2011 Year In Review

What a year 2011 has been! Fun and eventful...memorable...frustrating and precious...some times all in the very same day!

Here's the year in review - Amos family style:

January - Elizabeth's 5th birthday was celebrated in Dr. Seuss style. It was a typical too-much-over-the-top party for our small gathering of Grandma & Papi, Nana & Papa, and the Koeglers. We had a lot of fun, though, so that's all that really matters. The West Liberty Hilltoppers men's basketball team was a highlight in the month - especially Elizabeth's favorite John Wolosinczuk! We tried like the dickens to get her to pose with him for a picture...he was such a good sport about it, too. We got a picture of John with Nana, John with Reid, and still no picture of Elizabeth and her all-time favorite baller... On the women's side of things, Elizabeth's favorite players continue to be Tori Hansen and Laura Malernee. Cate was growing and changing every day...and eating like a champ! She continued to nurse nearly every 2-3 hours -- if she was awake, she was hungry.

February - The Toppers' winning streak continued. The team is doing so well, Elizabeth has even started to cheer for some of the other guys on the floor (as opposed to turning her back on the action when John is on the bench!) She can tell you most of the players names by numbers - Corey Pelle #12; Barry Shetzer #24; Jordan Fortney #11; Alex Falk #22; Timmy (Hausfeld) #10; and of course, John Wolosinczuk #32 (but #1 in E's heart!) Still no luck in getting E to pose with John for a picture - Photoshop it is! John gave Elizabeth a Valentine's gift to which she was THRILLED (an autographed picture of him in action!) She gave him a valentine that she made. Elizabeth is just a funny kid...so glad she got my sense of humor! ;-) It may totally be worth revisiting my Blog post on the Ransom of Red Chief from February to better recount how this child cracks me up! Cate earned the nickname "Cranky Cate" as there were plenty of moments when she couldn't be consoled -- with no explanation. When she wasn't cranky, she was sweet and cuddly.

March - This month was all about Topper basketball! The team sealed up an undefeated regular season, and with that the WVIAC regular season title...and then the winning continued... They won the WVIAC Tournament - Corey Pelle won the Commissioner's Heart & Hustle Award and was All-Tournament; Barry Shetzer was named to the All-Tourney Team; as was Tim Hausfeld; and John - who was the MVP. Elizabeth, along with Cate, Grandma, and I went to Build-a-Bear Workshop where she made her "John Wolosinczuk Bear" (yes, that's what she named him - and I had to spell it a few times for the employee that was helping us) complete with the WVU shirt, denim skirt, and Hello Kitty undies. The Toppers hosted the regional tourney - and the winning continued. Corey Pelle and John Wolosinczuk were all-tourney again. Then I may have done the un-thinkable...I put Elizabeth and a nearly 3-month-old baby in the car (along with Grandma) and we drove to Springfield, MA, for the Elite 8. Cate was, for once, NOT cranky -- as she slept the entire 10+ hour drive. We only stopped once for gas, food, and a change. I really thought I would be in for it when we got to the hotel - that Cate would be awake for days, but she went right back to sleep. Elizabeth took much pride in going around the floor with her Daddy giving out the cookies that we made for the players - each got their own jersey and some chocolate chip cookies. (E insisted on making the cookies for the guys because "Timmy Eats Cookies" was on a sign at the WVIAC Tournament. She took it literally...sign was actually referring to Tim's guarding of "Cookie" Miller from WV State.) The Toppers made it to the Final Four before the perfect season came to an end. Corey Pelle was again named to the All-Tournament team.

April - Easter was fun when Cate was crying, which she did for most of the time at Nana's & Papa's. We were surprised with the news from Rikki and Doug that the Amos family would be getting a new edition due in late November! Elizabeth grew so quickly between the time I shopped for some of her clothes that were in her Easter basket to when she received these clothes that she literally only got one wear out of them - because Mommy & Daddy don't approve of the 'belly-shirt' look. Cate got an upper respiratory infection that required the "Willie Nelson" treatment - lots of smoke ;-) She's getting more active, too - rolling over, recognizing her hands and feet...and is now able to eat cereal, which is fed to her for the first time by Elizabeth.

May - Elizabeth declared that Mother's Day was "St. Mother's Day!" When she's not being such a sweetie, she is being quite the mental challenge for us (reference another Red Chief Blog post.) Elizabeth graduated from Pre-K. We were so lucky how her life was positively influenced by the good folks at Holy Family Child Care since we moved to Wheeling (next best thing to instruction by Nana or Grandma!) We especially adored her teachers for Pre-K, Miss Jenn and Miss Kelly! Alex turned 4 and we celebrated in Thomas the Train style -- quite easy and cute (if I do say so myself!) Cate continued to be cranky and sweet. Poor Reid had to walk the floors, nearly wearing a track on the finish on the hard wood as he paced the floors with a crying Cate on the evenings that I worked in Morgantown...until I got home and the crying would stop.

June - Getting that perfect 6 month baby on a quilt picture proved to be more of a challenge than it should have been...perhaps a sign of things to come from Miss Cate. Despite being a mama's girl, she said "Dada" first ;-) She also took to crawling this month. I survived an AACE Annual Meeting at Disneyland - barely. Not that there were issues with the conference...just that it was at the Mouse House. Blech.

July - Elizabeth loves to swim and took advantage of a dip in the water every time we could get her to the pool. She's becoming such a good swimmer...working on diving, but since she hasn't yet learned that patience is a virtue, she just wants to jump in and SWIM! Cate continues to reach milestones on or ahead of time -- sometimes at the most inconvenient of times... Elizabeth got to attend her first Red Sox game with Papi no less (HER Papi, not Baseball Papi - he was on the field...) Sox vs. Pirates, who were having a great season, making the Amoses quite happy (that would be Reid, Nana, & Papa...E was just all about backing a winner. For her first Sox game, she cheered for the team at the plate...and for Papi's & my sake, it was a great day as the Sox ended up on top!)

August - Summer at Holy Family for Elizabeth has come to an end. Where has the time gone...my baby is getting ready for Kindergarten! Elizabeth & I had a great Mommy-Daughter day shopping for school clothes...size 6-7 or 7-8 -- for a 5-1/2 year old in the 95th percentile in height...good luck finding a waist to fit! Cate went to her first baseball game -- the Pirates didn't fair so well as they lost to the Padres 5-15(!). Cate is taking a queue from her big sister as she loves the pool, too! She weaned herself from baby food this month and would only feed herself soft 'real-people' food. We still have quite a bit of baby food in storage...good thing it will keep for Baby Eckstein! We enjoyed our annual trip to D.C. -- a highlight continues to be the Giant Pandas at the National Zoo! We were at the National Cathedral - walking all over the place - exactly one week before the earth quake in D.C. that did some damage to the beautiful building.

September - Elizabeth started Kindgergarten in Mrs. Allen's class at Woodsdale Elementary! Cate finally had a reason for which to be cranky - she cut two teeth! She also stood unassisted. She's taken to cruising on the furniture. She is less cranky when she is being held by Mama -- or is able to hang out with her awesome big sister, Elizabeth, whom she adores!

October - The girls were the CUTEST kitty cats for Halloween -- thanks to Nana's handiwork! Elizabeth started playing a bit of basketball at the Y -- and loved it! After her first session, she declared that she was as good as John Wolosinczuk. (At least she doesn't lack for self confidence!) She also joined the Daisies and is really proud of the uniform vest. (I consider it a near miracle that I was able to get the iron-on stuff to actually stay on the vest and didn't have to engage Nana and her needle & thread!) We had great luck getting some good shots of the girls on a beautiful fall day at Oglebay... Cate started walking with 6 independent steps (10 months, 3 weeks, 3 days old.)

November - We started the month with a baby shower for Aunt Rikki in "the big city." We were so excited for the impending arrival of Baby Eckstein! I hit a freaking deer with my car. We found out that the big lump on Kennedy's back hip (only on one side) wasn't cancer or arthritis...but a fat deposit. (Reid loves telling everyone that, too!) Cate isn't helping Kennedy trim down either by throwing her food off her tray the very second she determines she is done eating. At the Wheeling Christmas parade, Elizabeth boxed out Sarah Koegler and a few kids -- when the reporter from Channel 9, Ali Myers, come over to our section of the bleachers and asked if anyone would like to be on TV. (Any question that she is Reid's kid??? Is it not enough that she look like him, but now she has taken to boxing out (well, that she got from me!) women and children to get on live TV!) The hand-held mic needed a new battery as they were filming...Elizabeth told Ms. Myers that she would wait. On take two, she was spot-on. Ali Myers asked her what she would like to say to Santa to which Elizabeth replied, "You can't talk to him, he's just flying on by..." Still needing a copy of that tape! Elizabeth got to participate in her first Little Hilltoppers Day at West Liberty - where she told me I was allowed to take 5 pictures and then I had to leave because this was all about her. (Isn't most everything???) Anne, Reid, & I had a magical evening the night of the WVU v. Pitt game -- great weather, good food, good libations, free Snuggies, good friends, and a big win! It was tough leaving the stadium that night - for us and many other Mountaineers who didn't want to see the end to the annual rivalry of the Backyard Brawl. We were so delighted to welcome Margaret Alisse Eckstein to the family on November 29, 2011, at 2:24 AM - she weighed 7 lbs., 1 ounce and was 20" long.

December - Cate turned 1 - the year seriously flew right past us!!! She loves to eat...loves the taste of my butter cream icing, but most definitely doesn't like the feel of it on her hands! She is walking all over the place and loves to climb stairs when we allow her to do so. The sale of the house in Fairmont became final (thank you, little infant baby Jesus!) I drove Nana (aka: "Driving Miss Daisy") to D.C. to meet Maggie. What a cutie! Reid was able to go the following weekend to meet his niece. (And, yes, he was jealous that I got to hold his niece before he was...) Elizabeth got her ears pierced. Mimi, our Elf on the Shelf, continued to do her magic by helping remind Elizabeth to be good. Elizabeth loved every one of her sleepovers this year with her cousin, Alex -- several this summer and fall...and right after Christmas. She is a great big sister -- making a big adjustment to everything being all about her to sharing time and parents with a cranky baby sister. We are so blessed to have two wonderful, happy (for the most part) children!!!

Welcome, Maggie!!!

Welcome to the world, Margaret Alisse Eckstein! My beautiful niece was born at 2:24 AM, Tuesday, November 29, 2011. She weighs 7 lbs., 1 ounce and is 20" long.

Here are a few pictures that I just had to share...

Maggie and Rikki - face-to-face...isn't this sweet???


She's so smart - she's saying, "Touchdown Mountaineers!"

Congratulations Rikki & Doug!!!

Elizabeth's Dr. Seuss 5th Birthday Party

Being the control-freak that I tend to be, at least with parties, I love that I can still convince Elizabeth what she "really wants" for a birthday party theme! So this year, Elizabeth really wanted a Dr. Seuss birthday party!

In years past, I would have done more than I did for her birthday party...but it is either maturity or having another baby that has brought me a bit further close to reality -- for a birthday party for a 5-year-old...that is a small affair. I'm going to chalk it up to maturity (as I'm not ready, at least at this point, to start saving up for Cate's therapy sessions that she will inevitably need as a result of being a second child...)

Disclaimer: I didn't think of all of these ideas up myself...lots of super-creative folks have held Dr. Seuss baby showers or birthday parties...I did a lot of research on the web and liberated several ideas from these folks...some things were my own ideas, too...

The invites were exceptionally cute, I think! I wanted to make a Dr. Seuss-like book...but when reality set it, a 4-page book was going to have to do as I didn't have the time to make it more than 4 pages, so each page was glued on a panel of a 4"x6" card. The cover I wanted to look as much like the cover from The Cat in the Hat...for the back image, I used the cover from The Lorax as my starting point...here are the images from each of the panels (if you click on each image, you'll be able to view it larger):

I was happy to find a lot of Dr. Seuss decor at the teacher's supply store here in Wheeling, the Imperial Warehouse. Unfortunately, we had trouble with getting them to hang on the walls (tried multiple types of double-stick tape, the tacky wall gummy stuff worked okay, but many things had to be put back up...) Therefore, I purchased a bit more stuff than I was able to use, oh well! I'm sure the folks at Holy Family Child Care won't mind some free bulletin board supplies! The rest of the decorating was a snap -- as we used Elizabeth's Dr. Seuss books -- and Nana & Papa brought some of their stash (including E's "Morton" (aka Horton) stuffed animal), and the Happy Birthday to You giant puzzle that E got on her birthday from Grandma & Papi (that was on the dining room table along with some of the bulletin board decorations -- with a clear plastic table cloth over top of it for protection.) The Happy Birthday banner (I have two -- one in darker colors, one in pastels) may be the best birthday party purchases ever! I have used at least one of them for E's birthdays for the last 3 years...

Next I was on to figuring out the menu. As you can read from the invitation, the party would be after the West Liberty basketball games, which were at 2 & 4 PM, so around dinner time...so I wanted more than just green eggs & ham... Everything was labeled because, yes, I am THAT kind of anal-retentive...so we enjoyed the following:

• Green Deviled Eggs & Ham - deviled eggs with dyed green filling and ham - (from the book Green Eggs and Ham)
• Poodles with Noodles - "adult" mac & cheese - (from the book Fox in Socks)
• Yot in the Pot - baked beans - (from the book There's a Wocket in my Pocket)
• Schlotts Knots - rolls - (from the book Did I Ever Tell You How Lucky You Are?)
• One Fish Two Fish - Swedish Fish & Gold Fish - (from the book One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish)
• Cheese Trees - cheese! - (from the book The Lorax)
• A Crumb that Was Even Too Small For a Mouse - a crumb that was even too small for a mouse - (from the book How the Grinch Stole Christmas)
• Circus McGurkis Pink Lemonade - pink lemonade - (from the book If I Ran the Circus)
• Hop on (Soda) Pop - assorted soft drinks - (from the book Hop on Pop)
• Thing 1 and Thing 2 - red velvet cupcakes - (from the book The Cat in the Hat)
• The Cake!!! (Not in a bath tub!) - rainbow cake decorated with the Cat in the Hat on top - (from the book The Cat in the Hat)

If I must say so myself, I may have created one of the cutest Dr. Suess cakes for someone who hasn't taken a cake decorating class (save for the cake decorating class at 4-H camp one or two summers when I was in middle school!) The topper was made from fondant -- which I made. It tasted good, but was a complete pain to work with. I must be doing something wrong with the fondant, too, as there wasn't any way that I could have used it over the entire cake if I wanted to, which I didn't (as I love, love, love butter cream icing!) I used one of the Dr. Seuss decorations (see the picture with the Happy Birthday banner) as a reference and after cussing, rolling out the effing fondant, and more cussing...I free-hand cut out the shape of the Cat in the Hat with a pairing knife. It was then my intention to use edible markers to draw onto the fondant, but that went over like a fart in a library. I was then forced to free hand using colored butter cream icing the details on the cat. It ended up looking much better than I think it would have if I could have gotten the edible markers to work the way I thought they would... It was Elizabeth that wanted her name on the cake, which I think made it just perfect! The Thing 1 and Thing 2 cupcakes were pretty darned cute, too!

While I was at the games with Elizabeth and Cate, the magical birthday elves (Grandma and Papa) took care of cooking up the ham...and timing out the mac and cheese and baked beans (Kristin's recipe!) getting in the oven. (When you read the recipe for the mac and cheese - it really does make enough servings for 20 people...so if you're hungry, stop by!) That was a huge load taken off of my shoulders -- to be able to enjoy the #1 in the nation West Liberty Hilltoppers' game and know that the party stuff would be taken care of!

January birthdays stink so far as the weather keeping folks away. E was bummed that Papi and Rikki & Uncle Dougie stayed at their respective homes...we're hoping that Doug has been able to cope with the guilt of disappointing Elizabeth on her "second birthday...that you'll come to, Doug." (We definitely hated that we didn't get the quality time with my Dad/Papi and Rikki & Doug, but are happy that they stayed put...as the weather reports are calling for more of the white crap! I'm sure the painful scars can be eased, Doug, with a check to cover her college tuition!) Of course, we have missed Anne, Sean, and Alex at E's party as well...not that even if the weather would be cooperative, which it certainly isn't right now in the Big Apple, it would be most impractical for them to make the long trek from NYC to Wheeling for the birthday party.

As bummed as we were of those who weren't able to join us, we were thrilled that Nana and Papa made the trip north from (the town that claims to be "the friendly city" but doesn't hold a candle on the friendly city department to Wheeling!) Fairmont. We have been completely spoiled with Mom/Grandma being with us for practically the entire month of January, too!!! (She says she will stay with us until we kick her out. Reid is meeting with a contractor to put an addition on the house...so I don't see that happening any time soon...at least not until the end of basketball season...) And what would a party be without friends? Elizabeth's buddies, Campbell (her future first boyfriend...the one that she's already saying she'll break up with so John Wolosinczuk can be her boyfriend!) and, of course, their parents, Jason & Sarah Koegler!

Between her "actual" birthday and the party, Elizabeth is quite the spoiled gal! She is already mastering the fine art of Wii dancing while showing off her monkey underpants through the pink & purple skirt (that Campbell picked out). It was too much fun watching the kids play with the Wii (kids including Reid & Jason as they were getting into bowling and fencing) -- especially with Cam, Will, and Elizabeth dancing to Toni Basil's "Mickey" (it brought back many a memory from Sutton Blue Devil cheerleading days for me!)

Honestly, the only party SNAFU that I can think of is the candles. They were the re-lighting variety...only they didn't re-light. Oh well, we'll just need to use that type of magic for her 6th birthday party (aka the 2nd birthday party that Uncle Dougie will attend...)

Now off to work on stuff for Cate's 1st birthday (10 months from now...but no worries -- I already have the theme!) Or Alex's party once a theme has been set...

2010 - A Fabulous Year in Review

What a fabulous year 2010 was to our family! In brief, here's the recap on our 2010:

JANUARY - Elizabeth cheered for the West Liberty Hilltoppers! Her favorite players were Tori Hansen, Laura Malernee...and John Wolosinczuk! She loves watching John play so much that when he wasn't on the floor, she would often turn her back on the court in protest. (I mean seriously, with nothing but 20+ win seasons every year, what in the heck does Coach Crutchfield know about coaching hoops -- more Wolosinczuk!) Yes, she can say his name, too -- much to the delight of everyone and the demise of TV sports reporters! (wol-oh-SIN-chuck)

Elizabeth celebrated her 4th birthday (actual birthday) with a modest at-home event with Mommy, Daddy, and Grandma. We enjoyed dinner at Fusion with cake and presents at home where Elizabeth got her first Barbie from Aunt Anne (the start of another obsession I'm afraid!)

Three days later, Elizabeth had her tonsils and adenoids removed and tubes put in her ears. Her ENT told us that her poor little ears were more infected than he thought they were and that her adenoids completely blocked her nasal passage -- making it all the more amazing that she didn't complain (EVER!) about her ears hurting and that she has always been such a good eater! In addition to the obvious reasons for which we were thankful following her surgery, I am additionally thankful that she doesn't take after me with allergic reactions to pain medication...but also frightened that hydrocodone causes her to strip naked and dance late at night. (At least her last dose of the good stuff caused her to do that, at which point we made the executive decision to stop giving it to her!)

We rounded out the month with her Sesame Street 4th Birthday Party! We were so thrilled to have Grandma, Nana & Papa, Rikki & (a guilt-ridden) Doug, and the Koeglers - Jason, Sarah, Campbell & Will as guests. (Papi wasn't able to make it due to weather. Doug was guilted by Elizabeth into taking whatever measures were necessary to ensure coming as she gently pointed out to him that he had never been to her birthday party and that she wanted him to come and bring her Aqua Sand. He complied, but perhaps in future years, I need to train her to ask for more expensive presents like a car or a college education...)

FEBRUARY - We continued to cheer on the Hilltoppers (the men's team was undefeated in January & February!). E's man, John Wolosinczuk, was featured on the Dorm Room website on Valentine's Day no less! Elizabeth was the darling of so many admirers at the West Liberty games in her uniform (custom made by Nana!) She got so many compliments on her game-day attire!

We got pummeled with snow (I didn't consider that part of our good fortune, but Elizabeth did when we went to Oglebay to sled ride and play in the white crap!)

MARCH - We were so excited to have the Martin family (Jason, P.J., John Patrick, and Jackson) move from Florida to Wheeling!!!

The Hilltoppers capped off great seasons. Hansen was a DII All-American, Malernee DII's two-time 3-point leader, the men were the 2009-2010 WVIAC Conference Champs! Despite her love and adoration of John Wolosinczuk, Elizabeth still refused to talk with him and she cowered behind either Reid or me when he came over to say hi or give her a high 5. She has more of a long-distance love affair with John...

March was basketball heaven for the Amoses and our fellow Mountaineer fans! The WVU men's basketball team, behind the leadership of Da'Sean Butler, won the Big East Championship endearing the team to many more fans in the metro-NY area (as so many of the team members were from that area) earning them a new nickname in NYC, the Metro'neers...much to the delight of Anne, Sean, & Alex (who, at 2-1/2 does a mean John Flowers impersonation and when asked who his coach is will reply, "Coach Huggins.") We went C-R-A-Z-Y here in the Amos household when the #2 seed West Virginia Mountaineers upset the #1 seeded Kentucky to reach the Final Four!!!

APRIL - Reid & I made the trip to Indianapolis to watch the Mountaineers in the Final Four (while Elizabeth celebrated Easter with the Mortons). We were obviously disappointed that the Mountaineers didn't win the national title, but what a fabulous trip we had in spite of the team's loss! While enjoying a couple of beers at a pub before taking in the Indiana Pacers' game (thanks to former WJU men's basketball and current Pacers' assistant coach Jay DeFruscio for the free tickets, I took in my first NBA game!) we met Butler's assistant SID, Josh Rattray. He's a fabulous guy -- and gave us a tour of historic Hinkle Field House the afternoon before Bulter played in the championship game, which they ultimately lost to Duke (blech! I hate Duke after that weekend more than I thought possible!) On our trip back home, we stopped by Historic Hoosier Gym (where the home games for the movie Hoosiers was filmed) and got to shoot some hoops and hang out in the locker room before stopping at the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame.

After having four previous miscarriages, we are cautiously optimistic when I get pregnant again. I teased Reid by telling him that we would be obligated to name this "Final Four baby" Bobby John Da'Sean Amos if it was a boy -- in honor of the Mountaineers...

MAY - Hans graduated from WJU with a degree in nursing! We're so proud of you, Hans!!! We're bummed that he would be moving back to Philadelphia, but can't say that we will miss his Communist soccer games ;-) Congratulations to Hans, too, for being named 1st Team All-WVIAC and 2nd Team NSCAA All-Atlantic Region!!!

We rounded out the end of May with a surprise 80th birthday party for "Grandma" Helen Wine and Alex's 4th birthday!!!

Reid got the opportunity to broadcast the MCLA Championship (lacrosse) in Denver, despite never having watched a live lacrosse game. He was fabulous!!! No surprise there as he is such a talented broadcaster! (Anne noted that Reid was the Keith Jackson of lacrosse -- "Woah Nelly!")

JUNE - My pregnancy progressed well, but we were still nervous...

Elizabeth got to watch her Daddy play golf (at least a few holes) for the first time. Mind you, I told her she HAD to be quiet...that she HAD to whisper...when Reid & Jason are approaching the area where we are sitting with Sarah, Campbell, and Will, and Elizabeth belted out a big "Hi Daaaaady!" before I knew it! Fortunately, he and Jason were amused by her...and they made the cut in the tournament...

Elizabeth got her very own set of golf clubs -- complete with the panda bear head cover...

Elizabeth was really taking off in the water with the help of her swim vest. She didn't at all complain with having wear the ear plugs, which we had our concerns about that being a battle before the start of summer...

JULY - We celebrated July 4th with the Cunninghams...getting to be with Alex for his first fireworks display (in the big town of Gassaway) was a lot of fun!

Elizabeth got to spend a week in Sutton with Grandma & Papi -- and Aunt Anne, Sean, & Alex! Swimming every day was the highlight of her time in Sutton! (In order to sound like Elizabeth, you have to make your voice rather nasal-ly and say "Aunt Anne" rather quickly, loudly, and very, very frequently! I don't recall her saying just Anne, it's always "Aunt Anne! Aunt Anne!")

Elizabeth began swimming independently (no vest!) E and I were at the pool at Oglebay and she said that she wanted to take off the vest to which I said sure. She jumped in and swam right over to me without hesitation. She never looked back at wanting that vest. A couple of days later when Reid was able to join us at Oglebay we surprised him when she jumped in and swam to me without her vest! She is truly remarkable!

Reid and I celebrated our 9th wedding anniversary! :-)

Late in the month I discovered that removing the wallpaper in the dining room wasn't going to be the complete headache that I was anticipating it to be...the exorcism began!

Reid began tearing up the bricks on the side of the back side "lot" at our house to make way for a small spot where we can get some grass growing to eventually put in a playground for Elizabeth.

AUGUST - My pregnancy was going well and we were able to breathe a bit easier with that!

We took Elizabeth to Idlewild for a day of fun. (I went along basically to serve as Reid & Elizabeth's personal photographer as being pregnant you aren't allowed on any of the rides.) Idlewild was great fun, but I cannot recommend it to anyone who is in the family way...

Elizabeth went off the diving board by herself! She was amazing!!!

We took Nana with us as we made our annual Amos family visit to "the Big City" of Washington, D.C. to spend some quality time with Rikki & Doug. Each year we take in the National Zoo -- the giant pandas remained Elizabeth's favorite. This year's trip was made even more special (Reid would say by his continuing bro-mance with Doug) with the celebration of Rikki & Doug's impending nuptials with a bridal shower in honor of Rikki! My favorite moment from the shower was when Rikki, with the help of Elisa, started opening the picture quilt that Carol made for her...and everyone that was there just got up and started gathering around the quilt. Everyone was holding a part of it and pointing out pictures -- truly sweet! Some other brief highlights of our trip: Carol learned from her future son-in-law that the public begins on the other side of the front door of their house...and we learned that Doug especially loves the adult mac & cheese...

SEPTEMBER - Reid interviewed the legendary Jerry West at the Greenbrier while at the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce Annual Meeting and Business Summit! Awesomeness!!!

We took Elizabeth to her first Mountaineer football game...I thought I could pass out from heat exhaustion! Seriously...I don't think I've even been that hot before -- the extra weight from the pregnancy didn't help matters! WVU beat "the bad guys" (from) Maryland 31-17!

We traveled to The Homestead for the wedding of Rikki Amos and Doug Eckstein on September 25th! On the drive over the mountains on Thursday evening, I don't believe I've ever seen the moon look so large...unfortunately a camera wasn't handy for me to snap a picture of it! I wasn't on my camera A-game on Thursday at all, as I forgot to put the SD card in before we headed over to Sam Snead's Tavern...I wouldn't make that mistake again! Over the next three days, I took more pictures than could be counted. Elizabeth became instant friends with Lexi and Stella! After the rehearsal we all enjoyed getting to hang out at the Presidents Lounge (the boys enjoyed hanging out a wee bit more on the front porch...and raided the kitchen...and eventually retired at 4AM!), the wedding was simply beautiful and touching, we danced for hours at the reception...and before heading home, Elizabeth went bowling for the first time -- and even bowled a strike under the tutelage of Doug!

OCTOBER - We completed the dining room make-over (aka exorcism!) We love the room now (as opposed to cringing with the hideous 80's flowered wallpaper and border)!

We had a great time at my 20-year high school reunion! (20 years?!? Man, I'm old!) Everyone continues to Blame Palmer...some things, I guess, will never change!

We thoroughly enjoyed the time we had with the Perrys (Kristin, William, & Greer) as they were able to make the time to come to West Virginia during their trip to the US from Berlin! My friendship with Kristin is so incredible -- that we can have a great time doing nothing exciting (well at least "going Krogering" isn't exciting for me, but Kristin is excited to shop when she's in America as we have so much crap on our store shelves!) Reid took William out to golf with some of his buddies, who were all charmed by his Scottish wit! Elizabeth and Greer became great friends, too! It was especially fun to get to share my last big ultrasound with Kristin, who is preggers too (with an Alpha Gam legacy!)

Elizabeth dressed as Jessie from Toy Story 3 for Halloween! Nana, of course, was once again to thank for her over-the-top costume!

NOVEMBER - We were anxiously awaiting the arrival of Baby Cate...who gave us a "scare" that she would come sooner than expected. We quickly learned the efforts that people (not just family members) would go through to help us welcome our baby!

Reid and Elizabeth went to the Wheeling Christmas parade and got prime seating thanks to Bill & Debby Koegler!

We feasted at Thanksgiving (seriously feasted!) and were delighted to host Grandma (who had come to stay with us until some time after the arrival of Baby Cate), Nana, Papa, Rikki & Doug. We feasted (did I say seriously feasted?) on turkey (highly recommend brining the bird!), mashed potatoes, stuffing, oyster casserole, corn pudding, green beans, rolls, pumpkin pie, peanut blossom cookies, and Pilgrim hat cookies.

DECEMBER - Victoria Catherine Amos arrived at 11:00 AM kicking off the month and rounding out a quite perfect year! After all of the issues I had experienced the previous two years, we have felt additionally blessed with the addition of Cate! She brings us such joy!!!

Although we were most saddened with the news of the fire that destructed the Koegler's home, we were happy that no one was home at the time of the incident, no one was harmed...and happy to be a part of the group of friends that helped set them up in their temporary residence (before the real temporary residence) shortly before Christmas. Wheeling is a wonderfully friendly place to live and this effort was a testament to the people we have had the good fortune of meeting in our brief time here!

We celebrated the end of the year at Christmas getting to introduce Cate to her family and rang in the new year with just the four of us -- watching the ball in NYC's Times Square drop with Dick Clark doing the countdown.

2010 was a truly awesomely great year!

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year to All!

We have had a great Christmas -- too much indulgence...so much so that we may need to build onto our house, but a great Christmas! We started with a trip to Fairmont on the 23rd to celebrate with Rick & Carol (aka Nana & Papa) for their anniversary. Rikki & Doug arrived that evening and got to meet Baby Cate. It's so special when you get to introduce your baby to her aunts & uncles! And there is no doubt in the looks department that Cate looks like the Amoses -- as she looks so much like Elizabeth did...and they couldn't deny E if they wanted to!

On Christmas Eve, Reid & Doug continued their bro-mance with a shopping trip to Morgantown. (Reid was the one who needed to shop, Doug was along for the ride...not that it should come as a surprise to anyone that Reid was still shopping up to the last minute...) Rikki made her award-winning chili -- yumminess! The evening concluded with the traditional reading of stories: Rikki "The Grinch Who Stole Christmas," Doug "The Latke Who Couldn't Stop Screaming: A Christmas Story," Me, "Santa Mouse," and Reid always finishes the stories out with, T'was the Night Before Christmas."

2010 Christmas might be definition of over-indulgence! E got everything that she wanted from Santa and more (Mimi must have given good reports every night when she went back to the North Pole!). She & Cate both got lots of clothes (Cate got the same adorable bear outfit in three different sizes in three different colors - one from Nana & Papa, one from Rikki & Doug, one from Aunt Cathy & Uncle Rich -- great minds must think (and shop) alike!) E especially loved her Barbie & Barbie car (both from Santa), her Bride Barbie (from recent bride Aunt Rikki), the pack & play for her baby doll (like Baby Cate's pack & play -- from Aunt Anne, Uncle Sean, and Alex), and her TWO pillow pets (from Grandma & Papi). We've been having a lot of fun with the Wii (the epitome of over-indulgence from Nana & Papa)...Reid & I are looking forward to getting the bed-frame that matches the rest of our bedroom suit (thanks to Mom & Daddy aka Grandma & Papi). Cate doesn't even know she has hands but got more cool things than she has finger to eventually count on!

Despite all of the wonderful surprises and gifts that Reid and I -- or our daughters received, one of my favorite gifts were two that we gave. Wedding scrapbooks to Rikki and Doug and then another one to Rick & Carol. I had so much fun making the books and am still amazed that with Elizabeth being in the know that I was able to pull off the surprise.

After spending the morning with the Amoses we were off to Webster Springs to celebrate with the Mortons. There we were excited to get to introduce Cate to Aunt Anne, Uncle Sean, Alex, and the rest of the Mortons -- especially her name sakes, Uncle Joe (Ernest Victor Morton, III) and Aunt Cathy (Mary Catherine Morton-McSwain).

We were able to get out of Webster Springs to head back to Sutton for a few days just before the weather got too bad. It was, as it always is, too short of a visit with the family!

Before we got back to the Friendly City of Wheeling, we were able to squeeze in a visit with the Cochrans -- where Elizabeth got a cheer lesson from her buddy Haley.

We spent a nice quiet NYE here at home. On New Year's Day (after Reid did his obligatory gumbo dance), I got to cooking gumbo, kielbasa and sauerkraut, and peanut butter log cookies. E enjoyed getting to play with her buddies John Patrick, Jackson, Campbell, and Will. We enjoyed getting to spend time with their parents.

Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year!

Welcome Baby Cate!!!

I've been waaaay far behind on my Blogging (somewhat due to technical difficulties where passwords were changed to my gmail account, which is what I have to use to access my Blog...I didn't change said passwords, and couldn't fix the situation -- as when I attempted to recover my password, it kept asking me the name of my first teacher and then telling me I was wrong! I adored my kindergarten teacher and remember her and her name fondly...so I can assure you the problem wasn't with my recollection of my first teacher's name (tried my 1st grade teacher, whom I also adored and recall her name, which failed miserably.) Anyway, Reid had to get involved in order for the technical difficulties to disappear...

I've been a bit busy as well...which somewhat explains my neglecting my Blog...but perhaps not for as long as I have been neglecting this Blog...

Anyway, I'm back in the saddle and promising (once again) to be better about keeping you up-to-date via my Blog! Yada, yada, yada...

So...back to welcoming Baby Cate (if you say it like Elizabeth does, it will sound like your mouth is about half full of peanut butter!)

The Thursday before Thanksgiving, November 18th, Reid was on his way with the women's basketball team to Shippensburg for a tournament. When he was about an hour away from Shippensburg, I called to tell him that I was experiencing some early signs of labor...and as quickly as Elizabeth came, I just wanted to put him on alert. He made numerous calls -- had several people put on alert, and through the kindness and generosity of the Hansen family, who upon arriving at the hotel, cleaned out their van and gave Reid the keys to it to send him back home to be with me...and the Malernee family, who provided a taxi service to the Hansens to get them back to their van, Reid was able to get home shortly after midnight that night. I also called my folks who came up in the wee hours of the morning. Mind you, at this point, Dr. Coleman was only telling me that I would likely not make it to my due date in the middle of December...and she also talked with us about the possibility of inducing labor so that I would not only make it to the hospital in time, but would also be there in plenty of time to get my epidural...

So, Reid gets here...my mom is here...and a week later the rest of the Amoses (Rick, Carol, and the newlyweds, Rikki & Doug) are here to celebrate Thanksgiving...and no Baby Cate. Around this time Dr. Coleman sets a date to induce labor of December 2nd (which we would change the following week to December 1st since the Toppers had a home game on the 2nd and we were worried it would make Reid's schedule a bit too tight!)...

On December 1st, Reid & I take a few early morning pictures of me before leaving for Wheeling Hospital for Baby Cate's birthday. We are at the hospital at the scheduled time of 6AM. It took forever to answer the questions that were required before the real show could begin...like "during your pregnancy did you use any recreational drugs or stimulants (including caffeine!)," "do you meditate?," "did you crave chalk?" Seriously? Seriously.

The "show" didn't actually begin with the pitocin drip and Dr. Coleman "breaking my water" until shortly after 9AM. At that time, Dr. Coleman put the call in for the anesthesiologist to come for my epidural. I'm still texting updates at this point...but stop around the time that the anesthesiologist comes for the epidural. The epidural worked so well for Elizabeth's birth that I was giving Reid updates on the Syracuse vs. Gonzaga men's basketball game...with Cate...not so much. The anesthesiologist arrived around 9:25 AM, at which time I'm feeling the contractions (not fun!) She got a "wet stick" on the first attempt (wet stick = seeing spinal fluid = not a good thing!). The second stick went in without a problem, but didn't work...in other words, nothing was numb... Reid & Mom were allowed back into the delivery room around 10:10 AM.

For the next 40 minutes, the contractions came on harder and quicker. And there was one particular swear word (rhymes with duck) that I was quite fond of using at the conclusion of each contraction. Fortunately Mom and Reid have been exposed to me using "the bomb" on an occassion or two. (Reid later reported that there may have been one nurse in the room for at least one of those, bless her little heart!)

Around 10:35, Reid lest the room to get the nurse, Patty. She and the rest of the nursing team came in immediately to finish preparing the room for Dr. Coleman. Reid recalls that Dr. Coleman arrived between 10:45 and 10:50 AM. After pushing through three sets of contractions, Dr. Coleman held Victoria Catherine up for me to see at 11:00 AM!

(Note: I only said "fudge" with Dr. Coleman in the room. How's that for respect???)

Reid, like he did with Elizabeth, cut the cord. The nurses took pictures with my camera...the entire staff at Wheeling Hospital was truly amazing!

We are so amazingly blessed!

Later that day when Elizabeth got to meet her baby sister, she said, "Thank you for giving me a baby sister, Mommy!"

A short while later as Cate was stirring, Elizabeth said in a most irritated voice, "Mom! She stuck her tongue out at me! That's not very nice!"

Elizabeth, with a little help from Grandma, welcomed us all home from the hospital with a "surprise" Welcome Home Baby Cate party on Friday, December 3rd. She served things that start with C: cake, cupcakes, cheese, carrots, cauliflower (and a few other veggies). She is such a great big sister already!