Walt's Graduation

I just can't believe my baby brother is getting ready to go to college!  Where has the time gone? I remember when he was born.  I was 9 years old.  Weird....I sure wasn't excited about going to the hospital that day.  I was sulking about my grandma not making me breakfast before we went to meet him. (I guess that's what happens when you are used to being the only one for 9 years :) I never imagined we would ever be as close as we are and have been.  I love that kid so much!  Every time he sends me a text or calls me and ends it with an I love you it still melts and tugs at my heart a little.  


Nick and I are as different as night and day.  I have always been grown up and serious.  He has always been goofy and nonchalant without a care in the world.  I have always been concerned about school, money and the future.  He lives every day with the intent to have fun and a good time.  Sometimes I am envious of his fun-loving attitude....wish I had a little bit of that in me.


When Chris and I started dating nick was 5...I remember when Chris would come over to hang out.  We would plan to watch a movie and my mom and dad would send Nick downstairs to "supervise." (They tell me they miss this now since no one is home to supervise Nick and his girlfriends lol).  This meant one of two things: Chris was either going to play cars with Nick (to which Nick would dump all 500 of his Hot Wheel cars on the floor) or we would play "drive-in" where Nick would turn his Little Tykes truck (similar to a Cozy Coupe) upside down and sit on the bottom of it so he soared above the couch (and our view) to watch a movie with us.  Nick and Chris' little brother and sister, Nate and Maggie went everywhere with us.  We would travel to zoos, parks, baseball games, you name it altogether.  


All of a sudden Nick grew up and turned into a high-schooler.  Chris and I spent our fall Friday nights at the football field, home or away to watch Nick play.  He played a little basketball and golf, but his true love was football.  I think that was the first time I realized how grown up Nick was becoming.  I watched him pour his heart and everything he had into football.  The coaches asked him to stop drinking cokes early in his career and he didn't drink one until after the last game of his senior year.  He suffered through two-a-day practices in the extremely, hot July and August temperatures.  He may not have had the natural talent, but he was one of the most hard-working kids out there.  


During high school Nick and Chris started to bond even more.  One interest they share is golf.  As Nick picked up playing golf at school, he was finally acceptable enough to play with Chris, Dad and Nick Lawrence.    In an attempt to alleviate confusion on the golf course my Nick earned the nickname Walt after the name printed on his then golf clubs, Walter Hagan.  His nickname has stuck ever since.  To most of us Nick is and will always be Walt.  (He's even listed in my phone as that. :)  


Although I am still in denial that Nick is becoming an adult (he is the baby and definitely acts the part after all) I am pretty proud of him.  He managed to graduate with an Academic Honors Diploma (I was certain he had given up on it early on) and is a pretty good kid.  He often makes me feel like his second mom the way I worry and agonize over him, but I love him nonetheless.  I am hoping he is ready to shock the world and put his very, smart brain to work!

Cammie and Walt at awards day...both are thrilled to have their pictures taking after sitting so long :)

Nick and his best buddies...Tanner and Drew (I am so going to miss these guys! Tanner and Drew are not only Nick's friends, but also the first class of seniors Chris has had in baseball.  I feel like I have followed these kids forever!)

Cammie patiently waiting during graduation :)

Nick walking in

And she's had enough! :)

Right before the class of 2012 said good-bye and threw their hats in the air, Nick's class broke into a flash mob that they had been practicing for quite some time.  It was pretty cool and definitely a great memory they will carry with them forever! Check it out!

Throwing of the hats!

Walt and Cammie...they are terrible to take pictures of when they are together :/

Walt and Dad

Cammie and her Pop (There was clearly something exciting going on behind me :)

Nick and Mom

My baby brother...I love him so much!

Sad that this was the best picture of the family!

Cammie and Aunt Maggie

Hilarious that Nick's cake had congratulations spelled incorrectly :)

Now he's off to bigger and better things!

Wrapped

     Yesterday was yet another crazy, insanely busy day for us.  Chris and I are both still working (summer is so, so close!), we have been running errands and making phone calls at any little break we can find in the day (trying to get everything in order just so for the move that has now been moved up a day! :), I ran a few miles to meet my goal with Danielle, ran into Target to pick up a prescription and zoomed by mom and dad's house to pick up C and head to Chris' first round sectional game at Providence.  I quickly changed out of my yucky running clothes and thundered down the stairs to get my Cammie.  She was sitting in the recliner watching Oso and didn't see me right away. I never want to forget what came next: As soon as she heard my voice she jumped out of the chair and ran to me yelling "mommy" the whole way.  She immediately ran into my arms for the squeezes and kisses that are now expectations from both her and I. The pure joy on her face almost makes me tear up.  I can't tell you how lucky I am to have that little girl in my life!  It's days like yesterday that make me realize just how wrapped she has me around her little finger....and to be honest, I'm perfectly okay with that! :)

In 1 Week....

• Nana and Pop's house will be eerily quiet
• Chris will no longer have to endure Shelby's breath
• I will not have to squeeze, squish and cram all of our wardrobe into a shared closet, plastic bin or basket
• Zesto's will no longer be in walking distance
• we will endure new sounds....dog toenails tapping on hardwood floors, alarm beeps and reminders and tiny toddler feet running up and down the stairs
• Chris will disappear in the yard for hours again doing his favorite type of work.....yard work
• Mom's laundry can always be completed in the order she desires....no uniforms or stained t-shirts that now throw her all out of sorts
• Pop will no longer clean Brohdi's snot and slobber off his windows
• I will be an organizing, redecorating and indecisive monster.....I envision there will be many minor arguments in mine and Chris' future
• we will go back to grocery shopping at Meijer (Yay! I have missed it so) and I can go back to couponing and stockpiling again (as Nick Lawrence would say the carb closet will be back in action :)
• we can go back to hosting Pizza Friday every other week
• I will go back to a full DVR and DirectTV....how I have missed them both so very much!
• we will probably never step foot inside....Danielle and I have already discussed setting up a schedule for taking turns watching the girls so each of us stands a chance of getting something accomplished :)
• Cammie will have her own room and toy room again...I think she has missed it more than I ever imagined
• we will give Nana, Pop and Nick their life and space back (even though I will miss them so very much....it's almost like moving out for the first time all over again!)
• we will have a place to call home.....something we have greatly missed!

Baby Ellie has arrived!!!

 On Wednesday our best friends welcomed their baby girl, Eliot Ann Lawrence into the world!  I was beyond excited when I got out of the shower Wednesday morning and Chris informed me that Chrissie was in labor.  I have no idea how I didn't hear that familiar text message ding on my phone as I had gotten used to checking it anytime I woke up in the middle of the night or in the morning (as we knew she could come any day :).  I started scrambling around to get dressed and was sending Chrissie messages as fast as my fingers could type.  I called my mom immediately, as she was working so she could go up and check on Chrissie and give her the hugs and love I wasn't able to send her quite yet.  As I left to take Nick to school (yes I am his official chauffeur to school in the morning now that his truck is gone :) and head to work I received a text from Nick saying that Chrissie was going to have to have a c-section because Ellie was breech.  To say I was devastated is an understatement...for more than one reason.  First, I knew Chrissie was very set on having a "regular" birth.  I was so worried about her, how she was feeling and not being able to talk to her made me worry even more.  Second, I was selfishly devastated because I knew a c-section meant Ellie would be here early and I wouldn't be able to get there until after school got out (it was too late by that time to even think about getting a sub :/) I was a nervous, anxious, crazy mess at school all day!  I cried twice, once in front of my kids talking about the year (who knows why that brought me to tears...I am so ready for this school year to end?!?! :) and again after talking to Sabrina about the chain of events that were occurring without me. I know my pod friends were ready to kill me....I just watched my phone waiting for updates, pictures, anything.... My anxiety was out of control! I finally heard from Chrissie's sister Caitie around lunch time that E was here and she and Chrissie were both okay (that's probably because I was blowing up Chrissie and Nick's phone hoping some family member had it and would text me back :)  I immediately scheduled a 1/2 day sub for the next morning and did everything I could to make it through the second part of the day.  3:40 finally came and I raced out the door, picked up my mom and headed to the hospital.  When I opened the door and saw my Chrissie and Baby Ellie I felt most of my anxiety melt away.  Although I was afraid of messing up one of the many things Chrissie was hooked up to I was just so relieved to hug my best friend!  When Baby Ellie made it to my arms all anxiety was gone and I immediately fell in love with that baby like she was mine.  Chrissie of course, had a room FULL of visitors so mom and I didn't stay long (I knew I would be back with Chris after his game later that night and could hold Miss Ellie again. :).  Mom, Cammie and I headed to the baseball field for Chris' game, grabbed some dinner and headed back to the hospital that evening.  Pop had been telling Cammie all day she was going to meet baby Ellie today, although I had NO plans of taking her up there.  Since all we heard from Camryn was "baby, baby" from the moment I walked in the door I decided to see if Chrissie was up for a visit.  Even if she wasn't, she would have never turned Cammie away so she got to meet Baby Ellie on her BIRTHday too!  I think eventually they will be the best of friends....at least I hope. :)  We are so thankful Ellie arrived safely and is finally here for us to hold.  Crazy how much I love that little girl and my Chrissie too! Congratulations to our bestest friends!!!

Eliot Ann Lawrence...absolutely perfect! :)

So excited to be her "aunt" I love her so much already!

Another LOVE to add to my list....3 of the loves of my life :)
Camryn is so intrigued by Baby Ellie...I think she loves her already :)

Cammie Marie being her crazy self :) She loved that chair!

 

Itsy Bitsy Spider

Just had to share...how cute she is when she sings "The Itsy Bitsy Spider."

We tried to videotape her two different times, each offering a different element of cuteness, so I included both to remember forever :)

Zoey Update

     For now we are keeping our fingers are crossed.....the medicine they put Zoey on a few weeks ago seems to be helping. :)  She is on a medicine that is given to cancer patients before they begin chemotherapy to help her keep everything down.  We also changed her food to a high protein, puddingish-type wet food and the two changes combined seem to be working....for now.  She still coughs quite a bit and sometimes produces phlegm with her cough, but we don't seem to have near the problems we were having. Thank goodness!  We don't think she has lost any more considerable weight and are hoping she is working to put a little back on.   Although we know the inevitable is probably not too far away; Chris Cammie and I are hoping these things will help keep her around for a while.  Her spirits are still SO good...you wouldn't know she had anything wrong with her. The only bad thing about the new medicine and dog food...the cost. :(  Chris figured that we pay over $150 a month to feed and medicate our dogs....CRAZY!!! Glad he makes the big bucks these days lol.  We truly are thankful for a temporary fix that allows our Z to stay with us a little while longer. :)  She is the most wonderful dog!

Almost Time!

     We are so excited that it is almost time to move into our new house!  We have scheduled the fence installation, met the next door neighbors (that was pretty easy...we only had one side to meet since the Yanez family are on one side :), ordered some fun decals for the walls, bought most of the furniture (still need to find a kitchen table), discussed paint colors and what must be painted first and are constantly on the lookout for new decorations to fill the inside.  Last week we found out we may be able to move in a week earlier and our crossing our fingers everything will work out so that can happen.  We have been so blessed to be welcomed by my mom, dad and brother at this house during this transitional time, but know that we are probably driving them crazy. :)  I know C misses having her own room, toy room, bathtub toys and we are missing her CRIB!  At least we learned that C is not yet ready for a toddler bed.  She crawls right out of it and into the bed Chris and I sleep in. :)  


     It finally feels like it is really going to happen and we will finally move into our beautiful new house!  Danielle invited C and I over for dinner tonight and all of the kids were playing together.  Our new neighbor Molly is almost 13 and she was so good with the little girls.  C just adores Riley and Luci and loved having the opportunity to run outside with them.  So excited to have these kind of nights on a regular basis in the place we call home! :)

These Days

     These days we are spending tons of time outside.  We often head to the park on our own or with friends, play in the backyard at Nana and Pop's house or hang out at the field watching daddy coach baseball.  C LOVES to be outside!  She could stay outside all day (she definitely gets that from her dad :)  Here are just a few pictures of our recent outdoor endeavors:

Making her daddy proud....playing on the pitcher's mound at the field

Enjoying snacks with her baseball buddy....Izack

Being silly with dad

Just like Mommy

     Cammie has definitely inherited many of my qualities.  It is so weird to see a little person be like you in so many ways.  She is definitely going to have a Type A personality I think.  She likes things just so.... She knows how she wants to hold, organize, play with and manipulate things.  Another trait of mine she inherited is stubbornness.  Unfortunately she gets this two-fold.  I think she is definitely going to give us a run for our money. :)  Her daddy is super stubborn, but I am more stubborn than I like to admit.  She also has my salty tooth.  I am such a carb-loving, salty snack eater.  I could eat thousands of pretzels, Goldfish, popcorn and chips.  I don't go a day without a salty snack or three. :) This actually started (and was promoted) at a very young age.  My dad used to pick me up from daycare when I was little and would always have Doritos and Big Red waiting for me in the car.  :)  I loved it....needless to say I still absolutely love Doritos! :)  My Cammie girl loves her chips and Goldfish as well.  The other day we were at the ballpark and this was my girl...

Ranch Doritos in hand :)

Yummy! :)