Future Rockstar!

We have a rocker in the house!

After taking more traditional piano lessons for 2.5 years, Anthony began taking keyboard and guitar lessons at a different studio early this spring. He’s had the opportunity to perform a few times, but most recently he was able to perform during downtown at Thursdays on First. The youth from Pure Rock Studios played 2 sets, and Anthony was able to perform a handful of songs!

Here are a few videos of his performances!

We are loving the music he is learning!

The Wait is Over… {Adoption}

After 5 long years of waiting, we made a big decision. With heavy hearts, we let our adoption home study expire yesterday and closed the door on waiting to adopt an infant. We don’t know if we will consider other options for expanding our family in the future, but for now, we know this is the right decision for our family.

We want to extend a big thank you to our friends and family for keeping us in your thoughts. This process has been so much easier knowing that we have others supporting us.

Rather than thinking about what could have been, we are going to focus on what we do have – we have a fantastic son that we love more than anything. We will celebrate our little family.

Our Newest Family Member {a Puppy!}

So it’s been months since I have posted on my blog. Really, it’s been more than months. Seasons have passed! Basically life happened. Then a new computer. Then a second new computer. Too many issues… It’s time to (attempt) to make a comeback. 

Our family has expanded since I last posted! We brought home a morkie (Maltese and Yorkie) puppy on September 1st and she has rocked our world ever since! Roxie has a crazy amount of energy, but we are used to that in our house :) 

Be prepared for photo overload… She’s the cutest puppy ever (we may be biased)!

Here’s ROXIE! 

Anthony’s first time holding Roxie. It was love at first sight! 

Trying to convince Dad that we should bring this sweet little puppy home!

Roxie’s first night at home. The boys picked out some toys and they were bigger than she was! 

 
She was so darn cute! I just love her brown and black colors here! See? Cutest puppy ever! 

Mini tennis balls – they are the size of a golf ball! 

It’s hard to take a phone pic of a puppy running towards you! She went to the groomer for the first time for a good bath and some trimming up on her face. That bow… It didn’t last long, but it sure was cute! 

Roxie’s first camping trip – she was given a dollar to play with. It definitely shows how teeny she was! 

Attempting to fit into an extra small harness. No such luck. 

Yes, that is a frisbee. That’s where she chose to curl up and take a nap! The bell is definitely necessary – she was so tiny that we kept losing her in the house. Thanks to the bell, we can hear her sneaking all over the place :) 

Roxie easily fit in her toy box… 

Watching for the bus quickly became an afternoon thing. She gets so excited!! 

Roxie also quickly discovered beer. She seems to like going after hubby’s Surly! 

Right before the holidays in all her shaggy glory. It’s amazing how fast she became a part of our family. She’s a ton of work, but totally worth it for the joy she brings to our home. 

Stay tuned, pretty sure Roxie will make semi-regular appearances around here.

A Month in Photos {June 2014}

June brought the end of school, which gave us a chance to enjoy some fun in the sun (at least when it wasn’t raining). There’s so many fun things to do in the summer – it’s hard to squeeze them all in!

End of the school year trip to Valley Fair with 2nd grade friends
Trips to the pool
Celebrating Father’s Day with a game of Laser tag!
Checking out books from the bookmobile
An early Birthday party with school friends
Camping with friends
An early birthday present – a new bike!

Want to see more pictures? You can find me on Instagram here.

A Month in Photos {May 2014}

Once again I’m playing some catch up. I have missing documenting our story here, as well as all the fun projects that we continue to work on, so hopefully I will get back at it now! Here’s a snapshot of our May -

Swimming
Some great friends came to visit
Camping
Trip to the Circus
Piano Recital
Cub Scouts
Mother’s Day
Trip “Up North” to the lake

Want to see more pictures? You can find me on Instagram here.

Look Who’s 8!! {Photo Bloopers}

Anthony celebrated his 8th birthday earlier this month (how is that even possible?!?) and as always, an updated photo shoot was required! I’m just starting to edit the good ones, but thought it might be fun to share the “blooper” photos (that I will not take the time to edit)!

Anthony thought it was hilarious to make some silly faces, especially eye rolling… 

Here are the photos for your viewing pleasure!











Even with so many bloopers, there are still tons of good photos waiting for Photoshop to work some magic.

Hopefully they will be ready to share soon!

Third Grade! {First Day of School}

Here we are again… the first day of school!  With the year-round school calendar it always feels like our summer is a little short, but the breaks during the school year are totally worth it.



Anthony attends a school that follows a year-round calendar or 45/15 calendar.  I have written about that here and here.

It’s always fun to look back at all of Anthony’s first days of school. Follow the links to see more of the first day of Kindergarten, the first day of First grade, and the first day of Second grade.
Check out how he’s changed over the years!


So proud of this kiddo!