2009 - Here we come

So before I move on to 2009 - let's wrap up the last of 2008. It's a long one, so I hope you are comfortable. When I last left you, we were getting ready to celebrate Joe's first birthday. It was a fabulous day. We got together with some family and friends, ate some good food, watched Joe open some fabulous gifts and tear into his cake.



(i know this one is blurry, but I couldn't resist)

The beginning of December we were all entertained at Ryan's Christmas program at school. True to form, it made my eyes wet. It was a great program and both boys looked so handsome.



Christmas was so much fun this year. Definitely different then last year when I was so exhausted from a newborn. Now I am just used to the exhaustion? Regardless - we all had a great time and the boys got some great gifts. We spent the day lounging around the house before heading to mom and dad's for dinner. Bill and Laura were also able to join us and that was so much fun.







So, it's not like me to post and not have an illness to tell you about. The day after Christmas Joe was diagnosed with an ear infection and Chicken Pox. Mind you it was 3 pox all on his leg. This was a reaction to the vaccine he had received on the 15th of December. One of the lucky 1% that develop the pox from the shot. Lucky Joe. Guess we should have bought a PowerBall that day.

That same night Kyle and I had plans to meet up with Matt and some of my creepy friends. Mom was kind enough to come over and hang with the boys so we could enjoy a great evening out



I took some time off during the holidays. During one of those days, Ryan, Joe and I went to Macy's in Minneapolis to check out the eighth floor display. The display was cute, but a little too young and cutesy for Ryan. As he put it "that was kind of lame". So I made him go through a second time. Santa had already started his vacation, so no torturous Santa/Joe picture this year

New Year's eve we went out and celebrated cousin Carol's 40th birthday. Another great celebration with family and friends. I didn't capture enough photos of the evening to do it justice.

And to finish off the year - here are some random Joe shots.

2008 was definitely a year of ups and downs. A lot of changes - going back to work after maternity leave, learning how to take care of a toddler again, job change for Kyle, Ryan starting the trombone and officially passing me up in the height category, and meeting a lot of new friends through a tragedy. Not one thing would I change (even though I wish I could change the painful events) as it has helped me to grow as a person and put life in perspective. I hope to take this momentum into 2009 - making it the best year so far.