fun weekend...

Hello again all!
I hope you're all enjoying this abnormally warm holiday season! :)We spent this past weekend in Wentzville visiting Angie, Nick, & Braden. We (Angie & I) decided to make Christmas cookies together. So Bob, Brianna, & I took off Friday after work and headed down there.
We made cookies on Saturday while the kids played together and Bob and Nick (well, I'm not sure what they did ;) I guess the only other exciting thing is my fabulous new low-maintence haircut! Other than that, not too much to report. Check out the new pictures in the December album!

it all started with a little duct tape...

Today is a day that is very special to me, December 15th is a day that changed my life forever...let me take you back....

Well, it was Christmas time and I was traveling to spend a few days with my boyfriend (You all know Bob. Internet say hello to Bob!) and his family to celebrate an early Christmas. So I packed my car up with the loads of presents and started on my journey. I arrived in Crystal Lake on Friday afternoon, excited to see Bob, because it had been a month since I'd last seen him. We hung out Friday night, talking and relaxing.

Rise and shine...its Saturday morning, and we all head out to watch Brian's basketball tournament. We had a great time at the tournament, I met some more of Bob's friends and talked to some friends of his parents, and of course watched basketball! :o) We arrived back at the Carroll's house where, like any good visitor would, I took a nap. Actually I think Bob and I started watching TV or a movie or something and after I fell asleep he got up. Mary was coming over that evening and we were going to have the traditional opening of the presents.

Fast forward until evening ('cause really I was sleeping...I have no idea what was going on). Mary came over and we were sitting around the tree, opening presents, talking and laughing, you know...general holiday merriment. So Bob hands me my present, a huge box and I quietly wonder to myself what this could possibly be? So I tear off the wrapping and inside, I find....another box. Haha...funny funny, I tear open that box and I find....another box...OK really? Are we 12?? So I open that box and find yes, you guessed it, another box. (I'm getting a little frustrated here) so I tear the wrapping off of that box and underneath I find....duct tape. And I'm talking several thousand layers of duct tape, he seriously might have deprived a small country of their duct tape rations for an entire year on this thing. He is laughing uncontrollably as I tear the layers off one by one. I think they did finally have pity on me and let me cut through some layers! So...finally...we're inside the box. I dig to the bottom of the box and find....a note. OK...so I open the note and read "Your present needed to be cleaned. Look in the dishwasher." You can all see where this is going, can't you? Inside the dishwasher was yes...another note! "Your present is clean, but now it needs to be dried. Look in the dryer." Imagine my surprise when in the dryer was...another note (you're shocked aren't you?) "Your present needs to cool off. Look on the porch." So out to the porch I go. Did I mention that during this whole thing 5 people are following me around the house...yeah..I didn't feel like a dork or anything :o). Anyway, out to the porch, I start looking around and then I believe Bob tells me to maybe look under the pillows (there are of course 1 million pillows on the porch). So pillows start flying and of course under the very last pillow is....you got it...a note! (Boy you guys catch on quick). "Your present has been with me the whole time. Look in my pocket." I really wanted to punch him at this point, sending me on this wild goose chase while all the while he's holding onto my gift. Of course silly me...in his pocket was....A NOTE!! "I promise this is the last one, your present is up in my room. Don't turn on the light, you will see it when you enter my room." So we head upstairs, me and the gang :o) As I step in his room...I see a light in a tiny box shining on the bed holding the most beautiful ring I have ever seen. It was perfect. As I turned around, Bob was on one knee asking me to be his wife.

And I know what you're all thinking "after all that, you had to know thats what your present was going to be" But honestly I didn't, it took me by complete surprise, it was the most amazing proposal and it all happened 5 years ago today. December 15th is the day that set all my dreams into motion, it is a day that still brings me to tears and makes me smile. It is a day that replays in my head each time I look down at my ring. It is a day that makes my heart happy, it was a day that ended a chapter in my life but that began another.

Actually now that I think about it, the way Bob proposed is actually quite fitting for our life together. We started out with some big dreams and plans, and as we've opened boxes and found some notes, and fought our way through the endless layers of duct tape, our dreams and plans have changed and led us in directions different than what we imagined, some good, some bad, but through it all we never let the duct tape get in the way of getting to the good stuff.

Make video montages at onetruemedia.com

Bob,

I could not possibly put all of our memories in this short little video, but I hope this makes you see how each and every day I'm living my dreams because of you. I know December 15th, 2001 is not the beginning of our story, but its the day I began believing my dreams could come true. Thank you for always standing beside me, encouraging me, and loving me, even through all the duct tape :o). You have changed my life in so many profound ways, no words could possibly describe (funny how I've used 12,000 to try) so I will leave you with this...

Here's to unwrapping our future, through all the paper, boxes, and even the duct tape, may we discover all the wonderful and exciting things life has in store for us and continue to dream....together.

I love you!

its about time...

I know thats what you're all thinking, but hey...give me a break...I've got a life too (sort of!). Things are busy here, but nothing exciting to speak of. We were back in IA for Thanksgiving. We celebrated Braden's 1st birthday, can't believe he is one already. Thanksgiving Day and the day after Thanksgiving were actually quite hectic, but they were a lot of fun as well. The Saturday after Thanksgiving I went shopping with my mom, grandma, and Aunt Cathy. We left mom and dad's at 7am and did not return there until 1am Sunday morning. Yes, you read that right, it was a long day, but we had a lot of fun and I got almost all of my Christmas shopping done in ONE day! So, nothing exciting around here besides trying to get ready for Christmas, working and trying to get ready for tax season :o(, and trying to keep Brianna from cracking her head open (she is at the present time sitting in her baby bouncy chair backwards bouncing up and down) Geesh...she is going to make all of my hair fall out and/or turn grey! She has become quite the stubborn little girl and doesn't like to be told "no" at all. But she also makes us laugh and smile more than she makes us frustrated (most days!) It was fun watching her and Braden together over Thanksgiving, they seem to really like each other and actually shared very well. Other than that, not too much else happening. I know I didn't post my sappy sentimental Thanksgiving post, but we really do have a lot to be thankful for. I'll leave it at that. :o) I'll try to post more in the near future, but everyone enjoy your holiday season!
Love to you all

cutie pie...

Just had to share Brianna's very first "school" picture with you! Isn't she adorable? And no her hair is really not that red in real life, I'm not sure why it looks so red here, but regardless, she's a cutie pie...now if she could just remember how to sleep through the night...we'd be set! Our love to all!

short & sweet, 'cause i'm sick

Some new pictures in the November album.

I guess she really is a girly-girl. We were cleaning out closets this past weekend and she picked up my purse and put it on her arm and started carrying it around and then started blowing kisses. It was so adorable. Its funny, cause I very rarelycarry a purse (I just like to buy them), must be instinct! :)

Here is our new family picture. Thanks to our buddy Vince who gave us a coupon for a free 16x20 picture, this picture will be hanging (in giant size) on our huge, empty living room wall! Thanks Vince!!

OK, I really must lie down now. Love to all!

home again, home again....

So...here we are...another week underway. We spent the weekend in Eagle River, WI at Garth and Beth's place. They have a beautiful home and we had a great time hanging out with them. Brianna had a fabulous time as well. I think she has made a lifelong friend in Bailey. Although I'm sure Bailey was very glad to be rid of Brianna by the end of the weekend. :) Today, both Bob and I took the day off of work, so we took Brianna to daycare, ran a bunch of errands, and then took Brianna to her 15 month checkup. She is a little over 23 lbs and 30 inches long...she is in the 50th percentile for height, weight, & head size. She got 3 shots (including a flu shot) and had her hemoglobin tested again and her iron is fine!! We have to go back to the allergist in February, so hopefully that will all go well too. Other than that I guess there aren't too many changes going on here other than we converted Brianna's crib to a daybed. Although she doesn't really like that yet, so we put her mattress on the floor and she seemed to sleep well last night, we're hoping bedtime becomes not so much of a fight all the time. Anyway, I guess I should get going...I started this post last night and am now just finishing it this morning! Everyone have a great week!

Thanks again Garth, Beth, & Bailey...it was great to see you!

happy halloween

Happy Halloween Everyone!!
All Our Love,
Bob, Amber, & Brianna

goodbye old friend...you'll be missed

Before you get worried....the old friend we're saying goodbye to is Brianna's trusty pacifier (or pacifiers :) This will be the last pictures of her with it in her mouth, because as of Friday night, we have banished them. (Well, I take that back, we have them still but the only one she is allowed to have is the one with the tip cut off, which she HATES!) I pretty much feel like the meanest mommy in the world, and have come very close to caving (like at 3 am this morning, when she was crying and wouldn't go back to sleep) but for the most part, its been OK. The worst part is when/if she wakes up in the middle of the night and its not there, she gets very anxious. We know its not going to get any easier, so we just decided to do it, and hopefully she'll adjust pretty quickly. (Please cross your fingers that that actually happens!).

In other Brianna news ('cause lets be honest...thats what you're all here for)....she is walking! Finally! She is so cute, she still doesn't trust her legs much, but she is getting the hang of it. I may try to post some video shortly so that you can see her walking debut! I have never done that before, so we'll see how that goes.


Lets see...what else...we're still here, chugging along with work, me with my class, trying to keep our house relatively put together (haha...that is funny...you'd be laughing too if you could actually see our house right now!) There are a few more pictures in the October album, so check them out. Other than that, I guess there isn't much new going on here...I hope you all have a Happy and Safe Halloween! I'll try to post a couple pictures of Brianna in her costume for your enjoyment! Our love to you all..have a great week!

quick update

(this is the picture we had taken for the church directory)
Hi all...not much new around here, we were gone all weekend to the Quad Cities and Brianna stayed with Grandpa Bob and Grandma Nancy.

We had a great time this weekend, and it was great to see Alli and Steve and we met some great people,

we had a blast...thanks guys! Anyway there are some new pictures up, some that Grandma Nancy took over the weekend of Brianna and some from our weekend in the Quad Cities,

there are also a couple from last weekend when we made a quick trip to Galesburg. Other than that, I guess there isn't too much to report. Have a great week everyone! Lots of love to you all!

sorry...we've been hiding..

OK, we haven't really been hiding...but we haven't been home much either. Lets see, since we last left you here is what has happened...
Mom, Dad, Pat, Sandie, Jean, Vic, Angie, Nick, and Braden came to visit. All of us (including Amanda) took a trip downtown to various museums. Some of us went to see the King Tut exhibit that was at the Field Museum, while others went to the Museum of Science and Industry. I think everyone had a good time. The weekend following that we made the trip to Iowa to celebrate Grandma Felton's 80th birthday with a surprise party. It was a lot of fun and there were tons of people there (including a lot of babies!!) I'll have to see if someone has a picture of all the grandkids & great-grandkids with grandma that I can post here at another time. Anyway, a good time was had by all. :) Lets see...that brings us to last weekend (or just a couple of days ago) where we actually spent the weekend at home. Nothing exciting there. Other than that we've been busy with work and classes (me) and trying to keep the house running smoothly (or as smoothly as possible). We're back on the road this coming weekend, we have 2 weddings in Iowa, one on Friday night and one on Saturday, and then next weekend we're traveling to Moline to visit Alli & Steve. So, as you can see not too much exciting going on here. I can't believe its October already, the year has gone so fast! I will try to do better on the posting (I know I say that every time....) I hope you are all well and I hope we get to see lots of you in the coming weeks. I'll keep you posted if anything exciting ever happens to us! :) Our love to you all!

miss b and her garden

Short and sweet tonight. Most importantly...if you haven't already donated to Dale & Suzanne's March Of Dimes RIDE...you still have time. (click on the link and do it now!! :)
With that I'm just going to leave you with some pictures of Brianna playing with her garden. Isn't she cute!!! :) I'll try to write more at some point this week. Our love to all!

almost monday already???

As you can see...Brianna had a tough weekend! :) Wait...was there a weekend?? Did I miss it? Anyway, I was home very little this weekend. Thursday night I got my hair cut, Friday night we piled into the car and went to the Step By Step PTA resale. This is a group I got involved in about a year ago, and twice a year they have a big resale, and since I volunteer I get to shop the night before. There is a lot of great stuff there, I ended up getting a bunch of clothes, a couple winter coats, and a pair of shoes for Brianna and also a bunch of clothes for Braden. Oh...and Halloween costumes :), and the most fabulous item (at least in Brianna's eyes) the Little Tikes Activity Garden. They have one of these at daycare, and apparently she is the "queen of the garden". Her eyes lit up and she got this huge smile on her face when I brought it in the house. She has played with it all weekend. The garden however, is going to be making its home and Grandpa Bob and Grandma Nancy's...so I know she'll enjoy it when she goes there to visit :). So Saturday I volunteered at said resale from 7-4:30 (I was supposed to be there until 5 but they told me to leave early). So, we definitely didn't do much last night, and today was spent going to church and setting up my new computer! :) There are some changes going on around here...(and no I'm not pregnant) I have officially enrolled in a course to become a medical transcriptionist. I've been thinking about it for a while, and finally decided to take the plunge. It will enable (hopefully) me to do some work from home and earn a little extra money, with the potential to maybe someday allow me to stay home and work, but that is in the very distant future, but I'm excited about my new little adventure. Other than the outpouring of money at the beginning (the course and the much needed new computer), I'm very optimistic that this will be a good change for me. But other than that I guess there isn't too much else going on. There are a few new pictures in the album, but I'll try to be better about taking more!! Have a fabulous week everyone!

Congrats to Jill & Chris Curry on the birth of your baby girl on September 8!! We're soo happy for you, can't wait to see her!! Love you all!

just another day...

Hello All! So things have been pretty quiet(not literally quiet, but you know what I mean!) around the Carroll household lately. No big or exciting news, Brianna still isn't walking or talking, although she does babble quite a bit. She's learned some new things, like if you ask her where her belly is, she will point (or slap) her adorably round tummy and laugh. She also will give kisses when you ask, although most times you get a big open mouthed slobber! :) and when she blows kisses she now makes the "kissy" sound. It is all quite adorable (of course)!

Anyway, Brianna now has 8 teeth and we are figuring out what what she can't eat (and that is A LOT of stuff!) But she is doing well, as are we. We had a very lazy weekend this past weekend, but it was so nice to stay home and spend time together. Well, I guess there isnt' too much else going on, so I guess I should sign off for now! Hope all is well with all of you out there! All our Love!

OH...there are new pictures in the September 2006 album, check them out! :)

the shirt says it all...

"As a matter of fact the world does revolve around me"

ok...i lied

OK, sorry, one last thing. For those of you who read my blog and not Dale & Suzanne's (not sure how many people that is) I'm posting an email that he sent here. Please if you can, find it in your heart to donate to this WONDERFUL cause. You can see by these two pictures how your money can really impact lives. Here is his email in its entirety, cause he can say it better than I can. We love you guys!


Hello All,

For those of you who do not remember me, I am the very proud father of McKenna Arlene Felton. At one point or another, you all signed the guestbook on her website. The reason for this email is because I am reaching out to you asking you for your help. On September 23rd, 2006 I will be participating in a March of Dimes motorcycle ride. All of the proceeds go to the March of Dimes to help fight premature birth. Without the help of the March of Dimes, McKenna may not be with us today, instead she is a very healthy little girl. She has continued to thrive outside of the hospital where she spent 112 days. We are very thankful every day for the care that she received and for all of the research that has been done thus far to help tiny babies like her to make it. This year I have 2 very important reasons to ride. I participated last year after loosing our son Ian due to premature birth and I collected over $2,200 dollars, the most any individual has every raised for this particular ride, and I would like to do more than that this year riding for both Ian and McKenna. We still continue to document McKenna’s life on her website (http://dsfelton.blogspot.com/) and I have also set up a website through the March of Dimes for this fund-raiser (http://www.marchofdimesride.org/dsfelton). You have multiple ways of donating, you can choose between credit card, check, or cash. The best part, donating is a tax write off.

Thank you all for your recent support. Without all of you sending us encouraging messages it would’ve been even more difficult than it was. Please feel free to pass this on to any of your family, friends, and co-workers, and with your help, I should have no problem going over last year’s total. Also, for those of you that have motorcycles, you are more than welcome to ride with me. Please email me if that is something you are interested in and we’ll work out the details. Thanks again!

Take care,

Dale, Suzanne, & McKenna
P. S. – I have attached a couple pictures of her. One is a picture of her shortly after she was born, and the other is one of her 8 month pictures.

brianna update & last post of the day!

OK, so one last post. Brianna went to the allergist last Monday, where we found out she is in fact allergic to milk/dairy. So, the first week has been pretty strange trying to figure out all the stuff she can't eat, because I think we (or at least I) didn't realize how much stuff has dairy products in it. The doctor said he wasn't overly concerned about her, (in fact he was quite shocked that she was allergic since she has been on milk based formula since she was born and has eaten ice cream, cheese, etc without incident), but he wants to be very cautious with her, given her history of breathing issues, etc. But good news is that she seems to like soy milk, so I guess that is a plus. Her pediatrician called us last Friday and let us know that her iron isn't as low as initially thought, but we do have to have her on an iron supplement every day. Other than that she seems to be doing quite well and I think she wants me to stop being on the computer because I think she has succeeded in pulling every single game we own off the shelf and has throw 3 decks of cards in the garbage, so I'd better get back to her. Hope all is well with everyone and I promise to try to do better about the posting. Our love to all

canoe-a-palooza 2006

At least once a year (which is not nearly enough if you ask my opinion) a group of six girls (including myself) get together with our spouses, significant others, etc. Most years however, at least one of us is missing, because some people have to live all the way out in Boston! :) This year I had the bright idea to go canoeing. There is a canoe rental place about 10 minutes from my parent's house in Iowa, and its fairly cheap and everyone seemed excited about it, so I began the planning. First of all, planning something with this many people is tough, we had about 2 weekends all summer that everyone thought they would be able to make it. When I called to reserve canoes for a Saturday they were of course already all booked up. So back to the drawing board. To make a very long story short, after many emails and phone calls, we finally decided on Friday August 11 for our canoe trip.



We got started about 12:30 Friday afternoon and floated down river for the next 6 hours. We had an absolute blast! I won't bore you with all the details of the day's events (because I don't remember a lot of them :) ) Afterwards, we had a cookout/bonfire at my parent's house and spent the rest of the night talking, laughing, & eating! :) There was only one bad thing about the whole weekend, Ben wasn't able to come canoeing :( . But he did drive to my parents house after work, so we got to see him for a little while. Everyone else made it though, even Jenn came from Boston! It was great to see everyone and I think we've decided to try to make this an annual event! Plus we all promised that we'd try to see each other more than once a year!

It was a great time and I'm soo glad it worked out and that we got to see everyone. I love you all so much, and miss you lots!

There are some pictures in the August album. (please excuse the blurry pictures (it was my old camera) )

relay for life and other family fun

Its been a while since I've posted anything, and now I've forgotten all the things I wanted to tell you! :) So I'll go back a couple weeks and tell you the stuff I've been meaning to. (This may be a couple of posts, so they are all not horribly long.)

The Relay for Life was a huge success. The teams that participated raised over $85,000! It was a really wonderful thing to be a part of, I'm excited to do it again next year. Brianna and Braden stayed the whole night with us, and seemed to have a lot of fun being pushed around in their strollers having everyone comment on how cute they are! It was such great experience.

We took the kids to get their pictures taken after the relay for life (we were back at mom and dad's about 7:30-8:00 and then had to leave by 11:30) Not much sleeping. The kids were pretty good (if you count pretty good as Brianna stealing Braden's puppy, trying to push him off the table, and trying to fall/crawl off the table herself) But we did get a couple of pretty good pictures. I also had Brianna's one year pictures taken (I still can't believe she is one!)

Then on Suday we had the Egloff family reunion. It was nice to see people I haven't seen since the last family reunion I went to (which was probably 5 years ago). We had to leave early and head back home so we could get to work the next morning. So all in all it was a great weekend with lots of family, who could ask for more? :)

Coming up...Canoe-A-Palooza, you won't want to miss this!!

Now that August is almost over, I'll have the new August photo album up shortly, keep your pants on! :)

a couple of pics...

We had a couple of uninterested kids this day...but I guess we got a couple of good ones!

motherhood is not for the faint of heart...

Its been a long two days here in the Carroll household. Yesterday I picked Brianna up from daycare and they told me that she was pretty congested. No biggie, this is pretty commonplace for us these days. As I picked her up and took her out to the car, I listened to her wheeze and try to catch her breath. Now, I'm not one to scare easily or overreact, normally when she wheezes we give her some nebulizer treatments and if they don't work we take her to the doctor. This time was a little different. I drove home crying because she sounded so terrible. She couldn't even really cry because she couldn't catch her breath enough to let out a good wail. I immediately called the doctor and got their only available time of 8:10 when we got home, great...I had over 2 hours to wait until she could be seen by a doctor, so I gave her a nebulizer treatment and waited for the nurse to call. She called and since Brianna wasn't much better after the treatment she told me to bring her in right away. Of course the only office open at that time is the one that is 30 minutes away. We got to the doctors office and they proceeded to give her another treatment, and a prescription for an oral steroid. She was acting much more like herself, but was still wheezing. She was scheduled for her year checkup for the next night (tonight) so I asked if I should even bring her in and the doctor said it wouldn't be a bad idea so they could recheck her breathing, but that we'd have to bring her back in another time to get her shot. Anyone that has children that have had to take these steroids will tell you that they make kids (and really anyone) bounce off the walls. Besides this wall bouncing steroid, we also had to get up every 4 hours to give Brianna another treatment.

So that brings us to today. I decided that it was probably best for Brianna if she didn't go to daycare today, so I brought her to work with me. She was one cranky little girl for the majority of the day. She didn't want to sleep (I think mostly because she couldn't) and was very much not her normal happy-go-lucky self. So after work I took her to her one year checkup, at which they do a test to make sure the child is getting enough iron in their diet. Its a simple finger prick, no biggie, actually Brianna didn't even make a sound. (OH and she weighs 21lbs 6oz for anyone keeping track...I didn't get her length, I was quite distracted, all I know is that she is in the 50th percentile for height, weight, and head size). So the nurse comes back after the finger prick and says that the quick test came back with low iron, so she needed to make sure that it wasn't a fluke. She got more blood from the same finger (no prick this time) and then the Dr. came in and said that Brianna was quite anemic. Fantastic! She's been on the same formula with iron since she was born and has only since yesterday had anything but formula and some occasional juice. So the Dr. tells me they need to do a more extensive blood test because depending on what was going on Brianna may need to be on a prescription iron supplement. Wonderful! Then I mentioned to the doctor how strange it was that her episode yesterday came on so fast, cause usually its days before we need to bring her to the doctor (not that we ignore her symptoms, but we try to treat her wheezing before it gets too bad and when it seems as if what we're doing isn't working, we take her to the doctor). And the doctor asked if she ate anything differently, and I told her the only thing that was different was that Brianna had milk for the first time yesterday, so now they are sending her to an allergist. The doctor thought that it probably wasn't the milk, but just to be on the safe side she needed to get tested. After all this I take Brianna to the lab to have the blood drawn, cause the doctor wants to get the results back asap. Of course Brianna has inherited my veins and they couldn't get any blood from her. The lady stuck her once and was trying to find the vein, and my heart broke, and I wished that I could trade places with my baby girl. (And for anyone that knows me, you know how much I love having blood taken, it always ends up in at least 2 sticks, and just for an example to get my IV going when I had Brianna, it took over 1 hour, 2 different nurses and 5...yes 5 sticks, plus the next day I looked like someone beat the crap out of me.) But I would have traded places with her in a heartbeat. Needless to say we have to take her back tomorrow to have blood drawn. My poor baby. She is such a trooper, in her short little year of life she's had ear infections twice, has had nebulizer treatments of at least 1 kind of medication (2 when she's wheezing) at least once everyday for probably the last 6 months, has had more steroids in her than Barry Bonds :) But still keeps smiling. She's my hero, when I grow up I want to be just like her. I know that this is nothing compared to what some parents go through with their children, and they have my utmost admiration and respect. I know we all wish we could take away our children's pain...The thing that sucks about being a parent is...that we can't.

OK, enough rambling, I will try to post more about last weekend's fun filled family events, but I'm entirely too tired tonight. I also have pictures (mostly of Brianna) that I hope to have posted before we leave for IA on Thursday night.

If I don't...stay tuned next week for accounts and pictures of Friday's Canoe-A-Palooza debauchery! :)

Our love to you all, stay safe and healthy!

oops...almost forgot

Congrats to Adam, Traci, & Laura on the birth of your new baby girl, Allison Rose (sorry if her name isn't spelled correctly...I didn't get all of the particulars!) on Thursday, July 27! Can't wait to meet her! Our Love To You All!

1 already....

Happy Birthday, Sweet Baby Girl!
I can't believe it has been a year already. One year ago today, you were a teeny, tiny little baby (well, technically you weren't really born at this time one year ago, but you know what I mean!) and now you are a strong, independent little girl, who has no fears! You have amazed me so much in the past year, and I so have enjoyed watching you grow into the little girl you are today. And I can't wait to see what is in store for you, because I think you're going places little girl. You have so many things in you that are just like your daddy, things I admire, your strength and determination, to name a few. I see your daddy when I look in your eyes, you are the best parts of him (not that he has any bad parts...except maybe his patience while driving...but we don't have to worry about that for a little while :) ) I hope as you continue to grow you take on more of your daddy's traits, and a few of mine too :)You are such a beautiful little girl, with such a happy demeanor. Every morning I look forward to seeing your smiling face when you wake up. You are so smiley and happy that no matter what mood I'm in, you can immediately make me smile and laugh. And even when you're doing something you shouldn't, its hard for me not to smile, because you usually figure out a loophole in what I tell you not to do. Like when I tell you to stop touching something, so you touch it with your feet instead of your hands. You can race up the stairs now, and have no fear of falling, you will plop down on a step, look back and smile. (and yes, I am there watching her, for all of you reading this who think I just let her climb up the stairs alone!)You absolutely love daycare and the kids and teachers there, you practically jump out of my arms in the morning, I love that you love it there and that you are happy when we can't be with you. Everyone always told me time would go fast with you, but I didn't realize how fast until I woke up this morning. You are such a joy in my life and I love you so very, very much. I could go on and on forever, but right now you're being a little cranky...(I love that about you too) I hope you have a wonderful birthday little girl. Know that you are loved with all my heart!
I love you sweet girl!
Happy 1st Birthday!
Love Always and Forever,
Mommy

days go by....

Enjoy the little montage of Brianna's first year. Yes, I know that she isn't one for 2 more days, but turning one is cause for more than a one day celebration. :) Make sure you check out her little post of the weekend events below. Hope you enjoy watching our little one grow (in a slightly condensed version!) as much as we have!


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its my party...

Hi everybody! Its been a while since I have written, but mommy said since I'm almost 1 I could try another one! Yesterday was my birthday party. Lots of people came...and it was a lot of fun. Before the party mommy, daddy, Uncle Nick, and Aunt Angie took me and Braden to get our pictures taken together. We didn't really want to do that so we just sat there and didn't smile, and they eventually gave up and we didn't have to sit in the hot room anymore. Maybe we can try again later, but we just really didn't want to have our pictures taken yesterday. So we came home and got ready for the party. Mommy made lots of food, and she made a special ducky cake just for me. (It looked kinda weird, but she tried hard and I love her for that!) I got to eat it while everyone watched, (I only ate the frosting! :) )
I was very messy and right after I was done daddy gave me a bath. Then I came back to the party and got to open presents. Everyone was very nice to me, and I got a whole bunch of cool toys and cute clothes. I can't wait to wear all the clothes, and play with the toys (although I've played with a lot of them already!) Well...I haven't slept much this weekend, so I'm going to go...I'm very tired. Mommy put lots of pictures up(thanks Stephie), check them out here. Talk to you all soon, I'm sure mommy will write again soon. Thanks again to everyone who came to my party. I've gotta nap now...night, night!

visitors from another planet....uhh..i mean state

Hello All! We had a fun weekend, with lots of visitors. Friday Dale, Suzanne, & McKenna, along with Jill, Chris, & unborn Baby Curry all stayed at our place Amanda also came over to hang out. It was a pretty laid back evening and we even got to play Scene It Friends edition. Apparently they all think I watch too much TV and decided They would be one team while I was my own. 6 on 1...real fair. I was up 7 to 1 at one point...so I guess I do watch too much TV :)
Anyway, it was lots of fun. Saturday Bob and Chris played golf, and Dale, Suzanne, & McKenna left to go visit some friends in Algonquin. Jill, Brianna, & I went shopping for a while and then we all just relaxed for the rest of the day. It was a pretty laid back weekend at home, with great company. Amazingly enough...I took absolutely no pictures while everyone was here, there are a few "new" pictures... (new as in the last 2 weeks or so). Hope everyone is well and we hope to see you soon! All our Love!

Dale, Suzanne, McKenna, Jill, Chris, & Baby Curry~ Thanks for visiting us...it was tons of fun!

Jeff, Susan, & Ethan~ Congrats on the birth of your new baby girl, Rachel. She is a cutie pie, can't wait to meet her!

happy 4th of july!!

Can you believe it is July already? And Miss Brianna's 1st birthday is just around the corner. Its amazing that she is almost one already. She has quite the little personality. She thinks it is very funny when mommy tells her "no". Of course everyone thinks its hilarious when she gives me that little smile when I tell her no. Apparently those things are funny when its not your kid! But overall she is a pretty good little girl.

We spent the weekend in Iowa. My Uncle Denny & Aunt Glady had a little gathering to celebrate their 35th anniversary and also to celebrate McKenna's journey and also the birth of the newest addition to their family little Sophia. It was so great to see everyone, all the little ones are growing so fast! There are some new pictures in the July 2006 album.

Speaking of the new pictures...I need to explain a couple of them. In a few of the pictures Brianna & Braden are wearing the "other" Chicago baseball team's hat. Now, the Carroll's and the Creech's are in no way, shape, or form fans of "that" team. (I can't even say the name...it may cause my laptop to crash and be rendered useless, much like the team) :) Anyway, my Aunt Jean & Uncle Vic thought it would be funny to put the kids in those hats. By the looks of the pictures however, the kids were as unhappy as their daddy's were when they found out about the pictures! :)

Well, I should probalby end for tonight...I hope everyone had a fun and safe 4th! Have a great week at work! Our love to all!

she's on the move...

Hey All~ Just a quick post tonight to update you on the happenings at the Carroll household. Brianna has officially started crawling, last night we were trying to get her to crawl to come get a teddy bear, and she did!! This morning and tonight she has been crawling whenever she gets the chance. So tonight we had to go out and get some gates (yes, I know we probably should have done this ages ago, but we didn't...so get off our backs! :) ) Anyway, that is our big exciting news for the week, other than that we're just doing the same old. We are heading to Iowa on Friday, so you may be blessed with some pictures next week! :) There are a few new ones in the June album. Enjoy! Our love to all!!

relay for life

While in college I took a course entitled "Death & Dying". Yes, I actually took this class, and I yes I really enjoyed it. During this class we had to create a "family tree" of sorts that made us talk to our families about death and to actually find out how members of our extended family had died. In doing this project, I discovered something I found quite alarming...cancer is quite prevalent on both sides of my family. Although until that point cancer had only touched my life in one way...my grandma had been diagnosed with breast cancer, but she had battled and won. Then as some of you know, in December of 2004 my grandpa was diagnosed with lung cancer. He battled with everything he had, but a short 7 weeks after his diagnosis, the cancer took his life.

On August 4 I will be participating in the Relay for Life. The Relay for Life is an overnight walk to raise money for cancer research. If any of you out there would like to donate money to this wonderful cause please email me using the link to the right (thanks Dale :), and I will contact you with more details. I know a lot of you that frequently read my blog are individuals I will be walking with that night, but for those of you who are not, I'm asking you to look into your hearts and donate to this more than worthy cause.

I'm usually not one to ask people for money, it actually makes me quite uncomfortable, so you have to know how much I believe in this to be asking.

I can only hope that one day, my daughter will not have to know what its like to lose someone to cancer. That is something that will only be possible if we continue to raise money to fund research. Then maybe one day all of our children will grow up in a world where cancer is just something they read about.

how did mom have 2 of us so close together??

So, I told you the other day there was an incident at the grocery store this past weekend. So, now that I can think about it without my heart beating at an alarming rate, I decided to share my little story. Saturday mornings Bob usually golfs with his dad and brother (when we're in town, which lately has not been that often), this Saturday was no different, other than the fact that we were having guests pretty much all weekend long, starting shortly after Bob finished his round of golf. We spent much of the week preparing for our guest, cleaning, doing laundry, making grocery lists, and deciding what foods to make. Friday we ran out of time to actually do the grocery shopping, so I decided that I would take Brianna on Saturday while Bob was golfing,(Side note...Bob does 99% of the grocery shopping in our house) as I needed to go out to get some things anyway. So Saturday morning, Brianna and I headed off to Super Target, figuring we could kill 2 birds with 1 stone. Unfortunately, by the time I had gotten everything else on the list, there was no room in the cart for any sort of groceries, and during this time, Brianna thought it was fun to take things out of my purse, play with them and then drop them on the floor. Needless to say, mommy didn't find this game so fun. I must note that she wasn't screaming, crying, or anything else, just dropping things, so I was a little upset with myself for feeling very frustrated with her, but I was really only frustrated because everything was taking me 5 times longer than normal. (I realize this happens when you have kids, so stop laughing at me) Anyway, I had decided to skip the groceries and wait until Bob got home to send him out after groceries or to have him watch her while I went back out to get the groceries. On the way home, we passed the grocery store and I decided I was already out, the list wasn't that long, I should just get the groceries now and be done with it. So, we got out to get groceries. This was a mistake. After about 1 hour in the grocery store to pick up about 30 things, we finally headed to the checkout line, my patience very thin...again, not because she was doing anything wrong, just because it took so long, and the dropping game was getting VERY old by this point. The checkout lady asked if I had a Jewel (thats the grocery store) card, and of course I do, its right there on my key chain....wait....where are my keys? Oh no, Brianna must have dropped them...I am frantically looking for them, when I spot them...the are stuck between her belly and the front of the cart, whew...crisis averted. So then the lady asks for my ID to purchase the beer I was buying (and at this point really wanted to open!) just a second, its right here in my purse...wait....where is my wallet? Oh my gosh...she really did drop my wallet!! I'm frantically looking in the cart as I'm getting annoyed looks from the people in my checkout line. Nope...no wallet. I grab Brianna out of the cart and start running up and down the aisles looking for my wallet...there is nothing, I go to customer service, ask if anyone turned in a wallet...nope, nothing like that here. The manager asks me if the wallet could be down Brianna's outfit, again with an annoyed look on her face, I wanted to punch her in the face....hello, its a wallet...its not small! I again start looking up and down the aisles, go back to customer service...again nothing. I go out to my car, in tears to look there, nope nothing...meanwhile I call Bob and he is on his way to the store but won't be there for about 30 minutes or so. Oh, and did I mention that during all of this I'm also carrying Brianna who now weighs over 20lbs and also that I got maybe 3 hours of sleep the night before...I'm tired. I tell the manager my husband is coming to pay for the stuff and she asks if I want to keep looking in the aisles, what else am I going to do? So I ask again, are you sure no one turned anything in...holding out hope that there are good people in the world. So she goes to check...oh...here it is! I let out a breath, and realize I've kind of been holding my breath for the last 30 minutes. She hands it to me and says "I don't know if anything is missing" I anxiously open it, afraid of what I might find, or not find...and there it is, my driver's license, my credit cards, my atm card, my cash...all where I had left it. So back through the checkout we went.

So to that wonderfully kind person who turned in my wallet, thank you. You made one very frazzled mommy very happy. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!!!

I guess it made it all worth while when on Saturday night Brianna said her real first word...mommy.
Yeah right in my dream world, well, she did say her first word, but of course she said daddy! She can say nothing that even remotely sounds like mommy.

But it was actually very cute, she was sitting on the couch with me, Bob was sitting on the floor in front of her when she tapped him on the shoulder, he turned around and she said da-deeeee!

OK, sorry for the long winded post, but its my blog and I'll make my posts as long as I want to! :)

father's day, old friends, & of course...golf

First of all, I want to say Happy Dad's day to all the dad's out there. The word father always makes me think of this quote "Anyone can be a Father, but it takes someone special to be a dad" (or it goes something like that) and the following people are definitely special enough to be dads. First of all to Bob, you are such an amazing daddy to Brianna. She absolutely lights up when you are around (as you do around her) and seeing you with her makes me love you even more (and I didn't realize that was even possible!) I know I never tell you enough how much I appreciate everything you do for us, but we both love you so much, and I'm amazed by you everyday! You are a wonderful husband and father and I love you more and more every day. To my dad, I don't even know if I could ever have the words to thank you for all that you have done and continue to do for me (and my family). I know you think the stuff you do is "no big deal" but it means a lot to us, and we could never repay you for all you've done. I'm sure I don't say this enough...but Thank you, and I love you. To Bob(my other dad), from the moment I met you, you welcomed me into the family with open arms. You do so much for us, from watching Brianna, to mowing our grass, and all the things in between, we appreciate it more than you know and we love you so much! Both of you (dad & Bob) are wonderful Grandpas to Brianna, and I know she will feel as blessed as I do, having had such great relationships with my grandpa's, and such wonderfully precious memories.

As I was writing this I realized that I never said thank you to the mom's in my life at Mother's Day, so I guess now is as good as time as any...as long as I'm in the sappy mood! To my mom, you know I love you lots! :) You're always there when I need to talk to someone, to complain, or to tell my funny stories to, or just to chat about nothing. You do more for me than you know, and for that I'm truly grateful. Nancy, you too, have welcomed me into the family and made me feel at home in your home. We both appreciate how much you do for us and for Brianna. We love you lots! You are both such good Grandmas and Brianna is so lucky to have you, and you have both been so wonderfully supportive while I have been figuring out this whole motherhood thing for the last year, and that means the world to me. And to my grandmas (both by blood & marriage), I love you all so much!

OK, now that I'm done with the sappy stuff... :)

This weekend was such fun (for the most part...there was an incident at the grocery store, but I don't have the energy to post about it now...maybe tomorrow).

Sunday, the Carroll family came over for lunch, along with our buddy Garth, who was staying here for the weekend, and then of course we watched the final round of the US Open. Sunday night a bunch of Bob's golfing buddies came over so they could hold their fantasy football draft. Yes, it is June, and they are talking football already. They are a little crazy about the fantasy football, but it was great to see all the guys. Holly and I left the boys to their draft and went to see "The Break Up", which we both enjoyed, and Brianna stayed here and kept an eye on the boys! :)


Yesterday, both Bob & I took the day off, so we attended the Knosher Golf Outing (this is a Knox Alumni event, for those of you who don't know) Bob played and I walked & watched. Knox golf was such a big part of Bob's college years (although if you know him at all, this is not a surprise to you) These guys are some of Bob's best friends (and also mine too) and they are the nicest guys anyone could hope to meet. It was such a blast to hang out with all of them and talk about old times, there were lots of laughs! :) And of course the day was topped off by the fact that the team Bob was on won! (well, they won the gross score). Needless to say a good time was had by all.

Well, I think I've rambled enough for tonight.... Lots of love to you all...

have you missed us?

Yes, I know...I know...its been a while. But I've finally got some new pictures. Brianna is getting pretty big now, and while she's not yet crawling, she sure does seem to get into a lot of stuff! This past weekend Brianna & I went with Amanda and her mom to the Wilton tent sale (if you don't know, Wilton makes cooking/baking supplies) I was thinking about what kind of cake to make Brianna for her birthday and while walking up and down the aisles I spotted a 3-D duck. Well, Brianna saw it and immediately got this huge smile on her face and was laughing and playing with the box. I almost couldn't get it away from her to pay for it! So, I bought it and decided to do a trial run to see if it would actually work for her birthday. It actually didn't turn out half bad. It will hopefully be decorated much better for her birthday( I only had chocolate frosting in the house), but Bob made me take a picture of the practice one before he started eating it!

Anyway, I've got a bunch of stuff to do around the house tonight, and its almost bath & bed time. But there are some new pictures in the June 2006 album. Hope everyone is having a nice summer so far. Our love to all!!