how i spent my weekend & happy birthday magen!

had a great time this past weekend in mansfield.  got to see ross & amy and michael & tamara.  got to go out and see two movies (in the same night).  got to spend time with jon and his brother dave & dave's wife tanya.  totally abused the grandparents by letting them watch the kids all weekend.

service was great, covered dish was great, conversation was great.

what was not great was the first and last time we ever let jagger sleep in bed with us.  talk about an active sleeper.  he head-butted me several times throughout the night and gave corey quite a few good kicks to the gut.  

never again.

no pictures because it was before my beautiful lens re-entered my life.

all in all, it was like a mini-vacation and we thoroughly enjoyed it.  

thanks granna & grandpa blair!

monday:

happy birthday to magen!!  

jessica and i took magen to the cheesecake factory (yum!) at legacy village to celebrate her 29th birthday.  it was great food & fun times.  i introduced the girls to one of my favorite things on the menu -- the thai lettuce wrap.  I'm pretty sure they enjoyed it :)

 the end result

we talked and laughed and shared our meals.  then there was a birthday song & slices of cheesecake (of course) to end the dinner.

evidence of a well enjoyed meal

after dinnner, we made a quick stop on over to borders.  i love that we are all readers and share a love of books.  

a perfect end to a great night.  

we love you magen!!

reunited and it feels so good

alternate title:  I have the best sister-in-law!!

I come home today and there is an amazon box sitting on the step under the mailbox.  I didn't think much of it because Jagger's birthday is on Sunday, and I figured it was a gift for him.  But then I opened it up and this beauty was sitting inside! 

Yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  (envision the happy dance occurring now)

isn't she lovely

thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you :)

I can not begin to thank you enough Kelly!

p.s. I'll post later on our trip to mansfield and my outing tonight to celebrate miss magen sass's 29th birthday :)

kisses

i love when jagger comes running to me for kisses when he gets boo boos. 

a few things...

1.  so, so glad it is friday

2.  looking forward to our visit to mansfield

3.  had a good time at kaden's birthday party (happy 4th birthday, kaden!)

4.  sorely missing my lens :(

5.  can't believe jagger is going to be two next sunday!!

6.  enjoying watching tv with corey now that the kids are all in bed :) 

and since I can't post without a picture, here is one of jagger a few days ago.  enjoying his oatmeal in the bumbo :)

6 months, a train, and some sad, sad news

Today, Cash and Slade are 6 months old.  I can hardly believe it.  Time is going by so fast.

Slade:

  You love to eat.  You need to grow some teeth so you can eat real food.  The way you stare at me while I'm eating makes me feel bad that I can't share.  You are getting so close to sitting up on your own.  You start out really well, but in a short amount of time you are face down and trying to eat the floor.  You'll get it soon, I just know it.  You are an excellent roller.  I love your pudgy cheeks.  You talk all the time.  You love to stand.  You do a fabulous job grabbing things; your aim is really good.  You love to grab and chew on your feet.  You are constantly chewing on you fingers.  You are a bit of an attention hog.  You want what you want and you want it right now.   Your nickname is Mr. Furious  (you must get that from your Uncle Andy).  Your laugh fills me with joy. 

I can't wait to see what you'll accomplish in the next six months.

Cash:   

  You are sleeping through the night pretty regularly.  You are so calm and just go with the flow.  You will be the one who keeps me sane while your two brothers are going crazy.  You have the best smile - it lights up my day.  You're not a big fan of baby food; you'd prefer to just drink your meals.  You like to watch cartoons with your big brother.  Your two bottom teeth are almost through.  You are a kicking machine -- you just kick and kick and kick in your bouncy chair.  You love to shake your toys all around.  You love to stand.  You do stomach crunches all the time.  You are finally starting to grow a little bit of hair.  You love to chew and drool on everything.  It has been a joy watching you grow these past six months.  I look forward to watching you change and grow in the next six.

 

This train set used to be my younger brother Nate's, but has since been passed down to Jagger.  We got it out for him a few months ago, but he wasn't quite ready for it.  Today Corey decided try again to see if he would get into it.  Success!  He loved it.  Corey was able to snap these pictures.

I love how he is sitting in the middle of the track :)

And now for some sad, oh-so-sad news.  My lens, my most favoritest, most beautiful camera lens is broken.  The one that I take all these fun pictures with has gone into the white light.  It seems Jagger was able to get his grubby little hands on my camera while Papa's back was turned for just a second, and was rhythmically banging it on the ground before Corey could get it away from him.  Thank God only the lens was broken and not the whole camera.  So my little heart is a bit broken today just like my lens.  I have another lens I can use until I'm able to replace my good one, but it's just not the same and it's not nearly as good.  So expect there to be a lot less pictures for awhile.  I'd like to upgrade it to this lens, but the price difference is quite a bit and I will be happy just to get it replaced.  I'm not sure how soon that will be, since there are more pressing bills to be paid first (Corey's tooth, brakes for the van, Jagger's medical bills, etc.) but it will be a happy, happy day.  

goodbye my good friend :(

wednesdays

every wednesday, the boys go to a sitter so corey can get some work done.  our friend jean watches them and jagger LOVES going to her house.  he gets so much attention and they have so many fun toys for him to play with.  sometimes, jean takes the boys to her sister's farm and jagger gets to see & play with their animals.  i love that jagger enjoys being there so much.  he enjoys it so much, in fact, that when I arrive to pick him up, he runs and hides from me.  today jean and her kids and the boys were outside playing when i arrived.  as soon as he saw me, he started running, shaking his head and saying "noooo!"   then i had to manhandle him into the van and strap him in while he's kicking and screaming. sometimes this gets slade going and then i have two screaming kids (cash is usually pretty calm).  he carries on like this for about 5 minutes, and then i hear snoring and he's out for the count.  this happens just about every wednesday.  it makes me a little sad that he's not super happy to see me, but i love that fact that he is having such a good time he doesn't want to leave.  that's a great thing.  

i'm going to try to remember to take my camera out next time to capture his little body running away from me and his sad tear-stained face.

I don't have any pictures of jagger today, but i do have a few of cash and slade.  

here are some smiles that light up my day:

and this picture just makes me laugh because it is so classic slade.  he's not sure what he should do.  it's this moment where he's trying to decide should i laugh or should i cry?
that's all for today folks!

have a fabulous night :)

corey survived

So, not much to report on today.
Corey had to get his blood taken for a few tests and he has been putting it off for forever. Today I forced him to go.
It boggles my mind that he can willingly get tattoos like it's nothing, but the thought of getting his blood taken makes him break out in a cold sweat.
I decided to document the event:

feeling anxious

Dum, Dum...

Dum,Dum...Dum, Dum

Dum, Dum...Dum, Dum...DUM, DUM!

HE SURVIVED!
He was pretty stressed out.  He warned the nurses that he might a.) throw up or b.) pass out... or possibly c.) both.  They decided to make him lie down while they were taking his blood and have him sit for a bit after they finished.  I am happy to report no passing out or puking occurred.

We weren't having such a fun time in the waiting room either.  We woke Jagger up before his nap would normally be over and he was not too happy.  He wanted to run around the hospital and I wouldn't let him.  Here is the result:

meltdown!

And last but not least,  remember the package of pictures I got in the mail the other day?  I started my wall-o-pictures at work.  

It makes me happy :)

we adore tek

We got to meet our new nephew Tek on Sunday.  He is awesome!  Andy & Kate adopted him from Ethiopia and just brought him home about 2 weeks ago. Tek is such a beautiful and happy boy.    

Teketel Blair,  7 months old

Here are some random pics from the day:

such a happy boy :)

proud grandparents

Next generation of Blair boys

(I have an obsession with baby feet)

We are so happy for you both!

Thank you for the great gifts you brought us from Ethiopia too!

The great home decor (you know us so well :))

the beautiful bracelet
the toys for cash and slade
and the book (a traditional Ethiopian story) and drum for Jagger (which he loves)

I was pleasantly surprised by a visit from our friends Jon and Brian.
This is our friend Jon.

I love this guy.  I met him in math class my freshman year because our last names sat us next to each other.  He was so fun that I decided right then and there that he was going to be my friend forever whether he liked it or not (I actually told him that).  

I met Corey through Jon because they lived in an apartment (a.k.a. "the pit") together after we graduated.  So I guess I owe Jon a huge thank you for the wonderful life I am living.

Thank you Jon!  (except he'll never see this because he is completely computer illiterate, so maybe I should send him a card).

Here was a surreal moment:

What was once just this, the boys from "the pit"

Jon, Brian, Andy, and Corey

has now become this:

That's a lot of boys.  I guess this means we're all adults now.  We all have kids and crazy busy lives.  I can hardly believe it.  

And on a completely different note:

Congratulations Kelly, on getting your braces off!  You look marvelous :)

hartville flea market

Today a group of us from church went to the Hartville Flea Market.  It was marvelous.  So many interesting and cool treasures to be found.  I managed to find a few items that I really really liked and got a good deal on.  Thank goodness Lydia was there to haggle for me.  I just can't seem to bring myself to do it.  If I tried it would go something like this:

Me:  How much do you want for this?

Seller:  $10.00

Me:  Will you take $15.00 for it?

  

Apparently, that's not the way it's supposed to work.  I guess you're supposed to work the seller down on his price, not offer more, or at least that's what the girls tried telling me today :)

I bought this cool old polaroid camera:

and this old trunk.  What a deal.  It was originally marked $50 and had already been marked down to $10 by the time I walked past it.  I was looking at it and the seller was starting to pack up his stuff to leave so he offered it to me for $5.00.  Sold! I thought it was too big to pack into the van but we made it work (I had to sit on the floor of the van for the drive home :))

I also bought a couple of old books for my father-in-law (if he wants them -- I can't quite remember what the criteria for his old book collection is).

a new purse

and lots of fresh produce (lettuce, green beans, strawberries, cherries, etc)

here are a bunch of pictures of items I wish I had bought:

Ohh.... I wanted this chair oh-so-badly, but it never would have fit into the van.  I love everything about it.  It would have been an awesome prop for pictures.  


These sweet old binoculars (they worked beautifully).


 This little cooler.


 this old box full of old pictures.


and this old box full of old fixtures.

And if I had a lot of money to spare, I would have bought this for my brother-in-law, Andy.

It was a good outing.  Definitely someplace I'll make a trip out to again.  And I'll get there earlier.  And have a bigger car.  And more money (if I can get my hands on some).  And a golf cart to drive around in (or maybe one of those rascal scooters), because boy it is big and my legs are tired!

And now I have to thank my wonderful husband.  For letting me go without making me feel guilty about leaving him with the kids after he has had them all week.  and he's sick.  and they've been kinda crazy lately.  He truly is a wonderful man.

The best part of my day was coming home to my boys.