Margaret "Maggie" Rebecca VanNostran

Sorry it's taken me so long to post these pictures of Maggie....our scanner/printer is buried deep within the junk room so I had to clear a path to get to it to scan the pics!! :-) Anyway - here is our baby girl....

Ok - so the top picture is Maggie compared with the next picture which is of Michael 3 years ago - can we say definately related?!?!?

Profile shot of Maggie

Um, yes, she stuck her ENTIRE fist in her mouth - and we saw her do it.

This was her reaction to the ultrasound tech using a buzzer to try to get her to flip over so we could get a good shot of her face.....she immediately put her hand over her ears - as if to say "Leave me alone - I'm not paying attention to you!" I think we might be in trouble........:-)

Little Daredevil - Part 2!

See previous "Kneeboarding" post on how my child is no longer scared of anything! This includes "motorcycles" (aka, dirtbikes). This is his new favorite thing to do on Saturday mornings - go to the motorcycle shop and sit on the dirtbikes - and he has to make sure he gets the helmet to put on too! Where did my little baby boy go?!?!?

Kneeboarding

Well, I have to admit, I was hoping that I had at least a couple more years before I had to deal with this BUT my wonderful husband and all-of-a-sudden-not-scared-of-anything-anymore 3 year old son had other ideas. This past Sunday, while I was helping to give a baby shower for one of my best friends, Richie and Michael went to the lake with "Uncle" Paul. Well, after being perfectly content riding in the boat while Paul and Daddy took turns kneeboarding, Michael decided that he wanted to try too!! So, after riding around on Richie's back (while he just held on to the board like a float) he was ready to give it a go! Ugh. I soon got this picture coming thru on my phone!! Needless to say I was a little freaked, but figured he was just sitting on it. Thank goodness I didn't get the WHOLE story until I got home. No, he didn't just SIT on it - he RODE it! Richie set him up on it, showed him how to balance on his knees, tied the rope to the strap on the board, held on to the back to keep it balanced, and Uncle Paul took off!! Richie said they literally rode FOREVER before Michael got tired!! Now, all Michael wants to do is go to the lake!! I think Richie has created a monster!!! :-)

(P.S. Sorry about the poor quality of the photo - it was taken from the boat with a cell phone!!)

Easter 2009

Here are some pictures from our Easter day. We got up and went to church, came home, and Daddy and I dyed eggs while Mommy mixed up the yummy sweet potato casserole! Then we ate lunch, Daddy hid the eggs in the backyard, and Mommy and I went to find them. Then, Mommy and I took a nap! It was a fun day spent as a family.

My Easter basket from the Easter Bunny

Helping Daddy dye the eggs

Me with the finished product - I even waited PATIENTLY for them to dry!

Eating dinner at our kitchen table in the new kitchen!! This was the first time we have eaten at the table in 6 weeks!

Finding eggs........

I counted them to make sure I had found them all.....

Cheese!!

Recent pics

I know I have been slacking in the post department lately. Here are some recent pics that we have taken the past couple of weeks. I have tons of pics of the kitchen renovation that I will post later!

Michael totally enjoying Taylor's Birthday Cookie Cake - mostly the icing!

What a mess!! But it was SO Yummy!!

My little man is growing up so fast!

Michael and Mommy (and Maggie)

Belly shot @ 20 weeks - officially halfway!!

Happy Heavenly Birthday Baby Caden

Today has been a totally emotionally exhausting day for us. Tonight at 11 pm, one year ago, we lost our precious baby boy, Caden. We had him for 8 days and cherish every minute that we spent with him. He changed our lives, and even a year later is still making an impact on us every day. Not a day goes by that we don't think about him and talk about him. We love you Caden.

Happy Earthly Birthday Baby Caden

Wow. I can't believe it has been a year since our baby boy Caden was born. He would be one year old today. At 6:17 am this morning to be exact. Wow. I have thought about him a lot today. Of course, I think about him everyday. Here is a picture taken of him by the nurses in the NICU shortly after he was born. This is one of my favorite pictures of him that we have - because you can really see his beautiful face - before he had the vent and all the other wires and tubes.

We love and miss you everyday baby boy.