The Boss' of Belfast

Christmas 2011...

2012-02-07T15:28:00.002-06:00

Christmas this year was another good one. I'm finding I really enjoy it more every year as Trey gets older (not that I haven't always been a huge Christmas fan- I have). From going to see Santa (he had a great time with this year, no tears), to getting our tree and putting the ornaments on (he was even pretty good about not taking them off), to the ever exciting (and never ending) present opening. It was a great year. I just wanted to put up a few pics of the good times we had.

Over it...

2011-11-16T07:56:00.008-06:00

I'm so done and over trying to keep this up to date that I'm just starting over! :) Big surprise, considering it was last year about this time I said I was going to start catching up ;) Oh well! Most of the time life is more fun than sitting here writing about it.

In a nutshell, we've had a wonderful year. Trey is thriving and is a happy, healthy, (naughty), SILLY, nutty little monster! We're STILL working on potty training, although I admit, I am not very aggressive about it. I feel like as soon as I start to be, he will progress faster. We started just after he turned 2. My goal is to be potty trained by Christmas- we'll see! He loves to make trouble and messes and then come tell me about them, just to make sure. His favorite things to say right now are "I be right back" and "one second...". Apparently he has been listening to his Mommy. He loves to run, definitely not walk, and never be confined to a stroller again, which is exciting to say the least ;) Halloween was super fun because he started to "get it" this year. He was a very adorable Curious George and did a great job with the trick or treating. He went up to everyone's doors, mostly all by himself, and said "please" and "thank-you" (maybe with some subtle prompting). The best moment of all was when he looked at one lady, took the Nerds out of his bucket and tried to give them back saying, "I don't like it, don't want this". Steve and I could only laugh. We had a small scare at the beginning of October when he fell and sliced his forehead open on a step in our family room. It led us to the ER and to 7 stitches (just like his Mommy when she was 2). He was so brave and such a trooper, we were more scared than him! As you can tell, I hardly stop talking about my boy and LOVE being able to be home with him all the time!

Steve and I are doing great as well. Work is going well for him and he's staying busy, which is great. His companies seem to be starting more projects and have lots more work to do, which, thankfully, means more work for him. :) I had a great 30th birthday this year, courtesy of my wonderful hubby. We started on Wednesday night with a Tigers game at Comerica, then off to Mackinac Island (where I had never been before) for Thurs, Fri and Sat. On Saturday we left the island and made it back to GR in time for dinner with both our families and then my own personal GRBarCrawl and party bus with all our friends! It was SUCH a fun weekend and I am so thankful always for such an amazing husband. I've also been trying out new things this year. I've joined a Bible study for women at our church, which has proved to be quite interesting and insightful for me. I'm really loving it. I also joined a local MOPS group with some neighborhood girlfriends/moms. It is fun to meet other ladies/moms in the neighborhood and enjoy a little alone time. Trey actually loves going to the childcare area (they have TWO train tables!) which makes it easier for me to leave him for a couple hours.

It has been a BUSY, BUSY year, but as always full of good times and good people. So, hoping to have some more postings in the near future, but I'm not making any promises :)

Here is Steve and I on Mackinac Island. This is towards the end of our bike ride around the island, which was so fun and the PERFECT locale for our Schwinn Lakeshore Cruisers :)

When Trey turned 2 in June, we had a great "friend" party that was (hopefully) obviously ELMO themed. He thought it was amazing. Especially because those Elmo balloons hung around until AUGUST!

Here's our little Frankenstein and the cutest little Curious George you'll ever meet. Apparently he was ready for Halloween all month long!

My baby turns 1 (aka: June part 2)...

2010-12-14T10:09:00.005-06:00

On June 26, 2010, we celebrated Trey's FIRST birthday!!! It was a jungle themed party with lots of fun animals. It was SO fun throwing my first kid birthday party. I can hardly believe that my BABY turned ONE! He is SO big and teaching me something new every day. I love watching him grow and learn and discover new things. He is such a funny and smart little man and reminds me SO much of his daddy :) I swear he is going to be an engineer, or a performer. He LOVES figuring out how things work. He takes it all apart and every once in awhile attempts to put it back together :) He also loves to chatter away, can't wait until we actually know what he's saying. Since it has been awhile now since his birthday I'll also update on how far he's come since then. At about 13 months he officially started walking- and I thought crawling rocked my world! He's a little bit naughty (especially when tired, like his cousin Jake) and hears the word "NO" a lot. His vocabulary is increasing, and every once in awhile a real one comes out ;) His favorites are "uh-oh" (also the first one!), "all done", the very awesome "poo-poo", "boom", of course "daddy", every once in awhile a "mama" (a VERY rare while), "ball", and "this, this" for any and everything he may want. He is also VERY good at grunting and pointing and whining. He loves to take people places. He grabs your finger and takes you around the house to different locations. Usually to his room where he will pat the rocking chair. You have to sit or he gets VERY upset. Generally he then leaves the room and you sitting there. My favorite is when he comes back and looks so surprised that you are still sitting there waiting for him :) He really is quite funny. He makes a whole repertoire of faces that are so silly, and he knows it. Clearly we adore him and can't get enough of him. We LOVE him so much and can't imagine our lives without him!!! Enjoy this glimpse into Trey's big day!

Trey's own personal cake, BEFORE.

WAY TOO MANY presents for one little boy!!!

Opening said presents.

Trey and all his grandmas... my mom (Grandma), Steve's mom (Nana), my grandma (Other-One Grandma), and Steve's grandma (Great-Grandma Kastelin)

Mommy even made him a custom shirt!

He had some presents for all his friends too!

And, AFTER! It actually took him a little while to get into the cake, but he soon made short work of it.

Cousin Claudia watches closely to make sure he's doing everything right! She's such a good helper!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY STEVE... (aka: the Big 3-0, aka: June Part 1)

2010-12-06T23:31:00.002-06:00

On June 12, 2010, Steve turned 30! It was a milestone, so I planned accordingly. Like, planning a surprise party with 50 people at a West MI Whitecaps game the week before his actual birthday. And then planning an after party at our house, which even involved sending Trey away for the night (for the first time!). He had no idea, no clue whatsoever, and was COMPLETELY shocked. It was SO fun to do that. I still can't believe all the logistics with that many people and that many variables worked out. It was amazing, even though the weather didn't cooperate. After being beautiful all day, it started raining as we were walking into the ball park (which was my biggest fear). We were able to get into our private area and have our bbq though. They did eventually call the game, so in the end we actually ended up with free tickets to another game, AND were able to have our party. Steve had such a good time and couldn't believe so many people came out to celebrate and that I was able to pull off so many surprises. Here's a few snippets into the celebrations of Steve, both at the surprise party and on his actual birthday with his family.

There are a lot of June birthdays in our family, so even though it was a big one, he was still sharing a cake. I did make him his favorite chocolate eclair dessert though, too.

Overwhelming...

2010-12-06T23:18:00.002-06:00

So last time I updated, many months ago, I swore I wouldn't wait so long again or miss so many events. Sadly, I was not so successful and as more and more time went on, I got more and more overwhelmed. So, I've just decided to start from where I left off and try and update a little as soon as I can (in my mind I think every day, ha!). So, on May 16, Trey was baptized by his Nana in her church. He was VERY good, even though likes to use A LOT of water! :) He was also the first baby to be baptized in her newly founded church in their new space. It was a wonderful day for the whole family and we were so happy so many people were able to share this special day with the three of us.

Mommy and Daddy with our new little Christian ;)

Three RSB's, all in a row

What a popular little guy!

I just couldn't resist this one... he's such a cutie!

The past few months...

2010-08-04T14:02:00.005-05:00

We did lots of fun things this past spring. Here's a small snippet into what springtime with the Bosses was like :)

Tulip Time 2010- every year Carley and I take the kids to Tulip Time. Sometimes Steve even gets to join us, this year he and Ed came along, even though you don't ever see them in the pics. We had so much fun, even though Carley and I STILL haven't gotten/made Dutch costumes for the kids. Maybe next year...

Trey and Sam's first Tulip Time

Everyone LOVES a Dutch boy! :)

Opening baseball weekend we went to a Tigers game, which was GORGEOUS where our seats were in the sun and to the opening West MI Whitecaps game. The entire weekend was spent with our good friends Derek and Grace. As you can see, Grace and I also got very into the foam finger movement...

Grace and I with ALL our paraphanalia at the Whitecaps game.

Trey also thoroughly enjoyed the foam

Running the Riverbank Run 10K was a group effort. If you can't tell, mine and Carley's shirts say, "Step aside for the Bride". We just thought that would be fun. My first race ever was super fun, kind of got me into running, I will definitely do it again.

My first Mother's Day with my little man :)

Florida...

2010-08-04T13:02:00.007-05:00

In April I promised I'd post more Florida pics soon. Wow, Florida sure seems like a long time ago now! So, as promised here is our 2010 trip to Anna Marie Island, FL! Sorry it took so long, but we really had a great time. 4 kids and 8 adults sharing one house is a bit chaotic, especially when 1 of those kids and 4 of those adults had to share a big, lofty room (aka- Trey, Steve, Me, Katie and Joe), but we had SO much fun! Our house was right across from the beach. We visited Steve's grandparents and their pool, had lots of great lunches and dinners out, did lots of shopping :), and Trey LOVED the beach. We got him a little inflatable bath tub and he sat and played, crawling in and out all afternoon! We saw some great sunsets and even A MANATEE!!!

First trip to the beach...

2010-04-27T20:12:00.004-05:00

We just got back from our "spring break" getaway to Anna Marie Island, FL. It was SO much fun and I will get around to posting more pics and stories soon, but for now here is Trey's first experience with the beach and the ocean... :)

FINALLY...

2010-04-01T12:02:00.002-05:00

Wow! I just thought I'd try this and it finally worked for me, a video uploaded! It is nothing too exciting, just Trey playing in Ripley's dish like he isn't supposed to :) He has just recently discovered it, and now thinks it's as much fun as being in the bath tub (he LOVES the bath tub). Enjoy!

Goings on...

2010-03-30T21:12:00.003-05:00

Nothing super exciting has been going on at the Boss house lately... well, Trey has been doing things and learning everyday, but nothing much new for Steve and I. We've had a couple fun night out recently, which are great every once in awhile. It is really nice to get out of the house and do things with friends. We celebrated St. Patrick's Day downtown GR- we hadn't celebrated in 3 or 4 years, so it was fun to "get back out there" :) We also celebrated our very good friend Arron's (surprise) 30th birthday party. So fun to see lots of friends we hadn't in awhile- some since even before I was pregnant!

Trey has been a VERY busy boy lately... he did FINALLY stop rolling and start crawling- he mostly drags his tummy and does an army crawl, and it's SO cute! He can lift his tummy up, but it takes him longer to get to the entertainment center and the cords, or the woodstove, or Ripley's water bowl... all the things he's not supposed to touch. :) He's also clapping (which is SUPER cute) and doing "SOOO big"- which really makes him think he's a big deal, because I get very excited. I do hear random "da-da"s and "hi", but don't really think he knows what he's doing. He's also standing up all alone, which is VERY scary to me. He already runs into enough things with that noggin! He walks if he's holding someone's hands and a little bit along the couch, but only with someone behind him. And, most recently, like today, he climbed up a step in our house- from the family room to the landing leading to the kitchen. Again, exciting but scary. The coolest thing was discovered on his 9 month birthday the other day... A Tooth! We've been waiting and waiting for those pesky buggers to appear, and appear it has, with a vengeance. It is very cute, but hasn't been easy on him- he has had to suffer through a little fever and runny nose and I have had to suffer through a VERY needy, VERY fussy baby. I do feel very bad for him though and Steve's only question is, "is it going to be like this for all of them?" No sympathy, that one. :)

We've also been TOTALLY loving the weather lately. Belfast really comes alive in the spring and summer. It has been great seeing everyone come out from winter hibernation and the kids playing up and down the block. Hopefully it bodes well for summertime and lots of warmth and sunshine! Fun times coming up... excited for Easter weekend in Newaygo and seeing Steve's mom's new church... Steve and I are going to Tigers opening weekend (unfortunately not opening day) and Whitecaps opening day next weekend... AND THEN... FLORIDA!!! Cannot wait for our week long trip to Anna Maria Island with Steve's family- the WHOLE family. 8 adults and 4 kids in our beach house... chaotic and crowded, just like we like it! :) Steve and I are also training for the 5/3 Riverbank Run 10K. Should be fabulous... just kidding. It has definitely been hard training, I haven't exactly been a runner lately... or anytime since high school... but, we're doing it. Steve is an excellent motivator and it is so much nicer having someone to train with- it's way harder on days I do solo runs... Ripley just doesn't have the same encouraging words for me Steve does. :) So, wish us luck May 8!

And, just because he's so cute, here are some recent pics :

Just a couple of Pearl Jam fans hanging in the sunshine

"Grrr... I'm the little bear"

SOOO cool...

"C'mon Ripley, let's hold hands..." "Seriously, Mom? This kid wants to hold my hand???"

Awww... just two buddies hangin' out

Eight Months Later...

2010-02-26T11:44:00.004-06:00

Eight months ago today Trey arrived and changed our lives forever, obviously. Most things were all for the better- I admit I wish he slept in til 10am like I would like to :) Other than that though, he has been the best thing I've ever done. As I watch this little munchkin roll his way across the floor in front of me (yep, rolling, not crawling) I am so amazed at how quickly the last few months have gone. They certainly didn't go that fast when he was inside! I love watching him discover new things. He is just like his daddy and loves anything electronic- ipods, phones, cameras, wires, cords, speakers, remotes... you name it, he has probably gotten into it and most likely covered it in drool. I can hardly believe this little person is on the "little boy" end of life now- he's closer to being a one year old than to being a "baby" anymore :( It makes me sad to think that part of his life is getting closer to the end, but I am so excited watching him grow and learn. I love you little 8 month old...

Ha, ha Ripley, that tickles!

Just out taking a walk in the snow with mommy and Ripley...

I'm such a big boy I help pick out my own clothes :)

Just look at that Buddha belly

And, that is what 8 months does...

HE Finally Arrived...

2010-02-18T13:45:00.006-06:00

Our newest little nephew, Samuel Stephen Hwang, was FINALLY born yesterday, February 17, at 4:05 am. He was five days overdue, which was REALLY driving Carley crazy (and the rest of us, but mostly her) so when the phone rang at 7:30 am I knew it had to be baby time! As with the rest of her kids Carley didn't know who was going to be coming out, so we were pretty interested to see who it was going to be. We weren't allowed to know what "it" was until we got to the hospital, and low and behold (and much to my surprise) there was a little blue hat in the bassinet! We are so excited to have another little boy. He and Trey are only 7 1/2 months apart, which is going to be very fun and very interesting in the next couple years... Carley and I both think with Jake, Trey and Sam we are going to have our hands full! Steve was also very excited and surprised that his middle name was Stephen, also very happy and flattered, maybe? Mom, Dad, Claudia and Jake are all doing well. The kids are super excited. Jake is definitely going to have some adjustments to make, but I think soon enough is going to LOVE his little brother. And, I know Claudia is going to be very helpful. She is great with Trey and LOVES reading books to the babies. Here's a couple pics of our ever growing extended family!

Little Samuel Stephen- He's such a cutie pie and looks like his big brother, Jake.

It's AMAZING what just 7 short months will do- hard to believe Trey was even a whole pound smaller than Sam!

Meghan and Sam :)

R. Stephen and S. Stephen

9 lbs 3oz, 21 inches

Oh yeah, and Carley looks absolutely fabulous and since Sam cam out so quickly (just 3 quick pushes) she didn't even have an epidural! She's amazing! :)

Vote for Trey Baby...

2010-02-16T10:42:00.003-06:00

I entered Trey in Parents magazine's photo cover contest... I don't find out until March whether or not he makes it to the finals, but he was selected to be a "weekly finalist" for the photo of the week. He needs votes though, so I am asking anyone who happens across this to click on the link and vote for Trey and if you want to tell your friends and family to do the same, please do so. :) Also, enjoy the cute pic that got selected.

http://photos.parents.com/category/vote/photo/113134

Attempt...

2010-02-05T09:49:00.007-06:00

This is my first attempt at trying to upload a video. Since Trey was born Steve and I take all these videos, both with our video camera and regular camera... hopefully now we will have someplace to put them :) We'll see if it works. I also figured, what better way to attempt uploading a video than with the cutest little baby laugh. Steve and I both LOVE the sound of Trey's little laugh. We continue to be amazed every day with this little person who is quickly (TOO QUICKLY for me) becoming less baby and more little boy. He is discovering so many new things all the time and it is fascinating to watch. We are working on crawling right now. He is so close and has all the right ideas, he just has a little trouble getting his chunky monkey tummy off the ground! Well, hope the video works and other people enjoy it just as much as Steve and I do!

Much later this afternoon...

Yeah, I CANNOT get the video to upload- I've been trying all day... Anyone have any hints for me? On another note, I'll add a couple of pics of Trey from recently- he's a big 7 month old boy now- just over 22 lbs!

Trey's early crawling attempts... he is just starting to realize he needs his legs underneath him as well as his arms :)

Helping DAD match socks- it's my most hated laundry task, so Steve sometimes helps.

Cutest thing ever :)

CONGRATS...

2009-10-15T22:59:00.003-05:00

I have to write a quick little blog because I am so excited! My BFF (first) and sister-in-law (second), Katie, got engaged tonight! I am so excited and happy for her! We love her FIANCE Joe and are so excited to have him around forever now :) On that note, I am adding a couple pics one of me and Katie and one of the happy couple!

Updates from Summer 2009...

2009-09-09T12:59:00.006-05:00

Since becoming a mommy I have found I have a lot less time on my hands... weird! So, I haven't written much this summer, but I have taken LOTS of pictures. I thought I'd use some of those pictures to do some updates as this VERY fast summer comes to a close, which in itself is very sad.

In July, Trey got a belly button! That was fun and a milestone in a small person's life.

Steve and I went out for the first time by ourselves and left my parents and grandma home with Trey. It was for Jim and Amanda Scarlett's wedding downtown at the Grand Rapids Public Museum. We weren't worried about his babysitter's but we were sad to be leaving him alone- we checked in probably 3 or 4 times with them (and that was just during the reception, because we went home in between the ceremony and reception :) )

We took Trey to Imlay City for the first time for the Blueberry Festival and my 10 year high school graduation. He seemed really thrilled about it. My mom was even out of town for the night of the reunion, so Trey stayed home with just grandpa and great-grandma helped a little too!

A couple pictures from the reunion. It sure was fun catching up with old friends- I only wish more people had come to the reunion!

And, Trey's first trip to grandma and grandpa's church, and the church I grew up in. He was a big hit! We even had to stand up and show him off in the middle of the service. :)

We took our first vacation as parents in August. We went up to Houghton in the UP for Steve's fraternity's 35th anniversary. We also took our time coming home and did some geo-caching and went to Pictured Rocks and took a boat tour. I had never seen them before, so it was pretty cool. Trey really just liked the motion of the boat. It put him right to sleep. He was so good in the car on the 10-hour trip and really good the whole weekend. We took him everywhere with us and everyone loved him- obviously!
Crossing the Mackinac Bridge- Trey's first time, not in utero. I thought it was pretty neat we got the whole family in the pic with the bridge! :)
At the Sig Tau house for the family bonfire- Trey wasn't the only kid there, but he was the youngest at 6 weeks. :)
We got Trey his first Michigan Tech sweatshirt at the campus bookstore. This is us on our first geo-caching trip with Trey- he liked it until he started to get hungry. There were some very cool spots to geo-cache. This one was in a very old cemetary outside of Houghton. I think old cemetaries with VERY old headstones are neat, so we really enjoyed creeping around this one trying to be discreet while searching for our "treasure".
This is a gorgeous sunset over Lake Superior we were able to catch at a scenic overlook. We were hoping to catch it while in Munising at a waterfall geo-cache, but didn't quite make it in time.
On our Pictured Rocks boat tour and Trey's first time in the Baby Bjorn. He wasn't real sure how he felt about it. We had a great time touring the Pictured Rocks though. I thought it was so neat! It was one of those touristy things I've always wanted to do, but we never stop in our trips to get to Houghton or to the cabin.

August 18 was my birthday, which we kept pretty low key. A small dinner with some friends and fam at Bar Louie. Sure had a great time though!

Here's a cute pic of my best birthday present, my little Trey B!

On September 1st, Steve and I celebrated our 2nd anniversary. We went out for an AMAZING dinner at the Bistro Bella Vita, our favorite restaurant and where we got engaged almost three years ago. I sure do love my hubby! :)

And finally a few pics from Labor Day 2009. It was a fun weekend in Elk Rapids on Steve's parents boat- crowded and chaotic, but super fun. For most of the time, we had 8 adults and 3 kids on the boat, but we always make it work. We had fun in the sun and great trips out to Grand Traverse Bay. The water was FREEZING, but we went in anyway. What a great way to end a great summer!

Just a few Trey pics...

2009-08-14T21:10:00.004-05:00

This is his special blanket from Nana and Papa- cousins Claudia and Jacob each have one as well.

He's REALLY good at sleeping... most of the time.

His first run in the bouncy seat... he looks so much different in it now :(

Trey's first trip to the Dry Dock- everyone at Butch's LOVED him!

Not too many words, mommy doesn't have that kind of time... just some cute pics of our rapidly growing little man :)

Richard Stephen Boss III...

2009-07-10T09:02:00.003-05:00

On June 26, 2009 we were blessed with the birth of our little baby boy!!! Yes, after all the guessing games and wondering we have a BOY! I can't hardly believe it. I also can't hardly believe he is finally here. For those who haven't heard, Baby Boss' name has a couple of different parts to it. Officially and legally he is Richard Stephen Boss III, but to us he is Trey (because he's the third). So Baby Trey arrived at exactly 2pm on June 26. He was 8lbs 4oz and 22in long. He had a rough start to life. I was pushing for almost 4 hours (4 VERY long hours...), so he was stuck in the birth canal for a long time. He was head down, but flipped posterior (which is deliverable, but makes it very difficult), which only added to his troubles. He passed meconium while still inside, so his lungs had to be suctioned out immediately. His heart rate kept dropping, so there was fear (mostly by me) of a C-section. But, after all of that he was delivered. He was completely blue and was passed immediately to the neo-natal team, who got him breathing and moving. We were scared, but so glad they were there in the room and so thankful to the wonderful doctors and nurses at Spectrum. Everyone was phenomenal!!! Finally, after about an hour I was able to hold my little peanut! SO HAPPY! But, alas, he was then whisked away to the NIM (neo-natal intermediate) for his first day and night. We were exhausted, but elated, but also worried and sad our little man wasn't with us. We did visit him a couple times that first night, and after a visit the next morning from the pediatrician, our sweet little baby was delivered to our door! :) What a great special delivery! So, after a rough start and first day, little Trey was and is doing fine. He is two weeks old today and I can hardly believe it. We are adjusting well to life with our little man. Steve is amazing with him, as I knew he would be. It is SO awesome to see him as a dad. And he LOVES his little boy. Thank you to everyone for the thoughts and prayers and visits, we really appreciate it. And, enjoy the pics of Trey Boss- :) He's a keeper!

Preggo Pics...

2009-06-15T11:10:00.002-05:00

Check out the pictures we had taken last week. Dusty was our wedding photographer and he does such an AMAZING job! We love his pics and he's great in general! If anyone is looking for a great wedding photographer or any other kind of photographer, he's your guy! Check out his site!

http://www.dustybrown.org

Our pics are under "client previews" and the password is "bump"

Enjoy! We did! :)

Prepping for Baby Boss...

2009-05-28T22:21:00.003-05:00

We are now within the 4 week mark awaiting Baby Boss' arrival. In light of this, I thought I would add some pics of the preparations we've been doing here on Belfast for the baby. These are pics of the nursery- which I can't wait to start using. It was originally the blue that is already there, but the wall covered in primer in the pic below was a darker blue. We added some really fun embellishments of our own- stripes and polka dots. It's so fun in there. One of the truly fun paint jobs you can do. Trust me, dots would look silly in my living room! We also tore up the carpet and got the hardwood floors underneath re-finished. They look amazing! The room looks a little empty in these pictures, but I assure you it is empty no longer. Babies need lots of stuff and we've got it! All I need now is for my dresser to finally ship, in the right color, so we can get it put together and I can finally put all my little things away in it! I can't wait until we are finally finished in there. We're almost to the end, just finishing touches left. So... if Baby Boss does decide to join us earlier than later, we'll still be ready. The countdown is on, 25 days... Oh yeah, and enjoy the 35 weeks picture. Now everyone can see the BIG baby bump!

Hmmm... I'm also not real sure what happened with the colors and underlines at the top there, but I don't know how to fix it! Sorry!

Baby Pool...

2009-05-07T10:50:00.005-05:00

We have started an online baby pool to organize everyone's predictions about when the baby is going to come and whether or not Bebe Boss is a boy or girl. Enter the web address below into your browser bar and it will take you right to our game to make your prediction! Have Fun! Only 6 1/2 more weeks... :)

http://expectnet.com/game.php

- game name (put in top left corner): bebeboss0609

The things I miss the most...

2009-03-03T17:33:00.003-06:00

In honor of being over halfway through my pregnancy, which although it seems long, the end is quite in sight... it's actually going to be here before we know it. Crazy!!! Anyway, in honor of that, I thought I'd make a list of all the things I miss the most.

1. A glass of wine... okay, fine, a bottle of wine!

2. Brie and Feta and Gorgonzola... oh, the cheeses I'll eat.

3. Carpaccio from Butch's (my restaurant). It's finally back on the menu, and now I can't eat it!

4. White russians, I've had a huge craving for them lately.

5. Seared tuna... mmmm...

6. Salmon... mmmm...

7. Man I'd love a beer right now. Going to the beer festival with Steve last month wasn't very much fun, so many beers and no tastes in sight.

8. Being able to bend over at the waist.

9. Not having heartburn... I really miss the fact that I used to not have heartburn.

10. Ummm... a fairly normal sized bra... at least the size they still sell in a normal store.

11. My jeans that closed without a hairtie around the button.

12. Pants without elastic waists, although they are comfortable, even if they do go up to my boobs.

13. Mmmm... did I mention wine???

14. A cold ham and cheese sandwich.

15. Sausage and bacon... breakfast just isn't the same.

16. Being able to sleep at night without someone kicking me.

17. Coffee. I didn't drink that much to begin with, but I miss having it.

That's enough for now. I am more than happy to give all my favorite things up. It's a short amount of time and a little amount of sacrifice for the outcome. I'm more than excited for what is to come, but I will say I can't wait to be able to have all the things on this list again. Especially numbers 1 and 13. :)

FYI...

2009-02-10T22:40:00.002-06:00

Just an fyi, we did not and are not finding out what the baby is. We are all about the surprise. Even if we had wanted to know, little Boss wasn't cooperating anyway. "It" kept its legs crossed the entire time, so they couldn't tell anyway.

Everyone has their own opinions. Claudia thinks its going to be a little girl named Kyla (hmmm???), Jake says a boy baby, my mom won't say anything but "she", and just about everyone else I know is convinced it's a boy. Either way, as long as there are ten fingers and toes and it's healthy I'm good... although it is a lot more fun shopping for girl clothes... but, I already have all boys (Steve and Ripley) what's one more?! :)

A mover and a shaker...

2009-02-05T22:44:00.003-06:00

Hello mom, hello dad... today we saw our little peanut. It was amazing. And what a wiggle worm! That baby did not stop moving the entire time "it" was getting its picture taken. It was really quite something and I loved every second of it. I wish I could see pictures every day! Soon enough, I guess. Here is a sampling of some of the shots of our ultra-sound. Enjoy!

Cabin in the woods...

2009-01-25T17:45:00.005-06:00

From Dec 27-Jan 2 we were in the U.P. at Steve's family's cabin. We had 10 adults, 2 kids, and 1 dog. One dog who thoroughly enjoyed the cabin rules. The fact that he didn't really have any restrictions on where he could lay. So, he slept in my bed, Steve's bed, the couch, Katie's bed, Steve's parent's bed... and that is only when he wasn't laying on his blanket in front of the fire.

Claudia's coat lost its zipper when we got to the cabin, so taping her into her coat was the best option. When the duct tape ran out we moved on to the masking tape. She loved it! Jake also loved getting to take a bath inside in front of the fire. We were having trouble getting the sauna hot enough for the kids to go out there for their baths. Ripley loved it in the U.P.- he was able to run around and explore a lot. As long as he didn't get stuck in the deep snow. The snowmobiling was great while we were up there. There was SO much snow and it fell almost everyday.

We obviously spent New Year's Eve at the cabin- oh so exciting. Towards the end it was all we could do to stay up until 12:00! I know, REAL entertaining. I played the bartender (what else is a preggers to do?). We may not have running water or electricity, but we had pomegranate martinis and mojitos! We did finally make it to midnight and tried to hear the ball dropping announcement on the (battery powered) radio. We missed the drop, but celebrated it all the same.

Some of the other pictures are cooking breakfast- everyone loves chocolate chip pancakes, and collecting our water from the Salmon Trout Creek. It is quite the process for the guys, but it works. There is a picture of our group outside the cabin before our snowmobile ride out to the cars- we are missing Katie, Carley, Claudia, and Jacob who had to leave early to get Katie back to work. Everyone else- Steve's cousin Kim and husband Kirk, my parents, Steve's parents, the two of us, and Ripley all stayed a couple extra days. And that last pic- yeah, Ripley did NOT like his snowmobile ride in or out, but at least on the way out he didn't try and jump off 3 times!

It was a great trip, once again, but it is always nice to return to our toilet that flushes and isn't outside (trust me, when it is 0 degrees and you are pregnant and have to pee in the middle of the night...) refrigerator, ice cubes, dishwasher, shower, king size bed, cell service... well, it's just good to be home too!

Christmas still lives...

2009-01-23T19:52:00.008-06:00

There are a few pictures from opening presents at our house and our Christmas tree. I thought our tree was particularly good this year. We aren't real particular when choosing the tree, so it always amazes us when it turns out to be a really good tree. We do love our Fraser Firs though- the needles last forever! And they don't get all over the floor, which I love. My cute shirt I got from Steve says, "with bump, not plump". Everyone might as well know that I am not really just overeating or developing a belly from all the delicious holiday treats. And Ripley certainly loved having the reindeer antlers put on him. Can't you see how excited he is by the picture??? Steve got a new coat. And the only other ones, besides the dogs, who got into any of our Christmas pictures were our most adorable niece and nephew, Claudia and Jacob. Claudia was happy with her new American Girl doll and matching dress Nana got in Chicago when Katie ran the marathon and Jake was VERY excited by the "vroom-vrooms" we got him. He barely put them down! And, we also have the traditional Christmas Eve in front of the tree picture we always take after church at my parent's house. My mom must have ended up with all the ones with other family members in them on her camera. Again, all I have are us and dogs! All in all, Christmas was a whirlwind. We traveled all over the state, but hit all the parties, opened all the presents, went to all the church services, and ate all the food we possibly could. It was great fun and I was left with that very sad feeling after it was all over. Which, consequently, is part of the reason our tree usually stays up til mid-January (okay, not quite that long, but close). I hate when Christmas is over and can't ever wait til the next year. We are obviously very excited for next year because we will get to celebrate with our new little peanut. It will be exciting and new and especially strange in my family. It has been a long time (like 27 years) since there was a baby at Christmas. And it will be fun to see the baby IN all the things we got for Christmas this year. And to use the FABULOUS new diaper bag I got for Christmas from Nana and Papa Boss! I didn't really think I was going to get it, so I was very excited! Thanks be to all for making our Christmas this year so fun and memorable. And to all... a good night.

the beating of a little, little, little heart...

2008-12-10T22:17:00.002-06:00

Today we went to the doctor and heard the baby's heartbeat. It was just about the coolest thing I have ever heard. No, it was the coolest thing ever. Steve and I were very excited. At first she couldn't find it, but then, out of nowhere, there it was. thudthudthudthudthud... so fast... a perfect 160 beats. That's even what the doctor said, perfect! :) We also got our Christmas tree today... so all in all... a REALLY good day!!! :) :) :)

Long time and good news...

2008-12-09T18:34:00.003-06:00

So, it has been awhile since I've posted anything... Sometimes there is nothing to say, and sometimes everything but not enough time to do it in...

November was full of thanks, obviously... It was great to spend so much time with family and friends. My mom came to visit for a few shopping filled days. We took a road trip to Penn State for the MSU vs Penn State game. The game was a total bust, but we had a great time. The pictures I have yet to post can almost prove it. Everyone I was with almost remembers it too! Thanksgiving was also a great time with family!!! :) My parents and grandma came with Steve and I to his cousin Kim's house in Fenton. The house was bursting with family and a great day to be thankful for. We all shared things we were thankful for... Steve and I were able to double up our answer with our amazing announcement... we were thankful for the baby growing in my tummy! It's true. I'm pregnant! It has been so hard keeping the secret, but now that I am 12 weeks along we have decided to really start sharing our news. The baby is due June 23 and tomorrow we go to the doctor to hear the baby's heartbeat. I am positive it is going to be an incredible experience! We are SO excited and really enjoying this time. It's been weird- especially now that my clothes are getting tighter. :) Our families are also very excited- I think we really shocked Steve's family. It's the first and only grand and great grand child on my side and the first Boss baby to come along in QUITE awhile. We are still kind of getting used to the idea, but now that I need to get new clothes... it's sinking in! :) And Steve REALLY loves that buying new clothes part! :)

Halloween Festivities

2008-11-03T12:09:00.002-06:00

Our Halloween festivities started last weekend. Steve's friend Roben has a Halloween party every year and we've never been able to go because of other parties. It worked out we were able to make it this year, so we recycled last year's costumes... Big Boy and Wendy! My favorite part about these costumes was they were essentially home made. I had so much fun putting Steve's costume, especially, together last year. We also had so much fun carving our pumpkins and passing out candy to trick or treaters. It was a good thing I had so much, we had WAY more trick or treaters than last year- we almost ran out of candy! There were only a few dum-dums left :( Thanks to Katie for coming over and helping us pass it out! The highlight of Halloween was the Leitch Halloween party. The best part about it is that it is only a few houses away- although we do get some weird looks walking down the street... I think I scared a few neighbors! :)

Big Boy and Wendy

Our pumpkins turned out really well this year, and thanks to some clear spray paint, the squirrels didn't eat them!
Anna and I were SO happy with the way our "yummy" mummy costumes turned out! We had so much fun making them, just wish we'd known how long it would take to put them on. Anna was an hour late to her own party!

Steve and Jeff- aka Wayne and Garth

The Boss' and the Leitch's :)

Promotion..

2008-10-28T12:13:00.002-05:00

Just a quick note, as I was making my last post Steve called. He just got word from his boss that he was approved for a promotion. He is going to be an APSM of his office. Which means he'll be a manager in his office. Super exciting for him!!! We have been waiting for this promotion for awhile, and I am so happy and proud of him that it is here! He'll now be going to New Jersey for training in November and December. Yay, Steve!!!

Chicago Marathon 2008

2008-10-28T11:56:00.002-05:00

On October 12 Katie ran her first marathon and we made the trip to Chicago to cheer her on. It was so much fun. We made signs, and jumped trains, and ran ourselves all over the city to try and catch her running in as many spots as we could. It was SO cool to watch 45,000 puching themselves to their limits. I was so proud of Katie for accomplishing one of her lifetime goals! It was awesome! Oh, Steve and I also do not have any pictures of Katie actually running the marathon, because we were too busy jumping up and down and screaming with our signs. I hope her dad got some! :)

Here's Steve holding up a sign for Katie's running partners, Jamie and Jelanie... aka Jelamie!
After the marathon- all the runners and spectators.
A very tired and happy Katie!
Katie and HER Steve enjoying the free beers the runners get after crossing the finish line.
Me and my BFF! :) After the marathon was over we then walked ANOTHER 2 MILES to

The Cheesecake Factory for dinner... only the Boss Family!

Jason and Michelle Kelly...

2008-10-22T15:30:00.003-05:00

Recently I lost the cord to transfer pictures from my camera, so I haven't been adding anything to my blog. In the next few days/weeks I will hopefully be blogging on what has been happening recently in our lives. On October 4, 2008, our friends Jason and Michelle got married in Chicago. It was such a fun weekend and a BEAUTIFUL wedding. Thanks so much to them for hosting such an awesome evening. We were so happy to see Jason marry Michelle. We had all been telling him from first meeting her he wasn't going to find anyone better!

Michelle and Jason with all the Sig Tau's at the wedding (after Olesky fell off the chair!) :)

All the Sig Tau wives and fiances!

Seriously, best ever...

2008-09-24T15:57:00.002-05:00

I have a serious, serious, serious addiction to Sex and the City. I have come to terms with my problem recently... as recently as today when I watched the movie twice through, back to back, and some parts with the director commentary because I was so interested in certain things Michael Patrick King had done. Hmmm... obsess much!? I have not always been die hard, but as soon as I started regularly watching, my love affair began. I have seen every single episode at least two or three times. And, I definitely did not understand the critics who gave the movie such bad reviews... it may not be the world's best cinematic masterpiece, but seriously... is that really what you were expecting?! No, what should have been expected was a GREAT GIRL MOVIE! Kudos to any straight men who went to see it... Steve never would. Every once in awhile he will watch part of an episode with me, until he realizes that he's actually watching SATC and enjoying it! Anyway... I just wanted to share my thoughts on my obsession and addiction. Cosmos and Manolos for all!!! :)

Teeny bopper again...

2008-09-15T20:08:00.002-05:00

So this was the first year I actually watched most of the episodes of American Idol... at least enough to know who all the people were and become semi-invested in their lives. At least as invested as I could become by fast forwarding through most of their backgrounds until they started singing...

Anyway, ended with some friends with free tix to American Idol tour concert at Van Andel a couple weeks ago. It was so much fun! We had such a great time yelling like the fan-crazed teenage girls surrounding us... Here were just a couple of fun shots of a couple of my favorites, Jason Castro and of course, David Cook. Enjoy!

Congratulations...

2008-09-07T20:12:00.002-05:00

My dear friend Abby got engaged on Friday night. I just wanted to share my congratulations for her and with the world. I love Kevin, her fiance and am VERY happy for the two of them! Welcome to marriage guys! Well, almost... She will be getting married April 25. YAY! Oh yeah, and Kevin did a REALLY good job- her ring IS GORGEOUS!!! :) So, Congrats... LOVE YOU!

Puppy chow...

2008-09-05T17:14:00.002-05:00

Puppy chow... I really love puppy chow. One of the girls I work with brought in some she made today... my hand barely left the bag all day. It reminded me of care packages my mom used to send me during college... there would always be LOTS of puppy chow! It made me quite popular a few times. :) It is so easy to make... it only takes 4 ingredients! I even bought a box of Crispix on the way home to make some tonight. So for anyone else who LOVES it as much as I do, I have included the world's simplest recipe. :) ENJOY!!! I will be!

6oz or 1 cup semi-sweet morsels

1/4 cup peanut butter

1/2 cup peanuts (they are optional, but I DO NOT use them)

6 cups Crispix (or a small box)

1 cup powdered sugar

Melt the chocolate chips in a bowl, takes about a minute or so. Stir until melty and then add peanut butter. Gently stir in Crispix, but some will break. Put the powdered sugar in a plastic bag and add the Crispix mixture and shake. It works best if you do this step in smaller quantities, the Crispix gets more evenly coated.

Super easy! :)

End of Summer...

2008-09-04T20:29:00.004-05:00

The end of summer has arrived, and what a GREAT summer it was! After FINALLY finishing our house projects late spring, early summerish we were really able to enjoy the outdoors. We did so many fun things this summer I thought I would post some pics with a few of the highlights. Too bad I don't have any of us sitting and watching the Olympics, it became an obsession for the two of us... Steve even got into the gymnastics! :)

The Betka family and Boss family caught a Tigers game for Father's Day. Steve even caught something else, a ball hit by Pudge (back when he was still a Tiger) during batting practice.

A very fun day spent on the Thornapple River with Abby, Carrie, and Elizabeth in June.

Our very patriotic Fourth of July block party.

ROTHBURY! We only went for Saturday and Sunday (because of our awesome FREE tix!) but I don't think I would have made it the whole weekend. By the time we got home, we were "Rothed OUT!"

A trip to Fremont took Carley, Katie, and I to the Gerber Baby Food Festival, a Lonestar concert, and Steve's 10 year high school reunion!

Here we are in Grant Park in Chicago for Lollapalooza. Had such a great time with Jason and Michelle, our Lolla buddies, and also ran into old friends to listen to a little Rage Against the Machine! It really brought back all those days during Pull practice- really glad I had one of my Pull coaches with me at the concert! :)

Also in Chicago that weekend we went to a Cubs game. It was awesome for Steve and I because neither of us had ever been to the very classic Wrigley Field.

After all the travels and hot, lazy days fall may be welcomed. At least I really like to wear sweaters!!!

Starting up

2008-09-02T18:25:00.002-05:00

Well, after purchasing our new Mac for our anniversary present to ourselves, I have been loving owning a laptop. So, I decided to jump on the blogging band wagon... so here it is, hopefully I can keep it going! :)

Labor Day 2008

2008-09-02T18:00:00.005-05:00

Labor Day 2008 came and went with lots of fun. In my opinion not QUITE as much as Labor Day 2007 (when we got married and then honeymooned in Jamaica) but fun all the same. We spent the weekend on Steve's parents boat which was docked in Muskegon. We even took the boat to Grand Haven on September 1, one year later we were back in Grand Haven. We had such a fun time with Steve's parents, Carley, Ed, Claudia, and Jacob, and Katie. Only wish the mini-vaca could have been longer, and extended into Jamaica like last year's.

This is Laura the Elephant swimming in Lake Michigan. She happened to be in Muskegon at the State Park, and we happened to be beached there!