family matters

if there was anything that made me the happiest....the part of my life that i feel the most passionate about....its my family. building a new family with tyler, keeping in touch with my extended family that i grew up with and feeling thankful every day that so many of my family members live just down the street. tyler and i would not be the parents we are today if it wasn't for our family. our family that helps guide us and support us. my parents made the very best family life and childhood my brother and i could have ever dreamed of. and it seems that now that i am a parent, making memories together with family is oh so important. i love that samantha will grow up so close with her cousins ry and baby kyle and that even her uncle far away skypes and calls. i love that her grandpa tom and mimi and pop pop can just stop in for a quick visit anytime and that we can ride bikes to her aunts' houses. its the best when her nanny is in town and can come over to play with her, when she looks at pictures of her cousins seth and morgan and talks about them and that she gets surprise mail from her grammy to let her know she's thinking of her and lots of special trips here just to see her. best of all, tyler and i try hard to make time to be together and do new things. as these next few weeks fly by i'm determined to make the most of our time as a family of three before baby manring arrives. here are some pictures from a weekend full of family love.....

our first trip to the botanical gardens. a postponed mother's day gift for my mom and now that its not blazing hot we headed on our little adventure....

we could have stayed in the children's gardens all day....samantha LOVED the butterfly garden and watering all of the flowers. she ran through the tree house part over and over...

checking out the butterflies all around us.....

happy happy day with mimi and sammy.....







we couldn't stop taking pictures.....

a last minute trip to the local ice cream parlor down the street....

a fun sunday with sammy's cousins...new baby kyle and big brother rylan





love this picture....like she's practicing to be a big sister. she wanted to know all about baby kyle and his bottle and his little hands. after a little while of her not moving a muscle while holding him i asked her if he was heavy. and she whispered yes. so i said do you want to take a break and she whispered yes. hehehhe

sunday dinner with her three aunts and her favorite nanny is finally back.....

feeling encouraged and less overwhelmed for these next 7 weeks before baby manring's big arrival. knowing i have a husband who listens and cares and picks me up when i need it most.....parents who drop everything to lend a hand and ask questions and take care of us....a family that baby manring will be so blessed to join. the kicks in my belly continue and sometimes its all i can think of. its the start of the 8th month and even though last week was hard and i felt worn out and overwhelmed by every little thing....its a new week and i feel very very sure that things are looking up! here's to family.....