Sunday, May 30, 2010

Back from Hiatus

Whew! It's been almost 6 months since I've last updated.
Let me tell ya...It's been busy!! Besides being mommy to a very active and inquisitive one-year old, I've been teaching full time and also taking a course each semester working on my second master's degree which will earn me my principal's license. This past semester was a very intense law course. I'm glad that's over; however, I do have the second part of it coming up this fall!

Anyway...enough of the boring stuff.

Tommy has grown by leaps and bounds since his first birthday. He went from walking to running, and now only seems to run. He loves to climb and since he was about 19 months old, he climbs on EVERYTHING. He climbs up his highchair, all over the couches, all over me, all over daddy, all over Winnie, he has even attempted to climb walls. Within the last week he has learned to pull out the kitchen table chairs, climb onto the chair, and then onto the kitchen table. It's enough to give me a heart attack. He also likes to climb onto the bar on the bottom of the stove and climb the stove. The dishwasher is also a favorite of his to climb. Just recently, he learned to push the buttons on the dishwasher. Lord knows how many cycles he's rn. He's 100% boy. He certainly keeps us busy. So, Tommy, I apologize that I've been slacking on your little diary here....but, in honesty, it's your fault. :) You just keep Mommy way too busy!

Tommy is learning more and more words by the day....he says "gog" for dog, and points out EVERY dog he sees. He loves his "gogs." He says bottle, banana, mommy, daddy, up, hot, and a few more that I can't really think of now (tiredness is setting in). However, he understands EVERYTHING. He knows his body parts and will point to them when asked. He knows his routine. When I say it's time for your bath, he runs to the stairs and waits for us to move the gate to get upstairs. Once his clothes are off, he runs into the bathroom (it's so precious to see his little naked butt running through the hallways), picks out some bath toys, and tries to climb into the tub.

He and Winnie love to run to the door when Daddy comes home from work and get hugs from Daddy. Tommy knows just by Winnie's excited barks and whines that Daddy is home. So, he certainly is mastering his language. He LOVES Thomas the Train and we are planning to take him in August to ride the real thing. I'm not ashamed to admit that I'm a little excited about this too.

Tommy is also a very loving little boy. He loves to give hugs, and really loves to hug his "gog" Winnie. He loves to snuggle with me on the couch, and is always more than willing to watch some Thomas and suck down a bottle of chocolate milk.

So, I hope that helps update the Tommy status. He is such a joy and quite honestly my greatest achievement in life. It's mind-blowing to me to think that in a few more weeks, we will be blessed with another little one. I can not wait to see these two together. I know we're going to have our hands full, but we'll also have hearts full of love. I'm so ready for this next adventure!!

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Baby Novak #2!!!


It is with hearts full of joy that we proudly announce that Baby Novak #2 will be making his or her appearance in July!!

To our future son or daughter: This song is for you. We can't wait to welcome you into our lives, our family, our hopes, and our dreams. And Tommy can't wait to be your big brother!

**Please turn on the volume of your computer.**

BLESSED

Hey you, you're a child in my head
You haven't walked yet
Your first words have yet to be said
But I swear you'll be blessed

I know you're still just a dream
your eyes might be green
Or the bluest that I've ever seen
Anyway you'll be blessed

And you, you'll be blessed
You'll have the best
I promise you that
I'll pick a star from the sky
Pull your name from a hat
I promise you that, promise you
that, promise you that
You'll be blessed

I need you before I'm too old
To have and to hold
To walk with you and watch you grow
And know that you're blessed

And you, you'll be blessed
You'll have the best
I promise you that
I'll pick a star from the sky
Pull your name from a hat
I promise you that, promise you
that, promise you that
You'll be blessed

Lyrics: Blessed, Elton John

Sunday, October 4, 2009

Pipes and Pizza





A picture of the big pipe organ (the pipes are in an entire room behind the organ), and some pictures of Tommy playing with his Great Grandma and Great Grandpa Zalen.

Tommy's Birthday Evening






For TOmmy's big bithday dinner we went to Pipes and Pizza in Lansing. (It's now Beggar's Pizza). I used to LOVE to go here as a kid, and since TOmmy loves music so much it was the perfect place to take him. They have an old-fashioned pipe organ and it is played every so often. It just so happened that they played it on his birthday night. The whole restaurant lights up during some songs, there are all kinds of drums and other instruments on the wall that play along to the organ. It's a great place to take kids. And the Pizza was AMAZING! Yum! Tommy was joined by both sets of grandparents, his Great Grandma and Grandpa, Uncle Jason, Uncle Brian and Aunt Jamie, and of course mommy and daddy! The organ played Happy Birthday for Tommy and everyone enjoyed seeing him smiling and clapping along!!

Tommy's Birthday Morning






These are pictures from Tommy's first birthday morning on Spetember 29, 2009. He was very happy when he woke up that morning (as usual) and Gammie soon brought over a whole carload of presents for the little guy's big day.

Tommy's Birthday Afternoon






Mommy took the day off for Tommy's birthday. I just couldn't handle being at work on the day my little guy tunred one!! So, we slept in, had a nice breakfast, then Gammie came over with presents, and we were off to Gymboree for our play class, and then to Tyler's Tender (a restaurant for kids with trains) for lunch with Grandma and Grandpa Krull and Auntie Julie. It was a relaxing, perfect afternoon for his big birthday! Tommy got to ride on the train ride, and Auntie Julie and Mommy rode on the "big" train with him.