It Must Be in the Jeans Genes

My grandmother turned 95 on March 12th! Let me tell you how amazing this woman is. She still lives independently, with help from my mom and dad. She goes to church, she writes letters and sends birthday cards. She even makes the occassional 2 hour trip down to Indianapolis to visit her great-grandchildren. Up until a few years ago, she still volunteered at the hospital. Two years ago she lost her husband, my grandfather, at the age of 98 and after almost 70 years of marriage.

For her birthday, we had a small party at her house with family and ice cream cake from Dairy Queen. Then later that evening we took her to a bowling alley and game place where she found a love for Skeet Ball! Afterwards, we went to Steak 'N Shake and guess what she ordered?-a large vanilla milkshake and nothing else. I say, if all you want on your 95th birthday is ice cream, then go for it!

I love you Grandma and I hope some of your genes passed down to me!

Silly Little Smiley

Safety First

Potty Training is Hard Work! Be prepared for Anything!

My Big Boy!

Damon turned 3 today! I can't believe it. I have such mixed feelings about it, from being so proud of the little boy he has become to being sad that he is growing up so fast! He starts preschool in the fall and I'm sure that will be even harder. We celebrated with a "train" themed birthday party, complete with a cake made by Daddy! Some of his favorite gifts were his Woody doll, which he calls "Buddy" and his Datamax game, which he refers to as his DS. Happy Birthday, Damon!

A "Messy" Face-Only a Mother Could Love

Eric started spaghetti nights with the boys when I was late getting home from work a few times. He would put a bowl of spaghetti in front of each boy, take off their shirts and let them go to town. Then he would immediately transfer them to the tub. Now it is our tradition to eat spaghetti with no shirts on. Let me put that another way-Mommy and Daddy are the shirts and the little boys are the skins. I don't want anyone to get the wrong idea. In fact, all we have to do is say the word spaghetti and the boys start taking off their shirts. Now I'm a little afraid to take them to an Italian restaurant, for multiple reasons. This picture is of a particularly messy spaghetti night. Marshall really got into it and he was so proud.

Indoor Winter Fun!

This is what the Smileys do when we can't get outside in the winter. I think this is the proudest Damon has ever been of himself. I love how he jumps up and down. I don't know, but we may have a future_________ (insert professional baseball player name, I don't know any) on our hands!

Blast from the Past

Here is an old video of Damon. He was about 13 months old. Eric titled the video, "Look out Below." Just in case you were wondering, no one was harmed, I mean permanently harmed in the filming of this video!

You will surely be missed, Grandma Pat!

One week ago today, we received the sad news that Eric's Grandmother had passed away at age 87. While the news was difficult, we are reassured that her death ended the suffering she had endured as a result of at least 2 strokes over the past 3 years. I only knew Grandma Pat for about 8 years, and really only knew the Grandma Pat that everyone else knew for about 5 years. I now wish I had known her even better. What an amazing lady she was. I just found out last week that she was born in Canada and was part French Canadian. I wish I could go back in time and ask her more about her childhood. But I know from the stories that were told at her funeral that I will be able to learn more about her from her children and grandchildren.

The service was beautiful, just the way she would have wanted it, a beautiful Catholic mass with her favorite psalms and hymns. On the way to the cemetery, the ground was covered with a fresh blanket of snow and the sun was shining, even though the temperature was only in the single digits. During lunch her family members shared stories about her, many showing her sense of humor. I remember Grandma Pat always looking so beautiful and put together, which I think is rare for someone in her eighties.

I know her family will miss her dearly, especially her husband Roger and children.

Thank you, Grandma Pat, for making such a wonderful impression on me!