Happy Anniversary Chooch!

December 2, 2008
Eight years ago today, I married my best friend...the love of my life.
Just as our rings are engraved, "Grow old along with me, the best is yet to be" - it is certainly only getting better each and every day!!!
I love you.


Happy Holidays from Newport Beach...

December 1, 2008

Today I arrived in Newport Beach. I am here to give two presentations at a conference. It is gorgeous here...and my hotel is right across the street from the infamous Fashion Island AND I have an ocean view from my hotel room - nice! What also is nice is that I have already seen and caught-up with many of my friends that work up and down the state - friends I communicate with mostly via email and phone (none of whom live in little 'ol Yuba City), so it has been nice to see them.......but I miss my boys tremendously already - Rich, Gannon and Savion! Miss you. Big kisses and I'll see you soon.

By the way - the Christmas tree at Fashion Island is breathtaking! The attached photos are of the tree. Beautiful right?! Although the weather and palm's bring back many fond memories of my holiday's spent in San Diego...I'd rather see snow-covered pines. Home Sweet Home.

A sneak peak of baby girl Blake...

November 29, 2008

This morning we went to Baby's Debut Imaging to sneak a peak at our baby girl in 3D/4D. Below are a few of the photos she took for us. She was nuzzled next to the placenta the majority of the time and then the umbilical cord was right across her face the entire duration of her first photo shoot, which is not that big of a deal since we'll be meeting her rather soon. Richard and I couldn't believe how much she looked like her big brother (we had our 3D/4D ultrasound here as well when we were pregnant with Gannon). Gannon continues to say, "Livvy has my nose, pretty lips and face." Isn't that so sweet?!

Here's the thing...this morning Gannon got sick - I mean really sick. We got him in the car and he began to throw-up. We had to change him and discuss whether we should drive to Sacramento or not - we obviously decided to go after all. The bottom line is that Gannon continued to throw-up the entire drive to the ultrasound appointment. Thank goodness that Grandma was sitting next to Gannon and taking extra special care of him. Gannon was able to see his Livvy and then he miraculously made a giant recovery - he felt better right after lunch. Kids are truly resilient.




After the appointment, we spent the remainder of the day in Roseville - Christmas shopping. The Galleria has changed quite a bit; the new wing is great. Then we went to the Fountains across from the mall - what a gorgeous place. The dancing fountain (to Christmas music) made me feel as though I were in Las Vegas for a moment. There is even a little train for the kids to ride...we'll definitely be back!

It's that time...

November 28, 2008


Now that Thanksgiving is over, it is time to decorate our home for Christmas. It takes quite a few days to get our home completely ready, but today we dove right in and began putting up lights on the outside of our home. Gannon assisted Daddy with the ladder work and Mommy made sure that her boys had warm drinks and snacks throughout the day. It truly is beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

A Bounty of Blessings...

November 27, 2008
Thankful for Grumpy spending Thanksgiving with us...and reading to Gannon.

Gannon is especially thankful that he "won" the wishbone pull...his wish will certainly come true now!!! Sorry Daddy, better luck next year.


Thankful to Grandma for making a delicious Thanksgiving meal and hosting all of us at her and Papa's home...Gannon is thankful that Grandma gave him the wishbone from the big turkey.
I am thankful for my family and for the precious life that I am growing inside of me.
Thankful for turkey legs.
Gannon is thankful for his Grandpa's and Grandma...he loves them very much. Rich and I are grateful that Gannon spent the day surrounded by family and lots of love.
Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

November 27, 2008



What a great Thanksgiving morning it has been!!! First and foremost, we are so happy to have Grumpy here with us...Gannon is so lucky to have two such great Grandpa's. Second, the weather...couldn't be more perfect. Third, we are all healthy and so happy to have each other to spend this beautiful day with.
After a yummy breakfast and watching the Macy's day parade (a must for Mommy) - Grumpy, Daddy, Mommy, Savion and Gannon walked and/or scooted to the park. To Gannon's overwhelming delight, his two best buddies were there - Mario AND Chase. Gannon certainly had a fun time with his buddies...so fun that he crashed once we got home from the park. He is resting up for dinner at Grandma and Papa's in a few hours!!!!
I hope that you and your families are having a wonderful day as well.

Thanksgiving Feast

November 20, 2008



Gannon celebrated Thanksgiving early this year...today was New Adventures Preschool Thanksgiving Feast! His day consisted of eating, making crafts, playing with friends and taking time to be thankful for all he has. (Gannon is very thankful to have a perfect record on the "No Cavities Hall of Fame" board at Dr. Ripley's office. He had a dental appointment this morning and did wonderfully!)

Veteran's Day

November 11, 2008





In celebration of Veteran's Day, we headed to the Marysville Veteran's Day Parade. Papa and Vinny were #14 in this year's parade and it was so much fun to cheer for them! We are proud of Papa and love him very much. Thank you for our freedom Papa!!!

Cute Kid!

November 9, 2008

This morning, we had our maternity photo session with Jessica. We had a great morning - Jessica is so much fun to work with. Thanks for capturing this special time in our lives for us Jess!
Above is one of the photos that Jessica took. I fell in love with it...I love how Rich and I are in the background, while our little guy is smiling big for the camera.
More photos to come...in the meantime, don't hesitate to check out Jessica's blog or her website (www.jessicacolephotography.com).

I'm back...and caught up!

Hello blogger friends! Some of you have inquired, "where have you been?" Thanks for keeping tabs and making certain all is good in the world. I have been crazy busy, but I finally updated our blog (or our journal as I like to say)...so please read the many entries below to find out what is new with us and I can't wait to read all of yours too. Happy Autumn Days to You and Your Family! ~Michele

Gannon is a Youngster!

November 3, 2008





Today, we enrolled Gannon in gymnastics at Youngsters, Inc. Can you believe that his class is nothing but boys?! He had an amazing time. I was such a proud Mommy because I observed him paying attention, being polite, laughing and making friends. Gannon is a great kid and I'm a lucky Mommy.
Also, today was my 25-week appointment. 25-weeks already?!?! Oh my! I couldn't believe it...I asked my doctor, "what week am I?" and he responded with "25, you just started your 7th month and third trimester of pregnancy". Wow. I said, "With Gannon I remembered how many days along I was; does it make me a poor mother for not remembering which week this pregnancy is in?" and he calmed me by saying, "Not at all - it makes you an extremely busy mother of a toddler." Whew! So third trimester...the countdown has officially began.


Disney on Ice

November 2, 2008













This evening we took Gannon to Disney on Ice. He had a tremendous time. We had remarkably great seats, so Gannon got to see all of his Disney friends skate around practically right in front of his face! He loved seeing all of the Toy Story and Nemo characters...and to top it off, the Incredible's made a special appearance!




Another Bout

November 1, 2008







Richard had a bout this evening in Sacramento. Bottom line - my husband didn't walk out of the cage as the winner, but as his wife...I couldn't be more proud of him. I watch my husband workout almost every evening after a long day of work...that is impressive self-motivation - a quality that I hope my son will value and adopt. I am overall, just relieved that Richard wasn't hurt (besides for another black eye and bruised ear). You're my stud!!!


A Visit from the Great Pumpkin!!!

November 1, 2008



Grandma and Papa gave Gannon some Hulk gloves for Halloween - and I had to include this photo because it just cracks me up! He put on the gloves and became the green character. Boy oh boy - what a kid!
In the morning (after Halloween's Eve), Gannon woke to a gift that was left for him by the Great Pumpkin. Gannon leaves his Halloween candy out for the Great Pumpkin and in turn for the candy, the Great Pumpkin gives him a gift - what a deal!