My Mimi

Three Generations, Dec 2007
Holding Great-Grandson Caiden for 1st Time, May 2006

My Grandparents and Parents, Dec 2008

My Mimi passed away this past week. There are so many things I would love to say about her but I know I could fill pages about how special she was and yet never perfectly express how much I love and miss her. So I will give you a few amazing things about her:

* She was an amazing seamstress. No one can make embroidered anything the way she could and she saw a need for embroidery on everything.

* She would send me money when she knew I was tight, with a note stating she wanted nothing in return, not even a thank-you.

* She could down scotch and water like it was only water.

* Until the last time I saw her, she always waved to my kids with her little wave and said Hi Beck and Hi Caid even when she couldn't say anything else.

* She clung to her purse like it was her source of air. She took them to the restroom and bed with her.

* She loved the Chicago Bears.

* She collected everything.

* Mary E. Armstrong was just an absolutely amazing woman!

I'm Not Saying It and You Can't Make Me!

Beckett has said all of two things really. Mama and Dada. He said Mama first and then Dada hours later. Now the little comedian refuses to say Mama. Everytime I ask him to say Mama...I get Dada. Beckett say Mama........"Dada." Little stinker. He WILL NOT say Mama. 9 times out of 10 he laughs after saying Dada. He knows that he is sooo funny! Here is a little proof.

Awww....they so cute!

Mike spent a few weeks recently working on the front yard. He tore out the old stairs and rebuilt them along with the flower box and then built some completely new stairs down into the yard. In the mean time, we all spent a bit of time outside. As Mike and I moved stones and pulled out plants, we found a lot of worms. Caiden had a hayday with them. He collected probably 100 worms in his gardening bucket and played with them for days. My favorite comment was when he looked at them adoringly, hanging from his hand and said, "Awww. They so cute." It was cuter that he said it than they actually were. Here are some pictures of Caid with his friends.

Baby Zachary

Well after waiting what seemed forever, Zachary Mclean was born on May 27, 2009. Michael and I are finally Uncle Mike and Aunt Steph. We can not be more excited to be called by these titles. Zachary is a beautiful baby and is lucky to have amazing parents. Todd and Marci are so insync with everything Zachary. He looks a lot like Todd to me though he has Marci's lips for sure. For all who haven't seen him you are missing out on seeing a baby who is just beautiful! If you live far away, here is your glimpse into something truly spectacular.

Three Years Old!!!!

My sweet boy,



A few nights ago, you crawled into my bed in the wee hours of the morning and snuggled up next to me. You fell right back to sleep and yet I could not sleep. I couldn't help but be amazed at you. You have gotten so big and yet are still so little. I love that you are growing and changing but still a little boy.



Your life has changed so much this past year. You are a big brother! And a really good one at that. You have gone from being an only child to sharing the limelight. Sure you get annoyed with Beck sometimes but you are so helpful and patient with him most of the time.



Caiden, your personality has really come into play this year. You are so funny! You tell everything like it is. You never mince words! I love how quick you are with you comebacks. You love to tell me how I am Stinky Pete when I am not feeling as excited about things that are thrilling you. It just makes me laugh!



As I watch you play, I marvel at you. You are so inquisitive and so happy to enjoy life. You enjoy everything about life. You do everything with passion. You hunt rolly-pollys, fight bad guys, run, and so much more all while pouring all you have into that one thing at the time. You are such an example to Daddy and I that we need to live in the moment and forget our worries for a little bit.



You are so beautiful! You have these amazing eyes that are like none I've ever seen before. I am not sure where they came because mine are brown and Daddy's are blue. Yours are neither. They are more green. Your smile is gorgeous and your laugh is contagious. You started the year with a whole slew of speech errors and all of them have been corrected but one which is sm words like smoosh, smash, smell. Those words are sloosh, slash, and slell. It is really cute! Much cuter than the -d sound for -st.



You have bounced around favorite things in life this year from blue deedee and white (longest time favorite) to your generic named favorite stuffed animals, doggy, bear, lambie, and monkey. You love playing anything outside or doing anything artistic.



Caiden, my dear, you are such a joy! I love you so much more than I ever could have thought possible. You are such an incredible blessing in my life and in all who meet you! I love you my darling.

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Man, he loves his papa!

Caiden has gotten so attached to his papas. He has begun to tell me and everyone else like it is. He loves going to both Papa Tise and Papa Bleagley's house and would rather be with either of them than with me any day. Some of the ways I know this.

1. He tells me he wants me to take him to Papa's house and drop him off.

2. He talks about them nonstop and can recall everything they do with him. I can get a recount of the visit in great detail even weeks after the fact. When Papa and me went to the pond, Papa bringed bread to give to the duckies.....

3. He told Teri one time, "I wanted to go to Papa Tise's but I came here." Little kids just say it how it is. BTW, he was happy at Papa Bleagley's house.

4. He idolizes them. He wants to wear cologne just like Papa.

5. He tells me it is Papa and Caiden's truck that Papa drives.

6. He rarely if ever has gotten in trouble with Papa.

I will think of more, many, many more. He can not get enough of his Papas. It is so fun to see Caiden's adoration for my dad and Mike's dad.

Okay. Who am I kidding?????

I have no idea why this whole blog thing has taken a backseat. Anyone????? Regardless, I have a LOT of catching up to do, huh? Okay so here starts the ball rolling. Just an FYI: These catching up will not be in chronological order, just what I feel like posting at the moment it gets written. :)

So for all who know me, I love, Love, LOVE Disney. And yet Caiden had never been. Sooooo...we HAD to go!!!! We had the most amazing time. The group we went with was a little large for this kind of thing but I think everyone had a blast. We went with my parents, Mike's parents, my best friend Jen and her little family, her Dad and his wife, and then Coogan joined us for dinner one night, and Mike's best friend Aaron and his son and nephew met up with us for a day. Caiden will tell you that the Matterhorn was his favorite ride although he rode Buzz Lightyear at least a dozen times.