Family History

I came across this idea to interview your family members, and I love it. Wish I would have thought to do with with my Grandfather when he was still around, but I definitely want to do it with both my parents ASAP.

INTERVIEW SOMEONE YOU LOVE ABOUT LIFEQuestions from Brendon Burchard
1. What comes to mind when you think about growing up in [hometown]?
2. What did you love to do as a kid, before high school?
3. What did you love to do in high school?
4. What do remember most about your teenage years?
5. What do you remember most about your mom (grandma)?
6. What was most important to her?
7. What do you remember most about your dad (grandpa)?
8. What was most important to him?
9. If grandma and grandpa had a message to you and their grandchildren, what do you think it is?
10. How did you meet [spouse] and know (s)he was the one?
11. How did you choose your career and what was your favorite part about it?
12. What made you successful at work?
13. What did you believe about yourself that helped you become successful and deal with hard times?
14. What times in your life truly “tested your mettle,” and what did you learn about yourself by dealing (or not dealing) with them?
15. What three events most shaped your life?
16. What do you remember about when each of us was born?
17. Were you ever scared to be a parent?
18. What three words would you say represented your approach to parenting and why?
19. When you think about [sibling] how would you describe him?
20. What message do you have for [sibling] that you want him to always keep in mind?
[Do the last two questions above for each sibling in your family]
21. When you think about [spouse], how would you describe her/him?
22. What message do you have for [spouse] that you want her/him to always keep in mind?
23. What three words would you say best describe who you tried to be in life and how you want to be remembered?
24. When they think about their careers, what do you want your children to focus on?
25. What have you learned about other people in life? (trustworthy, kind or not and mean)?
26. What do you think the world needs more of right now?
27. What do you believe people want the most in life?
28. What were the three best decisions you’ve ever made?
29. What are you most proud of in life?
30. What were five of the most positive moments of your life?
31. What message would you like to share with your family?
32. What are you most thankful for?

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!

Three of the very best.

To my #1 hero and the first man who stole my heart, I say thank you. Thank you for always believing in me; for offering sage advice and countless words of wisdom - and for loving me even when I ignored your advice; for showing me the magic in both books and movies; for instilling in me a love of history and the desire to always learn more; for teaching me to dance, to drive a car and a boat, to fish, to ride a bike, to cook scrambled eggs, and to negotiate; for supporting me in every stage of life and through every crazy endeavor; for every morning you woke up early to drive me to school; for every soccer game and horse show and ballet recital that you made sure not to miss; for all the silly costumes you wore with us over the years; for being "Cool Windshield Wiper Dude"; for being an amazing grandfather to my girls; and most of all, for loving me the way every little girl wants to be loved by their daddy.  I love you so much and wish I could be with you this Father's Day to celebrate.

 

 

Teaching us to ski

I love you

To the second man who stole my heart, you have become the most amazing father. Our girls are so lucky to have you. When they grow up, they will look back on their childhood with the love and happiness that I do with my own dad, and there is no greater gift I could ask for. They may even write a blog post about you!  Thank you for all you do, the big things and the little things - especially the little things. The way our girls light up with glee when you walk into the room fills me with such happiness. I couldn't imagine going through this journey called Parenthood with anyone else by my side - you are truly Super Dad, and we all love you so much. Happy Father's Day!

Baby EJ

Baby Nora

To my newest "dad" - thank you for raising such a wonderful son. Thank you for showing me such love and acceptance from the start. Thank you for being a wonderful Papa to our girls, they are so lucky to have you! Happy Father's day!

Major Milestones!

Pay attention, this one is important.

I always tell Everett to "sign" her artwork so people know who did it. This is really just a way for me to get her to practice her writing skills. Which up until this point consisted of the letters E and J since I thought her full name was a bit overwhelming for a 4 year old. 

Silly me.

The other day I told her to "sign" her card and she disappeared into the sunroom for quite a while and then proudly presented me with THIS.

I have no idea where she learned to write her actual name. School, I suppose. I had no idea she knew it had more than 2 letters. I was beyond thrilled and so proud when she showed me this. No, it isn't perfect and it seems to be missing a letter or two, but man was I proud. And her teachers deserve a big high-five!

This is the artwork that she was signing  :)

Spring and the world's cutest toddler

After a cold winter with not-so-great weather, we were happy to see some lovely weather to welcome in the beginning of Spring. And that means lots of outdoor time and opportunities to get some good photos of Nora. She has really developed a distinct personality and is constantly making us laugh. Plus she is just about the cutest thing on the entire planet. 

This is pretty indicative of the kind of
winter we had.

So we were all excited when it got warm
enough to do THIS!

 This kid is just overflowing with personality.

And she LOVES to climb, jump, run, and slide. 

 Unfortunately she has been a bit of a bad influence on her friends (already)

She looks all innocent here.

But really she is teaching Baby Andrew the ins-and-outs
of the climbing wall

Uh-oh....BUSTED!

Sorry, Amy....

Between the mini-heart attacks she gives us and her neverending demands for more and more food (WHERE does she put it all?) she is an absolute joy and I just cannot get enough of her.  

Still rockin' those amazing baby blues!

Play peekaboo with Daddy

Such a charmer

Fun with Aunt Merrill

Such a happy girl!

Adore this kid. Every day is a new adventure, a belly full of laughs, and a heart overflowing with love. 

My and my girl

A soccer star is born!

Well. It appears I am officially a Soccer Mom. I suppose it was bound to happen. I tried to resist. But all of our friends decided to sign up for the same team and we thought it sounded fun, and thus a soccer star was born.

Let's be clear - 3 and 4yo soccer is basically a disaster show. They really have no idea what they are doing, they all run around in a clump surrounding the ball (if they are paying any attention to where the ball is at all - often they are picking flowers or performing some sweet dance moves on the other side of the field).  So you could say we were more than surprised to watch EJ actually seem to get it (when she is paying attention).

Learning the "no hands" rule

Going over some last minute strategy.

She has scored 2 goals in every game she has played in other than the first one, most of the time the only one scoring any goals. She is fast, and seems to instintively understand how to play defense and get between the mob around the ball and the goal.

But most importantly - she seems to really enjoy it. While it is fun for us to have the "star" on the team, what is most fun is seeing her excitement and happiness in this new sport. Both Omar and I grew up playing sports and it helped define our childhoods in many ways. We have had hopes that our girls would find similar experiences and we are so happy that EJ seems to be having such a good time!

She loves her awesome Coach!

And of course, little sis Nora has taken on the role of #1 Fan with much enthusiasm. We are sure that in just a few short years we will be watching her tear up the soccer field as well. 

Tiniest soccer player. 

Her sister's #1 fan

Taking notes.

 GO KICKERS!!!!