My mom and Grandpa stopped for a quick visit on their way from Florida to New York. I was a short, but sweet visit, one that almost didn't end up happening. Anyway, they made it, a day later than planned, but what is important is that they were able to make the stop. (Thanks for letting them know that the shortest way from S. Carolina to NYis through Pgh, Eric)!

My Grandfather recently made it through his first year without his beloved wife by his side and it was so good to be able to hug him! I am so thankful we were able to have this visit!

Jacob had fun playing with his Great Grandpa Len. Jacob thought Grandpa acting like a bee was hilarious and pulling the zipper on his coat up and down was the most fascinating thing...oohhhh to be an (almost) 2 year old! What joy!

After supper, Grandpa rocked Jacob for a bit and read him a few pages in a book. Unfortunately, it had been a long day for Jacob and he was tired and started getting a little cranky, so this moment didn't last very long. 

 Then this past weekend Nana Ann was back with us for a long weekend!! She came in on Thursday night so that Aaron and I could go to the Fleetwood Mac concert, which was absolutely amazing! I love Stevie Nicks, she is beautiful!
My mom and I took Jacob to his follow-up ENT appt. on Friday (his tubes are intact and the fluid has finally cleared up. We have been waiting for this for over 2 months now. He had a hearing test too while we were there and everything checked out just fine).  Then Jacob and Nana got to spend the whole day together and had what my mom calls "Friday Fun Night". As a kid this used to consist of a movie or game and popcorn and ice cream soda's. Jacob loves popcorn, but now I think he may love ice cream soda's more. LOL!

Saturday was a gorgeous, sunny,  70 degree day so we all got on our bikes (Jacob has a Co-Pilot seat on the back on my bike) and we went for about a 4 hour ride around the city. We have a really nice bike path along the rivers here and it's a nice way to get a tour of the city. We even got to go on a few routes that I've never been on before. We had an awesome lunch at a new seafood restaurant that I've been wanting to try and then had ice cream at our favorite old fashioned ice cream place in the Strip District. Later that afternoon we went to my niece, Riley's birthday party. Needless to say, it was an action packed day and we were all exhausted by the time we got home! All in all, we had a wonderful visit with Nana Ann and can't wait to see her again soon!

 Finally, to wrap up, I will leave you with my favorite picture of the week....

Peace, Love and Family!

Well, it has been at about 9 months since I have posted anything on here...I apologize for the hiatus. As poor of an excuse as it is....life got in the way....or maybe I let it get in the way. Regardless, I have decided that I should try to make more of an effort to keep my family and friends involved in my life and there seems to be no better way right now than this blog.

Life has been complicated lately, but we are working through it. Thankfully, we have Jacob to help us keep a smile on our faces. I honestly don't know what I would do without my little boy....and that's just what he is these days..a little boy.

Sooooo....I have decided that instead of backtracking about what has evolved over the last 9 months I am going to pick up where we are currently, with Jacob's latest fascination....   

He is totally and utterly OBSESSED with vehicles in general, but seems to have a particular interest in construction equipment and monster trucks. A few weeks ago, over Easter, we made the trip back to Rochester, New York to visit my Dad and Step-mom. For those of you who may not know, I grew up on a Christmas Tree Farm, so my dad has a tractor and a pretty sweet riding lawn mower. Now, when I was growing up I remember my dad commenting on how stupid people were for allowing their children to ride on anything that had a spinning blade, so I just want to make sure that it is clear that the blades were off and my dad had a tight grip in Jacob the whole time. We were not distracted by cutting the grass, we were takin a joy ride, that is all.....and Jacob loved pretty much every minute off it!!! We started small..with the mower, but Jacob quickly decided he was ready for the Tractor!

March 2013

We also visited with my Aunt Sandy, Uncle Russ and Papa Joe...my Aunt had some toy trucks that she let Jacob play with while we were visiting and among them was a tractor....needless to say he claimed that tractor as his and thankfully Aunt Sandy and Uncle Russ were willing to part with it! Thanks again you guys, he is still playing with it!

When we got back to my Dad's after the visit with my Aunt and Uncle, my Dad and Jacob raced trucks and tractors. I absolutely love this picture! I have never seen my dad like this before, he is 61 years young and was crawling around on the floor with a 11/2 old! Unfortunately, we don't get to see my family as much as we would all like and we had not seen my dad since the beginning of January...and Jacob has developed a lot since then so this was the first time my dad has been able to interact with him now that he is actually playing with things. His communication skills and attention span have also evolved a ton since they last saw each other. Needless to say it seemed as if my dad was in his glory and it was heartwarming to witness the bond that they have started to form.

"I can't reach it Papa, can you?"

 

Some other "new" things are Jacob's love for his bike. He has always been fond of this $1.00 thrift store find that his father bought when he was like 3 months old... but more recently he has been asking to ride it pretty much every day. He has rode this little bike down to the park about a 1/2 mile away twice now and rides it around the block nearly everyday. Its the cutest thing, really....

He's a walkin'

SO so sorry it's been so long since I've posted anything! Things have been so crazy here with an almost 1 year old and planning a wedding....anyway the most recent update......Jacob is officially a walker and into EVERYTHING he can get his hands on! He keeps us very, very busy....but he is so damn cute and so much fun, that it makes the exhaustion worth it! 

I turned my back for a minute and this is what happened!

St. Patty's and more

Jacob turned 8 months old recently! I can't believe how fast the time goes! That also means there's less than 4 months until our wedding and I still have a bunch to do! So I am going to keep this short and sweet b/c I want to update everyone, I just haven't been very good about taking a lot of pictures lately....but I do have a few to share!

We took Jacob to the St. Patrick's Day Parade on Saturday! It was a beautiful, sunny, 80 degree day here in Pittsburgh!  We had a nice picnic at Point State Park (where the 3 rivers meet in downtown) afterwards and Jacob got to feel grass between his toes for the very first time. We couldn't have asked for a better day.

 We started giving Jacob finger foods a few weeks ago and he loves to feed himself now! His favorites are banana's, spinach and apple puffs, yogurt melts and graham crackers! He also loves vanilla ice cream. He cut one of his top teeth a few days ago! Won't be long and he's really gonna start looking like a little boy instead of a baby!

He loves, loves, loves to stand up! He tries to dance quite often and loves to hear his daddy play the guitar and sing!

 

He has the BEST laugh......ever!

Good Night All! XOXO

-Amy

and.....he's off!

Sorry I haven't been keeping up with this as much as I'd like to...but life has been crazy around here lately....I am tired, but wanted to give a quick update on our boy b/c he has been up to some new and exciting things!

Boy oh Boy has Jacob found his legs! All he ever wants to do these days is stand! haha....he is so darn proud of himself too! I didn't take him long to go from crawling, to standing, to climbing on stuff either! These have all happened within the last month! We had to drop his crib to the lowest setting a week ago and today he was so determined to get at my phone that he climbed up on his little foot-stool and stood on his tippy toes so he could reach it on the coffee table!

He has turned into a little chatterbox...I will have to catch him on video soon for all of you! He says "Da Da" pretty much all the time, which, as you can imagine, makes Aaron very happy! We are working on "Ma Ma"....hopefully that will come soon! : )

He has also started to feed himself finger foods! He loves these things called "Super Puffs". Basically, they are a lot like Cheerios, but they dissolve really easily to prevent choking!

Oh and the boy LOVES spinach! Maybe that's why he is so strong! ha So far it's the only green veggie he will eat without a fight....he is still not a fan of peas, although, I have been able to trick him if I mix them with pears and spinach (sshhh, don't tell him). : )

 

We are excited for Nana Ann's visit! She arrives on Saturday! yay! I'm sure I will have lots to post about after she leaves! 

-xoxo

Grandma Glo

Yesterday was a week....a week ago Grandma Glo left us. 

8 days  ago I got the phone call from my mom that I have dreaded for the last couple of years...

 

 

2009

1943

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I miss her so so much already. I wish I could have hugged her one more time.....I wish our last conversation would have lasted longer....I wish I had asked her to teach me to sew.....I wish I had asked her advise on more things, I wish I knew her secret for being nice to absolutely EVERYONE....for having a smile on her face ALL the time...

I also know that I can't dwell on the "I wish I had" and the "what if's".....mostly because she wouldn't want me to....

Some days it's harder than others..........

I pulled a doll out of my closet the day after she passed...she made it for me at least 20 years ago.....I've slept with that doll every night since....Jacob likes her (well, mostly he tries to eat her....but I take it that he likes her) : )

I miss her.......

I am so thankful that she was able to meet Jacob and that she was able to feed him (something she didn't think she'd be able to do because of her arthritis) and that she got to sing him her "peep bo peep" song.

I hope I can continue to learn from her example and someday become at least half the woman she was.

I love you Grandma Glo! xoxox

2011

 

 

 

 

 

 

2007

 

 

There is no stopping him now!!!

There's no stopping him!! Now that Jacob has figured out how to get around on his own, he is everywhere! He discovered the stairs this weekend and now pulls himself up to a standing position! Things are quite different around the house with a mobile baby! I can't turn my head for a second! hahaha, the kid is fearless! oh,and so so curious....we. are. in. Trouble! : )