Another Day at the Races!

 Where's Anna?  Where's Anna?

 There she is!  Hiding under the book that has replaced the paci as comfort object of choice.  This book goes with us EVERYWHERE.  If Mommy and Daddy have to read Sleeping Beauty one more time...ugh.  At least Sleeping Beauty won't jack up Anna's teeth like paci was starting to.  Read some more, Mama!

 Papa's spirit really was with Babi at the track.  Wish he would have been with us, too!  She won over $100 bucks!  Not a bad day!  We won about $35 only because Daddy bet the WRONG horse on a race to win - and it was a long shot - and it WON!  If he had listened to Mama they would have lost $4 more bucks!  See?!  NOT listening paid off in this instance!

 We aren't sure if Grandma won any money or not, she kept placing bets, and then forgetting who she bet on...

 We spent the day in Millionaire's Row which has a sweet buffet you can eat on pretty much all day, indoor seating and lot of convenient windows to place your bets.

 Not a bad haul for a 3 year old...a little wooden pony and some bills!

 We had an awfully fun day at the track.  Mama loves that we are "growing up" with the track just like she did.  It's so fun, we love it!

And we love all "the friends"!  Thanks for sharing this special weekend with us!
Love,
Lilly and Anna

Congratulations on Graduation, Daddy!

 We are so proud of you, Dr. Daddy!  It's hard to believe you are FINALLY DONE with training!  Hallelujah!  Can you believe how long our road has been?  Well, I mean MY road with you in training has literally been lifelong - as has Anna's - but what I'm really talking about is your's and Mommy's.  It seems like yesterday you were studying for the MCAT's; interviewing all over creation; getting accepted into various schools in OHIO, studying, studying, studying, interviewing, interviewing, interviewing then working, working, working and NOW!  More studying and working but hey!  At least now you are at the top of the heap, right?

 What Mommy really loves about these pictures is who looks happier, Mommy or Daddy?  I'm going to go with Mommy here.

 And here...

 And here!

 And we are so happy for our friends who graduated too, including Miss Carrie (we're glad you're staying close by, Miss Carrie!)

And Miss Kristy who is literally Mommy's most favorite shopping buddy so what would she do if you weren't staying?  We're glad you're going to be close by, too.  What you are looking at here folks is a picture of the other side of Daddy's coin.  On the one side you've got Daddy's "work wife" who - in HER words (ha ha, Miss Kristy now you are going to eat those words) "nags" Daddy at work and on the left, of course Daddy's wife who nags him at home.  No quotations necessary.
Daddy we are so proud of you.  Mommy always knew you would do it.  Mommy can't wait to see what you do with your career.   I know you are going to make a difference - a huge difference - in so many people's lives (you already have!)  All the hours, all the work, the stress, the headaches, the heartaches, the rice and beans dinners it's all so worth it when you use your first big paycheck to buy Mommy a huge diamond ring.
Oh, wait, what I meant to say was it's all so worth it when you see a smile on the face of...Mommy, when you buy her a big fat piece of expensive jewelry to thank her for her unwavering devotion.
Okay, okay seriously.
Well, seriously now I forget where I was going with all of this.  Anyway go be a Dr. Daddy.
We love you.
XOXOXO
Mommy, Lilly, Anna and Colors

Big Money!

This morning when I crawled into bed with Daddy he said, “Lilly, last night I had graduation for my residency. It was fun. But I think I was so consumed by my narcissism that I forgot to thank the people that really got me to where I am.”

So I said, “I can help, Daddy. Most of your friends read my blog, so why don’t you tell me what you want to say and I’ll let them know.”

And so we sat down, and he told me about everyone one that was important to him.

He said, “I want to thank:

-Mom for turning the TV off and reading to me. For giving me the tools to expand my intellect throughout my childhood. For continuing to do the loving, caring, amazing things that perfect mothers do, even though I’m 34 years old.

-Dad, for teaching me about work ethic and humility, for giving me an outlet when things got tough, for golf, football, laughter, and story telling.

-Ginnie, for involving herself in my life and continuing to care despite the fact that I will never move to Columbus.

-Dad Brent, for treating me like a son, which usually involves golf, sports, or laughter, but also involves important moments of necessary advice.

-Mom Jan, for treating me like a son, which involves taking care of me when I’m broken and helping me when I'm down.

-Thanks to all of these grandparents for helping Kristen and I out many, many times when we needed a break. It is wonderful that they have such loving, involved grandparents.

-Sean, who inspired me to be better, and created elaborate outlets to get me away from the stresses of life.

-Matt, who created multiple memories of laughter along the way, who is also inspired me with his creation of a lawncare company.

-Tracey, who kept me grounded and made sure I didn’t lose sight of what was really important, who provided me with countless free sessions of therapy.

-Thanks to all of you for understanding why I have missed out on many events. Thanks to being the best family that any brother could hope for. 

-Mark , who makes me laugh.

-Dan, who makes me think.

-Kimmie, who makes me smile.

-The three of you for accepting me into your family, despite my flaws.

-Anna and Lilly, for forgetting how much I missed out on while I was working. Every day I came home and you would run up and hug me made all the stress of work disappear.

-And, most importantly, thanks for Kristen. Without her, I would not be who I am today. When I was busy, she was a single parent. When I was broken, she reminded me that what I was doing was important. When I was tired, she let me sleep. When I was sad, she made me laugh. When I did well, she congratulated me. He love, energy, generosity, and humor, got us to the end of this tunnel.

I am lucky…I love my wife, my job, I have a wonderful family, and I have great friends.

Thanks to you all. 

Joe"

And then Daddy drank another beer. 

Beautiful Girls

We recently got our pictures professionally taken, you know this is no small task.  Anyway, here's a short vid with some of the pics.  The song made Mama a little teary-eyed.  If there are any pictures you might want a copy of, email Mama.  There should be more proofs online in the next couple days.
Enjoy!
Love,
Lilly and Anna
http://video214.com/play/Z5XtEtZcI92Q0qEvhu2l3A/s/dark

Congratulations Uncle Mark and Miss Kimber!

Yay!!  Last Friday Uncle Mark popped the question to our own Miss Kimber!  We are so excited Kimber for you to be a B------!!  We think Kimberly B------ has a nice ring to it (ask Teti! heh heh heh, now she will be able to take your credit cards shopping - watch out!  You better hide your plastic!) 

 You two make such a cute couple, so lovey dovey, so do-no-wrong.  Daddy asked Mommy on Friday, "Do you think they'll ever do wrong in each other's eyes?"  Mommy said, "Of course they will, they are getting married."
Last night Mama said to me, "Lilly, Uncle Mark is going to MARRY Miss Kimber!  She will be Aunt Kimber!"
I said, "Miss Aunt Kimber?"
Mama said, "You can just call her Aunt Kimber."
I said, "I'm not ready." So I am calling her Miss Aunt Kimber.  I am going to wait until they do the deed you know, sign the papers and all. 
Tonight before bed when we were "talking about today" (which we do every night before good-night kisses and "the wedding" is a current hot topic) I said the following to Mama:
"I am going to need a big, beautiful dress with lots of flowers.  And a beautiful crown for the bride, with lots of flowers, that I can wear.  And I want it to sparkle.  I want it to be white."
Mama said, "The bride wears white."
I said, "Why?"
Mama said, "Because she's special and it's her day so she gets to wear white."
I said, "I want to wear white in my big beautiful dress."
Then Mama kissed me, tucked me in, said good-night to Anna and got to the door and I JUMPED out of bed and said, "Mommy!  Don't forget!  I need a white wand for my dress and crown!"
Check and check!  I am looking forward to my - er, I mean YOUR - big day already!

And I know Mommy and Teti are looking forward to a new sister! 
Congratulations we love you both!!!
Love,
Lilly and Anna

Happy Father's Day to the GREATEST!

 Happy Father's Day to the GREATEST DADDY in the whole, wide world!  Daddy, we love you sooooo much!  We love to run circles around you (literally, as above), we love to practice our negotiation skills on you, we love how you hold us when it "funders" outside (like right now) and we love how you take care of us.  Daddy, there just isn't anything we don't LOVE about you!

 Thank you, Daddy for all the love, hugs and kisses.

And thank you Daddy for all the laughs, too.  We love you sooooooooo much!  Did we say that already?  Let's say it again, we love you soooooooooooo much!!!

And Happy Father's Day too, to the GREATEST DADDY MOMMY ever has had!!  We love you Duda!  We were hoping to have you over for a cookout today, but it doesn't look like the weather is going to cooperate so maybe a cook-in?  If Babi would ever answer her phone on the weekends?!? 

And, Papa the GREATEST PAPA THERE EVER WAS.  Mommy is really, really missing you today.  You would have been so happy to hear we are having a baby brother.  We believe you know that already, though, maybe you even had a hand in it to even things out a little for Daddy.  But especially today, Mommy is missing you.
Love,
Mommy, Lilly and Anna

We're Having a...

Baby Brother!!!
November 1ish...
I want to name him Colors, so Mommy will call him Carlos in utero though Cletus the Fetus has a nice ring to it, too and we DO live in Kentucky...
We can't wait to be BIG sisters to a baby brother!

And, in other VERY exciting news...tonight at 4:00 AM Daddy completes his LAST SHIFT AS A RESIDENT!!  Can you believe it?!  Mama can HARDLY believe it!  It's OVER!  RESIDENCY IS OVER!  Congratulations, Daddy, you worked so hard and you did the most amazing job spending quality time with us, doing stuff around the house, and all around being the BEST Daddy and a wonderful husband to Mommy!  We can't believe, for the first time in 8 years you will have a normal job, with normal hours!  We can't wait to see even more of you!  Especially in the morning when we're getting ready for work and stuff.  That's a WHOLE lotta fun you've mostly missed out on the past 3 years!  Mama will let you catch RIGHT up!
Love,
Lilly and Anna

Lilly Bean the Wee Baller

 Saturday was OPENING DAY for wee ball season!  I went dressed for the occasion - in a skirt.  Daddy is my team coach!  We are the Nationals!  There were 7 of us to start, we lost 3 players to Parental Attachment Syndrome.  Since my Daddy is my coach, we circumvented this issue but we are down to 4 players on our team.

 Our first game went as well as you would expect a wee ball game of 3 year olds to go.  It was mostly without incident except (and this is a pretty big exception) when Daddy had to call time-out because I found a ladybug in the outfield.  I threw my glove off and screamed, "Daddy!  Ladybug!" then my two other fielders dropped their mitts to observe.

 My own personal cheering section came!

 At the end of the game we shook hands with the other team.  I did not like that.  I'm not sure what my problem was there...but...?

 We perked right up after the game with some tasty snacks.

And for good measure, a picture of the game-stopping ladybug.
Love,
Lilly Bean, the Wee Baller

Happy Belated, Aunt Tracey!

 Aunt Tracey, we didn't forget, we're just very busy and important people.  Apparently no busier or more important than you, since you haven't even updated your own blog!

Can't WAIT to see you in August!
Love,
Mama, Daddy, Lilly and Anna

Thelma & Louise Say...

 Meet Thelma and Louise, new friends of ours.  No, their names aren't really Thelma and Louise, they are Laney (on the left) and Lily (on the right) (what beautiful names, no?)
Laney is Mama's friend Carrie's little girl and Lily is her niece.  They get to spend a month in the summer together and Ms Carrie gets to accumulate lots of stories to tell their little girls when they grow up and have their own.  It's good fun getting Thelma and Louise updates, so Mama thought she'd add to the pile of stories, she's been saving this for Ms Carrie.
Mama and Ms Carrie took T&L to the bathroom and Mama had the pleasure of the following conversation.  We will call Laney "Thelma" and Lily "Louise."  Enjoy.
Louise to Mama: "Do you have a boyfriend?"
Mama: "No, I have a husband."
Thelma: "It's not the same thing."
Mama: "No, it's not, it's better."
Thelma: "No it isn't.  When you are done with your boyfriend you get to find a new one.  What do you do with a husband?"
Mama had to think about this.  What DO you do with a husband?
Thelma: "My Mommy has a boyfriend."
Mama: "Your Mama has a husband, your Daddy."
Thelma, rolls her eyes, "Well, my Mommy wants a boyfriend."
Mama: "We ALL want boyfriends."
Louise: "I have a boyfriend.  Last week I had a different one."
Mama: "What's his name?"
Louise: "I don't know."
Mama: "It's not really that important."
Thelma: "No, it's not.  It's just important to have a boyfriend."
Louise: "What is a husband?"
Mama: "A boyfriend you never break up with."
Louise: "Ew.  I don't want one of those.  I just want boyfriends so when I get sick of them, we can break up I can go find a new one."
Mama: "Well...  I can certainly see the logic in that."
And that was pretty much the conversation and Mommy didn't even take any artistic liberties, it was just that funny.

We can't wait to see you two little stinkers again!
Love,
Lilly and Anna

Tonight is The Night...

 Technically, LAST night was the night - we said farewell to paci...and this was entirely on accident.  We spent the weekend with Grandma in Troy for the Strawberry Festival (holla!) and Mommy left to go to dinner with her BFF's from high school (holla!) and left my paci hidden.  Well, Magic Grandma managed to get me to sleep without it (she said I didn't even ASK for it) and on the way home Mama thought, Well heck why not?  We've already got over 24 hours paci-free under our belt why not go all the way?

 So we got home, Mama shared the good news with Daddy and they took every paci they could find in the house (all 26 of them) and hid them - except for ONE.  One they accidentally left under my bed.  That I found.  Of course.  And you should have seen the look of sheer joy and excitement on my face.  Even the Princess Castle at Disney World didn't compare.  Mommy felt weak in the knees - she couldn't do it.  Tears welled up in HER eyes, I mean - I'm her BABY!  Look how EXCITED I AM!  Daddy saw the moment of weakness and seized it, he took paci and said, "No more paci, Anna, you're a big girl now."  Mommy started to cry.  I said, "Okay." and I'm upstairs in my room right now, NOT crying and Mommy is downstairs now, blogging the moment so she'll always remember who had the hardest time giving up paci - it wasn't me!
Love,
Anna