NJ State Special Olympics - 2009

Our family experienced one of those moments that will go down in our family history as a true proud and unforgettable time in our lives. You see, my nephew CJ Inverso is a celebrity (no surprise to those who know and love him, of course)... out of over 2000 athletes who qualified to compete in state-level Special Olympics for New Jersey, CJ was chosen to light the Olympic torch during the opening ceremonies on Friday evening at the College of New Jersey (Trenton State College). We've known for a little while now, but had to keep it a bit of a secret until right before the big day. I don't think I'll ever forget this moment in our lives... to see the tears of pride and joy in the eyes of my sister Lynne, brother-in-law Chuck and niece Hailey right at the moment CJ climbed the ladder, tilted the heavy hand-held torch of fire, and lit the cauldron warmed my heart like nothing else. CJ must have had almost a hundred personal fans in the stands cheering him on (among the thousands there), and there was barely a dry eye in the bunch. The look of absolute surprise on his face as the flame ignited was absolutely precious... I am the most proud Aunt on the face of this earth!!

The ceremony leading up to the torch lighting was quite a sight... like nothing I've ever seen. They did such a fantastic job with the event... right down to the fireworks choreographed with a Bruce Springsteen cover band (how Jersey!) that closed out the evening. "Amazing" doesn't even seem to describe the event, but I think it comes pretty close! Here are some of the pictures I took Friday night (6/13/2009)... (Yes, that's Zachary in the corner... totally didn't even try to do that on purpose... too funny!)

CJ qualified for and competed in two events... one on Saturday, and one on Sunday. He also medaled in both of those events... bronze in the 50 meter dash and silver in the tennis ball throw. Our little athlete is quite the sportsman... you really could tell he truly enjoyed his time in the spotlight!

I'm just so impressed with the entire experience... so much thought and attention was applied to every last detail (the carnival for the athletes, the medal ceremonies with music and all, the food provided for everyone free from Shoprite, the volunteers and everything they did to make it a wonderful experience, the health fair in the Student Center... I could go on and on!). It was an incredible experience - both for the athletes and their spectators! I can't wait for 2010!!

Here is a link to an article with more pictures and info... http://www.robbinsvillereview.com/specolympics.htm

First Big Boy Bandaid

Today was such a nice day... we played out front while our neighbors were also all enjoying the weather. Zachary loved running up and down the sidewalk while Daddy was supervising the activity. He was so excited, he got a little ahead of himself and took a spill... worst one yet! (Did I already mention he was in his Daddy's care? LOL) Anyway, Zachary's fall caused a pretty nasty scrape with a good amount of blood - thank goodness our neighbor is a mother of 4 and came to the immediate rescue with her handy-dandy first aid kit already in hand! (We really gotta get one of those! It even looks like a little plastic medical bag... too cute!) She had adorable crayon shaped bandaids, which Zachary just loved and made it "all better!" He was very proud of his war wound and bandage... he handled it all relatively well - just a few crocodile tears with lots of hugs for comfort!

After all of the drama, we went for a walk to pick up some much needed comfort food - pizza and donuts! Daddy couldn't wait until we got home before digging in...


Zachary really loved his glazed donut... fun to play with and equally delicious!

Editor's Note-

I had a lot of catching up to do with May blog posts... as a result, I posted more than can be viewed at once. To see all of the most recent entries, please be sure to click "Older Posts" at the bottom of this page to see the rest of May's latest and greatest. Enjoy!!

Happy Memorial Day - 2009!

Len, Zachary and I all agreed that it would be best to stick close to home this weekend, and avoid the crazy traffic with all the weekend road-trippers. We were still able to find something fun to do, without having to drive for hours. Since we had a beautiful day on Saturday, we packed up the car and headed north to Havre de Grace, MD. It was only about a 40 minute drive (which normally would take about 25 minutes without traffic) and it was very much worth it. We parked and walked throughout the town, enjoying the sights... we even saw 4 different weddings taking place (they sure had a beautiful day for the occasion). Here are some of the awesome pictures I took on the pier and of the lighthouse... what a fantastic, relaxing afternoon for our little family!

Hang on tight, Da Da (please!!)...

Cool view of the lighthouse on the mainland from out on the pier...

Cheeeeesseee!

Figuratively and literally! Here's the little critter sitting at his new picnic table enjoying a sippy cup and a piece of cheese! It matches our deck furniture perfectly, and Zachary is just thrilled to have his own personal little retreat out on the deck!!

Chocolate Chip Pancakes

Looks like Zachary inherited a sweet tooth from both Mommy and Daddy! Chocolate chip pancakes were a hit, as Zach tried them for the first time this morning. It was a bit messy, but soooo totally adorable to watch him enjoy a new treat!

"I YUV YUUUUU!!"

I think these are the most magical three words... and when they come from your first born for the very first time (from him to me), it's the most amazing thing to hear! That's right, Zachary's latest words are, "I yuv yuuuu" (a.k.a. I love you). I say it to him ALL the time (obviously) sometimes while pointing to him across the room, and much to my astonishment and wonderment, as I said it to him today, he returned the sentiment while pointing straight to me. Words can not describe that moment... it's absolutely one of my favorites so far as a mom!! Have I said how incredibly blessed I am?!?

Happy Mother's Day!

I simply can not put into words how privileged and lucky I feel to have been chosen to be Zachary's Mom. The ways life has changed from the moment we conceived him to now are by far incredibly amazing and unbelievable... I can't imagine this world without my two favorite guys... Len and Zachary.

Earlier this week, Zachary (Len) sent me at work a beautiful bouquet of pink roses, arranged in Lenox (of course!). He sent it earlier in the week, so I could enjoy it for several days in my office before bringing it home... every time I glanced over or caught the fresh scent of roses, it reminded me of the most amazing little family I have.

Today, we celebrated Mother's Day by going to church and stopping at Cold Stone afterward for a decadent treat. We did the same last year, so now I suppose this is officially a tradition... yummy!! Here's me and my amazing little critter enjoying our ice cream sundae!!


On Friday, Len also sent me an email with a verse that quite honestly says it all... as I read it, it reminded me just how blessed I am, and I don't think I could've said it better myself:

Before I was a Mom,

I never tripped over toys or forgot words to a lullaby.

I didn't worry whether or not my plants were poisonous.

I never thought about immunizations.

Before I was a Mom,

I had never been puked on.

Pooped on.

Chewed on.

Peed on.

I had complete control of my mind and my thoughts.

I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom,

I never held down a screaming child so doctors could do tests.

Or give shots.

I never looked into teary eyes and cried.

I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.

I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mom,

I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put him down.

I never felt my heart break into a million pieces when I couldn't stop the hurt!

I never knew that something so small could affect my life so much.

I never knew that I could love someone so much.

I never knew I would love being a Mom.

Before I was a Mom,

I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body.

I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby.

I didn't know that bond between a mother and her child.

I didn't know that something so small could make me feel so important and happy.

Before I was a Mom,

I had never gotten up in the middle of the night every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay.

I had never known the warmth, the joy, the love, the heartache,

the wonderment or the satisfaction of being a Mom.

I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much,

before I was a Mom .

As I sit and reflect about being a Mom, I can't help my thoughts turning back to my own mother and everything she's taught me, making me the wife and mother I am today. Happy Mother's Day, Mom... thank you for everything you've done to make me the person (and Mom) I am today. I love you and honor you more than words could ever say!!

And another special shout-out to my Mother-in-law and Zachary's "Grandma"- thank you for always being so thoughtful, generous and loving! We love you and appreciate you so very much!

Happy Mother's Day to all of the special Mom's out there!

Zach's new chore...

The Easter Bunny brought Zach the coolest toy... it's a lawn mower just like Daddy's! We finally had a nice afternoon where the two men of the house could head out and work on the yard together... I think Len secretly wishes Zach's mower cut the grass as effectively as his. Well, this is a good start, and I'm sure in a decade or more, Zach can take over. Hang in there, Len... only a few years to go before you can pass the baton!

Once Da Da brought out his lawn mower, Zach seemed more interested in that one! To keep it safe, and still enjoy the lawn mowing experience together, Len took a different approach than the side-by-side stance... this definitely sped up the process!! Too cute!

The Hopeless Romantic

I'm so lucky (I know... I never say that!! LOL)! I always talk about how lucky I am to be Zachary's Mom, and sometimes (but not often enough) talk about how lucky I am to be Len's wife! Every now and then, he does something that just melts my heart and puts a little twinkle in my eye.

We've had quite a lot of rain lately, and as a result, it has very quickly blown all of the beautiful pink petals off of the tree in front of our house. When I stepped out there today, it looked as though it snowed PINK! I just couldn't resist taking a picture of the scene. After snapping a couple of shots, I came back in to get the broom and continued sweeping it off of the walk (mostly to mitigate the tracking of pink petals throughout the entire first floor of the house!). I was able to make some progress, but was called away by Zachary, who was just waking up from his nap.


I believe that's when Len went to work... here is what he did to sweep the rest! My husband is a hopeless romantic, and S hearts L, too... always and 4VR!!

Grandma and Me!

While we were in NJ visiting last weekend, Zachary and Grandma had some special "alone" time to hang out together, after a very busy and fun filled couple of days. Since the weather was nice, they decided that a little bubble-blowing was in order. Without them even realizing, I took the most adorable pictures to capture this very special time they had playing together.

A long string of posts...

The month seems to have just FLOWN by... every chance I had, I would start a post that I would save as a draft, pending me taking the time to download the many pictures I had taken. It has been a super-busy month for both Len and I... work and home-life, so I'm finally now just getting to publishing everything I captured throughout the last 3 weeks. As you scroll through April's entries, the dates of the posts are when I actually started the draft, so they coincide with the events I'm writing about. Have fun catching up!

Another Sunday Stroll!

Grandma and Poppie took the critter out for a stroll this time... no ice cream stops along the way, but he had his sippy cup in tow for refreshment as needed! How adorable!!