Speers Family Visit

The Speers Family joined us for dinner last night to visit Aaron before he heads off to S. Dakota on Friday (yes, Friday already -- sniff/sniff). Was so good to have everyone there and see how big our sweet baby Alena is getting. She is 6 1/2 weeks old already. She is such a pretty little thing and really filling out. Nothing like when that baby chubs comes on! We love all of you!!!

Cody (13), Aaron (20), Gracie (5), TJ (20), TJ's wife
Kendra (18) and Baby Alena (6 1/2 weeks).

Miss Alena Irene Speers - So Sweet!!
Gracie and her "1st" 2nd cousin, Alena
Yup, my sister Kelly is a GRANDMA!!
Aaron w/ Alena. Two words....BIRTH CONTROL :)

Cousins!

Kayla (14), Gracie (5), Kara (9) and Aaron (20) @ The Rock in Covington for dinner. Are they all beautiful or what?? Don't think any other words are necessary except....WE LOVE YOU!

Grandparents are the best

We made it back safe and sound after a quick trip to Coeur d' Alene specifically designed to visit Grandma's and Grandpa's. Unfortunately I dropped the ball a bit on pics this time. Did not get a good one of Grandma Barb or Grandpa Gary, but did get this shot with Grandpa Jim and Grandma Marty. This was Gracie's first plane trip and she loved it. When we took off she said "I have a tickle in my tummy". Then when we landed she said "there is that tickle again!". She also had the window seat right near the wheels so she had a great view when they came out for landing. Aaron enjoyed seeing everyone. Grandma Barb fed us well and we got to visit with my Grandparents on my dad's side so Aaron and Gracie's Great Grandparents (again - photo op that did not happen -- what is wrong with me??). Next time for sure!

Love These Kids

Can I just say again how great it is to have Aaron home. We are enjoying every minute - especially Gracie. She is loving that he is home and he is such a good sport with her. Playing her board games, playing the guitar and singing music and tucking her in a night. It really just doesn't get better than that. She has gone from asking everyday "is Aaron still here?" to now "Can I wake Aaron up"?. It will be tough when he leaves us again in a few weeks, but a bit easier knowing he is just on his way to South Dakota in the good 'ol USA!

I love you Aaron and Gracie -- XXOO Mommy.

Our Little Diva

Miss Gracie got this make up set from Aaron's best friend Nikki and let me tell you....she is quite thrilled. We have always said that she is such "a girl" and don't these pictures show it?!

How we love our "little diva"

SURPRISE!!

What a surprise yesterday when there was a knock at the door and who was standing there with roses for his momma? AARON!!! What a wonderful husband, family and friends I have for helping to make this suprise happen (you guys are good!!). Gracie and I were so happy to hug him (I don't think he thought I was going to let go - yes, I have become one of THOSE mothers and I don't care!). It still seems a bit like a dream that he is really here. Gracie has been pretty much attached to his hip since he arrived. The first words to me this morning was "is Aaron still here?". I am so thankful he is safe and still just "my Aaron". We hope to get a chance to visit with who we can while he is here. Thanks to everyone for your love and support.

XXOO

Prayer Request

The reason I do this blog is usally to share our fun and wonderful life with family and friends. But today I feel the need to talk about a very sad issue. You all may have heard about the BlackHawk that went down in Enumclaw the night of December 21, 2006 during a training mission. One of the soldiers that was killed, Patrick Paige is the father Jaida Paige. Jaida is one of Gracie's very good friends at day care. We are told that Jaida's mommy and family are having a very rough time of it. The family is originally from Alabama and Patrick is being buried there this weekend (the Ft. Lewis services were last night for all 3 men). Jaida will not be coming back day care as I understand her family will be going back to Alabama as they have no other family here. Jaida's mom has not even been able to go into their home because it "smells" like Patrick. As I write this I cry as I cannot imagine the pain and suffering that she is experiencing and I hope I never do. It is especially close to my heart because of Aaron, but I think I would feel for them in the same way even if Aaron was not in the military. Based on the news this morning, it sounds like more military are going to be deployed. This is a request for prayers to not only go out to the Paige family, but to all the families that have lost loved one in this war and for all those serving. Whether you believe in the war or not -- we must support our troops. Thanks for listening -- I am going to get a tissue now.

Happy 2007

Another holiday season is behind us and here we are already at 2007. We were all talking this weekend about how quick this decade is passing. We headed to the Wyman Family Cabin in Easton, WA for fun and frolicks in the snow to celebrate New Years. Carpooled with the Hayes (thanks guys for driving!). Tons of snow this year and everyone had fun playing in the snow, sledding, snowmobiling and just hanging by the fire. I included some pics from the weekend - several of Gracie and Maddy.

Happy New Year Everyone!

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow

Was snow in the forcast? I don't think so!! But we woke up to 4 inches or so of snow this morning. It was the good stuff too. Just right for snowball fights and snow men! Stupid work...Gracie only got to play in it for a few minutes this morning. And why did it not show up 2 days ago? Wouldn't it have been cool to have had a white christmas? Maybe next year!!

Dancing Queen

So my Mom got Gracie the Barbie 12 Dancing Princesses Movie. She just got a chance to watch it last night - twice. And she pretty much danced through the entire movie - twice. :)

She is my Dancing Queen!!

Christmas 2006

Another Christmas has come and gone and 2007 is upon us. This Christmas season was certainly exciting with the crazy weather and power outages. Bob and Carla's annual Santa party had to be rescheduled to the 23rd, but it went off without a hitch (except for Gracie having NOTHING to do with Santa this year) and everyone was back out of the dark. Spent Christmas Eve with the sister and family. Pretty quiet this year as it is just Cody and Gracie. But lots of fun watching them open their gifts. My brother in law baked his heart out that morning and even made Carlie a Chocolate Pie. Then made us a fabulous ham dinner. Christmas morning arrived and Santa brought Gracie a kitchen. Boy was she excited! She absolutely loves it and has already "hosted" several parties. HA! Headed to Carl and Deb's to spend the morning with them and the Scammon's. Gracie was very spoiled and loved all her gifts. I think it was a concensus that her favorite was the "vaccum". She was a cleaning machine! She also loved her nightgown and slippers from Auntie Carleena and the clothes from Grandma Debbie. Did anyone else notice she insisted on changing and wearing BOTH shirts at the same time? Too Funny. The rest of the family joined us later for great food and company. Carl and Deb put on a super feast -- the stuffing...yummy! We waddled home that night and Carlie and I both had the day off the 26th to do a little shopping, get the house back in order and allow Gracie to enjoy some of her things. She loves the LiteBrite that Auntie Kelly got her. Funny how the old standards are still a big hit (Maddy's Jack in the Box?). Daddy put together her Easel the Auntie Carleena got her as well. She has already drawn several pictures. The first one was for Aaron. A purple face with pimples all over it. It told her "that's yucky"....she said "okay, they are freckles then". Hee-Hee.

Here's wishing you all a safe and wonderful 2007!!

I'm a Great - Auntie

My nephew TJ and his wife were the proud parents of a baby girl on December 13th. Welcome Alena Irene Speers! Finally got to see her last night and boy there is just nothing like a brand new baby. Soooo sweet!! What a great Christmas gift and miracle!!

Christmas Dress

You may have noticed a lapse in postings. I was having some trouble posting pictures -- but thanks to the "blog queen" Katie...I am back. Thanks Katie! So 5 days and counting to Christmas and what a week before the big day it has been. The storm was sure an exciting one. We survived it with just the loss of one tree and part of our fence. We are safe so who cares about a little fence, right?! Got our power back on late Saturday. Sure makes you appreciate a little electricity. The pictures are of the Christmas dress Gracie was sent by her Grandma Marty. She insisted on wearing it to school today -- really too cute! Actually, I am wondering if I am going to get her out of it. It is by far her favorite thing at the moment. She is even embracing the hat!
Merry Christmas Everyone!

'Tis the Season

'Tis the Season and we got right into the spirit the 1st weekend of Dececember. We usually go to a tree farm off HWY 162 Orting/Sumner to get our Fir - but it was closed this year to do our great fall weather and flooding. So Carlie thought of a tree farm just before Eatonville - so we headed there and have to say, we loved it! It is Cox Tree Farm and it was clean, festive and had a huge selection of trees. We ended up picking a Spruce this year and we really like it. We sure miss Aaron this time of year - not just in general but as our "sawer". Poor Carlie has to crawl under the tree, get all sappy and cut it down. Stopped for a little lunch then headed home listening to Gracie latest favorite CD - Johnny Cash. Seriously! Her favorite song is Ring of Fire -- go figure. Anyways, got home ~ turned on the Christmas music and decorated. Gracie really enjoys helping - although getting her to distribute the ornamants is tricky. She likes to put them all in one spot. Later on, the Wadleys called to invite us to go to Zoo Lights. It was cold out, about 30 degrees, but we were up for it and had a great time. It was us, Dan and Karrin with Kamy and Abby with Coy. It is sure fun to see this season through the eyes of a child. They just get so excited. Gracie is a complete believer in Santa and advised me recently that "all those other Santa's around are just helpers" and "she does not need to write to Santa because he already knows". Very Cute. She also opens an advent calendar every morning and each day there is a chocolate. The great part is she seems excited and surprised every single day that the chocolate is there...it is just the best.

Gobble Gobble Day ~ 2006

Another Thanksgiving has come and gone and Christmas will be here before we know it. It was another great day with fabulous food, wine and family. We anticipated a tough time as this was the first Thanksgiving without Carlie's grandpa Maynard. It was different and sad, but everyone was in good spirits. I think knowing he is at peace and in a better place made it a bit easier. Christina wanted to sit where Grandpa normally sat which was sweet and Gracie had to sit right by her. I guess we really know when our little ones are growing up with it is not completely necessary that they sit right next to you. However...she did manage to get a "regular" coke when she was out of my sight.....DANYELA??!! :) I think Gracie thought she was really grown up because of that. Here are some pics to share ~

We've hit a Milestone!

For those that know us, we all know that Gracie is "petite" to say the least. With that said, yesterday was Miss Gracie's 5 year check up and she has finally hit 30 lbs. Yee-Ha! We have been waiting for that number FOREVER and it has arrived! Granted she is still only in the 3 percentile for heighth and weight, but Dr. Jimeno is please with her growth. She is definitely height/weight proportinate for "Gracie". She grew 2 1/2 inches since her last appt. which is what they look for. However, one thing about her weight/size is she has a bit of low blood pressure ~ nothing to worry about though. Gracie also had her hearing checked -- all good. Her eyes checked -- 20/30 (may need to have them checked by an eye dr. before school starts). Her back was straight. She did beautifully through all those checks. However....the peeing in a cup, getting her blood taken and the 3 shots did not go over real well (McDonald Chicken nuggets and an ice cream cone made it much better!). The good news is, no more shots until she is 11!
Hope everyone else is well and has a wonderful Thanksgiving.
Love ~ The DiOrio's

"the Boy"

So have I mentioned lately how proud we are of Aaron? I have not been able to talk to him as much lately due to several factors, so now when I get a call I am extra excited. He called me yesterday and in talking he mentioned that he is again going to be studying quite a bit. Appearently he has obtained all of the materials, books etc. to begin studying to become a Staff Sargent. This is a big deal especially for his age and his current ranking. Aaron is currently an "E3" Airman 1st Class. In February he will an "E4" which is a Senior Airman. A bit more $$ but not much. If he passes the testing for the Staff Sargent ranking, it would be even more $$, but more importantly he would be one of the youngest Staff Sargents. What impresses me is that he is doing this all on his own. We don't know what the future holds for Aaron or if the Air Force will be his forever career, but he is sure taking steps to do so. I guess it is about time for us to stop calling him "the boy". Okay, maybe not...HA! We love you Aaron - miss you and are so proud of you!!!
Side note: He is still scheduled to be in South Dakota as of January, but we don't have a specific date yet.

It's Official...Gracie is 5!

Well, our little baby is now 5. Guess "baby's" gotta go (sniff). Gracie chose Red Robin for her birthday dinner. Why? Because they serve cantalope with her meal of course! She was extra happy when Aaron's best friend Nikki was working and got to stop by for a hello. Made Gracie's night. Uncle Dean, Aunt Kelly and cousin Cody joined us for dinner too. Food was yummy, Gracie loved them singing to her and she got the great desert. Can't ask for more than that. On the way home Aaron called to talk to his sister. It was 4:30am his time and he was at work -- Gracie was so happy to talk to her brother. Then, a big surprise when we got home. Aaron sent his momma flowers and Gracie a birthday bear and balloon. All was waiting for us on the porch. We sure miss him but he made Gracie's birthday extra special. We had a few more presents for her at home too. She has been obsessed with convertable cars all summer so I had to get her one and she loved it! She had advised me that "when she is older she is getting one and will be able to go where evere she wants". She then advised me "when she goes somewhere, she is going to go to McDonalds AND Burger King"...HA. If only life were that simple. Happy Birthday Gracie!!!! WE LOVE YOU!!

Gracie's 5th bday party 11/4/06

Thanks to everyone for joining us to celebrate Gracie turning 5. She had a great time - so much fun that she immediately fell asleep on the way home. Pics are a little out of order, still figuring out how to format the pics on the blog. I do have to say that the slide was a big hit!

Happy Halloween 2006!

So this was the first year that Miss Gracie did "REAL" Trick or Treating and boy did she have a blast! She was Tinkerbell this year which was perfect. As my Mom noted "Tinkerbell is a sweatheart with a little mischief" -- sounds a bit like Gracie. Started the night out stopping by Grandma and Papa DiOrio's then off to Aunt Kelly and Uncle Dean's for a picture with Cousin Cody as a Ninja. Then headed towards the Hayes' to Trick or Treat with Cousin Maddy. The girls started out a bit slow on going up to the doors and such, but after a few houses they got it down. Alot of running and giggling from house to house reminding each other whose turn it was to ring the doorbell. They were having so much fun neither of them even complained about the cold night (35 degrees....brrrrr). Fun was had by all and great memories were made.