Happy 9th birthday Alex!!!!

Well Alex today you turn 9!!! It's your last year in single digits and your father and I can not believe how fast time has flown! This last year has been quite a busy one for you. We moved into our new home, you started a new school, made new friends, and started playing soccer. You quickly became the star player on your outdoor and indoor team. You athletic ability is amazing. No matter what sport you try to succeed and are among the top players. It's amazing to watch you play and see the joy you get from playing sports, especially soccer. You still have your fierce attitude and your stubborn streak ( I blame dad) :) but it's good. You are willing to stand for what you believe in and even though it might be frustrating at times it is a good trait to have. You are also a great friend to people. You stand up for others and make sure no one is getting picked on. You are finally at a a age where you can recognize what good friends really are and you have seemed to have made a few this year. You are also a great big brother and protective over zach and Addie. You make sure no one, but you, gets to pick on them, but that is just siblings for you. All three of you have really started playing together nicely in the past 6 months, and you and zach have really started to form more of a friendship than just a brother relationship, which is great to see. You are very good and always willing to play soccer with him and try to teach him some of your moves and its great to watch. Happy 9th birthday Alex. I hope this is a great year for you. Dad and I love you very much and can't wait to see how you will grown and change this year. Love mom

Dear Addie

Well baby girl you have turned 4!!!! I can not believe it! You are the most amazing little girl I have ever met. You are so friendly and caring that everyone loves you. You have dad wrapped around your finger along with grandpa and Aaron! Our neighbors adore you and all our friends. You love zach to pieces. You get so excited when he gets home from school and can not wait to see him and see what picture he has drawn for you. You started preschool a few months ago and have just blossomed from it. Your teachers say you are a leader in the classroom and I am not surprised. You know what you want and you will tell anyone who will listen. You have also started gymnastics and are loving it. You show me all your fantastic gymnastics as you call it. You love the high beam and ask to go on it at the beginning of every class and will walk across it on your own. You are such a smart beautiful girl and these last four years have been amazing and have flown by. I can not wait to see where this year takes you. I love you with all my heart. Love mom

Dear zach

Well today you turned 6!!! You have been waiting for this day for months...talking about your birthday and how you were going to be 6. And not only was it your birthday but you also got your first loose tooth! I feel like it was just yesterday that you were born..our little Buddha baby! You are an amazing big brother to Addie. So protective of her and constantly giving her hugs and kisses. And when it comes to being a little brother you always look up to Alex. Asking him to show you things and having him teach you. You want to soak up any information you can. You started kindergarten this year and come home everyday so excited to show us what you have done and talk about your day. You love to read and always come home with a new book to read to us. You are a very caring little boy and always want to help your friends and share everything with them. You have your days and moments of being stubborn but there is nothing wrong with knowing what you want and fighting for it. I hope you always follow what you believe no matter what others may say. I love you so much and can't wait to see what this year has in store for you! Love mom

We moved!!!! Finally after months and months or building and waiting we signed the papers on july 19 and moved into our new house! and what a change from our townhouse! instead of 1 bathroom we have 3! All the kids have their own rooms instead of the boys sharing and i actually have a kitchen that has so much cabinet space I can not even fill them. Sounds like I need a shopping trip :)! We knew a lot of our neighbors before we moved in which I think made it easier for the kids because they already had a lot of friends here. And we have happy ho

ur every Friday at someones house which gives the adults time to talk and kids time to run all their energy out. :) Alex also started 3rd grade today! Crazy to think I am old enough to have a third grader. He was very excited and happy that some of his friends are on the bus with him. Zach will be starting kg on Wednesday and will also get a bus but his stops right in front of our house. how easy is that??? And than my baby girl will start preschool in September. Which means i will have 3 kids at 3 different schools but also so quiet time during the week! here are some pics of the house and alexs first day of 3rd grade!

It's been awhile!!!!

Oh my it has been awhile since I have written anything. Summer is flying by and we have been busy. Sure we have our days of hanging at the house but for the most part we are out and about. We are 16 days from moving so our current house looks like a tornado has come through. Next weekend we will be ripping out carpet in all three bedrooms for new carpet to go in and getting rid of a bunch of our furniture as well. The new house is looking awesome. All that is left is counter tops to be out in and plumbing to be done. To say I am excited would not even come close to how I feel. We have been hanging out with a lot of our new neighbors and I love that the kids have friends already. I just can't wait to get in and settled! We have also been doing a lot of play dates, pool dates, splash parks, parks, arts and crafts and whatever else we can think of to enjoy our summer. I feel like most nights I am more exhausted then the kids. How they have so much energy I will never know!but they have been awesome. We have had many late nights and because of it they have been sleeping like rock stars and sleeping in which I just can't get enough of. Since rob is gone almost every week it's been nice to get a little extra sleep. Alex and rob did get a little bonding time when they went to great America last weekend. I can't wait for the little ones to get older so we can all go and ride the roller coasters together. Hope everyone else is enjoying their summer!

Summer is coming!!!!

Last week was really our first taste of how great summer is going to be. Our new neighborhood had a block party which we went to. The kids had a blast. Between playing on the fire trucks, bounce houses, sprinkles and water guns they were exhausted by the end of the night. I love that almost everyone in our neighborhood has kids..mostly 5 and under by there are also some kids Alex's age as well which is great. On Sunday Sarah and I went out and got a triple slip and slide and new sprinkler and sat it the backyard while the kids played. Our friend Lisa came over for a bit with her son Colin and after she left we invited the neighbors over with their kids. The only thing missing was a cold beer in my hand :) the kids had a blast and I love that we can just sit back and chat with the neighbors while the kids play. Now if only they would hurry up and finish my house so I don't have to drive so far and can just walk home :)

Moving along

The house is finally starting to look like a house!!! I'm so excited. Rob and I have been in flordia since late Tuesday night..a very much needed vacation!after a crazy and busy weekend last weekend that included 23 hours of work for me I could not be happier to have a few days off. Rob has had to work a little while we have been here but not to much. We have had a couple work dinners, which is really just a night of free drinking for me. :) apparently I have a reputation around Bosch as being a social butterfly. Doesn't seem like to bad of a reputation. While we have been gone I have put Sarah in charge of pictures of the house. Our first floor is done and they are hoping to finish the second floor today and the roof next week. We really have about 2 more months till we move in!!! To say I was excited would be a understatement! I love our community. Almost everyone has kids, mostly 5 and under but there are so older kids for Alex as well. We also have bbqs every Friday night starting this month and going through September at a different families house. Awesome I know!!! I think the kids are going to love it when we move. For now I am off to breakfast and then out to get a tan ( let's be honest I'm getting a sunburn) while I'm in flordia. I will add house pictures when I get back to Chicago. Kate