wow, 9 years

dave and i met through mutual friends in high school. we were just friends for a couple of years until we ended up at a news years party together in 1996. that's when dave professed his undying love to me. it's quite romantic really. i'll spare you the gory details, but let's just say he eventually won me over with his sincerity and charm. and we haven't been apart since. i've got to find those pictures from senior prom. i was quite the rebel (or at least i thought i was back then) bringing my rock band drummer boyfriend with a ponytail to my catholic all girls high school prom.

anyway, here we are at brookfield zoo way back when (july '96). i love this pic.

and here's my favorite picture of us from our wedding... june 12, 1999.

i feel like we are such different people than we were back then. we've grown up together, my hubby and me.

dave, i love you more than i did on our wedding day. i'd do it all over again in a second! i love you with all my heart and all my soul. thank you for being the amazing husband that you are. you're my best friend. you're the daddy of my babies. you're a part of me. thank you for being you and for sharing your life with me. "i love you" just isn't enough.

happy valentine's day!

so how was your valentine's day? i hope you had a good one this year. me and my boys did.

jonah made a card for daddy. i only helped a little... he's not so good at the letters just quite yet.

jonah got a 101 dalmations book about a puppy named pepper, which he loooooved.
...and some jungle plates, bowls & a fork & a spoon that he helped pick out from target. very cute. and practical... hey, i gotta get the practical stuff now while i can still get away with it.
at the farmers market last weekend i found the cutest t-shirts for the boys made by a local artist named will heron.
here's the design on dave's shirt. jonah's just has the little burrito... which is just so perfect because when he was a wee little babe we used to call him jonah burrito when he was all papoosed up (some call it "swaddled") in his blanket.
happy valentine's day!

[d]'s 32nd birthday

happy birthday to you!
happy birthday to you!
happy birthday dear hubby!
happy birthday to you!
...and many mooooooore!!!

here he is. the birthday boy. the big 3-2.
dressed like twins... a daddy birthday tradition.
here they are a year ago today... who's that bald little baby?
get in ma belly!aunt bekah & cousin carter
weeee! kat looooved the big slide!
so did jonah!
so did madyson. =)
hi mom! we're going down the slide again!
diddle diddle diddle (that's how jonah says tickle)
what a big girl!
auntie leah and little mr. carter man... there's that smile!
in my mind i see this picture in slow motion with really tough music playing... bad boys, bad boys, watcha gonna do...
me and my little mister.
airplane! this was so funny. at first jonah heard the airplane and was signing airplane, but he didn't see it until dave grabbed his cute little head and pointed it up towards the sky. you could just see the moment he actually spotted it. it went from like "yeah, yeah, yeah here's how you sign airplaine, big whoop" to "hey! there it is!" you could just see the little lightbulb go on. it was so cool and funny. i love those moments!
and now comes the time in the show where all the kids try to avoid capture so they don't have to go to the car. can you see uncle jim wrangling kat in the background? run away! every baby for himself!
jonah and his favorite friend madyson on the way back to the car.
i made dinner for dave and his family (with lots of help - thanks scott & everyone). we grilled out, had some tortellini salad (yum) and these most awesomest appetizers that i found on the kraft foods website. they're called savory parmesan bites and if you are ever looking for a crowd-pleasing appetizer you've got to try these. they're made with my favorite pilsbury dinner rolls, cream cheese, parmesan cheese, red pepper and parsley. we also added a little garlic, diced pepperoncinis and some jarred mushroom and let me tell you, these have got to be one of my all-time favorite apps. my mouth is watering as i type. i'm thinking about making a batch just to have as a snack for myself. here's the picture from the website. delish!
grillin' and chillin'. gotta love 68 degrees for a good ol' birthday cookout. thanks for cooking your own dinner, honey (and everyone else's). you have such a servant's heart and i love you for that.
nice sausage, honey... uh, i mean brat. ;o)
i wish i'd gotten a picture of it, but i also wanted to thank uncle jim for making the from scratch german chocolate cake. it was excellent!

happy birthday, my wonderful hubby! i'm so blessed because you're in my life. i hope you had a great day!
no, your eyes do not deceive you. i made [d] a giant handmade card that's bigger than his xbox. ok... not really. it's a mini xbox gift card holder. isn't that sa-weet! (rach & al - great minds think alike!)

see the rest of the pictures from [d]'s big day here.

it's finally arrived!!!

oh boy! oh boy! oh boy!

dave's grandpa sent us a check for Christmas, so we decided to get jonah a "magic ball zone" with it. after much anticipation and having a detour at the neighbor's house for a couple of days it's finally arrived!

i honestly think i'm more excited about it than jonah is. oh well.

"here, i'll help open it dad!"
oh boy! it's a big sack of brightly colored balls! what are we going to do with them?
what is it?
ker-plunk! gotta sit down and test it out.
oooh... i loooove it!
havin' fun in my new ball tent!
the balls were flyin' when daddy got in!

those silly boys

an afternoon at the park

dave and jonah and i went out for a late lunch and some fun at the park yesterday afternoon. the weather was a gorgeous 75 degrees and dave was feeling a little better, so we decided to get out and get some fresh air.

i hadn't taken my camera out on any field trips lately, so it was refreshing to get to shoot some pictures of my boys. here are some of my favorites from the day. you can see the rest here.