New Talent

I wanted to share with you my cousins photography website...check her and her beautiful talents out at

http://www.annieschaberphotography.com/

This adorable little guy is her favorite model and son! : )

Riley's passport to paradise...cuteness!

What a big boy!  

Mexico esa hermosa! (Mexico was beautiful)

Hola, como estas?  Yo soy muy bueno and relajada.  (Hello, how are you?  I am very good and relaxed : )  Surprisingly now that our trip is done bits and pieces of Spanish class are coming back to me slowly!  We had such a blast in Playa Del Carmen that I don't even know where to start...so here it goes.  7 days of family and friends, 7 days of warm Mexican air, 7 days and 842 pictures later!  (I am obnoxious, I know!)

The flight to Mexico was the fastest, most relaxing and comfortable plane ride for us ever!  Riley looked out the window for 10 minutes and then fell fast asleep for over an hour.  We didn't pay for a seat for him but we had the row of 3 to ourselves so it was comfortable.  Couldn't have asked for a better trip.  The long day left him tired and crabby though so I took him to bed at 7:30 and we slept long and hard!

My favorite highlights were as follows:

*Having so many family and friends (22 and 3/4) scattered around the resort.  You always ran into someone to eat with, lounge with and drink or just laugh.  It was so much fun and vacationing alone will never be the same.  We miss seeing everyone already and Riley loved each and everyone one of you.  Especially Ben who has become his favorite new Uncle.  They bonded and spent lots of time together.

*Lounging around the pool or under the cabana's and just enjoying the company and of course watching Riley man loving the pool.

*Watching the bride get ready and taking lots and lots of photos of it...my sister looked stunning!

*Thoroughly enjoying eating on the beach after the ceremony, dancing with my husband and our son in-between us, watching the sun go down, dancing with my brother and watching Riley sleep in his stroller under the stars listening to the music and chatter of family and friends.  

*Derrick and I sneaking into the hot tub to relax after my parents took Riley overnight for us...what a view from the top!

*Getting to take a bike tour through Playa Del Carmen and seeing the Mayan ruins, lots of iguana's and enjoying the breeze through our hair. 

Can you find the iguana's?

*Taking Riley along with my parent's, Aunt and Uncle to Xcaret for beautiful scenery and animals.

*Sitting on the beach and enjoying the fresh warm air, the way the sunlight danced on Riley and just taking it all in.  

*Beach volleyball, water aerobics, water volleyball, the shows in the evening including a sexy latin dancing contest which my Uncle Gregg and Dad got roped into.  We almost peed our pants.  It was classic and my Dad is so thankful that Riley was sleeping in his stroller and didn't witness it! 

We have so many great memories and are so thankful for the chance to be a part of the week with everyone.  Although traveling with a toddler is at times stressful he was a blessing to be around.  He waved and smiled to EVERY single resort employee and resort guest.  He made friends in the pool and even liked being held by his favorite waiter.  He slept very well through the night and took naps like a pro.  We nearly finished the whole bottle of baby sunscreen so although everyone was going for the tan look Riley came home with porceline white, soft and kissable skin.  

I took so many pictures and it's impossible to narrow down my faves so here is a few.  The rest are on Shutterfly.

The flight home was rough, Riley was tired and he didn't feel good.  He cried/whined the whole time and eventually I took him to the tiny bathroom and started bawling myself.  We couldn't help him, we couldn't get off the plane and I felt miserably helpless.  He saw Mommy crying and he wiped my tears away with his chubby little hands while his kept falling.  He seems to have caught the stomach flu and has been puking and having diarrhea.  We feel horrible for him.  My sister asked me on the shuttle leaving the airport heading for home if I would take him again...without hesitation I said "YES."  Maybe it's selfish but we cannot survive a week without the hugs, kisses and love from our little man.  He was such a good boy (minus maybe a day and 1/2) and he had a blast.  I wanted to see him dance with Katie in her wedding dress, I wanted to see him in the pools having fun but mostly I wanted to see him in my arms, in his Daddy's arms-exactly where he belongs.  

The look of pure exhaustion, pain and frustration at the end of our flight.  

Riley's favorite pillow

Both little guys, soaking up the sun on a Saturday morning!

Sun-sational

Can you say "sunglasses?"  We can after a beautiful Sunday.  It was so nice out that we couldn't resist bathing Deuce so that he is all fresh before he goes to stay with his adopted family.  Deuce is going to live with Mike (a co-worker of D's) and his 3 kids who have already scheduled who gets to sleep wtih Deuce and on which nights...how cute is that?  Riley played with a golf-club and just enjoyed the fresh air so much that I could hear his squeals of joy from inside the house as I tried to lay down for a quick power nap.  We ran a few more last minute errands as a family and then took a leisurely 45 minute walk that was snow-free.  That's right, in a matter of days the trails went from snow covered and muddy to dry!  We so look forward to many more days/evenings playing outside.  Daddy hopes to get a shed built this summer and Riley and I are hoping for Daddy to seed and fertilize our grass and build us a playset so that we don't always have to go to the park.  (We would really like a sandbox too! : ) 

So long winter, you haven't been all bad but a little too long for us!  See ya next year!

A sister is a little bit of childhood that can never be lost. ~Marion C. Garretty

So this Saturday is the long-awaited, much anticipated and flawlessly (ha) orchestrated wedding of Ben and Katie.  I cannot tell you how much we are looking forward to it.  A whole week's break from making dinner, washing dishes, folding laundry, getting up to an alarm clock at 4:15, changing diapers, eh...oops, we will still have to do that ; ).  On demand feeding sounds like so much fun right now!  Room service, 24 hour buffets and all that we can drink

Speaking of diapers~ Operation Potty Train the Tot will start up once we get back from Mexico.  We have noticed his diapers during the day being really dry inbetween when he would normally need a change so I figured it's a good time to see if we can get him on a "potty schedule!"  I am actually really looking forward to this and I can't wait to pick out a big boy potty chair for him! 

But for real, let's just get through the next 36 hours of last minute packing, house cleaning, very little sleeping (before Katie and Ben arrive at 3:15 in the a.m.) and document gathering all the while mourning the loss of that one precious hour that seems to have us so messed up!

Ughhh, who knew one little hour could turn your day into a spiral?  We woke up at 8:30 which was a welcome sight on the clock but at 11:00 (which was Riley's normal naptime) he obviously wasn't tired, and at 12:00 we were outside in the yard playing, still at 1:30 we were out bathing Deuce and playing so at 2:00 when we finally ate lunch our schedule was a royal mess.  After lunch we made Riley lay down and the poor guy cried for a good 10 minutes which he never, never, never does for us.  We take all the blame or at least half of it because messing with the time in the life of a toddler is not a good idea and this whole time change was indeed forced upon us as a whole, not just him (we feel it too Little Man!)

So when dinner wasn't done until 7:00 and 8:00 rolled around we knew after a 2 hour nap at 2:30 he was not going to bed at this new 8:00 which was the old 7:00 (are you following me?) so he stayed up until 8:55 and I have been working out after her goes to bed this last week so I in turn didn't start working out until 9:10 and that lasted until 9:50 and then a shower and blowdry brought me to 10:45!  Aggghh!  That is just ridiculous!  All because...WHY again do we mess with the time?  Good thing we get to sleep in after Wednesday for 7 fabulous, sun-filled, family gathering, sand walking, ocean swimming, buffet eating, plane riding, muscle resting days! 

Here's to my sister who I love and to our new Brother in law Ben who has always helped the family out with just about anything.  We can't wait to share your special day and remember to have some fun, RELAX and leave the stress behind here in MN for the April 30th reception!  ; ) 

Katie-I found these picture of us from back in the day.  I love these memories and sometimes wish I could go back to sharing a room with you if only to stay up laughing, playing games, jumping across the beds and getting my back scratched with a bedtime prayer before we shut the lights out for just a few more days.

Happy 21st Kyle!

Today marks 21 years for my little (actually rather tall) brother Kyle.  I hope you had a fabulous day and that you know how much we love you.  You were my first 'baby' and I remember actually thinking that you were mine.  All those years ago I was honing my 'mommy' skills on you Kyle and I now that I hold my own little man I can't help but think of you as a baby.  It makes me smile and I am a proud big sister today.  Happy 21 and we will buy you your present in Mexico ; )

March 1989

Bath Boy

Riley has been reveling in baths lately so after one of his hour longs soaks I whipped out my camera and caught some priceless shots of the sneakiness, happiness and plain cuteness in his eyes...

love, love, LOVE!

Spring has Sprung?

How very weird to finally be able to take a walk after months of being stuck running from a warm vehicle to the inside before your nostrils freeze up!  We finally broke free and braved the wet walkways of the Mississippi trails behind our house on Sunday.  It was so refreshing and Riley had a blast holding onto to Deuce's leash from his stroller.  (Don't worry Daddy had ahold of the leash also! : )  We ran into lots of muddy water puddles that the snow has created but we only had to don sweatshirts and mittens!  Riley looked like he was headed into Siberia though since he has had a cough and runny nose the last few days.  Luckily he has been sleeping wonderfully with his seal sound-alike cough.  We enjoyed a very relaxed and sunny weekend shopping for our trip, eating out as a family and finally retiring to an early bedtime on Sunday.  A 'no plans' weekend was just what our minds and bodies needed!  We are really hoping that we come back from Mexico with no more snow on the grounds!

Here's my little cover model soaking up the sun that the living room windows were allowing to pour in this weekend!  So happy, so warm and such great natural light!

 A little Saturday morning monkeying around with my boys...

Here's to our final long week of work before we head out!  

Babies, more babies and busy toddlers.

How many babies can you fit into one weekend...try 6! (3 weeks old, 4 weeks old, 3 months old, 10 months old, 14 months old and my 20 month old).  Phew, now I know why I am so tired today.

Saturday we spent the day with Gramma T and I made a nice chicken dinner with all the fixings for us plus Rach, Sorin and the newly 9 lb Leah.  I had to wake Riley up from his nap to bring Daddy some more business cards at the NSC in Blaine (although you should never wake a sleeping child it was good to hear how busy and excited Daddy was at his home show).  By 6 o'clock Riley was so tired that all he could do was run in circles.  When he is tired he is only able to repeat one syllable which is "da" so we heard "da" for nearly 2 hours straight.  He also digressed about 8 months by having a baby in such close proximity to him.  We heard Da when he wanted Leah's bottle, Da when he picked up her pink Soothie, Da when he was upset to see her in his baby bouncer and Da when she was in her carseat to leave and he waved goodbye to her and wouldn't let her go.

She however was a quiet, peaceful little lady and we thoroughly enjoyed Sorin changing her diaper, feeding her and strapping her in to her carseat. (This was the man who really didn't want anything to do with kids a few years ago : )

Saturday night we took advantage of our overnight sitter and met up with friends for a 30th b-day party in Blaine.  The Dad's proved to be very tired and us ladies drank free until 11:00, enjoyed (rather responsibly) at least 3 Chuck Norris shots and danced our hearts out as we headed onto the dance floor numerous times.  I got puked on when I reached under the stall in the bathroom and asked for TP and we had fun considering the edgy, slinky, tight outfits that walked through the doors sometimes hardly covering the person they were walking in with!  It was a classic night!  

Sunday funday was the gold medal Men's Hockey game...ya betcha.

Riley and I stopped over to enjoy the new babies in the group along with the more mature ones.  Riley is still struggling with sharing and wants to get me involved in his toy hoarding by handing them to me and expecting me to play keep away from the other kids.  After a few outbursts we grew tired of the "refereeing" and went home to greet our hard working husband and Dad who has now worked like 11 days in a row.  He had a very productive day and has now got an appointment packed week.  

Here's my favorite boys enjoying some hugs and snuggles after a long day!

Those big brown eyes melt me every time although I could go sans nuk at this point!

Sandy shore lines and sunsets...

We are dreaming of fun in the sun and all of a sudden it is only 16 days away...


Which reminds us of how lucky we have been to enjoy so many islands, beaches and sunsets in paradise together.


I will try to remember where we have been.
Nassua, Great Stirrup Cay, Roatan, Grand Cayman, Belize, Cozumel, St. Thomas, St. Maarten, San Juan, Miami and Vegas X 2.  


Our first trip together was the winter of 2003 and I paid for it all by myself as a surprise for Derrick.  I was still a baby at 20 years old and remember being somewhat frightened at leaving the state without my parents.  We had to sit through a time share seminar but enjoyed a 3 day cruise and 4 days in Miami with Derrick's cousins Andre and Michelle.  We sang "A1A Beachfront Ave" as we drove along the ocean and in fact on the A1A beachfront ave that Vanilla Ice made so popular.  We laid on the beach, stared at the Atlantis Hotel that has a $20,000 dollar suite per night and we snorkeled (okay just Derrick actually snorkeled, I got super scared couldn't breathe and had to retreat back to the boat after just 5 minutes.)  That was the first year that Derrick caught the travel bug. 


2005 brought us on a December cruise with my family.


2006 found us in Vegas for what was a most memorable trip with friends, Celine Dion and plenty of gambling.


2007 was yet another cruise in January (by ourselves this time)...a sort of make-up honeymoon which was blissful.


2008 we headed back to Vegas (I was pregnant and ate like a piggy, peed like every five minutes and could hardly keep my eyes open for the Cirque show at the beautiful Bellagio.) and we felt Riley kick for the first time on the plane.  


2009 we really felt it in our bones, a sort of groaning for warm weather, sand, and the ocean.  We stayed home though with our 6 month old son and took cover from the weather by snuggling, loving and oogling all winter long.  


2010...in a fast approaching 16 days we will be heading to Playa Del Carmen to stay at the Occidental Resort to enjoy 7 glorious days in the sun.  Nothing more exciting then Ben and Katie getting married on the beach, while I snap pictures and snag a tan.  We can hardly wait to show Riley the beaches, the ocean, the sea turtles and dolphins...that is-God willing we make it through the 5 hour flight at 6:21 a.m. with our 20 month old!  


Here's a few vacay pictures from years past to tide us over until we can once again enjoy the feel of sand between our toes!

This was one of our favorite spots!

Sunset over Miami as we pull out of the port.   breathtakingly stunning!

St Maarten...

Ahhh, I am feeling relaxed already! 

 P.S. I have been snorkeling at least a handful of times since that first fateful trip and I love it!