Where did 2014 go??

There are 4 of us now!

Sorry for the hiatus!  I'm sure the 2 of you that read this have been wondering what's been going on.  I had left you with our trip to Arizona last year, my favorite April Fools story then left you hanging.  We were busy to say the least!

Spring:

Easter

"Hey what's papa doing down there?!"

We had tons of people that were pregnant last year along with us!  3 of our friends and 3 people I worked with, it was a cold winter!  So I attended multiple baby showers.  Nothing like a pregnant lady getting the chance to slip away for the afternoon, eat good food and get an idea on all the latest baby gear.

Dylan had his 4th opening day!  This one was extra special because his Papa threw out the first pitch. We extended our love of baseball into the minor leagues.  The AA affiliate to the Indians, the Rubber Ducks made a bobble head of my mother in law!  They did a special on women in baseball and she was the guest of honor.  Sadly due to her brother passing away she was unable to make it so my father in law asked me and my sister in law to speak with him.  It was neat to hear new stories of their life in baseball and tell of a few of my own from Andy's time in the minors.

Shelly graduated from Xavier with her Masters.  We made the trip down to celebrate, not only for dinner but also a trip to Ikea!  We started remodeling our master bath and we were super excited Andy's oldest sister moved her family back to the Midwest and we love seeing them more often.

On the Farm with his Great Grandpa

Summer:
We attended endless Indians games and two weddings.  I tried to still bring it on the dance floor, big belly and all!  A member of the band told me, "I've never seen a pregnant woman move like you!"  I took it as a compliment.  It was almost as nice as when a coworker peeked in my office during my third trimester to tell me, "You look exhausted, but your hair has never looked better."

Note to Parents:  Take your picture BEFORE entering the park, not at the end when your child is napless.
Please see above example...

VBS - Making up moves as he goes!

My very generous sister in law kept D so he could go to vacation bible school.  I was a little nervous, his daycare provider runs a tight ship but not in a school like setting.  He did well (after they had to put a sticker reward system into play) and much to our surprise brought it 110% to the performance they did at church.  He was singing his heart out, had moves we've never seen and was so expressive. We were shocked, especially since he didn't even want to sit with the VBS group when we walked in!  I laughed and cried.  It was hard to believe my baby was growing up, making me think it couldn't be a better time to have a second child!


Fall:
The highlight was definitely the birth of Parker Kay on September 25!  We did a lot with Dylan trying to ease the pain of getting a sibling.  Between the summer and fall we took him to Hollow Rock, Cedar Point, the Akron Zoo and squeezed in one last Indians game right before she was born.  I'll talk more about PK later, she deserves her own post!

Parker Kay and Bonita Kay (aka grandma)

Picture by: Tessa Powell

Holidays:
 Thanksgiving was extra special since Andy's grandma Kack, aunt and cousin came into town from Texas.  Within about a week after visiting Kack passed away.  It was one of those amazing end of life stories!  She had seen her Texas family recently, came up the Ohio to visit us and meet Parker, then went home to pass pretty quick.  I think it was all part of her and God's great plan.  She was a woman who had seen a lot of loss in her 88 year life, most recent her son this past spring.  She always had a spark in her and could make us laugh!  We are so grateful for the care Andy's cousin Tessa gave her as well as accompanying her up to Ohio and taking wonderful pictures of our family that we will cherish forever.





Christmas was great this year with D being so aware of what was going!  I thought he knew last year but it keeps getting better.  He kept his list light again this year only asking for a blower and snackeez!  My parents came up a lot helping with the kids and painting our basement.  I took my mom to Deck the Hall at Stan Hywet.  It was fun to finally do something for her and she said it was the best gift I could have given her!  Then my parents made the ultimate sacrifice keeping our kids for 8 days while we went to Jamaica  for the new year!  More on that trip later as that too deserves a post of its own.  Hopefully I will be around here more this year, if not I have two pretty cute excuses!  Happy New Year to you!!