Goodbye 2010 (aka: the rest of the year in a nutshell)

What a wonderful (and busy) year! Here's the end of 2010 in a nutshell...

We went apple and pumpkin picking at the Elegant Farmer with Grandma Sue and Grandpa Earl - what a blast! As you can see, Jakey got to ride a pony and boy did he love it!! I've never seen a smile that big!

Off goes Jake into the pumpkin patch. We found some great pumpkins!

The boys enjoying the tractor ride (with the sun in Jake's eyes - sorry Jakey!)

Jake got lots and lots of apples!

And Ben had fun searching for them too :)

Halloween with the cousins - Ben was a lion and Jake was Thomas the Tank Engine. It was freezing, but we had a great time! We went trick-or-treating three days in a row: at Mommy's work, around our neighborhood, and in Brookfield with Anthony, Robbie, and Jenna.

Rawr! Ben loves to roar like a lion, so it seemed fitting to dress him up as a lion for Halloween. And boy was he super cute :)

Playing in the snow for the first time, Ben had a blast! It was hard to keep his balance, but he had fun, until he fell in the snow and realized it was cold. Then he had fun watching big brother and Lukey play ;)

Lukey came over to visit the day it snowed. The boys had a lot of fun digging in the snow, building a snowman, and throwing snowballs. Later, we came in and had hot chocolate and watched Dinosaur Train :)

Super cute brothers all ready for bed - had to include this one!

At Christmas time, we went to see the train exhibit at Country Springs' Country Christmas. They also had an awesome outdoor lights exhibit and a beautiful Nativity scene. Jake said, "Look Mom!! It's baby Jesus with blue eyes! Can we hold him?"

More trains...
Ben LOVING the trains :)

Jakey insisted on sitting in the sleigh, and even wanted his picture taken (a first!!)

Oh Christmas morning! The boys in their new Thomas pj's, presents EVERYWHERE... Jake said, "This is my favorite holiday EVER!" Mine too, buddy, mine too :)

Ben with his favorite toy from Santa, his new top! And take a good look at those mangy locks, because...
Ben got his first haircut! What a big boy :)

What a great year it's been. :)

The boys with the snowman decoration from Grandma P - they love it!

What a wonderful year. We're so thankful for our many blessings, including the many amazing family and friends in our lives. All of our prayers for all of you for a blessed and happy New Year!

Big boy Ben!

Some Ben laughs just for you :)

Party Time!

We had a ton of fun at Ben's first birthday party. We just had a little party at home with friends, family, pizza, cake, and - of course - beer. Here are some of the highlights:

Jenna and Hannah enjoying the "waterslide" (man, was it hot!)

Grammy Sue with the Birthday Boy!

A sweet little boy couldn't ask for two better grandmas :)

Jim and Heather Bachmann - awesome friends and great kid-caretakers!

Aunt Diane and Jenna-benna taking a break from the lil pool (doesn't Diane look great in this picture?!)

Happy birthday to me!
The big kids playing Wii. Thanks guys, for putting up with a baby's birthday party and for keeping Jakey entertained and feeling included :)

The birthday cake
Here it comes!!

And there it goes ;)

Big brother playing outside (not in the mood for having his picture taken)

Playing with water balloons to keep cool

Present time!


More presents!

Jakey got some presents too so he wouldn't feel left out.

We had such a wonderful time with our friends and family who could make it to the party. Thanks for coming guys, and here's to many more fun parties. Happy birthday Ben! :)

Ben Turns One!

I can't believe it - Baby Ben is one year old! Oh how I love our sweet littlest boy. A quick recap of his original birthday.. I was induced at 39 weeks over some concerns relating to blood pressure (luckily nothing serious). After about 16 hours of labor, Baby Ben graced us with his presence, weighing 7 lbs, 12 oz. An adorable snuggler from the start, it was wonderful to cuddle my newest little man for the first few hours. Unfortunately, our blood types weren't compatible and he had to spend some extra time in the hospital under the bili lights. That was extremely un-fun. And after we got him home he still had to sleep on a bili-bed with a bili wrap and get daily bili level checks (read: heel sticks). But my little guy was so easy going, even from the start, he barely put up a fuss. And after that, we began adjusting to the new normal, and today our family wouldn't be complete without our wonderful Benjamin Joseph :)

Because his birthday was during the week, we saved the party for a later weekend. On his actual birthday, Ben had his first cupcake!

You want me to do WHAT with this thing?

Hmmm, the white stuff feels kinda squishy.

Okay, well, if you feed it to me, I'll try it.

Mmmmmm, frosting is good for licking!

Yum yum yum yum!

First paycheck!!

Well folks, here it is. After 27.5 years of living, 23 years of school, thousands of dollars in educational debt, possible ulcers from stress, and much love and support from my family and friends (oh yeah, and considerable butt-busting on my part), it finally arrived - my first paycheck!!! (pardon the sloppy erasing - wanted to keep some of the info to myself)

Updates coming!

It's been a fun-filled (and crazy!) few weeks. I promise there will be an update (complete with pictures) soon!

So Much to Report

Yeah, it's been a while. Sorry loyal blog readers. I'll try to fill you in on the happenings over the last month or so.

- We moved! Hooray! I cannot express my excitement that we now have a rental HOUSE. Our own place to just hang out and be ourselves and be as loud as we want. If you ask me, I'll tell you all about my joy at being in this place as opposed to the old one. We've got 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, hardwood floors (which are actually kind of a pain to keep up with but they're pretty ;)), and much more. But my favorite part: the fenced-in backyard!!

- Ryan's parents came to visit. We had a wonderful time with them, and moving would have been nearly impossible without their help. All of us were sad when they left, and Jake kept asking when Grandpa and Grandma were coming over for about a week. We can't wait to see them again!

- Jake turned 3! We had a great day, as previously described, as well as a fun, low-key party with some friends. The boys hung out in the backyard and played with toys and splashed each other and themselves with pool water from the blow-up pool while the grownups relaxed. Jake had an awesome time!

- Great Grandma and Aunt Esther came to visit us from the UP. We had a wonderful visit with them. They both brought loads of gifts for the boys, and Grandma gave me a beautiful picture she'd stitched. We had a great time with them and hope we can see them again soon!

- My parents sold their house! They are en route to WI and will be here TOMORROW! Exciting!

- I started residency. I'm on blood bank/transfusion medicine this month, and so far so good. The attending is a really nice and extremely knowledgeable guy, so I'm really looking forward to learning from him. The boys have been adjusting well, and Ryan's enjoying his stint as a stay-at-home dad.

Those are the highlights, I'm sure I've forgotten some stuff. But it's time for bed, so happy Independence Day everyone, say a prayer for all our soldiers who continue to fight for our freedom. Goodnight, and God bless America!

Happy Birthday Jacob!

I can't believe my little baby is a three year old! Seems like just yesterday he took his first steps. Now he's so big! I caught myself looking at him several times today thinking, "Wow, he's really turning into a big boy."

We started out the morning with Jacob getting his first present from Mom and Dad: a Little Tikes tool bench. He had a real blast with it, especially hammering. Then we had some mini blueberry muffins for breakfast. Jake said "I love these! These are my favorite!" so I was happy to oblige. Next he opened his presents from Mom and Dad and Grandma Sue and Grandpa Earl (Grandma and Grandpa P gave Jake a swingset for his birthday, and they gave Ben a little house, which both boys have been enjoying immensely). Jake's favorite gifts of the day were a lights & sounds bridge for his Thomas tracks and a shiny red James the tender engine (both from g-ma). He also adored his Spiderman watch (also from g-ma). His other gifts were some dinosaur lacing cards (which he also really liked a lot, I was kind of surprised), two puzzles, some dinosaur magnets, and some books. After opening presents the big boys set up the Island of Sodor in Jake's bedroom while I put Ben down for his nap. Jake also watched "Goodnight Gorilla" and talked to Grandpa Earl for a long time. After Jakey's naptime we went to the park (we gave Jake the option of going wherever he wanted to celebrate his birthday and he chose the park), then out to McDonalds (or Old McDonalds if you're Jake) for his birthday dinner (Jakey's choice). Finally, Jake elected to have ice cream instead of cake (since we're having cake at his birthday party on Saturday) so we went to Culvers for some chocolate custard with sprinkles. However, after a little dripped on his shorts he decided he was no longer interested in ice cream. We came home, had a bath, read some birthday stories and to bed he went, tired but happy.

What a great day :) I'll post some pictures from Saturday's party after the big event. Good night all!

Locks of Love

I chopped it! I've been growing my hair out for some two or so years, and I figured I needed to go shorter for residency. I've also really wanted to donate to Locks of Love, but I never had the patience to grow my hair long enough. In all, I donated around 9 inches. Here's the new do:


Also, as an aside, we won't have internet access again til June 4th. Have a great Memorial Day weekend everyone, and God bless our troops!

Quote of the Morning:

Jake grabs plastic spoon and knife at breakfast
Jake: I need a knife and a spoon.
Me: Really? What for? (He's eating a granola bar and toast)
Jake: For cutting and... spooning!

Swearing-In Ceremony at the Wisconsin Supreme Court

Thanks to a lovely little Wisconsin policy, graduates of the two Wisconsin law schools (UW and Marquette) do not have to pass the state bar exam in order to be admitted to the bar. So right after graduation weekend, on Monday May 24th Ryan was admitted to the bar!

Entrance to the Courtroom

Hey Badger (we're the Badger state, so a golden badger hangs out above the courtroom)

The Bench (yeah, don't you love it when I drop lawyer lingo? ;))

Here comes Ryan! He's small, but he's there!

Chief Justice Abrahamson leading the swearing in proceedings.

Awesome picture of Ryan taking the oath

Justice Prosser, for whom Ryan interned last fall. By all accounts he is just a stand up guy. Coolest thing during the swearing-in: the Justice says "We've benefited from Marquette's excellence by having interns and law clerks from the university work with us. In fact, I see one of my former interns today, Ryan Parsons."
Awesome picture with Justice Prosser. I almost got busted for this one by the woman who keeps things running at the court, but the Justice happily obliged so she couldn't say no.

Ryan and his pal Dean Kearney after the swearing in.

Ryan and his proud parents

The new attorney with his proud wife :)

View of the Capitol Building from outside

Roll call!

Isn't he dashing? ;)

Signing the Supreme Court Roll