

Eric went to Florida in June to celebrate his Grandmother's 95th birthday. How cool is that? Also in June, Emily completed her first year at Schoolhouse Montessori. She really loves her school and her teachers - I am just so glad we decided to send her there.

And of course, in July, Paige Elizabeth Gottlieb was born. July 24th to be exact. Scheduled c-section, that went perfectly - just a little nausea afterwards, but no big deal. She's a cool kid with a BIG personality. It's exciting to watch her grow up - and just as exciting to watch Emily's reaction to it all.

Of course, we had a slew of visitors after Paige was born - my sister Amanda, Tracy and Katie, Eric's parents and his sister, Ingrid.

I would do more of a review - but you can read old posts on this blog to see everything else. I covered the big stuff.

I am scrapbooking here and there - but the exciting news is that I have finally started Paige's layouts. Here are the first three.

Happy New Year - and see you all in 2008. Hey - why not resolve to start a blog of your own? I would promise to be a regular visitor.......

A few more pictures

We have been having a couple of fun days around here. Lazy days - pj's until after 10am, eating yummy cookies and leftovers from Christmas dinner. Emily has been very busy playing with ALL of her Christmas presents. Even Paige has been enjoying herself. She has finally recovered from the Pass the Baby game that was played with her on Christmas Eve. We had a delightful surprise visit from Sue, Hayley and Clara today. We even got to go to California Pizza Kitchen. Yummy. Good day today.

Just wanted to post some more pictures from Christmas Eve. It was such a fun night.

Julie, Paige and Emerson (in Julie's belly).

Such a cute couple.


Emily and Grandpa John. Her Great Grandpa.

Even though it looks like they are dancing - they aren't. Hayley has a hole in her sock and is showing it to Kelly. Too bad she didn't put socks on her Christmas list.

I just love this picture of Hayley - even though she didn't want me to take it.

Kelly, Tena, Eric and Paige.

Cousins and Aunt Joan and Grandpa.

Aunt Lindsay and Uncle Ed - with Ryan being silly.

My parents, Natalie and Emily. Can you tell Emily is SO over getting her picture taken?

Clara, Hayley, Aunt Joan and Emily. Just love this picture - even though Emily is making a weird face.

Sue and Matt - the makers of the Family Trivia game.

Just love this one - Aunt Teresa and Uncle Denny with Paige. She just adores them. I guess the feeling is mutual.

What can I say about this one?

Boy, they are going to make GREAT parents.

There was the coolest frost on the trees this morning.

The new and old generation of video gamers.

Happy Friday everyone!

Merry Christmas and Five Months Old

It's the day after Christmas, and if I had enough energy, I would take down all my decorations. No, I am not Scrooge, I am just OVER it. My family room seems so cluttered - especially with the inclusion of all the toys that Santa brought. I have been slowly bringing them upstairs to their correct rooms, or down to the basement, but it is NEVER ENDING!!!

ABOVE: Paige in the car on the way to our Christmas Eve celebration. Too cute in her Santa hat. BELOW: The girls in the Christmas Dresses. Paige really did love her dress, even though she didn't look too excited about it.
We had a great time on Christmas Eve at my Aunt Teresa and Uncle Denny's house. It was so good to get to see everyone. Sue, Julie and I tried to solve the world problems, and I think we may have a good start. We had a wonderful dinner of roasted turkey breast, cheesy potatoes, yummy salad and rolls. We also played a really fun game - made up by Sue and Matt - of family trivia. I am sorry to say, our team - the Naked Cousins (name only...we weren't actually naked...thank God for that) - lost to the Latvians. I feel that the questions were unbalanced - the Latvians got WAY too many multiple choice, so they had it easy. Just kidding...it was a lot of fun, and definitely worth Matt and Sue staying up late making up those questions. I loved finding out some trivia about my relatives that I never knew - my Aunt Lindsay drove a VW Beatle when she was dating my Uncle Ed - way cool. Anyway, we got home very late, and put two sleepy girls to bed. Incidentally, Paige and Emily were so good all night. I never really saw either of them - Paige was held by just about everyone, and Emily was having a great time playing with Hayley and Clara.

ABOVE: The Gottlieb's on Christmas Eve.


Also on Monday, Paige turned FIVE MONTHS OLD. Boy this time is sure flying by fast. I put her in the same onesie that she wore when we took the pictures for the birth announcement. She barely fits into it now. She is also doing such a great job of sitting up on her own now, which makes it very difficult for her to stay on that doggie.


Christmas morning went by in a whirl of wrapping paper and ribbons. I think everyone got what they wanted - including Paige. She loved her giraffe rattle and doggy that sings the ABC's. Emily was SO excited to see that Santa left her the Horse school she coveted, as well as the keyboard. She has been very busy playing with EVERYTHING she received. We have only seen her when she needs us to help her open a box. I did ask her last night what her favorite present was - she told me that she loved everything, and that she was looking forward to more presents on Easter. You gotta love that.


ABOVE: In my opinion, Emily's favorite gift - Play Foam. She was upset when she opened all her Santa gifts and it was no where. Fortunately, her Auntie got it for her. She made a Spongebob.

Hope everyone's Christmas was Merry!!

My Little Baker

Okay, so I know that I said that I don't really bake during the holidays - but I could just not get enough of those frosted sugar cookies that I made for Emily's birthday party. So, I made more. Emily, of course, wanted to "help". After she cut a few stars out, I decided that Emily could have her own dough to play with. And play she did. The floor, her shirt, arms and face were covered in cookie dough and flour. But, she had fun. I had fun just watching her. I think my favorite part was her calling the flour, cauliflower. Such a funny little person she is.

She is SO excited for Christmas this year. She is really trying to get me to let her open just one present from under the tree. She is especially intrigued with a present from her Auntie's dog, Chloe. Eric just had to make a last minute phone call to Santa with a last minute request from Emily - she wants a keyboard like the one Ms. Pal has at her school. Daddy didn't get through to Santa, but he did speak to one of his elves. We'll see what they can do.......

It looks like we will not be having a white Christmas this year after all. The temperature has been in the 40's, and it rained buckets this morning, melting just about all the snow. It was like a reverse of last Sunday. Snow is in the forecast for later tonight, but it's just a few flurries.

Just so you know - the smart Mommy that I am....I already told Santa that Emily would want a keyboard like Ms. Pal. Gosh, I am good.

Have a Merry Christmas everyone!! I probably won't be posting back here until Dec. 26th. But, you never know......

We have been ELFED

I am sure many of you have seen this before - but have you seen the Gottliebs as elves? Click here to see the fun. I like Paige the best - and Eric has never danced better!! Happy Friday everyone!!

Happy Thursday

Just a few from today........love the lip.

A lot like Christmas

Well, it's just a few days before the BIG holiday. Is your shopping done? Is your menu decided and ready? Are your cookies baked? Are your gifts wrapped and/or shipped? Are your Christmas cards done? So many expectations for just one, well actually two if you count Christmas eve, day. It's just crazy, don't you think?

I decided a couple years ago that I would try to take the stress out of this season. I think my main motivating factor was that I had a baby just nine days before Christmas...talk about stressful. I was crazy that year. I put my tree up, got all my shopping done and presents wrapped before Thanksgiving- just in case. And what did I do the day after Emily and I came home from the hospital? Yes, I baked Christmas cookies, and made Christmas cards. I was crazy. I was DOG TIRED.

The next year I decided that I would not stress myself out, so I eliminated the cookies. Good for my stress level, good for my waistline. And each year I have eliminated something stressful about this holiday season. I haven't gotten as far as eliminating gifts yet...but give me a few years. This year, I decided that it wasn't necessary for me to decorate my entire house for Christmas. So, I just put out my most treasured things, and left everything else in the boxes. Of course, there's my tree...what would Christmas be without a tree? And I have my most favorite ornaments - JOY, PEACE and NOEL. Got those on sale at Pottery Barn about seven years ago, and they have been my favorite since. I also love my three snowmen - gifts for three consecutive years from my Aunt Teresa. My wreath on the front door is also a favorite. I have a couple more things out that I love, but that's all this year. Nice, simple, and calm. So, I can say that my shopping is done - thank you Internet, my gifts are wrapped, cards sent out, and I did make some cookies this year, but that was for Emily's birthday party...so does it count? I can now sit back and enjoy the next few days before it's all over and the boxes come out so we can put it away for another year.

Snow Day

Because of the foot of snow we received on Sunday, school was cancelled on Monday for clean up. This was just fine with Emily. She got a chance to play with all her presents she received for her birthday. She started with her Leapster video game, then her Puppy in my Pocket playset, then her vet care center, her globe, watched The Shaggy Dog, her USA game and ended the day with the Leapster again. I am sure that I have left some stuff out, but I couldn't watch her all day. I will say though, that she is pretty much obsessed with the video game - just like her parents. Here is Dr. Emily with her new Vet Care Center. She has so far taken care of a cow, dog, cat and a chick. Can I just say....when the heck did her feet get so big?

Here are some shots of the snow that we received on Sunday. It's still below freezing today, so it will be sticking around for awhile. I have heard that we will be getting more this weekend as well. I guess we will have a white Christmas this year. The second picture is of our street. We still have quite a bit of snow on the road.

And a cute picture of Paige. Couldn't resist. I have such a hard time getting her to smile for a picture - got lucky this morning.

Five Years Ago....

So, five years ago today I met one of the most funny, sweet, smart and silly girls I know...my daughter, who turned five today, Emily Jean. Five years ago today, I finally felt the relief of being through with a labor that felt like it would never end. Emily Jean made her entrance into this world at 7:00pm on the dot. She was just the sweetest thing that, at the time, I have ever seen. For her first few hours of life, she was a peaceful baby. It was a few hours before I could actually hold her, and when I did, I had tears of just absolute joy and love. It was a moment that will live with me forever - a moment that feels like it was just a minute ago.


Emily at five. It seems almost hard to swallow. She is so grown up. No longer a baby. Not even a toddler either. A KID.

Emily had a great birthday weekend. She had a blast with her friends on Friday night. They were such little artists with their cookie decorating.


On Saturday, we went to Red Robin, as requested by Emily. She loved her birthday sundae, as well as the birthday song they sang to her.

The big excitement was today. When Emily woke up this morning, I asked her to look outside. She screamed (excited) and started to jump up and down. Snow, almost a foot, was everywhere. Of course, I was thinking, are we having a party? Emily was thinking, "When are we going outside?" Eric got to use his brand new snow thrower. After warming up, he went back out with Emily for some sledding, and playing in the snowdrifts. Our family, with the exception of my Dad and Natalie - he had a far drive - braved the snowy roads for Emily's birthday party. I was so touched. To them, it was no big deal, but it was to me, and Emily as well.



Such a great weekend. Such a great kid. We are blessed to have her in our lives. Happy 5th birthday, my sweet girl.

The Party is Here!!

Emily's fifth birthday celebration officially begins today. She had her "Walk Around the Sun" this morning at school. I guess it's a Montessori thing where they place a sun in the center of their circle, and the birthday child proceeds to walk around it the number of years that they have been alive. The teacher also shows a picture (provided by me) for each year of life. Then, the best part, according to Emily, they get to have the birthday snack - which this year is fruit salad. The school actually requests that you don't bring sugary snacks because it makes the kids crazy - those teachers are so smart. Emily was most excited because she gets to pick three friends to help her hand out snack. She told me this morning who she was going to pick, and apparently she had put some serious thought into it, Vincent, Max and Matthew. All boys. Too cute.


This evening, we will be having some of her neighborhood friends over to decorate cookies, have pizza and a Carvel cake - yum. Then tomorrow is her birthday lunch at her much beloved Red Robin. She's just excited that she gets to have them sing "Happy Birthday", have a sundae and balloons. On Sunday, her actual birthday, is the family party. Gee, only four birthday celebrations.....the poor child. I should have planned better and had five for five - but I think each year it would be a bit much.


Paige had a very rocky start to her no bottle at 3am routine - she cried for two hours straight the first night. However, last night, she almost made it, she just woke twice, and was easily settled in a matter of minutes. I am trying to stay positive, and HOPE that this is a trend, and it will get easier each night.....but I am not holding my breath. She is Paige, after all.

Couldn't you....

Just squeeze this baby? I could, and I DO. Happy Wednesday everyone.